Chapter 019: Joining Forces

After hanging up the phone, Wang Bo still had a look of surprise and astonishment on his face.

That guy Obadiah actually called to invite him to dinner—this was truly... utterly unexpected.

According to the memories left by Justin Hammer,

Obadiah, like Tony Stark, looked down on him. Although Obadiah always wore a warm smile whenever they met, the contempt in his eyes had never disappeared.

At the very least, the two had never been alone together in an informal setting.

If Justin Hammer was a scavenger in Tony Stark's eyes,

then in Obadiah's eyes, he was a buffoon.

But today, Obadiah had called Wang Bo, his words tinged with flattery, hoping to have dinner with him. Curious, Wang Bo agreed.

He wanted to see what Obadiah was up to.

Was this guy trying to curry favor after seeing him turn his fortunes around, or did he have other motives?

...

At eight in the evening, after getting off work, Wang Bo arrived at the restaurant they had agreed upon.

The most luxurious French restaurant in New York.

As Wang Bo stepped into the restaurant, a beautiful hostess greeted him and eagerly led him to the room Obadiah had reserved.

Along the way, the hostess cast flirtatious glances at Wang Bo, swaying her fiery figure as she walked, as if dancing.

Wang Bo could tell she was eager to have a deeper understanding with him.

After all, in this world, Wang Bo was the world's richest man, owning two planets, a man whose wealth rivaled nations.

Under the allure of money, even though Wang Bo wasn't handsome or as mature as Tony Stark, he was still the dream lover of countless women. Not for any other reason, but because he was rich.

If it were a different time and place, Wang Bo wouldn't have minded being candid with this beautiful hostess and having a deeper understanding, but unfortunately, tonight wasn't possible because he really wanted to know what Obadiah was up to.

What did this man want by inviting him?

Entering the private room, Wang Bo looked around and found only Obadiah inside.

The man whom Tony Stark regarded as family and uncle was standing by the window, wearing a white shirt and gray suit pants, his back to Wang Bo, gazing at the New York nightscape.

In his hand, he held a burning cigar.

By the way, this restaurant was located on the 47th floor of a building in Manhattan.

Hearing Wang Bo's footsteps as he entered, Obadiah turned around. When he saw Wang Bo, a warm smile spread across his face as he approached, seemingly ready to give Wang Bo a hug.

Wang Bo wasn't that familiar with him, so he simply pulled out a chair and sat down, leaving Obadiah standing there with his arms open, as if embracing the air.

The scene was momentarily very awkward.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the room besides Wang Bo and him. Obadiah quickly adjusted his mindset, let out a hearty laugh, and also pulled out a chair to sit down.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Justin Hammer, for accepting my invitation to have dinner with me,” Obadiah said earnestly.

As if having dinner with Wang Bo was a great honor.

Wang Bo said, “Let's skip the pleasantries. We both know very well what our relationship is like, so let's get straight to the point. What's your purpose in inviting me?”

Obadiah fell silent. Just as Wang Bo was about to lose patience, he slowly said, “Tony Stark shut down the weapons division.”

Wang Bo let out an “oh” and said mockingly, “So, Tony Stark finally realized that selling weapons doesn't make money? Has he found a new research direction?”

Obadiah's eyelids twitched a few times. He shook his head and said, “No, Tony Stark has no research direction. He was kidnapped, and after escaping this time, he suffered a severe shock. He just wants to shut down the weapons division, but he doesn't know that doing so will destroy Stark Industries.”

“Is that so?” Wang Bo said noncommittally.

Obadiah said excitedly, “Stark Industries made its fortune from weapons. Weapons are the only way forward for Stark Industries, but Tony stubbornly shut down the weapons division. He has no idea how much I've invested in this company.”

“And he—he's just a spoiled child!”

“He has trauma, so he wants to get rid of it. I understand that.”

“But I will never allow him to destroy Stark Industries. I will never allow him to destroy the work of my life.”

“Never!”

Wang Bo watched Obadiah pound the table in agitation and couldn't help asking, “You've said so much—what exactly are you trying to say?”

“I want to join forces with you!” Obadiah said seriously.

“Join forces?”

“That's right. We can join forces. You build the most powerful spaceships, and my weapons can make your spaceships even stronger. We can conquer the moon, conquer Mars, and even conquer... Earth.”

Obadiah roared excitedly as he spoke, “As long as we join forces, your spaceships and my weapons—we will be invincible.”

Wang Bo: ...

He had thought Obadiah would come up with some brilliant insight, but it turned out to be the ramblings of an old man with a middle-schooler's delusions.

Conquer Earth?

Did he really think S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra were just sitting around doing nothing?

Wang Bo rolled his eyes and said, “I have no interest in conquering Earth. If that's all you have to say, I'll take my leave.”

With that, he stood up.

Obadiah's expression changed, and he quickly stood up, saying, “Wait.”

Wang Bo stopped and turned sideways to look at him. “Is there something else?”

Obadiah said, “Don't you feel hatred?”

“Hatred? For what?”

“Tony Stark,” Obadiah said.

Wang Bo was taken aback.

Obadiah said, “I know you must hate him. He has humiliated you so many times in public. You must hate him deeply, even wish him dead, right?”

Wang Bo stared blankly at Obadiah.

Obadiah said, “Tony wants to destroy my life's work, but I will never agree to that. So we have a common enemy. Our enemy is Tony Stark. If you and I join forces, we can swallow Stark Industries, leave Tony Stark with nothing, or even make him disappear completely.”

Wang Bo couldn't help but give Obadiah a thumbs-up for daring to say he wanted to kill Tony Stark right here.

Brave, truly brave!