Chapter 318: Calculations Everywhere

"Just in time, Pepper and Ethan found some clues that haven't been dealt with yet. I'll give you another chance!" After pondering, an idea quickly formed in Tony Stark's mind, and he made a decision.

"Hello?" Tony then contacted Obadiah Stane. "There's something I need you to take care of, something crucial. I believe you've already received the message. This person must disappear from the world without leaving a trace!"

"I'm on my way!" Obadiah, who had heard about Tony's recent near-death experience, was alarmed since Tony was his cash cow, indispensable for his unmet financial goals. For Obadiah, one could never have enough money, and as long as Tony was alive, he planned to keep profiting from him.

However, learning that Ivan had also developed an Ark Reactor stirred Obadiah's greed. People's greed knows no bounds, especially someone like Obadiah. Upon realizing Ivan's potential, he thought, if he couldn't control Tony directly, why not control Ivan to clandestinely produce weapons? That way, he could profit from both sides.

Obadiah hadn't expected that while he was considering how to meet Ivan, Tony would hand Ivan over to him to deal with—his role as the 'uncle' seemed to pay off well.

"No need, I'll send him over with the armor; you don't need to come here!" Tony interjected as Obadiah eagerly prepared to collect Ivan himself. Tony didn't want Obadiah, a man with dubious intentions, to meet Robert since Obadiah would definitely try to ingratiate himself with Robert.

Moreover, not just Obadiah, but many were trying to get to Robert through Tony because of Robert's ability to revive Hank, even though only a few had witnessed it. Hank had seemed nearly dead before miraculously bouncing back to full vigor—clearly, something extraordinary was at play.

No one could guarantee a life free from disease or injury. Compared to Robert's displayed destructive capabilities, his healing power now seemed even more desirable.

Fortunately, Robert's identity remained undisclosed, and many people were actively preventing the spread of information about his abilities, unsure if there were any limitations or costs to using them. They didn't want others getting ahead of them, even if they hadn't contacted Robert themselves.

"Be careful. The fact that you revived Hank has become quite well known. Your ability is more appealing than your destructive power..." After ordering JARVIS to hand Ivan over to Obadiah, Tony seriously warned Robert.

"Don't worry, haven't you noticed? I've reverted to how I looked when you first saw me," Robert said, shrugging and pointing to his combat suit. "From now on, this will be my guise when I appear, and I also have a disguise technique. As long as you don't give out my number, my identity should remain secret..."

"Even if your number gets out, it would only lead to contact with you, not reveal your identity... Holy crap?!" Tony chuckled, his expression changing suddenly as Robert stowed his combat suit.

Tony had clearly seen the suit's swift contraction, a technology he had been planning to explore but had not expected to see utilized by Robert.

"Is this technology? Not your ability?" Tony asked, gaping at the device on Robert's wrist.

"This is technology; the transformation technique is my ability," Robert explained softly. Given Tony's non-malicious demeanor and his provision of sustenance, Robert was more favorably disposed towards him than he was towards Constantine, considering Tony more reliable in character and action.

"Um, I know it's abrupt, but could I study it briefly? It's a direction I'm considering for my next suit," Tony stuttered unusually, feeling awkward. Unlike the time he had urgently requested Robert's help to save Hank, which had been a matter of life or death, this was different, and Tony wasn't used to making such requests.

"You probably can't use this..." Robert hesitated, looking at his wrist. "Only I can activate it; it seems to be something like genetic binding."

Just as only the Kent family and the Danvers family could access Savage Island, Robert and Clark's combat suits were exclusive to them; if someone took Robert's wrist device, they still couldn't use it.

"Genetic binding? That's a great idea!" Tony's eyes lit up. His suit, while system-assisted, could be hacked, allowing others to control it. Hearing about Robert's solution, he found it appealing.

"Could you show more of how it works?" Tony asked eagerly, curious but refraining from prying into the origins of Robert's suit, recognizing it as Robert's secret.

Tony felt a surge of pressure, realizing someone on Earth was advancing further in science and armor technology than he was.

"This shouldn't be a problem..." Robert nodded, willing to demonstrate the suit, which only required a bit of

 his time.

As Robert showcased the suit's capabilities to Tony, Obadiah received Ivan, still unconscious, delivered by the suit.

Obadiah, never suspecting this to be a trap or test from Tony—believing his previous actions hadn't been exposed—mused to the still-unconscious Ivan, "I had been thinking about how to extract you from Tony's clutches, and here he's handed you over to me... Do you know what this means? It means your luck isn't up yet! It means I'm meant to make a fortune!"

No one answered Obadiah's musings as Ivan remained unconscious, making Obadiah somewhat dispirited without any interactive audience.

"I've paid a high price for this, so you better make it worth my while and earn back a hundred times more!" Obadiah muttered, extracting a small box from his pocket containing a mechanical bug and a button. He placed the bug into Ivan's mouth and pressed the button.

The bug quickly split and vanished deep into Ivan's throat, and soon after, Ivan's complexion paled as he abruptly woke from his slumber.

Screaming in pain, Ivan had no immediate response from Obadiah, who held the control unbothered, only shutting it off when Ivan collapsed powerless.

"Is Tony Stark so low?" Ivan, regaining some strength, bitterly asked Obadiah. "To kill, just kill. What kind of superhero tortures like this?"

"I'm not Tony Stark, nor am I a superhero..." Obadiah shrugged, grinning at Ivan. "I'm just a businessman."

"No way! I know you; you are Obadiah, a man of Stark Industries!" Ivan retorted, furrowing his brows.

"I told you, I'm a businessman. I'm here to do business with you. You should have felt the pain just now. There are many mechanical bugs inside you now. I'm not a scientist and don't know how this was made, but I know it can kill you if you don't cooperate..." Obadiah shrugged again, proposing a grim choice to Ivan.

"What exactly do you want?" Ivan asked through clenched teeth.

"I said it: I want to do business and make money with you! You can make Arc Reactors, right? Then making armor and various energy weapons shouldn't be a problem for you?"

"Stark Industries could make those too... huh?" Ivan started reflexively, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Obadiah's expression darkened, his hand hovering over the switch.

"I laugh at the irony of the Stark family, who stole our family's intellectual achievements, now facing theft themselves! What a cosmic justice!" Ivan sneered.

"So, are you agreeing to cooperate?" Obadiah's expression softened slightly, probing further.

"I will, but I have a condition!" Ivan took a deep breath, his tone serious. "If you don't agree, you might as well kill me because I won't cooperate otherwise."

"Let's hear it!" Obadiah paused, releasing the switch.

"I want Tony Stark dead!" Ivan's eyes flickered with intense malice, openly stating his demand.

"You're dreaming! That's non-negotiable!" Although Obadiah had once considered killing Tony, he wouldn't now, as doing so would significantly cut his income.

Even with Ivan as an additional revenue source, Ivan's ability to generate money hadn't yet been proven. Why ruin one source of income when he could profit from both?

"Then there's nothing to discuss. Kill me!" Ivan snorted, closing his eyes in resignation.

"You!" Obadiah watched Ivan's determined expression and paused; taking any action now might kill Ivan outright, rendering the mechanical bug a wasted investment.

Killing Ivan wasn't an issue, but Obadiah hadn't recouped his investment in the bug, leaving him reluctant.

"We can negotiate, but killing Tony outright isn't possible. You don't have the capability!" Reflecting on this, Obadiah looked at Ivan again.

"How then can Tony Stark be killed?" Ivan reopened his eyes, questioning Obadiah.

"You'd have to prove your value exceeds Tony's!" Obadiah considered his words carefully, seeming sincere.

"Create another Stark Industries? That I cannot do!" Ivan shook his head decisively. Stark Industries' current status was not just due to Tony's contributions but also historical factors and accumulated connections. Starting from scratch to match Stark Industries was impossible, even for someone as confident as Ivan.

"Not creating another Stark Industries, but rather, I need to see that the value I get from you is greater than what I get from Tony. Then, I could agree to kill him," Obadiah explained.

"After all, you've heard about Tony's difficult personality. Honestly, if he hadn't created so much wealth for me and stayed out of my sight recently, I would have taken matters into my own hands long ago..."

"Create more wealth than him?"

 Ivan seemed to consider this feasible, falling silent for a while before responding, "Then, shall we agree to cooperate?"

"Agreed!" Obadiah nodded satisfactorily, helping Ivan up. Both men smiled, appearing like genuinely cooperative partners to the unobservant eye, with no hint of the threats made with mechanical bugs.

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