boyutpedia Chapter 279 [3 Chapters Combined] The Iron Twins
Chapter 279 [3 Chapters Combined] The Iron Twins
As Riley finished speaking, not only Obadiah, but all the directors were completely stunned by Riley's move.
Are you kidding me!
That's Stark Industries stock!
Even though the company is currently in a slump...
But as long as the weapons department can be restarted, with the support of the military, it can regain its former glory...
That single percentage point is enough to bring those who hold this stock unimaginable wealth and luxury!
Not to mention people like Chili and Happy, who got the fourth and fifth seats on the company's board of directors for nothing!
Is this...right?
Didn't you say there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world?!
more importantly……
The original plan was that only if all the shareholders united would they have a slim chance of standing up against Tony Stark...
But now it seems that this seemingly hostile black Spider-Man is clearly on Tony's side, coming specifically to support Tony and get revenge!
His and Tony's combined shares alone are enough to crush everyone present!
Just minutes before, they had confidently sided with Obadiah, ready to join forces to kick Tony Stark out of the game.
And now?
They were frantically calculating how much their stocks were still worth, and whether they could sell them immediately to recoup some of their losses!
Suddenly, the meeting room, which should have maintained a serious atmosphere, was filled with gasps of surprise.
"Pfft... Hahahaha! Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help it... Hahaha!"
Of course, while some are happy, others are sad.
Compared to the pale-faced and fearful board members.
After blinking several times and pinching his thigh hard to make sure that everything he was seeing was real, Happy Hogan grinned broadly!
It's unclear when Tony got involved with Spider-Man.
After all, Spider-Man only gradually gained fame in New York City after Tony Stark disappeared. And after Tony returned, he locked himself in his villa all day, without any communication with the outside world.
Logically speaking, Tony and Spider-Man should have no connection whatsoever.
But the reason Happy was able to serve as Tony's bodyguard and remain firmly in this special position is all thanks to the seemingly honest and simple Happy, who is actually better at reading people than anyone else.
"So that means my current shareholding is 0.5% higher than Mr. Stan's? Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! This reversal is more exciting than watching a movie! If I had known this would happen, I should have brought popcorn to the meeting today!"
In just a few breaths, Happy realized that Spider-Man was on Tony's side and had come specifically to stand up for Tony. While acknowledging Riley as "one of his own," he decisively decided to postpone this brain-taxing matter until after the meeting, to directly confront Tony and get to the bottom of things, rather than wasting his precious brain cells in this self-conjecture.
As he gradually suppressed his laughter, Happy deliberately picked up the documents that Obadiah had previously had his assistant distribute to everyone, which were intended to target Tony, and slammed them loudly on the table.
Then, meeting Obadiah's murderous gaze, he blinked innocently and said in a serious tone, "I'm just teasing you."
"Oh dear, Mr. Stan, who made the 'right decision,' why do you suddenly look so pale? Should I call an ambulance for you?"
Faced with Happy's undisguised mockery, Obadiah, who was already furious, felt his temples throbbing visibly.
The increasingly prominent veins on his skin made one wonder if, if he continued to be so angry, the elderly Obadiah might die from a burst blood vessel.
But Obadiah knew in his heart that Happy was just using this as an excuse and was not a threat at all.
What we should be more concerned about right now is how to deal with the threat from Spider-Man!
"That's impossible... Even if you could acquire a large number of scattered shares from those idiots, the number still wouldn't match up!"
After a moment of silence, Obadiah, unwilling to accept defeat, seemed to have found a huge loophole to turn the tide, and his words became impassioned again, publicly accusing Riley of his "dishonorable" behavior.
"It's fake! You don't have that many shares at all; it's all a lie! Especially this portion! That's clearly...!"
"Oh, speaking of which, I should actually thank you... After all, it would be difficult to achieve this level in a short period of time with just retail investors' shares. But thanks to someone, who has been making underhanded moves since Tony announced the closure of the weapons division, deliberately trying to short Stark Industries' stock, I was able to take advantage of the situation and make a lot of money."
Before Obadiah could finish speaking, Riley suddenly interrupted him, cutting off his spellcasting.
"By the way, I would like to remind everyone that, according to Article 37 of the company's articles of association, shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares have the right to request a special board meeting and to express their opinions... And I happen to have a few personal thoughts on some people's business decisions."
As he spoke, Riley leaned back lazily in his chair.
He didn't lay a hand on anyone; he just stared at Obadiah with indifferent eyes.
The other directors, however, all lowered their heads like startled ostriches, wishing they could just crawl under the conference table.
I was terrified that I would cause any trouble at this critical juncture.
Thus, he became the "lucky one," singled out by Riley, and had to enjoy the public execution alongside Obadiah!
"That sounds like a great idea! Perfect timing, all of our company's shareholders are here today. This is a rare opportunity, why don't we begin another meeting now!"
But Happy, that guy, just loves to watch the drama unfold.
Almost as soon as Riley finished speaking, without Riley needing to remind him of anything, Happy deliberately waved the document in his hand, adding fuel to the fire by further teasing him.
"I think the situation is now very clear... If there's anyone who still insists on replacing the chairman with Stan instead of Tony, then please raise your hands!"
After Happy finished speaking, silence followed.
A suffocating silence.
The board members who had previously clamored to remove Tony, as if Tony were the root of all evil, now looked like ducks with their necks being choked.
Their faces flushed red, but they were too embarrassed to say a word.
He could only lower his head and pretend to study the documents on the table.
Some people even moved stealthily, trying to slip out of the meeting room while Riley's attention was drawn to Obadiah.
But as soon as he took a step, Riley raised his hand and fired a spider silk, firmly fixing his feet in place.
When he instinctively looked up, he was even more astonished to find that Riley's gaze was still fixed on Obadiah, never wavering.
The warning behavior of shooting out spider silk seems to be entirely out of the predator's instinct, rather than intentional!
In other words, the current board members are like insects caught in Riley's spider web...
Even if Riley wasn't looking at them directly, everyone's every move was under Riley's control!
Such a terrifying scene made the director, who wanted to sneak away, feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Furthermore, after Riley's personality changed drastically, the murderous aura that Riley had been suppressing, stemming from his past life experiences, was fully released during the execution of criminals.
The fact that he killed hundreds of times more people in this life than he executed in his previous life made the oppressive feeling of fighting his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood even stronger and heavier!
As a result, the board members, who were only responsible for talking and spent most of their time enjoying themselves in the office and had never been on the battlefield, were suddenly trembling with fear like little chicks.
Those who are a little older and can't handle this kind of stimulation are even more likely to have a terrifying vision in their delirium of seeing their deceased great-grandmother waving to them from the other side of the river, where the flowers of the other shore bloom!
In this context, considering Spider-Man's recent shift in public opinion.
Not only did the director who had originally planned to escape have no doubt that if he stubbornly continued to struggle, he would definitely die before Obadiah, so he quickly put on a forced smile, obediently sat back down in his seat, and dared not move an inch more...
Along with the other directors who shared the same idea and were equally eager to act, they all sat up straight, completely ignoring the pleading looks that Obadiah was sending them repeatedly!
"Interesting... It sounds like everyone here has suddenly developed a deep affection for Tony? This is quite different from what I overheard before I came in..."
After a moment of silence, Riley's deep, meaningful laughter echoed in the conference room.
His long, slender fingers tapped lightly on the solid wood table.
Each crisp crack was like a heavy hammer blow to the directors' hearts, completely shattering their already dwindling will to resist.
Upon hearing these words, beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of all the directors.
The youngest shareholder could no longer contain himself and hurriedly stammered out a speech, trying to forcefully defend himself.
"Ahem, how could that be! Mr. Tony is Mr. Howard's biological son, the sole legal heir to Stark Industries! Of course we support Mr. Tony!"
In his words, the young director, whose voice became exceptionally shrill like a duck being choked, was gripped by extreme fear. He couldn't help but shift his gaze back and forth between Obadiah's ashen face and Riley's mask.
Whether it's individual strength or the current number of shares held...
Because of the vast difference between the two, this director, just as Obadiah had mentioned before, disregarded Obadiah's threatening gaze and resolutely tried to publicly betray him and join Riley's camp, arguing that in the business world, feelings don't matter and everything is based on profit.
"The previous discussions were merely a strategic assessment due to the recent decline in profits! But now it seems..."
"Assess what? Assess whether the price you paid for your betrayal was high enough?"
Unfortunately, having completely broken off relations, Happy clearly had no intention of showing any mercy to the other party.
The moment he keenly caught the keyword, Happy suddenly slammed his hand on the table, grabbed the document in front of him, and smashed it mercilessly into the other person's face!
"Do I need to remind you all that just ten minutes ago, you signed this document and raised your hands without hesitation, choosing to support Obadiah? You all probably remember how the 22 to 1 score came about, right? Now you dare to say you've always supported Tony? That's utterly shameless!"
As the saying goes, even a clay figure has a bit of fire in it.
Faced with Happy's repeated taunts and provocations, Obadiah, who was only afraid of the name of Spider-Man rather than of Happy having a larger share of the company, finally lost his temper when his patience was exhausted and slammed his hand on the table.
"That's enough!"
His voice, inevitably trembling with fear, was filled with extreme terror.
However, it was precisely because of the law of reversal that Obadiah saw the board members who originally supported him turn away from him under the threat of Spider-Man, becoming opportunists and cutting off any possibility of his last struggle.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to leave the meeting room unscathed no matter what, Obadiah, with a "what the heck" attitude, overcame his fear and started yelling at Riley in the face.
"Can't you see? This is a complete farce! A monster in bizarre clothes suddenly barged in, carrying a bunch of dubious stock certificates, trying to overturn a legitimate board resolution? I'm calling the police right now to accuse you of trespassing!"
After speaking, without waiting for Riley's response, Obadiah took out his phone and, as he had said, dialed the police in public.
"911, what's the emergency?"
"This is Stark Industries. I am Obadiah Stan. A thug dressed in outlandish clothing has illegally entered the conference room and is seriously threatening our safety! Please dispatch officers immediately to arrest him!"
As he spoke, Obadiah deliberately turned on the speakerphone and raised the volume, making sure everyone present could hear him, and attempting to use this tactic to intimidate Riley.
After all, based on the information Obadiah has gathered so far...
Even if Spider-Man goes too far, he will only target the guilty.
If he knew the police were on their way, he should have been able to show some leniency and allow himself to prolong his life a little longer.
Of course, throughout this process, Obadiah was waiting for Riley to grab the phone and prevent him from calling the police.
So that at this moment, using Riley's "guilty conscience" as an excuse, they could continue to fabricate baseless accusations, accusing Riley of falsifying the number of shares he held, when in fact there were not that many!
But strangely enough...
Riley remained quietly seated throughout, showing no intention of making a move against Obadiah.
Obadiah hung up the phone after the police promised to "arrange for officers to respond as soon as possible."
Only three or four seconds later, Riley's bodyguard pulled out a cell phone that was ringing incessantly.
Then, with Riley's nod, he answered the call and turned on the speakerphone.
next second...
"Hello, sir, I'm sorry to bother you... We just received a call from a citizen reporting that unidentified superhuman criminals have forcibly entered the Stark Industries conference room. Should we dispatch officers, or would you like to handle this personally?"
"Don't worry, I'm nearby. Just leave it to me. You guys go about your business."
"Yes, sir. Thank you for your hard work."
"So, now... where is the person who called the police? And why are they suing me?"
After a brief exchange and hanging up the phone call from the police center, Riley slowly stood up, facing the utterly desperate gazes of Obadiah and the dumbfounded stares of the board members.
During this process, Riley's body began to undergo terrifying changes at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His body began to swell continuously, transforming into the black, viscous substance of his combat suit, which wriggled and changed on Riley's body surface as if it were alive. The white spider emblem on his chest also stretched and deformed along with his body size, appearing even more savage and aggressive.
Finally, the already imposing black Spider-Man disappeared...
Instead, there was a terrifying monster that was nearly 2.5 meters tall and had large, solid muscles.
Even more deadly is...
When this monster opened its blood-red maw and publicly displayed its spotless, healthy teeth.
The exaggerated movements made one worry that it might bite off the boiled egg on Obadiah's neck at any moment!
Riley, now in Venom form, slowly crouched down. Under the conference room lights, a massive shadow completely enveloped Obadiah. In comparison, the usually tall and robust Obadiah appeared as small and powerless as a child before Venom!
"Also, you just said I was... a 'monster'? Mr. Stan, are you sure you want to communicate with a 'monster' and not 'Spider-Man'?"
As Riley spoke, his voice, due to the change in his appearance, became increasingly low and hoarse, much like the alien monsters often seen in horror movies.
At this moment, the shareholders, whose nerves were stretched to the limit, could no longer withstand this terrible change.
Even though they knew Riley wasn't targeting them, a large number of directors rolled their eyes, foamed at the mouth, and fainted!
Those who managed to hold on and barely retain their self-awareness covered their heads with their hands and hid under the table, disregarding their image, and began to scream incoherently!
This, ironically, rendered the symbiote attached to Riley helpless.
No, buddy...
You humans really judge people by their appearance?!
When the master sits in front of you, you can all remain rational.
How come they're all so scared just because their image has changed a little?
Don't you know that I have been trying my best to control my master's emotions?
That's why I didn't impulsively skip the reasoning stage and kill you all!
So what you should do is kneel down, kowtow to me a few times, and say thank you...
Instead of being so scared that I lost control of my bladder and fainted, making me look like the villain!
I implore Heaven, to discern the loyal from the treacherous!
"Damn it... Spider-Man, you really are a threat! I should have taken care of you a long time ago—!!!"
Of course, seeing that all his trump cards were useless against Riley, Obadiah went completely insane in extreme fear and despair.
Amidst a fierce roar, he reached into his robes without warning and pulled out a small handgun, clearly not belonging to the military category.
That was a small laser weapon that Obadiah secretly hid when Tony announced the closure of the weapons department. It was still in the testing phase and could be considered one of the prototypes for the palm cannon in Tony's Iron Man suit.
At full power, it's enough to penetrate a tank's armor in one shot.
However, the cost is also obvious: such a small pistol is insufficient to withstand such a violent energy output. Continuous firing could easily trigger overheating and spontaneous combustion. Furthermore, the area affected is vast, enough to instantly engulf the entire conference room!
And this is exactly the result Obadiah wanted!
Since you're ruining my plans at every turn and leaving me no way out...
Then none of you should live! Come with me on this journey—!
But just as Obadiah's mental defenses completely crumbled and he was about to pull the trigger and stage a scene of dying together with the heavens and earth.
First, the chandelier in the conference room began to shake violently without warning. The crystal lights collided with each other, making a crisp sound that drew everyone's attention.
Then, accompanied by a loud and piercing alarm, it quickly resounded throughout the conference room. The entire building began to tremble noticeably, as if something terrible was constantly rushing in.
"Alright, gentlemen, it seems our special guest has finally arrived."
But Riley showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, after raising his hand and sending out spider silk to knock the weapon from Obadiah's hand and stick it to a high spot on the wall, he seemed to have expected it. He then gently pressed his hand down, signaling the panicked board members to remain silent.
"Let's give a round of applause to the pillar of Stark Industries, making his dazzling entrance—!!!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the ceiling exploded with a deafening roar!
Two colossal steel figures, accompanied by a deafening roar, burst through the ceiling like gods descending from the heavens.
Upon closer inspection, you'll find that what has stormed into the conference room is none other than the Mark II armor painted in the classic gold and red color scheme...
And in this part of the story, the Iron Monger, who was supposed to be the final boss, was modified from the wreckage of the Mark 1!
As the two suits of armor landed together, their faceplates bounced off almost simultaneously.
Wearing the Mark II Iron Man suit was none other than Tony Stark himself. With a rather flamboyant pose, hands on his hips, he glanced around before asking in a sarcastic tone.
"Hey, I heard that just because I took a short vacation, you all think I'm useless and can be easily replaced?"
As they spoke, all the board members in the room, including Happy and Obadiah, gaped and fell into a long silence.
But everyone's attention wasn't drawn to Tony...
On the contrary, what attracted their attention was the man slowly emerging from the clumsy cockpit of the Iron Monger.
That's another Obadiah Stan.
Or, to be more precise...
It's the real Obadiah Stein!