The public was in panic, and the authorities were in turmoil. Neither the military nor the government officials were willing to let Tony Stark abandon the weapons manufacturing division.
They didn't want to hear any reports of losses.
Whether it was representatives from the Military or the Government, they surrounded Tony's company offices or blocked the entrance to his luxurious villa day after day.
But Tony completely ignored them. He refused to meet anyone, so they all got the cold shoulder.
In the underground lab beneath his villa, Tony was busy building his Iron Man Armor Mark II.
As for the rudimentary Mark I, he had long since left it behind. His mind was already racing ahead.
"Jarvis, install jet devices on the soles. We can achieve flight but make sure the shock absorption system is solid."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and the Arc Reactor—improve it. Make it smaller, more powerful. Add two grams of palladium."
"Yes, sir."
Tony worked day and night, completely absorbed in his work—so much that he forgot to eat or sleep.
He didn't realize that, in just one-week, Stark Industries' stock had hit the daily limit down every single day—falling another 55%.
Countless shareholders were heartbroken, crying in anguish as their fortunes evaporated.
Many went bankrupt, some even turned to crime, and countless others—seeing no way out—chose the quick and tragic way down.
This was the land of freedom; who here had savings? The helpless officials could only issue massive relief funds—people had to live, right?
Otherwise, if the desperate masses took to the streets and smashed something like New York City Hall, what then?
The key issue was approval ratings. The opposition certainly wouldn't miss this golden opportunity, loudly proclaiming how they would fix everything if they were in power.
It made the current administration furious. These vultures were exploiting the chaos, and it made their teeth ache with frustration.
Less than five hundred meters away from Tony's villa stood Leo's own luxurious estate—a sprawling ten-acre property worth five million dollars.
For 2009, that was an astronomical figure.
"Hahaha! Good! That's enough!"
Leo grinned. It was almost time to buy at the bottom.
The stock had fallen this far only because the market couldn't absorb the shock all at once. Once things calmed down, it would rebound hard.
"Weiss, use ten-times leverage. Fully acquire Stark Industries' stock."
Leo gave the order decisively.
He hadn't been idle during the past week—he'd registered a company through a brokerage firm and hired a few professional traders.
Now, he was waiting for this wave of profit.
Soon, Tony would declare himself as Iron Man and return with a vengeance. When that happened, Stark Industries' stock would soar to the moon—and Leo would cash out big time.
"Boss, this is an insane gamble," Weiss said nervously. "Ten billion dollars invested, and with ten-times leverage… if you lose, you'll lose everything."
Leo didn't flinch. "No. Just follow my lead."
Weiss sighed. "Alright, alright, you're the boss. Your call."
The boss had spoken. He just had to follow orders—it wasn't his money anyway.
And so, Leo used ten billion dollars—plus ten-times leverage—to buy up scattered shares of Stark Industries.
When the shareholders noticed someone was actually buying, they sold even faster.
"Haha, there's a sucker buying! Hurry, sell!"
"Wait, why's he going against the current? Something's off here…"
"Who cares? Maybe he's just dreaming about buying the dip. Sell before it drops more!"
"Exactly. Selling now means losing less."
But a few sharp investors smelled something strange. They suspected this was a setup.
They whispered among themselves, convinced this was a massive Stark Industries trap to "harvest the leeks."
First, Tony's disappearance had tanked the stock to $220 a share.
Then, the announcement of the weapons division's shutdown cut it in half again.
To them, it was obvious—the company was pushing the price down intentionally to buy it all back cheap.
They imagined a brilliant scheme: sell stocks high at $100 a share, spread bad news to drop it to $10, then rebuy with the same money and ride the rebound.
Classic market manipulation—using shareholders' money to buy shareholders' shares.
Once the price recovered, the insiders would profit massively while small investors were wiped out.
"Damn that sly Tony Stark! Using our money to chase women and party!" one trader grumbled.
"Shh! Keep quiet. Let's buy quietly too."
"Right. Quietly enter the village—no shooting!"
"Yo, you sly bastard, that's actually smart."
"Making a fortune in silence depends on this wave. Don't believe a single punctuation mark from that arrogant playboy."
Thanks to Leo's interference, the stock that seemed doomed suddenly bounced up a few points.
But Leo didn't care anymore. He'd already gone all in.
A week later, Obadiah Stane finally lost his patience.
His private lab team of scientists couldn't recreate Tony's miniature Arc Reactor—the Mark I version was far too primitive.
In the movie, it broke down quickly anyway. Given their limited tech, just making it run was already a miracle.
After a furious outburst at his researchers, Obadiah decided to act. He would ambush Tony Stark personally.
The phone rang late at night.
Tony, sitting on the sofa, quickly picked up.
It was Pepper Potts.
Tony's gut told him something was wrong. After Leo's earlier warning, he had Pepper quietly investigate Obadiah's activities.
Now that she was calling, something had clearly gone very wrong.
But before he could react—his body went numb.
He couldn't move at all.