On the video call, Lex Luthor looked mildly surprised.
"Lucas, could you repeat that?"
"Tony Stark has gone missing in Afghanistan," Lucas replied calmly.
Luthor narrowed his eyes.
"So you want me to help spread this information—to hit Stark Industries' stock price so you can short it?"
Lucas answered without hesitation, "Exactly."
After a brief pause, Luthor said,
"If my judgment is correct, this information came from S.H.I.E.L.D."
"And you intend to seize this opportunity to short Stark Industries, correct?"
"Judging by the scale, your short position should be somewhere between ten and twelve billion dollars, am I right?"
Hearing this, Lucas could not help but marvel inwardly.
As expected of the bald genius who represented DC's peak intellect—his deductive ability was terrifying.
"You really are something, Luthor. You're absolutely right."
Lucas shrugged. The situation was obvious enough.
Then he added,
"Though, if I know you, your contacts in the military have already informed you as well."
"And judging by your style, you've probably already assembled a team for this, haven't you?"
Luthor laughed and applauded lightly.
"As expected of the man I chose. In that case, would I have the honor of inviting Mr. Lucas Reed to cooperate with me?"
Lucas went straight to the point.
"Then tell me first—how much capital have you prepared?"
"Twenty billion dollars," Luthor replied, raising two fingers.
"That puts us at nearly thirty billion combined," Lucas said, frowning slightly.
"Are you sure Stark Industries can withstand that?"
Luthor poured himself a glass of red wine, swirling it leisurely.
"Relax. Any corporation that reaches this level has powerful backers behind it."
"Unless those people decide to abandon Stark Industries entirely, they won't just sit by if we hit too hard."
Lucas knew perfectly well that swallowing Stark Industries whole was impossible.
After all, he had no personal vendetta against Tony Stark.
More importantly, Stark Industries was a sheep that could be sheared more than once.
"In that case, my broker will contact your side," Lucas said.
"Looking forward to working together."
"Likewise, Lucas."
After ending the call, Lucas began thinking seriously about when to rescue Tony Stark.
If he intervened too early, Tony would never complete the Mark armor—and his personality might not change much at all.
If he waited too long, however, this was no longer the original cinematic universe. One misstep, and Tony might actually die.
Lucas vaguely remembered reading an alternate Iron Man comic before his transmigration.
In that version, the Mark armor was completed but too crude. It exploded mid-flight, leaving Tony crippled.
His already fragile psyche shattered completely, and he eventually became Ultron himself.
After a moment of consideration, Lucas printed out Tony Stark's photograph and walked straight over to Sersi.
After explaining the situation, Sersi agreed to help.
The plan was simple: Makkari would use her super-speed to search the desert and pinpoint Tony's exact location.
After that, it would be time to rely on technology.
---
Half an hour later.
A helicopter hovered above Lucas's house, dropped a black case via air-drop, and immediately departed.
Lucas stepped forward, picked up the case, and opened it.
Inside was a set of the most advanced tracking and surveillance equipment available.
"As expected of LexCorp," Lucas remarked.
"This level of technology is not inferior to Stark's at all."
That was right—the equipment had been provided by Luthor himself.
Though Luthor was undoubtedly curious, he hadn't asked a single question.
As for whether Luthor would also monitor the situation, Lucas didn't care.
Luthor wouldn't dare kill Tony in front of him—and wouldn't want to anyway.
That would break the rules of the game.
Lucas brought the case inside and handed it to Makkari, instructing her to follow the included training video.
Once she finished learning, she wasted no time and immediately departed with the equipment.
---
The very next day, Makkari returned.
Lucas connected to the live feed at once.
Sure enough, the video clearly showed Tony's current environment.
Tony had an electromagnetic ring embedded in his chest and was in the middle of constructing something.
"So he's already working on the Mark armor," Lucas murmured.
Seeing this, he immediately understood what stage Tony was at.
"Why not just rescue him directly?" Sersi asked suddenly.
"With Makkari's speed, she could easily bring him back to America."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Some people won't grow unless they experience hardship."
"They live in comfort for too long and start believing the world revolves around them."
"Look at him—he's already an adult. Without this experience, he'd probably still be throwing tantrums like a spoiled child."
Sersi nodded in agreement.
"You're right. I've seen him many times in newspapers and on television."
"Every press conference—so arrogant, so untouchable, as if he alone defined the world."
She then smiled and looked at Phastos.
"If Phastos were willing, even Tony and his father together wouldn't amount to half of him."
"High praise," Phastos replied with a small smile, making no effort to be modest.
Lucas silently agreed.
If Tony's protagonist halo were removed, Phastos really could contend with both Stark father and son combined.
After all, Phastos had designed a steam engine single-handedly, during humanity's early agrarian era—without any technological foundation whatsoever.
Of course, that comparison applied only to early-stage Tony.
As for how far Phastos' current research capabilities had advanced, even Lucas couldn't be certain.
"Human technology is still far too primitive," Phastos said with a sigh.
"In the universe, it barely ranks above the lowest tier."
"I once wanted to accelerate humanity's technological progress, but Ajak advised caution."
"She believed progress had to be gradual, or human society would collapse."
Sersi shook her head.
"Ajak was right."
"How many wars have humans already fought?"
"How many lives have been lost to weapons they themselves created?"
Phastos frowned.
"But for any intelligent civilization that chooses to advance, this is an unavoidable trial."
Sersi sighed softly.
"Without sufficient time to develop their spiritual and moral foundations…"
"Then one day, everything truly could descend into total annihilation."
"And we would become the greatest accomplices in humanity's extinction."
__
T/N:
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