Chapter: 33

"I know you're in a difficult position right now, Pepper." Obadiah held a glass and approached the wine cabinet in Tony's office.

At this moment, observing the slight unease on Pepper's face, Obadiah could already guess why she appeared here so early in the morning. However, until he confirmed that his disguise had been completely exposed, Obadiah maintained his hypocritical facade, preserving the gentlemanly demeanor he had perfected over the years.

What he didn't know was that beneath his proper manners, his eyes betrayed his insatiable greed and ferocity, revealing his true nature.

Pepper adjusted herself while maintaining a professional smile, simultaneously monitoring the progress of the data download with her peripheral vision.

"Tony always has good things, doesn't he?" At that moment, Obadiah took a bottle of Tony's prized wine from the cabinet and poured himself a glass. Seizing the opportunity while his attention shifted, Pepper quickly picked up a newspaper from the computer desk and used it to cover the password chip on the mainframe. She then activated the screensaver, hiding the transfer progress on the desktop.

As Obadiah filled his glass and approached the desk, all he saw was Pepper staring at the screensaver without any action, forcing him to continue with his pretense.

"When Tony returned home, you have no idea how relieved I was, as if he had resurrected from the dead!

But now I realize that Tony never truly came back, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave, and it saddens me."

Pepper nervously looked at Obadiah, who sat just within arm's reach. "Um... he is indeed a complicated person."

Sensing her own heightened tension, Pepper paused for a moment, forcing a stiff smile and continued, "He has been through many hardships, but I believe he will recover."

Obadiah took a sip of his drink, gave Pepper a meaningful glance, and said, "You truly are an exceptional woman. Tony has no idea how lucky he is."

"Thank you for your praise, but I must go." Pepper stood up, picked up the newspaper, and casually retrieved the password chip. After a brief farewell with Obadiah, she left the office under his watchful gaze.

Turning the corner, out of Obadiah's sight, Pepper looked at the password chip in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief. She hastened her pace and headed towards the company's exit. On the other side, after seeing Pepper's figure disappear, Obadiah immediately turned back to his computer, unlocking the screensaver.

When he saw the prompt on the desktop, he finally confirmed that Pepper had discovered his secret. He forcefully leaned back in his chair, his gaze becoming more resolute and ruthless. Since his disguise had been exposed, she couldn't blame himself for being ruthless from now on!

"Miss Potts, I'm afraid we have an appointment. Did you forget our arrangement?" As Pepper hurriedly descended to the lobby of the office building, she caught Agent Coulson's attention as planned.

Considering Coulson's identity as an agent, Pepper, who realized she was in danger at this point, played along, "No, I haven't forgotten. You can come with me now! This meeting is guaranteed to be unforgettable for you..."

On the second floor of the lobby, Obadiah could only watch helplessly as Pepper escaped. In frustration, he turned and made his way to Sector 16, hidden beneath the prototype exhibition area of the Arc Reactor.

Inside Sector 16, a group of scientists gathered by Obadiah were busy at work. When they saw him forcefully enter, the project leader immediately halted their work and went to greet him.

"Mr. Stane, the task you assigned to us seems to be a bit difficult. After conducting research, we unanimously believe that the technology to enable the functionalities of this armor does not exist."

"It doesn't exist!?" Obadiah tightly grabbed the collar of the person in charge with his right arm, pointing excitedly at the prototype of the Arc Reactor in front of them. He said, "Look, what you have in front of you is that technology. I only want you to shrink it a bit."

"Yes, sir, we wanted to do that, but unfortunately, it's simply not possible."

At this moment, Obadiah, no longer pretending, and without his usual gentle demeanor, grabbed the collar of the person in charge, shouting angrily, "Tony Stark could create it out of scraps in a cave!"

"Sorry, but we are not Tony Stark."

...

"Has Mark not returned yet?"

After receiving Pepper's approval, Tony, who had spent the night at her house, returned disappointedly when he realized she didn't mean what he thought. After Pepper left, he drove leisurely back to his mansion in Malibu.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., has Mark not come back all night?"

"..."

Not receiving a response from J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony became puzzled and asked again, "J.A.R.V.I.S.! Strange, is it offline?"

Still not getting a response, Tony decided to check J.A.R.V.I.S.'s program. Just then, the phone at home rang, and seeing that it was a call from Pepper, he answered directly, "Hello, Pepper—oh!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Tony felt as if his brain had lost connection with his body and uncontrollably collapsed onto the sofa.

"Take a deep breath, relax, relax!" a familiar voice sounded behind him, with a gentle tone that emanated a chilling aura.

"You remember this thing, right!"

The one who ambushed Tony was Obadiah, who hurriedly arrived from the Sector 16. After confirming that his subordinates couldn't replicate the miniaturization of the Arc Reactor, he decided to carry out a crazy plan—to snatch it from its owner's hands.

By using the same method he used to deal with the leader of the Ten Rings, which rendered Tony immobile, he triumphantly showed Tony the small gadget that helped him achieve everything.

"It's such a shame the government didn't approve its mass production! I still remember when six-year-old little Mark had this invention of his, how excited he was playing pranks on us.

Short-term paralysis can be quite useful. He once painted my face with oil paint, and it took me half a day to wash it off.

You know, Tony, when I issued the bounty to hunt you down, I was concerned about losing my golden goose."

Temporarily paralyzed on the sofa, Tony widened his eyes in shock upon hearing these words, looking at the uncle he once respected.

He saw Obadiah coldly and ruthlessly manipulating the tool in his hand, extending his claws towards the Arc Reactor on his chest...