Marvel: Killing Makes You Stronger

Chapter 253: “The Mandarin”

"How does this concern us?"

Tony was straightforward. He had no interest in the military's affairs. Frankly, he didn't have the power to change things. Otherwise, he would prefer not to see the military causing chaos in the Middle East.

How many innocent people die in wars each year? Was Tony unaware?

As the world's largest arms dealer, he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this chain of interests. War often brought enormous profits and opportunities, and weapons were always in demand.

If the military wanted to start a war, they had to place large orders with his arms company each year.

This was money, and one of the foundations of his affluent life.

He understood this and knew he couldn't change it. His influence, no matter how great, couldn't compel the military to withdraw from the Middle East, as this huge profit didn't just concern the military but also high-ranking government officials and various interest groups.

If Tony dared to try to stop it, he would face attacks from major conglomerates and the military.

He might be Iron Man, but he couldn't withstand such pressure.

So the best strategy was to turn a blind eye.

"The Ten Rings is just a group of terrorists. Solving them is the military's problem. What does it have to do with us?"

"That may be so, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Middle East division has reported some information. Behind the Ten Rings, there's a man named the Mandarin, who is said to have some very peculiar abilities, even capable of controlling minds."

"A lot of Stark weapons have been found in the hands of the Ten Rings terrorists."

Natasha sent the files from the agents to the holographic projection. The sight of the weapons made Tony's eyes narrow involuntarily.

"Stark Industries' weapons in the hands of terrorists?"

This familiar scene reminded him of Obadiah back then. It was then that the twins showed up at his villa, and for the first time, he realized that Obadiah had been secretly smuggling and selling arms with several board members.

After the twins killed Obadiah, he experienced a superhuman-level war for the first time.

After that, he aggressively took over Obadiah's shares in Stark Industries and ousted the board members involved in the smuggling.

With Obadiah's shares reclaimed, he became the largest shareholder in Stark Industries, almost dictating the company's decisions.

He had banned arms smuggling ever since.

Yet now, the problem of arms ending up in terrorist hands has resurfaced.

Was it smuggling again? Or was it something orchestrated by the military?

Tony's mind raced.

But Tony knew that investigating this wouldn't be difficult. If there was internal smuggling, there would be traces. Once found, the responsible individuals could be identified.

Thus, Tony decided that the company needed internal monitoring.

Any signs of anomalies should trigger alarms, enabling them to detect and investigate early.

But that was a matter for later. For now, he focused on the image of a middle-aged man with black hair on the holographic projection.

This man, dressed in a suit, was an Asian middle-aged man with neatly trimmed black hair and a streak of white at his temples.

His eyes exuded coldness and authority.

He was an influential person, extremely confident and arrogant.

Tony immediately concluded from his overall appearance.

"Is he the Mandarin?"

"Yes, his appearance is very mysterious. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation found no data on him. He is deeply hidden and very dangerous."

Natasha nodded and added, "Recently, he's been very active, seemingly planning something."

"However, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn't infiltrate his organization. All agents sent in disappeared without a trace."

At this point, Natasha stopped, as Tony was one of the leaders of the Avengers.

Whether to investigate further was Tony's decision.

Natasha was merely conveying Nick Fury's intentions.

Tony didn't speak. He stared at the man on the holographic projection, lost in thought, his eyes flickering.

...

Boom!

A roar and an explosion.

The whole world seemed to collapse. The once beautiful environment was shattered by terrible turbulence. The earth upheaved, bottomless chasms appeared, and lava erupted like an inverted sky, turning everything red.

A figure entwined with lightning fell from the sky, slanting towards the ground, shattering numerous lava streams along the way, but the scorching lava had no effect on him.

...

In mid-fall, the figure rolled and landed firmly on the ground.

Boom!

The earth shook again, and the massive kinetic energy caused a large depression in the ground within millions of meters, but the figure stood intact on the ground.

He had used a powerful unloading technique to transfer the massive impact through his feet into the ground, causing the large depression. Otherwise, the impact would have driven him straight into the ground.

He was a man with slightly curly golden shoulder-length hair, bare-chested, revealing strong muscles.

His masculinity was overwhelming.

No woman could be indifferent to his physique.

He looked up at the sky, his pupils contracted, reflecting a similarly bare-chested, muscular man who had already appeared before him with such speed that he almost didn't react.

The incoming fist silently punched towards him. He quickly raised his arms to block.

Bang!

But just as he lifted his hands, the fist changed direction, striking his exposed abdomen with immense force, changing his expression. He was driven back, his feet embedded in the ground, sliding madly for tens of thousands of meters…

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