Getting Rich

"If we can reach a partnership on this project, granting you the rights to use the weapon designs for free won't be a problem."

Obadiah smiled as he spoke, utterly unconcerned.

The toy market? Profits of a few hundred million?

He did not care about that at all. If his plan succeeded, what he gained would be far more than a mere few hundred million.

The future smartphone market would undoubtedly be enormous. China was developing rapidly, and phones would certainly become a necessity for everyone. Even if each phone sold for over a thousand dollars, that would be a trillion-dollar market—one that even Stark Industries could only look up to.

And smart systems would definitely become the core of smartphones, perhaps even more important than chips!

A smart system could collect every user's information, gather big data, even spy on and monitor their privacy. That ability alone made it a super "strategic" weapon.

Obadiah was extremely confident in the capabilities of his own Jarvis. China's networks had always been difficult for America to infiltrate. If Jarvis could penetrate the enemy's interior, it would be a tremendous help to America.

In the end, America had never abandoned its desire to destroy China!

Obadiah's goal was clearly to use Jarvis to infiltrate China. Compared to that, licensing fees were nothing but trivial pocket change!

Besides, China had now become the world's factory and could manufacture all kinds of goods. Its toy industry was especially famous; it could be said that ninety percent of the world's toys were made in China. There were countless toy guns, yet no Chinese company had ever been seen paying licensing fees.

The whole world knew that in China, "copyright protection" was practically a joke. If someone wanted to manufacture something, could an American company really stop them?

Accuse them of infringement?

Heh. Who would care?

Yet Chen Mu's family factory had actually said it wanted to purchase licensing rights. It was so unbelievable that even Obadiah had nearly thought he had misheard.

However, after confirming the news, Obadiah quickly devised another plan. He wanted to use Chen Mu in turn to achieve his sinister goal of "infiltrating China."

"That's wonderful. It's an honor to reach a partnership with your side in the smartphone sector."

But Chen Mu, who had long known that Obadiah was no good person, had roughly guessed Obadiah's intentions. Still, he did not care too much and instead appeared very welcoming.

You want to hand Jarvis over to me? I couldn't ask for more!

You want to use Jarvis to infiltrate China? Too bad you picked the wrong person. As long as you put Jarvis in Chen Mu's hands, he'll show you the terror of Huaqiangbei!

Jarvis? I can turn it into my own technology in minutes. Believe it or not?

"Haha, good. As for the design licensing fee, we'll grant it to you in full, free of charge!"

Having received Chen Mu's agreement, Obadiah was naturally delighted. He loved money, of course, but as for profit-sharing, he did not consider it a problem. He could simply take it back bit by bit afterward. After all, he had plenty of methods...

"Mr. Stan, actually, I have another request. I hope you can help me."

"Go ahead."

Obadiah looked at Chen Mu curiously, somewhat puzzled.

"I've always admired Stark Industries' advanced technology. I hope I can take a close look at your company's high-tech products and broaden my horizons."

Naturally, Chen Mu's intentions were just as malicious. Seeing them up close meant touching them, and then completely analyzing someone else's technology.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to steal their technology. Others simply had no way of noticing.

"Heh, of course that won't be a problem."

In Obadiah's eyes, Chen Mu merely wanted to look at their high-tech products. What was the problem with that? He was more than happy to show off Stark Industries' technology and awe this young country bumpkin from China.

"How about this? Tony should be back around noon. When he returns, I can take you to meet him. I imagine you're both young people, so you should have more in common. You can also discuss the specifics with him in detail."

Obadiah was in such a good mood that he even planned to personally take Chen Mu on a tour of Stark Industries' advanced technology.

"Mr. Tony is back?"

Chen Mu blinked. It seemed to be even faster than he had expected. Had he miscalculated the timing earlier?

But it did not matter. In any case, it would not affect Chen Mu in the slightest.

But young people?

The hell do you mean, young people? Chen Mu was only twenty, while Tony was probably already in his thirties by now.

In his thirties, and he still had the nerve to call himself a "young person"?

"Come on, I'll take you to see the real F-22 Raptor and B-2 bomber first!"

Obadiah patted Chen Mu on the shoulder and laughed. "I heard you didn't get to see the real Raptor and Spirit at Hammer Industries yesterday, and you were a little disappointed, right? You came to Stark Industries, so you came to the right place. Here, you'll see the real things, not Hammer Industries' models!"

Obadiah was very generous toward a potential "major client." They were only looking, after all, and he would be watching right beside Chen Mu. Was he supposed to worry that Chen Mu could steal some information?

Or worry that he might steal the fighter jets?

What a joke!

In this respect, Obadiah was not all that different from Justin Hammer. He merely wanted to show off in front of Chen Mu—look how backward China was. A fifth-generation fighter like theirs was something China could never develop!

Of course, the difference between Obadiah and Justin was that even if Obadiah thought that way, he was not stupid enough to say it out loud!

"...That's great!"

It had fallen into his lap without any effort. Chen Mu froze for a moment before breaking into an excited smile.

He was genuinely excited. This meant that he would definitely obtain the complete technology for a fifth-generation fighter this time!

Those technologies alone would be enough to raise China's military capabilities by a huge margin!

Feeling very pleased with himself, Obadiah soon brought Chen Mu to a large production line, allowing him to get his wish and touch an F-22 and a B-2. After that, he led Chen Mu around the industrial park, letting him see plenty of other weapons and equipment.

From individual firearms to massive fighter jets, Chen Mu had the good fortune to touch every one of them. Poor Obadiah had no idea that his "showing off" had allowed all of his company's technology to fall into Chen Mu's hands.

Poor Stark Industries had actually followed in Hammer Industries' footsteps. Nearly all of its technology had been silently acquired by Chen Mu!

And the culprit behind it all was none other than Obadiah himself!

Then again, whether it was Obadiah or Justin Hammer, no one in this world could have imagined the appearance of a "bug" like Chen Mu. With only a touch, or even a glance, he could effortlessly take away the technology they were so proud of, as easily as taking something from his own pocket.

At this moment, Chen Mu's Huaqiangbei technology reserves had actually surpassed Stark Industries—they were the combined total of Stark Industries and Hammer Industries!