Heading to Afghanistan

After scaling the ten-meter-high wall, Li Chuan formed hand seals and transformed into Obadiah Stane. Then he leisurely walked toward the villa.

He did not avoid the patrolling bodyguards he encountered along the way. They assumed their boss was unable to sleep and had come down for a walk at night, so they paid him little attention.

He made his way to the villa entrance, easily used Obadiah's face to unlock the smart lock, and entered through the door.

In the second-floor bedroom, Li Chuan looked at the soundly sleeping Obadiah Stane, took out an anesthetic spray, and gave the old man's face several bursts, sending him fully into unconsciousness.

He wrapped him in a bedsheet, carried him downstairs, and tossed him behind the door. Then Li Chuan beckoned to one of the bodyguards patrolling ahead.

"Go. Bring a car over from the garage!"

The bodyguard froze for a moment, but he still nodded and jogged toward the garage.

A moment later, an expensive SUV pulled up in front of Li Chuan.

After telling the bodyguard to continue his patrol, he threw the sheet-wrapped Obadiah into the back seat and openly drove the SUV to the villa gate.

Seeing that Obadiah was behind the wheel, the guard immediately activated the switch and opened the gate.

"I have some business to handle and will be away for a few days. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them to wait until I return."

After giving the gate guard that instruction through the rolled-down window, Li Chuan stepped on the gas and sped away.

Only Obadiah knew the exact location of the terrorists who had kidnapped Tony Stark. No—perhaps even he did not know it, but at the very least, he knew how to contact their leader.

As long as he could contact that leader, he would have a way to find their location.

Previously, he had considered infiltrating Obadiah's villa and Stark Tower while Obadiah was away to search for clues related to Obadiah's contact with the terrorists.

But after thinking it over, he decided against it.

Breaking in would not be difficult. The problem was that he was no computer expert; after getting inside, he probably would not even get past the most basic computer boot password.

So he chose a more direct approach: kidnapping Obadiah himself and interrogating the information he needed out of him.

Obadiah was not a Hydra agent. He would not swallow poison and kill himself rather than reveal a scrap of intelligence. Li San and the others could probably make him spill every secret without Li Chuan needing to intervene.

As for whether the kidnapping of a famous figure like Obadiah would cause an uproar, that was certain. It would not be on the same level as Tony Stark's kidnapping, but it would still be sensational.

However, that was not a problem.

Both the bodyguards and the villa's security cameras could prove that Obadiah had driven out of the villa himself, and he had even specifically said he would not return for several days.

Within those few days, Li Chuan would naturally release Obadiah after completing the side quest.

By then, Obadiah would presumably face Tony Stark's fury and the judgment of the law. As for his kidnapping, likely no one would care anymore.

The next day, just as Li Chuan and Wanda returned from a run at a park near their residential complex, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Mr. Li Chuan, right? Please wait a moment. I'd like to speak with you about the new parking regulations for the parking lot."

Li Chuan turned and saw that it was Li San. He said to Wanda beside him:

"Wanda, go back and make breakfast first. I'll go handle this."

Wanda nodded without any suspicion. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she continued jogging toward Building Eight.

Only after Wanda disappeared from sight did Li San begin his report.

"Obadiah confessed to everything. He gave us information on that terrorist organization and their contact details, as well as the terms of their deal."

"Did you tell him why we were questioning him about this?"

Li Chuan wiped the sweat from his hands.

Li San replied:

"We only said that we had a grudge against that terrorist organization and wanted to find them. We did not specifically mention anything related to Tony Stark."

"Good. I understand. I'll head over after breakfast."

In truth, whether Obadiah knew their objective was not particularly important. Even if he guessed it, so what? If everything went according to plan, by the time they released him, it would all be settled.

After returning home and eating breakfast with Wanda, Li Chuan did not go to the new company. Instead, he went to the secret interrogation room within the residential complex.

He glanced at Obadiah, who was covered in wounds and completely blindfolded, then nodded and had a computer-savvy subordinate contact the terrorist leader, Lazar Hamidmi, in Obadiah's name using the contact information Obadiah had provided.

A moment later, the subordinate looked at the computer and reported:

"He says that you never told him the person they kidnapped was the famous Tony Stark. If you want them to kill him, you'll have to pay more."

"Reply to him. Tell him I want to meet him. If negotiations go well, I'm willing to pay five times the original price, and I'm willing to provide him with Stark Industries' most advanced missiles in the future."

Li Chuan thought for a moment before giving the order.

"Yes, Boss."

After typing away for a while, the subordinate replied:

"He agreed. Tomorrow morning, outside Baghlan Province, Afghanistan."

"Very good. Looks like I need to tell Wanda I'm going on a business trip."

A faint smile appeared on Li Chuan's face. Then he instructed Li San behind him:

"Keep him sedated. Don't let him wake up. We'll deal with him after I return."

As long as Lazar Hamidmi agreed to meet, the matter was basically eighty percent complete.

"A new side quest is available. Please proceed to the panel to view it."

Just then, the familiar mission notification sounded in Li Chuan's ear.

He opened the panel and clicked on the side quest tab. A newly refreshed quest appeared at the very top:

"Side Quest: Kill Lazar Hamidmi, a minor leader of the Ten Rings, and destroy his base in the Afghan desert.

Reward: Two months of Minor World time."

"It really is rare for a quest rewarding Minor World time to appear again."

Seeing that the reward was actually two months of Minor World time, Li Chuan's mood improved even further.

Quite a few side quests had refreshed recently, but this was the first quest related to Minor World time since he had completed the mission to settle in New York.

"Still, this means the plan to secretly take Tony Stark and Dr. Ethan away will have to change."

Originally, he had planned to knock out Lazar Hamidmi, use the Transformation Technique to assume his appearance, and then take Tony Stark and Dr. Ethan away directly. That would have been the safest approach.

But now, for the mission reward, he would have no choice but to go on a killing spree when the time came.

After giving it some thought, he decided this was fine too. At least it would eliminate the problem at its root, and he would not have to worry about any future trouble. It would just take a little more effort.