Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life...

After all, if rescue were truly possible, the rescue team would have arrived while he was building the Arc Reactor, instead of the fact that his chest has transformed from an electromagnet into an Arc Reactor yet he remains without any news, and there is no sign of any battle taking place in the base.

What Tony didn't know was that after the door to the cave where he was being held closed once again, the leader of the Ten Rings received a phone call after returning to his room—a call from someone Tony knew very well.

Obadiah Stanislav!

“Lazar Hamidmi, I saw in the military report that they didn’t find Tony’s body. Are you sure you killed him?”

Faced with Obadiah's question, the Ten Commandments leader, named Lazar Hamidmi, grinned even more menacingly, but his words were filled with unbridled joy.

"Of course, my dear Obadiah. We've taken Tony's body. Rest assured, at the appropriate time, I will bring Tony Stark's body out, all for the greater good."

Upon hearing this, it was clear that Obadiah on the other end did not believe it, and instead spoke coldly on the phone.

"You'd better really kill Tony. You should know that the military and all the major powers are frantically searching for any clues about Tony right now. If anything unexpected happens, my dear Lazar Hamidmi, believe me, you will never get another bullet produced by Stark Industries!"

After he finished speaking, the phone was hung up. Kholaz Hamidmi looked at the disconnected phone with an extremely cold expression on his face and a cold smile on his lips.

"Bullets? Ha, you foolish Americans, we have much more than just bullets!"

Chapter 17 Preliminary Rescue Operation

In fact, Lazar Hamidmi never intended to actually kill Tony. To Lazar Hamidmi, Tony was just a goose that lays golden eggs.

Now that fool Obadiah has actually handed the goose that lays the golden eggs to himself, it's no wonder that Raza Hamidmi could never hide the contempt on his face when facing Obadiah.

Of course, what Lazar Hamidmi didn't know was that Tony was indeed a hen that laid golden eggs, but that didn't mean the hen would obediently lay eggs for him.

On the contrary, Tony is not only not laying golden eggs for Lazar Hamidmi, but is also plotting how to escape from here. In particular, after discovering that the guys in this base are not very educated, Tony decisively devised a plan called Mark 1.

Furthermore, under the guise of missile parts, all the design drawings were separated, and under the pretext of missile needs, Lazar Hamidmi was asked for a lot of irrelevant items, while his own true desires were mixed in.

With Ethan's help, Tony started swinging the sledgehammer inside the cave.

As Tony vigorously swung the hammer in his hand, making full use of his engineering skills, Sherlock's group was getting closer and closer to the valley where Tony was being held.

Perhaps because of the surrounding yellow sand, the guards outside the valley were not very tight, or even non-existent.

At the very least, Sherlock, the alchemist, and Zhao Weike, the assassin, didn't encounter any patrol personnel along the way.

Of course, it's also possible that it was because the two were driving through the desert.

It's worth noting that the valley's geographical location is practically perfect, with three sides surrounded by a vast and boundless desert, and only one side slightly close to the edge of the desert.

It is no exaggeration to say that these three deserts form a natural barrier, giving this valley unparalleled protection, making it a natural city wall.

In the minds of these terrorists, no one could cross such a desert, let alone have their own fraternal units on the outskirts of the desert responsible for air defense.

To put it bluntly, given the valley's geographical location, as long as they can hold onto this area near the edge of the desert, the valley is invincible. This is precisely why Sherlock has encountered the bizarre situation of not encountering any enemies along the way.

It can only be said that sometimes, fate is a truly mysterious thing.

Once the four of them could see the valley from their car, they abandoned their playful thoughts and entered combat mode.

Although Helen was not familiar with this kind of combat, she was able to carry out logistical support work with Doro.

After Sherlock created a bunker using alchemy that night, Helen and Doro, the two non-combatants, were left inside, while Sherlock and Zhao Weike each took their weapons and prepared to scout it out.

The desert was unusually cold at night. Sherlock and Zhao Weike reached the top of the mountain with almost no effort. When their eyes turned to the valley, both Sherlock and Zhao Weike couldn't help but gasp.

The reason is simple: the layout of this valley is truly terrifying.

Unlike the fleeting glimpse in the movie, the valley is actually much, much larger than it appears in the film.

Beneath the vast camouflage netting were crates of weapons and ammunition. Almost every moment, one could see people carrying firearms taking shells or guns out of those weapon crates, and then sitting to the side, polishing something with a file.

Not only that, there are also weapons and ammunition production lines in this valley, and things like gas cylinder cannons and heartless cannons are everywhere.

Putting aside everything else, it would be extremely difficult to break into this valley using conventional forces.

Most importantly, the weapons and ammunition that the terrorists were honing were clearly not something these guys who could only manufacture gas cylinders and cannons could produce!

With the help of their high-powered binoculars, the two men inadvertently and clearly saw the words "Stark Industries" written on the weapons case.

Seeing this scene, even Zhao Weike was somewhat confused. He put down his binoculars and looked at Sherlock beside him, his brows furrowed so deeply they were almost knotted together.

"Sherlock, if I'm not mistaken, that box has the Stark Industries logo on it, right? Did Tony shoot himself in the foot? He tried to profit from both sides in the war, but one side doesn't want to pay?"

Zhao Weike's tone revealed undisguised disgust; after all, no one would like such a two-faced behavior, even if Zhao Weike was an assassin.

Upon hearing Zhao Weike's complaint, Sherlock's embarrassment flashed across his face for a moment. After thinking for a while, he replied somewhat helplessly.

"No, things are complicated here. You know, Stark Industries isn't just a company that Tony controls."

Although what Sherlock said was true, and even reasonable, Zhao Weike still rolled his eyes in annoyance after hearing it, before continuing to observe the situation below through his binoculars.

After a long while, Zhao Weike sighed helplessly and spoke again to Sherlock beside him.

"Sherlock, the risk of us infiltrating is too great. The enemy has a large number of people and heavy weapons. Even if we manage to rescue Tony, we will not be able to escape their pursuit."

My suggestion is that if you're certain Tony is here, the safest approach is to report this directly to the military or that S.H.I.E.L.D. agency.

However, Sherlock remained silent in the face of Zhao Weike's suggestion, keeping his hands on the ground and his eyes closed the entire time, sensing something.

Shortly after Zhao Weike finished speaking, Sherlock opened his eyes and gave Zhao Weike a cunning smile, like a fox that had just stolen some fish.

"No, no, no, there's no need to make such a big fuss. I have a way to bring Tony out directly, but I think we need to change the timing. We'll come back tomorrow morning. We should go back to sleep now."

After saying this, Sherlock completely ignored the question mark that appeared on Zhao Weike's head, and pulled Zhao Weike back to his underground base. No matter how Zhao Weike asked, Sherlock remained silent, only saying that he would know when they took action first thing tomorrow morning.

As for why he did this, the reason is quite simple: Sherlock accidentally discovered the cave where Tony was being held while using alchemy to investigate.

Then, inside the cave, Sherlock discovered a suit of armor that had already been completed, and Tony, wearing glasses, sitting in front of a large computer, constantly programming.

It's clear that the Mark I is about to be born in Tony's hands.

For Sherlock, it's better to wait until the Mark armor is successfully built before coming to rescue Tony, rather than rescuing him now, so he can at least have some fun.

Chapter 18 The Rescue Begins

Early the next morning, Sherlock dragged Zhao Weike to the top of the mountain.

After concealing himself, Sherlock planted the Spear of Longinus in the ground, then closed his eyes and grinned in a lewd manner.

Zhao Weike originally thought that Sherlock planned to take him in to sneak in, find Tony, and then rescue him directly. He was even prepared to get injured.

To everyone's surprise, Sherlock led him to the top of the mountain and then stopped moving.

Throughout the morning, Zhao Weike urged Sherlock to start the operation several times, but Sherlock refused each time, saying it wasn't the right time. Completely baffled by what Sherlock was up to, Zhao Weike eventually gave up urging him and obediently stayed by Sherlock's side as a sentry.

As for Sherlock, it has to be said that Sherlock has once again discovered another use for alchemy today: watching movies!

Indeed, for the entire morning, Sherlock used the material analysis techniques from alchemy to connect with the earth beneath his feet, as if watching an immersive movie, watching with excitement as the Mark I, or rather the Iron Monger, gradually took shape under the combined efforts of Tony and Ethan.

Moreover, Sherlock even felt that this immersive movie was more immersive than watching it in a movie theater, because Sherlock could not only sense Tony's movements inside the cave, but also the movements of the terrorists running around inside the cave.

Sherlock saw almost clearly that while Tony and Ethan were assembling the Mark I armor, the terrorists monitoring them were bragging to someone.

When the two were almost finished assembling, the terrorist looked at the monitor and searched around for almost a minute before realizing something was wrong. He quickly called his companion to check.

Unfortunately, Ethan ambushed and knocked him unconscious.

Seeing that Ethan's knocking out the two men had attracted the attention of others, the terrorists throughout the valley began to gather towards the cave. Sherlock knew it was time to take action.

Sherlock, who had been watching an immersive movie all morning, opened his eyes, looked at Zhao Weike standing beside him, and blurted out something out of the blue.

"Old Zhao, are you ready for battle?"

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Zhao Weike was too lazy to even bother with the issue of how to address Sherlock. He gave Sherlock a look that said he was an idiot, and just as he was about to say something, he felt his feet sink into the ground.

Clearly, when Sherlock saw the look in Zhao Weike's eyes, he knew Zhao Weike was up to no good and immediately activated his alchemy.

The next second, the ground beneath their feet turned into water, and under the influence of gravity, the two suddenly plummeted downwards.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness, combined with the suffocating sensation of the water, made Zhao Weike feel quite unwell. He wanted to launch a verbal attack on Sherlock, but all that came to Sherlock's ears was a series of gurgling bubbles.

On the other side, Tony was extremely anxious because Ethan had already picked up his gun, said his final goodbye, and rushed out, but his armor had failed to start due to processor and system issues.

All Tony could do was keep calling out Ethan's name.

Unfortunately, Ethan was clearly determined to leave and completely ignored Tony. Just when Tony was in despair, a perfectly round hole suddenly appeared in the wall of the cave in front of him.

Before Tony could even understand what was happening, a massive jet of water began to erupt from the round hole. The immense water pressure even caused Tony, who was hanging on the rack waiting for his armor to activate, to sway from side to side.

"What happened? What the hell is going on?"

Completely bewildered by the scene before him, Tony instinctively started cursing. After all, he was now so weak that even moving his arm was incredibly difficult; he was practically a 'useless person'.

However, Tony quickly calmed down when a male voice called out a name that Tony recognized very well.

"Sherlock Flamel!!!"

After Zhao Weike appeared in the cave, he didn't care about anything else. After wiping the water off his face, the first thing he did was to settle accounts with Sherlock.

Clearly, Sherlock didn't want to have much of a conversation with Zhao Weike at this moment. After wiping the water off his face with a smile, Sherlock's smile quickly froze on his face.

"Holy crap, is this some kind of cesspool?! Zhao Weike, quick, a doctor has already rushed out, go get backup!"

Upon entering the cave, Sherlock nearly vomited on his very first breath. He could only pinch his nose and control his churning stomach as he spoke to Zhao Weike.

Although Zhao Weike was very angry at Sherlock's reckless behavior, he also understood that the current situation was not suitable for teaching Sherlock a lesson. He took out a pistol from his pocket, glared at Sherlock fiercely, and then turned and rushed out the door.

As for Sherlock, he slowly began to tour the cave where Tony had lived for nearly a month, holding the Spear of Longinus. Only when he arrived in front of Tony and saw him trapped inside the iron frame did Sherlock reveal a playful smile.

"Hello, Tony Stark!"

Tony's activation program had long since failed due to Sherlock's flood, leaving him only able to stare blankly at the smiling Sherlock standing before him. Underneath the armor, Sherlock couldn't see Tony's face at all.

However, Sherlock didn't care what Tony was thinking. Seeing that Tony didn't speak, Sherlock was too lazy to pay attention to Tony. He lightly touched Tony's armor with his spear, and immediately the power of alchemy spread to the entire armor.

While Tony was still thinking about what to say, Sherlock had already turned and left the cave, leaving only one sentence behind.

"I'll get back to work once you're done!"

It wasn't until Sherlock left that Tony realized his armor had been activated at some point!

Using the self-test button built into his hand, Tony started the mech's self-test almost without hesitation, even preparing to take Sherlock and that guy named Zhao Weike out to fight.

Although Tony didn't know why Sherlock was here, if the Sherlock in front of him was the Sherlock he knew.

Meanwhile, Tony, anxiously waiting for the mech's self-check to complete, was also praying in his heart that Ethan would be safe and sound.

Despite the constant sounds of gunfire and bullets hitting the rock walls filling the cave, Tony could only hide inside the metal shell, heartbroken, hoping that the man named Zhao Weike could truly protect Ethan, this good man.

Chapter 19 The Piercing Duke Sherlock (Part 1)

Due to material limitations and the interruption of the programming process caused by Sherlock's water flow, Tony's Mark I armor, despite Sherlock's alchemical assistance in starting it up, still experienced extremely slow self-checks.

This gave Sherlock ample time to do his own thing. Don't forget, when Sherlock agreed to rescue Tony, it was partly to test his artifact and partly to intimidate Hydra.

For Sherlock, a transmigrator who was a rabbit in his previous life, if you asked him what the best deterrent to an enemy is, he would probably answer with two words without hesitation.

Jingguan!

But if Sherlock really builds a mound of heads, Hydra will probably have to use the pretext of exterminating evil when they come to cause trouble for Sherlock in the future. After all, compared to simple killing, the existence of a mound of heads adds two more actions: beheading and stacking.

Therefore, what Sherlock needs is a method that can both deter Hydra and prevent Hydra from taking a righteous stance, since Hydra is currently still operating under the guise of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This alone means that Sherlock cannot use such extreme methods to intimidate them.

And there really is such a way to intimidate Hydra, but it is not so extreme. Most importantly, the effect is still significant!

puncture!

If you're not familiar with these two characters, then seeing the full name should give you an idea of ​​what Sherlock is trying to do, since the person who invented this method is certainly a figure of historical renown.

Vlad III Tsepesch, the Piercing Duke!

If you are still unfamiliar with this name and nickname, then you should be very familiar with the virtual character created based on him.

Dracula!

That's right, it's the famous original vampire, Dracula.

Sherlock intends to imitate the Impaler and turn this valley into a living hell, so that neither Hydra nor S.H.I.E.L.D. can disturb his life anymore.

More importantly, this method is also the simplest among Sherlock's alchemical abilities.

After leaving the stinking cave, Sherlock saw Zhao Weike and Ethan just around the corner.

At this moment, Ethan was huddled up behind Zhao Weike, clearly terrified by the hail of bullets.

However, this is a normal phenomenon. Ethan's courage to use a gun to buy time so that Tony can escape does not mean that Ethan is not afraid of death, especially on the battlefield where bullets are whizzing past. An untrained ordinary person would not perform much better than Ethan.