"Coulson, what the hell did you say to Raiden?" Tony roared angrily as soon as he saw Coulson.
"Calm down Tony, let's talk this through" Yinsen quickly intervened, trying to pacify Tony.
"Sorry, Mr. Stark, I don't understand what you mean. Mr. Akathosh and I?" Coulson replied, looking puzzled.
"Raiden, why did he suddenly go back to the Middle East? What did you talk to him about yesterday? You were the last person to see him" Tony said agitatedly, grabbing Coulson by the collar, his spit spraying all over Coulson face.
"Uh, didn't Mr. Akathosh tell you?" Coulson wiped his face awkwardly.
Seeing the confused looks on Tony and Yinsen faces, Coulson had no choice but to recount his conversation with Raiden to the two of them.
...
"What! You're saying Richard and Mary are dead?" Yinsen shouted, grabbing Coulson by the collar, his neck turning red as he spat furiously.
Thankfully, Tony held Yinsen back tightly, so Coulson only had to endure another round of saliva.
"Yinsen, Yinsen, calm down talk properly, Yinsen!" Tony said, struggling to hold Yinsen around the waist.
Faced with the uncontrollably agitated Yinsen, Coulson could only smile politely though somewhat at a loss.
Finally, with Tony persuasion, Yinsen calmed down a bit, exhaled, and slumped weakly into the sofa.
"Oh, and there's this guy Raza. Mr. Akathosh said he absolutely must be killed" Coulson said, pulling out a photo from his pocket and handing it to Tony and Yinsen.
...
"Ugh... I'm dying... I'm dying... cough."
"THIS GUY ISN'T DEAD YET?!"
"HOW CAN HE STILL BE ALIVE!"
Coulson was pinned down on the sofa by the agitated Tony and Yinsen, with Tony locking his neck tightly, leaving Coulson unable to resist and only able to pat the sofa desperately, begging for mercy.
After thoroughly roughing Coulson up on the floor, Tony and Yinsen finally calmed down and decided they couldn't just sit around doing nothing anymore.
"Yinsen, it looks like we have to head to Iran immediately, right now!" Tony said seriously, looking at Yinsen.
"But you're under house arrest. If you pilot the suit, the U.S. military will definitely send fighter jets to stop you. And if you don't use the suit, those two guys outside... Either way, we'll end up clashing with government agencies" Yinsen analyzed calmly.
Tony sighed slightly. He was a smart man, and he understood all this. At least for now, he couldn't openly conflict with the U.S. government.
As the two of them were stuck in their dilemma, a trembling hand reached out from the table.
"I have a way! I have..."
"What the hell?" Tony grabbed Coulson and lifted him up. The two of them gathered around Coulson, and Tony tilted his head, signaling Coulson to explain his plan.
"This" Coulson said, pulling out something that looked like a remote control.
Tony recognized it immediately—it was the paralysis device Obadiah had used!
"This was found in District 16, Mr. Stark. You can use this to deal with the two agents outside the door. Rest assured, while S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of the government, it operates independently. Given your status, using this method to leave here won't cause any negative repercussions" Coulson explained to Tony and the others.
"And once you've taken down those two agents, you can drive to an abandoned airport in the northwest with the suit. There's a plane waiting for you... Of course, that plane wasn't arranged by me—it was arranged by Miss Pepper" Coulson added with a shrug.
"Why are you helping us? Aren't you with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony asked, puzzled.
"This time, the Ten Rings have acquired many weapons that don't belong to this world—extremely powerful ones. I'm worried something might happen to Mr. Akathosh. You'd better prepare quickly and go help him! This is all I can do for you. I have to leave now" Coulson said, looking at Tony and the others before getting up and leaving Tony house.
Tony glanced at the stun device in his hand, then exchanged a look with Yinsen, both nodding in agreement.
...
The Middle East, at the border between Iran and Afghanistan.
Raiden woke up early and was sitting in a tavern, eating breakfast.
"Your cooking skills are really good. How about it? Would you like to come to America and be my personal chef?" Raiden said to the bartender, who was wiping glasses in front of him.
The bartender smiled but didn't respond. Just then, another voice came from behind Raiden.
"Sure, if you're willing to pay, I'll sell him to you."
Raiden turned to see Michelle walking over slowly.
"Alright, how much?" Raiden nodded, taking another bite of the food on his plate.
"We'll talk about it if you make it back alive" Michelle said, patting Raiden on the shoulder.
"But are you really sure about this? Do you have to go?"
"Absolutely" Raiden replied without hesitation.
Michelle raised an eyebrow, nodded, and said calmly.
"Alright then."
...
"From here, keep going straight until the second town... Are you really sure you have to go?" Michelle pointed out the route on the map for Raiden, then suddenly turned and asked.
Raiden paused for a moment, looking into her eyes, then said firmly.
"I have to."
"Alright then" Michelle said with a smile.
Raiden left, driving off alone. His path ahead was fraught with thorns, and a group of people were fully prepared, waiting for his arrival.
"Sis, it seems like you really care about him" the bartender said, walking over to Michelle and standing beside her as they watched Raiden drive away.
"He's a lot like how I used to be—empty. I feel like I'll never meet someone as interesting as him again" Michelle said with a hint of regret.
"Do you want me to send someone to save him?" the bartender asked, turning to look at Michelle.
Michelle waved her hand dismissively.
"No, it's not worth it." She glanced around thoughtfully and added "For him, it's not worth paying such a high price here."
"Alright" the bartender nodded in agreement.
Michelle walked towards the tavern. Just as she was about to enter, she suddenly turned her head and said to the bartender.
"Send a message to Raza. Tell him the person has gone, and they should get ready."
"This..." The bartender hesitated.
"Just do them a favor" Michelle shrugged and said, then turned and walked into the tavern.
Suddenly, a figure stumbled out of the tavern and fell to the ground—a drunkard.
Michelle looked at the drunkard on the ground with disdain, gently kicking him with her foot. Seeing that the drunkard showed no reaction, she could only shake her head helplessly and walked in.
The bartender naturally saw the drunkard on the ground as well. He walked over, crouched down beside the drunkard, and muttered to himself.
"It's people like you who clip the wings of the free birds." After saying this, the bartender shook his head, pulled out a peculiarly shaped phone from his pocket, and walked in while sending a text message.
After Michelle and the bartender had both gone inside, it took quite a while before the drunkard slowly got up from the ground.
The drunkard stared at the tavern's door, sighed, and pulled out a communicator.
"Jerry, you guys haven't had any work these past few days, right? Gather some people. I have a half-baked idea."
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