Chapter 08: Page 8
"Agent Coulson, report on the progress of your mission."
Cole pursed his lips.
"Yes, Boss. I have already got some important clues from Tony Stark's driver Happy Morgan, but Happy is just a driver and doesn't know much. So the next step is to try to contact Stark's personal secretary Pepper Potts and make an appointment for a face-to-face meeting with Stark."
Coulson said he was an experienced old agent.
One of the most important work experiences he has gained over the years is: when reporting, never say that you have not made any progress at all. Even if there is really no progress, you must swear and state with certainty that the progress is gratifying.
This was a white lie. Coulson didn't care about the consequences. He was just considerate of his boss and didn't want to see Nick Fury lose his hair because of anger.
"Very good, you continue to follow up on this mission. You have always been my most trusted subordinate, and this mission is very important... There is a lot of news over there, is it on the rooftop?"
"Oh, yes, the air here is very good. I came up to relax."
"it is good."
After hanging up the phone, Coulson walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked into the distance.
It really is much more relaxing to stay here. Occasionally, I should say goodbye to the busy work and give my body and mind a ten-minute break.
After all, working in this industry, the work pressure is quite high.
/——————
On the other side, in a dimly lit office, the air conditioning was turned on high.
Nick Fury, dressed in a leather coat, hung up the phone, his eyes sharp as he looked at a secret report he had just received three minutes ago.
He touched his smooth black polished head and tapped his fingers on the table with a gloomy expression.
Just now, a secret account of the National Strategic Defense Attack and Logistics Support Bureau was stolen, and 13 billion yuan of funds were lost out of thin air, and no clues were found.
For a certain director, tens of billions is a lot, but it is not enough to worry about.
What concerned him more was the things hidden behind this matter, which was probably far more terrifying than 100 billion.
The Strategic Homeland Defense Attack and Logistics Agency is arguably one of the largest intelligence organizations in the world.
Who has the ability to play us in the palm of their hands?
Chapter 8. Profit-oriented
After Tony Stark's earth-shattering press conference, Obadiah got a phone call in the corner.
On the other side came a voice that sounded anxious and panicky.
"Boss, we just received news that Terrence, who was in charge of contacting the Ten Rings Gang, absconded with the money and stole a total of 2.7 million US dollars from two accounts. We...we have sent people to chase him..."
The voice on the other end of the line hit Obadiah like a hammer, making him dizzy.
"F***!"
The sudden bad news made him so angry that his face was distorted, and his eyebrows and nose were squeezed together.
Obadiah looked around, lowered his voice, and fiercely ordered the other end of the phone, "Listen carefully, you %! Find him and kill him at all costs! The transaction with the Ten Rings Gang must not be leaked! Take one tenth of the recovered funds as your bonus!"
"If we don't catch him...you know the consequences!"
hang up the phone.
Obadiah let out a long sigh, patted his face again, and within a few seconds he put on a kind smile.
He has experienced many betrayals in his life and has betrayed others. He can be angry, but he cannot lose his mind because of it.
What's more, there are greater interests waiting for him to fight for on Tony Stark's side.
According to Colonel Rody of the US Army, Stark has something good in his chest, and he needs to confirm it in person.
Stark Industries headquarters.
In a room that usually has few visitors, there is a huge circular device with electric current and blue-white light constantly rotating inside, giving people a sense of technology that is ahead of its time.
That is actually the prototype of Tony Stark's chest reactor. It was built decades ago when Tony's father Howard Stark was still alive. In fact, it is not a new thing.
But miniaturization means that it can become a powerful portable energy device, so it has unparalleled use value. It is no longer a vase that can only be looked at but not used and where input equals output.
Stark put on a work suit and was studying this antique.
Obadiah pushed the door open and walked in, "Hey, Tony."
Stark stared at the reactor intently and asked without turning his head: "Do I have a target painted on my head? It can find me."
"Your head? My head is about to fall off! How much do you think the stock will drop?"
……
After a few minutes of verbal probing, Obadiah confirmed that Tony Stark did indeed master the technology for miniaturizing reactors.
Under his appeasement, Stark agreed to stay at home for the time being, stop making trouble, and leave everything to Obadiah.
Obadiah did not immediately ask Stark to hand over the technology, because he knew that Stark was not someone who would easily hand over his things to others. These still needed to be planned slowly.
/——————
Stark Villa.
Tony Stark and Pepper met at the door when they came back, and they walked in together.
Hearing the footsteps, Lai Mu wrapped himself in a bath towel and quietly slipped back to the bathroom.
Stark pointed inside in surprise, "Still taking a shower?"
It has been more than two hours since we got from the airport, and it will take Lai Mu and the others more than an hour to get back.
Pepper turned her head, her eyes flickering, "Hmm...yeah. Maybe he was taking a bath? I don't think it's weird."
She raised the bag in her hand which contained clothes.
"I spent a long time choosing the clothes I bought for him. I think he will like them."
Stark nodded and walked towards the basement, saying as he walked, "Wait until he's done packing. I have something to talk to him about."
Stark is now going to look for something that was left behind more than ten years ago. It may not be found anymore, but it is very important.
Lai Mu changed into new clothes and finally put on men's clothes again.
Wearing a white short-sleeved top and light blue shorts, his whole spirit and energy were instantly restored.
He casually tied his hair into a ponytail with a rubber band, which made him look more heroic, and Ms. Pepper couldn't help but look at him again and again.
Perhaps because of Lai Mu's hair color, the two times Pepper chose clothes for him were both light blue.
As for whether Lai Mu would miss the dress that had been with him for less than half an hour, whether he would throw it away or keep it as a treasure... no one else knew.
While Stark was looking for something in the basement, Lemu and Pepper returned to the living room and sat on the sofa.
The TV on the large glass wall was still playing the channel that Lai Mu was on before he left.
A middle-aged Mediterranean host was shouting hard: "Sell! Sell! Sell everything! Does anyone still remember the Newdenburg tragedy?"
In 1937, the Hindenburg airship suddenly caught fire while preparing to land and burned up in 32 seconds.
The Mediterranean host then threw a ceramic cup to the ground and continued to shout at the top of his lungs for the best effect. "See? This is the end of Stark Industries, a weapons company that doesn't produce weapons! How ridiculous..."
Pepper was gloomy, she was holding a laptop to check the stock market and listening to the negative news about Stark Industries. It was a double torture.
Tony Stark had told her in the car before that he had mastered the technology for miniaturizing reactors - a technology that was destined to make a lot of money.
But before that, can Stark Industries survive?
Stark's announcement to close the weapons manufacturing department was too sudden. No one, including shareholders, stockholders, and Pepper herself, was mentally prepared, and Stark did not seem to intend to announce his new technology now.
Stark is playing with fire. He is not just being willful. It seems that he also wants to gain social attention through this incident so that he can gain greater benefits when he releases new technology later.
If he hadn't played with fire and ended up getting burned.
Lai Mu, who was sitting next to him, was eating snacks nonchalantly. There were potato chips, air-dried beef, hawthorn slices, rice crackers, soda crackers... everything. Lai Mu even found spicy strips.
Happy food time...
Lei Mu has his own considerations for Stark Industries.
As long as the trajectory of time does not deviate too much, when Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, all those who sold their stocks will regret it so much that they will jump off a building.
Until then, just make sure Stark doesn't die.
After all, it’s related to my own interests… and we’ve walked out of the desert together, so we can be considered half friends, right?
I even went to someone else's house to change clothes and rest, as a favor to him.
As for Obadiah, it shouldn't be too difficult to deal with him.
It is not possible to completely ignore it. Things may not develop according to the original trajectory. Lai Mu, this little butterfly, has already flapped its wings many times.
Not to mention whether Stark would fall to death while walking, choke to death while drinking water, or choke to death while eating. In Lemu's memory, when Stark fought Obadiah, he had narrowly won, and the probability of him dying suddenly due to any accident was very high.
Lai Mu doesn't care whether the future trajectory will be consistent with his memory. The most important thing is to protect his own interests.
Guided by interests, if it is beneficial, you can follow it, or even actively maintain its development trajectory. If it is not beneficial, you have to guide it in a direction that is beneficial to you.
Chapter 9. My house is big, should I adopt you?
How to deal with Obadiah?
If Lemu remembered correctly, on the computer in the office of the president of Stark Corporation, there was evidence that Obadiah was reselling arms and instructing the terrorists of the Ten Rings to attack Tony Stark.
But these cannot be handed over to the US government immediately.
Stark Industries was already in turmoil because of Tony Stark's willful behavior. If it was revealed that the senior management was reselling arms and colluding with terrorists to attack their boss and the US military, they could file for bankruptcy the next day.
Lai Mu lost a good opportunity to make a fortune, and the funds already invested will also be wasted.
Lai Mu bit a piece of biscuit and the sound of the biscuit breaking was very crisp.
In extreme cases, assassination cannot be ruled out...
But Stark still needs a stepping stone to become the superhero 'Iron Man'.
Without this step, even if the small reactor technology is announced, the stock market surge it can bring will certainly not be as great as the surge brought by the three words "Iron Man".