Presidential Candidate

In the lobby of Stark Tower, Tony strode in with a confident look on his face. Soon after, a bald old man ran toward him.

"Tony! Why didn't you tell me in advance about shutting down the weapons division? I'm one of the company's shareholders too!"

"Sorry, Uncle Stane, but this wasn't just my decision. It was a joint decision made by the other shareholders."

"That's impossible! Why didn't I know anything about this?"

"Because you are no longer a shareholder of the company."

After Tony finished speaking, he pointed behind him, and two men in suits stepped up right behind Stane.

Seeing this, Stane turned around, only to have two badges presented right in front of his eyes.

"Obadiah Stane, we have received reports of your tax evasion. Please come with us."

"What?"

Stane looked at the two men in disbelief, taking in their IRS badges.

At that moment, Tony stepped up beside him and leaned in close to his ear.

"Uncle Stane, you privately smuggled the company's munitions to the tune of tens of billions of dollars, but you never paid a dime in taxes."

"What?"

Hearing this, Stane looked at Tony with a face full of utter disbelief.

"The munitions I've smuggled over the past few years don't even add up to a billion!"

"That's not for you to decide."

Tony smiled, reached out, and patted Stane on the shoulder before walking briskly toward the elevator.

Meanwhile, a dumbfounded Stane was led away by the two IRS agents.

In the elevator, Tony smiled and shook his head.

If it hadn't been for Stane taking care of him all these years, the smuggled munitions this time wouldn't just be in the tens of billions, but in the hundreds of billions or even trillions.

Anyway, the military's financial holes were massive; even a trillion-dollar gap could easily be fabricated.

...

At the shareholders' meeting, Tony looked at the gathered shareholders and announced his decision.

"Starting today, Pepper is the CEO of Stark Industries. Who is in favor, and who is opposed?"

Hearing this, the shareholders immediately looked at each other in dismay.

However, considering that Tony had now absorbed Stane's shares and firmly controlled the entirety of Stark Industries, they could only silently raise their hands in agreement.

"I agree."

"I agree too."

"Same here."

"..."

Standing to the side, Pepper saw this and looked at Tony anxiously. But before she could say anything, Tony smiled and placed a finger over her lips.

"I believe you can do this, and you need to trust yourself and my judgment, Pepper."

"With me shutting down the weapons division this time, the company's stock will probably plummet. But in a few days, I will announce our entry into the energy sector. This is my gift to you all."

After saying that, he glanced at the incredibly excited shareholders in the room and walked straight out of the conference room.

Tony no longer cared much about the affairs of Stark Industries.

What he cared more about now was how to deal with the disasters that New York, and even the Earth, would face in the future.

However, his brilliant mind had already formulated a perfect plan. It was just that if he executed it all by himself, it might take a little time.

But even so, he would not seek anyone else's help.

Because... he was Tony Stark!

...

A few months later, Stark Industries completely transformed into the world's largest energy company.

Massive cold nuclear fusion reactor stations rose up all across America, and Stark Industries was already planning to expand these stations globally.

Ever since the initial announcement of entering the energy sector, Stark Industries' stock had grown exponentially. In just a few short months, it had skyrocketed more than tenfold, showing no signs of slowing down.

Meanwhile, Tony's seaside mansion welcomed an uninvited guest.

"Tony, the world needs your help."

Tony looked at the Egghead in front of him and smiled with utter contempt.

"Oh? Do I need you to tell me that the world needs my help? Aren't I helping the world every single moment right now?"

"Also, who are you, you Egghead?"

Tony's words turned Nick Fury's face pale with anger, while Natasha, standing beside him, turned her head away, trying hard to hold back a laugh.

Egghead. Even a top-tier agent like her could barely keep it together at that nickname.

"I am from S.H.I.E.L.D., affiliated with the World Security Council. Tony, your father was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., and our main duty is to protect global security..."

Nick Fury began to introduce himself.

However, before he could finish, Tony interrupted him with a look of impatience.

"Alright, alright, I know what kind of organization your S.H.I.E.L.D. is, but that is no excuse for breaking into my house without my permission. Now, please leave my home."

Hearing this, Nick Fury's face turned even greener.

He really hadn't wanted to come looking for Tony, because in his eyes, Tony was also a volatile factor, one of the people who needed to be controlled by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Lately, this guy had been flying around in his armor for no reason and constantly seeking out the superhumans that S.H.I.E.L.D. was monitoring. This made Nick Fury very unhappy. In his view, these superhumans could never be allowed to gather together, or else it would definitely cause massive chaos.

But this time, the situation was too big; even he couldn't handle it alone.

So he had an idea: the Avengers Initiative.

Thinking of this, Nick Fury suppressed his displeasure and continued to look at Tony.

"Tony Stark! Now is not the time for you to be stubborn. An alien has stolen a terrifying object from S.H.I.E.L.D., and if that object goes out of control, the entire Earth will be plunged into disaster!"

"The Tesseract, right?"

"What? You know?!"

Nick Fury looked at Tony, who had nonchalantly said that name, his face full of disbelief.

However, Tony completely ignored him, walked over to his liquor cabinet, took out a multi-million-dollar bottle of fine wine, and slowly began to decant it.

"Egghead, this is all a mess you caused yourself, and now you come to me saying, 'Tony, the world needs you, we have to go save the world.'"

"Heh, how ridiculous."

After his mocking remark, Tony ignored Nick Fury's expression and continued.

"The world does not need S.H.I.E.L.D. to save it, and S.H.I.E.L.D. does not have the ability to save the world anyway. I will handle the matter of the Tesseract, and once I'm done, I will also confiscate the Tesseract. As for you, Egghead, it is time for you to leave my house."

After speaking, Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"Jarvis, please see this Egghead and this lady out."

With that, he walked straight toward his laboratory, holding his wine glass.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury stood there with a livid face, not saying a word.

"Fury, what do we do now?"

Natasha, standing beside him, looked at Nick Fury silently.

It was her first time seeing Nick Fury so thoroughly defeated.

However, having stayed in this country for so many years, she knew very well what the name Tony Stark represented in today's America.

Right now, if he wanted to, he could easily win the election and become the President.

In fact, that was exactly what he did.

His name was among the candidates for the current term, and he was absolutely crushing the runner-up with an overwhelming lead.

Because of this, the Tony of today was simply not someone the current S.H.I.E.L.D. could afford to provoke.

After all, while S.H.I.E.L.D. claimed to be a global peacekeeping organization under the World Security Council, its actual sphere of influence was strictly confined to America, making it essentially no different from just another US government department.