Page 26
On the way back.
As expected, when passing over California, it was intercepted by US military aircraft.
The two F22 Raptors are the same model that Lai Mu had seen at the US military base, but it is not known whether they are the same one.
Lai Mu activated the plasma thrusters on his back, accelerated, and disappeared into the clouds.
Stark, who fell behind, fought with the fighter plane for a while and successfully escaped with the help of Colonel Roddy.
The two armors do have radar stealth coatings, but the heat source reaction of the plasma thrusters cannot be concealed and is also very bright, so they can be easily discovered if they fly too low.
/——————
Early the next morning.
A magnificent private mansion.
Obadiah was in the living room watching the news.
He was wearing home clothes and a big, rough necklace, looking like a gangster.
The fireplace was burning and crackling, and the firelight flickered on his face, making him look a little gloomy.
An explosion occurred in Afghanistan, and the US military discovered a UFO...
Stark confronted me just yesterday, and today's news was like a slap in the face, it hurt.
He thought he had won, but it turned out that Stark had hidden 100 million hands.
After pondering for a long time, he made a phone call and said, "Contact our old Afghan friend and ask if he is dead..."
On that day, Obadiah flew to Afghanistan and arrived in the early morning, which was the darkest time before the sun rose.
Under the cover of black night, a convoy drove towards the dimly lit terrorist camp.
Ten minutes later, a bulletproof black off-road vehicle drove out of the town first, and the sound of dense gunfire was heard from behind the car.
In just a few tens of seconds, everything returned to calm and the remaining vehicles caught up with the black SUV.
"…Establish Sector 16 under the Arc Generator, gather our best engineers, and do this in secrecy. I want to see a prototype immediately."
Chapter 32. Stark: This is my responsibility
Lai Mu received the report of the target's death while having dinner.
In terms of time difference, Afghanistan is more than ten hours ahead of the United States.
Obadiah led a team of mercenaries to clear out the Ten Rings base and took away the wreckage of Mark I. The scarred leader was burned to death in the tent.
It's perfect, everything is going according to the preset track.
After this wave is over, the profits gained from Stark Industries' stocks will be enough to at least quadruple the funds on hand.
Theoretically speaking, for an ordinary person, money is just a string of numbers when it reaches a certain level.
There is no difference between 10 billion and 100 billion, because the money a person can spend in his lifetime is limited, and the things he can enjoy are also limited.
But Lai Mu needs a lot of money, the more the better.
His own wealth and prosperity are only one aspect.
On the other hand, sufficient funds are also needed to research more advanced technologies, create more advanced equipment, and prepare for various crises in the future.
Hydra, aliens, and Thanos are not easy to deal with.
Do superpowers and money power conflict? No!
Can I have both? Of course I can!
You are all my wings!
"Oh my god! Are those bullet holes and blood stains? What were you doing wearing these things? Tony?! Lemu?!"
Pepper screamed from the basement.
Lai Mu subconsciously pressed his forehead, and his small mouth that was chewing the beef tenderloin stopped instantly.
Oh my God, it’s bad!
The two Afghan war-damaged armors were still in the basement, never cleaned up...
living room.
Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and Lemu were sitting together, and the atmosphere was a little solemn.
The fire crackled in the fireplace, and the flickering flames made the silence even more peaceful.
Pepper looked at the two of them, residual fear and worry still on her face.
She calmed down for a while, pursed her lips, and slid her red eyes over the two people, but her tone was very calm, "Can anyone tell me what happened? I saw bullet holes and blood."
Stark spread his hands, blinking rapidly with a guilty look, his eyes wandering, but he forced himself to look nonchalant, "It's no big deal. You've seen worse times than this."
Stark encouraged himself in his heart, I am the boss, why should I give instructions to her.
Lai Mu nodded hesitantly, trying to fish in troubled waters, "Yeah, Tony is just that kind of person, there's nothing he can't do. You don't have to be too surprised."
At this moment, the atmosphere was so awkward. It was like climbing over the wall to skip class and go to the Internet cafe, but the head teacher caught him in the act and invited him to the office for tea, and also called his parents.
As the parties responsible for the accident, one of them gave up everything and the other pretended to be innocent and shirked responsibility.
Pepper's eyes fixed on Lai Mu, "What about you? I saw blood on your big toy."
The voice was very cold, but his eyes were sharp, making people feel cold.
Lai Mu unconsciously grabbed a strand of hair and smiled awkwardly, "That's not a big toy, it's... it's a, uh, whack-a-mole robot. We just went to Afghanistan... whack-a-mole."
Pepper's eyes instantly turned red, and she was about to cry, with tears welling up in her eyes. "So you went to Afghanistan? The terrorists and explosions in the news were all caused by you?"
"This is dangerous, you will die!"
Lai Mu turned his head and gave Stark a look, hurry up and go and coax your little secretary.
Stark glared back gloomily and said, "No, she's worried about you!"
Lai Mu glared back, bullshit! She is obviously worried about you!
The two of them were in a stalemate for a while, and Lai Mu finally compromised. He was not as stubborn as Stark.
He stood up and sat next to Pepper, pulled her hand, then began to have a headache and didn't know what to say - he had no experience in this kind of thing.
After thinking for a long time, he said, "Well... I promise, there won't be a next time."
"you promise?"
"I promise."
I promise that next time I will never let you see it.
Pepper didn't know that Lemu had a non-human physique and would not die even if shot. In order not to make her worry, Lemu had to give white lies and false assurances.
It was also because of the boy’s body shape and appearance that others always regarded Lai Mu as a harmless, weak and frail boy (girl).
Pepper looked at Stark, opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped herself.
She knew she had no right to speak to Tony Stark, nor could she ask for anything.
She was just a personal assistant, and the person opposite was her boss.
Looking at Pepper's red eyes, Tony Stark took a breath uncomfortably, turned his head away, stood up and prepared to leave.
Lai Mu grabbed him and said, "Sit down, you arrogant guy."
Lai Mu used his inhuman strength to press Stark down on the sofa, and tried to persuade him with the look of someone who had experienced it.
"Say something, Tony. Escaping is useful, but it is shameful. No matter what it is, or whether it is a feeling, you have to face it in the end."
As if a switch had been triggered, two voices, one male and one female, denied it in unison, "That's not true."
Stark and Pepper looked at each other, then looked away, feeling even more confused.
Tony Stark sighed, lowered his head, and poured himself a glass of water. After drinking half of it, his eyes began to become blurry and he fell into memories.
He spoke in a low and slow voice with some sighs, "In Afghanistan, I was shot in the chest and imprisoned for three months. I thought I would die there... I was going to die... Someone saved me and stayed there forever for me."
The sound of burning firewood in the air seemed even more fragmented, as if it was afraid of disturbing them.
Stark looked into Pepper's eyes with a rare seriousness and sincerity in them.
“I felt in my heart that I was doing the right thing.”
"I used to make money from weapons, but now I want to protect the people I harmed."
"I'm not doing this on a whim... I just now know what I should do, and this is what I should do."
"Yesterday someone pointed at my nose and asked me, what is your responsibility?"
"I can tell her now that this is my responsibility."
After saying this, Stark lowered his head. The emotions that he had been suppressing were stirring in his heart, but he didn't know whether what he said would be recognized by Pepper.
Pepper pursed her lips, looked away from Stark, and nodded with some relief, "...I understand."
"Tony, I hope you don't take your life and death lightly. You are not alone... There are people who care about you. I... We..."
"Great, you understand me!"
Stark looked up excitedly and interrupted Pepper for his own sake.
"I need you to do me another favor. Go to my office at the company and hack into the mainframe, access Obadiah's account, and get all the recent shipping information."
"I will give you an unlocked USB drive when the time comes. The stuff may be in the administrative files, or in a hidden folder."
This person is too greedy!
Pepper's face darkened, "I refuse!"
……
In the end, Pepper had to agree to Stark's request.