Amazon, Olympus, X Academy—Liu A'dou successfully established friendly relations among these three factions. Having many friends certainly makes things easier, and Liu A'dou was never one to shy away from making more friends.
After the summit, another significant event was the Stark Industries Expo. Well-known companies from around the world would showcase their outstanding pRhodeyucts here, hoping to gain orders. From electric cars to military tanks, it could be said to rival the World Expo, as an industrial exposition.
Liu A'dou had plans to steal from Iron Man. He aimed to steal the full-scale model of the expo, which was displayed at the center hall of the expo. This model was designed by Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark.
The Stark Industries Expo was something Tony's father had started planning back in the 1970s, and it was only now, with Tony completing his father's legacy, that the expo had finally been finished and opened. Tony had poured a lot of effort into it.
However, just the day before the opening ceremony, he received an unexpected card. It was slipped into a set of documents that Pepper had brought him.
Black Widow was there too, and when she saw the card, she immediately saw what made Tony's expression change: "At the opening ceremony, the Phantom Thief Kid will steal Iron Man's future."
"Kaitou Kid??" Pepper exclaimed. "How could it be Kaitou Kid?"
"Iron Man's future?" Natasha looked at Tony. "Do you know what this means? What are your plans for tomorrow?"
"How did you get involved with Kaitou Kid?" Pepper asked.
"... I have no idea." Tony was clueless about Kaitou Kid. He was more confused than the two women beside him. He had no idea who Kaitou Kid was. After all, Tony was busy—socializing with the girls, handling company business, dealing with his relationship with Pepper, and trying to come up with new Iron Man suits. How was he supposed to know anything about a thief?
"JARVIS, search for Kaitou Kid."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, the artificial intelligence projected information about Kaitou Kid in front of the three of them.
Tony skimmed through the information, reading quickly: "There is such a thief in the world?? He steals jewels and then returns them, steals a nuclear bomb to protect a city, later appears in Europe, goes global, and now he's back in the U.S." But what could he have that Kaitou Kid wanted to steal?
"Tony, think carefully."
"I don't know," Tony muttered. "I don't even know where my own future is." Tony was severely poisoned, and he could die at any time, so he genuinely had no clue about his future.
He was frustrated. He really didn't know what was going on. But it didn't seem like it was anything too important, because he didn't have anything important to display at the opening ceremony.
"We should report it to the police," Pepper suggested, pulling out her phone.
"Wait! He's just a thief. Let's treat it as an extra event for the opening ceremony." Tony dismissed the concern. "How could a little thief compete with my high-tech armor? I'll catch him."
"Are you sure there won't be any problems?" Pepper still looked worried.
"It'll be fine. There won't be any important items at the opening ceremony. Who knows what Kaitou Kid is after?" Tony reassured her.
Natasha didn't comment, but she planned to pass the information on to the director. However, Director Fury was too busy to care about a petty thief at the moment. Although Kaitou Kid might seem impressive to ordinary people, to the S.H.I.E.L.D. director, he was nothing but child's play, a minor issue not worth his attention.
So Natasha received the reply to just observe the situation and let Iron Man handle it himself. Natasha also didn't think Kaitou Kid was anything to be worried about; she believed Tony could handle it.
Pepper, on the other hand, was much more anxious. "We should call the police, it's better than doing nothing."
Tony examined the card with Kaitou Kid's message carefully. "No need. I said I'll handle it. You go back to the company."
Pepper stomped her foot, but she couldn't convince Tony. In a huff, she went back to the company. Even though they had already established a relationship, Tony, being self-centered, rarely consulted Pepper on matters. He usually made decisions and told her afterward, often acting without informing her first.
Tony carefully reviewed all the information about Kaitou Kid, finally concluding that he was really just a thief. Moreover, he was a peculiar thief who would return stolen goods, which Tony found quite amusing.
"Ding, ding, ding..." The timer went off, interrupting Tony's thoughts. It was time for him to take his medication.
JARVIS's mechanical arm combined several types of medicine into a slurry resembling sesame paste. It tasted a hundred times worse than sesame paste—bitter and astringent—but Tony had no choice but to drink it to stay alive.
"Ugh!" Tony spat out the residue, sticking out his tongue, which had turned black. "That tastes horrible." He had been hiding the poisoning from Pepper, not wanting to alarm her.
Lifting his shirt, Tony revealed the arc reactor on his chest. Around it were black veins—symptoms of palladium poisoning. The situation had worsened, and the black toxins were quickly spreading through his blood vessels towards his neck. Even without the Iron Man suit, he had to rely on the arc reactor to keep the bullet fragments near his heart in check. It was just delaying the inevitable.
Tony was at a loss. If he could catch Kaitou Kid tomorrow, he wanted to ask him what his future truly was.
On the news, Tony's rival, Mr. Hammer, the president of Hammer Industries, was being interviewed.
The reporter asked, "Mr. Hammer, what are your thoughts on Iron Man?"
"Mr. Stark is a very talented man, but sometimes he comes off as arrogant. Take the Monaco incident, for instance. I remember Mr. Stark saying no one would be able to master a mini-reactor within twenty years, but a Russian managed to master the same technology..." Blah blah blah, just belittling Tony.
Tony turned off the TV and thought, "Luckily, Hammer doesn't know that the reactor was lost." He suddenly wondered, could it have been stolen by Hammer Industries? He immediately dismissed the thought because Hammer couldn't have known that the Russian would cause trouble. If he did, why not just buy the reactor from the Russians instead of stealing it?
The stolen reactor had been a headache for Tony for the past month. Both he and S.H.I.E.L.D. had exhausted all their methods but couldn't find any clues. Tony knew he probably wouldn't get it back, especially since it was the one he had personally handed over. Thinking about it made him furious—someone had come close to him disguised as someone he trusted.
"Damned thief," Tony muttered, slapping the card with Kaitou Kid's emblem on it. "Damned thief," he repeated, venting his frustration.
Although the reactor had indeed been stolen by A'dou, only two people knew that.
Pepper returned to the Stark Tower at around ten in the evening. Unable to sleep, she poured a glass of wine and went out to the balcony to get some fresh air. She was only worried about Tony, but he just couldn't understand how much she loved him. Sometimes, Tony was so annoying, always thinking others' kindness to him was taken for granted, never showing gratitude.
"Tony, I hate you!" Pepper shouted out into the night, releasing her anger. After shouting, she felt much better.
Kaitou Kid had been watching this scene from afar, and with a slight smile, his white cloak swooped across the sky and landed behind Pepper. "Who disturbs your peace, beautiful lady?"
Pepper turned around and saw a tall, slender figure standing steadily on the balcony railing. The distinctive, flamboyant cloak that resembled a flag in the night sky immediately told her who it was. "Kaitou Kid??!!" Pepper was in shock.
At the top of Stark Tower, this was the starting point of Kaitou Kid's New York adventure.