The Iron Overlord had lost both arms and its flight thrusters, leaving the giant machine completely crippled. With no weapons and no mobility left, it had lost all combat capability. Realizing the battle was over, Obadiah Stane finally opened the damaged armor and stepped out, revealing his true self.
His face twisted with fury and desperation as he stared at Ethan Blake like a cornered animal. Gritting his teeth, he asked through clenched jaws, "Who are you? Did Tony Stark hire you? How much did he pay you? I'll give you ten times that amount if you let me go."
Ethan shrugged calmly. "It's not about money."
Obadiah's breathing grew heavier as panic crept into his voice. "Then what do you want? Just name it. If I can give it to you, I will. Just let me walk away."
Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you sure about that?"
For Obadiah, who had already fallen into complete despair, the question felt like the final glimpse of hope. His eyes lit up instantly.
"What do you want?" he said hurriedly. "Shares. Stark Industries shares. I own seventeen percent of the company. I'll give you every single one of them."
Ethan slowly shook his head.
"No, no, no," he said lightly. "That's not what I'm interested in."
Obadiah frowned in confusion. Aside from his Stark Industries stock, he couldn't think of anything else he owned that would be worth offering.
"Then what?" he asked.
Ethan looked straight at him and answered calmly.
"Your life."
Before Obadiah could react or say another word, a pistol suddenly appeared in Ethan's hand.
The movement was so quick that Obadiah froze in shock. His eyes widened just as Ethan pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed sharply through the battlefield.
Obadiah Stane collapsed instantly.
Dead.
However, what Ethan didn't expect was what happened next.
Inside his mind, the System recorded the gain in summoning energy.
Twenty percent.
Ethan blinked in mild surprise. That amount was enormous. Before this, the highest energy reward he had ever received came from killing a terrorist leader several years ago, and even that had only given him seven percent.
Obadiah alone had provided almost three times that amount.
Apparently the man had been involved in far more shady business behind the scenes than anyone realized.
While Ethan was still considering that fact, a familiar red-and-gold figure finally descended from the sky.
Tony Stark had arrived in the Mark III armor.
The moment Tony landed and saw Ethan standing there, he looked genuinely surprised.
"Ethan? How did you get here faster than me?" Tony said incredulously. "Wait… don't tell me you have a twin. Was the guy at my house earlier your brother? Or is this another one of your superpowers?"
Ethan simply shrugged in silent confirmation.
Tony then noticed Obadiah's lifeless body lying nearby. His expression grew complicated as he stared at the man he had once treated like family.
Obadiah had been something like an uncle to him.
Yet he had also tried to kill Tony multiple times.
Tony honestly didn't know how he was supposed to feel.
"Tony!"
Pepper's voice suddenly cut through the silence. She ran forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
Tony hugged her back instinctively.
After a moment Pepper stepped away, but she didn't forget the person who had saved her life just minutes earlier. Turning toward Ethan, she spoke sincerely.
"Thank you, Mr. Ethan. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be able to see Tony again."
Tony froze slightly when he heard that. Only then did the realization truly sink in.
He imagined, for a moment, what might have happened if Ethan hadn't been there.
The thought alone made him uneasy.
"Ethan," Tony said seriously, "thank you. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to lose Pepper."
Then he remembered something.
"Oh right, you said you needed my help with something, didn't you? What is it? As long as it's something I can do, I'm in."
Ethan glanced around.
Pepper was still visibly shaken, and the surrounding area looked like a war zone. Craters, broken walls, and destroyed structures were scattered everywhere.
Clearly, this wasn't the best moment to discuss business.
After thinking for a moment, Ethan shook his head.
"Forget it for today," he said. "The commotion just now wasn't exactly small. You'll probably have to deal with the aftermath first. I'll come find you tomorrow."
Obadiah had fired missiles in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. The noise alone would have drawn attention from across the city. Reporters were probably already racing toward the scene.
Tony considered that and nodded.
"Alright. Tomorrow then."
"See you."
The moment Ethan finished speaking, he vanished.
Tony's eyes widened in surprise.
After a few seconds, he muttered with obvious envy in his voice.
"Teleportation… no wonder he got here faster than me."
…
Early the next morning, Ethan sat in front of his computer and calmly began selling all of his Stark Industries stock.
After Tony publicly announced the shutdown of Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division, the company's stock price had collapsed again. The once unstoppable corporate giant had suffered another major blow.
At its peak, Stark Industries had been valued at two hundred billion dollars.
Now its market value had dropped to only eighty billion.
One hundred twenty billion dollars had effectively evaporated.
But for Ethan, the crash had turned into a massive opportunity.
When everything was settled, he had earned a total of three billion dollars.
After repaying the seven hundred million dollars he had originally borrowed, his net profit came out to 2.3 billion.
With that money in hand, Ethan immediately leveraged it in the financial markets.
The 2.3 billion quickly turned into twenty-three billion dollars of purchasing power.
Then he returned to the U.S. stock market.
His target was still the same company.
Stark Industries.
This time, however, he wasn't shorting the stock.
He was buying.
Aggressively.
Ethan began absorbing Stark Industries shares from the market in large quantities.
In the end, he acquired fifteen percent of the company.
Even after spending twenty-three billion dollars, he still hadn't exhausted the available capital. The reason was simple: there simply weren't enough shares available.
Only about twenty percent of Stark Industries' total shares were circulating in the public market.
Once Ethan absorbed fifteen percent of those, only five percent of the tradable shares remained.
If he bought any more, there would practically be no stock left for trading at all. Without liquidity in the market, even good news wouldn't push the price upward.
Still, fifteen percent ownership was already more than enough.
With that stake, Ethan had instantly become the second-largest shareholder of Stark Industries.
If the company's stock price recovered in the future, Ethan would easily become a multi-billionaire with a net worth exceeding ten billion dollars.
…
By the time Ethan arrived to meet Tony the following day, Tony was preparing for a press conference.
After the chaos at Stark Industries the previous night—and with half of Los Angeles witnessing Iron Man flying across the city—the CEO of Stark Industries had no choice but to address the public.
Pepper stood in front of Tony, adjusting his suit and straightening his tie.
"Hey Ethan," Tony said when he saw him. "Did you read today's newspaper? They're saying I was fighting that giant robot last night. Which is hilarious, because I didn't even do anything. Anyway, about that meal I owe you…"
"Tony!"
Pepper shot him an irritated look.
In her eyes, Ethan had saved her life once and Tony's life twice. Joking about a meal at a moment like this felt inappropriate.
Seeing her expression, Tony immediately raised his hands defensively.
"I'm kidding," he said quickly. "Right, man?"
He winked at Ethan.
"Of course," Ethan replied with a smile.
Tony straightened his posture and became serious.
"Alright," he said. "Let's talk business. What do you need help with?"
Ethan had saved Tony twice and Pepper once. On top of that, Ethan clearly wasn't short on money. Tony honestly had no idea how to repay the favor.
So the fact that Ethan actually needed his help made Tony strangely happy.
Even if it didn't fully repay the debt, at least it gave him a chance to show some gratitude.
Ethan didn't waste time.
With a flick of his hand, he pulled a box out of his golden storage space. Pepper's eyes widened in surprise as he placed the box on the table and opened it.
Inside were three cylindrical metal rods.
Tony leaned forward slightly.
"What's this?" he asked.
....
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