Tony Stark had not been without his suspicions.
The mastermind behind his kidnapping might have been Harvey Anberaka.
That was why Harvey Anberaka knew he had already created the Arc Reactor.
But according to the intelligence Jarvis had gathered, Harvey Anberaka spent every day eating and drinking. When the mood struck him, he picked up some girls and spent the night with them.
Every now and then, he bought lavishly decorated and extremely expensive manors and villas.
Harvey Anberaka rarely left America. It could be said that he spent ninety-five percent of his time within America.
Harvey Anberaka usually drove himself when he went out, occasionally speeding, and his driving skills appeared to be excellent.
He seemed to perfectly fit the profile of a young man who had struck it rich, had too much time on his hands, loved indulging himself, and was a foodie.
Harvey Anberaka had also never been among the people invited to the parties or exhibitions he hosted.
So today had been their first meeting. Harvey Anberaka had neither the opportunity nor reason to become his enemy.
Most importantly, his trip to Afghanistan had been absolutely confidential.
After all, he had been cooperating with the military to test-fire his latest weapon. Aside from the military, only those closest to him had known his itinerary.
That was why, after reviewing all of Harvey Anberaka's background, he had completely ruled out the possibility that the other man was the mastermind.
Thinking of the people who knew his itinerary, Tony Stark's eyes flickered.
Although he did not know how Harvey Anberaka had learned that he had developed the Arc Reactor.
He knew what his most important task was now.
Tony Stark threw himself into researching a new Arc Reactor.
Although he had created the Arc Reactor in Afghanistan, the urgent circumstances and harsh environment had left plenty of room for improvement.
This lightbulb-like thing concerned his life.
So Tony Stark had no trace of sleepiness as he began staying up all night to build it.
The following afternoon, Stark Industries' stock price plummeted by more than thirty points overnight, and that was not even the bottom.
It could be said that one-third of Stark Industries' market value had evaporated outright, causing countless shareholders who had bought Stark Industries stock to suffer heavy losses.
The news was filled with reports criticizing Stark Industries for making a foolish decision.
Many members of the public were also condemning Tony Stark, questioning why he had been so stupid.
The playboy whom countless people in New York had once admired saw people's opinion of him plummet overnight because of a single decision.
Tony Stark paid no attention to any of it. After improving the Arc Reactor and having Pepper Potts install it for him.
Tony Stark immediately headed to an American Air Force base to see Rhodey.
The only people he could trust now were Pepper Potts and Rhodey.
But Tony Stark had been rebuffed. Rhodey had not agreed to work with him.
That left Tony Stark with no choice but to return home and secretly begin building Mark II.
Time passed quickly. In just eleven days.
Tony Stark successfully built and tested Mark II, and had already taken it on a test flight.
After the test flight, Tony Stark had just settled on Mark III's color scheme.
But at that moment, Tony Stark suddenly heard Jarvis report something unrelated to Mark II.
"Sir, Harvey Anberaka has made a major move recently. Would you like a report?"
Because Tony Stark had been focused on Mark II these past few days, he did not immediately remember why Jarvis had suddenly brought up this matter.
But within a few seconds, Tony Stark recalled that he had previously instructed Jarvis to keep a close eye on Harvey Anberaka.
"Give me the report. What has he been doing recently?"
The elation brought by the successful test flight faded considerably as Tony Stark asked with concern.
"During the day, Harvey Anberaka mortgaged more than half of the properties and land under his name, raising 3.55 billion dollars to purchase a large amount of Stark Industries stock."
"With the shares he currently holds, he does not yet have decision-making power, but Harvey Anberaka is now fully qualified to attend Stark Industries board meetings as an observer."
"He can listen to some of Stark Industries' future plans and directions."
"And he can freely enter certain non-confidential Stark Industries venues."
Jarvis reported the information.
Although Tony Stark had anticipated it, learning that Harvey Anberaka had truly done this still left him both shocked and full of questions.
"What is this guy's reason for doing this this time?"
Tony Stark knew clearly that Stark Industries was still in turmoil.
Because of his decision, the stock had fallen by forty points.
At a time like this, many people could not flee fast enough. Although Obadiah Stane and the board had managed to stabilize it for the moment and prevent it from falling further.
Stark Industries would need to make some major moves if it wanted to return to its former peak.
He also had an idea now: shifting into the energy industry.
As long as he made good use of the Arc Reactor, it would undoubtedly become an industry no less profitable than weapons manufacturing.
Yet before he could successfully transform Stark Industries, Harvey Anberaka had seemingly foreseen it and made a massive purchase.
It was as if he had determined that Stark Industries would drive its stock price back up again.
Because there were still suspicious aspects surrounding his kidnapping, Tony Stark intended to investigate and find out whether the real culprit was someone close to him.
Therefore, Tony Stark's plan to move into the energy industry existed only in his mind for now. He had not told anyone.
Even Pepper Potts, the person closest to him, did not know what he planned to do next.
There was simply no possibility of an information leak, so Tony Stark could not understand Harvey Anberaka's logic at all.
When Stark Industries had been at its peak and countless people had been optimistic about it, Harvey Anberaka had quietly chosen to cash out, making a fortune.
Then, while Stark Industries was in a slump and countless outsiders were pessimistic about it, Harvey Anberaka directly used even more money than before to buy a massive amount of stock.
It gave Tony Stark the feeling that all his secrets had somehow been seen through and grasped by Harvey Anberaka.
The feeling inexplicably made Tony Stark irritable.
At that moment, Tony Stark suddenly saw the news. The annual Stark Industries charity gala was reporting on his situation, even claiming he had suffered a concussion.
"Did Harvey Anberaka attend this charity gala?"
Tony Stark asked.
"Harvey Anberaka received an invitation, but it is unclear whether he arrived at the venue, sir."
Jarvis paused before answering apologetically.
"Help me finish the assembly first. Don't wait for me, darling."
Unable to retrieve the information, Tony Stark checked the time, left those words behind, and immediately drove out.
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