Chapter 017: Rift

This was a very primal force, like the Big Bang at the dawn of the universe.

In that instant, Wang Bo felt as if he was about to explode.

But it was ultimately an illusion.

When the explosion ended, Wang Bo was still intact, but a strange force had appeared inside him, spinning continuously, seemingly dormant, yet ready to unleash formidable power at any moment.

This was the Cosmo.

But what disappointed Wang Bo was that it wasn't a God Cosmo, but an ordinary human Cosmo.

Moreover, it was a Five Senses Cosmo, greatly enhancing his five senses, still a long way from the Sixth Sense.

This was quite disappointing.

After all, Wang Bo already had too many powers: Superman's steel body, Ripple Qigong, the magic attached to the Spartan bloodline, Marvel magic, and Harry Potter magic.

One more Cosmo wouldn't make a difference, one less wouldn't matter.

If it were a God Cosmo, Wang Bo would be happy, but an ordinary human Cosmo—he truly couldn't be happy about it.

After all, the upper limit of this thing was only the Eighth Sense, Alaya.

As for the so-called Ninth Sense, it was pure nonsense.

Compared to Superman's steel body, it was far inferior.

Moreover, the Cosmo required constant training to grow stronger, while the steel body only needed sunlight. The gap between the two was still huge.

So Wang Bo genuinely looked down on this human Cosmo.

Without a doubt, he had lost this gamble.

So Wang Bo slunk away from Kamar-Taj and returned to New York. Not long after, Tony Stark also came back, took a shower, changed clothes, and held a press conference.

Then, in front of everyone, while eating a hamburger, he announced something that caused Stark Industries' stock to plummet.

Closing the weapons development division.

In other words, from today onward, Stark Industries would no longer sell weapons.

The reporters were immediately in an uproar. What was wrong with the world? A few days ago, Hammer Industries stopped selling arms and started selling spaceships, becoming the world's richest company.

And now Tony Stark was also stopping arms sales. What did he want to sell? Spaceships too, to compete with Justin Hammer for the title of world's richest man?

Were these two arms dealers destined to keep fighting and loving each other?

The reporters immediately swarmed around, eager to learn the inside story.

But Tony Stark, after announcing the closure of the weapons division, stood up and walked away coolly, ignoring the reporters' questions, as always paying no attention to any journalist.

The reporters stared blankly at the departing Tony Stark, looking at each other, as if they had just realized something.

So you, Tony Stark, didn't have any new product to release; you just simply didn't want to sell weapons anymore.

That move was way too flashy.

The next day, the news spread throughout New York and even across America. Tony Stark's self-crippling move was called the stupidest decision of the century.

And he was dragged out by reporters, compared to Justin Hammer—that is, Wang Bo—and repeatedly roasted.

Stark Industries' stock immediately plummeted, falling like an avalanche.

Countless investors cried their eyes out, and countless people lined up on rooftops, secretly cursing Tony Stark to die a miserable death.

Even Stark Industries' shareholders were shaken by Tony Stark's actions, quickly contacting Obadiah to ask him about Tony Stark: 'Bro, what exactly are you doing?'

'Can we still happily make money together?'

Obadiah was also desperate. Yesterday, when Tony Stark said he wanted to close the weapons division, Obadiah had stormed off after the press conference to find Tony Stark and demand to know what he was doing.

'Are you trying to destroy your father's life's work? Tony!' Obadiah asked with a pained expression.

He was genuinely pained—not for Tony, but for his own company's stock plummeting and market value shrinking.

Yes, deep down, he regarded Stark Industries as his own life's work, his own company. Now that Tony Stark was messing with it like this, he naturally couldn't stand it.

At that time, facing Obadiah's interrogation, Tony Stark had originally planned to reveal the arc reactor in his chest and tell this uncle who had always cared for him:

'This is the future of Stark Industries.'

'Compared to the arc reactor, mere weapons are nothing.'

But just then, Tony Stark suddenly thought of something.

When he was trapped in the cave, that weird Justin Hammer had said, 'The mastermind behind your kidnapping is Obadiah. What does it have to do with me?'

Tony Stark hadn't believed it then, and even now he remained skeptical.

But for some reason, Tony Stark didn't reveal the arc reactor; instead, he chose to remain silent.

So the two parted on bad terms yesterday.

And today, urged by the shareholders, Obadiah decided to go see Tony Stark again and ask him what he really wanted to do.

If he remained stubborn, then don't blame him for being ruthless.

On the other hand, Obadiah also sent people to Afghanistan to find out how Tony Stark had escaped from the Ten Rings.

How could a pampered playboy with no fighting ability escape from the Ten Rings?

It didn't make sense.

Were the Ten Rings people all a bunch of crap?

But Obadiah knew well that the Ten Rings were no crap; otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with them. On the contrary, these people were cunning, cruel, and ruthless.

For Tony Stark to escape from them, there must be something fishy.

And now he wanted to know what that fishy business was.

But Obadiah didn't expect that when he arrived at Tony's villa, he would be shut out, not even allowed through the door.

This infuriated Obadiah. In the past, Tony had never been guarded against him.

But today, he couldn't get in.

He hoped Jarvis would let him in to see Tony.

But Jarvis's response was simple: 'I'm sorry, Mr. Obadiah, Tony is currently doing research and does not wish to be disturbed.'

'Including me?' Obadiah said with a dark expression.

'Yes,' Jarvis replied simply.

Obadiah turned and left. He felt that he might have been exposed. Tony's wariness of him suggested he might already know that Obadiah was behind the Afghanistan incident.

The fact that Tony hadn't moved against him was probably because he lacked conclusive evidence.

Therefore, Obadiah felt he should prepare for the worst and strike first.