After hearing Yinsen's words, Bastis's fur bristled with anger.
However, Tony was more rational; he accepted Bastis's presence after a moment.
"Why are you following me?"
"My master instructed me to protect your life."
For some reason, after Bastis said this, an image of someone Tony detested subconsciously flashed in his mind.
"Your master? It couldn't be Zane!"
"That's right, my master is the great Zane."
Bastis's brown-nosing spirit was ingrained to the bone; even if Zane wasn't present, it didn't deter Bastis.
"Why?"
"Who knows, although I don't know what use a fragile human like you could be, my master surely has his reasons."
Tony felt utterly humiliated; he was being looked down upon by a cat, of all things.
"Can you help me get a message out?"
"No," Bastis shook his head without hesitation.
"Can you get me out of here?"
"No."
Tony felt utterly defeated. Since this black cat dispatched by Zane had come, it must have the ability to get him out, even if it defied scientific facts. Tony had an intuition about it.
"Why not?"
"My master's command is to protect your life, not to engage in unnecessary actions. Bastis strictly adheres to my master's orders," Bastis said matter-of-factly.
Since Bastis couldn't be relied upon, Tony felt a bit disappointed, but the feeling was fleeting. Confident in his own abilities to escape, he became curious about this unscientific existence and eager to explore the unknown, a trait inherent in scientists.
"By the way, what kind of being are you? An intelligent robot or a magical creature?" Tony curiously asked, with Yinsen also perking up his ears in curiosity.
"Are you stupid or what, human? Why so many questions?" Bastis impatiently glanced at Tony, then promptly vanished, ignoring Tony and Yinsen's calls.
Knowing his life was assured, Tony remained in good spirits. Although he didn't understand Zane's purpose, now wasn't the time to dwell on it; escaping was the priority.
Then he began boldly constructing his first-generation Iron Man armor with Yinsen's help. Tony couldn't help but think the terrorists, not only lacking intelligence but also discernment; even an elementary school student could tell that what Tony was making had nothing to do with missiles.
Meanwhile, Bastis lay bored on the side, looking disdainfully at Tony and Yinsen.
"Ugh, why does Bastis have to associate with these two insignificant beings? Every day my master isn't around, I miss him, miss him, still miss him."
On the other side of the Pacific, Zane wasn't idle either. Having promised to go on vacation with Lorna, Zane wouldn't break his promise to his girlfriend.
After learning this news, Lorna searched a lot of travel guides online and decided to embark on a road trip with Zane in her beloved car. They chose a route heading to Mexico, where, according to backpackers' posts online, one could witness the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets along the way and encounter herds of deer further in.
Lorna had already begun to imagine herself and Zane embracing under the sunset. She was so engrossed in looking at scenic pictures that she didn't notice the next column of gossip news about Mexico:
"A man wielding a chains, withering everything in his path, suspected demon invasion on earth!"
But even if Lorna had noticed, she wouldn't have cared. The world was never short of sensational media reports aimed at attracting readers...
The next day, at 6 o'clock in the morning.
"Zane, wake up, wake up, we need to leave."
Zane groggily opened his eyes to see Lorna already dressed and standing by the bed, calling out to him.
"What time is it?" Zane glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside and found it was only six o'clock, instantly feeling annoyed.
He directly pulled the annoying person who disturbed his sleep into the covers, lay down on the bed, and buried his head in her 'bosom' to continue sleeping.
"Zane, don't go back to sleep."
Zane ignored her.
"Zane, you promised me."
Still no response from Zane.
Finally, Lorna, feeling helpless, blushing, leaned in close to Zane's ear and whispered softly:
"Zane, didn't you want to try that position? If you get up now, I'll agree to it."
The next moment, Zane abruptly opened his eyes, jumped up from the bed, and quickly rushed into the bathroom to freshen up.
"Deal!"
Half a minute later, Zane, dressed and carrying a suitcase, impatiently said to Lorna, who was still sitting on the bed staring at him in astonishment:
"Let's go, what time is it!"
At this moment, Lorna didn't want to say anything and just rolled her eyes at Zane.
"Ugh, men!"
Half an hour later, on a highway near the Mexico border, the roar of a car engine suddenly approached from afar, occasionally accompanied by excited screams from girls. In a parked patrol car by the roadside, a traffic policeman, munching on a hot dog, pulled out a speed gun and aimed it at the highway. The next moment, a black streak flashed past him.
The speed gun emitted a piercing beep, indicating a speed of 340 miles per hour.
The experienced traffic policeman glanced at it, skillfully deleted the record from the speed gun, and the rookie cop next to him, puzzled, asked:
"Jack, that was clearly speeding, why don't we pull them over?"
"Our patrol car's top speed is 180 miles per hour, how do you expect us to catch them? Let's just pretend we didn't see anything."
"And besides, the people who can afford these high-speed sports cars are not within our jurisdiction."
The young traffic cop wasn't a greenhorn; after understanding the situation, he pushed the matter aside and started discussing with Jack which strip club had hotter girls. Inside the police car, the lewd laughter of two men occasionally echoed.
Yes, the people in that speeding car were indeed Zane and the others, and it was Lorna who was driving. Seeing Lorna's excited expression, Zane didn't bother about her speeding. With their skills, they could even handle flying at high speeds.'
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