Chapter 166 The Villa Collapsed

Ignoring Pepper's dagger-like glare, Maya looked at Tony once again.

"I really need to talk to you in private."

"Does it have to be just me?"

Noticing Pepper's expression growing increasingly dark, Tony blurted out whatever came to mind, "Don't tell me there's a twelve-year-old child waiting for me at your extraction point."

"Actually, she's thirteen now."

Hearing Maya deliver this so naturally, Tony felt even more uncomfortable, as if a million ants were crawling over him.

"Thirteen? You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm here to ask for your help."

Sensing that Maya didn't seem to be lying, Pepper said angrily, "I have things to do at the company. You two can talk alone."

Though somewhat flustered, Tony's intelligence was still intact, so he quickly grabbed Pepper and said, "I'm sorry. Because Happy is in the hospital, I didn't expect any guests."

"She's not a guest, is she?" Pepper retorted.

Without thinking, Tony blurted out, "At most, she's an old flame. The one-night-stand kind."

"Considered one of your great achievements, right?"

"Right, it really was great."

Tony, proud all his life, had never been willing to bow his head, but Pepper was the exact same way.

"That settles it." Pepper continued walking toward the exit.

Realizing her objective was achieved, Maya turned and followed her, saying, "I'll come back to see you another time."

Tony ignored her; right now, he was far more concerned about Pepper's safety.

"Now? No."

"We're leaving right now, no discussion."

Picking up her bag, Pepper decided to make a swift exit.

"That's a terrible idea," Tony said. "Once you're outside, I won't be able to protect you."

"Is this considered normal too?" Maya prepared to leave with Pepper.

Her target this time wasn't Tony, but Pepper. Since Pepper was heading out, it played right into her plans.

Immediately afterward, Pepper and Tony began arguing once more over a necklace.

Soon, Tony prepared to leave, but several helicopters suddenly appeared over the ocean outside the window.

Tony realized something was terribly wrong.

The helicopters fired rockets, bombarding Tony's mansion.

In the nick of time, with no time to offer warnings, Tony could only summon the Mark 42 to encase Pepper and protect her.

For once, the Mark 42 miraculously cooperated. Even without the subcutaneous micro-locator, it enveloped Pepper and kept her safe.

Fortunately, they were merely blown backward by the blast wave. Since they were not in the core area of the explosion, they sustained no fatal injuries.

"Quick, take her and get out of here!"

Injured heavily by the shockwave, Maya felt a wave of confusion. This wasn't what they had planned! What on earth was Aldrich playing at? Weren't they supposed to kidnap Pepper first and use her to threaten Tony into perfecting the Extremis virus?

Pepper had no room for jealousy at the moment; she helped Maya up and looked toward Tony.

"You two go ahead, I'll find a way around."

Casting one last glance at Tony, Pepper led Maya away.

Tony continued to encourage Pepper, "Don't stop, get her out of here, fast!"

Pepper brought Maya outside the mansion and looked back at the structure.

The terrorists hadn't targeted them directly; instead, they had attacked the mansion's foundation, causing the entire building to collapse.

"Oh, my God," Pepper gasped in shock.

At that moment, Jarvis announced, "Sir, Ms. Potts is safe."

Receiving confirmation of Pepper's safety, Tony immediately recalled the Mark 42.

Before long, the armor flew back to Tony's body.

Tony instinctively raised his hand to counterattack, only to find that the missiles wouldn't fire. Jarvis reminded him, "Sir, it is currently incapable of combat. This is merely an engineering prototype."

"Damn it, what about the flight functions?"

"I am working on it."

Being unable to fight didn't stump Tony completely. Using the thrusters, he hurled a desk, shattering one of the helicopters.

Then, he detached a missile from his arm, threw it at another helicopter, and detonated it with a repulsor blast.

That took care of a second helicopter, but a third chopper fired another missile—the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The mansion collapsed further, and a heavy ceiling beam crashed down onto Tony.

The foundation was completely destroyed, and the entire estate slid toward the ocean.

Watching Tony Stark's mansion vanish into a complete collapse, the terrorists in the helicopters flew away in triumph.

"Tony!" Pepper screamed, tears of agony streaming down her face.

She felt a sudden wave of regret. Why had she bothered arguing with Tony just moments ago?

Tony slid along with the mansion into the deep sea, surrounded by utter darkness and accompanied only by Jarvis's mechanical voice.

"Sir, please take a deep breath."

Take a deep breath my foot.

Tony's face darkened as he realized the oxygen was running out fast.

Soon, lack of oxygen caused Tony to slip into asphyxiation. Fortunately, the armor possessed decent waterproof qualities, so there was no immediate risk of drowning.

Before long, Tony lost consciousness entirely. Jarvis initiated the armor's autonomous flight mode, taking control of the Mark 42 and struggling to restore power to save Tony.

Jarvis separated one arm, grabbed Tony, and pulled him free from the wreckage.

"Flight power restored."

Shortly after, the flight systems rebooted, and the Mark 42 burst out of the ocean surface, soaring into the distance.

Instead of returning to Tony's home, the Mark 42 headed toward Tennessee.

This was a route Tony had pre-planned; Jarvis lacked the clearance to alter it and could only execute Tony's prior instructions.

Before long, the Mark 42 arrived in Tennessee, and Tony regained consciousness. Unsure of how long he had been flying, he only noticed what appeared to be snow falling all around him.

"Warning, warning. Current armor energy is below five percent."

"I'm awake, turn off the alarm."

Would turning off the alarm generate electricity? The answer was no. The thrusters began to fail, leaving Tony scrambling to find a way to make an emergency landing.

The landing process was less than graceful. Tony skidded across the ground for dozens of meters due to sheer momentum; without the protection of the armor, his very bones would have been ground away.

Fortunately, Tony was uninjured.

What was the most terrifying thing imaginable?

There was a distinct possibility of mysteriously waking up in a completely unfamiliar place.

"It's snowing. This is the back."

"Jarvis, where are we?"

"This is northern Rose Hill, Tennessee."

Tony's expression turned to utter shock as he blurted out, "What is this? This wasn't my plan! This is miles away from what I intended! I still have to go save Pepper, I need to..."

"Sir, this was your designated flight plan. This is the destination."

"Who told you to do this?"

Even though he knew the answer, Tony remained deeply worried about Pepper's safety.

To him, Pepper's well-being was the most important thing in the world.

Tony couldn't help but panic slightly.

"I believe I am experiencing a system failure, Sir."

Whether trying to shirk responsibility or simply suffering from critically low battery, Jarvis stubbornly shut down right then and there.