Chapter 12: Hammer’s Decision, A New Project

Chapter 12: Hammer's Decision, A New Project

"We absolutely can't just leave like this in humiliation. We're going to see Hammer. I don't believe he'd abandon all of us for just one person!"

Former Minister White's tone was filled with fury and deep resentment.

Previously—

He had been one of the top talents at Hammer Industries, second only to Justin Hammer himself.

Highly favored by Justin Hammer, he held great authority and influence.

Back then, White was at the height of his glory—half the company had to watch his mood before acting.

But with the arrival of Iron Man—

Everything changed.

That groundbreaking weapon immediately pushed people like White—ordinary men—to the bottom.

Even with a full team working around the clock, racking their brains, White couldn't produce a viable suit of armor.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't comprehend how Tony Stark was such a genius.

Perhaps that's the difference between mortals and prodigies.

Tony was, after all, the CEO of Stark Industries, a famous prodigy born with a silver spoon in his mouth—successful from a young age.

Since his father Howard's time, the Stark family had always been full of geniuses.

White could accept not being able to surpass Tony.

But now, out of nowhere, comes this guy called Jiang Feng.

A no-name kid who suddenly displayed extraordinary talent.

Right after arriving at Hammer Industries—

Jiang Feng crushed him, easily replacing him as Head of Weapons Manufacturing, and then arrogantly kicked him out.

White refused to accept defeat against this newcomer.

"Follow me! To the elevator."

With that—

White strode toward Hammer's office.

The other employees had little connection to Jiang Feng; they'd always worked under White. And after the public humiliation—

Even those who had once considered switching sides and siding with Jiang Feng now abandoned that idea.

Who could've guessed he'd be so out of touch with reality, firing everyone like that? There was no use trying to curry favor anymore.

At this point, they had no more illusions.

Without hesitation, they all followed behind White.

In no time—

Every single employee of the Weapons Manufacturing Department followed White to complain.

In the upper floors of Hammer Tower, inside the luxurious Chairman's office—

"No party anymore? How disappointing."

At that moment—

Justin Hammer wore a slightly displeased expression.

He had just been informed that one of his favorite private parties had been canceled at the last minute.

Apparently, a shipment hadn't arrived in time.

That news—

Put Hammer in a sour mood.

Those kinds of parties—indulgent and free—still held a special appeal for someone even as wealthy as him.

A place to blow off steam and also strengthen bonds with like-minded elites? What could be better?

"Forget it. It was just for fun anyway."

But Hammer didn't take it too seriously. Moments later, his annoyance faded.

A party wasn't essential.

What truly mattered now was the new talent in his company—Jiang Feng.

"I wonder how Jiang is doing. With the massive funding I've provided, it should be more than enough to support the Iron Suit project."

Hammer leaned back in his ergonomically designed chair, fiddling with a tactical pen.

He was already imagining what his own Iron Suit would look like.

Suddenly—

The door to his office was knocked on. Hammer didn't think much of it and said casually:

"Come in."

No sooner had the words left his mouth—

Than the door was abruptly pushed open. The former Head of Weapons Manufacturing, White, entered with a worried expression.

Behind him were many employees. Though they didn't enter, they crowded around the doorway, their faces gloomy and grief-stricken—

As if attending a funeral.

Hammer was slightly startled. For a moment, he thought someone had died from overwork.

But he had only asked for four or five extra hours of overtime these past few days.

Surely that wasn't too much?

"What's going on, White? Why are you all here all of a sudden?"

Hammer figured—

It was probably White's dissatisfaction over being demoted and Jiang Feng being promoted in his place.

"Mr. Hammer, that newcomer Jiang Feng kicked all of us out of the lab. He said he doesn't need any help, and he even mocked us."

"Mr. Hammer, I'm not questioning his ability, but don't you think this guy is a bit too arrogant?"

Upon entering the office—

White shut the door behind him, now facing Hammer alone. His expression was grim as he got straight to the point.

"What? He kicked all of you out?"

Hammer was clearly surprised by this, his face slightly puzzled.

He'd expected Jiang Feng to assert dominance a little—but not to go this far.

"Tell me the details."

Hammer frowned slightly.

Seeing the boss's expression, White felt a glimmer of hope.

Still putting on a pitiful look, he immediately began complaining, embellishing Jiang Feng's arrogance and insolence with extra details.

After finishing—

White went silent, cautiously watching Hammer's reaction—

Hoping he'd take some disciplinary action against Jiang Feng.

But, unexpectedly—

Chairman Hammer didn't get angry at all. The frown had only been from initial surprise.

"He says he can build an Iron Suit alone?"

"Excellent! That's a true genius—my trump card to surpass Tony Stark! No wonder I picked him."

White was utterly stunned.

Hammer actually smiled. Not only did he not get angry, he even praised Jiang Feng's actions.

"Wait, Mr. Hammer—"

White was dumbfounded and tried to speak further, but Hammer cut him off.

"I'll call Jiang now."

Hammer tapped his laptop, quickly connecting to the video and audio feed of Jiang Feng's lab.

Sure enough, the spacious lab had only Jiang Feng inside.

"Hey, Jiang. I heard you kicked everyone out. Are you sure you can develop the Iron Suit alone?"

Hammer's voice came through the camera.

Jiang Feng looked up in confusion, seemingly oblivious.

"White? Who's that?"

He was just thinking about how to fake some blueprints to fool Hammer, so he hadn't paid much attention. He replied calmly:

"Don't worry, Mr. Hammer. You saw the results from the last product test. Those guys were just dead weight eating up salaries."

"A hundred people combined couldn't match my efficiency. Leave everything to me."

As he spoke—

Jiang Feng raised his right hand to show Hammer the exoskeletal arm again.

It was now fully painted in Hammer's preferred grey-black color scheme, with a heavy metallic texture.

Moreover—

The arm extended up to the shoulder, making it even more complete.

"Excellent, Jiang!"

The sight of that exoskeletal arm made Hammer's heart race.

He beamed with satisfaction and said—

"I'm really looking forward to your results, Jiang. When the time comes, we'll be the military's top partners—guaranteed to surpass Tony Stark!"

After a few more empty boasts—

Hammer happily ended the call and looked toward White.

White's heart sank.

From just that short conversation, he could clearly hear how much Hammer valued and favored Jiang Feng.

He'd rather alienate the entire department than restrain this one man.

After getting Jiang Feng's reassurance—

Hammer smiled and looked at White, already having made up his mind about how to handle him.

There was no way he'd really follow Jiang Feng's lead and fire the entire Weapons Manufacturing Department.

That would be a disaster for morale—even Hammer wasn't that foolish.

Since Jiang liked working alone—

He'd simply leave him in the lab by himself, and reassign the rest of the department to other tasks.

That way, they wouldn't interfere with each other.