บท 186: If the Merchant of Death Loves His Job
"Mr. Stark, were you injured in the attack?"
"No, but my drink spilled. It was a 26-year-old Macallan, so I'd say that qualifies as a war crime."
"Hello, I'm Harry Whittington from The British Post. What did you learn from your experience in Afghanistan?"
"Of course—don't go on vacation to places without a Four Seasons Hotel."
"Mr. Stark, has this experience changed you in any way?"
"Well... seeing young Americans die from the weapons we made—I realized I need to do better for them. Bigger, badder, stronger! So, I'm appointing Lieutenant Eric Steven as Stark Industries' new Chief of Industrial Operations. And I promise, in the next year, we'll double our current military weapons production capacity!"
TN:For those who don't know who Eric Steven is this is Killmonger
A genius, millionaire, and CEO of Stark Industries survives an attack by terrorists, rescued by a U.S. Marine lieutenant, only to announce an increase in production and continued support for war efforts right after.
The stock market went wild—no company has ever seen such a spike.
Sitting in front of his computer, Leo frowned—this was the biggest sign of war yet. This "superhero's" trajectory had changed slightly; now, he was on track to become the "national hero."
In the original timeline, Tony Stark might have been arrogant and reckless, but he was a self-destructive arms dealer who eventually stopped. Here, that's no longer the case.
If the Afghanistan war continues, things will get much more complicated.
Then, an even more dramatic moment occurred during the press conference:
On TV, a blonde reporter raised her hand to ask Lieutenant Steven a question: "Lieutenant! Lieutenant! I'm Christine Everhart. Why were you in Afghanistan's Kunar Province?"
Tony casually responded, "To rescue me, of course. That's already been stated."
"There's something strange," the reporter said, glancing at her notes. "On the day of the raid, your unit was supposed to be stationed 400 kilometers away."
"If you're implying that he knew about the attack beforehand…"
"She's right," Lieutenant Steven interrupted.
He was a typical African-American soldier with tightly braided hair and the steely demeanor of an elite officer—quiet and resolute.
Steven explained, "During my undercover operation within the terrorist group, I uncovered the assassination plot against Tony Stark."
"Oh wow!" Tony's colleague, Obadiah Stane, immediately tried to deflect. "Let's move on from that question…"
"She's right, isn't she?" Steven narrowed his eyes at the bald man, "Because the one funding the assassination was none other than Obadiah Stane, the COO of Stark Industries."
Obadiah tried to deny it.
But Steven pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Instantly, all the evidence appeared on the big screen: wire transfers, bank records, call logs—everything.
"…You can look it up online. I've uploaded it all."
It was an incredibly bold move. Leo quickly searched online, and sure enough, the information was readily available.
The press conference concluded with Obadiah being arrested, but the social ripple effect was immense.
Back in the Hammond Laboratory office, Leo massaged his temples. The repercussions of this event were far-reaching.
It's not immediately obvious, but by the time the public realizes the significance, it'll be too late.
Martin, organizing his thoughts, said, "Military stocks are skyrocketing—not just Stark Industries, but every company involved in the defense sector."
"…Do you want us to get involved?"
Artificial blood is a medical product, mainly for civilian use, but it could be used by the military as well.
"It's good for business."
"For the short term. But if the world falls apart, we won't be able to protect anything."
In a deteriorating situation, both sides of the conflict will strip away the masks of civility.
Violence is the lowest form of power—combatants risk everything to shatter opposing power structures and assimilate them. When social order is broken down piece by piece, they become gamblers, willing to bet everything around them to win.
How can an organization without an army protect its production assets?
Outside the office window, leaves swayed gently in the breeze.
Did Martin not understand?
Oh, he understood all too well. But, in truth, all he wanted was to crush the Osborne Group; everything else mattered less to him.
Still, he hesitated—not because Leo had convinced him with a few words.
He hesitated because he had been observing Leo. When they first met, Martin had curiously used his negative energy to feel out Leo's negativity.
What he sensed was an indescribable soul—one made up of pain, rage, coldness… a monster composed of all sorts of emotions.
Each time Martin killed someone or transformed them into pure evil by unleashing their negative emotions, he accumulated a certain amount of negativity himself.
If he used this standard to measure, Leo's negativity would suggest he had deliberately killed millions to reach that level of emotional intensity.
What had he done? Set off a nuclear bomb in his dreams while lying in the hospital? And then taken it seriously when he woke up?
No matter what, Martin didn't want to let loose someone with this level of insanity—he had a gut feeling that Leo truly had such power.
And evil or good, theoretically, doesn't require two sets of memories. Martin himself was both the charitable philanthropist and the criminal kingpin known as "Mr. Negative." He was sincere in both his good and bad deeds.
If someone as mentally unstable as Leo found the prospect of a world falling apart terrifying, maybe Martin should take it seriously too.
Leo didn't know what Martin was thinking as he tapped his fingers on the desk. "We'll stick to the civilian market for now, and we need to promote anti-war efforts. It's no surprise that Stark Industries is taking a pro-war stance, but if a healthcare company like ours gets involved, things will spiral out of control."
"Civilian industries naturally don't support war. We could partner with hospitals, schools—industries that are inherently distant from warfare. Then, we can target construction workers, truck drivers—workers who have a lot of sway—and try to prevent Congress and the Pentagon from starting wars at will."
"So, all in all, we're anti-war? Though from a business perspective, people might think we'd benefit from more casualties. I'm kidding, of course."
That wasn't a joke.
Leo thought back to the biotech companies in the Cyberpunk world—they were willing to release viruses into the population just to offload soon-to-expire medicine and vaccines.
Even though things hadn't reached that point in this world yet, during health crises, pharmaceutical companies were known to make false claims and take advantage of the situation—worse things weren't out of the question either.
Leo spoke slowly, "Sure, there are companies like that, but we're not one of them. We'll use legitimate means to crush those bad actors. You can trust Professor Connors and me on that."
Martin paused before saying, "Osborne Group is one of those bad actors—do you trust me?"
"Between the two of us—I tend to trust you.
By the way, I'm planning to visit the NYPD to check on Peter's progress. Want to come along?"
Meanwhile, at a forgotten, abandoned military bunker on the U.S. East Coast, the screens of a room full of computers flickered.
"Lieutenant Steven's mission was successful, but inform him that his priority level has been downgraded."
"There's a company in New York, Bloom Corp., whose threat level is rising—they plan to implement a computer system very similar to the Insight Algorithm."
"The company's founder is named Leo Lee. Increase surveillance on him."
"He also has another company, the International Gene Cooperation Company, which is currently involved in a dispute. You could exploit that angle."
"…Yes, their threat level is rising rapidly. Tony Stark and his AI have already been locked in an information cocoon. The mission is being executed strictly according to protocol. There will be no problems."
"You have my word—everything is under control."
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