Chapter 5024

The camera was in place, the flashlight turned on.

Eddie flipped open the notebook in his hand, lowered the brim of his cap, and looked up at the man in a suit opposite him, asking: "Professor, I heard you were the first to determine that Tony Stark's mental state had problems. Is that true?"

"Yes, that was at the mediation scene of the Renaissance Alliance. His behavior was indeed off, appearing to be an episode of persecutory delusion." The man sitting opposite Eddie was Shiler, and the camera was aimed at him.

"Do you think he is genuinely ill, or is he using this to escape judgment?" Eddie asked again, "You can speak freely; when the interview is published, all information related to you will be concealed, and we will only refer to you as a trusted psychologist."

"Out of professional ethics, I cannot lie about this. Tony Stark indeed has long-standing anxiety issues, and alongside anxiety disorder, persecutory delusion follows closely. Even in court, I cannot call him a healthy, normal person."

"Ah, I see. It looks like Stark Industries is in danger."

"If his condition has worsened to the point requiring long-term recuperation, he may indeed be unable to support the conglomerate." Shiler seemed to be weighing his words, "However, considering Stark Industries' existing patented technologies, perhaps there is still room for recovery..."

"Thank you very much." Eddie appeared to have completely ignored Shiler's later polite attempt at damage control, and began organizing his interview notes.

Not long after, this interview was published. To all readers, this was simply a journalist seeking out the Renaissance Alliance's psychological consultant to verify Iron Man's current situation.

Although this psychologist was unnamed, he revealed during the interview that he had been at the Renaissance Alliance's mediation scene and discovered Iron Man's abnormality, which meant he was a professional hired by the Renaissance Alliance, and thus must be quite authoritative; otherwise, he would not have been allowed to participate in such a mediation.

Of course, ordinary people would not doubt his identity, for if he were an impostor or merely spreading rumors, the Renaissance Alliance would certainly come forward to debunk them. The Renaissance Alliance's response in public opinion has always been swift; previously, several rumors were quickly clarified, and this time their inaction proves that there is indeed truth to it.

Such a professional scholar's judgment on Iron Man's mental state has already been settled. Stark Industries' stock price is no longer plummeting like a jump from a building; it can now be described as a parachute descent.

Thomas Wayne also took action. Wayne Group began a large-scale headhunting campaign, primarily targeting mid-level personnel of Stark Industries. This move came swiftly and fiercely; without Pepper, other managers and shareholders had no time to react. Stark Industries, already with a broken leg, now suffered a concussion as well.

Not only was the group's headquarters in peril, but factories across the federation and worldwide began to feel anxious. Wall Street's vultures acted even more swiftly, waiting for Stark Industries to collapse so they could swoop in and pick it apart.

In Jotunheim, the laboratory established by mutants, Iron Man spun in his chair, constantly criticizing the Renaissance Alliance, complaining that their greedy plan had failed to give him greater assistance. Reed shook a test tube beside him.

"I say you're overthinking it." Reed said, "They dare not do anything to us; look, I'm still fine."

"To be honest, seeing your situation here, I'm not as afraid of going to court as I once was." Iron Man said, "Perhaps you're right; they dare not do anything to us, for we are the future of human development."

"Let me tell you, they won't even try you." Reed said, "They haven't publicly tried me either; they brought me to this place not because they truly want to imprison me, but because my experiments are too dangerous, and they can't tolerate it."

Reed spoke while walking to the side, picking up the remote and saying: "Otherwise, why wouldn't they stop me from contacting the outside world? I can video-call my family every day and still watch TV."

After saying that, Reed pressed the TV remote, and the screen lit up. Iron Man, somewhat surprised, said: "How are we receiving signals here?"

"It's the mutants." Reed said, "I don't know if it's Magneto or someone else who controls electrical signals, but they've hooked up TV signals here. I can receive over fifty channels, more than I could at the Fantastic Four's base. Mutants are truly genius hackers."

Iron Man also laughed. He knew Magneto could do it; if Magneto couldn't, Thor could, and this was no big deal for them. Though it seemed like a small favor, it could also be seen as demonstrating attitude.

They indeed had no intention of treating Reed Richards as a prisoner, just as Reed said: they only found him a quiet place to experiment because his experiments were truly too dangerous, to prevent tragedy from recurring.

After confirming this firsthand, Iron Man's emotions eased considerably. At least he was certain that even if forced to stand trial, it would be nothing serious—at worst, he'd be tossed into this lab for a while.

Even he could avoid staying here, as long as he didn't publicly walk around as Iron Man or Tony Stark; he could simply do this to give the Renaissance Alliance face.

Because Thor is truly too strong, Iron Man is actually very worried he'll be put under strict surveillance. He knows he couldn't endure such a life—daily handcuffs and imprisonment would be worse than death.

Now, having seen it with his own eyes, it's like a great stone has lifted from his heart. Iron Man stood up and stretched, saying: "Next, as long as we resolve Pepper's problem..."

He hadn't finished speaking when sound came from the TV: "Stark Industries' stock plunges again, the conclusion of the professional psychiatrist ignites Wall Street. Next, please welcome financial expert Mr. Ogwei for a detailed analysis of this week's financial trends..."

Iron Man stared in disbelief at the TV, which happened to be displaying the NASDAQ page, the camera focused on Stark Industries' NASDAQ 100, the numbers looking no different from those of someone executed by gunshot.

Iron Man froze, his expression and actions in a silent scream—"My money!!!!!!"

Shiler, who had been choking Luther's neck, suddenly felt his hand go empty—Luther had appeared in another corner of the room. The robot rushed forward, shielding him behind it. He clutched his neck, gasping desperately.

Shiler narrowed his eyes; Luther wouldn't fall for this trick. He turned his head to look at the screen, where the person had already vanished. Suddenly, a green light flashed, and a familiar figure appeared in the room.

"Loki?" Shiler raised an eyebrow, "Just saying Luther's move wasn't clean enough—that bunch of assassins was just a distraction; it was Loki's magic that brought them here."

"Welcome to my homeland." Loki laughed, saying, "Too bad you can't personally experience the extreme cold outside..."

As he spoke, he saw Shiler pull out a revolver from his waist. This revolver looked ordinary, but indeed had strange energy fluctuations. These fluctuations made Loki feel a sense of unfamiliar familiarity, similar to divine power, yet not quite the same.

Raise the gun, aim, pull the trigger.

Boom!!!!!!!!!!

Not only was the person flung out, but the entire broadcast hall collapsed. Luther's painstakingly built scene resembling the Jotunheim laboratory was directly blown open, revealing Luther Group's underground laboratory outside.

Fortunately, Luther was also smart enough not to place the room inside Luther Tower; otherwise, the entire building would have collapsed. Moreover, this place is at a certain distance from the ground, so when the tremor conducted to the surface, it wasn't that strong; otherwise, the whole street might have bounced.

Shiler also didn't clearly see whether Loki had dodged. If he had, Luther should have died; if he hadn't, then both he and Luther would be seriously injured together.

As the smoke cleared, it was shocking to see that Loki had dodged, but Luther hadn't died either. He wore an energy shield, but for some reason, it hadn't triggered when Shiler attacked him earlier—now it saved his life.

Shiler himself wasn't feeling well either—his head spun, his arm dislocated, blood oozing from his ears. He immediately turned to check Pepper's condition; this shot's impact wouldn't kill her, but she'd likely be seriously injured.

Yet he hadn't expected that although Pepper was blown away, she staggered to her feet, and Shiler immediately realized something was wrong.

But just then, a sharp laugh came from opposite, drawing Shiler's attention. Luther crawled up, gray-faced and dusty, yet let out a frenzied laugh.

"Check out the latest news, you crazy woman!!" Luther said, holding his phone, "Tony Stark has been diagnosed as mentally ill by the Renaissance Alliance, Stark Industries' stock has collapsed again, Wayne Group is taking advantage to poach talent, and Stark Industries is about to go under!!!"

Pepper froze; hadn't Stark Industries' stock already plummeted? Why did Luther seem to just find out? Her inner sense told her something was off, and she quickly pulled out her phone.

Originally, this room was signal-shielded, but Shiler's shot just now had collapsed the entire room, so now there was a weak signal inside. And Pepper usually subscribed to various financial media; when she opened her phone, she was greeted by that NASDAQ 100 chart.

Pepper fell backward stiffly; Shiler's shot earlier hadn't caused her as much harm as this chart did.

Shiler rushed forward to support her, shouting: "Ma'am! Ma'am!"

"Hahahaha!" Luther laughed on, "Stark Industries is about to go bankrupt, soon Stark's things will be worthless! Only fools would want to keep secrets for him, Pepper Potts—if you beg me now, I might still be willing..."

Shiler had a bad feeling, and it was confirmed the next second. Because Pepper shoved him away with both hands.

Shiler was stunned—he currently had a gunshot wound to the shoulder, a dislocated arm, and a perforated eardrum; when he went to support Pepper, he could barely control his strength, yet Pepper shoved him away with both hands?!

Pepper, furious, lunged at Luther, pressed him to the ground, pulled out the pen from her chest pocket, and with a puff, stabbed it into his eye socket, blood splattering instantly.

"Hiss..." Shiler sucked in a breath of cold air, rushed over to pull Pepper away, but pulled once and couldn't move her. Shiler widened his eyes.

No way, sis, you're Spider-Man—why didn't you say so earlier!