Obadiah rushed over to the suit of armor in three quick strides. His fingers ran over the armor plates, and the rough sheet metal scraped his fingertips raw, but he barely noticed.
The sheet-metal work was crude, but the structural design was brilliant.
"If we reverse-engineer it and make some improvements, we can mass-produce it!"
"Even if we can't restart the weapons line, this could plug every hole—and even give us leverage over Tony!"
Suddenly, his fingers stopped at the suit's chest.
It was empty.
"Without a power core, this is just a pile of scrap." Obadiah's face darkened.
Fu Haoran remained seated, his tone even. "The only small Arc Reactor that can run reliably is in Tony Stark's chest. You know that, don't you?"
A flicker of discomfort crossed Obadiah's face. Of course he knew where the power core was. He'd only said that to test the other man's hand and gain the upper hand in negotiations.
Fu Haoran paid no attention to his little ploy and continued, "Still, I can get you the power core you want."
Obadiah narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? Where's Raza?"
"Mr. Raza and his team were all tragically killed in a sudden armed conflict." Fu Haoran's tone was as casual as if he were reading out a menu. "I've taken over his legacy. You can call me Mr. Fu."
Obadiah fell silent for two seconds.
He glanced over the soldiers standing at attention, then at Fu Haoran's composed face, before looking at the bodyguards who had been disarmed and taken into custody. He knew perfectly well that he had no bargaining power.
"What do you want? Money?"
"I want money, but that's not the main thing."
Fu Haoran raised a hand, and Wade passed him a document.
Obadiah took it and skimmed through it. His expression looked as though he'd just eaten shit.
There were photos and backup recordings of him secretly meeting with Raza at the camp and selling out Tony's evacuation route.
Clearly, Raza had left the evidence behind as leverage to blackmail him!
"Mr. Obadiah, I'm sure Stark Industries' board of directors—and the nobles demanding repayment—would be very interested in this."
Obadiah's face turned pale, then flushed with anger. He forced down his rage and asked, "What kind of access do you want?"
Fu Haoran held up two fingers and said,
"First, I want field personnel IDs for Stark Industries, with three high-level access clearances."
Obadiah frowned. "Are you trying to steal materials?"
"I'm making authorized use of them," Fu Haoran corrected mildly.
Obadiah hesitated for a few seconds. Fu Haoran wanted to infiltrate Stark Industries' core facilities, which was no small risk.
But when he thought of his debt crisis and the damning evidence, he had no choice.
"I can give you the IDs, but your access will only extend to the Materials Laboratory and the Scrap Yard. You absolutely cannot touch any core research data!"
Fu Haoran nodded. "Deal."
"Second, I want a security subcontract with Stark Industries."
"Also, wire me five hundred million dollars in startup funds. I need to buy basic supplies."
Obadiah knitted his brows and asked warily, "What do you need that money for?"
Fu Haoran glanced up calmly. "Moving things. Relax, nothing illegal. I won't cause you any trouble."
Obadiah breathed a sigh of relief.
No demands for power, just resources and access?
That was easy enough.
Once he got the power core and the armor technology, he'd have plenty of ways to quietly make these outsiders disappear.
"Fine, but don't keep me waiting too long!"
Obadiah turned and got into his car. The instant the door closed, the smile vanished from his face. He leaned toward the head bodyguard in the front seat and growled,
"Investigate these people immediately. Once we have the power core and the technology, get rid of every last one of these outsiders!"
At the same time, inside the tent.
Lucifer voiced the question on her mind. "You're really going to work with that fat guy? He can't hide how stupid he is."
"Work with him?" Fu Haoran scoffed. "We're here for resources, not to make friends."
"He'll provide a lab, access, and parts. As for who gets to use whatever we build, that's not up to him."
"What are you going to do next?" Lucifer pressed.
"No rush. Let's put on a little show first." Fu Haoran's smile faded, and his tone turned serious.
"I'll use his lab, parts, and energy technology to support Hive City. I'd never stake everything on an outsider who's doomed to fail."
The two boarded the Valkyrie Transport, already standing by. The cabin door closed slowly, shutting out the camp's blowing sand.
"Head north, to the mining town of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia," Fu Haoran ordered the pilot.
"Next, we're going to find someone to invest in us."
Siberia. The bitter wind howled, and thick snow whipped through the air, rattling the windows of a shabby little house as if they might shatter at any moment.
Ivan Vanko crouched beside the bed. He wore a thick, oil-stained coat, and his untidy hair hung over his forehead. His face was weather-beaten and covered in cracked wounds. He looked utterly destitute, but a wild, defiant spark still burned in his eyes.
Old Vanko lay in bed, his breathing as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. He didn't even have the strength to open his eyes.
Tony was giving a public interview on the television.
He wore a confident, flamboyant smile. "The Arc Reactor is the future of Stark Industries—and the future of human energy!"
Old Vanko's eyes flew open. His blood pressure shot up, and he started coughing violently. His bony fingers pointed at the TV screen as he rasped,
"That was... the work of my entire life!"
"Howard Stark stole it! Ivan, get revenge... destroy Stark... destroy everything they have!"
Ivan immediately clasped his father's cold, bony hand. His gaze was resolute. "Dad, I swear I'll make the Stark Family pay!"
"Bang!"
Just then, the wooden door was kicked open. The icy wind swept snowflakes into the room, making the lights sway precariously.
Ivan instinctively grabbed the welding torch beside him. His eyes fierce as a wolf, he lunged at the nearest soldier.
But the moment he saw who it was, he froze, and the torch nearly slipped from his hand.
More than a dozen fully armed soldiers filed inside, carrying strange-looking rifles. Every muzzle pointed straight at him.
"Don't move!" the soldier at the front barked coldly.
Ivan's body went rigid, but he still glared at the newcomers through clenched teeth. "Who are you?"
The soldiers silently parted, and Fu Haoran stepped inside through the snow. His gaze swept quickly around the room, then settled on Old Vanko, who lay on the bed near death. He tipped his chin toward the people behind him and said calmly, "I want him alive."
To Ivan's astonishment, a servo robot floated into the room. Its mechanical arm precisely extended a thin needle, quickly injecting it into Old Vanko's arm and slowly delivering a pale green medicine.
A moment later, Old Vanko's breathing steadied. Some color returned to his face, his brow relaxed, and he fell asleep.
Fu Haoran turned to Ivan and got straight to the point. "Do you want revenge on Stark?"
Ivan didn't answer. There was no such thing as a free lunch. If this man had saved his father, he must want something in return.
"I can give you a top-tier laboratory and plenty of funding."
"My only requirement is that you build an Arc Reactor more powerful than the one in Tony's chest, as well as a suit of Power Armour that can be mass-produced."
"In return, I'll give you the chance to take revenge on the Stark Family."
Ivan stared at Fu Haoran for several seconds, then suddenly laughed. The smile tugged at the cracked skin on his face, making him look a little frightening, but there was also a hint of relief in it. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
He let go of the welding torch and tossed it to the ground, accepting without hesitation. "If this can bring Stark down and keep my dad alive... it's a good deal."
Fu Haoran waved to the soldiers beside him and ordered, "Bring everything, including this bed."
Five minutes later, the Valkyrie Transport rose slowly above the mining town, broke through the blizzard, and disappeared into the northern clouds.
[Worldline Divergence Rate: 3.5%]
[Acquired Key Technical Personnel: Ivan Vanko (Arc Reactor technology)]
[Acquired Secondary Technical Personnel: Anton Vanko (original designer of the Arc Reactor)]
Fu Haoran leaned against the cabin wall, watching the endless snowfields rush past outside the window, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
At last, he had acquired the first piece of the technological puzzle needed to support Hive City.
"Next, I'll finish putting on this act for Obadiah and keep him satisfied. Then it'll be time to put the real plan into motion."
Before you continue