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Later, when the vice principal heard that the incident involved Jimmy, the matter was quietly dropped.
He only gave Jimmy a vague reminder.
Weapons were not allowed on campus, even non-lethal ones.
Clearly, the administration had mistaken the bent metal fences and shattered concrete blocks for some kind of experimental equipment developed by Stark Industries.
Jimmy nodded without comment.
'I did not bring any weapons, I am the weapon'
---
School life quickly became dull and repetitive.
With nothing better to do, Jimmy racked his brain trying to figure out how to return to Los Angeles.
Since he could not come up with a solution, he decided to do something else instead.
First, he needed money.
What was the fastest way to make money with no startup cost?
Selling words.
A quick search online showed there was serious potential.
Jimmy sat at his desk, turned on the computer, and typed two words.
The Lord of the Rings.
---
When Yinsen came home and heard the steady clicking of keys coming from the attic, he smiled.
At least the kid was finally integrating into normal life.
This place had been carefully chosen by Yinsen, including the endlessly talkative neighbor next door.
Yinsen truly regarded Jimmy as his only family and thought everything through for his sake.
Even grown adults would need therapy after witnessing piles of bodies on a battlefield.
Combat trauma was never imaginary.
If Jimmy truly felt nothing, then a good environment mattered even more.
Without a clear sense of right and wrong, one wrong step could define an entire lifetime.
That was exactly why Yinsen had chosen this quiet New York hospital job instead of staying close to Stark Industries.
The Stark household was filled with weapons and laboratories.
Jimmy was constantly wandering into armories.
It was not a healthy place for him to grow up.
---
As for the friendly neighbor, Yinsen valued the Parkers because of their character.
Ben had been upright.
May was kind.
Peter talked too much, but he had no malice.
Jimmy needed a friend.
Someone who could help him understand the world around him.
Peter was perfect.
He would not abandon someone just because they were distant.
Nor would he follow someone blindly just because they were strong.
Jimmy always knew who treated him sincerely and who did not.
He could tell at a glance.
Among everyone he had met, aside from Tony, Pepper, Yinsen, and Happy, anyone approaching Jimmy from behind would be noticed immediately.
According to Jarvis's calculations, that distance happened to be the optimal range for a direct knife strike.
This constant vigilance made Yinsen uneasy.
Combined with the Stark household environment, it only reinforced his decision.
He had chosen New York, far away from that world, for Jimmy's sake.
Yinsen had truly exhausted himself thinking about Jimmy's future.
---
Jimmy was doing well now.
Aside from collecting weapons, he had developed another hobby.
Writing.
Listening to the steady rhythm of the keyboard, Yinsen felt genuinely relieved.
"Jimmy, do not stay up too late, staying awake all night is bad for your health."
"Got it, Uncle," Jimmy's voice came from upstairs, "there is soup simmering in the kitchen, drink a bowl before bed, it is good for your stomach."
Jimmy went to school and came home with his friendly neighbor, Peter, every day.
Peter constantly tried to learn combat skills from Jimmy and always failed.
Ned, on the other hand, helped Jimmy research armor designs and weapon schematics, along with reference images.
What Jimmy planned to do with them, he never explained.
---
On social media, The Lord of the Rings exploded in popularity.
Students started debating whether hobbits could die, whether elves would help dwarves, and who was stronger.
Even Peter wanted to see Yinsen's kitchen, convinced there had to be a hobbit hiding somewhere inside, otherwise the food would not taste that good.
Despite his sudden online success, Jimmy could only stare at the countdown on his system panel.
The timer urging him to return to Los Angeles kept ticking down.
He still had no excuse to go back.
"Forget it," Jimmy muttered, looking at the remaining time, "if it comes down to it, I will force my way back."
Sometimes things worked that way.
When every effort failed, time itself created the opportunity.
And when the moment arrived, there was no avoiding it.
That night, Jimmy suddenly sat up in bed, the three claws in his fist itching to emerge.
There was killing intent in the air.
Jimmy moved silently into Yinsen's room.
"Quiet, do not make a sound, we have visitors."
After hiding Yinsen safely, Jimmy focused his senses and slipped into the living room.
Two men dressed like mercenaries were sweeping the area with tranquilizer rifles, quietly checking the rooms on the first floor.
They had found this place with precision.
That alone made them dangerous.
Jimmy extended his awareness outside.
A black SUV was parked nearby.
One person was in the driver's seat, another in the passenger seat.
Four were positioned outside, and two had entered the house.
Using the shadow beneath the skylight, Jimmy dropped soundlessly to the ground outside.
Keeping to the cover of the trees, he moved in.
Thud, thud.
Two impacts rang out almost at the same time, loud in the still night.
The two guards on the south side immediately turned around.
"Hey, boss, what was that?"
One raised his weapon to cover, the other moved cautiously forward.
The vehicle was silent.
The door was open.
The engine idled softly.
That sound felt far too loud to them.
Whoosh.
As the man leaned toward the car, a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle and yanked hard.
He was dragged under the vehicle.
A short scream cut off abruptly.
"Contact, get over here."
Three people rushed toward the SUV.
When they arrived, they saw two men slumped inside the car and another hanging halfway out.
Whoosh.
A dark figure dropped from the tree.
Two punches and one kick landed.
Before any of them could straighten up, all three were on the ground.
Jimmy sprinted back into the house.
He kicked open the door, dodged a tranquilizer dart, closed in with two punches, and ended the fight.
Using familiarity with the terrain, surprise, and heightened senses, Jimmy neutralized all eight mercenaries without taking a single hit.
He had deliberately avoided lethal force.
---
"Uncle Yinsen, you can come out now, it is safe."
"What were they," Yinsen asked, holding a shotgun at his bedroom door.
"No idea, they look like mercenaries, but they were using tranquilizers, so they were not here to kill us.
"You are a doctor, I am a student, kidnapping us would make more sense than murder."
Jimmy frowned.
Yinsen shook his head.
"I cannot think of anyone I have offended."
"Let us search them, see if they left anything useful."
Crack, crack.
A series of joints popped out of place.
"What are you doing," Yinsen asked in shock.
"Just to be safe, I dislocated their arms and legs. If they grab a weapon again, I would have no choice but to kill them. The four outside were carrying automatic firearms."
Hearing that, Yinsen said nothing.
He was not naive.
Sometimes force was the only answer.
They moved outside and repeated the process.
They recovered a large cache of weapons.
Handguns, submachine guns, and two tranquilizer rifles.
But there was nothing identifying who these men worked for.
No documents.
No insignia.
Nothing.
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