Ivan Vanko had sold the blueprints for his Arc Reactor.
Perhaps because he wasn't confident enough in his own ability to exact revenge on Tony, Ivan had prepared a backup plan—a means to continue disgusting Tony even if he failed and died.
Moreover, Tony felt that if he put himself in Ivan's shoes, Ivan might have specifically chosen a hostile force that held a grudge against Tony to give the reactor to. If that were the case, things would be even worse.
Tony immediately felt a sense of urgency again. The number of forces he needed to deal with and items on his to-do list had increased further.
He had to find the guys who bought the design blueprints, clear the data, destroy the evidence, destroy the corpses and eliminate traces... Ah, no, legally protect his intellectual property rights.
Even if he had to dig three feet into the ground, he absolutely had to find out.
Tony made up his mind. Fortunately, as a world-class arms tycoon, Tony Stark didn't just have a lot of money; the resources he could mobilize and the technical capabilities he possessed were unimaginable to ordinary people.
Through Ivan Vanko's transaction records, Tony quickly found that the buyer was a company called "Olas Technology." However, when he investigated this company further, he quickly discovered it was just a shell company.
Of course, this wasn't surprising. It was an illegal transaction to begin with; using a shell company for this kind of shady business was very normal.
Even Tony himself actually had overseas shell companies to facilitate operations where he didn't want to reveal his identity.
For an ordinary person, the clues might have ended here. But not for him. He was Tony Stark... even if not the original one.
The investigation into Olas Technology revealed that this shell company had paid an unusually high technical consulting fee to a place called "Cybernos Laboratories."
So Tony seized the clue and turned to investigate this Cybernos Laboratories, discovering that its registered location was a virtual offshore haven. However, Cybernos had a cargo ship under its name. Tony had Jarvis pull up the departure information for this cargo ship and found that the ship's route took an unusual detour into international waters and had turned off its transponder multiple times.
After having Jarvis map the route, they quickly locked onto a specific area in the Pacific Ocean.
Tony rubbed his hands together upon investigating this far, feeling he was already very close to the truth. Peeling back the layers of the cocoon and gradually approaching the opponent made him feel a bit of anticipation.
"Jarvis, I remember we should have a satellite in that area, right?" Tony said.
Jarvis said, "Yes, Sir. Shall I access the satellite?"
"Of course, why not?" Tony said casually. "After all, it's my satellite. Do I need to ask anyone for permission?"
Another benefit of transmigrating into Stark was having his own private satellites... and not just one.
Jarvis: "Satellite imagery transmitting."
Soon, the satellite image was projected in a holographic display within Tony's laboratory.
"There's an island here."
Tony tapped the screen.
"Magnify the image of the island for me."
Jarvis magnified it and repaired the image to improve clarity. From this restored image, Tony clearly saw that a base had been built on this island, a base obviously equipped with military armaments.
And on the open ground in the center of this base, three letters were clearly written like a business card.
A.I.M.
...
...
Steve Rogers had a dream.
In the dream, the war hadn't ended.
Or rather, everything that had happened so far seemed like a dream—he dreamed he woke up and the war was actually over. People told him the war was won, he had been frozen in a glacier for decades, and now it was an era of peace.
And unexpectedly, a one-eyed black man jumped out and said, "I am your commander"...
Sometimes he often felt that this was the dream, and when he woke up, he would still be in the trenches of World War II. Outside, the flames of war were raging, gunshots were constant, and his brothers were waiting for Captain America to pick up his shield, gear up, and continue slaughtering fascists.
Then he woke up again, discovering that waking up in the trenches was actually the dream. He really had slept in a block of ice until modern times, and a black man really was his new commander...
Look, that one-eyed black man was here with a mission again.
However, this was actually his own request. After being dug out of the ice and resting for a period, he told Nick Fury he wanted to help, wanted to go on missions.
It wasn't so much that patriotism was at work and he wanted to contribute to world peace in the modern era; he simply couldn't stay idle.
He was Captain America, a war hero recorded in textbooks. But a so-called war hero is one who serves war.
Now that the war was over, he just felt out of place in this peaceful world. If he didn't find something to do, he even felt he couldn't find himself.
That was why Nick Fury gave him this mission.
Not long after Steve got out of bed, Nick Fury visited him personally.
"Terrorist organization?"
Steve looked at the mission briefing Fury brought while eating the bread he treated as breakfast.
Fury very thoughtfully had someone prepare a paper mission briefing for him. Since cell phones probably hadn't even been born in Captain America's era, the elderly man probably wouldn't be able to handle the communication terminals commonly used by modern S.H.I.E.L.D. agents anytime soon.
Fury said, "Yeah, a bunch of guys calling themselves 'A.I.M.', full name 'Advanced Idea Mechanics'."
Steve took a sip of oatmeal. "Sounds like a technology organization."
Fury said, "They indeed are."
Steve said, "Then how are they related to terrorism?"
"Because they are dedicated to seeking profit and power through violence, doing whatever it takes for scientific development," Fury said. "Chemical weapons, environmental destruction, human experimentation... not to mention the terrorist activities they've conducted to acquire research resources and wealth."
"Got it, mad scientists. Looks like no era lacks them," Steve said. "I thought you guys told me the world was peaceful now."
"It is peaceful, but that is relative," Fury said. "And to maintain this facade of peace requires effort..."
He paused, emphasizing his tone.
"...A lot of effort."
Steve didn't speak, continuing to read the briefing, while asking, "So, the Pacific Ocean?"
"Yes, this is a precise address S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently tracking, located on an island in the Pacific. It has currently been confirmed as an A.I.M. base," Fury said.
"Although they are a science-first R&D institution, their combat personnel also have top-notch quality. Moreover, their weapons are well-equipped and very dangerous. That is why I hope to have the world's most reliable captain lead the team."
Fury looked up at Steve. "What do you say?"
Steve didn't speak. He just stood up, walked to the other end of the room, and gently picked up his shield.
"Feels just like going back to the past," he said softly.