Chapter 155: The True Master of Stark Industries

In a spacious conference room within the Stark Industries office building, all the company's directors were assembled.

They sat upright in their designated chairs, engaging in familiar chatter and expressing their annoyance at Tony Stark's delayed arrival.

Following Howard Stark's staged death, Stark Industries had faced a period of instability. Under Obadiah's manipulation, Tony Stark had sold 10% of the 40% of Stark Industries shares he had inherited from Howard to rescue the struggling company, thus establishing the current board of directors.

Furthermore, during the company's initial public offering, Tony Stark had divested an additional 20% of his holdings as circulating shares. Consequently, Tony now only possessed 10% of Stark Industries' equity. Through a series of subsequent share transactions, the size of the board had expanded further, now comprising nine directors who collectively controlled over 10% of the company's shares.

Therefore, the actual control of Stark Industries did not reside with Tony Stark but with the assembled board members.

This was precisely Obadiah's strategy: to utilize the board of directors to circumvent Tony's authority and seize control of Stark Industries.

As for Tony Stark, the board members, much like Obadiah, merely viewed him as a tool to generate profit. Tony Stark continued to develop innovative weaponry, and they readily sold these arms to any interested party, be it national armies or terrorist organizations. As long as it yielded financial gain, they remained indifferent to the end-users of these weapons.

From this perspective, their ideologies and objectives aligned with Obadiah's. Consequently, when Tony announced his intention to shutter the weapons manufacturing division, they unhesitatingly halted his work, facilitated Obadiah's power grab, and granted him full control of the company. This was the culmination of Obadiah's years of meticulous planning and diligent effort.

Now, with Obadiah, the board's mouthpiece, deceased, Tony Stark, as the chairman, had summoned them for a board meeting. They remained uncertain about Tony's purpose in convening this assembly.

Despite his emergence as Iron Man, in their eyes, he remained the same playboy they had manipulated. Had they been in his position, they would never have revealed their identities. He was still as arrogant and naive as ever.

If he demonstrated a willingness to cooperate, they wouldn't object to reinstating him and allowing him to continue managing the company and generating profits for them.

After all, Tony Stark was undeniably a genius in weapons research and development. As long as he was willing to continue developing more advanced and potent weaponry for the company as before, they would continue to enjoy the endless vast wealth Stark Industries generated for them.

Conversely, if Tony Stark remained obstinate, they wouldn't hesitate to further restrict his authority and establish a more compliant spokesperson. In any case, Stark Industries' existing weapons technology was sufficient for them to amass substantial profits. Without Tony Stark, their earnings would simply be somewhat diminished.

Thus, when Tony Stark entered the conference room, the board members displayed no deference towards the chairman. Instead, they regarded him with an air of condescension.

However, their attention soon shifted to the individuals accompanying Tony Stark, particularly when a tall and slender young Chinese man with a cold and commanding presence seated himself in the chair that had originally belonged to the chairman. Several directors couldn't help but furrow their brows.

"Tony! Who is this person?"

A man appearing to be in his fifties, sporting gold-rimmed glasses and a distinctly avaricious countenance, addressed Tony Stark, who had just taken a seat next to Chen Mo.

Tony Stark ignored his question, not even deigning to look at him.

Dare to address me with such an attitude? You are beneath my notice!

Furthermore, he was unsure how to introduce Chen Mo. Should he announce, "Everyone, this is my godfather. Feel free to call him Dad, just like me?"

Oh no, perhaps Uncle would be more appropriate, considering he's nearly a century old and has just been thawed out from under the ice.

The fact that you're even alive to make decisions here is thanks to his life-saving actions back then!

Tony Stark had merely convened the board meeting at Chen Mo's request, remaining unaware of Chen Mo's intentions. However, regardless of Chen Mo's plans, he would offer his unwavering support.

The director who had posed the question moments ago, realizing he was being ignored, flushed with anger. He glared fiercely at Tony Stark and then turned his attention to Chen Mo. Just as he was about to directly confront Chen Mo,

Chen Mo's gaze suddenly locked onto him. Chen Mo's eyes were indifferent and cold, sending a chill down one's spine, as if they could freeze a person's very soul. The sharp intensity contained within them caused a palpable clutching in the heart. The accusatory words that had been on the verge of utterance were abruptly swallowed, and the director's proud head involuntarily lowered, avoiding Chen Mo's gaze. Chen Mo's eyes then swept across the faces of everyone present. Anyone who met his gaze instantly shed their previously arrogant demeanor.

These directors were merely wealthy individuals wielding corporate power. Ultimately, they were just ordinary people. How could they possibly compare to Chen Mo, a man who had killed countless enemies and held the imperial authority of an empire?

Under his piercing scrutiny, they recoiled one after another,不敢直视 (bù gǎn zhíshì - not daring to look directly), and couldn't help but feel a sense of dread towards this sudden stranger. After a calm survey, Chen Mo raised his hand and gestured to Phil Coulson behind him. As Coulson and Pepper stepped forward to distribute several documents to everyone, Chen Mo spoke slowly.

"I am the boss of this company!"

Everyone present, including Tony Stark, was stunned by this declaration. Their attention then shifted to the documents that Phil Coulson and Pepper placed before them.

With expressions of doubt, each person opened the documents and began to read.

As they flipped through the pages, the expressions on everyone's faces grew increasingly animated.

At the forefront of the document was a copy of a share transfer agreement. The contract stipulated that seventy years prior, Howard Stark had sold 60% of Stark Industries' shares to Chen Mo for US$60 million. In other words, the man named Chen Mo on the contract held a controlling 60% stake in the company and was the true owner of Stark Industries.

In fact, everyone present was aware that Stark Industries had a mysterious major shareholder who held 60% of the company's shares, but this individual had never made an appearance and had never interfered with the company's operations.

The substantial annual dividends had always been deposited into Howard's personal research account, and after Howard's "death," they became Tony Stark's. Consequently, Tony Stark's research funds had always been provided by this enigmatic controlling shareholder. Had Howard's previous research into anti-gravity technology not been so prohibitively expensive, depleting all the funds in his account, Tony Stark wouldn't have sold his shares under Obadiah's instigation to rescue the financially troubled company.

Although Tony Stark only owned 10% of Stark Industries' shares, he actually received 70% of the company's dividends, while the several directors on the board only received approximately 1% each.

Tony Stark had simply been preoccupied with weapons and technology research and development, investing the majority of the substantial profits into his experiments. The final results were then handed over to Stark Industries for production and sales, saving the company and other shareholders significant research expenses.

Tony Stark hadn't concerned himself with these financial details before. In his view, experiments and research were his passions. He enjoyed the process, and Stark Industries was his own family company, so such precise calculations seemed unnecessary.

Of course, now that Obadiah and the board of directors had exploited this, Tony would no longer be as naive as before.

In reality, including Tony, no one had previously known the details of this mysterious major shareholder. His information seemed to have been deliberately concealed. Everyone was aware of his existence, but no one knew his identity or why he, despite holding a controlling interest, had never participated in the company's management and had freely given the substantial dividends to the Stark family.

At this moment, the contract clarified the doubts in everyone's minds. An additional clause in the contract stated that Chen Mo would allocate all proceeds to Howard for research purposes.

As for not participating in management, it was a private verbal agreement between the two men. For them, this was sufficient. If the equity and profit distribution hadn't necessitated formal documentation, they likely wouldn't have even signed a contract. How dare Howard default on an agreement with Chen Mo? He clearly lacked the audacity.

Conversely, if Chen Mo were to default, Howard would have no recourse but to endure it, as he was no match for Chen Mo.

The authenticity of the contract was immediately apparent. They didn't suspect it was a forgery, but some individuals identified potential issues.

"This contract was signed seventy years ago. Don't tell us that you are Chen Mo?"

Although they had initially been intimidated by Chen Mo's imposing presence, the significant financial interests tied to the company's control compelled them to set aside their fears.

At this juncture, Tony Stark, having finished reading the contract, spoke.

"You should all be aware of my father's background. During World War II, he joined a special unit of the Allied Forces. You must have heard of one of his former comrades, the commander of that special forces unit, Chen Mo!"

"That is the man standing before you!"