After the military procurement meeting ended, Osborn walked out of the venue with a grim expression. Watching Justin Hammer and Tony leave, he wanted to tear them limb from limb!
According to his original plan, the Osborn Group should have secured at least twenty percent of the orders at this year's procurement meeting.
But with the other two companies joining forces to suppress him, the Osborn Group had secured only half of what he had planned: ten percent!
That figure was even worse than in previous years!
The United States spent as much as four hundred billion dollars on its military every year. A single percentage point meant hundreds of millions, or even over a billion dollars in profit. Under Tony and Justin Hammer's joint pressure, the Osborn Group had lost a full ten percentage points, if not more.
The losses amounted to over ten billion dollars!
Such an enormous loss was enough to drive anyone mad!
And the Osborn Group had not been doing well lately to begin with.
To win more military orders and overtake Hammer Industries and Stark Industries, they had specifically developed military products such as the Goblin Glider, individual combat armor, and a human enhancement serum.
They had invested a total of one hundred billion dollars along the way. The company was already suffering severe losses, and its major shareholders were deeply dissatisfied.
Osborn had been counting entirely on securing more orders at this year's military procurement meeting to appease the shareholders.
But now, it was all gone. The thought made Osborn's heart bleed.
He drew a deep breath, forced down his anguish, and got into his car to return to the company.
At the same time, details of the military procurement meeting spread rapidly through various channels.
When Osborn returned to the company, his secretary hurried into his office.
"Mr. Osborn, we have a problem. All the shareholders are here. They're waiting for you in the conference room."
At her words, the emotions Osborn had barely managed to settle surged violently again.
"Damn it, who told them to come?"
Osborn spoke viciously, his face contorted with rage. His secretary was so frightened that she began to stammer.
"Mr. Osborn, th-they came on their own. It... it seems they heard the details of the procurement meeting. None of them looked very happy."
Osborn's heart sank as he listened. What he had feared most had happened after all.
"You can leave."
He dismissed the secretary, and she left the office as though she had been granted a reprieve.
Once he was alone, the anger he had bottled up erupted.
"Fuck! Bastards!"
A series of crashes and bangs rang out from the office. Soon, the room was in shambles.
After a long while, Osborn finally brought his emotions under control, left his office, and headed toward the conference room.
Upon reaching the conference room, Osborn pushed the door open and entered.
Whoosh!
In an instant, all the shareholders in the conference room turned to look at him at once. The sight was unnerving.
Looking at their expressionless faces, Osborn did his best to force a faint smile.
"What brings you all here?"
The shareholders filling the conference room wasted no time confronting him.
"Mr. Osborn, we heard our group secured only ten percent of this year's military procurement orders. Is that true?"
The shareholder's opening words drove a knife straight into Osborn's heart.
He wanted to argue, but he knew it would be pointless. These people all had considerable influence. They must have received the news, or they would not have shown up here.
All he could do was nod with difficulty. "That's right."
"But that was because Stark Industries and Hammer Industries joined forces to suppress us."
"Otherwise, we would never have received so few orders!"
Osborn tried desperately to defend himself, but the shareholders present had no interest in his explanations. What mattered to them was profit.
Osborn's earlier insistence on researching individual combat equipment and a human enhancement serum had already displeased them. Then the research had hit a bottleneck, repeatedly failing to deliver the best possible results, pushing their dissatisfaction to its limit.
Now, the reduction in military orders and the sharp decline in the Osborn Group's profits had become the final straw. They had decided to abandon all pretense of civility.
"Mr. Osborn, there's no need to explain. We invested in the Osborn Group for profit."
"But now, the Osborn Group clearly cannot deliver that profit."
"So all of us shareholders have unanimously decided to withdraw our investments from the Osborn Group!"
Those cold words became the sharpest of blades, stabbing deep into Osborn's heart.
"No, you can't do this!" Osborn roared.
The Osborn Group had little money left because of its research expenditures. If its major shareholders withdrew their investments as well, bankruptcy and closure were very real possibilities.
As the man at the helm of the Osborn Group, he would not-and could not-allow that to happen.
"Gentlemen, please calm down. The Osborn Group is only facing temporary difficulties. Once we get through them, the company will be stronger, and your returns will be guaranteed."
"Besides, the Osborn Group has earned you considerable profits over the years. None of you have suffered any losses. We're simply not making money for the moment. You can't just abandon the Osborn Group like this."
Osborn desperately tried to win them over, even appealing to their feelings.
But capital was cold, and capitalists were colder still. They cared only about profit. As for sentiment, how much was that worth by the pound?
So no matter how Osborn pleaded, none of those present wavered in the slightest.
"Mr. Osborn, save your breath. Prepare the contracts. We'll come back to sign them."
With that, the major shareholders rose and left the conference room one after another, leaving Osborn sitting alone, utterly despondent.
Had Tony not appeared, the Osborn Group's major shareholders would not have withdrawn their investments until a year later. But Tony's intervention had pushed the Osborn Group toward the abyss of bankruptcy ahead of time.
Time ticked by. Osborn sat numbly in the conference room for a long while. Only when evening approached and the Osborn Group's employees began leaving work did his secretary cautiously enter.
"Mr. Osborn, it's time to leave."
Her words instantly snapped the vacant-eyed Osborn back to his senses.
He gave his secretary an impassive glance and said calmly, "You can all go ahead. I'll stay a little longer."
The secretary hesitated, then nodded and turned toward the door.
When she reached the doorway, she instinctively turned to look at Osborn, only to find that his entire figure had fallen into shadow.
At some point, the corners of his mouth had curled upward on his previously impassive face, giving him an eerie air.
The sight made her heart jolt. She shivered involuntarily and, not daring to linger, hurried away.
Soon, the Osborn Group's employees all left for the day, leaving Osborn alone in the entire company.
Standing in the shadows, Osborn suddenly rose, left the conference room, and headed toward the Osborn Group's laboratory building.
Before you continue