On the top floor of a New York City skyscraper, an entire level had been converted into an office.
At a desk over two meters long, Kingpin sat with a furious expression, gritting his teeth in anger. On the computer in front of him were endless news reports about Stark Industries' stock.
"That idiot, Tony Stark!"
"Does he even realize how much money, how much...money he just made me lose with one sentence?"
Bang!
Kingpin slammed his fist down, the terrifying force instantly smashing a hole through the thick wooden desk. After venting his anger, Kingpin picked up the phone on the table. "Sell off all my Stark Industries stock."
"Remember! All of it!"
"I don't care how you do it, just sell it off!"
"And send me a new desk…"
Kingpin glanced at the television, where every media outlet was repeatedly airing the clip of Tony announcing his departure from the military-industrial business.
He sneered. "Heh...looks like he's really lost his mind. But this might be my opportunity."
Ding...
The elevator chimed, and one of Kingpin's men stepped out, carrying a stack of documents. He approached Kingpin. "Boss, here's the additional information you requested on the Thirteenth District."
"Any new developments?"
Kingpin asked.
The subordinate shook his head. "No, the Thirteenth District hasn't seen much change recently."
Kingpin's expression remained neutral. "Tell our people there to keep an eye on the area. Report anything unusual immediately."
"Understood, boss."
"Boss, there's something else I need to bring up…"
Kingpin raised an eyebrow, clearly a bit impatient but still said, "Speak..."
"Recently, every night, a couple of our guys have been going missing. Should we look into it?"
"Are the missing people important?"
The subordinate hesitated. "Not really, just a few low-level thugs."
"Then it doesn't matter. A few lives lost, nothing more. You can go."
"Yes, boss..."
Kingpin muttered under his breath, "Nick Fury, you're really making my life difficult..."
As he was grumbling, a private phone in his jacket rang. Very few people had this number, and it almost never rang, except now.
Kingpin glanced at the phone and couldn't help but smirk as he answered it. "Obadiah, shouldn't you be busy taking care of your precious Tony Stark?"
"What brings you to call me?"
On the other end of the line was none other than Obadiah Stane, the acting head of Stark Industries.
Obadiah puffed on a cigar. "I'm calling to propose another collaboration."
"Oh? You still want to kill Tony? Isn't he the son of your dear friend Howard? Why are you so eager to see him dead?" Kingpin asked with a laugh.
There was a brief silence before Obadiah responded, "As long as he's alive, Stark Industries will never change its name."
In other words, Obadiah wanted to take over Stark Industries.
Kingpin scoffed at the idea. Without sufficient benefits, he wasn't interested in getting involved in this kind of internal power struggle.
The last time he helped Obadiah connect with the Ten Rings, he had been paid handsomely. But after being warned by Nick Fury, Kingpin was not eager to play the middleman again.
Unless...the price was right.
"So, what do you plan to do next?"
Obadiah replied, "Relax, this time I'm not asking you to help me take down Tony."
"I've got a shipment that needs to be moved through your black market."
Hearing it was business, Kingpin's interest was piqued.
After all, he had been considering whether to step deeper into the black market arms trade. And now, Obadiah was bringing the opportunity right to his door.
Still, Kingpin wanted to be cautious. "Didn't Tony just announce the shutdown of the Stark factories?"
"Stark Industries is still not completely under his control."
Kingpin smiled, satisfied.
The two quickly reached an agreement.
Obadiah then added a reminder, "Don't sell off your stocks just yet. Once I deal with Tony, you're going to make a fortune. Trust me. After Tony's dead, you'll be our top partner at Stark Industries..."
Kingpin's face froze for a moment, as he recalled that he had just ordered his accountant to sell all the shares.
Right now, Stark Industries' stock was like a plague in the market—nobody dared touch it.
Hopefully, they hadn't sold it all off just yet.
"Alright, I'll trust you one more time..."
He hung up the phone. Before Kingpin could call his accountant to stop the sale, the phone on his desk suddenly rang.
When he picked it up, an excited voice blurted out, "Boss! We sold all our Stark Industries stock!"
Kingpin shot up from his chair. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
...
"Why are you buying so much Stark Industries stock when its price is plummeting?"
At the state university, Gwen stood by Alan's side, watching as he continuously bought up shares of Stark Industries. She was a bit puzzled.
Right now, everyone in the U.S. knew that Stark Industries was on the verge of collapse.
Alan gave her a reason that left Gwen both amused and speechless: "Because it's cheap! And if it bounces back, I'll be rich!"
For a moment, Gwen wondered if Alan even understood how stocks worked. But seeing the confident smile on his face, she couldn't help but think—maybe Stark Industries' stock really would rise again.
"Alright, I'll let Red Queen handle the rest."
Earlier that morning, Gwen had already met Red Queen, Alan's AI assistant.
"I think the things I ordered yesterday should be arriving soon," Alan said, checking the time. He then led Gwen out of the university.
Not long after the two left campus, several police cars, sirens blaring, sped onto the university grounds and headed straight for Dr. Connors' laboratory.
Led by George, four or five uniformed officers entered Connors' lab.
"Was there a huge brawl here or something?"
One of the officers looked at the mess inside and wondered if a full-on armed conflict had taken place with dozens of people.
"Who called this in?" George asked.
At that moment, a university official stepped forward and explained to George, "Today was the deadline for Dr. Connors' research project. I came by to check on things, and when I arrived, I found the place in this state."
With the official's explanation, George learned who Connors was and what he was working on.
As George was questioning the situation, one of the officers suddenly exclaimed, "Chief, take a look at this…"
"What...is this thing?"
What they saw before them defied everything George had ever known...
...