Deep within the Stark Enterprises military factory, Obadiah had quietly infiltrated the innermost part of the factory. There, he had his most important reliance: the iron armor he had just manufactured, which was also his only hope for a decisive counterattack.
Gently placing the miniature Arc Reactor he obtained from Tony into the core drive of the iron armor's chest, powerful energy began to supply the giant armor without limit, making it gradually glow with intense vitality, like a living being. Seeing all this, Obadiah couldn't help but burst into laughter.
It was a very arrogant laugh. At this moment, he seemed to have already seen his future of ruling the World and controlling the direction of all wars. However, his laughter hadn't continued for too long when an alert flashed before his eyes. It was a warning issued when the door to the research lab for the iron armor was breached. Obadiah glanced at the System, and from there, he discovered the person who had invaded.
Pepper Potts and a group of men in black suits. Obadiah knew these men in black suits; he knew they came from a very secretive Government organization, and their arrival meant only one thing: all his secrets had been exposed.
"I won't let you take everything from me so easily. The future belongs to me!" Muttering these words, Obadiah sat into the cockpit of the iron armor. He would use this most powerful weapon he had invented to crush everyone who posed a threat to him.
Pepper didn't know all this yet. He and Agent Cole, escorted by a group of black-suited Agents, were slowly making their way into the factory.
The intelligence in her hand showed that Obadiah's biggest secret was hidden in this place. As long as they controlled it, Obadiah would have no chance of turning the tables, and if Obadiah was in this place, they could catch him in one fell swoop.
This was Pepper's plan, and it was also Coulson's plan. Pepper needed Coulson's help to stop Obadiah's conspiracy, and Coulson needed to help Pepper to gain Tony Stark's favor. This was a transaction, and it was a collaboration; for both parties, there was something to gain.
Unfortunately, they were one step too late. The empty factory floor was devoid of anything. There was no mech that Pepper had seen, nor was there any sign of Obadiah. This made them briefly suspect they had come to the wrong place, but Coulson quickly discovered some clues.
He saw the first-generation armor Tony Stark had built, that massive contraption almost entirely assembled from scrap metal. This meant Pepper was right; Obadiah was imitating Tony Stark's invention, and he might have already achieved results.
After a quick look around, Coulson noticed some cables still sparking, which gave him an ominous premonition.
"Everyone, pay attention! Watch out for those dark corners.
Increase vigilance, and be ready to call for backup at any time!" he shouted, but it was already too late. In the darkness, two bright lights suddenly appeared, and a colossal Shadow emerged from the darkness before them, instantly filling them with a suffocating terror.
It had a similar appearance to the iron armor Tony had built, but it was larger, stronger, more terrifying, and more intimidating, like a mountain giant from a myth. Just looking directly at it was enough to cause a severe shock, let alone when it charged at you like a rhinoceros in an instant.
"Run!" He clearly felt that his group was completely incapable of fighting against such a thing. All they could do was run, escape from this guy's clutches, to save their lives.
Pepper was the first to obey his command. Compared to those battle-hardened Agents, as merely an office worker, the impact she experienced was far more intense than that of the Agents.
Because of fear, she ran incredibly fast, but the giant armor behind her seemed to have fixated on her, pursuing her relentlessly.
The Agents fired their guns, hoping to slightly hinder the movements of this Iron Giant, but it was utterly useless. Bullets splashed off him like Water, and the Agents were tossed aside like ragdolls. Even the heavy machinery inside the factory was torn open with huge gashes by this Iron Giant.
Nothing could stop him; he charged towards Pepper's position like a rampaging rhinoceros, moving freely and unhindered.
Normally, Pepper wouldn't have been able to escape from his grasp, but at this moment, a strange accident occurred: Pepper vanished, disappearing without a trace. Even the iron armor's built-in computer locking System couldn't detect her whereabouts, which caused Obadiah, who was operating the iron armor, to lose his temper.
Although he didn't know what had happened, he was certain it had something to do with Tony. At this moment, he even suspected that Pepper had an invisibility device given to her by Tony Stark, allowing her to disappear before his eyes in broad daylight.
"You can't escape, Pepper. I will find you!" Obadiah shouted, then swung the iron armor's massive hand, punching through the ceiling above his head, and using both hands and feet, he manipulated it to climb up. He believed Pepper hadn't gone far, and if his actions were fast enough, Pepper wouldn't escape his grasp.
The powerful iron armor easily dug through thick concrete, breaking through from deep underground to the surface. And as soon as he reached the surface, he saw his target, and also discovered an unexpected surprise.
Standing in front of the gate of the military factory building belonging to Stark, Pepper looked in terror at the iron armor that had broken through to the surface, and beside Pepper stood Zhou Yi in casual clothes. He was also looking at the iron armor with a strange gaze, a gaze so peculiar that Obadiah was certain it was definitely not fear.
He no longer had the inclination to discern what Zhou Yi's gaze truly meant. At this moment, he was controlled by an extremely arrogant mood. He looked at the two people and burst into laughter.
"Pepper, I finally found you. Let me see who else is here? Isn't this Zhou Yi? This is truly wonderful. Seeing you makes me very happy. I think all our past problems can be settled today, can't they?"
"Seriously, Obadiah, have you gone mad? Or do you think that scrap metal suit of yours can do anything?"
Looking at the arrogant Obadiah, Zhou Yi couldn't help but mock him. If it weren't for promising Tony to let him handle Obadiah himself, he could turn him into a giant pile of metal junk right now.
"You are as arrogant and ignorant as ever, Zhou Yi! What stands before you is the greatest weapon in this World, yet you still naively treat him as a special toy.
Do you think I really wouldn't dare to kill you? It's utterly ridiculous. But this is good too; just take this foolishness with you to Hell! Consider it my gift to you."
Saying this, he manipulated the iron armor to step forward, swinging its massive iron arm, intending to crush this guy who had caused him countless embarrassments and frustrations, and who had repeatedly ruined his plans. He had ample confidence in himself; the iron armor's grip strength of up to 20 tons was enough to crush anyone's body. He didn't believe this playboy, just like Tony, would be an exception.
However, the truth of the matter was, he was precisely that special exception.
Meeting the iron armor's swinging iron hand, Zhou Yi extended his palm to meet it. Flesh and steel touched, and what happened next exceeded Obadiah's imagination.
The iron armor's powerful and fierce movement instantly ceased. No matter how Obadiah manipulated it, its massive body could no longer advance even a single step. Especially that huge hand, frozen in a gripping motion, seemed to be completely still.
Of course, it wasn't frozen. The main control computer in front of Obadiah clearly told him what the problem was. A powerful external force was applied to the metal arm, arresting all of the iron armor's movements and even causing some mechanical malfunction in the arm section.
Looking at the constantly flashing warning messages on the main control computer, and the White steam continuously rising from the arm area, Obadiah's eyes widened, and he uttered an incredulous question.
"How is this possible!"
He clearly saw everything that had happened, and precisely because of what he saw, he found it unbelievable. Human strength was contending with the great power generated by machinery, and even had the upper hand. This was a fact he could not have imagined at all.
"Why not possible? Obadiah, your vision is too narrow; you simply cannot see the true power in this World. Your greatest reliance is actually just a toy to me. If it weren't for promising Tony, I would turn you into a ball right now."
Saying this, Zhou Yi, gripping the iron armor's hand in reverse, began to exert force. Due to its size, his hand only grasped one of the iron armor's fingers, and it was from this single finger that Obadiah's mindset began to completely shift.
The hard alloy metal began to twist and deform little by little, spreading from one finger to the entire hand armor. This strong counter-force applied to the machinery caused the entire hand mechanism to erupt in violent steam, meaning the malfunction was expanding, and the wear and tear were intensifying. At the same time, it also meant that Obadiah's most relied-upon possession was being destroyed and dismantled little by little.
A feeling of fear began to spread through Obadiah's heart. In his eyes, Zhou Yi seemed to have instantly transformed from a lamb to be abused into a man-eating demon. This huge change made him completely unable to control his inner turmoil. He began to desperately try to break free from Zhou Yi's grasp, but with the iron armor's metallic strength, he simply couldn't achieve this.
At this moment, Obadiah didn't care about anything else. He chose the most drastic method. At this shortest distance, he fired the Rocket from the arm armor. He hoped to escape Zhou Yi's control through a violent explosion, or even further, destroy this demon in his eyes.
The Rocket fired as he had envisioned, but Zhou Yi easily caught it in his hand. In his palm, the Rocket erupted with bright Fire, but that was all it was. Because although the Fire was very bright, it was only contained within his grasp. The power of the explosion was confined to a small area, serving no other purpose than illumination.
Watching everything that happened, Obadiah despaired. He suddenly realized that this World was so terrifying, so terrifying that he completely failed to understand it and could not accept it at all. This was not the World he lived in; this was a World belonging to monsters.