Under the resentful glares of countless overworked employees, Darren strutted confidently toward the elevator. With Obadiah Stane's face covering his own, none of the guards dared to question him. They simply stepped aside, letting him swipe his access card and ascend without interruption.
The disguise worked perfectly.
Moments later, he was inside Tony Stark's luxurious top-floor office.
He walked straight to the desk, switched on the computer, and inserted the silver USB drive Tony had given him.
A string of code began scrolling across the screen.
[Cracking security protocols…]
[Success. Searching for hidden drives…]
Within seconds, a deep-encrypted folder appeared, bursting open to reveal a treasure trove of confidential files.
One video stood out—a recording from Tony's kidnapping in the Middle East.
As Darren watched, realization hit him like a hammer. The man behind the ambush—the one supplying weapons to the terrorists—was none other than Tony's uncle, Obadiah Stane.
The old bastard hadn't just sold arms to extremists; he'd orchestrated the entire hit on Tony.
Darren let out a low whistle. "So this is the great American corporate ladder. Ruthless and efficient—no HR approval needed."
But that wasn't even the juiciest part.
Buried deeper in the files was something that made his eyes gleam—
Obadiah had secretly collected the wreckage of Tony's Mark I armor from Afghanistan and assembled a team of Stark Industries' top engineers to reverse-engineer it.
Their project name: Iron Monger.
Judging from the schematics and progress reports, the monstrous suit was nearly complete.
Darren immediately relayed the discovery to Nick Fury.
Fury was silent for several long seconds before his voice came through, grave and controlled.
"The Iron Armor tech has immense strategic value. It can't fall into the hands of men like Stane—or anyone else with ambition and no restraint. I'm sending Coulson and a team to take control of the facility. S.H.I.E.L.D. will secure the project and its data."
He didn't specify where they'd "secure" it, but Darren didn't need to ask.
When Fury said secure, he meant store it inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Safest place in the world—sure. Unless you counted the part where Hydra had a floor in the same building.
Still, Darren wasn't one to argue with free XP. He copied all the hidden files twice, pulled the USB free, and headed for the door.
But just as he stepped out—
A woman in a form-fitting office suit approached, hips swaying, arms full of documents.
"Mr. Stane, you're back! Perfect timing. There's an urgent R&D funding request that needs your signature."
Darren took the folder, glanced down—and nearly whistled aloud. Fifty. Million. Dollars.
He coughed twice, straightened his tie, and said sternly, "This project can wait. Transfer all funds to this account—I've got a more important research direction."
He scribbled down his own bank account number on a scrap of paper and handed it to her.
The assistant blinked. "Wait… postpone it? But, Mr. Stane, this project's top priority. What's your new one?"
"Hair regrowth technology."
She stared. "...Understood."
Her gaze flicked unconsciously to his shiny bald head. Enlightenment dawned.
Then she smiled sweetly. "By the way, you didn't forget about tonight, did you?"
"What?" Darren asked warily.
"Our date, of course. You promised me dinner."
She licked her lips, the gesture both playful and predatory. Whatever "dinner" she meant, it probably wasn't served on plates.
Darren nearly applauded. Damn, this company has a theme.
Why did every Stark Industries executive have an affair with their assistant? Was it in the employee handbook?
He forced a smile. "Rain check. My wife's coming home tonight."
She tilted her head. "That's not true—your mom told me she's in Hawaii this week."
"...Excuse me, what?"
Your mother?
He needed therapy just from that sentence.
After considerable effort (and some creative lies), Darren finally shook off the assistant—who, judging from context, might've been Stane's daughter.
And that, he decided, was several psychological levels above his pay grade.
...
By evening, Darren returned to Tony's Malibu mansion.
"Jarvis, open the door!" he called habitually.
No response.
His brows furrowed. Something was off.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his trusty Diamond Pickaxe from his game inventory and slammed it against the wall.
Clang! Crack!
The reinforced wall shattered like tofu, leaving a man-sized hole. Darren slipped inside—
—and froze.
A pale, bloodless figure crawled weakly across the floor. Its chest was hollow, an empty crater where something vital should've been.
"Holy hell?" Darren blurted.
The figure croaked faintly, "It's… it's me… quick… get the arc reactor from the lab…"
"Tony!?"
"Yeah… hurry…"
Darren didn't waste a second. He swung his pickaxe again, smashed through the floor, and dropped straight into the underground lab.
There, amid scattered tools and glowing scraps, he found Tony's old arc reactor—the original clunky one built in a cave.
He grabbed it and leapt back up through the hole.
"Catch!"
He tossed the glowing core toward Tony, who caught it with trembling hands and pressed it into his chest cavity.
With a faint click, the reactor flared to life, bathing the room in soft blue light.
Color returned to Tony's face. His breathing steadied. Sweat dripped down his temples as he slumped to the ground, gasping.
"Haah… thanks, pal," he panted. "You just saved my life again."
Darren waved it off. "All good. But, uh, mind telling me why you look like a corpse? Where's your fancy new reactor?"
Tony's expression darkened with fury. "Stane. He broke into my house and stole it."
Darren blinked. "And you didn't wear your armor?"
Tony's jaw tightened. "Didn't have time."
That made two ambushes—both before he could suit up. The humiliation burned deep.
"One day," he growled, "I'll design armor that I can wear under my clothes. Something I can summon instantly."
"Speaking of which," Darren said, pulling out the silver USB, "your mole problem's solved. Everything's on here—proof that Stane set you up, ordered the hit, and is building his own suit."
[Mission Complete: The Mole in Stark Industries]
[Rewards: +500 XP, +10 Tony Stark Affection, Item: Honest Red Bean Bun]
[Item Description: Eat this and you'll uncontrollably tell the truth for one minute.]
Tony's eyes blazed. "That bastard. He's going to pay."
He immediately reactivated Jarvis and staggered toward the lab to equip the Mark III armor.
As the power systems booted up, Darren suddenly heard the familiar mechanical chime in his head.
[Attention, player! BOSS EVENT ACTIVATED!]
[Objective: Defeat "Iron Monger" – Obadiah Stane!]
[Rewards: Based on total damage dealt. The higher the damage, the greater the reward!]
Darren's grin spread wide.
"A boss event?" he murmured, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
Finally. After all the small fry and random NPCs—
It was time for a real fight.