The establishment of Ambrela did not create much of a stir in this bustling metropolis of New York; people simply glanced at it as they passed by.
Who made it so conspicuous?
Situated next to the Stark Tower, how could it not attract attention?
When people found out it was a pharmaceutical company in the news, they wore strange expressions. With such a grand display, almost everyone thought it would compete with Stark Industries.
After all this fuss, they don't even sell weapons?
I've taken my pants off for this?
Pharmaceuticals are built right across from a weapons group. What is that supposed to signify? Or is it meant as mockery?
But Stark Industries hasn't said a word, so these ordinary folks continue to work and have fun.
However quite a few people have applied for jobs, but they have all been politely declined. This mysterious company's daily workforce is still substantial!
Occasionally, you can run into some familiar faces, all industry elites.
However, these elites... cover a range of professions from pharmaceuticals to weapons to design and more.
What happened to the pharmaceutical company? These changes are truly baffling.
The only clear thing is that the person in charge of Ambrela is a top-tier figure.
After all this time, there has been no sign of capital wielding its money for a stake.
Is it the work of a hidden figure, or are there other reasons? Nobody knows, not even the news media... just thinking about the power behind this is enough to scare many people.
You know, figures like Tony Stark, a weapons magnate, often end up in the news for people to make fun of, right?
This company has a wealth of talent, but it doesn't have a product to support it, as if everything is still in development.
Only the iconic building and the umbrella logo you can't forget with just one glance keep it in people's minds as time passes.
...
Tony was still immersed in his experiments all day, and "Mark" was getting increasingly refined.
One day, while Kurumi was lying on her bed watching TV, she saw a military interruption on the news—a "letter of apology."
They called it an "apology," but in reality, it lacked sincerity, and people seemed to have become accustomed to the military's oppressive ways.
They just complained online, saying that the military was wasting taxpayers' money again.
Two F-22s crashed during an exercise?
Anyone with keen eyes could see something was fishy, but who would dare to speak up?
Kurumi lay on her bed, propping her head up with her hand, her black hair spilling over her shoulders, a hint of a smile in her eyes. "Red Queen? Are you there?"
"I'm here, Master."
The silver box projected Red Queen when Kurumi spoke as if it had known in advance that she would have a question.
"Did Stark do this?"
"As you can see, he not only blew up three terrorist bases but destroyed many of his beloved Jericho missiles."
"Oh, he has quite the temper," Kurumi said with a playful smile. "How's the first-generation armour? Did you find out who took it?"
Red Queen fell silent for a moment as if searching for information. After a while, she said, "The military detained it during transport for a while. If it weren't for Stark being too busy to bother them at the time, it probably wouldn't have gone well."
"And now? Who has the armour? Don't tell me Stark ended up with it in the end?"
"Not exactly, Master. The prototype armour is currently in the basement of Stark Industries, but a 'chance' allowed Stane to get his hands on it. Then, from the bits and pieces from the military..."
"All right," Kurumi said with a hint of resignation, sitting up straight. She said uncertainly, "Is this what they call the world's corrective power?"
"That's about right," Red Queen replied with an assured expression, her small hands crossed before her.
Putting on her shoes and walking out of the bedroom, Kurumi rubbed her forehead and asked, "So now Stane is starting to study the Iron Man armour?"
"From a development perspective, it seems so."
"Listening to you say that, I know you haven't hacked into Stark Industries' defence system yet."
The Red Queen, projected as a light blue entity, sat on Kurumi's shoulder, looking disgruntled. "If it weren't for Jarvis, I could have breached their network defence system instantly!"
"Oh?" Kurumi pinched her chin. "That's not an easy task. Jarvis probably has more computing power than you, right?"
"Well..." Red Queen pouted and looked dissatisfied with her Master's assessment.
Kurumi, holding a teacup in one hand and a teapot in the other, couldn't help but smirk at Red Queen's reaction. "Yes, yes, it's an evolved artificial intelligence! If we make a breakthrough in materials and develop a quantum computer, I bet I can take him on."
"Hmph!" Red Queen blushed at Kurumi's words and turned her gaze away.
Her two little legs couldn't stay still, kicking back and forth on Kurumi's shoulder.
Although Kurumi didn't feel anything.
Taking a sip of tea, Kurumi's wine-red eyes revealed a hint of cunning in the mist as she muttered, "Should I tell Stark about this?"
Red Queen rolled her eyes and replied without good intentions, "Maybe you can learn from ancient astrologers and say he's going through a bad phase recently, so he should go out more."
Hearing Red Queen's teasing, Kurumi couldn't help but twitch her mouth. A bad phase that involves going outside more... Isn't that like cursing him to death?
Moreover, in his current state, Stark is not realistic to get him to leave the house.
"Mark" and the "Arc Reactor" have become his life. Even Pepper, when she saw Tony in this state, was terrified. Since she started working with Tony, she had never seen him so consumed with work, not even when he was designing a new missile for the military. But now... it's like he's joined a cult and become a fanatic. Even though Stane has invited him to several events, he's turned them all down.
Both of them can't help but find it strange, but Stane still has some calculations in his mind and has guessed what Tony is researching...
Inviting Tony is just a smokescreen. Stane just wants to get his hands on something good.
Like that small-scale reactor filled with energy.
Why did he hire a bunch of idiots as research personnel?!
Isn't it just making a reactor a little smaller than tens of meters wide and a dozen meters tall?!
Why can't those idiots do it?
...
"Master."
"Yes?"
"There's a message from Ambrela. They say the 'Nightmare' has completed its final system integration."