Middle East.
Obadiah silently stared at the Iron Man suit, haphazardly pieced together by a group of illiterate terrorists, his face full of disbelief.
After finishing a cigarette, he asked the terrorist leader beside him, "Did Tony Stark really build this himself, by hand, in a cave?"
Upon receiving confirmation, Obadiah Stane was speechless.
"You had so many people, yet you didn't realize he wasn't building a missile, but a suit? Are you blind?"
It was good that Obadiah Stane didn't bring it up, but when he did, the terrorist leader was also furious. We haven't read any books, how could we tell the difference between a missile and a suit?
"If you had listened to me and just killed Tony Stark, none of this would have happened! I want this suit!" Obadiah Stane waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to go and retrieve the item, but the Ten Rings terrorists refused.
"We've lost so many men, and now you want to take this? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Do you believe me if I say I'll post this online if you push me too far!" the Ten Rings leader said, fuming.
"Then how much do you want?" Obadiah waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to put down their weapons, then flashed a brilliant smile and walked towards the Ten Rings leader.
"For the last shipment of weapons, I need five thousand pieces, and those missiles, I want a hundred!"
"Oh, is that so? A bit expensive. How about we discuss it slowly?" Obadiah pointed to a tent not far away. "Let's go inside and talk it over, and maybe have a drink, how about that?"
"We, the YSL warriors, never drink!"
"I understand, I understand. Cocktails don't count as alcohol!"
Five minutes later, a cold-faced Obadiah adjusted his overcoat and walked out of the tent. Not far away, the Ten Rings terrorists had been disarmed by the Stark Industries security team he brought, and were now tied up and being beaten.
"Kill them all, then load that thing onto the plane. Let's go!"
"Yes, boss!"
After a fierce burst of gunfire, the terrorist camp erupted in a towering blaze that lasted a full day before dying down, leaving behind a pile of ashes, making it impossible to identify the deceased or their identities.
Stark was also bewildered when he heard the news. He hadn't even settled the score with these guys yet, and they were gone? Now even their ashes had been scattered by the wind. This wasn't right!
In reality, Stark wasn't blindly trusting others; he had simply been immersed in enjoyment before, too lazy to care. But now, with a battery in his chest, he had less desire to enjoy life and more consideration for the lives of those around him.
For Stark, the only two people he currently trusted were his secretary, Miss Pepper Potts, and his driver, Happy. Of course, Happy was good as a mascot; for actual work, he relied on Potts.
After placing his suspicions on his closest uncle, Obadiah, Stark himself had been uneasy. Obadiah had been kind to the Stark family, single-handedly expanding the entire company. Therefore, Stark himself was very reluctant and unwilling to admit that Obadiah was the one who harmed him, and even Potts didn't believe it. But it was only after she followed Stark's instructions and downloaded confidential files from the company computer that she believed it—it really was Obadiah Stane who wanted to harm Tony.
But just as Pepper was about to inform Stark, she found that he had already gone to Washington at the invitation of Colonel Rhodes. So Pepper hurriedly called him again, but because Stark was at a confidential location, the call couldn't connect, making Pepper so anxious that she could only call Happy, and the two drove to Washington.
Of course, Pepper didn't forget to call Stark in the car.
Meanwhile, Rhodes had invited Stark to evaluate the EXO armor produced by Juggernaut Corporation. Because Rhodes knew that the big flying machine in the sky belonged to Stark, and he also knew that Stark wouldn't sell this to the military, he turned his attention to Juggernaut.
To be honest, Fisher hadn't expected Juggernaut's first order to come from the Air Force, but thinking about it, it made sense. After all, the American Air Force was a privileged group, and ample funding made them curious about all sorts of new equipment, including exoskeletons. The military hoped to first procure a batch of exoskeleton armor for base security forces and ground crew. After all, these ground crew members usually run around refueling and arming planes, which is very tiring. After equipping the EXO exoskeleton, one person could do the work of two, and do it faster. Two people could even load hundreds of pounds of bombs into the bomb bay, making it incredibly easy. Not to mention, the Air Force also hoped that Juggernaut could further improve the exoskeleton armor, ideally incorporating a G-suit and parachute function, which would be of great help to pilots.
"This thing is just a very simple power-assist device. If it were up to me, I could definitely build a better-looking one!" Stark gesticulated wildly to his good friend, pointing out the flaws of the Juggernaut exoskeleton: lack of protection, ugly appearance—in short, it was garbage!
"Then why do you still recommend that the Air Force increase their procurement?" Rhodes was very curious.
"Because this thing is for the military. Equipping all soldiers on a large scale is much better than a select few wearing battle suits!" Stark explained. "My battle suit cannot be sold, and even if you asked me to design one, I couldn't design an exoskeleton more suitable for large-scale military deployment than this. They truly considered all aspects to arrive at this design. It can't do anything, yet it can do everything. And look at these card slots and pre-made frames—I'm sure Juggernaut will have multi-functional modules for those requirements you mentioned earlier, allowing for quick switching between various modes, like a thick meat shield and a nimble assassin!"
"Then I was truly right to invite you!" Rhodes was very happy. This brother is truly good, never trying to trick me, and even helping me review equipment. With Stark's endorsement, Rhodes already had a plan. He intended to advise the senior leaders the next day to equip all Air Force personnel with this, even the base's military dogs.
If the Army and Marine Corps knew of Rhodes' plan, they would probably cry themselves to death, especially the Marine Corps. Because they are poor, even if they were equipped with exoskeleton armor, it would only prioritize frontline personnel. As for everyone else, they would have to wait. It's nothing like the wealthy Air Force, where everyone gets one, even the dogs.