I, a ship girl, am the savior of civilization.

"So, Uncle Tony is asking why neural bypass technology is a perfect fit for the needs of your combat armor?"

Although the way Laura was stirring with a straw wasn't particularly mysterious, this spoiler did indeed shock Tony.

“There’s no need to be so surprised.” Laura pointed to Tony’s chest with her straw. “After all, the house was filled with high-energy reactions as soon as we walked in.”

"You're really comfortable letting him wander around with a reactor around like that, Uncle Tony?"

Laura's words made Tony feel a little embarrassed. To be honest, upon careful reflection, the idea of ​​manually building a reactor was indeed somewhat unreliable.

Now, recalling his escape, Tony is always worried that his poorly constructed reactor will fail on the spot.

"Ahem, that was only out of necessity. The safety of the current Ark Reactor is absolutely guaranteed."

Tony chuckled and brushed the matter off lightly, but his expression immediately turned serious: "Since you all know, then I won't hide it from you."

After briefly explaining the Iron Man suit, Tony looked at Laura and asked solemnly, "Neural bypass technology—that's the only difficulty. Your transfer of technology was too abrupt, which makes me suspicious."

"So, this is the purpose of your trip."

Holding the tray of egg tarts, Belfast came to Laura's side and carefully put it down while asking Tony on Laura's behalf.

"Of course not, I was just asking casually."

Tony shook his head. If it were just to verify a vague conjecture, knocking on the door in the middle of the night would be disturbing the peace. "Besides that, I discovered that Stark Industries products are being outsourced."

“You might not believe it, but I was bombed by weapons made in the Middle East. So, I suspect there’s a mole within Stark Industries involved in arms smuggling. Before this, I had already asked Obadiah to help me investigate.”

"As you all know, I don't usually get involved in Stark Industries' affairs, but this time it's happened right on my own head, so I can't just pretend nothing happened."

“You’ve been with Stark Industries for almost seven years. The prosperity of Stark Industries is inseparable from you, and Uncle Obadiah is a founding member who started the company with my father. Apart from Potts, I can only trust you two.”

Laura, Belfast: ...

In some ways, your method of eliminating the mole is quite effective.

In the original storyline, there were reasons why Tony, despite holding the position of the largest shareholder, ultimately lost real power and was ousted from the board of directors.

Even now, Tony is unwilling to doubt Belfast and Obadiah, who have supported Stark Industries for so many years, and instead sets his sights on the next level.

Just as the two were looking at each other, wondering whether to tell Tony the truth, the doorbell rang again at the end of the corridor.

"Anyone else coming to visit today?"

Filled with doubt, Belfast opened the door, and a familiar face appeared before her.

"Natasha, are you here to see Tony?"

Although Belfast knew Natasha was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, her current identity was merely a secretary at Stark Industries. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Belfast still asked this question.

However, Natasha was clearly not visiting as a secretary this time.

“Yes, Miss Belfast, but this time I’m here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D..”

With her objective clear, Natasha went straight to Tony's side and then showed him her S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials: "Hello, Mr. Tony Stark, I am Natasha Romanoff, from the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack and Logistics Agency, which you can refer to as S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Agent? Then you're fired."

Tony's expression darkened as he flipped through the documents. Clearly, having an agent watching him was not a pleasant experience: "I'll find out who authorized your employment when we get back."

“My resume was recommended by Miss Belfast, and the onboarding signature was given by Miss Potts; you don’t need to check. Besides, I am indeed here to resign.”

The two names she threw out immediately shut Tony up. Then, Natasha placed a USB drive in front of Tony: "This contains the information you need, which may be of some help to you."

"Well then, goodbye."

Like delivering a package, Natasha handed Tony the USB drive containing evidence of Obadiah's crimes and then swiftly left Belfast's house.

“Actually, Natasha is right, there is what you need inside.”

Belfast pushed the USB drive toward Tony, her expression somewhat unnatural: "But before you look at it, I suggest you prepare yourself mentally."

Without a word, Belfast pushed Tony out the door, leaving Tony alone, bewildered in the wind.

Wait, about neural bypass surgery...

You haven't answered yet.

44. The plot seems to have gone astray.

Back at the seaside villa, filled with doubts, Tony looked through the criminal evidence that could sentence Obadiah to a life sentence.

Smuggling weapons, leaking military orders, organizing terrorist attacks and hiring hitmen...

For a moment, Tony felt that Obadiah, whom he had known for over twenty years, was a fake.

Recalling Belfast's indescribable expression earlier, Tony couldn't help but have a misunderstanding.

Perhaps Belfast had been aware of Obadiah's problem for a long time, but Obadiah was deeply trusted by Belfast and had more power within Stark Industries than Belfast, which left Belfast helpless.

In Tony's mind, it was likely that S.H.I.E.L.D. proactively contacted Belfast at the press conference, which led Belfast to decide to use the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to gather evidence.

And this might be the reason why Natasha was personally recommended and brought in by Belfast.

However, Tony still found it hard to accept that he had been betrayed.

"Jarvis, get dressed. I'm going to ask Obadiah why he did this."

The MARK II model has been completed and virtual testing has been passed, but it has not been put into practical use, resulting in many problems still existing in the machine.

However, at this point, Obadiah hadn't even obtained any fragments of the original Iron Man suit from the terrorist leader, let alone the Iron Monger armor, he didn't even have a blueprint.

Almost without a doubt, Obadiah was completely outmaneuvered. Given Tony's current situation, it's impossible for him to be killed in return.

"Sir, MARK II has not yet been tested in practice, and the Drift system is only in its initial setup. You have not yet undergone single-person neural adaptation, so we strongly advise against using it..."

"Shut up, Jarvis, get dressed."

Standing on the mechanical platform, Tony spread his arms, waiting for the mechanical arm to attach the parts of the Iron Man suit to his body: "No one knows the MARK armor better than me. I can use the first-generation armor in the Middle East, and I can use the second-generation one now."

"Accept instruction."

Left with no other option, Jarvis had to put the entire Iron Man suit on Tony.

When the last template was completed and the system self-check showed normal feedback, Tony opened the villa's French windows and shot straight into the sky with a long trail of flame.

At the moment Tony took to the sky, Laura, who was not far from the seaside villa, sensed it. This distance was still within Laura's ship spirit detection range.

"So, they're planning to settle scores with Obadiah?"

Although going to bed early and waking up early is good for your health, staying up late for a long time makes you grow taller. Laura never expected that her appearance and Belfast's appearance would cause such a big deviation in the plot.

It's a pity, it seems we won't be able to witness Iron Man and Iron Monger's street brawl.

"Belfa, notify S.H.I.E.L.D. in case they call me again."

After Belfast informed Fury of the identity of the unidentified flying object over New York, Laura also set off, activating a time-space teleportation technique that transported the two of them to Obadiah's home, even faster than Tony.

Out of politeness, Laura even knocked on the door.

"Belfast, and Laura too? What brings you here?"

Obadiah, who opened the door, was completely bewildered, unaware that his omen of death was flashing above his head.

Ah, that's just the reflection from a bald head, it's alright now.

"It's nothing, but someone might come looking for you later. It's going to be quite interesting, so come and check it out."

Belfast led Laura to the sofa in the living room, and before she could finish speaking, a loud crash came from the doorway. Dust billowed up, and the poor door lay at Tony's feet.

Without even considering the meaning of Belfast's words, Obadiah, instinctively sensing something was wrong, pulled out a Colt M1911 from somewhere and aimed it at Tony, who had barged into his house.

"Who are you? Why are you trespassing here? This is a violation of the law."

Tensely aiming his gun at the Iron Man before him, whose body gleamed with the unique sheen of gold-titanium alloy, Obadiah keenly sensed that the newcomer was up to no good.

Nonsense, your front door has been torn down...

"I don't think accidentally damaging my uncle's door should land me in jail."

A familiar voice came, and as the mask was lifted, Tony's face appeared before Obadiah, who immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It's no surprise that Tony was the one who destroyed the house.

Slowly lowering his gun, Obadiah greeted him with feigned enthusiasm: "Oh, it's Tony. I thought someone was trying to harm me."

Obadiah's gaze intensified as he focused on the armor Tony was wearing, lingering particularly long on the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest.

"This is?"

"MARK II armor, my latest masterpiece. But my dear uncle, you don't need to get so close, I'm not gay."

Tony slapped away Obadiah's hand that was reaching out to touch the armor, and the armor on his face suddenly closed: "But do you know why this is the Mark II?"

A bad feeling welled up in his mind, and before Obadiah could answer, Tony answered on his own.

"Because the Mark I has been destroyed, destroyed on its way to escape from the Middle East."

"Now you know why I came here, right?"

In an instant, Obadiah's expression changed drastically; he finally realized where the unease lingering in his heart originated.

Obadiah raised his hand again after just lowering it, but after comparing the difference between the M1911 and the Iron Man suit, a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.

His actions were akin to pointing at an aircraft carrier. Titanium-gold alloy is aerospace and military material; trying to penetrate its defenses with the caliber of this pistol was simply a pipe dream.

However, Obadiah, quick-witted, aimed the gun at Laura, who was standing nearby. At that moment, Laura, with a snack Obadiah had prepared for his guests stuffed in her mouth, was completely unaware of what was happening.

Huh? You guys do your thing, don't bother me while I'm watching the show.

"Now, the situation seems to have reversed."

The gun barrel swung back and forth between Belfast and Laura, and Obadiah revealed the standard villainous smile: "Now, my good nephew, show me your former arrogance."

"Damn it, what are they doing here?"

Tony couldn't understand why Laura and Belfast were at Obadiah's house, but the current situation didn't allow him to think about it too much.

"Sir, the Mark II is still in the testing phase and has not been equipped with any weapons. All you can use right now is the hand-held auxiliary pulse device for balancing flight."

“I know, I know, you’re so smart, Jarvis. Quickly calculate for me what I can do before Obadiah fires.”

Tony yelled in frustration, then began to regret whether his actions had been too rash.

Meanwhile, Laura belatedly realized the current situation.