Joint Investment Company

Rosa had a hard time understanding Tony's stubbornness. The Iron Armor didn't seem like just an invention—it was a source of spiritual support for him.

Even if there was only the slightest chance that something might stop him from completing the invention, Tony refused to take the risk. He would rather die as Iron Man, even knowing that palladium poisoning would eventually kill him.

But just because Rosa couldn't understand didn't mean he would force Tony to do things his way.

So Rosa said to Tony, "If that's how it is, I'll help you finish the armor. Then you'll obediently get surgery."

"You'll help?" Tony asked, sounding a little doubtful.

Rosa walked over to the unfinished Iron Armor and ran a hand over the technological marvel that was about to astonish the world.

Individual Combat Exoskeleton Armor, completion: 7%. Spend 5780 AllSpark energy to activate.
Spend an additional 000 AllSpark energy for specialized enhancement. Recommended focus: technical research.

Warning: The number of robots owned by the host has reached its limit. Increase the AllSpark energy limit as soon as possible to obtain additional robot activation slots.

Warning: When AllSpark energy reaches 10,000, you can advance to the second stage.

As expected, this thing could be activated as a robot. And it was the technical-research robot Rosa had been waiting for.

Unfortunately, Rosa's AllSpark energy limit was only four thousand. He was still six Energy Activation Devices short of reaching the second stage.

"Tony, how much palladium do you have on hand?" Rosa asked.

"Stane took quite a bit of the palladium I had. There's barely any left now. Didn't I give you a box of it before? What do you need so much palladium for?" Tony asked curiously.

"I'm working on a project that requires a lot of palladium, or other nuclear materials. Even radioactive nuclear waste will do. Once it succeeds, I should be able to help you finish this thing as quickly as possible," Rosa said.

The Energy Activation Device needed radioactive materials, but palladium wasn't essential. Other materials of the same kind could work as substitutes.

Tony didn't ask what kind of research Rosa was doing. He could only offer a suggestion. "Only a handful of companies know how to produce palladium, and demand is low, so it's hard to find. But if you're looking for other radioactive materials, you could try asking a company called Global Consolidated Investment. I remember they handle nuclear waste processing, though I don't know the details."

Global Consolidated Investment?

At the name, Rosa couldn't help wondering. He'd come across the company while investigating Harry's kidnapping. The insider at Osborn who had taken money from them had caught his attention.

There was more to this company than met the eye.

Rosa knew he couldn't change Tony's mind, so he decided to focus on his own affairs.

Over the next few days, Rosa had Violet help him gather information on Global Consolidated Investment. He discovered that the company's main business was construction, but it also had branches in several other industries.

Nuclear waste recycling and processing was handled by one of its subsidiaries. Recently, that company had also been taking on large-scale demolition and reconstruction projects in Hell's Kitchen.

What Rosa found interesting was that Global Consolidated Investment had only started growing over the past two years. One key factor was that its first major contract seemed to have been a military job.

Ordinary companies generally couldn't take on military contracts. Even building a basketball court for the military required special qualifications.

Clearly, the company had powerful connections. But why would a company like that get mixed up in a kidnapping?

Rosa couldn't find any more information, but he didn't intend to investigate the company in depth. All he wanted was a large amount of nuclear waste to see if he could use it to make an Energy Activation Device.

"Violet, can you find the warehouse where they're stockpiling nuclear waste?" Rosa asked.

"Sorry, Commander. I could only find the branch manager in charge of the project. There's hardly any useful information about the company online. I tried hacking into its network, and then I found..." Violet hesitated.

"What did you find?"

"I found that the company doesn't have a network installed at all. It only has a landline, and I checked the phone company's records—the line is hardly ever used," Violet said.

"A company like that really exists?" Rosa was surprised.

"That's the situation. If you want to find information about their nuclear waste, Commander, you'll probably have to go there in person and look through their files," Violet said helplessly.

It was already the twenty-first century, and the internet was everywhere. Yet here was a company without internet access. Were all its employees in their seventies or eighties?

"Where is the company located?" Rosa asked.

"In Chinatown, in Hell's Kitchen," Violet said.

Rosa almost spat out his drink. The company was in Chinatown, in Hell's Kitchen.

Even if Hell's Kitchen was a slum, it was still in New York. How could they process nuclear waste right there? Wouldn't the environmental authorities sue them into bankruptcy?

Or was this just the company's registered address, with the nuclear waste stored somewhere else?

Either way, Rosa wasn't going to let this lead go.

Rosa had Violet monitor the company around the clock. Though she couldn't hack into its systems, he still had her take control of every nearby camera she could find.

After keeping a close eye on the place for three days, Rosa finally made his move.

He drove toward Chinatown in the Sand Off-road Vehicle that Luo Fei had transformed into. The vehicle was far too conspicuous, so Rosa got out well before reaching his destination and continued on foot toward the company, United Waste Processing.

It was the morning rush hour, and the streets were busy. Rosa blended into the crowd without drawing much attention.

Before he'd gone far, though, his Tactical Goggles locked onto a hurried passerby in the distance. Rosa followed discreetly, then tapped the man on the shoulder. "Mr. Daniel Fisher?"

The tall, white man turned around in confusion. "That's me. Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm the customer relations manager at the Night Shanghai nightclub. You spent three thousand dollars at our place last night. If you don't mind, you should pay up now," Rosa said quickly.

"What nightclub? I didn't—" Before the man could finish, Rosa had already closed in. An Alloy Dagger sprang from his wrist and pressed against the man's lower back.

"Hey, Daniel. If you don't want a hole opened up in you, I suggest you come with me," Rosa threatened.

Rosa forced the man into the car, then drove to a secluded spot.

Daniel Fisher was extremely nervous. "What are you trying to do? If you want money, you can have my wallet. Please don't kill me. I have a wife and kids!"

Rosa had no intention of killing him. He simply removed the gold-rimmed glasses from the man's face and replaced them with a pair of black frames.

Then Rosa winked at Daniel. A ripple of light passed over his face, and his features quickly transformed until he looked exactly like Daniel.

Wearing a pair of black frames matching Daniel's, Rosa spoke to him in a hoarse voice. "Relax. I'm not going to kill you, but I need you to cooperate."