Tony Stark arrived at the press conference in a Rolls-Royce, amidst the cheers of the crowd.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Obadiah Stane, who was present, rushed forward, opened the car door, and exclaimed, "Look, Tony's here!"
As Tony stepped out of the car, Obadiah approached him with a hug and called out Tony's name with joy. After the warm embrace, Obadiah let go of Tony, wearing a smile, and patted Tony on the shoulder, saying, "I thought I'd have to visit you in the hospital."
Tony Stark turned to glance at Pepper Potts in the car and said, "No, no, I'm fine."
At this moment, Happy and Pepper Potts got out of the car from the other side and walked around to the back. Happy was holding a hamburger in his hand.
Obadiah, standing nearby, patted Tony Stark on the shoulder and said, "Let me take a look at you first."
Tony Stark didn't respond to Obadiah and instead turned to take a hamburger from Happy's hand, saying, "Thanks."
Obadiah, seeing this, sighed and asked, "Do you really have to eat a hamburger?"
"Oh, do you want one?" Tony replied, holding the hamburger as he walked towards the press conference venue. He then turned to Obadiah, saying, "There's only one left."
Upon reaching the press conference venue, Tony and Obadiah waved to the crowd. Obadiah even shouted, "Hey, welcome, everyone!"
…
At this moment, Pepper Potts stood at the edge of the crowd of reporters, wearing a smile on her face as she watched Tony Stark approach.
At this moment, a man standing nearby suddenly spoke, "Miss Potts."
Hearing the voice, Pepper Potts turned to face the man who had spoken and replied, "Yes, it's me."
The man, Phil Coulson, looked at Pepper Potts and said, "Can we talk for a moment?"
Pepper Potts declined, saying, "No, I'm not here for the press conference, and the conference is about to begin."
Phil Coulson explained, "I'm not a journalist. I'm Agent Coulson, with the Department of Homeland Strategic Defense Attack and Logistics Support Bureau."
After introducing himself, Coulson handed Pepper his business card.
Pepper Potts glanced at the business card in Coulson's hand and said, "It sounds pretty complicated."
She then accepted the business card from him.
Coulson saw Pepper take the business card and said, "Yes, it's being simplified."
Pepper put away the business card and said, "Regarding this matter, the Department of Defense, the FBI, and the CIA have all contacted us."
Coulson responded, "We belong to a different system, specifically handling these kinds of affairs."
"We need to learn more about Stark's escape and the details of Charles Doyle's rescue."
Pepper's expression changed, and she put away her smile. She responded coldly, "I'll convey your message to him, okay?"
"As for Charles Doyle, I have no control over that."
Coulson smiled and said, "Thank you."
…
At this point, Tony Stark sat down at the press conference under the podium, took out another hamburger from his pocket, and shouted, "Hey, everyone, why don't you all take a seat?"
"That way, you can all see me, and I can point at you for question."
At this moment, Rhodey had just arrived at the press conference venue and looked at the scene. He curiously asked Pepper Potts, "What's happening at the press conference?"
Pepper Potts turned to look at him, then continued to gaze at Tony while saying, "Don't ask me, I have no idea what performance he's putting on."
At the podium, Tony, with a hamburger in one hand, looked at Obadiah and said, "I'm very happy."
Obadiah extended a hand, placed it on Tony's shoulder, and smiled, saying, "Me too."
Tony stared at him and slowly spoke, "I never got to say goodbye to my dad."
Then, he turned to the reporters and put the hamburger aside, speaking with a serious tone, "I never got to say goodbye to my dad, and there are questions I never got to ask him."
"I wanted to ask him what he thought about this company."
"Whether he had ever had doubts or conflicts in his heart."
"Maybe he wasn't the person we often saw in the news."
"I've seen young people killed, killed by weapons I designed to protect them."
"And I've realized that I've become a part of a system that is completely irresponsible."
As Tony Stark's words fell, a reporter suddenly spoke up, "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark."
Tony stood up in response to the reporter's question but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "You can ask."
At this point, another reporter asked, "What happened there?"
Upon hearing the reporter's question, Tony stood up and continued, "I woke up as if from a dream, and I began to realize that I can do more for this world, for society."
"So, I'm preparing to close down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries as soon as possible."
With Tony's words, there was an uproar in the audience. Pepper Potts was astonished, her mouth wide open in shock. Obadiah stood up and hurriedly approached Tony, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Tony continued, "Of course, that will depend on me having enough authority to decide the company's future, to ensure it can develop in a healthy manner and always be in line with the country's highest interests."
At this moment, Rhodey had a serious expression and looked at Tony Stark with great gravity.
After Tony finished speaking, he walked down from the podium. Obadiah immediately took the microphone and explained, "Today's press conference is mainly to announce that Tony is back."
"And his health is excellent. We will hold a meeting within the company to discuss further details, and we will inform everyone in a timely manner."
…
On the other side, after completing the sign-in, Charles immediately looked at his gold coins, and the number on it changed from 1148 to 1198.
Charles Doyle clenched his fist, made a gesture of encouragement, and shouted, "YES!"
He opened the store, found the Ninja Recruitment Scrolls, and spent gold coins to purchase seven of them in one go, bringing the total number of Ninja Recruitment Scrolls back to ten.
However, his gold coin balance plummeted to 22, dropping to double digits.
Looking at the cross on the Ninja Recruitment Scroll, Charles Doyle didn't immediately recruit ninjas. Instead, he exited the system space. He wanted to prepare properly before recruiting the ninjas.
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