Survival of the Fittest
When Pepper fled the office and descended the stairs to the lobby, someone suddenly called out to her.
"Hey, Miss Potts, we had an agreement, remember?" Coulson, sitting on the lobby sofa, called out to Pepper.
"Yes! Right now, come with me!" Pepper said urgently.
Seeing Pepper anxious and somewhat flustered demeanor, Coulson quickly stood up and followed her.
"This will be unforgettable for you! To your office!" Pepper turned her head and said to Coulson.
On the top floor of Stark Tower, Obadiah, smoking a cigar, boarded a helicopter. As the helicopter took off, Obadiah watched the shrinking New York City in his eyes. He flicked the cigar out of the window and seemed to mutter to himself.
"Two hours... stop them."
...
On the ground, Pepper sat in Coulson car, trying to call Tony to tell him about Obadiah true nature. But no matter how many times Pepper tried, her call wouldn't go through, even though the signal showed full bars.
"Can I borrow your phone?" After multiple failed attempts, Pepper asked Coulson.
"Of course" Coulson handed his phone to Pepper, but the same issue persisted—Coulson phone couldn't make calls either. Pepper explained the problem to Coulson.
Coulson took his phone back from Pepper with one hand, opened the screen, and looked at it carefully. Then he said gravely "Miss Potts, it seems you need to brace yourself."
Coulson phone was a specialized satellite phone, designed to ensure calls could be made from anywhere on Earth.
Now... there was only one explanation, someone was jamming the phone signals. The equipment needed to jam phone signals wasn't widely available. If someone was continuously blocking their phone signals... then someone must be following them.
As soon as Coulson finished speaking, while approaching an intersection, several black SUV crashed head-on into them.
The massive impact threw Coulson and Pepper forward. In their blurred vision, several men got out of the SUV and began walking toward them.
Clutch, reverse, gas!
Coulson swift actions in the chaos allowed the car to escape the danger. Coulson shook his head, and as his vision cleared, more cars began to surround them...
....
At the same time.
This was one of Obadiah luxurious mansions in the heart of New York City. As a wealthy man, owning six, seven, or eight properties wasn't unusual. This was Raiden first time visiting this particular house of Obadiah.
"Obie, it's just a drink, why the rush?" On the rooftop, after getting off the helicopter, Raiden hugged Obadiah, who was standing there to greet him.
Raiden hadn't expected Obadiah to send a helicopter to pick him up. He had originally planned to arrive later.
"It's just that I have some matters to attend to. I might have to leave New York later—too many things to handle" Obadiah said with a smile, putting his arm around Raiden's shoulder as they walked inside.
"Oh, alright, alright" Raiden chuckled helplessly and followed Obadiah into the house to sit down.
Obadiah pressed something on his liquor cabinet, seemingly activating a mechanism. Soon, the wall behind the cabinet split open, revealing a hidden space. Inside was Obadiah's true collection of fine wines.
"Obadiah, so this is where you've been hiding all the wine?!" Raiden followed Obadiah inside. The concealed wine cellar wasn't large, only about thirty to forty square meters, but it was packed with bottles.
Obadiah carefully selected a bottle and finally found the one he wanted. Holding it, he turned to Raiden and said "Do you like it? From now on, all these wines are yours."
Raiden raised his eyebrows and nodded with a smile
"Not bad at all." When it came to such gifts, Raiden never refused.
Obadiah and Raiden returned to the main room, sitting on the sofa. Obadiah opened the bottle and poured each of them a full glass.
Raiden picked up his glass and sniffed it.
"Whiskey? Very nice." He took a sip.
The liquor was strong, even evoking some flavors that lingered only in his memory.
"This is really good stuff," Raiden praised.
Obadiah shook his head and chuckled.
"Raiden... do you know how long the human species has existed on this planet?" Obadiah suddenly asked. Well, Obadiah always liked to ask strange questions, and Raiden was already used to it.
"A few million years?" Raiden replied uncertainly.
"Tens of millions of years ago, primates appeared on Earth. Twenty million years ago, apes emerged, and until four million years ago, humans evolved from them," Obadiah explained, taking a sip from his glass.
"But for millions of years, human civilization and development progressed at an extremely slow pace. It wasn't until five thousand years ago... that humans began to develop rapidly, leaping to the top of the food chain. In just five thousand years, they surpassed the accumulation of the past million years. And now, in the last hundred years, humans have achieved things that would have been unimaginable even a few thousand years ago."
Obadiah slammed his glass on the table, stood up, and walked to the window, his back to Raiden.
"A hundred years, two hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years... five thousand years! It's all just a drop in the ocean, a tiny fragment of humanity's long development. And the millions of years of human history, in the context of Earth's five billion years... are equally insignificant."
Obadiah turned to face Raiden, walking step by step toward him.
"Raiden, is the world really as simple as it seems? Do you think there's another reason for the emergence of humans?"
"Survival of the fittest" Raiden blurted out.
"Survival of the fittest, what a phrase! Raiden, I'm giving you this house. Enjoy the night here. I have something to attend to, and if I'm late, I'll miss the show" Obadiah said, waving his hand.
"So soon? Alright then, Obadiah, I'm looking forward to our next meeting" Raiden said, raising his glass with an open hand.
"Me too" Obadiah nodded.
One minute later, a helicopter landed on the helipad. After Obadiah left, only Raiden remained in the house. But drinking alone was boring.
Raiden picked up his phone, intending to call Yinsen, but suddenly realized he couldn't make any calls.
This was frustrating, but for Raiden, it was no big deal.
....
On the helicopter, Obadiah kept his eyes tightly shut.
He had left Raiden behind for a reason—he didn't want Raiden interfering with him or with Tony.
Survival of the fittest... only the strong survive!
Perhaps tonight's plan...
Obadiah was conflicted.
He had made a mistake once, and he didn't want to make it again. But isn't this world all about survival of the fittest?!
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