Hearing, Invitations, Please Follow and Bookmark

The hearing was intense from the very beginning.

Tony Stark and Senator Stern traded barbs, their verbal sparring so fierce that the sparks between them were practically taking physical form.

"You've been deceiving yourself and deceiving the public all along! That Iron Armor of yours is a weapon!" Though Senator Stern still wore a smile, the veins on his forehead visibly throbbed.

"Call it whatever you like. As its creator, I define it as a high-tech prosthetic limb. I accept no questions or rebuttals." Tony Stark remained perfectly composed as he met Stern head-on. "Rather than arguing about that, if you truly care about the public's interests, then the first thing you should do..."

"Is hand over your Iron Armor!"

Senator Stern's blurted words silenced the hearing room for a moment.

"My God, my God! Look at the terrifying thing this senator just said!" Tony Stark sprang up from his seat in surprise. Spreading his hands, he turned to look at the distinguished figures seated behind him, then turned back to Senator Stern, whose forehead was beaded with Cold Sweat. "Private property is sacred and inviolable. I don't believe you, Senator, have the authority to make me do that! If you do, then with a single word, you could take Stark Industries from me. With another word, you could strip every friend behind me of their entire fortunes."

"I don't!" Faced with the silent stares below, Cold Sweat broke out across Senator Stern's forehead. He shouted hoarsely, trying to stop Stark from pinning that label on him. This was never something that could be openly declared in public. If he dared admit it, this hearing would be over—and his real troubles would begin.

"You do!" Tony replied without hesitation.

"I don't want to argue with you..."

"Actually, I don't want to argue with you either!" Tony Stark forcefully cut Senator Stern off. "Technology can help people live better lives, create more jobs, more new products, and more profit! Especially now that the age of New Energy has begun, none of us should keep our eyes nailed to this one planet."

"What do you mean?" Senator Stern was caught completely off guard by Tony Stark's sudden turn.

"My partner is a genius not yet twenty-one, the founder of a high-tech company valued at tens of billions. He once told me something I deeply agree with. The future belongs to the stars!" Tony Stark declared loudly. "There are endless resources beyond our world. We can use them to ensure that, for decades to come, there will be no more conflicts over resources! We can give people better lives, create more jobs, and produce a whole new generation of wealthy people who seize the opportunity!"

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark, please don't change the subject!" Senator Stern angrily hammered the table with his gavel. Its wooden handle looked as though it might snap at any moment.

"Stark Industries and Hebron are on the verge of completing projects such as the Space Elevator. The New World is right before our eyes! Perhaps I can't make the world more peaceful on my own, but Luke and I are working hard to make it better! So who truly wants what is best for the world and its citizens? The senator up there, who talks of weapons with every breath and war with every other?" As he spoke, Tony Stark pointed at Senator Stern, whose face had darkened on the dais. Then his finger turned, pointing at himself, then at Luke and Ina seated behind him.

"Or Stark and Hebron Industries, who are wholeheartedly trying to provide citizens and companies with cheaper energy, more jobs, more cooperation, more money, and more opportunities?"

Tony Stark's words spread out through the cameras in the hall, surging toward the outside world.

"Senator, as someone entrusted with governing this country, you have less vision and broader perspective than even a child. If all senators are people like you, then I have no expectations for the future."

Senator Stern was so enraged by Tony Stark's sharp tongue that he stood on the stage, breathing heavily. For a moment, his mind went blank. According to the plan, now was when he was supposed to call in the helpers he had assembled—Justin Hammer of Hammer Military Industries and Air Force Colonel James Rhodes—to deliver the final blow to Tony Stark and leave him no chance of turning things around.

But now, listening to the murmurs below, seeing Tony Stark's smug face, and the thumbs raised from the crowd from time to time, he understood perfectly well that whether he called Justin Hammer and James Rhodes out or not no longer mattered. The atmosphere in the room, as well as the public's attention, had shifted from whether the Iron Armor was a weapon to the grand Space Program Tony had laid out.

So what if they nailed Tony Stark on the Iron Armor issue?

The public would not care about it at all.

They had successfully convened this hearing, yet before they could even unveil their trump card, they had already suffered a crushing defeat.

Many of them might not care much whether the Iron Armor was a weapon or a high-tech prosthetic limb.

But they would certainly care whether they could get involved in the future Tony Stark had described and claim a share of the pie!

Stark did not lack connections within the government.

And public opinion would now likely lean toward Stark as well.

On top of that, this hearing, which had taken so much effort to arrange, had gotten off to a disastrous start. Senator Stern, who had previously been full of ambition and had only wanted to argue with Tony Stark for three hundred rounds, now only wanted to raise his middle finger, spit in Tony Stark's damn face in full view of everyone, and curse him out viciously.

With things having reached this point, there was naturally no need for the hearing to continue. The smug Tony Stark flashed victory signs at everyone and left the hall surrounded by a crowd.

The matter seemed to have been resolved.

But the information Tony Stark revealed at the hearing became headline news for the following days.

Countless netizens voiced their opinions online, urging Tony Stark and Luke to launch the plan as soon as possible. Companies in related industries also sent all kinds of invitation letters, hoping to reach cooperation agreements with Stark and Hebron Industries before anyone else. The government, meanwhile, became unusually quiet. Though some people had not given up on the Iron Armor issue, no one mentioned it anymore for the time being.

It was under these circumstances that Luke and Tony Stark each received an invitation to a cocktail party.

An invitation from Dario Agger, the man in charge of Roxxon Oil Company.

PS1: If Hebron grew to the scale of a corporation in a cyberpunk world, would that be feasible and interesting to read? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

PS2: Also, stop saying Old Luke built Silent City from scratch. There was a whole group of big shots from the Demon Realm, plus Second Sister assisting him. Old Luke may have lost his power, but all of his experience and technical knowledge remained. If I remember correctly, Second Sister is also an inheritor of Terra's technology. And the protagonist has a leveling panel. Please read carefully. Reaching the heavens in one step is impossible. I can't write something that ignores all logic, then has Silent City appear after just a few years.