Obadiah Stane's Invitation

Obadiah Stane toyed with the Pulse Pistol and said to Luo Xia, "Mr. Luo Xia is a smart man; you should understand what I mean. To Tony, this design of yours is merely a toy, but to us, it is an excellent product that could bring in massive profits."

Luo Xia did not answer. Since Obadiah Stane had brought the Pulse Pistol to find him, it meant he had already verified that this item originated from his own hands. Whether Tony had been tricked into spilling the truth or Obadiah Stane had deduced from subtle clues that the pistol had a different designer, his presence here meant he was sufficiently certain.

Given this, there was little point in Luo Xia denying it.

"Mr. Stane thinks highly of me, but I don't think these trinkets hold much significance for Stark Industries," Luo Xia asked, testing the waters.

"No, no, no. You are selling yourself too short, and you are overestimating Tony. In my view, your invention is not much worse than Tony's. And compared to Tony, I feel that Mr. Luo Xia and I will have more common ground," Obadiah Stane said confidently.

"What makes you say that?" Luo Xia asked.

"Do you know how I figured out that you designed this pistol?"

Without waiting for Luo Xia to answer, Obadiah Stane explained, "Because I discovered that Tony was dismantling and studying this pistol. If he had invented it in that cave, he wouldn't need to do that; he would simply use better materials to build an upgraded version. I know Tony; he would definitely do that."

"Therefore, I deduced that Tony did not invent this pistol. So, who was the inventor? Clearly, among those who survived in that cave, you, Luo Xia, are the most likely candidate."

"But that is not the point. The point is that after Tony studied your pistol, he began developing his own new weapons based on the technology within it. He tossed your masterpiece aside, which is why I was able to get my hands on it so easily. Do you understand what I mean now?"

Obadiah Stane spoke in a tone that sounded quite sincere.

"Not really. Tony is a brilliant scientist; he always designs unique weapons, so it's normal for him not to care about my invention," Luo Xia shrugged indifferently.

"You're right, Tony doesn't care about your invention because he can always do better. But he never stops to think that his better, more advanced weapons require finer standards and higher costs, making mass production completely impossible."

"The weapons that are truly meant for trade need to be cheap, abundant, and have a low failure rate—that is what makes the best product. Whether it's Tony or his father Howard, they are geniuses, yet they are laymen in business. I don't need cutting-edge designs; I only need designs like this pistol, or even lower-spec ones. Luo Xia, we could make a lot, lot of money—even more than the entirety of Stark Industries," Obadiah Stane tempted him.

Only then did Luo Xia realize that Obadiah Stane actually wanted to poach him to help design weapons.

Luo Xia was about to refuse, but upon reflection, this didn't seem like a bad thing.

Obadiah Stane was the CEO of Stark Industries and, aside from Tony, its largest shareholder. The resources at his disposal were not much less than Tony's. The reason he wanted to get rid of Tony was that Tony was too much of a troublemaker, throwing the company into chaos.

This was likely a common flaw of super-geniuses: they always liked to tinker with inventions that looked impressive but had almost no practical application. A vast amount of Stark Industries' R&D funds was wasted by Tony in this way. It wasn't that he couldn't invent things that generated profit; he just couldn't be bothered to do so.

Because such inventions felt beneath him, Tony treated them with disdain.

Obadiah Stane had also spent a long time thinking before deciding to eliminate Tony; it was more out of exhaustion from Tony's recklessness than just a desire to seize his shares.

However, after the assassination attempt on Tony failed, Obadiah Stane set his sights on Luo Xia. In his view, Luo Xia might not be as smart as Tony, but he was far better than the R&D staff under his command, and his personality didn't seem as flighty as Tony's.

If he could cooperate with Luo Xia, Obadiah Stane would simply let Tony continue to mess around with Stark Industries.

He had already been secretly siphoning funds and planned to use his connections to establish a new arms enterprise, snatching up all the orders that Stark Industries vacated. Since Tony didn't intend to make weapons anymore, and he was playing it so hard, Obadiah Stane naturally wouldn't be polite to him.

If Luo Xia chose to cooperate with him, he would at least gain access to massive resources in the short term. Unlike Tony, Obadiah Stane was a businessman who prioritized the process of equivalent exchange. The relationship between Luo Xia and Tony was more like that of friends exchanging technical inspiration, which made Luo Xia feel awkward about asking Tony for various resources.

But with Obadiah Stane, there was no such concern.

However, after thinking it over carefully, Luo Xia still refused: "Sorry, I won't be cooperating with you for the time being."

"I need a reason." Obadiah Stane's expression turned quite ugly.

"I can give you two. First, I don't lack money. Second, I never like to talk business under threat," Luo Xia said calmly.

In truth, Luo Xia had another reason. The news of Obadiah Stane's assassination attempt on Tony would soon be exposed; cooperating with him now would mean the business would collapse in a few days, making it entirely meaningless.

The metal bracelet hidden in Luo Xia's sleeve had already begun to shimmer, ready to assemble into the Sensor Glove at any moment.

If Obadiah Stane dared to let his men in black suits make a move at this distance, Luo Xia would show him what it meant to be a one-man army within ten paces.

But Obadiah Stane's composure seemed better than Luo Xia had imagined. Instead of getting angry, he smiled and said, "I forgot about that. Business is about sincerity, and I will let you see my sincerity."

Luo Xia said indifferently, "Suit yourself, but I don't think you have anything that can move me."

"You will find out. But if I have shown enough sincerity and you still refuse to cooperate with me, then I will also let you understand how an arms dealer differs from other businessmen," Obadiah Stane threatened.

"Then I shall wait and see." After saying this, Luo Xia walked through the crowd without a care, seemingly unafraid that Obadiah Stane might turn hostile on the spot.

No matter what sugar-coated shells Obadiah Stane might use, Luo Xia had decided to swallow the sugar and throw the shells right back.