Chapter 2: The Impossible Blueprint and a Desperate Bargain

Chapter 2: The Impossible Blueprint and a Desperate Bargain

Days bled into each other in the cave, marked only by the shifting shadows of the bare bulbs and the relentless, rhythmic clang of metal as Tony Stark, a man possessed by a singular, desperate vision, hammered away at his impossible blueprint. Adam watched him, a silent observer, occasionally offering a "helpful" suggestion that felt more like a whispered prophecy.

"You know, Tony," Adam drawled one particularly sweltering afternoon, leaning against a damp rock, "I've always found that a little more… structural integrity in the knee joints really helps with the whole 'walking around' thing. Especially when you're building something that weighs, oh, I don't know, a metric ton of scrap metal."

Tony, sweat dripping from his brow, didn't even look up. "Oh, is that so, Mr. Sudden-Engineering-Consultant? Last I checked, you were more of an expert in face-planting into scrap piles. Stick to your strengths." He grumbled, but a moment later, Adam saw him pause, squint at the nascent leg frame, and then, almost imperceptibly, adjust a weld.

[WISH GRANTED: REQUIRED WRENCH APPEARS WITHIN TONY STARK'S IMMEDIATE REACH. COST: 5 WISH DAYS.]

Adam blinked as a rusty wrench, which had been conspicuously absent a moment before, seemed to roll from under a pile of debris directly into Tony's outstretched hand. Tony picked it up, frowned, and then shrugged, clearly attributing it to his own uncanny luck. "Five wish days for a wrench? This System is a cheapskate. Or maybe I'm just bad at haggling with cosmic entities."

Later, as Tony wrestled with a particularly complex wiring diagram, his brow furrowed in frustration, Adam offered another gem. "You know, sometimes, when things get really tangled, it helps to imagine the electrons as tiny, angry squirrels. They always find the shortest path to the nuts, even if it looks like chaos."

Tony snorted. "Squirrels? What are you, a Disney princess now?" But then, his eyes widened. He tapped a finger on the diagram, a sudden spark of understanding in his gaze. "Wait a minute… the polarity… of course!" He scribbled furiously.

[WISH GRANTED: TONY STARK EXPERIENCES SUDDEN, UNEXPLAINED EUREKA MOMENT ON WIRING DIAGRAM. COST: 10 WISH DAYS.]

"Ten wish days for a squirrel analogy and a sudden epiphany? This is getting expensive. I'm going to be in wish-debt for millennia at this rate." Adam checked his internal ledger. Still negative. The daily +1 wish day was a trickle against the torrent of his interventions and the System's penchant for "funny saves."

The reality of their situation was a constant, gnawing fear. The Ten Rings guards were growing impatient. The Mark I, as impressive as it was for a cave-build, was taking too long. Yinsen looked more frail each day. Adam knew the timeline. He knew Yinsen's fate. And a cold, pragmatic dread settled in his gut. He couldn't just watch. He had a System. A ridiculous, sarcastic, expensive System, but a System nonetheless.

He found Yinsen later that night, huddled by a small fire, sketching in a worn notebook. The older man looked up, his eyes tired but still holding a spark of something resilient.

"Yinsen," Adam began, his voice low, almost a whisper, "I know this sounds… insane. More insane than building a suit of armor in a cave. But I have a way out. For both of you."

Yinsen's brow furrowed. "A way? We have the suit. It will be ready soon."

"Not soon enough," Adam countered, his gaze intense. "And… not without a cost. Not for me. For you." He took a breath. This was the part that felt… wrong. But necessary. "My… my abilities, they aren't just for small things. I can… I can make this suit finish now. I can ensure your survival. Both of you. But it requires… a payment. A payment in… time. From your life."

Yinsen's eyes widened, then slowly, a profound understanding dawned. He looked at Tony, sleeping fitfully, then back at Adam, a flicker of impossible hope in his gaze. "Time? My life? How much?"

Adam swallowed. "The System estimates… a year. For the immediate construction, for optimizing the escape. But… I could ask for more. I could… profit." The words felt like ash in his mouth.

Yinsen, however, didn't flinch. He looked at his worn hands, then at the sleeping Tony. A year. His life was already forfeit here. A year, for Tony to live? For him to escape this hell? It was a bargain he would have made gladly for a single day of freedom.

"Two years," Yinsen said, his voice quiet but firm. "Take two years. If it means Anthony lives. If it means we walk out of here."

Adam stared, a knot forming in his stomach. Two years. From a man who was already living on borrowed time. The System, however, didn't have such qualms.

[DAILY WISH DAYS ACCUMULATION: +1]

[WISH PROPOSAL: ENSURE SURVIVAL OF ANTHONY STARK AND HO YINSEN; FACILITATE INSTANTANEOUS CONSTRUCTION OF 'MARK I IRON MAN' ARMOR.]

[SYSTEM ESTIMATE FOR WISH: 1 YEAR OF WISH DAYS. PROCEED WITH TRADE?]

[TRADE NEGOTIATION: HOST PROPOSES 2 YEARS FROM HO YINSEN'S LIFESPAN. CUSTOMER (HO YINSEN) AGREES.]

The blue text shimmered, a silent, cosmic contract. Adam felt a strange mix of triumph and a deep, unsettling guilt. He had just negotiated away two years of a good man's life for his own profit. But it was for survival. For their survival.

"Okay," Adam said, his voice a little hoarse. "Okay, Yinsen. We're getting out of here."

Yinsen nodded, a faint, peaceful smile on his face. He truly was a saint. Adam, on the other hand, was just a guy with a weird System, a growing wish bank, and a rapidly expanding moral gray area. "Well, at least I'm consistent. Still a sarcastic opportunist, even in a death cave."