Marvel Cybernetic Girl

"Don't move! Drop your weapons! Surrender immediately!"

As fire rained down, the armed militia from the Ten Rings had circled around to the other side of the convoy, completely surrounding them from all directions.

Facing dozens of guns aimed at her, Kagura Hitomi calmly dropped her weapon and raised her hands in an innocent gesture.

"Boss, these two aren't dressed like the others. Should we kill them?"

A bald man stepped forward with a sneer, his fingers tapping on a ring. "Ah, isn't that the infamous Tony Stark? Looks like we've stumbled upon quite a treasure!"

He chuckled, adjusting his ring. "Kill the woman, take Tony Stark alive!"

Wait... what?! Kill me?!

Kagura Hitomi was taken aback. How could they be so decisive? Don't they have even a little desire for me?

Realizing things were about to get messy, she quickly activated her "Short-Term Active Acceleration" ability. She had prepared for this mission meticulously, and dying here was never part of the plan.

"Wait!"

Tony Stark, finally catching his breath, gulped. "Don't hurt her. I'll give you anything."

Wait, what?

Kagura Hitomi froze.

"Oh? And what exactly does that mean? Anything?" The bald leader grinned greedily.

Tony Stark glanced at Kagura Hitomi and nodded, "Anything."

"Good, I hope your promise is worth more than the lives of those freedom fighters she killed."

"No problem."

Tony nodded again, then whispered to Kagura Hitomi, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Take them!"

A burlap sack was thrown over Kagura Hitomi's head. Immediately, she and Tony Stark were shoved into a vehicle and driven deep into the valley.

The sack was meant to disorient prisoners, but for Kagura Hitomi, it had no effect. She used her Holo-UI to hack into the Ten Rings' members' devices and precisely pinpoint her location on the GPS. If she wanted, she could even send Tony's coordinates to a nearby U.S. military base. But calling for military reinforcements wasn't part of her plan right now, as the "Iron Man Ascension Plan" had already progressed too far.

She had prepared for every possible scenario—from the enemy's unexpected attack to being captured by the Ten Rings, even escaping alone and later rescuing Tony. Safety had always been her priority, as Ms. Pepper had reminded her.

But Tony Stark's words caught her off guard. She had thought of him only as a playboy and arms dealer with little regard for anyone but himself. A selfish man wouldn't say, "Don't hurt her, I'll give you anything."

That moment made her realize something: Tony Stark had a warm heart. It was an innate quality, hidden under his many flaws, a timeless glow. No wonder Pepper had always stuck by him, no matter the situation.

When her arms were finally freed and the irritating sack removed from her head, Kagura Hitomi tiredly shook her shoulders and rubbed her eyes.

The room was dim, almost like a stone cave, with simple bedding and some basic supplies. It looked like a place where someone lived, and surprisingly, it was clean—nothing like the filthy conditions she'd expected from the notorious terrorists.

"Stay put! Or else!"

The two armed militia members who had escorted her spat the order before turning to leave.

Tch, how arrogant. Kagura thought to herself, but they won't have long to live.

"Hey, you there."

After the door slammed shut, a strange male voice came from behind her. "You're the assistant Tony Stark mentioned, right?"

Oh?

It seemed Tony had been brought here ahead of her. She turned to see a tall, thin man in a suit, wearing round glasses and a neat beard. His short hair made his receding hairline more obvious, and he looked to be in his mid-40s.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not with them. My name's Yin Sen. As you can see, I'm a valuable hostage to them."

"Where's Tony Stark?"

Kagura Hitomi wasn't unfamiliar with Yin Sen. He was the one who helped Tony build the arc reactor and create the first Iron Man suit.

"Oh, you mean 'the greatest killer in American history'?" Yin Sen said half-jokingly. "He's been with those bandits for a while. I think they're filming something."

"Filming something…"

Kagura Hitomi thought for a moment. It was likely a video to send to Obadiah to threaten him.

"Don't worry, they won't harm Tony Stark. These terrorists still expect him to build missiles for them."

"Did Tony agree?"

"Yeah, he did. To protect your life."

Yin Sen smiled. "You probably didn't know that you were once staring down the barrel of a gun, right?"

Thinking back, during the time she had the sack over her head, the Holo-UI had been going wild with alerts. She had been ready to activate "Short-Term Active Acceleration" at any moment. Now, she realized that it must've been when the terrorists had aimed guns at her head, pressuring Tony to build Jericho missiles for them.

Great, because of her, Tony had avoided the drowning incident that would've happened after he refused the Ten Rings' demands.

Should she be proud of her role in all this?

Looking at Yin Sen, Kagura Hitomi nodded, "I believe Tony Stark won't give in to them."

"Of course not. He's the genius Tony Stark," Yin Sen agreed. "I'm sure he already has a plan."

Wow, when did you become Tony's fan?

Kagura Hitomi thought to herself but smiled at Yin Sen, "That's right. We'll make it out alive. We'll all survive."

You are a kind person. In that universe, it's because of you that Tony Stark found the strength to keep fighting. So this time, I'm saving you too!

[New Added Task]

[Ensure Yin Sen's survival during the mission/10QP]