74 Chapter 71 : Did you upset someone?
"I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires—including occasionally taking out the trash."
~ Pepper Potts, Iron Man
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Jude walked leisurely, savoring his strawberry ice cream, completely unaware. Observing the new Stark energy car parked at the entrance of the Greenfield Internet cafe, he strolled and enjoyed his treat, but the hooded windbreaker he had just purchased was nowhere to be seen.
In Tony's secret base, the self-proclaimed genius playboy was scrutinizing the football in the video, displaying consternation. The message, "A room temperature IQ," a common slang term in the United States to mock someone's low IQ, indicated room temperature as the highest possible IQ—only a few dozen degrees.
Tony slammed his fist on the experiment platform once more, feeling humiliated and led astray. He realized he was played and manipulated like a dog on a leash.
"Jarvis, retrieve the complete surveillance video. I need to see how he entered and left this room. I must find him!" Tony demanded.
The blue phantom of Jarvis flashed, but the screen remained black. "Sir, all previous surveillance videos have been deleted. I attempted to restore them, but I was unsuccessful."
"Fuck!" Tony yelled in frustration, comprehending that he had been thoroughly fooled. The adversary was toying with him intentionally.
"Sir, do you wish to continue tracking the whereabouts of the 10 billion dollars?" Jarvis inquired.
Tony's eyes lit up; there was still a lead to follow. Although the individual who hacked into his system and the Swiss bank account couldn't be traced, the fund flow implicated 1 million accounts. There had to be some clues.
"Continue tracking the remaining 1 million accounts," Tony ordered.
In a matter of seconds, Jarvis displayed the details of the million accounts. However, Tony realized he couldn't proceed further without breaking ethical boundaries.
"Jarvis, can you delve deeper into the information behind these 1 million accounts?"
This time, Jarvis refused, "Sir, based on the agreement, we cannot breach the network. Violating these rules may lead to detection in less than a minute."
Without hesitation, Tony nodded, "Log out and erase all traces."
While Tony felt compelled to act, he also recognized that provoking an international dispute with a powerful nation could have severe consequences.
Frustrated with broken leads, Tony suggested a more straightforward approach, "Scan the appearance of the man with the hood and compare it with everyone in the United States. Sometimes the direct way may be the best way."
As the analysis progressed, the doorbell rang, and Happy, one of the few individuals aware of Tony's secret base, entered.
"How's the investigation going?" Tony asked, hoping for some progress.
Harpy shook his head, "Sorry, boss, no one recognizes him. That guy is like any ordinary passerby. No one paid attention, even if they saw him."
Tony sank into his chair, feeling disheartened. Happy, sensing his boss's distress, offered his support, "Boss, whatever happened, talk to me. I'm here to help."
Tony, deeply affected, needed to share his burden. Happy was someone he trusted, so he disclosed the matter. Hapi listened, realizing the gravity of the situation. Losing the design drawing of the steel armor was a significant blow.
"Maybe I should seek the help of those who practice magic. Hypnosis might help retrieve memories buried deep in people's minds; meeting even once could leave an impression," Tony contemplated aloud.
Happy, understanding Tony's despair, also felt despondent. He knew how proud and self-reliant his boss was. If Tony was contemplating such a course of action, it meant he was running out of options.
Reflecting on the events, Happy noticed a peculiar detail, "Boss, I have an idea."
"What is it?" Tony looked up weakly.
"Perhaps this isn't the work of some evil organization," Hapi suggested.
Tony, intrigued, asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Think about it in reverse. If I were the boss of an evil organization, I'd steal the armor design but avoid touching the 10 billion dollars; it's too risky. Alternatively, if I could take away 100 billion without being detected, why settle for only 10 billion? It doesn't add up."
Tony, who had been angry, had assumed an organization manipulated the situation. Happy's insight prompted him to recognize the anomaly.
"Explain, Happy. What's your theory?"
"Personal vendetta. I think this is a purely personal act. Did you upset someone? This might be revenge."
Tony furrowed his brow suddenly. Logically, he couldn't fathom provoking someone to this extent; he didn't even remember half the people he encountered.
"Wow, this is like finding a needle in a haystack."
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