Nolan, standing in the shadows, looked every bit the unquestionable villain.
And in truth, that was not wrong.
Nolan had come to this world with his own goals, and everything he did was in service of them.
Now that he had openly torn apart his conflict with Reed Richards, their confrontation was inevitable.
With everything that had been laid out so far, Nolan was highly confident that Victor von Doom would eventually accept his proposal.
Victor's expression shifted again and again.
Was what Nolan Locke said true?
Victor was not worried that Nolan would do anything to him.
Although the thought had crossed his mind, nothing had been acted upon yet.
More importantly, with his ability to absorb electricity, Victor had absolute confidence in himself.
"So you want to go after Reed Richards?" Victor asked, interest flickering across his face.
The corner of Nolan's mouth lifted slightly.
"It's not that I want to go after him. He's already provoking me."
Nolan spoke plainly, without the slightest attempt to hide it.
At the same time, he was gauging Victor's thoughts.
Would Victor agree to an alliance?
If the two of them joined forces against Reed Richards, it would not actually be that difficult.
After a brief pause, Victor rejected Nolan's proposal.
"I'm sorry. I don't plan on doing that. Still, I would be happy to consider you a friend."
Hearing the answer, Nolan smiled faintly.
Rejected, just as expected.
But he did not believe Victor von Doom would truly stop here.
Victor simply did not trust him yet.
Nolan did not mind. The one in a hurry was not him.
After Nolan left, Victor von Doom frowned deeply.
"Nolan Locke…"
He realized he could not see through this man at all.
Even so, a trace of cold indifference surfaced on Victor's face.
He had no other options left. Since that was the case, he would not change his plans just because Nolan Locke had appeared.
The shareholder who had been waiting for the one-month deadline grew more and more cheerful as the days passed.
In just a few days, he would become the new CEO of Doom Industries.
Victor von Doom thought he could compete with him?
After returning home, he poured himself a glass of red wine and raised it toward the moon.
"Cheers."
The wine slid down his throat, bringing a faint burn and bitterness.
He liked this kind of wine.
Because after the bitterness came sweetness.
Just as he set the glass down, he froze.
"Victor? Why are you here?!"
Panic flooded his face.
This was his home. What was Victor doing here?
Had he gone insane?
Victor looked at him calmly.
There was no killing intent in his eyes, only endless indifference.
"You seem very happy," Victor said. "Doom Industries was built by my own hands, and now you want to take it away."
As he spoke, the anger in Victor's voice became increasingly clear.
The shareholder quickly regained his composure and sneered.
"Victor, this wasn't my decision alone. It was a unanimous decision by the board.
"If I were you, I'd hand over the authority and leave quietly."
At some point, the lights in the room began flickering.
He had seen this many times before.
Almost every board meeting had been accompanied by the same phenomenon.
But now, it was happening in his home.
Suddenly, the shareholder's pupils shrank.
Was this really just a natural occurrence?
He watched as Victor von Doom slowly put on a mask. The Victor he had once dismissed now filled him with fear for reasons he could not explain.
"Don't. Don't come any closer!" he shouted.
Victor did not stop walking.
Electricity surged from the sockets around the room, drawn violently into him. In moments, the entire villa fell into darkness, except for Victor's right hand, where brilliant arcs of lightning bloomed like a deadly flower.
The shareholder's eyes widened. He had never seen anything like this.
The next instant, lightning flashed.
A body collapsed to the ground, its heart pierced through.
Victor stared at his own palm.
So this was power.
At this moment, he felt invincible.
He had once deeply resisted his increasingly metallic body, but now, for the first time, he felt intoxicated by strength.
Even so, he still wanted to remain human.
And that possibility likely existed only with Reed Richards.
At the very least, he had bought himself more time.
Victor glanced at the corpse, then turned and left without hesitation.
That night, three members of Doom Industries' board were killed.
The board convened once again.
Fear was etched onto every face as they looked at Victor.
They had no evidence, but they could not imagine any other explanation.
Seated at the head of the table, Victor's expression was calm.
"Gentlemen, three board members died overnight. This is a serious problem for Doom Industries. Until the police conclude their investigation, I will have no choice but to continue leading the company."
A faint curve appeared on his lips.
"Please trust the name Victor von Doom. As long as I am here, Doom Industries will not fall."
He had said these words before.
But this was the first time no one dared to argue.
Victor von Doom smiled.
A pack of opportunistic trash.
When three Doom Industries board members died, Nolan received the news almost immediately.
He had more or less expected it.
He did not care much about those shareholders.
Greed devouring greed.
Capital was inherently a greedy arena, and truly decent people were rare.
Besides, Nolan himself owned a company.
If he were in the same position, his methods would not have been much gentler than Victor's.
This was not speculation.
He had already done it before.
"My dear Uncle Charles," Nolan murmured softly, "I don't know why, but I'm thinking of you again."
He then looked down at the documents in his hand.
They contained information gathered by several private investigators he had hired.
As expected, the Charles of this world really did resemble his Uncle Charles.
So much so that Nolan felt they were variants of the same person from different universes.
At that moment, his female secretary walked in.
"Boss, Charles is here."
"Oh?" Nolan nodded. "Let him in."
Before she could leave, a middle-aged man walked in on his own.
"Nolan, sorry. I couldn't wait, so I came in myself."
The man's voice sounded gentle and pleasant.
Nolan returned the smile, just as warm.
"I can tell you're in a hurry."
"That's right. We've run into a fantastic opportunity," Charles said, placing a document on Nolan's desk.
Nolan picked it up and skimmed through it.
The contents were familiar.
It was the same investment agreement Galiston Bayer had mentioned before.
This time, the other party had added another thirty million dollars, while the requested shares remained unchanged.
Charles said seriously, "Nolan, this is an incredible opportunity. Our robot sales are currently limited by funding. Production cannot keep up, and marketing is insufficient.
"You know the technology behind that robot isn't that advanced. Once other companies catch on, we'll be too late.
"If we accept this agreement, we can make a fortune."
Nolan did not look up as he replied, "Did Galiston not tell you? I won't give up absolute control.
"You can trust my ability. If I can develop the Baymax-style robot, I can develop other products as well."
Charles' expression cooled.
"Nolan, you'd better think carefully. Signing this agreement does you no harm. If you refuse, you'll regret it."
There was a faint threat in his voice.
Nolan did not look at him.
"So if I don't sign, what do you plan to do? Kill me?"
Charles narrowed his eyes.
That was exactly what he would do, but he did not say it out loud. He did not know whether the room was monitored.
When Charles did not answer, Nolan finally raised his head.
"I'll say it again. I won't sign. If you want to make a move, go ahead and try."
Nolan's tone was calm.
He had no intention of dealing with Charles just yet. He did not believe Charles had the power to control so many companies on his own.
Unless…
Seeing Nolan refuse to budge, Charles' face darkened.
"In that case, just wait."
He turned and left.
The secretary entered again, looking worried after seeing Charles storm out.
"Will there be trouble?"
Nolan shook his head. "No. Charles has already lost his mind.
"You don't need to worry about this. Focus on preparing our next-stage development plan."
As he spoke, Nolan opened a drawer and took out a prepared document.
This time, his plan was far more complete.
Since they were focusing on civilian products, it made sense to continue down that path for now.
The Baymax-style robot was not very intelligent.
But Nolan still had a trump card.
"NS Series Intelligent Robot Project."
The secretary froze when she saw the title.
Nolan stood up and said, "The Baymax robot's low cost and excellent value gave us our first pot of gold. Now it's time to develop true intelligent machines."
The secretary blinked.
"The Baymax robot doesn't count as intelligent machinery?"
"Of course not," Nolan replied, shaking his head.
The NS series would be the first truly market-tested intelligent robots.
And beyond that, he planned to rapidly replicate other military-grade products.
Civilian products had limited profit margins. If one wanted explosive wealth, military technology was the fastest path.
And Nolan possessed an entire technological chain.
After hearing Nolan's outline of the future, the secretary unconsciously straightened her posture.
She was only a secretary, but she could already see the brilliant future awaiting Locke Technology.
Elsewhere, Charles left Locke Technology.
After walking through the crowd, he suddenly spoke.
"It failed."
Someone brushed past him, eyes filled with fervor, and walked straight toward Locke Technology.
Boom.
A violent explosion erupted.
From a car outside, Charles watched the company lobby erupt in flames. He chuckled softly, lowered his hat brim, and said to the driver, "Let's go.
"Nolan Locke, this is just the beginning. I hope you won't regret it."
The explosion naturally alerted Nolan, who had been planning the next phase.
"A suicide bomber?"
After the situation was resolved, Nolan's expression darkened.
Charles had just left, and something like this happened. Nolan did not believe for a second that Charles was uninvolved.
Aside from the man used as the bomb, there were no casualties.
But it was enough to disgust everyone at Locke Technology.
A show of force?
That was the only explanation Nolan could think of.
"You're becoming more and more like my dear Uncle Charles," Nolan muttered.
Charles was probably delighted right now.
Using a human life to show him just how terrifying his power was.
Perhaps Charles was already waiting for Nolan to come begging in fear.
With that thought, Nolan called Charles.
"Charles, let's talk."
"Tonight," Charles replied. His voice carried no emotion, but the warmth from before was gone, replaced by the authority of someone in power.
He hung up immediately.
Charles then looked at the person across from him.
"Tonight, we'll take over Locke Technology."
"Do you think he'll agree?" the other man asked.
Charles snorted. "If he doesn't, then he dies. We don't have time to waste on him."
Imagining Nolan Locke bowing his head put Charles in an excellent mood.
He even decided he would not accept Nolan's surrender so easily.
After all, he had already spent a human life on this.
How much should he pay to buy Nolan Locke's shares?
Charles laughed.
"Considering Nolan Locke made me quite a bit of money, I'll give him one dollar."
Night fell.
Charles' house was brightly lit, several mercenaries stationed at his side.
Though he was confident Nolan had been frightened, he still made preparations, just in case Nolan tried something desperate.
Soon, there was a knock at the door.
"Let him in," Charles said calmly.
A mercenary opened the door.
Nolan Locke entered alone.
Though Nolan hid it well, Charles believed he could see fear buried beneath that calm expression.
"Nolan, this time, you seem quite anxious," Charles said lightly.
The mercenaries beside him held their weapons openly across their chests.
Nolan sighed.
"Charles, have I wronged you?"
"Do you have an organization?" Charles asked, then suddenly laughed.
"Honestly, I should thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have made this much money.
"But you helping me make money and me wanting to make more don't conflict, do they?"
Charles smiled with ease.
He loved this feeling.
The feeling of being in control of everything.
Nolan rubbed his closely cropped hair.
"That's true. There's no conflict.
"The only problem is that you're robbing me."
Looking at Charles' unfamiliar face, Nolan felt helpless.
He had led so many people to wealth. Why was there always someone who was never satisfied?
"You know," Nolan said softly, "you really remind me of my Uncle Charles.
"You're just like him."