Obadiah Stane had been having a rough time lately. After Stark Industries abandoned weapons production, its stock had plunged—falling even faster than it had when Tony was kidnapped.
And the one who'd been hit hardest, naturally, was Obadiah Stane, the major shareholder. He'd only just put his plan into action—kidnapping Norman Osborn's son to snatch the weapons contracts—when someone ruined it.
Fortunately, the human trafficking scandal involving the Global Consolidated Investment Company broke out soon afterward. His ally was now swamped with the worsening public backlash and had no time to wrangle with Obadiah Stane.
All of New York—even the entire United States—was now watching the trafficking case. Perhaps because of that, Obadiah Stane had temporarily slipped out of the public eye and could just about manage to get a couple of peaceful nights' sleep.
When he heard that Luo Xia was going to start his own company, he found a little hope again. If he could get his hands on Luo Xia's technology, then even if he couldn't land those weapons contracts, he wouldn't go bankrupt outright. He'd still have a chance to make a comeback.
So Obadiah Stane immediately got in touch with Luo Xia, hoping to buy into his company with real estate.
When Luo Xia arrived at the factory in Queens, New York, Obadiah Stane personally came out to greet him.
Luo Xia wasn't fooled by this deferential treatment. If anything, it only made him more certain that Obadiah Stane was being so courteous because he wanted something. That was also why Luo Xia had agreed to meet him here.
The more someone needed something from you, the easier it was to get them to make concessions. Naturally, Luo Xia could secure a better deal.
With Obadiah Stane leading the way, Luo Xia took a few