What does Ichigo Kurosaki do have to do with me, Lin Hao?

The next morning, Tony Stark arrived in New York from California. As soon as he entered Stark Tower, he saw several men in black suits.

"Happy, did security hire new people?" Tony deliberately looked at his bodyguard Happy and spoke loudly, "Are these your subordinates?"

"Mr. Stark, I am Phil Coulson." Coulson stepped forward a few paces and extended his hand, "A Level 7 agent from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"What division?" Tony tilted his ear, signaling he hadn't heard clearly.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Coulson repeated, adding specifically, "It's an organization founded by your father, Howard Stark."

As expected, Tony Stark's expression changed.

Originally, Nick Fury hadn't planned to tell Tony about these things so soon, but he hadn't expected Tony to publicly reveal his identity last night, intervening in the other side of this world ahead of schedule.

"You'd better not be kidding me," Tony stared intently at Coulson.

Coulson waved his hand, and an agent behind him stepped forward with a metal case, placing it at Tony's feet.

"Here are some things your father left behind, you can take a look first." As he spoke, Coulson handed Tony a business card, "If you want to know more, you can contact me anytime."

Coulson had intended to chat more with Tony about his experiences in Afghanistan, but sensing the other's resistance, he quickly ended the topic and left.

Looking at the metal case at his feet, Tony Stark's expression was very complex, with a hint of curiosity, a hint of resentment, and a hint of the urge to show off to his parents after receiving a gold star.

Pepper couldn't stand it and spoke up, "Happy, take the case upstairs for the boss."

Happy glanced at his boss. Seeing no reaction, he bent down and picked up the case.

At this moment, an Asian youth walked into Stark Tower, just happening to brush past Coulson.

The Asian face made Coulson turn his head for another look. With his Level 7 agent Grand Perfection attainment, he naturally remembered this face.

Lin Hao walked into the building without looking away, striding towards Tony Stark.

The security personnel in the lobby noticed him and quickly put their hands on their waists, shouting at Lin Hao, "Stop, don't move forward!"

Lin Hao stopped, ignoring the security guards, and continued to look at Tony Stark.

Pepper found him somewhat familiar and quickly took out her tablet to compare. Only then did she wave to dismiss the security guards, "Don't worry, this gentleman is a new board member."

Hearing the voice, Tony turned around and saw an unfamiliar Asian face.

"Tony, his name is Kurosaki Ichigo. He acquired over 35% of Stark Industries' stock and is the new major shareholder," Pepper whispered, "He proposed today's board meeting."

Tony Stark wasn't ignorant of business, he was just too lazy to deal with mundane matters. A shareholder who suddenly appeared, holding over a third of the shares, and proposing a board meeting right away, clearly meant trouble.

However, Tony, who was naturally proud, disdained to play coy. He just glanced at Lin Hao and turned towards the elevator.

Pepper, however, stepped forward to greet him, first asking in slightly unskillful Japanese, "Mr. Kurosaki, hello, do you need me to prepare a translator?"

Lin Hao shook his head and replied in a pure American accent, "Thank you, I can understand what you're saying."

Pepper gave an awkward smile. It seemed the voice of her conversation with Tony had been a bit too loud.

The group went up the elevator one after another and arrived at the executive conference room.

Only Tony and Lin Hao were in the spacious conference room. Although nearly 3% of the shares were still held by retail investors, they did not have the qualification to enter the board of directors and have voting rights.

Tony Stark had already done some calculations in the elevator. His current shareholding was only 42%. This Japanese man held 35%, and the gap between them was not large. The remaining 20% of the shares were in the hands of the deceased Obadiah.

America was a capitalist nation. No matter what dirty tricks capitalists played behind the scenes, they had to outwardly abide by the rules of the game that everyone had agreed upon.

Stark Industries was originally founded by Obadiah and Howard. It was normal for Obadiah to own a certain number of shares. However, Tony was not Obadiah's heir. Even if the other party intended to murder him, Obadiah's assets would not automatically transfer to Tony.

But Tony could propose to the board of directors to strip Obadiah's heir of his voting rights, or even request the court to remove his shareholder status on the grounds that Obadiah intended to murder a shareholder of the company, and then acquire these shares.

Originally, after he announced the dissolution of the weapons manufacturing department, the stock price plummeted. Tony could have easily raised funds to acquire all of Obadiah's shares.

But now there was this Japanese man, who also had the right of first refusal.

If negotiations failed, they would have to bid for acquisition, or acquire the remaining 20% of the shares according to their current shareholding ratio.

Although Tony was very likely to continue to hold the majority of shares, if this damned Japanese man maliciously drove up the price, he would have to spend more funds to buy them.

"Do you know where the weapons initially manufactured by Stark Industries were used?"

Tony's mouth was as sharp as his mind, and this little pepper could attest to that.

"They were used at Midway, at Guam, at Iwo Jima, at Okinawa, and even at Tokyo!"

Lin Hao remained expressionless. What did that have to do with him?

If he could go back in time, he would definitely install explosive rocks on all the Japanese islands, letting the weapons conceived by the Japanese witness the sinking of Japan themselves.

Tony tried to provoke him, but the other party was very well-mannered and didn't react at all.

It was like punching cotton.

"As a new shareholder of the company, I would like to conduct an audit of the company's assets to ensure my interests." Lin Hao asked with a smile, "Mr. Stark, you won't object, will you?"

"Yes, that is your right."

Tony did not hide his displeasure, his words laced with sarcasm, "If you want to check the accounts, I can have the accountant send them over, but anything involving American national secrets is excluded."

"I am not interested in past accounts. Mr. Stark will not be in charge of the weapons manufacturing department in the future. Without a genius like you, Stark Industries has no competitiveness in the arms field. Past accounts are meaningless." Lin Hao smiled and shook his head.

Seeing the other party so nonchalant, Tony couldn't help but wonder: 'Since this guy knows that Stark Industries has a bleak future, why is he acquiring so many shares?'

As if seeing through his thoughts, Lin Hao confessed again, "I have my eye on the Arc Reactor."

Lin Hao's gaze swept over Tony's chest, and he smiled, "I still hold some shares in Osborn Electric. You understand what I mean, right?"

Tony's eyes widened in realization, barely concealing his shock.

"You actually want to get involved in America's power sector?!"

After deciding to shut down his weapons manufacturing division, Tony Stark had already planned his company's transformation, intending to leverage the replicable and even miniaturizable Arc Reactor to enter the energy field. This was a market far vaster than even the arms trade.

In the Marvel world, the Arc Reactor was akin to a cold fusion reactor—safe, efficient, and low-cost, possessing too many advantages over traditional energy sources.

Osborn Electric's "bio-generation" technology was like a grade-schooler's craft project in comparison.

However, was the energy sector something just anyone could enter?

Stark Industries, relying on the network of connections built over years of operation, only had a slim chance of snatching a small piece of the pie from traditional energy giants, and even then, they'd have to share a portion of the profits.

Did some mere Japanese national dare to meddle with America's power supply?

"Mr. Stark, if you're willing to cooperate, we can jointly acquire Osborn Electric and then establish a new..."

"Heh heh."

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "Do you know what you're saying? How could the government and the financial consortium possibly allow a Japanese national to get involved in the power industry?"

"That's why I need your help," Lin Hao admitted frankly.

"Sorry, I'm American!"

Tony suddenly thought of a great way to get rid of Kurosaki Ichigo.

As soon as he officially entered the energy sector, the government would definitely scrutinize Stark Industries' capital structure. Once they discovered a Japanese national held over a third of the shares, Tony wouldn't have to lift a finger; plenty of people would be eager to deal with this clueless individual and seize his shares.

Lin Hao, however, simply smiled. "If you change your mind, you can always find me."

With that, he left the conference room and followed the administrative manager, who was waiting outside, to tour and learn about Stark Industries' various assets.

He breezed through most of the other locations, but he lingered for a dozen seconds in front of the model of a future city left behind by Howard Stark.

That night, the model inexplicably caught fire and burned to ashes.