Chapter 52: So That's How Iron Man Came to Be

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"Turns out~"

"The owner of that journal, Zhou Cheng, was the one who rescued Tony Stark?"

Black Widow's face showed a sudden realization.

Ever since Tony Stark was ambushed in Afghanistan, numerous institutions—including the military, FBI, CIA, and even S.H.I.E.L.D.—had conducted extensive investigations.

Without exception, all had come up empty-handed.

And everyone knows that the longer a missing person case drags on, the slimmer the chances of finding them become.

Normally.

If over the "critical first 48" hours pass, it's very difficult to obtain concrete results.

Not to mention...

Tony Stark had already been missing for over a month and a half!

Such a long time.

Virtually all traces had vanished, every lead had been wiped clean.

Finding him seemed almost impossible.

Yet the journal clearly stated that Tony Stark had eventually escaped on his own, not rescued by someone else.

But against all odds, someone actually rescued Tony Stark!

Succeeding where all official organizations, including S.H.I.E.L.D., had failed!

When Black Widow first received this news, she was, unsurprisingly, shocked.

It was hard for her to imagine who could accomplish such an impossible feat.

And now, she finally had her answer.

Turns out.

The one who accomplished this miraculous feat was the mysterious journal owner, Zhou Cheng!

It seems the owner of the journal is indeed extraordinary.

However~

A new flicker of doubt crossed Black Widow's eyes.

At first, didn't the owner of the journal say he didn't know where the cave was?

Could it be that he discovered its location during his month and a half of investigation?

"This is truly a lucrative haul."

"Not only did I secure a commission of a billion dollars, but I also managed to snatch the significant blueprints."

"When we let 'little-punk' handle this, we should be able to sell it for quite a sum."

"Not bad, not bad, seems like my efforts in saving the big-shot weren't in vain!"

"If I'm not mistaken, the big-shot is going to announce the shutdown of the weapons manufacturing department next, right?"

"Ha, I can't wait for the big-shot's performance!"

"That guy, he really doesn't follow the rules!"

Tony Stark couldn't help but grumble to himself.

A billion-dollar commission might be a lot, but for someone like Tony with extensive wealth, it's a drop in the bucket—he wasn't concerned.

But isn't it against principle to take the money and then also swipe my blueprints?

However, as Zhou Cheng said before, even with the blueprints, without the power source, the metal hunk didn't hold much practical value.

After all, an immobile suit of armor is just a pile of scrap metal in Tony Stark's eyes.

Tony didn't dwell much on this issue.

What truly interested him was Zhou Cheng's plan to have "little-punk" covertly sell the blueprints.

"Little-punk" wasn't a new name in the journal; Zhou Cheng had mentioned this person a while back.

Tony knew this individual's name was "Wade."

Even though he didn't have much more information, it seemed that "Wade" and Zhou Cheng were closely connected.

With that in mind, hmm~

Tony Stark's gaze sharpened.

This was a huge slip-up!

Tony Stark only needed to focus on the transaction involving those blueprints to potentially track down this "little-punk."Thus further traces led to Zhou Cheng.

Moreover, with the physical characteristics of Zhou Cheng we grasped in the cave, you are not going to get away, kid!

And what comes next.

The owner of the diary, Zhou Cheng, also mentioned wanting to use the opportunity of shutting down the weapons manufacturing division to manipulate the stock market.

This is equally an opportunity!

Initially, Tony Stark was quite upset that the opposition seemed to always anticipate his moves.

But now, that slight annoyance of Tony Stark has long since dissipated into thin air.

He could totally use this chance to play the market in reverse!

After all, once he officially announces the shutdown of the weapons division, normal people would frantically sell off Stark Industries' stocks.

If someone does the opposite, there must be something fishy!

This is also an immense oversight.

[Wait a second, there seems to be a bug!]

[According to the original course of destiny, I should have created the Iron Man suit and escaped.]

[Although I managed to escape, both the prototype suit and the blueprints ended up in the hands of the Ten Rings, and from there, they fell into the possession of Obadiah Stane.]

[Iron Man's first archenemy, the Iron Monger, was thus born.]

[It was also due to that earth-shattering battle between uncle and nephew that Iron Man came to be.]

???

What the heck?

Tony Stark's brow furrowed slightly, and a trace of confusion appeared on his face.

It has to be said.

The few lines that were just updated on the diary contain a tremendous amount of information.

The part about the original suit and blueprints falling into the hands of the Ten Rings is easy to understand.

It could even be considered inevitable.

The blueprints go without saying.

It's normal to not be able to take anything with me in my hurry to escape.

As for the original Mark.

It was hammered out by Tony Stark himself, so one could imagine how rough the craftsmanship was.

It makes sense that it would break down after supporting my escape, and then being abandoned in the desert, eventually found by the Ten Rings.

But the key question is.

Why did the Ten Rings, after acquiring the suit and the blueprints, eventually let them fall into Stane's hands?

Could it be that after I escaped, the Ten Rings' base was exposed, and Stane had people take revenge on his behalf, completely obliterating the Ten Rings?

And that's how he got hold of the blueprints?

Considering the relationship between himself and Obadiah Stane, Tony Stark would naturally prefer to believe in such an outcome.

But why then does the diary state that Stane would be his nemesis?

How could that be possible!

To Stark, Stane has always been almost like an uncle.

He has given him a lot of help and support, and Tony Stark respects Stane greatly.

But the diary clearly states that Stane is his enemy.

Not only that.

He also created a suit to fight against me!

The title "Iron Monger" is very clear—it is undoubtedly a name corresponding to "Iron Man"!

Stane must have also created a suit capable of competing with my own!

Even the origin of my title "Iron Man" comes from the epic battle between us.

So~

What on earth is going on?

Why did Stane get the blueprints from the Ten Rings, and why did he create a suit to fight me?

Tony Stark is really eager to figure this out.

Stane did indeed spoil some of the plot before, but after reconsideration a few days ago, he made some revisions and deleted the part that spoiled the plot earlier, moving this segment to a more appropriate spot later on. I apologize for the confusion this may have caused some readers.