bioinnovel Chapter 536 Rhodes: I really did resist, but it was no use!
Chapter 536 Rhodes: I really did resist, but it was no use!
Seeing the Minister of Defense faint on the spot, and amidst the gasps of the crowd as they frantically tried to revive him, Rhodes slowly lowered his salute, realizing that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
He stood there, wearing that silver-white armor, looking around blankly like a lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
The generals looked at him strangely. Not with approval, not with relief, not even with anger. Rather, it was a kind of… profound grief, as if they had lost their parents?
Rhodes swallowed hard.
What did he do wrong?
Although this was not what he wanted, in retrospect, he completed the mission brilliantly and brought back a complete Iron Man suit...
Isn't this exactly what they wanted?
Could it be...?
During the short time they were at the banquet, they suddenly all changed their minds and didn't want the Iron Man suit anymore...?
Soon, under Rhodes's anxious gaze, the Minister of Defense took a deep breath and was successfully revived.
Upon waking up, the Minister of Defense's first reaction was to push aside the others surrounding him and fix his gaze on Rhodes.
There was so much in that gaze...
There was anger, there was helplessness...
But more than anything, it's a feeling of despair, like, "You silly goose! Do you even know what you've done?!"
Under the intense scrutiny of these complex gazes, Rhodes, who was already feeling inexplicably guilty, immediately shrank back and cautiously asked.
"Uh, um... sir? Did I... arrive at the wrong time?"
"..."
The Minister of Defense took a deep breath, then another.
He had been relieved that Rhodes' refusal to carry out the mission had, by a twist of fate, allowed them to escape unscathed.
Now, not only did Rhodes succeed, he also delivered the armor directly to the Pentagon.
It was broad daylight, yet they flew straight into the Pentagon!
Brilliant, now there's no excuse left for pretending to be stupid.
No, you clearly refused, so what's wrong with you that you decided to steal it again?
Stealing is one thing...
Can you please stop stealing so blatantly?
This happened right after Spider-Man beat up the demon, and the whole world was discussing "just how strong Spider-Man is!"
Thinking this, the Minister of Defense felt another sharp pain and spasm in his heart.
He desperately wanted to hurl insults at Rhodes, but he had no reason to do so.
The reason is that the plan to have Rhodes steal the Iron Man suit was devised by them, and it was done against Rhodes's will, by threatening him with his military career and forcing him to do it!
Now, although it is unknown what methods Rhodes used, he did bring back a complete Iron Man suit.
Both morally and logically, he faithfully fulfilled the mission of a soldier and completed the task excellently.
As for what consequences this might cause, that's not something Rod needs to consider.
"...It's nothing, Colonel Rhodes, you did a very good job."
The Secretary of Defense practically gritted his teeth as he uttered those words. However, faced with this man of "maximum loyalty," and currently the only person in the military who might give Tony pause, the Secretary of Defense still managed to put on a gentle smile and offer insincere praise.
"Of course, if you don't mind, I'd like to know how you accomplished this task."
"Yes, sir!"
Fortunately, a soldier's duty to obey orders made Rod straighten up and begin to speak as soon as the Minister of Defense finished speaking.
His voice echoed in the empty conference room, crisp and decisive like a soldier's, but his eyes were still somewhat dazed, clearly not fully recovered from the crazy flight experience he had just had.
"Here's what happened. Just last night, Tony decided to throw a celebration party to mark the great success of the clean energy promotion plan, and he invited me to attend... He was just too enthusiastic, I couldn't refuse, so I had to say yes."
Rod paused, as if recalling the stark contrast between Tony's warm and friendly attitude and the military's cold pressure the previous night. A barely perceptible smile played on his lips; he was genuinely happy to have such a close friend.
"At the banquet, he drank a lot of alcohol... Ms. Pepper tried to persuade him several times, but he wouldn't listen and instead drank even more heavily. Knowing him as I do, the amount of alcohol he drank at that time was enough to make him sleep for a day and a night after the effects of the alcohol kicked in."
"Later, all the guests left, leaving just the two of us. I wanted to leave, but he held me back and insisted on showing me his 'new toy'—this battle suit."
As he spoke, Rhodes looked down at his silver-white armor and unconsciously touched the reactor on his chest.
"He said this was the Mark 2, the prototype of the Iron Man suit that once appeared in Times Square, New York, and then he demonstrated the donning process to me on the spot. After the demonstration, he... he gave me the command in front of me, using voice control mode, ordering Jarvis to deactivate the suit's identification and defense system."
As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, a low commotion broke out in the previously quiet conference room.
In front of outsiders, disable the identification and defense system of the Iron Man suit?
This clearly demonstrates just how much Tony trusts Rhodes...
This also means that during that period, the suit provided no protection whatsoever, and anyone could wear it.
"...Quiet! Colonel Rhodes, please continue."
But the noisy atmosphere didn't last long. The Minister of Defense simply took the microphone and shouted once, silencing everyone again.
"Yes, sir!"
Rhodes nodded obediently and continued speaking honestly.
"He made me try it on, saying he wanted to see how I would make a fool of myself because I didn't know how to operate this high-tech suit."
At this point, Rhodes's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.
Knowing Tony's free-spirited nature, Rhodey found it hard not to have suspicions...
Could Tony have recorded all the exaggerated facial expressions I made during the flight...?
But soon, knowing he didn't have time to worry about that, Rhodes quickly composed himself. After taking a deep breath, and based on his observations of the military leaders' intentions, he carefully chose his words and continued speaking slowly and deliberately.
"But I had already decided that even if I resigned and left the army, I would not betray my good brothers."
"So I declined Tony's offer and turned to help him to the sofa to rest, but... a little accident happened..."
As Rod spoke, his tone became somewhat strange, and his words were filled with a sense of bewilderment, as if he were both laughing and crying.
"Before I could even reach out, he stumbled and fell, his head hitting my chest. I wasn't prepared at all, and I was knocked back several steps, crashing right into the platform where the suit was."
"Before I could even stand up properly, the platform detected someone entering and automatically activated the wearable program, locking my feet firmly in place."
"Then, one by one, strangely shaped mechanical arms extended out. They quickly disassembled the complete Iron Man suit into individual parts and then put them on my body."
"I don't know, but during my resistance, I accidentally triggered some mechanism... After I put on the suit, before I could even react, the flight program automatically started."
"What's worse, I have absolutely no idea how to operate this Iron Man suit! It went up and down erratically while flying, and I don't know how many walls I crashed through!"
"I was terrified and yelled, 'Tony! Put me down! This isn't fun! I have to go back—!'"
"It turns out Jarvis—Tony's AI butler—may have misunderstood. It thought I was going back to the Pentagon, took over control of the suit without authorization, and planned out my flight path."
"Then I flew from New York to Washington, from Stark Tower to the Pentagon... For a full twelve minutes, I was screaming and trying to order Jarvis to change the flight instructions."
"But as you all know, that's how it turned out..."