American comic book: God among men, Saiyan-Kryptonian hybrid

Chapter 3 Accustomed to Fearful Gaze
At this point, Tony Stark suddenly slapped his forehead. Right, he'd been missing for three months. The outside world must have already assumed he was dead. The media might have even published related news and registered Stark's identity as deceased.

"No, I need to make a call and get a car back to Stark Tower right away. I have a lot of things to do."

"Thank you for the meal, Carrotelle, right? I'll remember that name. Wait, I'll definitely come looking for you!"

As Stark spoke, he looked at Carrot with an expectant gaze, as if he were waiting for the other person to hand him the phone; he was practically reaching out his hand.

However, the person in front of him simply swirled the wine in his glass, remaining completely unmoved.

Suddenly, Carrot El's gaze shifted almost imperceptibly, as if he were peering through the walls at something outside. He then slowly set down his glass and said:

"If you can get out, then go wherever you want."

Tony Stark blinked, stared blankly for a moment, and seeing that Carrot El made no move to get up and pick up the phone, shrugged:

"Okay, thanks for the burger and drink anyway. Since you're not willing to give me your phone number, I'll be going now."

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Tony Stark, feeling like he had escaped death, walked step by step to the door.

This brush with death allowed him to truly witness another side of the world.

Cruelty, darkness, bloodshed, chaos—countless days filled with the fear of death completely transformed him into a new person.

Carrot just watched him quietly until Stark pushed open the door.
A bright expanse of golden sand came into view.

A blast of scorching wind swept over me in the sun.

A boundless expanse of golden yellow instantly left Tony Stark stunned and speechless.

"What's going on? Am I still not awake?"

The daylight was dazzling, but what Stark saw was still that nightmarish expanse of yellow sand.

The scorching sand dunes blew with raging heat waves, reaching temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius in the heart of the desert, baking all living things and vegetation.

Tony Stark froze, his mouth agape in disbelief as he stared at the endless desert outside, his eyes wide with shock.

He reached out his hand, trembling, until a gust of yellow sand blew across his face, and the nightmarish sun scorched his hand again. Tony Stark was so frightened that he took two steps back and slammed the door shut.

"Help, help, oh shit, what the hell!"

Why is it still desert outside?

Tony Stark's legs were trembling. The nightmare of being kidnapped in the past swept over him again, causing panic and trembling.

He turned around in a panic to look at Carrot El, who was still eating, his shocked gaze constantly shifting between the world inside and outside the door.

"Fake!"

"A hallucination?"

"Or...am I already dead?"

Stark cursed in disbelief, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, as if his heart had turned to ashes.

Carrot El looked down at him, wiped his hands with a tissue, and asked casually:
Where do you think you are right now?

Tony Stark swallowed hard, his voice trembling rapidly. "Isn't this...isn't this New York?" Carrot Al, with a gluttonous swallowing motion, placed a three-pound shelled Australian lobster in his mouth, then gulped it down, asking in return:
"You fainted in the desert, how did you wake up in New York? Do you have teleportation abilities?"

Tony Stark's eyes widened, and he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "God, am I seeing things? How did this guy eat that Australian lobster in one bite?"
But then, Carrot's words were like a knife plunged into his chest.

He panicked and wanted to scream, but the terrifying anxiety attack that followed left him slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Hahaha!"

Is the nightmare not over yet?
Yes, the nightmare has only just begun!
"This is unreasonable."

The brainstorming that originated from the depths of his mind was still in progress. That special wisdom, seemingly unaffected by emotions, gave him the courage to resist the cold amidst the despair.

Stark forced himself to his feet, pushed open the door, wiped his mouth with a dazed look, and said to Carrot:
"This building, your mansion, is simply impossible."

“It’s all desert outside, dozens of meters deep, and there’s not a drop of water or building materials for hundreds of kilometers around. How could you possibly build it?”

"Look at the luxury of this interior, the laboratories, the medical equipment. It would cost hundreds of millions in New York, right?"

"It's utterly illogical for such a luxurious mansion to exist deep in the desert!"

"And those news reports on TV, you deliberately played them for me, didn't you?"

"Who are you? Why are you here? Are you trying to gain my trust?"

A series of questions seeped from a pair of eyes that seemed to be forcing themselves to remain rational, but were actually filled with fear.

Carrot El had seen this kind of gaze more than once in his life.

His very existence inspires fear. Even if he pretends to be sunny and cheerful, even if he is harmless at heart, this is his sin, his original sin, the sin of being powerful.

Therefore, Carrot got used to this very early on. The only people who were not afraid of him at all, besides his adoptive parents, the Kents, were Dr. and Mrs. Britz, Bulma, and a handful of others.

"If that old man Pym knew I saved Tony Stark, he'd probably faint from anger."

Taking a sip of red wine, Carrot El elegantly sliced ​​his steak, the sharp blade seemingly dissecting the juicy meat from the bone before putting it in his mouth. Leaning back in his chair, he chewed:

What should I say now?

"Accurate judgment? Swift response? Or remarkable wisdom?"

"Or should I say that he truly lives up to Tony Stark's reputation?"

"No, that's ridiculous. An eight-year-old could spot the deliberate setup and anomaly with just a glance. It took you so long to realize that. You're just stupid."

His tone was indifferent and cold, but the sarcasm was as sharp as a knife. Tony Stark's face stiffened, just as he thought the person in front of him was in cahoots with the Ten Commandments.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Stark, you are not as gifted as anyone else in this area.”

Carrot El gestured calmly toward the door:
"I can answer your question later. Now that the person who came to see you is here, what are you going to do?"

Following Carrot's gaze, Tony Stark looked towards the doorway with a puzzled expression.

Through the outline of the gate, deep within the swirling yellow sand, where the view was distorted by the scorching heat, a group of heavily armed mercenaries slowly appeared, their reflections etched on the horizon.

(End of this chapter)