"Mr. Stark, do you still remember me?"
At a charity gala hosted by Stark Enterprises, a woman approached a dejected Tony and asked him impolitely.
Tony's current state was not good, completely different from what he had expected. His decision to cancel Stark's weapon development department faced huge obstacles, and he himself was even ordered to suspend his duties by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors revoked all his authority in the company. In other words, he was now nothing more than a Major Shareholder.
And this was not the worst of it. The worst was that Tony found himself completely ostracized and forgotten. In the past, at such parties, he would be the sole protagonist. But now, he hadn't even received an invitation. If Tony had understood Chinese culture, he would have known the phrase 'human warmth and coldness'. In fact, he now had a very deep understanding of the meaning represented by this phrase.
He sat at the bar like a statue, silently savoring the pungent taste of his drink, until a lady approached him and asked the question above.
"You are I..." After uttering the pronunciation of one word, Tony could do no more. He had been intimately involved with many women, which wasn't the real problem. The real problem was that he couldn't remember most of these women. Or rather, very few of them were memorable to him.
"Eilindis, thank God I had no hope of you remembering my name when I realized what kind of person you are."
The woman named Eilindis had a smile on her face, but her words were full of gunpowder. Tony almost choked on his drink.
He admitted that playing with women's bodies was an improper act, but generally, they were consensual. So Tony rarely encountered women who would turn their guns on him and fire directly. And in this situation, he couldn't say much because he was the one in the wrong.
It was like a forced improper relationship; the man was always the primary suspect, and the woman was often the victim. It was a question of who had taken advantage.
"I'm sorry, if you're here to assign blame, I can only express my regret." At this time, Tony still regarded this woman as an ambitious woman who wanted to use sympathy to climb the social ladder. After all, even though he had been removed from his position by the Board of Directors, he was still the Major Shareholder, still the top single man in the World. This alone was enough to make many women harbor inappropriate thoughts.
However, this time Tony was overthinking it. Eilindis had no such thoughts; she just threw a stack of photos in front of Tony.
"In your home, on your bed. You personally told me you never sold weapons to the Middle East, damn it. I actually believed you! Can you still tell me that with such righteous indignation now?"
Tony picked up the stack of photos in front of him. The photos showed a town after a war, the entire town reduced to ruins. There were wandering residents and bodies lying on the ground everywhere. But these were not what Tony focused on; he focused on the things that caused all this.
Stark Enterprises' weapons, whether the firearms used by both sides of the conflict or the large missiles and tanks, all bore the Stark Enterprises logo. Looking at these logos, Tony's face was so gloomy it almost dripped Water.
"Seeing all this, do you have any explanation?" As a reporter, Eilindis loved to pursue relentlessly, especially when the evidence was conclusive.
"I never signed such an order!" At this moment, Tony also felt a surge of anger, but not towards this woman, but towards the internal workings of Stark Enterprises. He remembered clearly that at a Board of Directors meeting a year ago, he and Zhou Yi had together vetoed the sales proposal for the Middle East, and now it seemed none of that had mattered.
Stark's weapons still appeared in the Middle East, and in a way he didn't know. This forced Tony to start suspecting internal problems within the company. He had fallen into the hands of Terrorists because of his own weapons, and now armed groups in the Middle East also held his weapons. These facts alone were enough to prove that there were huge problems within Stark.
And who could be responsible for such problems? Tony closed his eyes and thought for a moment, but could only recall one person's name. Someone he regarded as an elder, and the only person who could bypass him to make decisions about the company's sales.
"What, is this the measure of Tony Stark, not even daring to admit what he's done?" Eilindis sneered. She had already seen the suspicion in Tony's eyes. Reporters are never afraid to blow things up, and she was no exception. "Or are you saying you don't even know if you've done it?"
"I can only tell you, I haven't done this. Never before, and never will again." Tony gave her a cold glance, took the photos, and strode out of there. He didn't choose to leave the venue, but instead chose to find someone. He had to get to the bottom of this matter.
Soon, Tony found his target, his uncle, Obadiah Stane, who was loudly conversing with a group of departing guests, like a Dominator king. In contrast, Tony was completely forgotten in a corner, like an exiled prince.
In this disparity, Tony felt as if he saw something clearly, but he was still somewhat disbelieving. So he walked up to Obadiah and said.
"Obadiah, I have something I want to ask you. Can we talk alone?"
"Oh, my dearest nephew has arrived, of course. Of course we can talk." Obadiah had clearly had a lot to drink. He waved to the guests, then put his arm around Tony's shoulder and walked to the side. "Speak, Tony. What do you want to ask your Uncle Stane?"
"What I want to ask you is, did you approve the sale of that batch of weapons to the Middle East?" Tony held the photos and placed them in Obadiah's hand.
Obadiah flicked his cigar, glanced at the photos, then patted Tony's shoulder and said earnestly.
"Tony, you're an adult now. Don't act like a Child. You should know, we are just businessmen. We don't need to care what our products are ultimately used for."
"So, it really was you who approved it? How could you do that?" Tony's tone was full of surprise, while Obadiah was utterly indifferent.
"Why can't I do this, Tony? You were missing for two months, and two months is enough to cause huge turmoil in the company. The company needs to survive and develop. For the company's stability, what's wrong with me approving a sales plan?"
"But those are human lives, Obadiah, don't you know what I've been through? Can't you understand my thoughts?"
"Of course I don't understand, but I know now is not the time for you to throw a tantrum. Tony, you've already caused enough trouble."
Facing Tony's endless accusations, Obadiah also began to explode.
"How much effort have I put into this company over the years, and how many troubles have I solved for you? To achieve a Breakthrough in the company's performance, do you know how much I sacrificed? Almost every day I thought, God bless, please don't let Tony make any more absurd decisions."
"But you, Tony. You always give me surprises. Canceling the weapons department, do you know how much loss that statement caused us? Stark's stock dropped a full forty points, and that's after I used all my power to stabilize the situation. And you, you just moved your lips. It's time for you to mature a little, Tony, I really don't want to clean up your mess anymore."
Tony still wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Obadiah again.
"Oh, and who do you think asked the Board of Directors to relieve you of your duties? It was me, Tony. You need to calm down, you need to think. Before that, I won't let you have any contact with the company."
After saying all this, Obadiah patted Tony's shoulder and left without waiting for his response. Now he no longer needed Tony to respond to him.
Watching Obadiah leave like that, Tony suddenly realized he had never truly seen this uncle. With a chaotic mind, he left the party and drove back to his bay Villa alone.
As soon as he was back inside, he issued commands to his AI butler.
"Jarvis, pull up all the conflict data from the Middle East for me. I want to see it."
"Yes, sir."
Jarvis replied, and soon a large amount of data was laid out before him: images, articles, and live videos. These were all things filmed by fearless war correspondents who ventured into the heart of the conflict, and they gave Tony a huge shock.
He discovered an unavoidable problem: these people, these people who started wars, were using the weapons he invented to harvest lives. And to him, it was as if he was doing the killing.
He had never felt such a heavy sense of guilt as he did now; this heavy feeling almost suffocated him. At this moment, he suddenly thought of someone, someone who might be able to unravel his confusion. So he dialed his number.
Soon, a voice came from the other end of the phone. It was Zhou Yi's voice.
"pal, do you need me for something?"
"I want to know, what do you do when you carry a heavy burden?" Tony asked in a deep voice, his expression more solemn than it had ever been in his life.
"I'd unload it, Tony. Do whatever I can to lighten its weight. But, I'll always remember that feeling, the feeling of carrying something. That feeling is very different." Zhou Yi's voice was elusive, as if he was explaining to Tony, yet also talking to himself.
"Why?" Tony pressed.
"Because that feeling will liberate your spirit, Tony. No matter what you carry, whether it's sin or hope, when you fight for what you carry, you'll find the most wonderful feeling of being alive. It's a sublimation, an ineffable spiritual thing."
"But I just want to redeem myself." Tony hung up the phone. After a long while, he stood up and went to his laboratory.
There, a newly completed iron man armor, painted in gold and red, stood quietly. The blue arc reactor in its chest was like a Dao marker, guiding Tony, telling him what he should do.