Tony Crawling

Just as Lin Hai had expected, three days later, one evening, he received a call from Pepper.

The moment the call connected, before he could even greet her, Pepper's distinctly anxious voice came through the receiver. "Dr. Lin, I'm sorry to bother you! I just called Tony in Malibu, California, to confirm his schedule for tomorrow.

The call connected, but there was no sound from the other end. I suspect something may have happened to him, so I'd like to ask you to check whether he's in any danger."

Pepper paused, as if remembering something. Without waiting for Lin Hai to answer, she immediately added, "Of course, you'll still receive compensation that satisfies you this time!"

After hearing Pepper's account, Lin Hai had already roughly pieced together what had happened.

At this point in time, Tony was in his villa. He had answered the phone but made no sound. Obadiah had probably finally lost patience and made his move on the Second-Generation Miniature Arc Reactor in Tony's chest.

There had only been one similar scene in the original plot—Obadiah had used a specially designed sonic weapon to paralyze Tony, forcibly removed the reactor from his chest, and left him on the brink of death.

As for Pepper's later remark about compensation... Now that was what you called class. What you called professionalism. Where else could he find something that earned goodwill and money at the same time?

Still, although Lin Hai had already intended to involve himself in the coming conflict between Iron Man and Iron Monger, his tone remained calm when he replied to Pepper.

"Okay, Ms. Pepper, don't panic. I understand. Please stay calm; I'll head over and check on the situation right away. Once I see Tony, I'll let you know immediately."

After receiving Lin Hai's affirmative