Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Lucas, without wearing any weighted gear, managed to adapt to fifteen times gravity. His strength increased dramatically—though he still lacked a suitable opponent to properly test it.
After learning about the existence of the gravity chamber, Kara also began coming frequently to train. As a result, Deadshot could only use the chamber during the rare moments when the two of them were taking breaks together.
Being force-fed this constant display of affection proved too much for him, so Deadshot converted his frustration into motivation. Over the span of half a month, he forcibly pushed his own limits and raised the gravity he could endure to eight times, far exceeding Lucas's expectations.
Originally, Lucas had estimated that Deadshot being able to move freely under six to seven times gravity would already be more than sufficient. After all, no matter how exceptional he was, Deadshot still possessed a purely human body.
However, after witnessing Deadshot's potential, Lucas decided to teach him how to use Ki.
At first, Deadshot was completely confused by the concept. But once Lucas translated it into a framework more familiar to Western thinking, he grasped it almost immediately.
Deadshot's absolute mastery of firearms revealed an extraordinary talent for fine control, precision, and data analysis. This translated seamlessly into Ki control, allowing him to manipulate it with astonishing delicacy—while simultaneously pushing his long-stagnant shooting skills to an entirely new level.
Previously, if he could compress the burst of a semi-automatic rifle into a single impact point, now—through muscle control, an understanding of weapon structure, perception of metal vibration during firing, and environmental analysis—he could force the bullets of a fully automatic rifle to land on a single point.
Even Lucas couldn't help applauding in admiration.
On one occasion, in front of a crowd of inmates, Deadshot demonstrated what it meant to control an AK with one hand and a submachine gun with both hands, keeping all bullets within a single impact point at a distance of fifteen meters.
Every face present froze in utter shock.
Privately, Deadshot told Lucas that he could now extend the effective range of a sniper rifle—normally limited to one or two kilometers—by more than fifty percent, while still maintaining guaranteed accuracy.
At this point, Deadshot had already been released from prison with Lucas's help. His physical potential had been pushed to its absolute limit. Further improvement would require training Ki to nourish his body from the inside out, strengthening his foundation before any additional growth could occur.
His first assignment after release was to oversee and protect Lucas's newly founded company.
Not long before this, a mysterious transmission had reached a American Air Force base stationed in Afghanistan, pointing them to Tony Stark's location.
Soon after, the soul of Stark Industries officially returned to America.
In fact, Lucas's agent had already received the news a full week earlier.
Johnny had nearly begun to suspect that Tony Stark's kidnappers were somehow connected to his own boss.
With the cooperation of LexCorp's investment division, both sides worked together to maximize profits, reaping enormous gains from short-selling.
At the same time, they aggressively bought up Stark Industries shares from devastated investors and funds that were bleeding capital.
Just as the financial markets were still reeling in confusion, confirmation from Congress and the military that Tony Stark had been rescued reached Wall Street.
The market exploded instantly.
After Stark's abduction, Wall Street—only recently cleared of its previous chaos—entered yet another wave of suicidal crashes.
This infuriated local fire departments, sanitation bureaus, and other municipal agencies, who privately cursed Stark Industries for multiplying their workload several times over.
"Boss, I don't understand," Johnny asked, now serving as both CEO and CFO of Lucas's company.
"Why did you order us to dump Stark Industries shares? They still have plenty of upside."
At this point, Johnny's admiration for Lucas was absolute—even in his own field of expertise, he now spoke with the humility of a student seeking guidance.
If someone claimed Lucas was merely using insider information, Johnny would shake his head.
After all, were the massive funds that lost money really fools?
Capital had already infiltrated even the military—news of Tony Stark's rescue reached major financial groups almost immediately.
And yet, even then, they could only scrape up leftovers from LexCorp and Saiyan Group.
Yes—Saiyan Group was the company Lucas had ordered Johnny to establish. Though Johnny didn't know the meaning behind the name, he was wise enough not to ask.
Naturally, the major conglomerates were displeased. They didn't dare provoke LexCorp, but surely they could crush this newly founded Saiyan Group?
That thought vanished the moment they discovered the company's true owner was Lucas.
The opposition immediately fell silent.
Lucas asked calmly over the video call,
"Let me ask you something. If one day you're walking down the street and slip on a watermelon rind you once ate yourself—nearly leaving you brain-damaged and paralyzed for life—what would you do?"
Johnny thought carefully before answering,
"I'd keep that rind. Once I recovered, I'd leave it under the blazing sun until it rotted completely."
"Then I'd run it over with a steamroller again and again. Even if it turned into dust, I'd sell it somewhere 'nice' and water it every single day."
Lucas laughed.
"You're entertaining, Johnny. What if I told you that watermelon rind was the Jericho missile?"
Johnny's mind erupted into a storm of realization. Understanding dawned on his face.
But soon he hesitated.
"Boss… the Jericho missile is Stark's flagship product. Shutting it down entirely seems extreme."
Lucas smiled meaningfully.
"Reality is always stranger than imagination. Once the sell-off is done, immediately short Stark Industries."
"Time is running out."
Johnny nodded sharply.
"Boss, the sell-off just finished. I'll go borrow Stark shares from the funds right now. I guarantee their managers won't sleep well tonight."
Lucas smiled and nodded.
Johnny might not have been the most talented agent in the world, but his execution was absolute.
"I'll wait for good news."
Over the next few days, every major Wall Street firm and global fund fell into complete panic.
First, a massive institution inexplicably bought up Stark shares.
Then, Tony Stark's return was announced.
Before they could even recover, that same institution began dumping Stark shares en masse.
Terrified, they wondered whether Tony had died again—or vanished once more.
After exhausting their networks, they confirmed that Tony Stark was alive, well… and apparently eating even more than before.
Less than half a day after finally calming down, Tony Stark appeared at a press conference and delivered words that shattered the market's sanity.
"I never got the chance to say goodbye to my father.
I've always wanted to ask him what he truly thought about manufacturing weapons.
Did he ever feel conflicted? Did he ever hesitate?
Or was he truly the hardened man the media portrayed?
I saw young Americans killed—by weapons I once built to protect them.
I realized that within the system I lived in, irresponsibility had become normalized… and I was part of it.
I've finally awakened.
I now understand that what this world needs from me is more than weapons that explode.
Therefore, I've decided to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division.
Effective immediately."
_____
T/N:
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