What’s wrong with you? Hurry up and crawl!

"Let me show you what true power looks like."

Obadiah pressed a button, and in an instant, the laboratory's lighting flared to life, illuminating the entire area as brightly as day.

Stark squinted, momentarily blinded by the intense light, but he still caught sight of the silver monstrosity standing in the center of the lab—a giant suit of armor, even larger than the Hulk, covered in chains and cables connecting to every part of it. Just looking at it, one could feel the immense power it exuded.

The moment Stark laid eyes on the armor, he understood everything.

It was clear this monstrosity was based on the designs Obadiah had stolen from him—the prototype armor he had invented.

And if Obadiah had secretly built a suit like this, it wasn't hard to imagine he was capable of doing other shady things too, like selling Stark Industries' weapons to terrorists. Looks like Pepper's suspicions were right—the ambush Stark had suffered was probably orchestrated by Obadiah himself. This guy had been planning to eliminate him.

"Why?" 

Thinking of this, Stark's heart twisted with complicated emotions. "I always thought of you as family..." 

"Family? Heh... don't make me laugh." 

Obadiah sneered. "Stark Industries was founded by Howard Stark and me. I've been the one painstakingly running everything, pouring my blood, sweat, and youth into this company. I'm the real hero behind its success!" 

"And you, Stark?" 

"You just coasted along with your little inventions, and everyone worships you like some god. And now you've announced you're shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division, destroying everything I worked for! Whether it's you or anyone else, has anyone ever remembered my sacrifices? You and your father took all the credit and glory just because you're Starks. Now, I'm taking back what's rightfully mine!"

As he spoke, Obadiah's jowls trembled with rage.

"You..." 

Looking at the man's crazed expression, Stark felt a deep, indescribable sadness rise in him. "Obadiah, it's not too late to turn back." 

"Turn back? I'm about to have it all! I'll be the richest man in the world!" Obadiah laughed coldly. "Why would I turn back now? You think things can go back to the way they were? Wake up, Tony!"

Stark saw the madness in his eyes and realized that words wouldn't work. So he said directly, "At least let Pepper go. She's innocent."

"You don't understand what your 'uncle' is saying, do you?" 

Obadiah grinned. "Hand over the arc reactor first. I told you about this before, didn't I?"

"You think I'm that stupid?" Stark snapped. "If I give you the reactor now, you'll kill both Pepper and me to tie up loose ends. You have to let her go first. Then I'll give you the reactor. Otherwise, you can forget about it."

"Hmph, still bargaining even when death is at your door." 

Obadiah's eyes gleamed as he turned things over in his mind. "You want to see her one last time? Fine—but you have to take off your armor first."

It was obvious what he meant: he wanted Stark to disarm before any further negotiations, since Obadiah didn't have a working power source for his own armor yet.

"Fine."

Stark, desperate to save her, agreed immediately.

But this was a first-generation Iron Man suit—it was extremely difficult to remove without mechanical assistance. Stark triggered the emergency ejection system, and with a hiss, the suit dismantled itself into a heap of parts scattered across the ground—clearly impossible to reassemble quickly.

Seeing this, Obadiah smirked with satisfaction. It seemed Pepper Potts was truly important to Stark—important enough for him to abandon his armor.

At Obadiah's signal, several men dragged Pepper Potts into the room.

"Tony!"

Pepper's face was full of regret. If she hadn't been captured, Stark wouldn't have been forced into such a position.

"Pepper, don't worry," 

Seeing her, Stark breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Everything will be fine soon, trust me..." 

But just as Stark relaxed a little, Obadiah quietly attached a strange device to his own ear and slipped one hand into his pocket.

The next second, before Stark could react, there was a sharp buzzing sound—and everyone except Obadiah collapsed to the ground.

"Remember this, Tony?"

Obadiah smiled triumphantly as he approached Stark, pulling a small, delicate device from his pocket: "An infrasonic emitter. Shame the military didn't approve it for mass production. It's so useful, isn't it?"

Stark was completely paralyzed now. The infrasonic waves had disrupted his balance system, rendering him practically quadriplegic—he couldn't move a muscle and could only watch helplessly.

"You're like a golden goose, Tony."

Obadiah strolled leisurely to a nearby workbench, grabbed a disassembly tool, and returned to Stark. He placed the tool against Stark's chest arc reactor.

"You know, Tony, a chicken can't enjoy its own eggs." 

"Thanks for providing me with one last, perfect egg."

Obadiah smiled and pulled the trigger, there was a pfft sound, and the arc reactor popped out of Stark's chest. Instantly, Stark's face turned deathly pale.

Without the magnetic field to keep them in place, the shards of shrapnel inside his body began drifting toward his heart.

Seeing this, the incapacitated Pepper looked on anxiously, but the infrasonic wave had paralyzed her as well. She couldn't move a muscle and could only watch Stark slowly dying, her heart filled with despair and helplessness.

"Oh, look at this marvel of the modern age." 

Unlike Stark and Pepper, Obadiah was ecstatic. He walked over to his massive iron armor, admiring it lovingly.

Soon, he inserted the mini arc reactor into the armor's chest.

Whirrr! 

The machine powered up, and the eyes of the Iron Monger armor glowed blue. Obadiah eagerly opened the cockpit and climbed inside. The enormous Iron Monger rose to its feet, tearing free from the cables and chains that bound it.

"This power... it's unbelievably wonderful."

Obadiah was thrilled. After a few adjustments, the cockpit sealed, and he lumbered over to the collapsed Stark.

As for Stark—

He had regained some slight movement. The infrasonic emitter's effects only lasted a few minutes, and they were already weakening.

But without the arc reactor, shards of metal were inching toward his heart, and the pain was so intense that his mind went blank. Seeing the massive Iron Monger approaching, Stark could only feebly crawl backward, each movement painfully slow and labored.

At this point, he regretted everything.

It seemed that relying on a "wizard" was really a terrible idea.

He had been scammed by Mo, and now, in this moment of crisis, there was no sign of rescue. If he could do it all over again, Stark thought, he'd stick to science.

Just as he had barely crawled a few meters, Obadiah, piloting Iron Monger, stomped in front of him. The giant armor made thunderous noises with every step.

"Tony, you're useless now."

With that, the Iron Monger slowly raised its arm. A Gatling gun unfolded from it, aiming straight at the helpless Stark.

Stark panicked, the dark barrel of the gun filling him with a primal fear of death. Obadiah clearly wasn't going to let him live—this was it.

However, just then, a flash of purple light! And a voice called out:

"Tony, what's wrong? Hurry up and crawl!"

"Hhrrk..." 

Hearing that voice, Stark desperately wanted to respond, but the aftereffects of the sonic paralysis still lingered. He could only let out incoherent sounds.

"What's this? A stroke now?" 

Mo's voice rang out, filled with exasperated sarcasm: "I told you to stay away from palladium! You didn't listen, and now look at you—mutating from radiation exposure. Can't even talk properly anymore, just crawling around like a little turtle..." 

"Who are you?!"

At this point, Obadiah finally snapped out of his shock. He had gathered some intelligence on Mo before, he knew the man might be versed in witchcraft and had prepared defenses accordingly. 

But teleporting out of nowhere like this? That wasn't in any of the reports. Obadiah was rattled. Who the hell *was* this guy?

Panicking, Obadiah immediately switched targets, aiming the Gatling gun at Mo.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

Ratatatatatatata!!!

A storm of bullets erupted toward Mo.

But in the very next second, the bullets froze midair, suspended as if hitting an invisible wall.

Obadiah was completely dumbfounded.

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