What's Wrong? Hurry Up and Crawl!

"Let me show you what real power looks like."

Obadiah pressed a button, and in an instant, every light in the Laboratory activated, bathing the entire place in a brilliance as bright as day.

The glare blurred Stark's vision, but he still noticed the silver monster standing in the middle of the Laboratory. It was a massive suit of armor, even larger than Hulk, with countless chains and cables attached all over it. It radiated power from its appearance alone.

The moment Stark saw that armor, he understood everything.

Clearly, Obadiah had built it after secretly studying his blueprints. After all, it looked extremely similar to the prototype armor he had designed.

And if Obadiah could secretly build armor, then naturally he could do other things behind Stark's back—such as selling weapons produced by Stark Industries to terrorists. It seemed Pepper's suspicions had been correct. Perhaps Obadiah had even been behind the terrorist ambush against him. This bastard wanted him dead.

"Why?"

The thought left Stark with a swirl of emotions. "I always treated you like family..."

"Family? Heh... don't make me laugh."

Obadiah sneered. "Stark Company was founded by Howard and me. I've carefully managed everything here all these years. I poured my heart and soul, my youth, into this place. I'm the company's greatest contributor!"

"And you, Stark?"

"You invented a few little gadgets, and suddenly everyone worships you, Tony Stark, like some kind of god. Now you've even announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons division, destroying everything I've worked for! Whether it's you or anyone else... has anyone ever remembered what I contributed? You and your father took all the credit and glory simply because your last name is Stark. Now, I'm taking back what belongs to me!"

By the end, Obadiah was so agitated that even the fat on his face trembled.

"You..."

Looking at Obadiah's crazed expression, Stark suddenly felt an indescribable sorrow well up inside him. "Obadiah, it's not too late to turn back."

"Turn back? I'm about to have it all! I'll become the richest man in the world!" Obadiah sneered. "Why would I turn back now? Do you think things can still go back to the way they were? Wake up, Tony!"

"..."

Seeing how insane Obadiah had become, Stark understood that the man had made up his mind. Words alone would not persuade him, so he said directly, "Just let Pepper go first. She's innocent."

"Didn't you hear what your uncle said?"

Obadiah smiled. "You give me the reactor first. I told you about this a long time ago, didn't I?"

"Do you think I'm that stupid?" Stark snapped. "If I give you the reactor now, Pepper and I—two people who know your secret—will both die. So you have to release her first. I'll give you the reactor afterward. Otherwise, you can forget about getting it."

"Hmph. Still trying to negotiate when you're at death's door."

Obadiah's eyes shifted. "Fine, you can see her one last time. But first, you take off the armor."

His intentions were easy enough to guess. He wanted Stark to lay down his weapon first; otherwise, Obadiah would have a hard time handling him if Stark suddenly attacked. After all, his own Iron Armor still had no power source.

"Fine."

Desperate to save her, Stark agreed immediately.

However, the Iron Armor was still a first-generation model. Without mechanical arms to assist him, removing it was extremely difficult. Stark activated the emergency ejection system, and with a hiss, the entire suit came apart and scattered into pieces across the floor. It was obvious that it could not be reassembled anytime soon.

Obadiah grinned smugly at the sight. Pepper Potts really was important to him—important enough that he had willingly taken off his armor.

With that thought, he waved a hand. Soon, several men escorted Pepper Potts out.

"Tony!"

Pepper Potts now realized that she had made a mistake. If she had not been captured, Stark would not have been forced into this situation. Her face was filled with apology.

"Pepper, don't worry."

Seeing Pepper Potts, Stark could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. "It'll be over soon. Trust me..."

But just as Stark lowered his guard, Obadiah secretly placed a strange device in his ear and slipped his other hand into his pocket.

The next second, before Stark could react, there was a sharp buzz, and everyone present except Obadiah collapsed.

"Remember this thing, Tony?"

Seeing everyone fall, Obadiah knew he had this in the bag. Smiling, he walked over to Stark and slowly pulled an exquisite, compact mechanical device from his pocket. "The Subsonic Wave Emitter. It's such a pity the Military never approved this for mass production. It's so useful, isn't it?"

"..."

Stark was now completely paralyzed. Subsonic waves at this frequency could temporarily disrupt the human body's sense of balance. In other words, he was no different from someone with high-level paralysis—utterly unable to move, able only to stare at his opponent.

"You're a goose that lays golden eggs, Tony."

Obadiah rose leisurely and walked to a nearby workbench, where he picked up a dismantling tool. Then he returned to Stark and aimed it at the reactor in his chest. "You should know, Tony, that a hen can't enjoy her own eggs."

"Thank you for giving me your finest egg at the very end."

Obadiah smiled and pulled the trigger. With a wet pop, the reactor was ripped straight out of Stark's chest, and Stark's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Without the electromagnet holding them in place, the shrapnel inside his body began moving toward his heart valve.

Seeing this, Pepper Potts, who lay nearby, was frantic. But she too had been affected by the subsonic waves and could not move at all. She could only watch as Stark slowly died in the distance, her heart filled with despair and helplessness.

"Oh, look at this masterpiece of a new era."

Unlike Stark and Potts, Obadiah was in an exceptionally good mood. He slowly walked toward his Iron Armor, his eyes full of admiration.

Soon, he inserted the Small Arc Reactor into the armor's chest.

With a hum, the machine powered up. Two blue lights lit in the Iron Armor's eyes. Obadiah eagerly opened the hatch and climbed into the cockpit. The next second, the Iron Monger armor, as tall as a small hill, slowly rose to its feet, violently snapping the cables and chains behind it.

"This power... it's unbelievably magnificent."

Obadiah was extremely satisfied. With a few quick controls, the cockpit soon sealed shut, and he piloted Iron Monger toward Stark on the ground.

As for Stark—

He had recovered a little by now. After all, the infrasonic generator only lasted around ten minutes, and its effects had weakened considerably. At the very least, he could barely move his limbs again.

But the problem was that he no longer had an Arc Reactor. The shrapnel in his blood vessels was about to pierce his heart, and the agony left his mind blank. Faced with Iron Monger's massive figure, he could only struggle to crawl backward. Yet every inch he crawled required a long pause, making it completely pointless.

He was starting to regret it now. Wizards really were unreliable.

Fang Mo had obviously set him up. The guy had never come to save him at all. If he got another chance, Stark decided he would stick to science.

After Stark had crawled less than a few meters, Obadiah arrived. Iron Monger's immense weight made every step thunder across the ground. It stopped directly in front of Stark. "Tony, you're useless now."

As he spoke, Iron Monger slowly raised an arm. A Gatling gun extended from within it and aimed at Stark on the ground.

"..."

Stark was genuinely terrified now. The pitch-black barrel was pointed at him, and the threat of death instantly flooded his body. Obadiah definitely would not spare him. This time, he really was going to die.

However, at that final moment, purple light suddenly flickered, followed by a voice.

"Tony, what's wrong? Hurry up and crawl."

"Uh..."

Hearing that voice, Stark immediately became agitated and tried to shout something. But the infrasonic waves were still interfering with his nerves, and when he opened his mouth, only meaningless noises came out.

"No, why do you look like you've had a stroke and gone half-paralyzed?"

Seeing this, Fang Mo could not help complaining. "I told you long ago not to touch Palladium, but you wouldn't listen. Now look at you—you got irradiated and mutated. It hasn't even been a few minutes, and you can't speak human language anymore. All you can do is crawl around like a little turtle..."

"Who are you?!"

Obadiah finally snapped out of his shock. Naturally, he had gathered information on Fang Mo and knew that the man might know some Witchcraft, so he had been on guard. But according to the intelligence he had collected, a Wizard should have mastered sinister arts like curses and black magic. Fang Mo suddenly teleporting over had made Obadiah nervous. Just what the hell was this guy?

With that thought, Obadiah hurriedly controlled Iron Monger, swinging the Gatling gun away from Stark and aiming it directly at Fang Mo.

Before Fang Mo could say anything else, Obadiah, feeling threatened, pulled the trigger.

BRRRT!!!

Muzzle flashes burst forth as countless bullets immediately poured toward Fang Mo.

Yet in the next second, the bullets seemed to strike something invisible, hanging densely in midair. Obadiah was utterly stunned.