Chapter 202 The Roxxon
Tony had no objection to the plan. Although Rhodes also wanted to keep him for an ambush, considering the overall situation, taking the Mandarin back first was indeed the better option.
"Then get ready to go in, and remember to be extremely careful!"
Before setting off, Finney gave a word of advice. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't tell the difference between the other party being injected with the Extremis virus and not being injected, but there shouldn't be no Extremis virus warriors at all.
The guards at the door were just ordinary people, and the three of them entered the villa without much effort, heading directly to where the Mandarin was.
"What's going on?"
Hearing the commotion outside, the Mandarin in the room looked curious, craning his neck to try and see what was happening.
Just then, a panicked report came from the walkie-talkie not far from him: "Intrusion! Someone's intruding! It's Iron Man and Silver Knight!"
The bald man's expression turned serious. He glanced at the doorway, then turned to the Mandarin and ordered, "Hide!"
Soon, with a 'bang,' the door was destroyed, and Finney and the other two entered the room, seeing the bald man whose face faintly glowed red.
"If you don't mind, how about I handle him?"
Finney spoke first. He desperately needed experience, and he certainly didn't want to let go of such a high-quality experience point.
"Alright, but I have to handle the next one. Also, watch out for him self-destructing!"
Tony glanced at the bald man grinning as he approached, took two steps back, and prepared to observe first, while reminding Finney to be careful.
The temperature at close range during the Extremis virus explosion reached three thousand degrees Celsius.
Although he had used super heat-resistant materials on the surface of his new armor, the destructive power of that temperature was still terrifying.
As soon as Rhodes entered the room, he saw the Mandarin immediately heading towards him.
"I heard you're the strongest person in the world?"
The bald man sneered, clenching his reddened fist. "Let me see just how strong you are!"
"Don't worry, you'll see!"
Finney said calmly. He wasn't unfamiliar with enemies with powerful regenerative abilities. When Bronsky mutated, his self-healing was probably not much weaker than the Extremis virus.
The Extremis virus didn't just enhance regeneration; it also granted its injectors superhuman strength and speed.
The bald man leaped forward, sprinting to Finney's side. His reddened palm seemed to flow with magma as he reached for Finney's neck.
"Hoo!"
Finney exhaled lightly, activating his 'breathing technique,' instantly boosting his physical abilities.
Facing the bald man's attack, he calmly took a half-step back, sidestepped, grabbed the outstretched arm, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw.
"Boom!"
The floor shattered, leaving a deep crater where the bald man had smashed into the ground. Finney didn't pursue, but instead watched as the man stood up, beckoning with a finger in a defiant manner.
The bald man's expression was one of extreme rage, his wounds healing at a visible speed thanks to the Extremis Virus.
If Finney wanted to end the fight directly, it would be easy; he could simply aim for vital organs like the heart or head.
But he wanted experience. Without using multiple skills to force out the man's full power, he couldn't maximize his experience.
The bald man charged again, but Finney remained unmoved, extending his palm and softly chanting,
"Explosion!"
A crimson 'Explosion Magic' blasted the bald man down again. However, perhaps due to the Extremis Virus's high resistance to heat, this time, aside from torn clothes, he was unharmed.
Finney didn't care. One attack wasn't enough; he'd just use more. He could destroy a spaceship; a mere Extremis Virus was nothing.
With the aid of her 'breathing technique,' Finney unleashed 'explosive magic' on the bald man, quickly turning the entire house into a mess. The two then fought their way from the house into the yard.
Meanwhile, the Mandarin, who was standing nearby, was captured by Rhodes and Tony and taken outside while the two were fighting.
He was intently watching the fight between Finney and the bald man, even cheering a few times at the most intense moments, showing no sign of being captured.
"Is Finney too strong, or is this guy too weak?"
Rhodes couldn't help but ask Tony beside him, watching the scene unfold.
"Probably both!"
Tony replied, glancing at Finney who was effortlessly toying with the bald man, wondering how he would handle him if he were in the fight.
"Um… could I go get a beer?"
Just then, the Mandarin, whom Rhodes was holding, spoke up, looking at Rhode and Tony with a fawning expression, saying, "That beer tastes really good, but unfortunately there are only a few bottles left!"
"Is this guy really the one from TV?"
Rhodes looked at the Mandarin in front of him. Although Finney had told him he was just someone the Killian put forward to attract attention, he never imagined this man's personality would be so different from what he portrayed on TV.
"It was all an act, an act. I'm an actor, Trevor, Trevor Slattery."
The Mandarin, Trevor, quickly explained, "They made me do all this. I just thought I was playing a role, striking a few poses, reciting a few lines. I didn't know anything else."
"When did they come to you for filming?"
Tony interrogated him, pointing his cannon at him.
"I don't know. I was just notified each time we were filming."
Seeing Tony's cannon, Trevor frantically twisted his head, trying to find a place to hide, but Rhodes held him firmly, preventing him from moving.
"Do you have a way to contact them?"
Tony continued.
"No!" Trevor shook his head, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Oh! I remember now, they mentioned some plan. The base seems to be near the coast, and there seems to be a big ship."
"Roxxon… what was it again!"
"The Roxxon Knok!?"
The knowledgeable Tony spoke for him.
"Yes, yes, that's it, the Roxxon. I've heard them mention it."
Trevor nodded, giving Tony a thumbs-up as if in praise.
"Looks like the plan needs to be changed!"
Tony's expression turned serious upon hearing this. He said something to Rhodes, then shouted to Finney, "Finish this quickly! I think I've found their base!"
Actually, even without Tony's call, Finney was already prepared to end the fight.
The bald man in front of him had an extremely distorted expression, his entire body filled with red light, looking like he might explode at any moment. Finney didn't want him to self-destruct; he remembered that when Whiplash self-destructed, he didn't gain much experience.
"I wonder how much experience you're worth!"
Finney muttered under his breath, then flew into the air, ready to completely eliminate this man whose name he still didn't know, who had embarrassed the bald man.
Actually, I originally wanted to write about the eighth skill in this chapter, but I was afraid of ending it abruptly, so I'll leave it for the next two chapters!
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(End of this chapter)