Stark Industries Enclave

"Don't worry about that. Maintaining order is only temporary. After the terrorists are eliminated, I will arrange for others to take over security and send Stark Industries to provide reconstruction assistance to the area."

Eric was relieved after hearing Tony's answer. He almost got himself into trouble by taking on a job that he only wanted short-term work for, but ended up as a long-term laborer.

With his worries gone, Eric replied, "Okay, the mission is fine. I'll organize a team to go there soon, and it should be cleared out in about a month."

Sabotage is always the easiest thing to do. As long as there are enough bullets and the logistics are in place, dealing with these terrorists who only know how to shoot blindly and have no tactical skills is easier than killing sheep or pigs. After all, pigs are more resilient and you often have to shoot them twice.

"Regarding the cost, I have reliable sources of weapons in the Middle East, but they are quite expensive, and these costs will have to be included in the mission budget."

Hearing this, Tony laughed: "Weapons are expensive? I'm an arms dealer." Tony clapped his hands as he laughed.

Jarvis had already figured out Tony's intentions, and the large screen next to him turned on.

The screen showed all sorts of weapons, with neatly arranged rifles, RPGs, and boxes of grenades on the shelves.

In addition to conventional weapons, there were even missile-equipped base stations, various armored vehicles, armed helicopters, and heavy machine guns crammed into every available space in the distance.

Jarvis then began his introduction: "This is a Stark Industries warehouse located in the Middle East, used to transport weapons ordered by the military. You have now been granted access to it and can use it at will. There are also base stations for missile launches that can be remotely controlled."

Eric was momentarily stunned by the dazzling array of weapons. He had never fought a battle with such a large arsenal, and while he was used to rifles and other individual weapons, he had never actually used missiles before. At most, he could only pinpoint the location of the missiles to be launched.

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I will immediately organize personnel to go to Gmira. I guarantee that there will be no militants in the Gmira area within a week."

Tony instructed, "Try to protect the safety of the locals as much as possible. Also, please spread the word that Stark Industries will provide the follow-up reconstruction work and restore Gemilla to its former glory." It's rare for him to be a good guy, and it's also a way of repaying Ethan for saving his life.

"No problem." Eric had done ideological infiltration before; working for the CIA required comprehensiveness.

"Okay, Happy, please see Mr. Eric out for me. Also, you can discuss the commission with Happy and have him contact the finance department to transfer the money to you."

Eric stopped worrying about the commission. After all, even if Happy paid a low price, there was still a warehouse full of weapons. He could just take a little more and the money would come out. In some ways, Stark's weapons held their value better than US dollars; they were true hard currency.

After Eric left, Tony asked Jarvis to contact Pepper, and Pepper's video call was quickly connected.

"What's up?" Pepper asked as she signed the documents.

"Arrange a job for me to provide aid to Gemilla on behalf of Stark Industries and help with its reconstruction."

"The area is still in a state of war, so our aid probably can't get there. Sending the US military? That's probably not appropriate, unless there are terrorists there. But as long as the US military isn't permanently stationed there, it can't maintain stability. Besides, a permanent US military presence is probably not stable either; it might even lead to more chaos." As a manager of an arms company, he had a certain understanding of the nature of US troops stationed abroad.

"The fighting will soon be over. I've hired a black squad to clean up the area, and I don't plan to use the US military to maintain order. I'm going to do it myself."

"Do it yourself?" Pepper didn't understand Tony's meaning.

Tony explained, "We will rebuild under the name of Stark Industries, sign cooperation agreements with the locals, and the cost of rebuilding will be either selling the land to Stark or leasing it to Stark for hundreds of years. After we have Stark's assets, we will set up our own security company to be responsible for local order."

"The idea is feasible, but the company wants profits and there must be returns. Otherwise, even if you force it on in the name of the CEO, the company will not accept such a project if there are no returns in the long run."

Pepper was being a bit tactful; it wasn't that the situation was unacceptable in the long run, but rather that Tony might ruin the company.

"It will pay off. The characteristic of war-torn regions is anarchy or a powerless government. This is the case with Gemila. We can place Umbrella's testing ground there, although we won't need it for the time being. As for the cost, the military will eventually cover it for us." Tony was very optimistic about the prospects of the T-virus.

This reasoning somewhat convinced Pepper, but she still cautioned, "There's still a risk. At least until Umbrella receives military investment, such actions will only cause Stark's stock price to fall again. I can even imagine what Wall Street will say: 'Tony Stark, having lost his touch, is dragging Stark Industries into a philanthropic abyss!'"

"It's okay, let's lower the price a bit more, and we can buy back the shares from the minority shareholders."

"It's your company, you call the shots." Pepper had given up trying to persuade him and was used to Tony's occasional superhuman actions. Besides, Tony had always managed to turn the tide with his superhuman wisdom before, so he probably could do it again this time.

"By the way, speaking of Umbrella, the company is all set up and the researchers are in place. When are you going to start your project for them? If it weren't for Stark Industries' endorsement, they would almost suspect that the company is a fraud, since the company has no plans other than experimental equipment."

"I'll go tomorrow. I'll have Jarvis prepare some things, and soon they won't suspect anything."

"Okay, is there anything else?" Pepper asked finally.

"Yes, when are you free? I'll have Jarvis arrange a romantic dinner."

Pepper hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Tony, I'm not ready yet. Give me a little more time."

"No problem, I'll wait for you," Tony said sincerely.

While Tony was busy acquiring overseas enclaves for Stark Industries, Obadiah finally received the overseas goods he had ordered.

At Pier 3 in Los Angeles, Obadiah stood on the shore with a sullen face, a cigar dangling from his lips, his eyes fixed on the cargo ship that was slowly approaching in the distance.

Besides Obadiah's bodyguards, there was also the short-haired man in black from before, and behind him stood a group of researchers wearing white protective suits.

Obadiah asked the man in black, "Are your men reliable?"

The man in black laughed and said, "Don't doubt our loyalty. We are all willing to sacrifice ourselves for a great cause."

"Really?" Obadiah was very skeptical of his words, after all, Obadiah didn't have any faith, his only faith was the US dollar.

"That's the difference between us and you, but once you actually join us, you'll understand what a great organization we are."

"Great? But you didn't kill Tony."

The man in black explained, "It's not that we didn't kill him, we just couldn't do it. He's on a protection list, and we can't expose ourselves yet, so we can only give you the Ten Rings Gang's contact information."

"Whatever. Stark Industries doesn't matter now. As long as I master this technology, I'll be the next Howard Stark."

The man in black looked at the smug Obama and wondered where his confidence came from. Howard was not only a billionaire but also a genius inventor. However, since he was someone the higher-ups had specifically mentioned for recruitment, he could only suppress his urge to complain and change the subject.

"Don't worry, these researchers were all trained by Dr. Zola, and they will be able to weaponize this thing very quickly."