I Was Threatened

"President Wang, I think we should recruit some armed personnel or veterans into the company and have them work on the Mars Armor experiments."

Early in the morning, Wang Khan had just arrived at the company for his routine inspection when Sharon Carter, who had already been promoted to director of the Mars project, came looking for him.

"Armed personnel? Didn't the military provide us with some experimental staff? Do we still need to recruit more?"

"The military is the military, and we're us. Besides, as Umbrella Corporation keeps growing, those security guards are no longer enough to maintain order within the company."

Wang Khan nodded repeatedly, then reached out and patted Carter's hair with an approving look.

"Not bad. Your suggestion is very forward-thinking. Our security capabilities do need an upgrade. All right, I'll leave this matter entirely to you. Don't disappoint me."

"Don't worry, President Wang. I'll definitely recruit people we can trust who also possess a high level of combat ability."

Carter turned and left. Needless to say, of the people she recruited, nine and a half out of ten would probably be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"Guardian, by having her take charge of recruiting experimental staff, aren't you letting a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents infiltrate Umbrella?"

Wang Khan chuckled.

"Who said it would only be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents? If I'm not mistaken, more than half of the people she recruits will probably be Hydra members. But it doesn't matter. Whether they're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or fanatical Hydra loyalists, once I obtain that thing, they'll all become my obedient dogs. For now, I'll just give them a little taste of the benefits."

A week later, more than a hundred men and women with fierce auras were recruited into Umbrella Corporation, and every one of them had legal authorization to carry firearms.

That alone was no easy feat. Needless to say, S.H.I.E.L.D. had certainly pulled a lot of strings behind the scenes.

After all, in their eyes, this was an excellent opportunity to take control of Umbrella Corporation. Of course they would send their elite agents in.

As Wang Khan browsed the list, he unexpectedly saw the name Crossbones—the Strike Team commander who had led the pursuit of Rogers and Natasha in Captain America 2.

He had also appeared at the beginning of Captain America 3 and nearly blown Rogers to death.

Seeing that even Crossbones had come, Wang Khan knew that Hydra probably made up more than half of the hundred recruits.

"Good work, Carter. These people's files look pretty good. They're all veterans with battlefield experience. It looks like you put some thought into this."

"Thank you for your praise, President Wang."

"Mm. With these people here, I believe no one will dare cause trouble at our company. You've worked hard."

After the hundred agents were recruited, development of the Mars Armor entered the fast lane.

In just three short months, the armor's hardware had been completed, and every experiment had produced excellent results.

The military experts all gave it high praise. In particular, Colonel Rhodes, Tony's best friend, believed that five Mars Armors working together could crush Tony's Iron Man suit.

The five Mars Armors would cost only 25 million USD, which was less than the price of a single Iron Man suit. Judging purely by cost-effectiveness, the Mars Armor was clearly more practical.

At present, only the Compound Eyes Targeting System remained to be developed for the Mars Armor Project. Once the system was completed and officially installed in the Mars Armor, the project would be considered a complete success.

Wang Khan was very satisfied and invested another 200 million USD in the development of the Compound Eyes Targeting System.

According to his plan, the Compound Eyes Targeting System would be completed in three months. By then, he would be able to start reaping the profits.

However, at that moment, an unexpected visitor disrupted Wang Khan's plans.

"Gideon Malick? That famous Congressman? What brings you here on his behalf?"

A beautiful blonde woman who looked almost exactly like Invisible Woman from the new Fantastic Four sat across from Wang Khan with her legs crossed.

From Wang Khan's angle, he could see the spring scenery beneath her skirt with just a slight downward glance.

"My name is Kate Mara. I'm Congressman Malick's secretary, as well as an adviser to the Malick Family's business. I'm here today to represent the Malick Family and discuss a business deal with you."

"The Malick Family? I've heard of them. I hear they have considerable influence in the DC Special District and substantial influence in United States politics as well. But as far as I know, the family is involved in traditional industries. There shouldn't be much business overlap between them and Umbrella, right?"

Kate Mara raised her chin slightly, like a proud peacock.

"Everything in the world can change. Just because there wasn't a connection before doesn't mean there can't be one now. Umbrella's Mars Armor Project has attracted a great deal of attention. The Air Force, Army, and even Navy are all interested in purchasing it. This is a huge business opportunity. As far as I know, the total value of the first-phase orders alone could reach a hundred billion USD."

"If the Mars Armor's performance is really as good as you claim, the total value of subsequent orders could multiply several times over, perhaps even tenfold. That would make it a trillion-USD mega-deal."

"Hahahaha, thanks for the compliment. If it really reaches the figure you mentioned, I'll prepare a big bonus for you."

Kate Mara gave him a strange smile, then suddenly leaned forward and moved closer to Wang Khan.

"A trillion-USD mega-deal. Don't you think it might be a little too much for you to swallow on your own?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Our Malick Family is willing to spend one billion USD to purchase 51 percent of Umbrella Corporation's shares. Once the transaction is complete, we'll take over all subsequent work on the Mars Armor Project. President Wang, you'll only need to sit at home and wait for your dividends. You won't lose a single cent of the profit that belongs to you."

"What? One billion USD? Do you know that I've already invested 500 million into just one targeting system for the Mars Armor? I don't even know how much more I'll have to invest later. One billion isn't enough to cover the research costs, and you still have the nerve to demand 51 percent of the shares? Do you take me for a fool?"

Wang Khan flew into a rage upon hearing this, while Kate Mara let out a chuckle.

"One billion is the greatest sincerity we can offer. I hope President Wang won't make the wrong choice."

"Make the wrong choice? Are you threatening me?"

"Threatening you would be putting it too strongly. We're merely pointing out a way for you to survive. After all, this is the United States, and you're Chinese-American. You should understand what that means. You don't really believe you can do business freely here, do you?"

Kate Mara stood up and turned to leave.

"We'll give you three days to consider it. I hope President Wang will think it over carefully."

"To hell with thinking it over. I can answer you right now: get lost! Go back and tell those idiots in the Malick Family that I wasn't scared into growing up. If they want to swallow my company, they'd better grow themselves a stronger set of teeth first."

Kate Mara looked back and gave Wang Khan a contemptuous smile.

"If you refuse now, it won't be long before you have nothing left."

"Get out! If you don't leave now, I'll have someone throw you out!"

Kate Mara said nothing more and hurried away.

After sitting back down in his office chair, Red Queen's virtual projection appeared in front of Wang Khan.

"Guardian, you aren't really angry, are you?"

"Angry? How could I be? Not only am I not angry, I actually find it hilarious. Red Queen, can you believe I was just threatened by someone? As expected, no matter the time or place, self-important idiots will always come out and provoke a tiger."

"It can't be helped. Your secrecy work has simply been too thorough. To this day, outsiders still don't know that Wang Khan and Shockwave Man are the same person. On top of that, as the company's business keeps growing, capitalists with foulness oozing from every pore are naturally going to come knocking. Guardian, how do you plan to deal with this? Are you going to deal with the Malick Family the way you dealt with Hammer Industries?"

Wang Khan thought for a moment, then suddenly shook his head.

"This time, I'm going to play big!"

A forceful push really makes all the difference. I'll probably have to add another update today. Keep it up!