It seems someone wants you to go to Gotham to meet him." Jean warned, reminding Donnie to be careful. No matter what the situation was, there must be someone in Gotham who wanted to do something to Donnie.
"And I investigated the group of people who threw the phone to you, and found that I couldn't find any trace of them. It was a group of strict and experienced people who were watching you." Qin said.
"I see... Thank you, Dr. Jean. Give my regards to the professors and the others." Donny exchanged a few pleasantries with Jean before putting his phone down thoughtfully. It was someone from Gotham, which was definitely beyond his expectations.
After such a long time, he no longer cared much about the phone. No matter who the other party was, he just needed to follow the steps to make himself stronger. Everything except his fists was empty, and only strength belonged to him forever.
But if the other party is from Gotham...
Who could it be? The Joker? Wayne? Or some gangster? It made no sense; Donny had no problems with them.
"Donny, what are you thinking about? Come and have a drink!" A group of people shouted, asking Donny to come over and continue drinking.
The old bartender put his arms around Donny's neck and tried to get him drunk, laughing.
…
Stark Group.
Tony had a fierce quarrel with his beloved uncle Obadiah. This scene was extremely rare. The uncle and nephew had supported each other for so many years and made Stark Group bigger and stronger step by step. They had a very close relationship and could talk about almost anything.
But today they broke out into a quarrel, which made many staff members tremble with fear and dared not even breathe.
"Tony, why didn't you discuss this with me in advance?! Do you realize the dangerous signal you're sending by doing this?" Obadiah was a bald, muscular man with a dignified demeanor that filled Ran with awe at first glance. In truth, Obadiah truly deserved this dignity and presence. For so many years, he had been responsible for the operations of the entire Stark Group and had covered Tony's debts.
In Tony's eyes, Obadiah is an elder he respects.
"So what? Those are my shares. I'll give them to whoever I say." Tony held the wine glass, his demeanor showing the elegance of a senior executive. He spoke sweet words to a female employee with interest, and replied to Obadiah intermittently.
Obadiah was furious. Tony had been acting recklessly for years, and he had done countless public relations for Tony. If it weren't for the fact that Tony's genius always brought him better military weapons and economic benefits, he would have long since given up on Tony and wanted to kick him out and go it alone.
But this time, it was too much! The worst thing was that Tony's actions crossed the line!
"I'm not trying to interfere with your decision. Giving shares to other people would be fine, but you actually gave your shares to a mutant! Don't you know that the relationship between mutants and the human government is deteriorating rapidly?!"
"So what? Those are my shares. Is it illegal? There is no federal law that prohibits giving shares to mutants." Tony didn't care. He was sometimes a stubborn person, and never giving up easily was one of the manifestations of his character.
He promised to give Tony and the others a few percent of the shares and had no intention of changing his mind. A mere one percent was not much for Tony.
Obadiah's face flushed with anger, and he stroked his carefully trimmed beard irritably, finding that he and Tony couldn't communicate on some issues. This wasn't the first time Tony had acted recklessly, but this time he really went too far.
The news that Downey was going to acquire shares in Stark Enterprises had immediately caught the attention of the higher-ups after Tony's return. Other executives might have complained, but it was of little use. They were already receiving dividends from their shares, so Tony didn't mind what he did with his own shares. But Obadiah was different; his position meant he would be exposed to different aspects of the company.
There is a very important figure in the military who is very concerned about this.
I called him specifically and asked him to stop this ridiculous and stupid behavior.
That man's name was Stryker, and he was said to be secretly conducting some research. Although Obadiah didn't know Stryker well, he knew with a quick guess that it wasn't a good idea, at least not one that could be exposed to the public.
And once this news gets out, how will people perceive Stark Corporation? Publicly and ostentatiously distributing shares to a mutant who can connect with the Professor and Old Wan, what's the meaning of this? Is this Stark Corporation expressing its dissatisfaction with the public and the government? Are you putting pressure on the government and public opinion?
The Stark Group is a multi-trillion dollar corporation, with interests spanning all sectors. If Tony succeeds, the entire Stark Group's stakeholders will be effectively held hostage by Tony, becoming the poster child for mutant support. The mutant community will also use this incident to their advantage. It's a ready-made excuse, a case that only a fool would not seize.
"Listen, Obadiah, my respected uncle, they saved my life, and I promised to give them a generous reward, which is this 1% of the shares." Tony was serious. He also understood that doing so would have a significant impact, but his pride did not allow him to regret repaying the life-saving grace.
Obadiah suggested that they could pay a huge amount of compensation in one lump sum, which would be enough for them to spend in their lifetime, and there was no need to give them shares.
But Tony still refused, which really made Obadiah very angry.
The conversation between the two ended on a bad note, a situation that had not occurred in many years.
Obadiah's face darkened, his teeth gnashing with resentment. He had always believed Tony's series of foolish actions were pushing StarkCorp into the abyss. Obadiah also had his own ambitions. For thirty years, he had longed to completely control StarkCorp, to wrest this behemoth from the Stark family and make it his own, perhaps turning it into the Obadiah Corporation.
Obadiah left the meeting room, took out his cell phone and made a call.
"It failed, Mr. Stryker. Tony refused to listen to me, and there was nothing I could do," Obadiah said.
"You are a veteran of Stark Group. It's all thanks to you that Stark Group has reached this situation over the years, but you say you can't persuade Tony?" Stryker's voice was very gloomy. People like him who conduct shameful research in the dark do not mind speaking in this tone.
"No, you misunderstood. Tony is the controlling shareholder and helmsman of this company. No matter what decision he ultimately makes, I will fully support him." Obadiah said in a cautious tone. No matter what he thought in his heart, he had to show that they were a family. Internal conflicts must not be known to outsiders.
There was silence on the other end of the line, and finally someone said, "May the best be for you," and hung up. Stryker didn't say much, let alone threaten anyone, but this decisiveness was giving people an invisible pressure.
Obadiah's face had already become extremely gloomy, and veins on his hands were bulging.