Ina's Mission

Day after day passed.

What was surprising was that Tony Stark, who had once appeared in all kinds of newspapers every day, had become unusually quiet since his return. The man who could once be found—and mobbed—at every major social venue was now nowhere to be seen. Even though those places were still filled with beauties and remained high-end hunting grounds for Playboys, Tony Stark seemed to have lost interest.

Quite a few reporters who had once made their living off Tony Stark felt rather disappointed.

Unable to get an interview, some tabloid reporters, under intense pressure from their editors demanding Stark-related articles, simply began showing off their own creative talents. One day, one of them interviewed a model who had spent a night with Tony and had her talk at length about how much she missed Stark. Another, with a bit more shame, found a psychologist and conducted an in-depth analysis of the psychological trauma Stark might currently be experiencing.

So even though Tony Stark had not shown his face for a long time, after the initial days of silence, he somehow began appearing on the pages of countless newspapers again.

There was no helping it. The public loved stories about geniuses falling from grace or rich people suffering mental breakdowns. Especially now, when Tony Stark, like Stark Industries, was standing at the center of the storm. In the words of media professionals, he was a trending hot topic—anything written about him would draw attention.

Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's assistant, hid in a corner while attending a social cocktail party in his place.

Holding a wineglass by the balcony railing, Pepper Potts gazed absentmindedly into the distance, looking deeply troubled. As someone who spent time together with Tony Stark day and night and could be said to understand him best, she now felt that Tony had become much more unfamiliar. When she routinely tried to arrange cocktail parties for him, or even schedule beautiful models who suited Tony's tastes, Tony had actually rejected her suggestions.

God knew how shocked Pepper Potts had been when Tony Stark rejected her! Just like the changes he had shown over the past few days, she found that the man who had once always acted recklessly and without restraint now had many things weighing on his mind. He had become reserved, quiet, and even gradually more steady. The change comforted Pepper Potts, but it also frightened her.

She was comforted because Tony had finally matured.

She was frightened because that maturity had made her understanding of Tony feel unfamiliar.

What was even more terrifying was that she had seen the bullet marks scattered across Tony Stark's Iron Armor! The instant she saw them, the fear she had been suppressing nearly swept through her entire body.

"Alone out here?"

A woman's voice, somewhat unfamiliar yet familiar, interrupted Pepper Potts's wandering thoughts. Disturbed, Pepper Potts frowned and turned toward the owner of the voice. When she saw who it was, surprise flashed across her face.

"Ms. Sandra?"

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Ina Sandra walked over to Pepper Potts with a smile and stood beside her at the balcony railing.

"Of course not. There are probably countless people at this party who would like to speak with you." Pepper Potts did not understand Ina Sandra's purpose, but that did not stop her from showing some goodwill in response to the woman's initiative. After all, when it came to influential figures of recent years, aside from her own willful boss, this woman and Luke Field, with whom she had founded Hebron Technology, were both among them.

Compared to Justin Hammer, whom Tony had always looked down on, Tony had no bad words for Luke Field, the soul of Hebron Technology. Based on Pepper Potts's understanding of Tony, anyone who could emerge from his sharp tongue without earning any criticism was already rare. Perhaps it was a recognition of technical skill?

"You mean those people?" Ina Sandra smiled mockingly and pointed toward the party below, where circles upon circles had formed. The outer circles wanted to approach the inner circles, while the inner circles desperately tried to squeeze into the core circle. And the unquestionable core of this gathering was the man currently holding forth—Obadiah Stane, the current head of Stark Industries. Everyone revolved around him. Without sufficient status and standing, one could not even gain a foothold on the outskirts of the core circle.

If Ina Sandra went downstairs, she could naturally form a core circle of her own with ease, or casually join Obadiah Stane's circle. Within that circle, she would be just as much a praised centerpiece as Obadiah Stane. But what would be the point?

He was merely someone about to become obsolete.

"How is Tony Stark?" Ina Sandra asked Pepper after withdrawing her gaze, without waiting for an answer.

"He's perfectly fine." Pepper instinctively put on a practiced fake smile and answered smoothly. She had heard that question too many times since Tony Stark's safe return. Unable to find Tony, reporters often cornered her whenever she had to make public appearances and asked her about him. By now, the question had practically given her a stress reaction.

"It has nothing to do with me. I'm asking on Luke's behalf." Seeing Pepper's fake smile, Ina keenly noticed her instant distancing and wariness. Unbothered, she added an explanation.

"Luke? Luke Field?" Only then did Pepper realize that she had been overly guarded. She was also somewhat curious about someone who had made it through Tony's sharp tongue unscathed.

"That's him. He's very concerned about Tony Stark. When Tony disappeared, he investigated for a while too, though unfortunately he wasn't able to help much." Ina Sandra lied without blinking. During that time, Luke had been wholly absorbed in his laboratory, digesting the gains from his period of seclusion and strengthening Hebron Technology's technical foundation.

Tony Stark had disappeared?

Sorry, but Ina had never heard Luke express even a single word of concern or anything else.

"Thank you very much." Pepper thanked her, though she did not quite understand why.

"There's no need to thank me. Although we didn't uncover anything at the time, we did gain something in the end. This is some information. Take it back and let Tony Stark look at it. Perhaps he'll find something in it. Remember, only Tony can see it, and only the two of you can know about it." Ina Sandra discreetly slipped a USB drive into Pepper's empty left hand. After clinking her wineglass against the one Pepper held in her right hand, she turned and left without another word.

Her task of coming here today was complete.

PS: Don't worry if you didn't understand yesterday's parts. They were just setting details. They would be supplemented and explained later.