Anton was well aware that his actions,could not possibly be hidden from Tony Stark.
In a direct confrontation, his identity had already been fully exposed.
After all, in this world, the only hacker capable of contending with the two artificial intelligences under Stark Industries is Cyborg himself.
"Hmm? I feel like I've forgotten someone..." Anton pondered for a moment before realizing that there was another network ghost in this world: Dr. Zola, a loyal member of Hydra.
Although Dr. Zola soul transfer technology was advanced for its time and considered cutting-edge today,
he was ultimately a figure from a bygone era. As a networked entity who had fallen behind the times, he lost his creativity,
and despite enhanced learning capabilities, he could only go with the flow. To date, there has been no sign of Dr. Zola.
Even in the original story, Dr. Zola only briefly appeared before supposedly dying in an explosion along with his prototype.
Whether he truly died remained uncertain.
However, from Hydra transition from the cinematic universe to the television universe, it clear that Hydra has lost control over the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
gradually becoming a marginal villainous force not worth mentioning.
Now, under the dual checks and balances of Cyborg, JARVIS, Ultron, or rather, Anton and Tony, Dr. Zola may have escaped the explosion of the original plot, but he has virtually lost any ability to stir trouble on the network.
Therefore, Dr. Zola does not pose any fatal threat. This is the biggest reason why both Anton and Tony do not consider Dr. Zola a serious concern.
If Dr. Zola dares to show himself, whether it Cyborg, JARVIS, or Ultron, any of them could lock onto him immediately and erase all traces of his existence.
However, as the networking mechanism of Dr. Zola has not been fully deciphered, it impossible to completely eliminate all his digital clones, making this a temporary solution.
But it not a significant issue.
The focus is that among the four networked entities—Dr. Zola, Cyborg, JARVIS, and Ultron—Dr. Zola is undoubtedly the weakest.
Back to the main story.
Tony has guessed the identity of his opponent.
Although it just a conjecture, he is incredibly certain that the other party is Cyborg.
However, without concrete evidence, he can't report this to others. Moreover, he has no intention of sharing this situation with anyone else.
"Let see what you've got, Cyborg."
With that thought, a smile of excitement appeared on Tony face.
"JARVIS, lock down Stark Industries database. Take full control, and make sure Cyborg doesn't get any data from our database."
"Understood, sir. I am already on it," JARVIS replied.
The next moment,
Swoosh!
All computer screens inside Stark Industries lost control from their users, all experiencing a freeze.
A series of popping windows and streams of daunting data took over the employees screens.
"What happening? What wrong with the computers?"
"Is there a problem with the network? Damn, how can our company network have issues!"
"Wait, look, our company network is being invaded."
"JARVIS and Ultron have taken over all network data of the company we can't operate the computers anymore... Who dares to invade our network?"
Stark Industries staff were collectively shocked.
The news spread quickly.
Stark Industries, known for developing Ultron, hailed as the most advanced AI assistant of the century, was facing a network invasion.
With the capabilities Stark Industries possessed, who would dare to invade them?
Not even the world top hacker teams had the capability.
Yet, it happened.
Dramatic as it was.
The news spread rapidly and was reported by multiple media outlets.
The news swiftly climbed to the top of trending searches, becoming a widely recognized term and attracting countless attentions.
Especially among the users of Ultron.
If Stark Industries was invaded, what about the AI assistants they used, like Ultron? Could someone exploit vulnerabilities?
Would these vulnerabilities impact the users?
Netizens launched into heated discussions.
Meanwhile,
"Stark Industries Faces Network Invasion"
"Who has the capability to invade Stark Industries network?"
"Ultron Vulnerabilities"
These terms suddenly surged to millions of hits.
All media in New York got the news and swarmed towards Stark Industries, only to be stopped by the security team at the gate.
"Sorry."
"Until we receive orders from above, you cannot enter."
Consequently,
The journalists were stuck waiting at the door.
Even when Stark Industries closing time arrived, they hadn't moved an inch.
Meanwhile, the standoff between Cyborg and Stark Industries two major AIs, Ultron and JARVIS, continued until the end of the workday.
Throughout the encounter, Cyborg, intercepted by the combined efforts of Ultron and JARVIS, didn't gain much advantage.
Of course, neither JARVIS nor Cyborg could track him.
From this aspect, Cyborg actually had a slight upper hand.
Cyborg could freely invade Stark Industries network, and although he didn't gain much, the opponent was also unable to track his location.
So what if they guessed his identity?
Do they have proof?
If there no evidence, it just like how Anton can't casually question Stark Industries AI assistant, Ultron, on behalf of the Justice League.
If Tony dared to claim that the invasion of Stark Industries was orchestrated by Cyborg, or even imply that Cyborg was related to the invasion, he would be accused of deliberately retaliating and slandering the highly credible Justice League.
Who would think Tony wasn't harboring resentment after the Avengers, which he had joined, were disbanded by the Justice League?
Wouldn't that prove that Tony harbors a grudge?
With the public perception of Tony, it wouldn't be surprising for him to act irrationally in frustration and anger.
Tony is well aware of this and naturally wouldn't expose himself foolishly.
In fact, he had long anticipated a network showdown with Cyborg.
Ever since creating Ultron and launching the plan to monitor the globe, Tony had foreseen a potential conflict with the Justice League.
Given the nature of Ultron, Cyborg would inevitably be the first combatant when conflict erupted.
"Is it over?"
After work, watching Cyborg retreat, Tony was very composed.
"Sir, we are unable to track the opponent identity."
JARVIS reported, "But based on the information we have, there an eighty-nine percent probability that it was Cyborg."
"Understood."
Tony nodded, "Check the databases, see if the intruder got anything."
"Checking now."
JARVIS responded.
At closing time.
To get firsthand information and ensure the security of Stark Industries network, employees with a strong sense of belonging to Stark Industries also couldn't suppress their curiosity.
They spontaneously decided to work overtime, waiting for the outcome.
When they noticed the computers returning to normal, they looked at each other, dug into the backend data of the computers, and checked if any traces were left during the network confrontation.
Clearly, they found nothing.
And Stark Industries CEO, Pepper Potts, was certainly not unaware of the situation.
Such a major incident affecting the entire company operations was brought to Tony attention by her at the first opportunity.
At the time, Tony was in the lab commanding JARVIS and Ultron, so it wasn't the right moment, and Potts temporarily left to calm the employees.
Now, seeing that the incident was over, Pepper Potts came to the lab once again to find Tony and inquire about the final situation.
"What happened?"
Potts expression was not calm, voicing her concern, "Who was it?"
"It was Cyborg, but there no evidence."
Tony looked at Potts and suddenly asked, "Were there many journalists at the door?"
"Yes."
Potts nodded, surprised, "Why do you care about that?"
"Call a press conference immediately."
Tony said calmly, "I will respond to this matter at the conference."
"Oh?"
Potts was surprised.
This was not like Tony usual way of doing things.
However, Potts knew Tony well and felt that his tone, rather than responding, seemed more like a provocation.
A provocation aimed at Cyborg.
At DC Comics.
In the office, Anton turned on the TV and saw the live news broadcast about the network invasion at Stark Industries.
The press conference was about to start.
Tony Stark, rarely making public appearances, stood on the makeshift podium set up for the press conference to brief the audience.
"Everyone, all your concerns are unnecessary."
Tony stood on the stage with the confidence and pride unique to Iron Man, seemingly unconcerned about the intruder.
"The intrusion doesn't concern Stark Industries much. The reason it lasted so long is because we were testing Ultron capabilities.
The final test results were perfect, Ultron successfully resisted all of the intruder methods."
At this point, a hand was raised from the audience.
It was Eddie.
"Mr. Stark, since you say Ultron successfully resisted all the intruder methods, can I assume that you were able to track the intruder exact location and gather their personal information through network means?"
This question wasn't just Eddie curiosity it was something all the journalists present wanted to know.
Swoosh!
Numerous gazes fixed on Tony, anticipating his response.
"Yes."
Tony, unblushing and without hesitation, nodded, "I have the information about the intruder."
He paused, not waiting for further questions, and proactively added,
"However, I will not disclose this information to the public. Stark Industries will entrust official personnel to handle the matter.
We will release a separate announcement regarding the follow-up."
With that, he prepared to leave.
"Wait, Mr. Stark, if you don't say anything, how can we be sure what you are saying is true?"
"About Ultron, does Ultron have any vulnerabilities?"
"You can't just walk away."
The press conference immediately became chaotic.
Suddenly.
Tony stopped, turned his head to face the cameras, and with a firm tone, uttered his final words.
"I never lie."
After these words, Tony completely disappeared from everyone sight.
The press conference ended abruptly.
However, due to Tony unabashed direct response, online speculations about Stark Industries and Ultron gradually calmed down.
A large portion of people had a fair understanding of Tony.
Tony indeed never lies.
Because, with his status, he doesn't need to embellish himself with lies.
At the Daily Bugle.
Eddie and Anton were having a discussion in the editor office.
"So, Tony didn't lie, he just withheld key information, like, he didn't actually track the network intruder exact identity through the network.
He only deduced that it was Cyborg based on the available information..." Eddie, having heard the whole process from Anton, understood the full story.
"Then why would Tony say he going to inform the official authorities and ask them to handle the issue?"
Eddie was surprised, then realized, "Is he provoking Cyborg?"
"No."
Anton shook his head, "He provoking the Justice League."
"Clearly, Tony has a plan, and he knows well that the Justice League won't let him execute it smoothly. Thus, conflict between us is inevitable."
Anton continued, "Cyborg involvement was merely a warning to Tony. As you saw, Tony doesn't care, probably having anticipated today situation. He won't give up his plans easily."
"What exactly does he want to do?"
Eddie was puzzled.
"Tony has two main objectives."
"First, he wants to register everyone in the world with superhuman abilities to monitor their actions to prevent them from using their powers unlawfully and, if necessary, even seek their assistance."
Anton explained, "Second, by promoting Ultron, the AI assistant, he wants to monitor all global information and perform big data comparisons to fundamentally eradicate crime."
After hearing Anton casually delivered statements, Eddie was stunned.
As the editor of the Daily Bugle and a professional media person, he was acutely aware of how much information Anton words had just revealed.
"With just one person, he wants to push for such developments?"
Eddie then expressed his confusion:
"Although Stark Industries is powerful, it can't monopolize everything, can it? If Tony wants to push these two initiatives forward, the latter might be feasible since Ultron is indeed a revolutionary product.
But the former... would those with superhuman abilities really be willing to be monitored?"
"Who told you he alone?"
Anton sighed, "Don't forget, he formed his own group, the Illuminati, and has his own team.
Moreover, this matter is profitable not just for the U.S. government but also for governments worldwide.
From what I understand, he has already secretly convinced a group of top officials from the World Security Council. Soon, this will be brought into the open."
"So, that why you sent Cyborg to infiltrate Stark Industries, to covertly rip off the mask?"
Eddie realized.
"Yes."
Anton nodded, "If this legislation really gets pushed forward, it will have a huge impact on the Justice League.
As you know, the Justice League can't operate in the open they must remain hidden beneath the surface to maintain their deterrent power."