New Direction for the Company

Unfortunately, when she was offered further comfort, Pepper had already composed herself. After all, she was a strong woman who was about to become the next CEO, and reason quickly prevailed over emotion. However, she didn't mind Tony's hug and simply changed her position naturally to start reporting on her work.

"I just spoke with a few minority shareholders. They are worried about the current drop in stock price and the company's future prospects due to the suspension of new weapon development, but they still believe in the company's future. Let me try to persuade you."

"Is that what everyone thinks?" Tony was surprised to find that there were still die-hard shareholders. Tony had never cared about these things before.

Pepper explained, "The shareholders we're meeting today are some of the initial shareholders who started the company with Mr. Stark. Although they don't own many shares, they are very loyal to Stark Industries."

"What about the other shareholders?" Tony sensed something else in Pepper's words.

"The other shareholders are divided into two categories. One category represents other consortia. Over the years, they have purchased Stark shares through various means or cross-shared with the company. They don't care about how the company is operating, as long as they get a share of the profits. If the profits are not enough, they will naturally sell their shares. Of course, this part of the shares is not much."

"Then let the stock price drop a bit more, and try to acquire as many of their shares as possible." Tony believed that even a small gain was still a gain, and he was willing to take back as much as he could. He also thought that the old guards had feelings for him, so it was only right to let them have a little something.

"Yes, it's already in the process. I've arranged for your private investment company to contact them. Several companies have already scheduled meetings. Given the current stock price plunge, there's a high probability that we can reach an agreement."

"Yes, there's another group of shareholders."

"Although these shareholders have held shares since the founding of Stark Industries, they are closer to Obadiah than to you. They are led by Obadiah, and it was they who proposed at the board meeting to weaken your influence."

"Yes, I'll figure something out. I remember there's a regulation that the board of directors has the right of first refusal to repurchase shares when they are transferred, right?"

"Yes, that's a requirement in the shareholding agreement." Pepper nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then reminded him:

"One more thing, what do you want to do about the stock price? Are you really not going to develop any new weapons? Without new orders from the military, relying solely on old orders, the stock price will just keep falling. Once it falls to a certain level, many problems will arise."

Tony patted Pepper on the shoulder to reassure her: "That's why I had you start a new company—a weapon more powerful than gunpowder and missiles, a weapon that would drive the military crazy. No one would refuse it."

Pepper frowned and said, "Biological research? Biological weapons? That violates international conventions too much, and it would be difficult to procure on a large scale."

Clearly, Pepper wasn't worried about violating the agreement; she was worried about selling too few items and not making enough money.

Tony shook his head and raised his hand. As Tony gently raised his hand, Pepper was surprised to find herself flying, as if an invisible hand had lifted her up.

"This is... this is magic?"

"Of course not, this is a kind of enhancement." As he spoke, Tony controlled Pepper to fly into his arms. Controlling Pepper was easy, after all, Pepper was very slender and light, and apart from her initial surprise, she had no intention of resisting.

Pepper immediately understood Tony's meaning: "You mean this kind of enhancement, the kind of enhancement your biotech company is researching, human enhancement, the new company is going to create Captain America! A superpowered version."

"That's one way to understand it, but it's very likely that they won't be able to develop an ability like mine. However, enhancement is possible, and the final product should be a super soldier, which is exactly what the military wants."

According to the prop's description, Tony is probably the only perfect candidate who can develop telekinesis with minimal side effects. However, it's not impossible, since the Marvel universe has advanced technology, and he might actually be able to fully understand the T-virus.

But as long as he can mass-produce tyrants—the kind he saw outside the cave—his company will surpass its current size, and orders will be no problem at all. With a large number of military orders, the stock price will skyrocket.

"That's for sure. Also, you can put me down now. And do you feel anything with your superpowers? If not, there's no need to press on my chest."

Tony laughed heartily, showing no embarrassment whatsoever. After setting Pepper down, he explained, "This telekinesis is controlled by my attention, which is rather difficult to control. I just couldn't resist admiring the beauty for a while longer."

That's pure nonsense. Tony did it on purpose, and he did have a certain feeling about it, like an extension of consciousness. If you savor it carefully, you can feel a unique sensation.

Pepper accepted this explanation, since Tony now had exclusive rights to interpret it.

"By the way, who's in charge of our cooperation with the military, or rather, the military's procurement?" Tony asked curiously.

"Currently, General Cross of the Army is mainly responsible for the procurement of US troops stationed abroad, and is the largest purchaser. Secondly, each general has procurement authority, but compared with the US troops stationed abroad who have a reasonable reason to consume in large quantities, their procurement volume is relatively small." At this point, Pepper suddenly thought of something and added.

"There is a general who may be very interested in enhancement technology, and the military is very supportive of him. If there are any successes, it should be very easy to start with him."

"Who is it?" Tony asked curiously.

"Thadeus E. Ross, he even came to the company to check the information Mr. Stark left behind, about the Super Soldier program," Pepper said as she recalled. Tony really didn't know about these things, after all, the genius Tony Stark never paid attention to such trivial matters.

Tony now remembered who this was: the Hulk's father-in-law, although their relationship changed later in the movie.

Moreover, Ross is quite a troublemaker. Even after retiring, he did very well in politics. It seems that Ross even became president in the movie "American Black Captain". This old man is really something.

"Keep in touch with him. If necessary, I can go and have a chat with him. Also, let me know about General Cross next time there are procurement negotiations. I'll come and get to know them. No need to inform Obadiah."

Previously, Obadiah would deal with military representatives, but now Tony has to do it himself. He needs to get acquainted with them first, then kick Obadiah out of the game, and finally let Pepper take over these tedious tasks.

"Okay, I'll be careful."

"Finally, how's the preparation for my Umbrella Corporation going?" Tony pressed.

Pepper said regretfully, "Due to the previous downsizing of the biological research department, coupled with the recent drop in Stark's stock price, some well-known academics are not optimistic about the new company. Currently, only some relatively unknown newcomers have confirmed their interest."

"Let's use them. Let's get the lab up and running first. Once we get results, people will come knocking on our door soon."

Tony believes that as long as the T-virus is available, coupled with bold experiments, suitable individuals can be selected from pigs to create a super breeding pig.