The One Being Fed Dog Food

As soon as Tony Stark returned to New York, the media, who were lying in wait at the airport, found out. Once the media knew, the whole world knew.

Stark Industries' stock price also rose in response, more than tripling in value in a short period, not far from its pre-crash levels.

This was the mark of a genius; investors worldwide felt Tony Stark was worth every penny.

Chen Changsheng had not sold any of his Stark Industries stock. It wasn't until that afternoon, when Tony Stark held a press conference at Stark Tower, that Chen Changsheng finally made his move, selling off all the shares he had bought in the preceding days.

As soon as these shares were released, they were snapped up like hotcakes, and Chen Changsheng's tens of millions of dollars inevitably ballooned several times over.

From fifty million in cash to five hundred million dollars now, Chen Changsheng had only spent the time it took to rescue Tony Stark.

At the press conference, Tony announced to New York that he, Tony Stark, was back!

Back in New York, Tony seemed to have returned to his old, uninhibited ways. Ignoring the stares of others, he casually sat on the not-so-high podium, eating a burger bought by his assistant, Little Pepper, as he recounted his recent experiences.

Having faced death, been repeatedly threatened by terrorists, and finally learning that his friend and savior, Dr. Ethan, had died saving him, Tony Stark's mindset had undergone a significant change.

Tony's narrative was filled with tales of his battles of wits with the terrorists, but the climactic moments were completely omitted.

While vividly recounting his ordeal, Tony Stark suddenly thought of Dr. Ethan, who had saved him but was killed by the terrorists.

During the press conference, Tony's voice grew softer and softer as he thought of the mountain of Stark Industries weapons piled up by the terrorists, wondering how many innocent people such a vast arsenal could kill.

Chewing his burger in silence, Tony Stark felt he needed to do something. He looked up at the flashing cameras, then at his assistant, and swallowed the food in his mouth. He stood up and solemnly walked to the microphone at the podium.

Approaching the microphones placed side-by-side, Tony quietly looked at everyone before him, unsure of what to say or do.

He opened his mouth silently, then Tony Stark spoke with firm resolve, "I, Tony Stark, chairman of Stark Industries, hereby announce that Stark Industries will permanently shut down its weapons manufacturing division."

Before Tony Stark could finish speaking, gasps of shock erupted from the press section below. Obadiah immediately rushed forward, slinging an arm around Tony Stark's shoulders, and explained, "Everyone, as you can see, Tony has just returned and is not yet clear-headed. He needs to rest now."

With that, Obadiah steered Tony Stark off the podium, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Tony Stark's personality had become incredibly tiresome to Obadiah, but for the sake of his own money, Obadiah still needed to carefully maintain their relationship.

The reporters, sensing a huge scoop, swarmed towards the podium like ravenous dogs, eager to obtain more explosive news.

"Is Stark Industries really going to shut down its weapons manufacturing division?"

"Tony, is what you're saying true?"

"Tony, what were your real experiences during your kidnapping?"

Watching the live broadcast on television, Chen Changsheng saw Tony Stark's arrogant announcement about ceasing weapons manufacturing. He had to admit that Tony Stark was finally starting to look like a superhero, one who dared to take responsibility.

Many others were also watching Tony Stark's press conference, and those quick on their feet had already begun selling off their Stark Industries stock.

These people understood Tony Stark's personality: a playboy who kept his word, a lawless tycoon who would truly honor his promise to cut off his company's main profit center.

If Chen Changsheng had a chart of Stark Industries' stock performance in front of him, he would have seen the stock price plummeting.

Having already instructed his stockbroker to repurchase Stark Industries stock when the price crashed, Chen Changsheng naturally didn't need to worry further. The stockbroker still had his professional integrity.

It wasn't that no one wanted to try their luck and buy low, but they weren't prepared. At best, they got a taste of it, or not even that – just some scraps.

On his way home, Tony was lectured incessantly by Obadiah, who was clearly angry.

It was no wonder Obadiah was so furious; Tony Stark's actions would surely cause the stock price to fall even further. That was his hard-earned money!

Tony still thought of Obadiah as his good uncle and didn't argue. After returning to his seaside villa, Tony locked himself away, preparing to work on his new idea: building a new Iron Man suit.

The experience of being kidnapped by terrorists had left Tony with trauma, so he wanted to build an Iron Man suit to provide himself with more personal security.

Tony Stark was a hands-off boss, so the responsibility of stabilizing the stock price fell to Obadiah. Seeing the stock prices, Obadiah felt an urge to shoot Tony Stark himself. This was his hard-earned money!

The losses were heavy, so heavy! It was unknown how long it would take to recover. This further fueled Obadiah's dissatisfaction with Tony Stark, whom he saw as an untalented, money-wasting playboy.

Returning to his office alone, Obadiah re-established contact with the terrorists in Afghanistan, intending to express his displeasure.

However, as soon as the video call connected, before Obadiah could say anything, the terrorist leader exclaimed, "Obadiah, you need to cover our losses. Nearly two hundred of our men died, and our base was destroyed. You are responsible for all of this!"

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If anything, this made Obadiah even more furious. Not to be outdone, he retorted loudly, "Not only did you fail to fulfill our agreement, but you also let Tony Stark escape! This has put me in a very difficult position. Do you know how much money I lost? You should be compensating me for my losses."

"I don't care about that. You need to supply us with a batch of weapons immediately, or you know the consequences." The terrorists couldn't be bothered with such niceties. Their problems were far greater than Obadiah's. He had only lost some money; they were facing death.

If their superiors found out about the lapse here and the deaths of so many brothers, their own lives would be forfeit. Their only recourse was to quickly gather funds, recruit more men, and make amends for their mistakes. Therefore, regardless of how angry Obadiah was, the terrorist began to issue threats.

Unfortunately, Obadiah wasn't buying it. He was in America, and what could a terrorist in Afghanistan do to him?

Almost amused to the point of anger by the terrorists, Obadiah sarcastically said, "If you hadn't been greedy for more money, would all this have happened? If you had killed Tony Stark sooner, would this have occurred? You are truly incompetent! So many of you couldn't even keep track of one Tony Stark! And now you still want me to invest?"

Seeing that force wouldn't work, the terrorist leader immediately changed tactics, softening his tone. "It's not entirely our fault. Tony Stark built new weapons in the cave himself, and with the help of the US military, otherwise, he would still be under our control."

As he spoke, the terrorist also produced fragments of the Iron Man suit he had collected from the desert, displaying them to show he wasn't lying.

Seeing the fragments on the ground on the monitor, vaguely shaped like a human, Obadiah became thoughtful.

Tony Stark had invented something new again, and it seemed to be a personal armor.

Although Obadiah was very annoyed by Tony Stark's actions, he still had great faith in the weapons Tony Stark invented. If not for Tony Stark's ingenuity, Stark Industries wouldn't have developed to its current level.

No, if not for his management, Stark Industries would never have reached its current status. Obadiah pushed the absurd thought out of his mind and refocused on the negotiation at hand.

Looking at the fragments of the Iron Man suit, Obadiah felt he might have found a new avenue for profit. For a fleeting moment, Obadiah no longer wanted to kill Tony, such a lucrative asset.

"Collect the wreckage of this weapon and hand it over to me, and you will get what you want." With that, Obadiah hung up the video call. This was the advantage of having money; even bloodthirsty terrorists had to humble themselves and beg for his help.

Obadiah was also preparing himself now. He could no longer tolerate this group of terrorists. They were good at causing trouble but terrible at getting things done. If it weren't for their greed this time, Stark Industries would already be his.

Obadiah planned to find some professionals to deal with these people. He wanted the new weapons, but he wouldn't give the terrorists a single cent! Double-crossing required thorough preparation, or it was easy to fail.

On the other hand, although the terrorists were a bit angry, they were preparing according to Obadiah's requirements. After all, terrorist activities also required funding.

As peripheral members of the Ten Rings, these people didn't dare to use the prestige of the Mandarin to threaten Obadiah. Therefore, they could only grudgingly accept the situation.

Chen Changsheng had already acquired 20% of Stark Industries' stock at a low price. Now, Tony Stark held 30%, Obadiah held 10%, the military held 10%, S.H.I.E.L.D. held 10%, the US government held 10%, and others held 10%. Chen Changsheng was undoubtedly the second-largest shareholder of Stark Industries.

At this moment, Chen Changsheng finally understood why Tony Stark was so carefree. Looking at the shareholder structure, even if the stock plummeted, Stark Industries still had a safety net.

The military and the government were shareholders, as well as some unknown department...

Even though he had become the second-largest shareholder of Stark Industries, Chen Changsheng still had no intention of showing his presence around Tony Stark, as it wasn't exactly glorious. Of course, more importantly, Chen Changsheng had other matters to worry about at the moment.

With his wife's help, Dr. Otto could now regain his consciousness for extended periods. Although he could communicate normally, he was occasionally interrupted by the artificial intelligence in his mechanical arms, severely affecting his thinking.

Dr. Otto's occasional muttering made Rosemary quite helpless. Therefore, Rosemary asked Chen Changsheng to think of a way to help Dr. Otto recover.

Well, it was only about mental recovery. After learning that his spinal nerves were entangled with the metal needles, the Ottos had given up on treatment.

Chen Changsheng was also somewhat troubled by this. He didn't want a Doctor Octopus controlled by mechanical arms. What Chen Changsheng wanted was a Dr. Otto who worked tirelessly for the advancement of human technology!

Chen Changsheng had also carefully examined Dr. Otto's mechanical arms and found no other way to solve the problem of the probes in the mechanical arms merging with Dr. Otto's spinal nerves.

Given Dr. Otto's attitude of taking the world upon himself, Chen Changsheng felt that Dr. Otto was even pleased to have a few extra mechanical hands to control at will...

Chen Changsheng had the ability to give Dr. Otto a better body and completely separate him from the mechanical arms, but it would depend on whether Dr. Otto dared to trust him.

After much thought, the simplest solution was to use the inhibitor chip designed by Dr. Otto to suppress the intelligence of the mechanical arms. This way, Dr. Otto could remain lucid for a long time without any side effects.

The fabrication of the inhibitor chip was simple. It was originally a modification Dr. Otto made to other chips. After Chen Changsheng found the same model of chip, Dr. Otto completed the modification himself.

With the inhibitor chip, Dr. Otto returned to his former self, taking the world upon himself, although the four mechanical arms behind him looked a bit awkward.

Fortunately, as a scientist, Dr. Otto had a strong ability to accept things. He didn't care much about whether his new appearance would cause unnecessary commotion.

Initially, Chen Changsheng had wanted to discuss the artificial intelligence Dr. Otto had programmed. After all, an intelligence that could affect the user's mind didn't seem like ordinary artificial intelligence.

Even Chen Changsheng, who had seen the most advanced artificial intelligence, Jarvis, didn't feel it had such capabilities.

Dr. Otto's wife, as always, deeply loved her husband. Seeing the loving glances between them and hearing their tender, affectionate words, Chen Changsheng felt like he had been force-fed a lot of dog food...

Dr. Otto held a Ph.D. in physics, and his wife held a Ph.D. in literature. If they weren't truly in love, they likely wouldn't have had the chance to be together. True love is great, so great that even the mechanical arms behind Dr. Otto didn't matter.

Looking at the loving couple, Chen Changsheng decided to go find Gwen to exchange pleasantries. He had a girlfriend too, so there was no need to watch Dr. Otto flaunt his affection here.