Begin from the original form of torture and become immortal

Chapter 1735 Fighting
However, those eyes revealed a completely different core—they were sharp, focused, and gleamed with an almost cold professional light.

His gaze did not linger on the people, but rather, with alarming speed and efficiency, he quickly and covertly scanned every key node in the containment area: the routes and interface locations of the bowl-sized energy pipelines connecting to the core device; the exposed maintenance panels and heat dissipation vents on the force field generator base; the blind spots in the layout of the sensor array and possible signal shielding points;
Even the seemingly ordinary pipe trenches covered with metal grilles on the floor were carefully "licked" by his predator-like eyes.

That wasn't the look of a safety assessor; it was the look of someone searching for enemy firing positions on the battlefield, calculating the best demolition location, and assessing the target's vitals. It was full of purpose, aggression, and a cold, calculating greed.

A chill instantly ran up Tony's spine.

He knew that look all too well—not at charity galas, but in the shady black market for weapons, on the faces of commercial spies trying to steal the core data of the Arc Reactor.

But Rumlow's gaze was even more intense.

Stripped of its greedy fervor, it is left with only pure, machine-like calculation and the instinct to hunt.

That kind of look shouldn't be on a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, especially when assessing a device that concerns the survival of the world.

Tony calmly took a deep breath of the cold, dry air, which smelled of metal and ozone.

The biting cold seemed to briefly freeze the weariness churning in his bones.

He forced himself to straighten his back, which was slightly hunched from long hours of work.

Beneath that weary mask of arrogance, Iron Man's absolute focus and defensive instincts awaken like a dormant volcano sensing a threat.

His brain, like an overclocked processor, instantly categorized Rumlow's unusual posture and gaze as a top-priority threat. Jarvis's several covert surveillance cameras silently locked onto Rumlow.

How stable is it?

Nick Fury's voice broke the brief, tense silence.

He took a small step forward, his one eye fixed on Tony as if trying to see right through him.

Tony forced himself to look away from Rumlow and refocus on Fury.

He spread his hands dramatically, a "Does this even need asking?" look on his face, completely serious: "Rock solid, Fury. As solid as... well, as solid as a check I pay the IRS. You could drop a tactical nuclear bomb into the reactor chamber right now,"

He pointed to the deepest, most ominous purplish-black energy vortex in the center of the projection, "It can only burp at most, it won't even fart. I'll stake it on my... well, on my remaining half a dozen limited edition sports cars."

"The redundancy of the force field constraint is designed to be very... generous."

Despite his best efforts to appear relaxed, the subtle pauses in his words and the fleeting apprehension in his eyes regarding the core vortex did not completely escape the notice of keen observers like Fury and Natasha.

Where is Chang Wei?

Steve Rogers' voice rang out, filled with genuine confusion and concern.

He looked around, seemingly searching for the figure he expected.

The team leader's question was direct, without any probing, but rather a reasonable inquiry based on past experience and the instinct for teamwork. "Hasn't he been handling this project? He should be here at a time like this."

Steve's words pointed to a key figure—Chang Wei, someone who clearly played an important role in handling the previous crisis, and may even be the core of the technology or a key suppressor.

Tony's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, then was replaced by a more blatant, defensively arrogant smile.

"Here? Isn't the great Tony Stark and his Iron Legion enough, soldier?"

He pointed to the steel soldiers, their eyes glowing a dark red, standing guard in the shadows high above the containment area. "Stark's intelligence combined with Stark's technology is more than enough to handle any minor troubles here. Chang Wei? He has more important things to do, like... helping me debug a new coffee extraction system? Or attending some quantum meditation seminar? In short, no need."

He spoke a little too quickly, as if eager to end the topic.

"Do I need to remind you, Tony?"

Natasha Romanoff’s voice rang out with a lazy laugh, like a cat’s paw lightly gliding across velvet, yet precisely scratching Tony’s sore spot.

She took a small step forward, her emerald eyes, filled with an all-knowing wisdom, looking directly into Tony's eyes.

“Every time you encounter trouble, it seems that Chang Wei is the one who solves it.”

She tilted her head slightly, her smile sweet, yet every word she spoke was piercing.

"Insufficient data? Lack of intelligence? It sounds more like... indispensable?"

Tony's cheek muscles twitched slightly; Natasha's precise exposure of his weakness had cracked his carefully constructed image of "everything under control."

He abruptly raised his hand, pointing to the massive, complex equipment, his voice tinged with the frustration of being exposed: "Those were all accidents! Unforeseen variables! Insufficient data, lack of key environmental parameters... the boundary conditions of the data model weren't perfect enough! It was the inevitable trial-and-error cost during testing! Now it's different, it's..."

He paused, seemingly realizing that further explanation would only make him appear guilty. He waved his hand irritably, as if trying to dispel the awkwardness Natasha had brought.

"The core model is complete, and all variables are under control..."

His voice trailed off under Natasha's calm gaze, eventually becoming almost a mutter, "...at least most of them are."

“Listen! Chang Wei has made his contributions, I acknowledge that! But this is Stark Industries’ underground fortress! I am its creator! I know its ‘temperament’ better than anyone! Now, it’s stable, and that’s enough!”

“Alright, Fury, your tour group has seen it all, and my ‘dangerous toy’ is behaving well. You’ve received the report, and the data is being synchronized to the SHIELD main server in real-time. Any further instructions? Or…”

He glanced meaningfully at Rumlow. "You guys plan to have someone watch my console 24/7 to make sure I don't use this thing to make myself a cup of coffee?"

Nick Fury frowned.

"Do you think I want to stand here and play a power struggle with you? Do you know how much effort I put into keeping this information inside 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' instead of letting it be displayed directly in the Pentagon, the Kremlin, or any major power roundtable you can think of?"

(End of this chapter)