Chapter 52: Truth and Lies

Chapter 52: Truth and Lies

"Bang!"

A sniper bullet shot out, curving under the influence of George's magnetic abilities, and struck the bald leader's temple, killing him instantly.

Seeing their leader suddenly shot in the head, the terrorists were stunned, followed by screams and chaos.

But some experienced fighters quickly deduced the general direction of the sniper fire based on the leader's position and began firing wildly in that direction.

Some even brought out rocket launchers.

"Good thing I curved the bullet's trajectory."

George had anticipated this. Since the bullet had followed a curved path, the terrorists' calculations were completely off, and none of their shots came close to hitting him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

One shot after another, bullets arced from different directions and angles, taking out the terrorists one by one.

Even those hiding behind cover met the same fate.

Desperate, the surviving terrorists retreated into the cave in panic.

To them, the attacker wasn't a single person but a group. How else could bullets come at them from all directions?

"Time to wrap this up."

George put away his sniper rifle and floated down to the cave entrance. He pointed his wand at the entrance and cast a spell.

"Fumos!"

Thick smoke billowed into the cave, quickly obscuring visibility.

Pulling out a handgun, George walked in calmly.

By his estimate, there were no more than ten combat-ready terrorists left inside.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The handgun fired repeatedly, bullets curving through the air to strike the terrorists hiding in the shadows, waiting to ambush him.

The smoke obscured the terrorists' vision, but it also hindered George's.

However, George's psychic abilities allowed him to sense the mental activity and fear emanating from the hidden terrorists, giving him a rough idea of their locations.

With this, he could accurately pick them off one by one in the smoke.

At his current level of strength, if he had the element of surprise, he could take down a small military base without a scratch.

Of course, that was only if he had the upper hand. If he were ambushed, even a single missile could end him.

This was why he was so careful to hide his identity and avoid leaving any traces.

As someone who had lived as an ordinary human in his past life, he understood the destructive power of modern weaponry all too well. Even with magic, he never underestimated organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if even wizards like Dumbledore or Grindelwald could survive a direct hit from a nuclear bomb.

"Sorry about this."

As the smoke cleared, George approached the terrorists who had been bitten by the snakes and were now unconscious. Without hesitation, he shot them.

He was a rational person. His experiences after transmigrating had taught him that showing unnecessary sympathy toward enemies would only harm him in the end.

Only dead enemies were good enemies.

Walking deeper into the cave, George took out the last two guards at the door and used the Unlocking Charm to open the iron door.

"Don't be nervous. I'm here to rescue you. Everyone outside has been dealt with."

Seeing Tony pointing a makeshift flamethrower arm at him, George holstered his gun and smiled.

Hearing George's words and seeing the two guards lying dead at the door, Tony finally relaxed and put away his flamethrower arm.

When he heard the gunfire and screams outside, he knew something was happening, but he wasn't sure if the newcomers were friends or foes, so he had to be prepared.

"Did Rhodey send you?"

"I don't know any Rhodey. Let's go. We can talk outside."

George turned and walked out of the cave.

Tony and Yinsen exchanged glances, grabbed their belongings, and followed. As they passed the two dead guards, they picked up their rifles.

But their caution proved unnecessary. Along the way, they only saw bodies—no living enemies.

Outside the cave, seeing the bald leader with a bullet hole in his head, Tony couldn't help but mutter:

"Did you really do all this alone?"

A single person infiltrating a heavily guarded terrorist base, killing everyone, and walking out unscathed—it was almost too unbelievable.

But then he saw something even more unbelievable.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

George cast the Levitation Charm, causing the stacks of Stark Industries missiles and bombs at the entrance to float into the air. He arranged them in order and sent them flying into the cave.

He planned to blow up the cave and everything inside, erasing any traces that could expose him—like the surveillance footage and the bodies.

"Who are you? A magician?"

Seeing George's magical manipulation, Tony was stunned once again.

"You can call me George, or a magician if you prefer. Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit like a magician. Maybe I can make a living off this someday.

But for now, we need to get farther away."

George led Tony and Yinsen to a jeep. After driving to the edge of his magnetic control range, he detonated the grenades he had collected from the terrorists.

The massive explosion, combined with the missiles and bombs, completely destroyed the cave, erasing all traces.

"Why did you save me?"

In the desert outside the valley, Tony, sitting in the passenger seat, asked George.

Faced with such a mysterious figure, it was hard not to be curious or wonder about his motives.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?"

George stopped the car and asked.

"What's the lie?"

Tony blinked.

George smiled:

"The lie is that I think you're a genius inventor, and if you died here, it would be a huge loss for humanity. So, for the sake of all mankind, I came to rescue you."

"While I think you're right, it does sound a bit fake."

Tony couldn't help but laugh.

Escaping the clutches of the terrorists had put him in a good mood.

"Then what's the truth?"

"The truth is that after you were kidnapped, Stark Industries' stock plummeted. I wanted to make a fortune off it, so I came to rescue you."

George was blunt.

He felt it was better to be honest about this. Tony Stark wasn't stupid, and if they were to collaborate in the future, honesty in certain areas was essential to building a foundation of trust.

More importantly, this was also a test—a test to see if Tony would shut down the weapons manufacturing division after returning.

In the movies, Tony shut down the weapons division immediately after returning, causing the stock to crash again. But this wasn't a movie, and Yinsen was still alive. George couldn't be sure Tony would make the same decision.

Bringing up the topic now was also a way to gauge Tony's thoughts using his psychic abilities and Legilimency.

(End of Chapter)