Chapter 8 – A Shareholder of Stark Industries
While staring at his phone screen—where Stark Industries' stock price had already plunged to barely a third of its former peak—Blake Thorne walked alone through the streets of Queens, quietly muttering to himself.
"At this price… it's about time to step in. Unless Tony Stark actually died, there's no way it'll drop much further."
No matter what, Stark Industries in this world was a true multinational giant, with branches and influence stretching across every corner of the globe.
Even though its core division—weapon development—had been completely shut down by Tony himself, Stark Industries still held a global lead in artificial intelligence, satellite navigation systems, new energy sources, and a wide range of other cutting-edge technologies.
Not to mention the fact that after returning from his kidnapping incident, Tony had brought back a brand-new technology—one with the potential to reshape the entirety of human civilization…
That's right. The technology now clearly visible on his chest—a circular energy reactor sustaining his life.
It was known as the Arc Reactor.
The Arc Reactor was small in size, yet the energy it produced was nearly on par with a cold fusion reactor from the real world.
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After Tony had been kidnapped and attacked by a terrorist group, his body had been riddled with metal shrapnel that posed a serious threat to his life.
Although Dr. Yinsen had done everything he could to remove most of the fragments, several tiny pieces still remained inside Tony's body.
To prevent those fragments from traveling through his bloodstream and reaching his heart, Dr. Yinsen installed a cylindrical electromagnet in Tony's chest. Powered by a car battery, it was used to hold the metal shards in place, stopping them from piercing his heart membrane.
The downside was obvious—Tony had to carry a car battery with him everywhere he went.
When he began planning his escape from Afghanistan, Tony came up with a brilliant idea. He used the large Arc Reactor his father had built in New York as a reference and created a miniature version of the technology.
Even though Tony had "only" succeeded in shrinking his father's original design, the commercial value of this innovation was something that simply couldn't be measured by ordinary numbers.
Just imagine it—a nuclear reactor that normally occupied thousands of square meters, now compressed to the size of a palm. How vast would the potential applications of such technology be?
From future automobiles, aircraft, even space rockets—so long as they were equipped with a single mini Arc Reactor like this, they could operate for months, even years, without needing to refuel or recharge.
This technology would undoubtedly deliver a devastating blow to the entire global energy industry.
Fortunately, Stark Industries itself was already a massive, deeply established corporation.
If technology like this fell into the hands of ordinary people, it might very well cause disaster instead of becoming a blessing…
Of course, for it to be widely adopted in the market, further research and development would still be required.
But anyone with even a bit of insight could tell—armed with this technology, the future of Stark Industries would be far brighter than ever before.
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Three days later, Tony—now back in New York—was lounging in his luxurious seaside villa, after spending an entire day and night with a famous magazine model…
But as Tony slept soundly from exhaustion, the ringtone of his phone kept ringing, over and over again.
After half an hour passed with no answer, Pepper Potts—Tony's personal assistant, also known as "Little Pepper"—finally entered the bedroom and forcefully rebooted the phone.
Almost immediately, Pepper spoke in a rapid, panicked voice.
"Tony… we're in serious trouble! Thirty minutes ago, an investment firm called Evergreen Securities suddenly launched a massive buying operation on the secondary market. They've already acquired five percent of Stark Industries' shares…"
Before she could finish, Tony simply rolled his eyes and replied in a relaxed, mocking tone.
"Oh? I thought it was something big. Just five percent? Pepper, are you serious? I personally hold thirty-nine percent of Stark Industries. I'm still the largest shareholder."
But Pepper, her expression grave, shook her head and continued immediately.
"Twenty-five minutes after that, three more companies—Arclight Capital, Silvercrest Holdings Investments, and Pines Group—also entered the market and started buying Stark shares!"
"Each of them has acquired another five percent, Tony. Don't you realize how serious this is? Because of all the recent turmoil, investors and shareholders have been losing confidence in Stark Industries. The stock price went into free fall… triggering a domino effect. More and more people started selling their shares."
"The result? Those four companies swept up every available share on the secondary market!"
"And what's worse, those four companies are clearly under the control of the same entity! That means a single party now holds twenty percent of Stark Industries' shares."
"If they manage to buy shares from other major holders—or form alliances—Tony! Do you really think your thirty-nine percent is still safe? Or… are you prepared to call someone else your boss?"
Hearing that, Tony Stark shot up from his luxurious bed in an instant.
As he put on his clothes, Tony spoke calmly to Pepper.
"Pepper, even though the probability is low… it's not impossible."
"Contact Uncle Obadiah, and all the other major shareholders. We're calling a board meeting. And one more thing—investigate those strange companies that suddenly appeared. What were their names again?"
Pepper rolled her eyes and replied quickly, "Obadiah and the other board members are already at Stark Headquarters right now. As for those four companies…"
"Based on our preliminary investigation, they appear to be owned by completely unknown figures. On paper, there's no direct connection between them. But personally… I strongly suspect that their primary funding originates from East Asia."
"If that's the case, I suggest we contact Washington immediately and request government intervention. I'm sure the White House wouldn't be willing to let Stark Industries' technology fall into the hands of an Eastern nation."
But Tony shook his head, his expression serious, and replied, "Pepper, as long as what they're doing stays within the rules of normal market operations, I won't do that. Besides… Washington's greed is no less than theirs."
After saying that, Tony—now fully dressed—headed straight for the door and left the room.
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However, just as the two of them were leaving the villa by car, an unfamiliar New York number suddenly rang on Tony's phone.
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