Chapter 301: Cannon Event

At the same time, the news of Tony's vehicle being attacked reached Stark Industries.

This news nearly took Pepper's breath away, as she had just attended Jack's wedding and barely had time to catch her breath.

She immediately contacted the military to ask about Tony's situation.

"Rhodes, how is Tony?! Have you found him?"

She first contacted Tony's close friend and also a military personnel, James Rhodes, who was present during the weapons demonstration.

There was a lot of noise on the phone because Tony had gone missing, and the whole Air Force base was in a panic.

Fighter jets took off one by one, and helicopters were sent to do a full search around the site of the attack.

After a while, Rhodes seemed to have found a quiet place to talk on the phone.

"Listen, Pepper, I can't reveal too much, and I don't know much either. All we can suspect is that Tony is still alive."

"Suspect?!"

"Yes, don't get too worked up. Listen to me; they didn't find Tony's body at the attack scene, so whoever took him away won't kill him. After all, having Tony Stark alive brings more benefits."

Rhodes was obviously busy, and after a brief explanation, he hung up the phone.

Pepper then called Tony's bodyguard and driver, Happy Hogan, hoping to gather more information.

However, he had no useful news either. Tony had left him at the Air Force base from the beginning, and now he was even detained in his room and not allowed to leave.

Happy didn't give Pepper any useful information, so she talked to other people, but their answers were all the same as Rhodes'.

Pepper walked back and forth in her office, her face full of stress because she couldn't hold in her worry. She began to regret urging Tony to go to Afghanistan today.

Knock, knock, knock!

When there was a knocking sound, Pepper's secretary quickly pushed open the door and peered inside.

"Miss Potts, I'm sorry to disturb you, but the board of directors is holding a board meeting, and they are waiting for you."

Pepper was annoyed at first by the interruption, and his face furrowed again when the board meeting was mentioned.

"Who called for the meeting?"

There are also military personnel present, and several board members called it

"The military?!"

Pepper grew even more puzzled.

While she could understand the board meeting being called, she couldn't understand why military personnel would be involved.

Pepper chose to go to the meeting room even though she didn't know what was going on.

As soon as she entered the meeting room, Pepper sensed an unusual atmosphere. She had been the CEO for several years and had developed a sense of alertness.

She quickly looked around the room and saw that the main board members were having quiet conversations. There was also a military colonel who she had never seen before.

But the military people sat in a corner, far away from the board.

Pepper recovered herself, walked to her place, and tapped the table to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, may I ask the purpose of this meeting?"

She didn't waste any time. Everyone on the board knew that Tony had gone missing, but instead of talking about how to find him, they called a board meeting.

This meeting was anything but ordinary.

The board members exchanged glances, and one of them, an old man with a thick mustache, spoke up.

"We received news that Tony Stark has gone missing, right?"

"The military is still searching, and we believe there will be good news soon."

"Or it could be bad news."

Another board member, with a strong Mexican accent, sounded in,

"You expect those savages to show mercy? It's better to rely on God."

"And the news of Tony Stark's disappearance will spread quickly. At that point, whether he is alive or not won't matter. The stock price will definitely plummet, maybe even hit the limit."

"What are you trying to say? Stark Industries is facing its biggest crisis since its establishment!"

The other board members nodded in agreement. Stark Industries had faced numerous crises before, with the deaths of Howard Stark and his wife being the biggest one until now.

But at least Tony was alive during that time, and as the only member of the Stark family, he could take over the mess.

But this time, there was no second Stark to stabilize the situation.

Of course, there could be another reason.

"So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Pepper's face turned grave and somewhat dissatisfied. She already had an idea of who would replace her in this meeting.

At this moment, the conference room door was pushed open, and Pepper knew without looking who had arrived.

"Ah, Pepper, it's been a long time. You're still as beautiful as ever."

Obadiah, who had been missing for several years, stood once again in the Stark Industries conference room.

He walked into the room quietly with his hands in his pockets and a confident look of victory on his face. He was wearing a nice suit.

Pepper glanced at the board members again, and her gaze briefly paused on the military personnel, who had remained silent the whole time.

As soon as Obadiah walked in, he stood up to show that he was waiting for him.

She knew she had lost.

Pepper stood up directly, not even giving a glance to the smug Obadiah, and left the conference room with a dark and silent expression.

Obadiah paid no attention to her, waving his hand to have the conference room door closed. He then sat back in his exclusive seat, which he had been away from for several years.

"It feels good to be back."

He looked at the people in the conference room with a nostalgic expression, sighing.

"Well, let's discuss how we can minimize the impact of Tony's... disappearance."

"For that, we'll need the help of our friends!"

He looked over at the colonel in the corner of the meeting table. The two of them smiled at each other and looked like they had everything under control.

...

Tony was missing.

Jack learned about this news the next day.

Looking at the newspaper he had just brought from the doorstep, Jack sighed softly as he sipped his hot milk.

"I couldn't avoid it after all."

He thought to himself that Tony was really unlucky. Despite Jack's changes, Tony could still be attacked and kidnapped. It could only be said that it was his cannon event to face this tragedy.

"Hmm?"

But he quickly noticed another piece of news.

"The military and Stark Industries have reached a new arms deal?"

Jack was curious and continued reading.

It turned out that shortly after the news of Tony Stark's attack spread, Obadiah Stane, the newly appointed CEO of Stark Industries, had returned.

And as soon as he returned, he signed a $5 billion arms acquisition contract with the military.

The declining stock prices brought about by Tony's disappearance received a boost from this.

Also, with Obadiah's return, it reminded many people of how he had supported Stark Industries after the deaths of Howard Stark and his wife.

So, even though Stark Industries' stock had gone down a bit, it was still in an acceptable range overall.

"Heh, it's getting more and more interesting."

With a sneer, Jack put down the newspaper and turned to walk into the cabin.

He didn't need to worry about Stark Industries or Tony's situation. After all, he was currently at sea and had other matters to attend to.

...

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