Though that was what John thought, he still put on a meek, submissive expression.
All he wanted now was to finish giving them the information and get out of this damned place.
Luca couldn't be bothered making small talk with him anymore, either.
It was already getting late, and he still planned to go back and catch up on some sleep.
So he pulled up a chair and sat down across from John.
"All right, enough nonsense."
"Tell us everything you know. What the hell is going on? Who sent you to kill us?"
"And why has your organization, which should have been wiped out decades ago, suddenly appeared again? Explain it clearly, and don't even think about lying to me."
John had originally wanted to bluff his way through it and keep some of the organization's secrets.
But when he saw the seemingly mild smile on Luca's lips, he couldn't help swallowing.
In the end, he decided to answer honestly.
Otherwise, he wouldn't live to see the morning sun.
"As for who hired us to kill you two gentlemen, I really don't know."
Seeing Luca frown, John hurried to explain.
"I swear I'm not lying! We're just operatives for the organization. Our job is to carry out assassinations."
"That's how things work in Hydra. Each level has clearly defined access privileges. We only need to follow our superiors' orders and complete our missions. We don't need to know who the employer is, and we don't have the clearance to find out."
"The more you know, the faster you die."
Hearing this, Tony interrupted impatiently.
"You might as well have said nothing! It's all bullshit! We didn't keep you alive to listen to these stupid rules."
Luca curled his lip and made a remark of his own.
"Looks like there's no point in keeping you around. We might as well chop him into pieces and flush him down the toilet."
As he spoke, Luca raised his hand, as if about to fire the lasers from his eyes.
At the sight, John was so scared his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
He immediately began struggling violently and shouting.
"Wait! Wait! Don't do it! I have more information! Really valuable information!"
Only then did Luca stop what he was doing and give him a warning.
"Listen, buddy. My patience has its limits. Next time you have something to say, you'd better say it all at once. Otherwise, I can't promise you'll walk out that door alive."
John nodded frantically.
Damn it, I almost had to say goodbye to this world!
"After you hear this, you might find it hard to accept. But it's absolutely true."
Hearing that, Luca raised an eyebrow, a little interested.
"Oh? Hard to accept? Let's hear it. I'd like to see what news I'd find hard to accept. I'm curious."
John glanced at the people around him, lowered his voice, and spoke mysteriously.
"Although I don't know the employer's name for certain..."
"Based on some rumors I picked up at the organization's base, along with my own guess, the person who paid a fortune to have you killed is Obadiah Stane."
He paused and emphasized who the man was.
"He's a veteran at your Stark Industries, the uncle you trust most."
Afraid they wouldn't believe him, John hurriedly added more.
"That's what I accidentally overheard the higher-ups talking about at the base."
"They said that once you two brothers are dead, Obadiah Stane will be the top leader and the person actually in control of Stark Industries."
"Then Hydra will be able to use him to take control of the entire Stark Industries weapons production line more easily."
After saying this, John cautiously raised his head and glanced at Tony and Luca.
He was terrified the brothers would lose control of their emotions on the spot and take all their anger out on him.
But...
As the seconds ticked by...
The room remained quiet.
To John's surprise, neither Tony nor Luca looked shocked, angry, or even incredulous.
Tony was still drinking from his glass, while Luca stared at him calmly.
John found it very strange.
This isn't how it's supposed to go!
A normal person shouldn't react like this to news that a family member had betrayed them.
He couldn't help speaking up.
"Aren't you even a little shocked? He's your uncle! He watched you grow up! And he actually paid someone to kill you!"
Hearing John shout and make such a fuss, Tony looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Do you really think we're stupid? Do you think we've spent all these years in business relying on luck? You think we couldn't guess who wanted us dead?!"
Tony sneered.
"When I was kidnapped, I already thought something was strange."
"All the weapons the terrorists had were the latest Stark Industries equipment. There was no one else at the company besides Obadiah who could have shipped that many advanced weapons out without going through me."
Luca smiled too, reaching out to pat John lightly on the face.
"Kid, get one thing straight. We're just billionaires who like to enjoy life, not brainless idiots. Got it?"
"We suspected Obadiah a long time ago. We even made a plan to strike back."
"Now that you've told us, you've only confirmed what we already suspected. It's nothing new."
John was dumbfounded.
They already knew!
Sure enough, the smartest minds in the world were beyond comparison with a killer like him.
He felt like a clown.
But Luca changed tack.
"Still, no matter what, you did give us a useful piece of information and saved me the trouble of checking. You've earned yourself some credit."
Luca took a sip of water and continued the interrogation.
"Now, go on. Tell us what else you know, especially about your damned organization."
Hearing that he'd earned some credit, John breathed a huge sigh of relief.
He nodded repeatedly and began sharing the information he knew.
In fact, just as he had said, he didn't know many secrets as an operative.
For as long as he could remember, he had lived in a secret Hydra base deep underground.
Every day, he had undergone all kinds of brutal training and inhumane genetic modification experiments.
He couldn't remember his original name. All he knew was that he was a killing machine mass-produced by the organization.
He had no life of his own.
For this assassination mission, the organization had assigned him the temporary codename John.
Within the organization's internal system, his codename was Lightning Warrior.
Hearing the codename, Tony, who had barely spoken for a while, couldn't resist commenting.
"Lightning Warrior? That sounds awful! Do the people in your organization just copy names straight out of comic books from the last century?"
"I swear, whoever came up with that name has no sense of style."
Luca was at a loss for words.
"All right, big brother. Why do you care what he's called? Be quiet and let him finish."
Tony shrugged indifferently and stopped interrupting.
John stole a glance at the two brothers.
He found it very strange.
According to the intelligence, Tony Stark was the older brother, while Luca Stark was the younger one by several years.
But the way things looked now, Luca was clearly more like the older brother in control of everything, while Tony seemed more like the younger brother who occasionally interrupted to cause trouble.
The bond between the brothers and the way they interacted really did seem strange.
They were nothing like those brothers from wealthy families who fought tooth and nail over their inheritance.