Capítulo 77: A Cat
Moreover, his vision was short-sighted. To control Stark Industries, he actually wanted to get rid of Tony. Even a fool knew that Tony Stark, although erratic, was the soul of Stark Industries. Without him, Stark Industries would definitely decline into a second-rate company.
However, it was different for Pepper Potts. Honestly, Zane admired this woman. Although she looked a bit ugly, she possessed almost all the virtues of a woman: gentleness, intelligence, tolerance, loyalty, and so on. Tony, that playboy, was truly fortunate to have such a deeply loving woman.
Stane, who was a seasoned professional in the workplace, still maintained a deep city house. Although he was ignored by Zane, he didn't show any signs of displeasure. He still wore a warm fake smile on his face and followed Pepper into the house.
"Mr. Zane, although I know you've just experienced a life-threatening situation, it's really inappropriate for us to come and disturb you like this. But I'm really anxious. I... Stark Industries can't do without Tony. As long as you have any information about Tony, I can agree to any conditions," Pepper said anxiously.
"Is it that you can't do without Tony, or Stark Industries can't do without him?" Zane couldn't help but tease.
Before Pepper could explain, Lorna hit Zane.
"Zane, don't tease. Look at how anxious she is. You're making jokes."
At this moment, she and Pepper were on the same side because Lorna empathized with her current state. Previously, whenever Zane disappeared, she would be extremely anxious and restless at home, hoping that Zane would return safely by her side at any moment.
"Uh..." Zane awkwardly touched his nose.
"Miss Pepper, you don't have to worry. I promise that Tony will return to you safely after a while," Zane said seriously.
"Do you know where he is now?" Pepper asked.
After hearing her question, a hint of panic flashed in Stane's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. If it weren't for Zane's sharp eyes, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. Suddenly, a mischievous smile appeared on Zane's lips.
"I do know."
"Where?" Pepper suddenly stood up, looking at Zane expectantly, while Stane, who had been silent and acting as a background wall, suddenly tensed up, afraid of the worst outcome Zane might reveal.
"I can confirm that Tony is still in Afghanistan, and he's been kidnapped by a terrorist organization. I believe with his intelligence, he'll be able to send a distress signal to you or escape on his own. So, Miss Pepper, you don't have to worry too much," Zane said.
After hearing these words, Stane's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and a smug smile unconsciously appeared on his face. His back was already covered in cold sweat, and Pepper seemed even more lost, but she still managed to force a smile.
"Well, then, sorry for the disturbance, Mr. Zane. We'll take our leave now," Pepper said.
After saying this, she left with Stane. Before leaving, Zane exchanged a meaningful glance at Stane and showed a smirk that hinted at something unexpected. This made Stane nervous again, and even his usually composed steps became a bit messy.
When there were only Zane and Lorna left in the villa, Zane grinned mischievously at Lorna and said, "Alright, you little troublemaker, daring to go against your boyfriend like that."
"What can you do to me!" Lorna glanced nervously at Zane, but she couldn't lose her momentum and retorted firmly.
"What can I do? Domestic punishment awaits!"
Saying that, Zane, with a sinister smile, walked step by step toward Lorna.
"Don't come over here, I'm super fierce, I'll bite you!"
"Woof woof... Not here, let's go to the bedroom."
Tonight, Zane was going to use domestic punishment to make Lorna 'deeply' understand her mistake, and no amount of begging would help!
In a corner of Afghanistan, Tony Stark remained unconscious for three days before finally waking up. Just as he understood his situation, he was locked in an extremely crude laboratory by a minor leader of the Ten Rings, who demanded that Tony create a Jericho missile for him.
Tony couldn't help but think that these people were lacking in intelligence and probably hadn't even attended school. How could such a rudimentary laboratory, equipped with only a few welding machines and hammers, possibly produce a missile as complex as the Jericho, with internal structures almost as precise as molecular structures? Even if they could produce it, how much could Tony achieve alone?
These terrorists must have planned his kidnapping in advance. Since they knew his identity, wouldn't it have been easier to extort Stark Industries directly?
With his explosively high IQ, Tony immediately reached a conclusion about his current predicament: there was a mole in his company, and it was definitely someone very close to him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have such accurate knowledge of his schedule.
As for whether Zane was behind this, Tony never even considered the idea. If it were Zane, would he have warned him in advance?
"I hope it's not you..." Tony thought of a person but found it hard to believe.
Tony speculated that the initial goal of this mole must have been to have these terrorists kill him. It was just that these terrorists, upon witnessing the power of the Jericho missile during his arms demonstration, came up with the idiotic idea of forcing him to create a Jericho missile with just a few hammers.
But thinking about all this now was pointless. The most crucial thing was how to escape. Tony wasn't naive enough to believe that these terrorists would release him after he helped them create a Jericho missile.
"The prerequisite for everything is to stay alive. First, I need to get rid of this damn car battery," Tony muttered, looking down at the battery connected to his life.
Then, just like in the original story, Tony used the crude equipment in the lab to create a miniature arc reactor, replacing the damned car battery in his chest.
The azure glow of the reactor seemed to illuminate his hope. Tony had already thought of a way to escape. Just then, he sensed that there was an extra person in the lab, and they were curiously staring at the reactor in his chest, just like the feeling he had before in the jeep. This was definitely not an illusion.
"Who's there?" Tony shouted, scanning every corner of the lab, only to find no one but Dr. Yinsen, who had operated on him.
The next moment, a black cat materialized from nothingness onto the table in Tony's view. It was none other than Bastis.
"Human, you're quite impressive to have noticed my presence," Bastis nonchalantly said as she licked her paw.
Both Tony and Dr. Yinsen recoiled several steps, moving away from Bastis as if they had seen a monster.
"A... a cat... talking!" Dr. Yinsen stuttered, trembling.
"I'm a panther, a panther!"
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