I work as an editor at Marvel.

After hanging up the phone, Tony had a somber expression. To his right was a projector displaying a document, compiled by Jarvis based on his conversation with Rhodes.

Rhodes was certain that he hadn't leaked any information at any stage, and that he was the only one among the personnel who knew the complete process. So it really was a matter for the military. If Rhodes wasn't lying, then the only problem could be with the generals at the top.

However, this is unlikely, because without protection, if these generals wanted to do something underhanded, he wouldn't even have a chance to get Ethan to treat him, and the missile data and manufacturing methods that those "peacemakers" wanted would be meaningless to the military.

They might as well buy the missile directly from Stark Industries instead of manufacturing it themselves, since there are no restrictions on weapons purchases domestically anyway.

Obadiah-Stan... I hope that person isn't you...

Tony slowly stood up, placing his hands on the control panel. "Jarvis, transfer all the data related to reactor miniaturization within the company to my personal server, just like the design drafts for the Mark II. At the same time, delete the relevant data from the company server."

“Yes, sir,” Jarvis replied. Most of Stark's network access was in Jarvis's hands, so retrieving or deleting information didn't take much time.

"Also, Jarvis, compile all the personnel files with backup data and prepare the analysis report. I need to see it immediately," Tony ordered.

Tony had never checked personnel files before because he thought the company would go under without him, so he assumed the people in the company wouldn't harm him. But after meeting Kim Bradley and the others, he realized he might have been a bit too arrogant.

"Please enter the relevant analysis model, sir," Jarvis said after dropping all the files.

"Open the interface, and I'll allow you to access those useless anthropology and sociology papers."

As Tony spoke, the projection in front of him flashed rapidly, with streams of data flashing like light. Soon, a pyramid-shaped model appeared before his eyes.

"Sir, we have introduced thirteen authoritative analysis models. According to the judgment rules attached to the models, you are still the most important person in Stark Industries. Without you, Stark Industries will begin to decline continuously until one or more researchers can barely replace you. However, the final prediction is that Stark Industries will lose its top advantage."

"In addition, according to the model, the most powerful person in Stark Industries is currently Mr. Obadiah Stane. He controls most of the personnel and financial power and directly or indirectly controls more than 30 percent of the shares. It is predicted that the highest voting power could exceed 50 percent."

"Also, sir, according to the information provided, there is a Stark charity gala in two weeks for injured and disabled firefighters. The expected donations and funding for the gala are coming from your bonus account, but neither Miss Pepper nor you have received any related information."

Snapped!

Tony swept everything on the table onto the floor. Even the dumbest person would know that this was a huge problem.

"So, according to those models, I only have control over the weapons design and manufacturing departments now?" Tony asked angrily.

"No, sir. Based on your instructions a few days ago, Stark Industries' international weapons design and manufacturing division is being gradually shut down. You now only have control over the domestic division. In addition, it is estimated that Miss Pepper has a greater than 99% chance of supporting you, so you also have limited personnel authority, at least you can change your secretary at will."

Jarvis replied mechanically, without any sarcasm, but Tony was already furious.

"It's ridiculous! He has people everywhere. Why doesn't he plant some in the weapons department too?!" Tony's breathing quickened, and his face turned red.

“Sir, according to current records, you have dismissed a total of 170 researchers over the past ten years. Of these, 50 are confirmed to be related to Mr. Stan, and another 50 are suspected to be related to Mr. Stan,” Jarvis continued.

Tony was speechless.

"In addition, during the two to three months you were missing, Mr. Stan indirectly sent twelve researchers and managers to the international weapons department, all of whom have now been dismissed by you." Jarvis said, pulling up the three-dimensional files of these people.

Tony glanced at it and thought, "Wow, Stan's hands are really fast. The deputy director of the design and research department has been replaced, the director of the testing department has been replaced, and the deputy director of the project review team has been replaced. It's like he's replaced everyone."

“Jarvis, give Pepper a call and tell her to prepare for the board meeting; I need to attend,” Tony said after calming himself down.

“Sir, I must remind you that without Mr. Stan’s support, your proposals will not pass the board meeting. Even if you convene a shareholders’ meeting, it is highly likely that the proposals will not pass, because your words have caused great losses to most of the shareholders who originally supported you, and they may no longer support you,” Jarvis warned.

Given Tony's reputation among individual shareholders, he might have been able to put up a fight against Stan at a shareholders' meeting if those shareholding institutions didn't make their stance clear, relying on those individual shareholder representatives. But after announcing the closure of the weapons department, that was no longer an option.

"Don't worry, the proposal will be passed," Tony said calmly.

Chapter Sixty-Two: I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?

A dozen days later, the board meeting was held. Tony arrived at the meeting room early, found a recliner, placed it by the door, sprawled out on it, crossed his legs, and watched the directors walk in one by one.

"Tony, get up! This is a formal occasion. You should be a little more formal and show some respect to the board members," Stan said loudly when he saw a smile on Tony's face as he lay there.

"It's alright, it's alright, we understand. Capable people can be tolerated, and besides, he's still young," a slightly older director said calmly.

The words seemed to be an explanation for Tony, but they sounded like a sarcastic remark that Tony was still immature like a child.

Given Tony's usual temper, he would have silenced the director long ago, but today he calmly waited for all the directors to take their seats.

"Tony, just say what's on your mind. Everyone's busy. I told you to let me see your suggestions first so I can help you organize them," Stan said with a smile.

Tony rolled over, got up from the recliner, yawned, and walked behind the microphone.

"First, international weapons design and manufacturing departments must be shut down. I don't want to see anyone secretly delaying the withdrawal of these departments again."

Stan frowned slightly. What was wrong with Tony? He wasn't usually like this. He had spoken twice, but Tony hadn't answered either time. Moreover, Tony seemed to be deliberately ignoring him.

Thinking of this, Stan gave a wink to one of the people opposite him.

“Tony Stark, you have no right to decide to close a large department on your own. Moreover, the closure of this department will inevitably have a huge impact on the company and affect the interests of all shareholders. We must be responsible for everyone, not for your willfulness. You just suffered a little..." The director rattled off a long string of words.

Tony raised his right hand, signaling him to shut up, then looked around at everyone on the field. "Secondly, I propose the establishment of a new energy department, which I will lead."

Tony then revealed the miniature reactor on his chest. "This reactor, the size of which can provide three billion joules of energy per second, can maintain peak output for up to fifteen minutes. Any objections?"

Stan started sweating. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Tony Stark had a bit of his father Howard Stark in him, and the establishment of this energy division would definitely affect his control over the company.

The people on the field fell silent. They were all extremely knowledgeable and knew what 3 billion joules of instantaneous output power per second represented. Moreover, Tony was the kind of person who, if he showed one thing, was sure he had an even more advanced one hidden behind him.

From this perspective, the new energy ministry seems sufficient to compensate for the losses caused by the closure of the international arms sector, and may even give Stark Industries a significant advantage in horizontal expansion.

Stan sensed something was wrong; the institutional representatives and major individual shareholders he had cultivated seemed about to betray him. So he quickly spoke up, "Tony, the establishment of this department is indeed good news, but setting up a new department isn't so simple; it requires more..."

As Stan was speaking, Tony walked over to him, patted him on the shoulder, and then looked at the others. "I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Stan narrowed his eyes. It wasn't his imagination; after just half a month apart, he really saw Howard's shadow in Tony.

"If no one speaks, I'll take that as your agreement. I'll have Pepper send you the relevant data. Today's meeting is adjourned; you may leave."

Tony said that, but while everyone else remained still, he was the first to walk out of the conference room.

After taking a few steps, Stan caught up from behind.

“Tony, I certainly have no objection to handing this new department over to you, and it’s definitely the best outcome. However, management is always complicated, and I’m afraid you’ll spend too much time on it, so I’ll recommend some managers to you.”

"Isn't the International Weapons Department going to be dissolved? What do you think about transferring all the management personnel over here?"

Tony didn't turn his head while Stan was speaking, and only turned around when they reached the elevator.

Tony and the benevolent-looking Stan exchanged a glance, then Tony suddenly laughed. "Mr. Stan, do you know what the last name is here?"

Stan opened his mouth, as if trying to explain himself.

"This place has been named Stark since its inception, not Obadiah, so mind your own business, take care of your health, and don't end up in the hospital because of an allergy before you've even finished your work."

Tony spoke as he descended the elevator, and throughout the process, Stan still wore an expression that said, "You've misunderstood me."

Once the two could no longer see each other, Stan, without any instruction, spontaneously mastered Sichuan face-changing, picked up the phone with a gloomy face, and made a call.

"Agree to all of that guy's demands, and I want to see him start working today."

Ding~ The elevator arrived at the floor. At this moment, Tony's aura vanished instantly. He had spent a lot of time studying his father's videos yesterday to put on that act. Now that there was no audience, he naturally didn't need to pretend anymore.

"Tony, how's it going? Did the proposal pass?" Pepper quickly came up to him.

"Don't you trust your boss's abilities? It's passed smoothly. From now on, hurry up and find suitable personnel." Tony paused in front of Pepper, turned around and looked her in the eye. "There's only one requirement: the candidate must have no connection with Stan, understand?"

Pepper's eyes gleamed. She realized today that Tony wasn't incapable of managing a company and suppressing competitors; he had simply been too lazy to do so before.

“I understand, but we can’t find suitable unemployed people so quickly,” Pepper said. Although Tony said he only had one requirement, she couldn’t hire some useless people; that would easily give others something to complain about and they could just replace them.

"Then poach people! Poach them from all the research institutions, researchers or management, as long as they meet the requirements, just throw money at them!" Tony said domineeringly. Money is money wasted if not used. If Stan succeeds this time, it will be difficult for him to maintain his financial power in the future.

When the research institution was mentioned, Pepper blinked, remembering the man who resembled Tony in temperament—Jace.

“Tony, have you heard of Hextech Research?” Pepper asked.

“Never heard of it. It must be a small, unknown organization. Don’t worry about the size of the organization, just poach the people first. Once this is over, I’ll fire those who need to be fired,” Tony set the tone.

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Road Should Be Widened

The day after the board meeting, Jess received a call from Stark's human resources department, inviting him to join a new department within the Stark Group.

What's this called? This is called having a pillow when you're sleepy.

Without hesitation, Jess accepted the invitation. He hadn't been able to find any trace of Viktor for so many days, and he was starting to suspect that either he was wrong and Viktor hadn't come here at all, or he might have hidden inside Stark Industries.

To ensure he could thoroughly search all the necessary places before resigning, Jess tidied himself up before starting his new job, making himself look more like an ordinary researcher.

Of course, all the expenses were paid with Genomi's own funds. The Ouroboros Association's mission rewards do not include US dollars; this was all money he had saved up over the years while active in the surface world.

When Jess arrived at Stark Industries' new energy division, he discovered that there was an exam waiting for him.

This was a test arranged by Pepper. The test content was very simple, just some general common sense that researchers should know, but it was an impossible test for Jess to pass.

As an ordinary person on the surface, the answers to the questions in Pepper's test were all expressed in the way that ordinary people on the surface would. Although it is easy to find corresponding theories or data in the Clock Tower when you analyze these things carefully, even the smartest person cannot match them up out of thin air without relevant preparation.

Looking at the casual or contemptuous expressions on the faces of the other test takers, and at the papers they were quickly filling out, Jess knew that he absolutely could not participate in this exam.

It would be one thing to lose face in the other side of the world, but it would be a much bigger problem if failing the exam caused you to miss the chance to discover Viktor.

So Jess simply picked up the blank exam paper and slammed it onto the examiner's desk.

Before the examiner could even process what was going on, Jess pulled a small, round mechanical object from his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

With a snap, the round object quickly transforms into various commonly used tools in a few seconds. This is a multi-functional transforming tool invented by Jess.

"I can't do this test paper. If you insist on using it as the standard for testing, then you are insulting me!"

Jess tossed out a sentence, turned around and left, seemingly not caring at all whether he could join or not.

The examiner looked at the personnel department staff next to him, unsure of what to say. He also felt that the test was excessively easy.

Let alone researchers in formal research institutions, even college students who haven't graduated yet could probably pass the exam with a 70-80% score.

Meanwhile, Jess's behavior seemed to serve as a reminder to those who were also taking the exam.

Most of the people who come to Stark Group for interviews are at least outstanding graduates from some university, or pillars of some niche industry. It's really beneath them to do this kind of question. These kinds of questions are the kind they used to give to kids in their hobby classes.

A tearing sound filled the examination room.

"Let Tony Stark create the test! We refuse to do this kind of question!"

Once herd behavior takes hold, it spreads instantly, and the entire examination room descends into chaos in a flash.

*Smack!* The examiner slammed his hand on the table, glaring at the people below who were just trying to get by. He knew quite a few of them; they were all in the same industry, and everyone knew each other.

"Show us your independent work!" the examiner said, picking up the multi-tool left behind by Jess. "If anyone can produce work like this, you don't have to take this exam!"

Upon hearing this, most of the observers fell silent. In the short time that followed, the transformation tool had already transformed into more than twenty different specialized tools. Integrating these tools into a small sphere through shared components and mechanical transformation was itself a demonstration of capability.

It's fair to say that Jess's casual remark instantly overwhelmed a large group of people. Anyone confident enough to compete with him in research wouldn't be in this exam room; those people all have dedicated staff to assist them.

After intimidating the examination room, the examiner pulled the head of the personnel department aside and whispered, "You should report this to Miss Pepper immediately and then invite that gentleman back. You don't need to worry about this. I will have them retake the test. If you ask me, this kind of test is completely ineffective in screening. Anyone could get a perfect score!"