Honestly, Lynn hadn't expected Tony Stark to misunderstand—he'd meant two million.
But when his phone showed a deposit of six million, triple the amount, he didn't hesitate. "Don't worry," Lynn said, smiling. "Once this is over, I'll make sure your batch gets top priority."
"Can I watch the refining process?" Tony asked immediately.
"Of course, no problem."
For a big client like Tony, Lynn was more than happy to oblige his curiosity.
Just then, faint echoes rippled through the dark tunnel.
Jarvis's voice came through at once: "Sir, a large swarm of bats is approaching your position. Their size is significantly larger than normal."
Hearing the warning, Tony tensed. "Hall, we've got company—bats incoming!"
Lynn drew his mithril longsword and gave it a casual spin. "Then let them come."
Moments later, dozens of half-meter-long bats with glowing eyes swooped toward them, their wings slicing through the air.
Compared to ordinary bats, their flight was noticeably sluggish.
"Looks like your slowing potion works perfectly," Tony said, raising his hand as his repulsor cannon charged and fired.
The palm repulsor, enhanced with ultraviolet output, fired and instantly blasted a bat midair.
Its body ignited, burned, and crumbled into ash.
But then, dozens more bats let out an ear-piercing screech all at once. The sonic waves collided and reverberated through the tunnel, making the very walls tremble.
Tony was fine—his armor easily absorbed the vibrations.
He glanced toward Lynn, half-expecting him to be struggling, only to find the detective calmly wearing a pair of noise-canceling earplugs.
Lynn caught Tony's look and winked. Then, without hesitation, he dashed forward straight into the swarm.
In the dim light, the mithril longsword in his hand gleamed coldly, slicing through the bats like a reaper's scythe.
Every time one of the creatures brushed against the blade, it let out a shrill cry before disintegrating into ash.
Watching Lynn carve through the swarm without breaking stride, Tony's eyes gleamed.
"Jarvis," he said with a grin, "looks like it's our turn to show off."
A shoulder-mounted unit on his armor lifted into position, locking onto the targets.
In an instant, dozens of ultraviolet beams burst forth, piercing through the air and burning through the remaining bats.
Within seconds, the mutated creatures had all turned to dust.
"This," Tony said, a touch of smugness in his voice as he glanced at Lynn, "is what we call technology."
"Is that so?"
Lynn pointed ahead with a faint smile as several undead blood thralls emerged from the darkness. "Then let's see if your science can handle them."
"Of course it can!"
Confident as ever, Tony raised his hand. The moment the blood slaves came into view—eyes glowing crimson, movements twisted and grotesque—he fired his palm repulsor without hesitation.
The blast punched clean through the first blood slave and tore through several more behind it.
But the undead didn't even flinch. Instead, they let out guttural roars and kept charging forward.
"That's impossible!"
Refusing to believe it, Tony fired again, this time blowing the head off one of them.
Yet the headless blood slave kept moving, staggering forward with jerky, unsteady steps.
"What the hell are these things?" Tony shouted, his voice echoing through the passage. "This is absolutely unscientific!"
"Of course it's not scientific," Lynn said calmly. "They're the result of dark magic fused with vampire blood. I thought only Count Kolsais in New York had mastered that kind of sorcery."
He sighed, shaking his head. "Didn't expect the vampires hiding here in Miami to know it too. Honestly, I don't know what those so-called arcane mages are doing if they can't even sense this kind of trickery."
As soon as Lynn finished speaking, he spread his hands, activating his Phantom Spirit ability.
Before Tony's astonished eyes, the air in front of them tore open—and countless skeleton warriors emerged, roaring as they stepped out of the rift.
"Oh my God!"
Tony's eyes widened, gleaming with excitement. "Buddy, you have to join my research team. Or better yet—quit the NYPD and come work for me. Name your price!"
"Not a chance," Lynn said flatly.
With a wave of his hand, hundreds of skeleton warriors surged forward, bone swords raised high as they clashed with the undead blood thralls.
Despite the chaos of battle, the skeletons instinctively pushed the creatures toward the walls, clearing a path for Lynn and Tony through the center of the passage.
"Let's go."
Lynn spoke casually and strode ahead without hesitation.
Tony followed close behind, like a kid in a candy store—eyes bright, mind racing, questions spilling out nonstop.
He'd never encountered real magic before, and as a man who prided himself on being the century's greatest genius, he wasn't about to waste the opportunity to learn everything he could.
"Believe me, Hall—armor plus magic? The possibilities are endless… Urg.."
Tony suddenly stopped mid-sentence, dropping to one knee and gasping for breath.
"What's wrong?" Lynn asked, alarmed at the sight of Tony's faltering armor.
"I'm fine…" Tony muttered, his faceplate sliding open to reveal a face drenched in sweat, his breathing heavy and uneven.
"Jarvis, what's happening to Mr. Stark?" Lynn demanded.
Jarvis hesitated before responding, his tone unusually serious. "Mr. Hall, please take Mr. Stark to the surface. He's experiencing a severe physical anomaly."
"No need.. I'm fine!" Tony protested, forcing his armor to lean against the wall for support. His expression was grim, his breathing still ragged.
Palladium poisoning? Lynn thought. But that should've been resolved long ago… and I haven't heard of any other health issues.
Though he didn't know the exact cause, Lynn made a quick decision. He grabbed Tony's arm. "Enough—let's get you topside."
He would take Tony back to the surface first. After that, he'd continue the mission alone.
"Hey, I told you, I'm fine!"
Tony slowly opened his eyes, breathing heavily. "It's just… damn it, it's just anxiety."
"Ever since I carried that nuclear missile into the wormhole and blew up the Chitauri ship, it's been hitting me off and on."
"I just didn't expect it to flare up here. Damn it."
Lynn watched him turn away, clearly trying to act tougher than he felt.
After a moment of thought, Lynn pulled out a small vial filled with red liquid and handed it over. "Drink this."
"Huh?"
Tony stared at the vial, confused. After a few seconds of hesitation, he uncorked it and downed it in one go.
As the potion went down, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. A wave of calm washed over him, and the tightness in his chest began to ease.
Standing up, Tony wiped the sweat from his face and looked at Lynn in surprise.
"What the hell did you just give me? Because.. Because I swear, I can actually feel my head clearing up. The anxiety—it's gone. This stuff is fucking incredible!"
_______
(づ￣ 3￣)づ
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