Chapter 227: Past Events

"The Arc Reactor… yes, that was Howard's work." Obadiah responded to the military's question, while Yin Fan shifted his gaze away from Stark and glared at Obadiah.

Obadiah saw his look and said: "I know—there's someone here claiming to be a victim, believing Howard stole his father's work."

Obadiah leaned back in his chair, his voice tinged with nostalgia: "Anton Vanko, a scientist from the Soviet Union."

When he uttered the name "Soviet Union," the oldest general in the room glanced at Obadiah; a young general seemed ready to interrupt, but the old general shot his subordinate a look—and no one spoke. Only Obadiah's voice echoed through the room.

"Anton was indeed a brilliant scientist, a staunchly orthodox Soviet, with extraordinary talent in industry and machinery, especially in theoretical knowledge."

His collaboration with Howard was seamless... I have to say, Howard was a genius too, but he favored creativity and mental agility; Anton leaned toward technical precision and rigorous theory. They were once an exceptionally harmonious partnership.

Yin Fan seemed ready to refute something, but Obadiah's tone of reminiscence carried the distinct imprint of that era, evoking the faded Iron Curtain years.

"At that time, an American and a Soviet working together on an invention sounded utterly absurd—even if Anton claimed he had betrayed the USSR, no one would believe him."

"If you check the Central Intelligence Bureau's archives now, you'll still find a mountain of verbose investigation reports documenting Anton and Howard's movements."

"Though 90% of them were fabrications I planted, one fact remains undeniable: Anton truly warranted such intense surveillance, because he could truly create things that changed the world."

"Howard and Anton together developed the prototype of the Arc Reactor—yes, this was not Howard's invention alone. Anton was also a creator of the Arc Reactor."

The room fell silent. Neither Stark nor Yin Fan seemed to dispute this outcome. Stark no longer cared whether Howard had invented the Arc Reactor alone; Yin Fan seemed to have anticipated it.

Obadiah leaned back, shifted his posture slightly, and continued: "Now, I am the only one left who knows this story—but perhaps you can both guess the rest."

"Howard and I knew Anton's true stance—he was a committed Bolshevik."

"As time passed, and conditions in his homeland grew worse, their conflict erupted."

Obadiah's tone grew increasingly ethereal, as if the events of that time played out before his eyes.

"Give it up, Anton—this will lead to nothing good!"

"Why can't you see? Neither a single technology nor one man can save your country." In the lab, Howard gripped Anton's shoulder. Though Howard was much slighter, his resolve was firm.

"If you stay here, we can make far more money—we'll live in comfort, your son will receive the best education. You have no reason to return to that frozen wasteland."

Xiaoshuting

"Anton, Obadiah can verify your cover identity—if you…"

Anton slapped his hand away: "This is you, Howard—you simply don't understand what I'm pursuing…"

Howard took a deep breath, clearly exasperated. "I don't want to debate ideology. I'm stating a fact—it's already too late."

"Even if you take this technology back, you won't be greeted with praise for a hero. You know better than anyone…"

Anton turned to look at Howard: "Then who caused this situation?!"

"Are you trying to blame me?" Howard's temper flared. "I'm only trying to help you. Why refuse to adapt when the outcome is clearly disastrous?"

"You Americans call it 'adaptation,' huh…" Anton's tone dripped with sarcasm. He no longer wished to argue with Howard, picked up the prototype, and turned to leave.

"You can't take that!" Howard blocked Anton.

"This is our joint research! Do you intend to claim it all for yourself?" Anton erupted in fury, hurling curses in Russian. Howard, equally enraged, erupted into a violent argument with him in the lab.

"In the end…" Obadiah dragged out his words, "Anton took a portion of the data and returned to his homeland."

"I know your father likely resented Howard before he died—he believed Howard blocked him from taking the prototype home to claim it for himself." Obadiah shook his head.

"But in truth, had he truly tried to take the prototype to the Soviet Union, he would have been killed by the Central Intelligence Bureau before leaving New York."

"At that time, that red beast was on its deathbed. No one would permit another adrenaline shot. In the final critical stage, if Anton had obtained the prototype, he would have been dead within three days."

Obadiah's voice settled into finality as he looked at Yin Fan: "Actually, your father took back enough data. You could have built the Arc Reactor from scratch—so could they. Perhaps even better."

"But sadly, as Howard predicted, it made no difference. It was already too late."

Yin Fan heard no triumph in his tone, no mockery—Obadiah's voice was complex: nostalgic, regretful. Finally, he said:

"On December 16, 1991, Howard Stark died in a car accident. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved."

Yin Fan fell silent, then murmured involuntarily: "On December 28, 1991, Anton Vanko died."

The air in the room stilled. Tony Stark, Obadiah, and Yin Fan—all three fell silent, unsure how to articulate their emotions.

Like all who witnessed the end of that era, the story of the Iron Curtain years was both bizarre and ordinary. Hearing it, everyone found it absurd—and yet, an inexplicable sorrow welled up.

Everyone in the room except Yin Fan was a beneficiary of victory. Yet when this story settled into the room, few could smile.

"Your father resented Howard perhaps because he still clung to the fantasy that if he'd obtained the complete prototype, he could have reversed everything."

"But perhaps, before he died, he knew it was impossible—yet refused to tell you, refused to tell you he'd realized at last that he had no allies left."

Obadiah sighed again, looking at Yin Fan: "Your revenge is doomed to fail—because you are not like your father."

Obadiah's tone in recounting the entire affair angered the young generals listening; they tried several times to interrupt, but the senior general at the head of the table stopped them each time.

"These grudges are over, Obadiah," the old general said. "We all know that era will never return."

"Let go of the past. Let's discuss practical matters."

Obadiah stroked the pen in his hand: "As you've seen, the Arc Reactor is not Howard's sole patent. Anton Vanko shares in this achievement—and his son has already built a working model. If he's willing to hand it over to you, Stark Industries will not oppose it."

"If possible, we still wish to cooperate with Stark Industries."

The old general glanced at Yin Fan's expression and decided: trying to extract technology from this Russian elder was as futile as offering his own neck for the knife—better to wait for Obadiah to extort them.

But Obadiah turned his gaze to Justin—and Justin's spine chilled.

Shiler drained the last sip of coffee, set the empty cup on the table. At that moment, Steve entered, filled a glass from the water dispenser, drank it down in a few gulps, and said: "Hammer Industries has been thrown under the bus by the military. Looks like the situation is calming down."

"Where's Yin Fan? Sent back to his country, right?"

Steve shook his head: "You might not believe this—he has legal residency status. He's not an illegal immigrant. He was supposed to be handed over to police, but Nick apparently recognized his technical ability and kept him."

"He's willing to work for Nick?"

"Of course not. But Nick has far more patience than Hammer. Right now, Yin Fan has probably rented a house on the edge of Manhattan. No one knows what he's planning."

"He's not seeking revenge on Stark anymore?"

"But before revenge, he should at least repair his armor," Rhodes finished his coffee. "His armor and weapons are severely damaged—or rather, the fact that they're still functional after that kind of assault is a testament to Russian engineering's innate resilience."

"In any case, with S. . . . . . agents watching him, he won't cause major trouble." Steve pulled over a chair and sat down.

Shiler flipped another page of the newspaper: "So we're just ignoring Stark's public relations problem?"

Rhodes sighed: "Actually, this isn't even really a media attack—they just recounted everything Stark has done."

"Even if Stark really is a bastard, Pepper would still work hard to make him look less like one, wouldn't she?"

"After the negotiations ended, Stark immediately went to see Pepper. I bet he went to discuss the public opinion landscape with her."

Rhodes finished speaking. The three men shared a silent, knowing laugh.