CHAPTER 28

After climbing over the ten-meter-high wall, Carl formed hand seals, transformed into Obadiah Stanislav, and walked confidently toward the villa.

He didn't avoid the patrolling bodyguards along the way. The bodyguards, thinking their boss was just taking a late-night stroll, didn't pay him any special attention.

When he reached the villa's entrance, he easily used the smart lock that recognized Obadiah's face, unlocked the door, and walked inside.

Upstairs, in the second-floor bedroom, Obadiah was already fast asleep. Carl took out an anesthetic spray and gave the old man's face a generous dose, knocking him into a deeper coma.

Wrapping him in a bed sheet, Carl carried him downstairs and placed him beside the front door. Then, he waved at a nearby bodyguard.

"Go, get a car from the garage."

The bodyguard was momentarily surprised but nodded and jogged off toward the garage.

Soon, a luxurious SUV pulled up in front of Carl.

After casually waving the bodyguard off to continue his patrol, Carl tossed the unconscious, sheet-wrapped Obadiah into the back seat and then drove straight to the villa gate.

The gate guard saw "Obadiah" in the driver's seat and immediately opened the gate.

"I've got some business to deal with over the next few days. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them to wait until I return."

Carl rolled down the window and gave the order, then stepped on the gas and sped away.

As for the location of the terrorist group that had kidnapped Tony Stark, only Obadiah had that information. Actually, maybe even he didn't know the exact location—but he definitely had the contact info of the leader.

As long as Carl could get in touch with that leader, he had ways of tracking them down.

Previously, he considered sneaking into Obadiah's villa or Stark Tower while Obadiah was away to find clues about his connection to the terrorists.

But after thinking it through, he gave up on that idea.

Breaking in wasn't the issue—he could easily bypass security. The problem was that he wasn't a tech genius; even getting past a simple computer login could prove too much of a hassle.

So, he opted for a more direct approach—kidnap Obadiah and extract the information through more… persuasive methods.

Obadiah wasn't some Hydra agent with a poison tooth capsule. He wouldn't sacrifice himself to protect secrets. Carl was confident Leo and the others would get him to talk—without needing Carl to lift a finger.

Would kidnapping such a high-profile figure cause an uproar? Absolutely. Maybe not as much as Tony Stark's disappearance, but still a media firestorm.

But that wasn't a concern.

Security footage and witness accounts would confirm that Obadiah left the villa on his own, even stating he'd be away for several days.

And in a few days, once Carl completed his side mission, he'd let Obadiah go.

By then, Obadiah would likely be facing Tony Stark's wrath—and legal prosecution. As for the kidnapping? With everything else going on, it was doubtful anyone would even care.

The next day, Carl and Wanda had just returned from a morning run in the park near their community when a voice suddenly called out to him.

"Mr. Carl, please wait a moment. I wanted to inform you about the new parking space regulations in the lot."

Carl turned to see Leo approaching and said to Wanda beside him:

"Wanda, go ahead and start breakfast first. I'll handle this."

Wanda nodded without suspicion, wiped the sweat from her brow, and jogged toward Building No. 8.

Once she was out of sight, Leo lowered his voice and began to report:

"Obadiah has confessed everything—the full details and contact information of the terrorist group, as well as the content of their transaction."

"Did he know why we were after that information?" Carl asked as he wiped the sweat from his hands.

"We only told him that we had a vendetta against that terrorist group and wanted to find them. We didn't mention anything about Tony Stark," Leo replied.

"Alright, got it. I'll head over after breakfast."

Honestly, it didn't matter much if Obadiah figured out their motive. Even if he guessed it, it wouldn't change the outcome. If everything went according to plan, by the time they released him, it would all be over.

After breakfast with Wanda, Carl didn't head to his new company but instead made his way to the secret interrogation room located within the community.

He glanced at the battered and blindfolded Obadiah Stanislav, nodded, and instructed one of his tech-savvy subordinates to contact the terrorist leader, Raza Hamidmi, using the information Obadiah had revealed.

After a few minutes, the subordinate looked up from the computer and reported:

"He said Obadiah never mentioned the hostage was Tony Stark. If we want him dead, it'll cost extra."

"Reply to him," Carl instructed. "Say that I want to meet in person. If the deal is right, I'm willing to pay five times the original price—and I'll provide him with the most advanced Stark Group missiles in the future."

"Yes, boss."

After some quick typing, the subordinate responded:

"He agreed. Tomorrow morning, outside Baghlan Province, Afghanistan."

"Excellent. Looks like I'll have to talk to Wanda about going on a business trip."

A smile crossed Carl's face, then he turned to Leo.

"Keep him under. Continue the anesthesia and don't let him wake up. We'll deal with him when I get back."

As long as Raza Hamidmi had agreed to meet, Carl knew he was already 80 percent of the way there.

Just then, a familiar notification rang in Carl's mind.

> "New side quest available. Please check your mission panel."

Opening his panel and tapping into the side quest tab, a newly refreshed mission popped up at the top:

"Side Quest: Eliminate Raza Hamidmi, the small leader of the Ten Rings Gang, and destroy his base in the Afghan desert.

Reward: Two months of Small World time."

"Well, now that's a rare one," Carl muttered, pleased. "A side mission that rewards Small World time again."

Although there had been a number of side missions recently, this was the first one tied to Small World time since the New York settlement mission.

"But this means I'll have to revise the plan to secretly extract Tony Stark and Dr. Yinsen."

Originally, Carl had planned to subdue Raza, transform into him using the Transformation Jutsu, and safely walk Stark and Dr. Yinsen out. It was clean and low-risk.

But with this new quest and its tempting reward, things had changed. Now, Raza had to die.

After thinking it over, Carl accepted the change in plans. In fact, it might be better this way—cutting weeds and removing roots. No lingering threats. It would just require a little more effort.