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[System Notification]
[Hidden Quest Completed: Protect the Order-Aligned Characters from Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid]
[Rescued Targets: 7]
[Reward: +70% Experience at Current Level]
[System Comment: You're getting a little too comfortable. Fighting above your level is where the real experience comes from. First, you saved the weakest "super hero" on record. Then you saved a group of people who aren't even worth attributing points to. You need to push harder.]
[New Information Unlocked: The Secret of the Blood Orchid]
[Blood Orchid Description]
A rare flower that grows only above vibranium deposits. Slightly enhances physical conditioning and improves cellular vitality.
[System Comment: Unfortunately, this has no meaningful effect on you.]
[Growth Conditions]
The Blood Orchid grows near cliffside bat caves. Bat guano accumulates and is periodically soaked by underground river overflow. Every seven years, the subterranean river floods the cave entrance. The resulting nitric compounds lightly corrode the surface of vibranium ore, creating the precise conditions required for the Blood Orchid to grow.
[System Comment: See. It's not that the Blood Orchid blooms every seven years. It's that the underground river only "fertilizes" the area once every seven years.]
---
Jimmy finally understood.
No wonder the stone smelled like concentrated fertilizer.
The Blood Orchid petals themselves had been mostly destroyed in the landslide. But the batch Gail had gathered earlier was still there.
Crushed partially.
But not ruined.
Jimmy carefully collected what remained and stored it inside the Horadric Cube.
He also recovered dozens of Blood Orchid bulbs. Many were damaged, but several were still viable.
He planned to replant them later and study their growth cycle.
The flowers were useless to him.
But Yinsen, Tony, and Pepper would definitely find them interesting.
---
Jimmy opened his status panel.
[Name: Jimmy Halstead]
[Level: 14 (89%)]
[Age: 1]
[X-Gene Count: 2]
[Abilities: Accelerated Healing, Feral Senses, Enhanced Smell, Advanced Hand to Hand Combat, Bladed Weapon and Claw Mastery]
[Secondary Ability]
Absorption (Damaged)
[Equipment]
[Memory Adamantium Alloy]
[Yellow Gemstone]
Status: Unslotted
Gem Level: 12
Weapon Effect: +1–22 Lightning Damage
Shield Effect: +22% Lightning Resistance
[Attributes]
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Mental: 50
[Unassigned Attribute Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 0]
[System Note: One skill point is earned every ten levels. Skill points may be used to develop X-Genes or unlock latent X-Genes.]
[Techniques: Silat]
[Random Dungeon Entry Scroll: 1]
[Lottery Draws: 0]
[Lonely Mountain Anchor Point: 1]
[Mutant Plane Coordinates: 1]
---
Seventy percent.
That number bothered Jimmy.
By his count, he had directly saved only three people.
Ben Douglas, Tran, and Gordon Mitchell.
So where did the rest come from?
A realization hit him.
Johnson's group must have been attacked again after separating.
That made sense.
Even with Horus clearing pythons day and night, there were still encounters early on.
Only later did the kills taper off.
By the final day, Horus had stopped reporting targets entirely.
The ecosystem had stabilized.
The unnatural concentration of giant pythons in Borneo had finally collapsed.
Nature had begun correcting itself.
Give it a year.
Two at most.
The jungle would return to normal.
Jimmy looked toward the trees.
"Alright," he said quietly. "That wraps this arc."
And somewhere deep underground, the last echoes of the Blood Orchid's influence finally faded.
With everything here finally settled, Jimmy did not hesitate.
He headed to the river, unloaded the boat, started the engine, and let the current carry him downstream.
After returning, he took a long shower, booked a flight, and flew straight to New York.
---
"Hey, Jimmy, your uncle personally came to pick you up. Happy or what?"
Jimmy looked at the bright red sports car parked directly beneath the plane's stairs and felt his face tighten.
Tony stepped out, sunglasses on, confidence turned up to eleven.
The sheer level of showing off was almost unbearable.
Behind him, airport staff were openly staring. A few flight attendants passed by more than once, very deliberately.
Jimmy sighed.
This man had a personality that should have driven people away And yet.
Was it because he was rich, or because he was aggressively charismatic, or because the universe simply refused to be fair?
Jimmy got into the car.
Tony immediately started talking.
"So I checked into that biotech company you mentioned, the one with the two worst names in corporate history."
He grinned. "Turns out they got bought out by an investment firm a couple of days ago."
Tony waved a hand casually. "You said you wanted to do biological research. I realized I've never actually given you a proper gift."
"So I bought one of their facilities. The one outside the city, the adaptive simulation lab."
Jimmy rubbed his temples.
Tony continued happily. "It can simulate dozens of ecosystems. I had JARVIS upgrade the environmental controls. Aside from extreme events like superstorms or tornadoes, it can now recreate almost anything."
Jimmy looked at him. "You need something."
Tony paused. "Wow! Straight to the point."
He cleared his throat. "Okay, Yes, I do."
He glanced sideways. "That metal sample you gave me before, where did you get it? And do you have more?"
"You mean the small silver chunk," Jimmy replied. "No.. That was all I had. I just thought it looked interesting."
Tony's expression fell slightly.
"That thing," Tony said quietly, "is a room-temperature superconductor."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
"And the composition is almost identical to that shield."
He frowned. "Almost, but not quite. There are trace elements I've never seen before."
Tony looked genuinely frustrated.
Jimmy thought for a moment.
Then nodded.
"When we get home, I've got a few more gifts for you, I think you're going to like them."
Tony brightened instantly. "Now that's what I like to hear."
Jimmy stared out the window.
You could not sound more unconvinced if you tried.
---
Tony dropped Jimmy off at home.
They had dinner together with Yinsen. Happy practically declared Jimmy's cooking a personal religious experience.
Yinsen, however, kept watching Tony with concern.
"You look unwell," Yinsen said quietly. "Have you had that checked?"
Tony deflected the question immediately.
Jimmy noticed.
He remembered it.
---
Before Tony left, Jimmy returned inside and came back holding a single intact Blood Orchid.
Tony accepted it with a grin. "Flowers, for me, shouldn't you be giving this to a classmate instead?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "That's a Blood Orchid."
Tony blinked.
"I've seen pythons eat this stuff and grow as thick as oil drums," Jimmy continued. "The entire expedition existed for this flower. It's rumored to push past the Hayflick limit."
Tony paused.
Then slowly tightened his grip on the stem.
"Well," he said carefully. "I suddenly feel much more honored."
He did not joke this time.
Jimmy watched him closely.
Tony never treated Jimmy's gifts as trivial anymore.
Not after the last few times.
---
They said their goodbyes.
Jimmy and Damon watched Tony drive away.
"Jimmy," Damon said warmly, "it's good to see you again, Looks like you had quite the vacation."
He hesitated. "That wasn't Tony, was it?"
"No," Jimmy replied smoothly. "Just a very dedicated Iron Man fan."
Damon frowned. "He looked exactly like Tony Stark."
"Method acting," Jimmy said. "He stands on the street and lets people punch him. One hundred dollars per hit. Makes great money."
Damon fell silent.
That explained nothing.
---
"Hey, Jimmy."
Peter walked up, smiling.
"It's good to see you, that guy who left. He really looked like Tony Stark."
Jimmy shook his head. "Not him, just a look-alike."
Peter frowned deeply.
So many people hated Tony Stark that impersonators were getting punched for money.
That was… disturbing.
"Don't think too hard about it," Jimmy said. "I've got a gift for you."
Peter's eyes lit up. "Really."
"Come inside," Jimmy said. "You're going to like this one."
As the door closed behind them, the jungle was finally far away.
But the consequences of what Jimmy had brought back were only just beginning.
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