Tony sped towards his villa, unaware that his recent actions had greatly shaken the US military, prompting an emergency investigation by the command to determine which department dared to act without authorization.
Tony, clad in his Iron Man suit, wasn't intercepted by fighter jets as in the movie, because he had long since followed Li Yue's advice and added anti-radar scanning devices to the suit. Moreover, his target was small and his speed was fast.
The military only knew that an explosion had occurred at the terrorist camp, but they didn't know who caused the attack, as the assailant quickly disappeared from their radar. The military was helpless and could only contact Colonel Rhodes of the Air Force Weapons Development Department, asking if he knew what kind of new weapon this was.
Rhodes, true to his friendship with Tony, almost instantly suspected Tony, believing that only a genius scientist like Tony could develop such an advanced weapon. So he called Tony directly.
Tony, still flying in the air, received the call and casually made up an excuse. However, as an Air Force officer, Rhodes could not fail to hear the whooshing sound from the other end of the phone, caused by high-speed flight. Yet, Rhodes did not expose him.
Meanwhile, Obadiah, seeing Tony in his Iron Man suit on TV, felt an unprecedented crisis. If this continued, he would sooner or later be discovered by Tony and thrown into prison. He had no choice but to contact the terrorists and seize the Mark I prototype and blueprints that Tony had built to escape the cave. He then began research and modification in Stark Industries' Area 16.
Whether due to plot inertia or not, even though Tony had blown up the bald leader when escaping the cave, the plot still unfolded along its predetermined trajectory, and Obadiah ultimately became Iron Monger.
Everything seemed no different from the movie. Obadiah was busy making his suit, and Tony often went out in his suit to act heroically. But would the outcome be the same as in the movie?
It's worth mentioning that after Tony returned home from his first attack on the terrorists, Yinsen proposed to Li Yue and Tony that he wanted to leave. Yinsen had seen the tragic situation in the town of Gamila in the news and was filled with grief and indignation, because it was his hometown, the place where he and his family had once lived together, although his family was no longer there. (It is unknown whether Yinsen's dying words in the movie were to comfort Tony, a lie to prevent him from feeling too guilty. Here, we assume his family is no longer alive.)
So Yinsen made a decision: he would return to his hometown and use his medical skills to help the civilians who survived the war.
Upon learning of Yinsen's decision, neither Li Yue nor Tony stopped him, expressing their respect and support for his choice. So Tony sent people to take him back to Gamila Town.
Time would not stop for anyone or anything. Tony gradually discovered that his uncle seemed to have done many bad things behind his back, but he had no concrete evidence. So, just like in the original plot, Tony still approached his assistant Pepper, hoping she could help him obtain evidence of Obadiah's crimes. Pepper initially disagreed, but after Tony's heartfelt confession, she finally decided to help him.
Tony also approached Li Yue, hoping Li Yue could help protect Pepper.
"Don't worry, Tony, you know my abilities. With me around, no one can harm Pepper," Li Yue said confidently. The current situation was exactly as Li Yue had envisioned. He was very much looking forward to tonight's events, which he was sure would be very exciting.
Pepper looked at Li Yue, who was following her, feeling a bit helpless. She thought that Tony sending Li Yue to protect her was less effective than sending Happy, at least Happy was much bigger than Li Yue and provided more of a sense of security. As for Li Yue, though not exactly scrawny, he was pretty close.
However, this was Tony's good intention, and Pepper couldn't refuse. She could only take Li Yue to the company building, leaving him in the lobby on the first floor.
Then she went to Obadiah's office.
Sitting in front of the computer, Pepper first discovered that Obadiah was secretly researching something in Area 16. Then, she found a video on the computer of the terrorists kidnapping Tony. Pepper was very shocked; she hadn't expected Tony's judgment to be correct. Obadiah was not only secretly selling weapons to terrorists but also bribing them to assassinate Tony.
After reviewing the information, Pepper hastily tried to copy everything to a USB drive. Just then, Obadiah appeared at the doorway, startling Pepper almost to a scream. Pepper, truly Tony's assistant, had incredibly strong mental resilience. She quickly regained her composure in front of Obadiah and covered the USB drive plugged into the computer with a newspaper, as if nothing had happened.
Obadiah, also with a guilty conscience, took the opportunity to glance at the computer screen. However, at that moment, the data had just finished copying. Obadiah, finding no abnormalities, could only let Pepper leave. But seeing Pepper's increasingly hurried steps, he grew suspicious. He rushed back to the computer, only to see the screen displaying a "copy complete" message. He angrily slapped his bald head.
"I can't wait any longer," was Obadiah's thought at that moment. So he immediately rushed to Area 16, where he was building his suit. However, those damned researchers, so many of them, were still no match for Tony Stark, and had yet to develop a miniaturized Arc Reactor.
Obadiah could only set his sights on Tony, preparing to get his hands on the reactor in his chest.
At this moment, Li Yue was feeling incredibly frustrated, because he found himself being watched, and the person watching him was Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ever since leaving Stark Industries, Coulson, who had been following Pepper, would often cast glances at Li Yue, as if trying to discern something about him. Although Coulson's movements were quite subtle, Li Yue possessed mental perception, and Coulson's actions could not escape his notice. This gave Li Yue a huge headache. From Coulson's demeanor, he knew that Coulson already knew about him. It was clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching him, but Li Yue didn't know when they had started.
This was not Li Yue's fault. How could he have known that he would be targeted the day after he arrived in this world? He still thought his security measures were excellent, and he had never displayed his superpowers in front of others.
Only Tony and Yinsen knew about his abilities, and they wouldn't reveal his secrets to others. Li Yue couldn't figure out why, and could only give up in frustration. Anyway, they were already watching him, so there was no point in agonizing over it. He had already prepared his excuses, and he would just fool them when the time came.
At this moment, Coulson, having heard Pepper's words, urgently summoned several nearby agents, preparing to go to Area 16 to apprehend Obadiah. Pepper also picked up the phone to call Tony at the villa. However, just as Li Yue knew, after the call connected, there was no reply from Tony. Instead, she heard Obadiah's voice. Pepper knew something was wrong and hastily called Tony's friend, Rhodes, asking him to quickly go to the villa to check on Tony.
Li Yue couldn't help but feel a little helpless. How long had it been since Pepper left Stark Industries, and only now did she remember to call Tony to report? Look how fast Obadiah was; he had already gone to Area 16, then to Tony's villa, and had taken Tony down.
Meanwhile, Rhodes was on his way to Tony's villa, and Tony, with the help of the robot DUM-E, had retrieved the first Arc Reactor he built in the cave and placed it in his chest, saving his life.
"The time for the final battle is almost here," was Li Yue's current thought.