Since Hammer's armor was being mass-produced, it naturally couldn't use the same precious gold and titanium alloy that Tony employed for his suits.
The metals required to make common alloys were all stocked in Hammer Industries' warehouses.
But building a miniature Arc Reactor required a huge amount of palladium. A single missile consumed 0.2 grams of the precious metal—and Hammer didn't have that much in stock.
Moreover, while Ivan Vanko couldn't create new elements, he still adjusted the reactor's output, just like in the movie, to try and match Tony Stark's level.
The Arc Reactor had been upgraded—it demanded even more palladium.
Yet Hammer Industries' inventory only covered the Defense Department's weapon orders for this year.
So Hammer began buying palladium in bulk on the open market, under his own name and through a small company.
Even though Hammer carefully spread his purchases across multiple companies, J.A.R.V.I.S., who had been monitoring the market, immediately noticed.
Soon, the owners behind these small companies began to surface.
As for Hammer Industries' palladium purchases over the past five years, they were mostly for fulfilling weapon contracts.
Beyond the palladium required for this year's signed orders, there were also projected needs for the Defense Department's next year's orders.
Tony had a full set of data laid out in front of him.
"Justin Hammer… is that really you?"
He reopened the data Justin had sent to his phone yesterday and muttered to himself. No matter how difficult it seemed, Justin Hammer didn't appear to have the courage for this.
"Hey! Fish Finder, what do you think?"
Qin Xiao stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the fish at the bottom of the river.
Initially, the New York base had been planned on a suburban farm. Qin Xiao had donated a billion dollars to the Avengers project.
He thought he could join the organization with his own funds and take control, so he tortured Nick Fury, forcing him to hand over the secret river-bottom base.
In his view, that's what a secret organization base with a billion-dollar budget should look like.
Indeed, it had a style. To display it, he often imitated Nick Fury—hands clasped behind his back, standing motionless by the window, staring at the fish.
So Tony gave him the nickname "Fish Finder."
"What do I think? I'm not Yuan Fang. Let's just wait for Natasha to get back. She went to interview at Hammer Industries today."
Qin Xiao rubbed his eyes and returned to the desk.
"Who's Yuan Fang?"
Tony pulled out a bag of chips from somewhere, munching as he asked.
"China's version of Watson. She and the Chinese Holmes solved many major cases together. Speaking of Holmes, Tony, I remember watching a movie. The actor who played Holmes in Detective Morlock looks a lot like you. Do you have cousins in Hollywood who act?"
Mentioning Sherlock Holmes, Qin Xiao glanced at Tony's face and suddenly said something a little biting.
"No!"
Tony thought for a moment and then said seriously:
"You really need to rethink your taste in movies. A film I've never even heard of—surely it's terrible!"
"Exactly! Especially the lead actor—what an idiot. I've never seen such a bad performer!"
Qin Xiao said with a strange smile.
Tony felt something off at a subconscious level but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
Finally, he could only snap at Qin Xiao:
"You should see a doctor. Stop hanging out with a bunch of people all the time. You'll fry your brain!"
Qin Xiao was about to retort.
Then the base gates opened.
Natasha walked in wearing a red dress.
Qin Xiao quickly pulled out a chair for the Black Widow and even poured her a glass of water.
After spending a few days in Monaco with Daisy, seeing Black Widow filled him with a strange sense of guilt.
"Good heavens, how can someone be this beautiful? I bet that bastard Justin Hammer wants her as his personal secretary!"
The Black Widow was an operative, especially after the Monaco incident.
While Qin Xiao had flown quickly across the plane, he had certainly been tracking a woman in Monaco.
But Black Widow didn't dwell on it—she simply rolled her eyes at him, sat down, and took a sip of water.
"Actually, I didn't see Hammer, but spending the morning with them gave me a lot of useful information. Tony, do you have floor plans for the Hammer building on your computer?"
Tony quickly tapped a few keys and turned the screen around.
"Here."
Black Widow pointed to several spots on the floor plan.
"The underground sections were originally research bases for armor development in collaboration with the military. Hammer Industries invested heavily here—scientists and resources alike."
"But a few days ago, he suddenly laid off everyone temporarily. All research staff, including security, were evacuated. The area became off-limits to Hammer Industries."
"I snuck into the building's surveillance room with two cups of good coffee and found that all footage from the underground labs—entryways, elevators, even the parking lots—had been deleted that afternoon!"
"Based on the palladium suppliers J.A.R.V.I.S. discovered, I'm certain either he's building an Arc Reactor, or Ivan Vanko is in the Hammer building. Unfortunately, to go there now, you need to be a special person. Forget it—besides Justin Hammer, no one has that access."
Black Widow had summarized all her findings for the day in one breath. She was almost ready to make a final decision: Ivan Vanko was in the Hammer building.
"Then what are you waiting for? You are the world's most powerful intelligence agency, with informants, operatives, combat teams, and special forces. Hit the place immediately and capture everyone!"
Tony spread his hands.
Black Widow rolled her eyes helplessly.
"That's a military cooperation project testing base. You should know better than anyone what that means. Otherwise, how would you persuade two-thirds of the Senate?"
"What should I do? Put on armor and storm in myself?"
It's already locked down—why bother worrying about details? Once Ivan Vanko is confirmed to be there, everything becomes simple.
"That's not impossible!"
Black Widow was not rigid, but after discussion, she ultimately rejected this plan.
"But we do have a more clever way to achieve the same result!"
"Is there a solution?"
Qin Xiao and Tony asked in unison.
"Then these two superheroes should be humble—and put on a grand performance!"
Black Widow smiled.
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