"How much do you think a phone like this should cost?" Tony asked Fang Bie, turning over the phone in his hand, its entire body gleaming with a silvery-white metallic sheen.
After three hours of work, they had finally produced this prototype.
Even Tony, who was used to high-tech gadgets, had to admit that this phone hit exactly the right spot. Sleek, efficient, and eye-catching, it was truly one of a kind in the world.
"Six hundred dollars. I think it should sell for at least six hundred!" Fang Bie answered without hesitation. Given the exchange rates in this world, the smartphone he had named the M1 was absolutely worth $600.
He remembered that Apple products in his previous life had sold for around that price, and later their prices had even climbed above a thousand dollars. That was how Apple had become the company with the most cash on hand and the highest market value in the world.
It was the first company in the world to reach a trillion-dollar market value, dozens of times greater than Tony Stark's publicly known fortune of tens of billions!
"Great! Then we'll price it at $599!" Tony clapped his hands. "Jarvis, how much does one of these phones cost to make?"
"Sir, based on the prototype and the cost of your chips, each phone should cost around $3,000. However, if production is moved to a factory and scaled up to 100,000 units, the cost per phone should fall below $50." (The author doesn't know much about this stuff, so please go easy on me.)
The terrifying profit margin shocked not only Pepper Potts, who had just come downstairs with coffee, but also Obadiah Stane, who had arrived with her. Unable to contain their excitement, they hurried over to take a closer look.
"Tony, aren't you working on your reactor anymore?" Obadiah asked quickly, though his eyes remained fixed on the silver-white prototype.
"That's my business. You two came at just the right time. This is our company's next flagship product, a genuinely groundbreaking piece of technology: the M1 smartphone!" Tony repeated to them what the three of them had discussed earlier.
Their expressions differed, but both showed clear delight.
Unlike Tony's somewhat unreliable Arc Reactor, this revolutionary mobile device represented something enormous. It was like the invention of the computer: anyone with a keen eye could see just what a revolution it would bring!
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!" Obadiah cried three times, his voice almost cracking as he clutched the prototype and refused to let go.
"Pepper, notify all the media. I'm holding a press conference. This phone's arrival should finally give Stark Industries' falling stock a chance to stabilize!" Tony said, taking the phone from Obadiah.
His conversation with Fang Bie had shown him the limitless business potential of a phone like this. Of course, he had to make the most of the opportunity, using the new device to stop Stark Industries' stock from continuing its disastrous plunge.
"Obie, contact the contract manufacturers right now. Once the press conference is over, start production immediately. I want the first million phones off the line within three months!" Tony told Obadiah.
The resentment Obadiah had shown when he arrived was long gone. Even the words he had been about to say had vanished from his mind. He nodded excitedly and hurried out of the room.
He failed to notice the cold glint in his nephew's eyes, or the strange expressions on the other three faces.
"Obadiah really is up to something!" After playing the part of a tool for so long, Yinsen had finally caught on. He tapped his tablet, and a stream of information appeared in midair.
"Using this news has thrown a wrench into his plans, at least. Tony, have you found anything on him?" Fang Bie asked, no longer excited but utterly calm.
Tony's fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code streaming from beneath them. A flood of data appeared, followed by a series of photographs.
"When he touched the phone, I captured his fingerprints and compared them against the ones we found on the weapons. Obie inspects every product the company makes. These are his fingerprints." Tony took a wooden chest from his personal storage space. Inside were the weapons he had recovered from the terrorists' base.
"He's been selling weapons to those terrorist groups behind my back all this time. Fang Bie, if you hadn't warned me, I might never have found out!" Tony said gratefully.
"Don't mention it. We're all in this together now. You'd better be careful. If he was willing to send terrorists after you, he could do anything. And now you've handed him such a powerful money-making tool. I think he might not be able to hold back." Fang Bie said.
He had successfully dangled the bait, and his target had taken a huge bite. Everything was going according to plan.
What excited him even more was that a product that had existed only in his memories had been brought into this world through his own efforts. It was hard to believe.
"Come to the press conference with me. You're the real designer of this phone, so you deserve the most say." Tony said. Fang Bie hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no. I've never been to an event like that. I'd only embarrass you." Fang Bie tried to refuse, but Tony simply hauled him into the car.
"Don't worry. What do you have to worry about with me there? Do you think I'd let you embarrass yourself alone? Just tell them what you believe in. Whether this makes money depends on how you perform!" Tony seemed to trust Fang Bie's ideas completely and dragged him into the car without giving him a chance to object.
Fang Bie was at a loss. How had he ended up on this pirate ship? And why, now that he wanted to leave, did he find the doors welded shut?
"Hey, don't look like that. You came up with this company, so how about I give you 20% of the shares?" Tony said.
"Twenty percent? You're sure?" Fang Bie perked up at once. A newly founded phone company destined to reach Apple's heights would make a 20% stake an unimaginable fortune.
Besides, Stark Industries wasn't short on money. It could handle nearly all the financing itself, which meant that 20% of the shares would ultimately be worth an astronomical sum.
Although he wasn't from this world and wouldn't be staying here long, the thought of an ordinary person like him owning such a fortune was enough to make his blood race.
"Deal! It's a promise!" Fang Bie agreed at once, afraid Tony might change his mind.
By then, their car had only just pulled out of the driveway...
P.S. The signed contract has already been mailed. Because of the holiday, I'll probably have to wait until people are back at work to hear from them.
Before you continue