Chapter 129: I Shall Uphold World Peace!

Los Angeles, Stark Industries Headquarters. Chairman's office.

Sitting at his desk, Tony watched Obadiah Stane and the dozen armed men closing in on him. On the surface, Tony wore a mocking smile, but inside, he was cursing up a storm.

*Master Wong, are you actually capable or not? A man doesn't just need to be sturdy; he needs to be fast! Come on, don't stop! I have no one else to rely on but you!*

He knew, in truth, that there was little hope. It was impossible for anyone to cross over 4,000 kilometers to reach him; even by plane, it would take several hours. Not even the Mark II armor was that fast. To arrive within ten minutes, one would have to ride the fastest intercontinental ballistic missile.

"Tony, are you stalling? It’s useless. No one is coming to save you."

Obadiah had fully embraced his role as the "Chairman." He slapped the desk and looked around. "Howard is dead; this office should have been mine all along. I’ve fought for this company for thirty years. Why should a playboy like you be the Chairman? Without my support, which shareholder would ever respect you?"

"Obadiah, you are a traitor." Tony remained unmoved, doing his best to drag out the time. Although the hope was slim, it was his last resort. Master Wong might not make it in time, but as a Special Consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D., he could surely notify someone like "Agent Coulson" to rush over. That would still be better than the military or the police.

"A traitor? Tony, you’re the one who is the traitor." Obadiah looked at Tony and shouted, "Stark Industries is a weapons manufacturer. You actually want to stop selling? Fine! You’ve mastered new technology—the miniaturized Arc Reactor—and that suit of armor. Why not bring them out? They could increase the market value of Stark Industries tenfold!"

"Because I don't want those things to be used by people like you." Tony initiated his "Great Summoning Spell," silently chanting for the "Immortal Iron Fist." Being kidnapped had made him doubt his own life; he had spent the first half of his life manufacturing weapons to harm others, and he intended to spend the second half destroying them as penance. If there was a second half, that is.

"Listen to that—a war profiteer with a sense of justice? Tony, do you really think I could have forced you out so easily? You angered the masses. I am merely following the will of the people. I am doing this for world peace!"

A radiant halo seemed to appear above Obadiah’s head. "You are not like your father. Howard helped build the atomic bomb. If he hadn't handed over that technology, how many more years would World War II have lasted? How many more people would have died? Come now, hand over the technology. We shall redefine the order of this world and make it a better place!"

"When it comes to maintaining world peace, I’m enough on my own," Tony said.

"Heh, you’re as arrogant as ever." Obadiah’s patience wore thin, and he straightened his back. "Your armor, your miniature Arc Reactor—they’re at the villa, right? No matter. Once I get them, I’ll have them analyzed. Ordinary scientists may lack the ability to invent, but they certainly have the ability to replicate."

"That’s about all the ability they have," Tony agreed with a nod.

"Enough. Kill him," Obadiah commanded, waving a hand. Since they couldn't reach an agreement and he couldn't trick Tony into handing over the technology, he would just take it himself. Finish it quickly; delays lead to complications.

"Aren't you going to reconsider?" Tony paused slightly, a sudden smile appearing on his face.

He had heard a voice. It wasn't through his ears, but directly inside his mind—that familiar yet strange voice.

"I’ll give you one last chance. Leave now. For the sake of our thirty-year friendship, I won't kill you." Tony felt as though he held the winning hand; he looked icy on the outside, but inside, he was grinning.

Seeing this expression, Obadiah felt something was wrong. Had he talked too much?

"Do it!" Obadiah ordered.

The dozen subordinates prepared to fire.

Suddenly, a slightly chubby figure appeared. He moved like a gust of wind, swirling through the office. In an instant, the dozen subordinates were sent flying backward, and all their pistols and submachine guns were twisted into pretzels, reduced to scrap metal.

How was this possible? Who possessed such terrifying power?

His vision blurred, and the chubby figure was suddenly standing right in front of him.

"You... who are you?"

He clearly did not recognize Old Wong, nor did he know that Wong had once saved Tony. He felt a sense of unprecedented fear toward this phantom-like presence.

"The man who is going to kill you."

Wong couldn't be bothered with small talk. He didn't know if a second missile might be heading for the lab, so he needed to hurry back. Without the Iron Monger, this wasn't even a minor boss—at most, he was a sub-level-10 elite mob; not worth the time.

Wong pressed a hand against Obadiah’s chest. He channeled a surge of internal energy into him, vibrating rapidly just like Skye’s seismic waves. Obadiah felt his heart rate spike, faster than it ever had when he met the girl of his dreams. This sensation of a living, beating heart made him truly feel the beauty of life. He didn't want anything else now; wealth and status were meaningless. He just wanted to live.

However, that was the greatest extravagance of all.

As his heart rate exceeded its limit, Obadiah felt palpitations, difficulty breathing, and then chest pain, followed by constant coughing that brought up blood.

Suddenly, his heart stopped.

Obadiah’s pupils dilated; he struggled violently with his limbs, but it was all in vain. Finally, he drew his last breath.

"What a healthy old man, to have suffered a sudden heart attack," Wong said, pulling his hand away and shaking his head with a look of regret.

Tony’s eyes darted between Wong and Obadiah, unable to process what had happened. Master Wong had truly appeared before his eyes, crossing over 4,000 kilometers to save him. He felt both astonished and moved. Yet, the way Wong had killed Obadiah and the others without a second thought, as if crushing a dozen ants, made him feel a sense of strangeness and fear.

But one thing was certain: Master Wong was not an enemy. Thankfully, he was not an enemy.

"Yes, Obadiah always had a heart condition. I didn't expect it to act up at a time like this." Tony stood up, kicked Obadiah a few times, and then looked at Wong. "Master Wong, what about them?"

"A group of terrorists attempting to kidnap the Chairman of Stark Industries—not the first time this has happened. Obadiah was so frightened that he had a heart attack, and Mr. Stark fought them off, managing to neutralize the terrorists with the help of his security team. Sadly, a few security guards died heroically."

Having been a keyboard warrior in his previous life, Wong cooked up a script in the blink of an eye. "S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will be here soon. They will cooperate with you to handle everything."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. Today felt like a dream. Unfortunately, not a pleasant one, but a nightmare.

"Mr. Stark, are you interested in brain mapping and memory uploading technology?" Wong asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Tony hadn't expected Wong’s train of thought to jump so abruptly to such a profound topic.

"Master Wong, you can just call me 'Tony'." Tony thought for a moment and said, "You’re talking about the most cutting-edge technology; no one has perfected it yet. As far as I know, while some labs can perform a certain level of brain mapping, the results are poor, and it’s very easy to damage the brain."

"Those problems will be solved soon."

Wong found paper and a pen, wrote down an address, and handed it to Tony. "If you're interested, come here."

"Uh... alright." Tony held the A4 paper, saying nothing more. Master Wong seemed to be in a hurry, not even giving him a chance to interrupt.

"Just act as if I was never here. You handled Obadiah yourself. Goodbye."

Wong activated his teleportation spell once more and vanished.

*Thud, thud, thud!*

The door swung open again, and Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan rushed in with a group of people. Seeing Obadiah on the floor and the heap of corpses nearby, Pepper was stunned. It was already over?

"Tony, are you alright?" Pepper rushed over, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Boss, these... did you do all this?" Happy was dumbfounded.

"Uh... yes, I did." Remembering Wong’s instructions, Tony decided to take credit for this titanium-alloy-sized pot.

Looking at the look of adoration in Happy’s eyes, the guilt in his heart vanished instantly. The feeling of being a superhero, he thought... it wasn't half bad?

"The Mark III will be finished soon. Putting it on to fight criminals and wipe out terrorist organizations doesn't sound half bad. I really might be able to maintain world peace all by myself!"