"Smartphones are definitely a promising direction."
Tony nodded thoughtfully. As he struggled with the fallout of shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division and hadn't yet landed on a new focus, he suddenly saw an opportunity.
"The Chinese market? Yeah, it's a goldmine."
Tony easily guessed what Obadiah was thinking, and internally, he agreed. That said, Tony already had another vision forming in his mind—one that aligned with what we later see in the movies: clean energy.
Improving the Ark Reactor's technology would allow him to generate cleaner, controllable energy sources. In simple terms, his plan was to pivot Stark Industries into a clean energy giant—Ark Energy. This new direction would rely on technology that surpassed nuclear energy in both output and stability.
Once this technology matured, Stark's market value would soar even higher than it was during its days as a weapons contractor. Even though the weapons division was gone, the company would not just survive—it would evolve.
"Mr. Stark, it's an honor to meet you," Ethan Chen said with a polite smile, extending his hand.
As he stood there, Ethan silently activated an interface only he could see—his internal scanner was just about to complete the scan for "Portable Ark Reactor" technology. Essentially, this was the very same energy core embedded in Tony Stark's chest—the one that powers Iron Man's armor.
At the moment, the scan had reached 99% resolution. Ethan knew that as soon as he could make direct physical contact with Tony, the last piece of the puzzle would fall into place.
"Yeah, nice to meet you," Tony said without much interest. He simply nodded at Ethan without shaking his hand. Then, in a flat tone, he added, "I'll have Boz go over the cooperation details with you."
Tony had just returned from captivity, freshly forged into a man changed by trauma—but he was still very much the cocky playboy. He didn't take Ethan seriously. To Tony, Ethan was just another young foreign entrepreneur—someone from a place the average American tech mogul wouldn't think twice about.
This kind of prejudice wasn't rare, especially not in the U.S. tech scene. And Tony Stark hadn't become Iron Man yet. He still lacked that growth.
"All right, no problem."
Ethan awkwardly withdrew his hand. There had been no handshake. But with a 99% scan on the portable Ark Reactor and complete data on the larger Ark Reactor already in hand, Ethan knew he could reproduce and even enhance the technology using Huaqiangbei's advanced prototyping capabilities.
Still, being underestimated like this definitely stung.
Tony Stark, just wait.You'll regret looking down on me.
"What I want to know is—why shut down the weapons division? It's still our most profitable operation!" Obadiah asked with a frown, his gaze shifting back and forth between Tony and the glowing Ark Reactor.
"You figured it out, huh?"
"So, this is your replacement for weapons manufacturing?"
"That's right," Tony confirmed, nodding. Then he glanced at Ethan as if to signal that this part of the conversation wasn't for outsiders. His future plans were business secrets, after all.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Mr. Stark. Mr. Stane," Ethan said coolly, reading the room. He knew when he wasn't welcome.
As he walked away, Ethan couldn't help thinking about how irritating Tony's arrogance was. He finally understood why the villain from Iron Man 3 had been so obsessed with taking Tony down—because this guy had a way of rubbing people the wrong way. Stark had always believed himself to be the smartest guy in the room. That might be true—but it was rarely helpful in business or diplomacy.
Especially before he became Iron Man.
"Xiao Ai, analyze the Ark Reactor technology. With the current 99% scan of the compact version, can we replicate it?"
"Absolutely. We can start production immediately. Its efficiency won't be inferior to Stark's version."
The reactor Tony built was still a first-gen model, cobbled together under extreme duress in a cave with spare parts. It was crude by modern standards. Tony would eventually build a more refined version, but the core technology wouldn't change much.
"How long until we can make a significant improvement?"
"One day. That's all we need."
"Then get to work, Xiao Ai."
After leaving the reactor lab, Ethan followed a Stark Industries employee toward the administrative wing. His next stop: Pepper Potts.
Despite the media spotlight on Tony, it was Pepper who handled most of the real business at Stark Industries. Whether it was toy merchandising rights or the smartphone project, she was the one who made things happen.
For Ethan, the business negotiations weren't a priority. He'd already given up a chunk of the profits he could've claimed, and in return, he'd gotten what he really came for—the technology.
Thanks to a sweeping licensing agreement, Stark Industries had granted Ethan permission to use the designs of its weapons—completely royalty-free. That would prevent any future legal entanglements if he produced Stark-style products of his own.
As for the smartphone project, Ethan had no desire to dominate the venture. Stark took the lion's share, and that was fine. Pepper was more than satisfied with the deal.
From her perspective, the project hadn't even launched yet—and any real work would fall to someone else. Probably her father or a dedicated team.
Either way, Ethan had gotten everything he wanted out of this trip to Stark Industries.
Following his success at Hammer Industries, now Stark's most prized technologies—including Tony's portable Ark Reactor—were also within Ethan's grasp.
"Next up: Osborn Industries," Ethan murmured to himself."One of the big names in American arms. I think that's where Spider-Man's genetically modified spiders were created."
That said, the Spider-Man project wasn't ripe yet. Peter Parker hadn't been bitten, and Spider-Man hadn't been born.
When Spider-Man finally shows up, it's during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier—which is still five or six years away. Right now, Peter Parker is probably a ten-year-old kid. There's no point in targeting Osborn Industries yet.
"Patience. Soon enough, Tony will finish the real Iron Man suit."
And that—that is what Ethan was waiting for.
Once Tony and Obadiah go head-to-head, Ethan would be right there—waiting to swoop in and extract the full Iron Man tech in the chaos that follows.