American comic book: I, with my abundant martial virtue, love to do good to others.

Lynn Hall was waiting for James Duke to reveal his identity so he could "coerce" him into joining Hydra.

After all, whether it was killing Kevin Roberts or joining the Brotherhood, he was given that exquisite brooch representing Hydra.

Or this incident involving the "corrosion" of the vampire family's black card, it's enough to prove that I've already fallen into Hydra's trap.

But James Duke simply refused to reveal his identity.

And they even pretended to be very troubled, spouting nonsense like there was a large number of "Ha Ghost Clan" members in the upper echelons of the government who wanted to prolong their lives.

Ha, when did the FBI need to give face to high-ranking government officials? You know, the FBI belongs to the Department of Justice, and over the years they've investigated and arrested countless high-ranking government and military officials, so this is utter nonsense!

If Lynn Hall possessed the ability to read minds, he could know exactly what James Duke was thinking.

Then he would definitely tell Duke that he was his most loyal henchman and that he wasn't as righteous as they thought!

Unfortunately, Lynn didn't have the ability to read minds, so she could only leave with the black card.

Back in his office, Lynn checked the account on his laptop and discovered that the black card contained a whopping ten million US dollars.

This amount of money is nothing to a long-established vampire family.

But for Lynn Hall, it was a huge windfall.

He had originally planned to wait until Stark Industries' stock price soared before buying the large penthouse he had longed for in Central Park.

I never expected the plan to come to fruition ahead of schedule!

Thank you, Hydra!

At the same time, in Tony Stark's oceanfront villa on Malibu Beach!

"Tony, I don't understand what you've been doing all this time!"

Looking at Tony Stark, who was drinking dark green vegetable juice, Pepper said while holding the documents, "Although Stark Industries' stock price has gradually stabilized recently, it has still fallen by a full 73% compared to before."

"During this time, Mr. Obadiah Stein worked hard to persuade the board members to be patient with you."

"But the criticism from the outside world regarding Stark Industries, especially your decision to permanently close the weapons manufacturing division, has not diminished!"

At this point, Pepper placed the document in front of Tony Stark.

"Tony, if you can't come up with the corresponding..."

"Pepper, are the weapons I create truly righteous, meant to protect our country, to protect innocent civilians, and to maintain world peace?"

Before Pepper could finish speaking, Tony Stark interrupted.

"Isn't that right?"

Pepper was momentarily taken aback by Tony's sudden question.

However, considering Tony's previous experiences, Pepper's tone softened: "Tony, I know you suffered a lot of inhuman torture during your time in the Middle East."

"But Stark Industries..."

"Pepper, do you know how many innocent civilians have died by the weapons I developed?"

Looking at Pepper, Tony Stark's expression was unusually serious: "Honestly, I don't know, because nobody has ever counted it, but I know for sure that the number is much higher than I imagine."

"And they weren't as lucky as me. Even if they survived by sheer luck, they were able to build an arc reactor to prevent shrapnel from flowing into their hearts through their blood vessels."

"Tony..."

"I always thought everything I did was just, but now it seems that's not the case!"

Pick up the remote and turn on the TV.

The television screen at this moment shows Middle Eastern people who have been driven out of their villages by armed forces and are now displaced.

"I don't know how many Stark Industries-made weapons have ended up in the hands of these armed groups over the years."

"But I know that every bullet and every bomb that Stark Industries sends into the Middle East is an accomplice to those armed groups!"

Hearing Tony say this, Pepper was silent for a moment: "Tony, this is not your fault."

"Of course, this is certainly not my fault."

Tony Stark shrugged at Pepper and continued, "But I developed those weapons!"

As Tony's personal assistant and secretary, Pepper knew very well that Tony Stark had gone down a dead end.

The more you tell him that this is not his responsibility, the more he will believe that he developed these weapons and therefore he is one of the culprits who caused all of this.

Thinking of this, Pepper suddenly laughed and said, "What do you think of the cover girl in the latest entertainment magazine?"

"Perhaps I can help you throw a party and then invite her in your name..."

"Compared to being a cover girl, Pepper, I want to do two things more right now!"

"What is it?"

Upon hearing Tony Stark say this, Pepper asked curiously.

"First, I want to eat two cheeseburgers now."

"Of course!"

"Secondly, I want to know how Stark Industries' weapons ended up in the Middle East, and given that I was attacked and kidnapped there, things are definitely not that simple!"

"There's nothing I can do about that!"

Looking at Tony Pepper, he said, "Do you need me to hire some private investigators to investigate for you?"

"Private investigators? Pepper, I don't think they can find out anything!"

As he spoke, Tony Stark pulled out his phone: "Remember the FBI agent who rescued me from the Middle East?"

"Mr. Lynn Hall?"

"That's right!"

Tony took out his phone, found Lynn Hall's number, and looked at Pepper, saying, "If he's willing to accept my employment request, I believe he's absolutely capable of finding out the truth about this!"

Are you sure he'll be willing to help?

"I am truly grateful to him from the bottom of my heart."

"So, you really approve of him, but it's nowhere near the level of your relationship with Rhodes, right?"

"You can't say that... I think... anyway, I'm planning to invite him over for a meal!"

As the person who knows Tony best, Pepper knows very well how difficult it is for Tony to truly consider someone a friend from the bottom of his heart.

So after standing up from the sofa, Pepper looked at Tony and said, "Since you're inviting Mr. Hall to dinner, and you need his help..."

"If the table only has two cheeseburgers, that would be very impolite. I'll go arrange dinner right away."

"Oh, by the way, I remember you have a few bottles of 20-year-old red wine in your wine cellar, right?"

"Pepper, that was a few years ago..."

Halfway through his sentence, seeing Pepper's expression, Tony Stark shrugged and said, "You know, having dinner with a genius like me is something many people would kill for."

Seeing Tony's arrogant demeanor, Pepper felt somewhat helpless and then turned to leave!