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Chapter 45: Obadiah: Tony, You Are So Naive
🕑 Added 2025-03-28 19:52:40 +0000 UTCObadiah was furious. As he looked at Tony Stark, he thought he could quietly eliminate him, but somehow Tony Stark got wind of the situation and struck first, putting him behind bars.
But as one of the top capitalists in the United States, Obadiah wasn’t helpless. He eventually managed to escape.
He was a capitalist, with capital spread all over the world.
Now that he had escaped, he could enjoy a comfortable life abroad, but he was far from satisfied.
He had worked hard all his life, and his contributions far outweighed those of Howard Stark and Tony Stark.
Why should he be forced to flee in shame? He wanted to reclaim his wealth—his wealth.
"Obadiah, this company belongs to me," Tony Stark declared proudly. "Without you, Stark Industries would still be Stark Industries. But without me, this company is just mediocre!"
"Tony, you're still so self-centered!" Obadiah replied coldly. "But I won’t waste any more words on you. Your little secretary… well, you don’t need to lie to me if you still want to. I’ve known you for so long, I know exactly who you care about!"
Obadiah didn’t give Tony a chance to respond and continued.
He knew exactly who Tony Stark cared about. In fact, anyone who was close to Tony Stark could see it, though neither Tony nor Pepper had fully realized it yet.
It’s impossible for someone who sees themselves as a playboy to truly love someone. And it’s just as impossible for someone to love someone who they perceive as a playboy. How could they stay by his side without fear, moving from desire to love?
Yet, others could clearly see that for Tony Stark, Pepper was the most important person. Many people even thought that the two of them were playing some sort of ambiguous game, but it was clear that Tony cared deeply for her.
Obadiah knew exactly who he needed to target.
"What do you want?" Tony Stark asked, knowing that Obadiah was capable of anything. He didn’t waste any time with pleasantries.
He knew that losing Pepper was not an option for him.
Previously, he had asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to remind him to improve Pepper’s security, but the problem was that it didn’t matter. The massive armor Obadiah wore was something that ordinary people could never hope to resist.
Although the armor had undergone some modifications, it was clear that it was essentially the prototype design of Tony's own Mark 1 suit.
Though it was just a prototype, it was still a far cry from what regular people could handle.
And the armor’s manufacturing was no simple feat. This meant that, without Tony's knowledge, Obadiah must have gotten his hands on the design blueprints a long time ago and quietly built the armor.
Tony had only recently dealt the final blow to Obadiah, but the truth was that Obadiah had been planning this for a long time. He had even quietly created this massive weapon as a backup.
It was all too deliberate, not something that had been rushed in a day or two.
"It's simple," Obadiah said coldly, "I want your nuclear fusion design and all the related materials!"
Tony Stark's mind clicked as he realized why Obadiah, his uncle, had suddenly shifted from being the caring family figure to the shadowy villain who sought to kill him.
It was all about money.
In the eyes of capitalists, profit was the only thing that mattered. The ideas of family and friendship held no weight in the capitalist world.
Tony Stark himself was a capitalist, but that wasn’t his sole identity. Like he always said, being a capitalist was just one of his less important identities. What he took real pride in was being a genius, a scientist, a philanthropist, and a playboy.
Yes, being a playboy was also something he proudly claimed, considering how many beautiful women had crossed his path.
So, while Tony Stark was indeed a capitalist, the capitalist side of him wasn’t as defining as it was for Obadiah. Without his capitalist status, Obadiah might not have much else.
"But I haven’t stopped you from making money!" Tony said. "In fact, I could make you even more money! So why the sudden hostility?"
"Not enough, not enough!" Obadiah retorted. "You’re too principled. You don’t sell this, you don’t sell that, and that ridiculous insistence of yours—what weapons to protect the common people!"
Obadiah wanted to laugh. Some aspects of Tony Stark’s naivety left him speechless. "Tony, you're too arrogant."
"Do you think you’re really indispensable? Without you, we have enough researchers to develop everything on our own!"
