The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins-Chapter 519: Responsibility

In the battlefield filled with debris, James Rhodie swallowed dryly, staring intently at the terrifying giant serpent writhing behind the boy in black. He dared not avert his gaze, moving closer to his friend rigidly and trembling, and asked in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

"Tony, what the hell is that?"

"I don’t know either."

Though it was already the second time seeing that thing, Tony Stark still felt his skin crawl when faced with the dreadful monster.

What was more terrifying was that he couldn’t understand, nor dared to understand the meaning represented by the giant serpent.

In the depths of his consciousness, Tony Stark felt that if he researched and understood the essence beneath the evil exterior, he would be unconsciously polluted, assimilated...

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you...

With a clarity in his heart, Tony Stark shifted his gaze, no longer staring at the chilling monster.

However, at this moment, his wandering gaze landed on the remnants of the shattered mecha, noticing that the reactors on their chests were rhythmically flashing red light.

Beep... Beep... Beep....

The slow beeping gradually became urgent and sharp, and Tony Stark’s pupils slowly contracted, feeling a chill from his tailbone rushing up to the top of his skull.

Dead Man’s Switch system!

Explodes automatically once it loses the main body signal!

Instantly understanding, the shattered gold and red suit erupted with violent flames, shooting into the sky like a rocket.

"These things are going to explode! Run!"

Thinking of how the debris scattered all over the area, Tony’s anxiety burned, carelessly propelling energy and tracing a sharp arc across the sky.

"Pepper!"

On the other side, Little Pepper methodically helped evacuate the crowd when she suddenly noticed that the scattered machinery not far away seemed to be flashing a red light.

But before she could react, a figure descended from the sky and, holding her, shot straight into the heavens.

Boom!

The gigantic fireball expanded on earth, and Zhu Haomiao, immersed in the lingering aftertaste of deliciousness, trembled, bewilderedly surveying the rolling, expanding flames and shockwaves around him.

What just happened?

A few centimeters from his body’s surface, a layer of transparent protective Gang Qi was visible to the naked eye under the impact, rippling delicately like a lake surface ruffled by a breeze.

Bathed in the shockwave and high temperatures strong enough to destroy steel, Zhu Haomiao retracted his Dharma Form and walked leisurely across the explosion zone, unhurriedly.

[Gluttony] devours Source Quality

[All Attributes] +60 (30×200%)

The higher the Heavenly Position, the more abundant the ’food’!

Plus, I’m familiar with the plot, enabling me to precisely pinpoint these antagonists rich with [Heavenly Destiny]...

Clicking his tongue... It’s endless, simply endless...

Smacking his lips, savoring the wonderful taste, Zhu Haomiao contentedly curled the corners of his mouth.

Gazing around at the ravaged landscape, the boy in black traced a splendid circle of fire, stepping onto the rooftop kilometers away.

He had just landed when he heard a heated argument.

"I’ve had enough, Tony, I want to resign! I quit!"

"Why?"

"Every day I wake up, I have to worry about you killing yourself, killing the company. Do you know how much pressure I’m under?"

"But I think I’m doing pretty well!"

"Look at how many people died in the explosions around us!!!"

"......"

......

Initially watching the two argue with interest, Zhu Haomiao’s face gradually froze, the amused grin fading away bit by bit as he watched them draw closer and eventually kiss. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Damn it, when you die, one’s going to be buried in the North Pole, the other in Antarctica!

Serves you right for showing off your love!

However, the pair caught up in their passionate entanglement didn’t notice the boy in black blending into the dim background until much later when they finally pulled apart.

"Tony, how strange..."

"It’s okay, you’ll get used to it after a few tries."

"No, I remembered what Mr. Zhu once said!"

Pushing away Tony, who was leaning in again, Pepper blushed and gave him a coquettish glare.

"He said before that you might find a new element, and you actually did!"

"Looking back now, he seemed to have foreseen today’s outcome, watching us worry in vain!"

Hearing this, Tony Stark detached from the enchanting mood, recalling the various signs from before.

As Pepper said, that individual seemed to have been overlooking the entire world from a God-like perspective the whole time, watching the river of time with a transcendent demeanor, intervening personally only at critical moments to guide destiny toward the direction he desired...

Just like today, when he appeared without warning!

"So, he really isn’t an all-knowing and all-powerful deity?"

Listening to Pepper’s dreamy murmur, Tony Stark was speechless, and his heart was equally bewildered.

This existence that seemingly could perceive time and fate has, in some sense, transcended the scope of mortal understanding.

"Nope."

But just then, a familiar whisper came from the corner, startling the two.

"I just said it casually, hit the nail on the head by luck, don’t over-analyze it."

From the dark corner, the boy blending into the background walked out slowly, grinning at the two of them.

"Zhu."

"Mr. Zhu."

Quickly, they politely greeted him, exchanging slightly embarrassed glances.

Thankfully, they hadn’t spoken ill of him...

Soon, Tony Stark came to his senses, solemnly thanking him with a serious expression.

"Zhu, thank you, for saving my life again."

"Ha-ha, no need to thank me, we’re merely serving our individual purposes."

Afterwards, Zhu Haomiao shifted the topic with a sly grin, scanning up and down.

"By the way, what made you suddenly decide to save a little boy?"

Clearly being pursued and fleeing hastily, yet in the intense battle between life and death, you managed to precisely capture the accidental occurrence far off in the distance—such unreasonableness was glaringly evident...

For today, there were no less than eight hundred innocent people who died untimely deaths in the area, yet Tony just happened to save the future Spiderman while disregarding his own safety. This strong semblance to fate piqued Zhu Haomiao’s research interest.

Yet, Tony Stark only looked bewildered.

"Huh? I just noticed that kid was in danger and saved him on the spur of the moment..."

As he spoke, Tony’s voice gradually lowered, vaguely sensing a subtle anomaly, and his expression slowly became solemn.

"Does the kid have some issue?"

"Ha-ha, just a clueless little kid, what issues could he have?"

Watching the boy in black casually shrug, Tony Stark couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Indeed, purely coincidence...

I just saw that kid wearing an Iron Man mask, mistakenly identified by the enemy’s AI as me, and felt a pang of sympathy...

If he died because he admired me, I’d feel guilty for life!

This was my responsibility, to begin with!