Chapter 185: The Sheep Talisman
"What's happening, Jarvis?" Tony asked, hearing the loud noise on Jarvis's end.
Outside
Jarvis, who had intended to break the ice for the rescue, was suddenly struck in the back by a beam of laser light. He fell face-first to the ground. He looked up, his dusty metal mask revealing the sight of the Mark 33 being shattered by a beam of white light from the Mandarin. The Mark 33 disintegrated into countless parts in mid-air, crashing to the ground and kicking up a five-meter-high cloud of grayish-brown dust.
"Sir, we've encountered an ambush out here. I'll need a moment," Jarvis said, preparing to detach from the Mark 35 at any time to return to Tony's Mark 39. After all, the Mark 35 was strictly a rescue-oriented suit.
"Sir, stand back a little. I'm preparing to break through the ice." Jarvis stood up quickly and took flight.
The Mandarin chuckled but didn't bother with Jarvis; he turned and slipped away. Jarvis watched him leave, powerless to stop him. If this armor were the Wayward Son, which possessed a strong offensive system, he might have been able to keep the Mandarin pinned down until Tony emerged.
"Stand back?" Tony deactivated his laser device and stepped back several paces, relying on his intuition.
A device suddenly popped up from the back of the Mark 35 and flew into the dark space. As soon as the device touched the ice wall, it attached itself.
"Detonate," Jarvis commanded.
Boom! The device exploded instantly, blowing a massive hole in the ice wall. However, as soon as light tried to enter through the hole, it was absorbed once again.
"It should be over here." Tony heard the explosion on the left. Although there was no light, sound still existed.
Whoosh! Tony flew toward the left based on his sense of direction.
Outside
Jarvis stared intently at the dark space, waiting for Tony to appear. Finally, he saw a fast-moving black and white figure streak out of the darkness.
"Sir," Jarvis said.
"Woo-hoo!" Tony couldn't help but shout. He had finally seen the light of day again. The world of light before his eyes felt like heaven.
Tony stopped next to Jarvis and looked at the dark space. "Can that donkey spray octopus ink now?"
"He has already fled. At our current speed, we can't track him," Jarvis said, pointing in the direction the Mandarin had gone.
"Infiltrate all the surrounding surveillance systems. We must find him!" Tony couldn't let it go. Pepper was still in that donkey's hands.
"Very well..." Jarvis was about to hack into the surveillance when he received an email. "Sir, it seems we no longer need information on Ms. Potts." Jarvis forwarded the email to Tony.
Tony opened it. The email read: I've sent Pepper back to you. Stop acting like a boar in heat. Eternal steel materials supplier — Destiny.
"What shall we do next, Sir?" Jarvis asked after Tony remained silent for a long while.
"Mmhmm~ Did I really look like a boar in heat just now?" Tony finally smiled again. That damn Destiny actually said he looked like a boar in heat, and called him an "eternal material supplier." It was a completely one-sided cooperation—Destiny took his Iron Man suit materials without any notice or payment.
"Let's head back." Tony couldn't wait to see Pepper.
Jarvis followed closely behind, adding, "To be honest, Sir, you really did look like a boar in heat."
"Give it a rest. When I get back, I'm definitely building an Anti-Mandarin suit." Tony also added silently in his heart: And an Anti-Destiny suit.
Queens, Parker Residence
"Mhm~ She's been sent back, has she?" Silas looked at the large "Clear" text on his game console, put down the controller, and stretched.
"Yes, Master. Everything has been settled, though the Mandarin escaped," Little Black reported the day's events.
"That's normal," Silas said. The Mandarin was no weakling. He was Iron Man Tony Stark's arch-nemesis, after all. He wouldn't be caught so easily by the current Stark or the not-yet-mighty Black Shadow Corps.
"The shadow marker is in place, right?" Silas asked.
"It is done. We can appear behind his Dragon Throne at any time." During the battle between the Black Shadow Riders and the Mandarin, Little Black had secretly placed a teleportation marker in the shadow cast by the Dragon Throne on the ground.
"Did you see this?" Silas opened a video. In the video, a man in assassin's garb appeared like a ghost behind a person and drew a blade for a thrust. "Once we are strong enough, we can give him a 'righteous backstab'."
Silas didn't intend to act personally yet. He knew his current strength well; he couldn't kill the Mandarin alone. If he used all his subordinates, he could take him down, but that would be a hassle. He could handle the Mandarin himself once he fully integrated and mastered the Justice Magic.
"Talismans!" Silas focused his mind and entered the gray, misty space again.
Through the continuous income of Justice and Evil Points lately, his Justice Points had surpassed 2,000, mostly because he kept redeeming Justice Magic. Evil Points were different; he hadn't touched them recently, and they had soared to 30,000!
"System, give me the clues for the full set of Talismans." Silas planned to seize them all in one go.
Clang! The gray space began to spin rapidly, and a long sound echoed in Silas's ears.
Baaa~~
"A sheep?" Silas expressed that he didn't really want this one. A pure white lamb flew down from the sky onto a field of lush green grass. The little lamb lowered its head, delicately chewing the grass.
Silas approached the lamb, knelt down, and stroked its soft wool. The lamb then dissolved into starlight, revealing a line of text:
[The sleeping lamb, like a lost traveler, cannot find its way.]
"What a vague clue." Silas had no lead on this clue and had no choice but to spend more Evil Points to unlock the next step.
Baaa~
[The lamb loves to dream and enjoys entering the dreams of others.]
"I love to dream too, especially dreaming about having all twelve Talismans." Silas could only spend another 1,000 Evil Points.
[The little lamb loves to accompany people as they fall asleep, as this makes it easier for it to enter their dreams.]
"Accompanying people as they fall asleep?" The first thing Silas thought of was a pillow, but the answer likely wasn't that simple. Sure enough, the system did not confirm it as correct.
"Unlocking the next one will cost 10,000 Evil Points." Silas thought he had become rich, but it turned out his points were still quite easy to spend.
"I'll have to take it slow." Silas didn't have much interest in the Sheep, but to get the other Talismans, he had to get this one. Silas withdrew from his consciousness space, turned to Little Black, and asked, "Little Black, let me ask you something."
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