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Pepper Potts stepped forward and shook hands with Smith Doyle.
"Hello, Mr. Smith."
"Hello, Ms. Potts."
After taking a seat, Pepper said:
"Mr. Smith, I've come today to ask for your help. This may require you to mobilize all of your resources."
Smith looked at her calmly.
"It sounds like this is no small matter—something that would require us to commit everything we have."
Pepper's expression was filled with sadness and anxiety. She did her best to remain composed as she spoke:
"More than two months ago, Tony Stark traveled to Afghanistan to deliver weapons to the U.S. military. After the transaction was completed, he was attacked by an unidentified armed group while returning to the base."
"Tony's body was never found at the scene. Based on the evidence, we believe he may have been kidnapped and is currently missing."
"The military and our company have dispatched a large number of personnel to search for him, but there has been no result so far."
"I've heard that you wield significant influence in the underground world, Mr. Smith. I hope you can mobilize all your forces and underground intelligence to help us locate Tony Stark."
"Perhaps we'll get a different result through your channels."
Pepper believed that changing their approach might allow them to obtain new information—or even make it easier to reach the group that had kidnapped Tony.
Hearing this, Smith Doyle knew his guess had been correct.
As for finding Tony, that would be even easier. Even without Smith's help, Tony Stark would likely escape on his own. If that happened, Smith would essentially be gaining benefits for free.
Considering the cost of building Bulma's laboratory, having someone provide funding at this moment was a rare stroke of good fortune.
"Ms. Pepper Potts, I understand your request," Smith said.
"You mentioned that Mr. Tony Stark was attacked and taken away in Afghanistan. The cost of locating him will be extremely high. And even if we find him, we'll still need to rescue and protect him."
"So tell me—how much are you willing to pay?"
Seeing that Smith didn't refuse outright but instead moved directly to pricing, Pepper finally let out a breath of relief. According to the information she had uncovered, this organization rarely accepted external commissions.
She stated her offer clearly:
"If we successfully locate and rescue Tony Stark, we are willing to pay a substantial rescue fee."
"Additionally, given the nature of your organization, Stark Industries is willing to provide a batch of weapons and equipment—and even open a weapons sales channel for you."
It was fair to say that Pepper Potts was showing tremendous sincerity.
A high price alone meant little. A batch of weapons, while tempting, would eventually be used up. But a sales channel was something else entirely.
After all, Stark Industries publicly dealt only with the military—and always in massive quantities. Cooperation like this wouldn't just strengthen underground forces; it would reshape the balance entirely.
If this were the High Table, they would have been ecstatic.
But for Smith Doyle, once Bulma was involved, none of this was particularly important.
And in the end, Tony Stark would escape anyway—making this deal essentially a windfall.
Smith Doyle spoke bluntly:
"For funding, I need equipment worth one hundred million dollars."
"There are certain things I can't purchase on my own. I'll need Stark Industries' assistance."
Smith knew very well that acquiring certain scientific equipment and materials through Assassin Brotherhood front companies was extremely troublesome and involved countless detours. Some special materials couldn't be purchased at all due to qualification restrictions.
Pepper Potts didn't reject the steep demand. Instead, she said:
"As long as you can bring Tony Stark back alive, equipment worth one hundred million dollars is not a problem."
"Just send me the list of equipment and materials when the time comes."
"As for the other two conditions, I still agree with your terms."
"Even if you commit all your efforts and still fail to find him in the end, I will still pay you ten billion dollars—to ensure that your efforts are not in vain."
It was clear that Pepper Potts was doing everything she could to secure the Assassin Brotherhood's full cooperation.
As long as Tony Stark could return alive, she was willing to pay—even if it meant providing research equipment worth hundreds of millions or more.
With Tony Stark's genius, earning tens of billions would be effortless. Obtaining items that others could never afford was even easier.
After all, this was Tony Stark—Chairman and Chief Scientist of Stark Industries.
Seeing that Pepper Potts didn't haggle at all, Smith Doyle was extremely satisfied. Especially the clause where she would still pay even if the mission failed—it demonstrated genuine sincerity.
Smith Doyle smiled and extended his hand.
"Deal."
Pepper Potts stood up and shook his hand.
"Then I'll leave the rest to you. I'll transfer ten million as a down payment."
Seeing how relieved Pepper looked, Smith Doyle replied confidently:
"As long as Tony Stark is still alive, we'll drag him out of that place."
Hearing Smith's confident words, a smile finally appeared on Pepper Potts' face.
Throughout the entire negotiation, Happy hadn't said a single word. After the agreement was finalized, he escorted Pepper Potts out of the Assassin Brotherhood headquarters.
John Wick had no idea what had been discussed inside the meeting room. After they left, he asked curiously:
"What exactly was that about? Do they know the secret of the Dragon Balls?"
Smith Doyle shook his head.
"Not entirely."
"Tony Stark has gone missing. She wants us to find him—and she's investing resources worth ten billion dollars."
Upon hearing that it had nothing to do with the Dragon Balls, John Wick let out a sigh of relief. If a military-industrial giant of that scale learned about the Dragon Balls, who knew how much trouble it would cause?
Then he asked curiously:
"The playboy went missing?"
"I haven't been following that news lately."
"Boss, do you need me to do anything?"
Smith Doyle patted John Wick on the shoulder.
"What you need to do right now is train harder. With your current physical condition, flying is completely impossible."
John Wick said awkwardly:
"Boss, I'm not young anymore. I also suffered lingering injuries in the last battle. I'm afraid it'll be hard for me to reach the human limit on my own."
After hearing this, Smith Doyle thought for a moment and said:
"In the meantime, you'll need to coordinate the renovation of the Continental to prevent assassins from mistakenly treating it as an active hotel again."
"As for your old injuries, I'll let you experience the healing pod later."
Using the healing pods controlled by Frieza's subordinates to treat John Wick's injuries would honestly be a waste—the thing could restore someone to peak condition.
John Wick had already heard about the additional healing pods in the recovery room. His eyes lit up as he expressed his gratitude:
"Thank you, boss!"