Setting a Trap for Belasco

Viper deeply agreed with Hydra's final analysis: if Hydra brought a USB drive into Avengers Tower and went on a killing spree, even an idiot would know that the drive contained a program capable of seriously crippling the Avengers' combat strength. Tony Stark would never ignore something like that.

But if a bunch of idiots stormed into Avengers Tower with a USB drive, shouting, "We're going to take down the Avengers," and bragging that they would use the drive to destroy them, then given Tony Stark's personality, there was a high chance he would analyze the drive for amusement. Who knew? It might actually work?!

In any case, Hydra did not need to pay much. They could even outsource it; a few thousand dollars would be enough to get everything done.

While Hydra was busy outsourcing, Roxxon and Stark Industries' price war entered its next stage. With massive quantities of high-quality oil being extracted from the Mist Kingdom, along with the technology they had swiped from Hydra, Roxxon grandly announced plans to build oil-fired power plants across the United States. Dario Agger was going to drive electricity prices lower than Stark's!

"Now this is a real business war—the most brutally simple logic, pitting the two people who were hardest to threaten."

While they were discussing how to set a trap for Belasco, Peter let out a helpless sigh. Iron Fist Daniel, who had heard him, asked, "Aren't they afraid of running afoul of antitrust laws because of malicious competition?"

Normally, pricing in an industry like this was discussed internally. To prevent cutthroat competition from driving prices too low, there had to be a price everyone could accept.

That ensured everyone in the industry could make money.

Conversely, if Stark and Roxxon kept slashing prices without restraint, a huge number of