Winter Soldier!

But as the saying went, anything that could be solved with money wasn't a problem to Tony himself.

So he paid no attention to the billion he had just transferred and hurriedly asked, "You're an assassin too. Do you know of anyone in the underground assassin world with a mechanical left arm?"

Of course Toby knew.

And he also knew that the man Obadiah had mentioned wasn't some enemy of Howard's at all, but a Hydra assassin...

The Winter Soldier, or rather, James Buchanan Barnes!

The World War II veteran affectionately called Bucky by Captain America!

But Toby couldn't tell Tony that directly, so he decisively shook his head.

"No. People in our line of work who lose a hand generally retire on the spot. No one would be willing to replace it with a heavy mechanical arm and keep it as a burden while working..."

At those words, the light in Tony's eyes slowly faded away...

"However..."

That single "however" from Toby sent Tony's sinking heart straight into his throat!

"I have heard of a legend about a mysterious assassin with a mechanical arm..."

Tony took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly. "He... what is his name?"

Toby shook his head. "He has no real name, only a codename: the Winter Soldier."

"The Winter Soldier? Do you know where he is?"

Tony rolled the name around in his mind, his eyes brimming with unforgettable hatred.

Toby shrugged. "That, I don't know. I told you, he's only a legend. No one can even be sure whether he really exists..."

"Because he hasn't only been active in recent years. He's been operating across the world since the end of World War II. There have been traces of him everywhere, yet no one has ever truly captured his image. They say everyone who has seen his real face is dead. He's like a life-taking ghost that comes and goes without a trace..."

Toby wasn't lying to Tony about that.

It was true that he knew the Winter Soldier was Bucky because of his foreknowledge of the plot.

But he genuinely had no idea where Bucky was right now.

After all, Bucky spent most of his time frozen inside a Hydra secret base.

"Enough!" Tony raised a hand to cut Toby off, his tone low. "I don't care whether he's a man or a ghost. I only want to know: if I hire you, can you find that bastard and kill him for me?"

Toby thought for a moment, then nodded and shook his head.

Tony frowned. "What does that mean? You nodded, then shook your head?"

Toby spread his hands. "A nod means yes, a shake means no. I nodded to say I can kill him. I shook my head because I can't find him."

Tony didn't believe him and slapped the table. "I'll give you another five hundred million!"

Toby looked troubled. "This isn't about money..."

Tony understood. The money simply wasn't enough, so he slapped the table again and raised the offer. "Five billion!"

Toby instinctively leaned back!

Yet Tony still refused to let up. "I'll also give you another 5% in shares. Help me kill that bastard, and together with the 5% I promised you last time, I'll give you 10% of Stark Industries!"

"And I can tell you this in advance: once I enter the energy market in the near future, that 10% stake will multiply in value!"

"One question: are you taking this job or not?"

Toby had no doubt whatsoever that the 10% stake Tony mentioned would increase in value in the future.

After all, Tony's Arc Reactor would be an absolute dimensionality-reducing strike against the energy market!

But what he really wanted to say was that when Tony mentioned five billion, he had already been unable to hold himself back and was ready to agree. Then Tony had directly raised the stakes to 5% in shares!

What else could he say...

Toby grabbed Tony's hand tightly. "Deal!"

"Boss, do you want him alive or dead? If dead, how many pieces should I cut him into, and how well done? Or you can freely customize his death!"

Tony silently pulled his hand back. After thinking for a moment, he still decided he wanted him alive.

"Same as Obadiah. Alive. I want to kill that bastard myself and avenge my mother!"

"Don't forget your father too..." Toby quietly added.

Tony: ...

"About when can you bring him to me?"

Toby shook his head. "That really can't be said for sure. It could be within a year at the soonest, or it might take several years..."

"Ghosts aren't easy to catch, after all. Of course, it depends on whether you're willing to wait. If you aren't, then there's nothing I can do about this job..."

The Winter Soldier wasn't particularly strong from Toby's perspective, but he really was difficult to find.

Because aside from when he was carrying out missions, the Winter Soldier was kept frozen in a cryogenic chamber at a Hydra base.

Toby couldn't exactly storm a Hydra base and drag him out just for Tony's 5% stake, thereby making an enemy of all Hydra...

That would be completely not worth it...

So even if he wanted to capture the Winter Soldier, he had to wait for the Winter Soldier to come out on his own.

After hearing Toby's words, Tony nodded helplessly.

"Fine. If I have to wait longer, then I'll wait longer. Besides you, there may be no one in this world who can find that ghost, and I can't trust anyone else..."

"The mission payment remains the same. As for the timeline, just leave it to fate. At least give me some hope..."

"I'm tired now. Help me deal with Stane. Regarding the shares, once I've sorted out the company's affairs, I'll notify you to come sign the stock transfer agreement..."

Hearing the obvious dismissal from the emotionally exhausted Tony, Ben, who also wanted to go home and catch up on sleep, did not linger. He grabbed the barely conscious Obadiah and left Tony's villa.

He also drove off in one of Tony's cars.

The sports car he had used to bring Obadiah here.

Tony said the car had blood on it and he did not want it anymore, so he gave it directly to Toby.

Toby could only call him a filthy rich man. He was just tossing aside a limited-edition sports car worth at least tens of millions of dollars. Sheesh...

As for how Obadiah would be dealt with?

That was simple...

Toby drove to a remote cliff at random, bound Obadiah's limbs with spider silk, sealed his mouth and nose, then grabbed his head and hurled him into the vast sea hundreds of meters away like he was throwing a shot put.

The moment he let go, Toby clearly heard a crisp crack from Obadiah's neck as it snapped.

On top of that, he had been bound by spider silk as strong as steel wire, his mouth and nose sealed, and then thrown with Toby's full strength into the deep sea hundreds of meters away.

If Obadiah could still survive under all those conditions, Toby could only say that he truly was a legendary king of impossible-to-kill people!

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