"I'll repeat myself, I'm a doctor, not God." Strange stood in front of Obadiah's hospital bed and said, "He's the first patient I've ever seen to be readmitted to the hospital in less than a week after discharge. At this rate, not even a newly developed drug or God himself could save him."
Standing on the other side of the bed, Stark deeply sighed. Shiller next to him asked, "I'm certain his physical indicators were completely normal before he was discharged, even exceeding that of an average person. Just how did you manage to upset him so much within a week that his high blood pressure flared up and he's back in the hospital?"
Stark defended himself grudgingly, "I didn't do anything. It's just that after he was discharged, he saw the recent financial reports of the Stark Group and the contract of the Stark-Osborn United Pharmaceutical Group, and this happened…"
The cause of all this was that Obadiah awoke from his last treatment session. As expected by Connors and Shiller, the stimulant extracted from the fear gas to activate the brain, combined with the cure potion from the lizard serum, not only revived Obadiah but also enhanced his physical fitness.
After a little rest, Obadiah returned to work. Yes, the first thing he did after waking up wasn't to have a heart-to-heart conversation with Stark. Stark watched in astonishment as Obadiah bypassed him and bolted towards his beloved company.
Apparently, in Obadiah's view, Stark Industries was more important than Stark himself.
Although Obadiah had tried to prepare himself mentally as much as possible before returning to the company, the situation of the company still made him see stars.
There was nothing wrong with Stark Industries' original industries. Although Pepper had a long adjustment period when she took over, causing some initial chaos, she did a satisfactory job in the end. Although the profits weren't as high as when Obadiah was there, he reluctantly accepted the result.
What truly upset Obadiah was the recent new business, namely Stark-Osborn Pharmaceutical Consortium and the Immortal Factor Foundation.
To put it bluntly, the entire Stark Group was built by Obadiah. Without Obadiah, Howard's ingenious ideas would forever remain just that, unable to translate into actual profits. Nobody could compare to Obadiah's business acumen.
Just when he returned to the company, he heard about the Immortal Factor industry and was initially thrilled by the ingenious idea. But when he saw the contracts between Stark, the Osborn Group, and the Immortal Factor Foundation, his high blood pressure spiked again and he was back in the hospital.
The phrase "bleeding heart" couldn't accurately describe Obadiah's feelings. Now, besides blood, there was nothing left in his heart; he was close to having a brain hemorrhage.
Stark believed the terms he negotiated were reasonable, but in the eyes of a businessman like Osborn, Stark might as well have been a prodigal son lavishly spending his parents' assets. Why was he splitting profits with the Osborn Group? Should they not be paying him? He even gave up a full 3% of profits just for the company name's order! What a spendthrift!
Obadiah was fuming. Not even the phrase "to reproach someone for not making the most of his abilities due to lack of effort" could describe his feelings. He wished he could dig up Howard's grave and show him how much of a spendthrift his son was.
Stark felt wronged; from an objective point of view, he truly had done his best.
Stark sighed, "Pepper and I thought we were doing well, but the result..."
"You might not be unintelligent, just not greedy enough." Shiller finally concluded.
Stark spread his hands and said, "Whatever. At least I don't have to worry about those annoying things anymore and can return to my happy life."
Shiller shook his head, "I'm afraid you're celebrating too soon."
"Do you know what the military is up to recently?"
"The military's movements, oh..." Stark said, "Let me guess, they must have a bunch of questions waiting for me. Maybe they even want to hold some kind of hearing, then ask me to hand over the technology of transforming into a Cosmic Sorcerer and conjuring up a mechanical army out of thin air..."
"Nick won't let them do that." Shiller directly informed Stark, "He has even prepared the speech to criticize the military."
Shiller was right; at this moment, Nick was confronting the military.
Currently, Stark's attitude leaned more towards S.H.I.E.L.D. They had shared interests in the Immortal Factor and Cosmic Sorcerer field. They cooperated happily, and both parties didn't want a spoiler in the middle. Stark would definitely not fully cooperate with the military, but even if a small chunk was taken away, Nick would still be fiercely distressed.
Human traits are hard to change. If Stark was still just a scientist who had mastered Mecha Technology like in the movies, he might also be condescendingly lured by the military, just like in the movies.
But now, he was way beyond that. The emergence of the Iron Demon God had the military and the UN Security Council even considering living on another planet. The wandering Earth plan was already on their lips. If Stark didn't disappear suddenly after transforming into a Demon God, everything would've been chaotic by now.