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Smith Doyle's private jet slowly touched down on the runway. Parked nearby were six vehicles: two military Humvees, two Rolls-Royces, a Cadillac SUV, and an ambulance.
After confirming that Tony Stark was safe, Pepper Potts had also informed Colonel Rhodes of the military. Rhodes immediately called off the search-and-rescue operation in Afghanistan and headed to the airport to receive Tony in person.
Fox and John Wick stood beside one of the Rolls-Royces, waiting for Smith Doyle's return. On the other side were Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, along with a vehicle packed full of security personnel.
Even Colonel Rhodes himself had arrived with a small escort team.
Everyone had gathered here for one reason—to escort Tony Stark and Smith Doyle home.
As the aircraft door slowly opened, Tony Stark appeared before them.
Pepper Potts' eyes were red as she watched Tony step out. She raised her hand, and medical personnel immediately pushed a stretcher forward.
Tony glanced at the medical team and said to Pepper:
"I'm fine. I don't need this. Tell them to stand down."
Looking at Tony—clean, well-dressed, and walking steadily toward her—Pepper's eyes brimmed with tears, but a relieved smile appeared on her face. At least on the surface, aside from the upheavals he'd endured, Tony looked perfectly fine.
Tony walked up to Pepper and said lightly:
"Your eyes are red."
"Worried about your boss?"
Pepper smiled.
"These are tears of joy. I hate job hunting."
Tony replied calmly:
"Alright. Vacation's over."
At that moment, Smith Doyle stepped off the plane as well, holding Puer in his arms. He hadn't come out immediately, deliberately giving Tony some private space.
To everyone else, the blue creature in Smith's arms simply looked like a plush cat toy.
Seeing Smith emerge, Pepper quickly stepped forward to thank him.
"Mr. Doyle, thank you so much for rescuing Tony from those brutal militants. We'll arrange the reward you were promised as soon as possible."
Tony didn't ask about the compensation Pepper had offered—he trusted her judgment.
Smith smiled politely.
"It was a pleasure working with him."
He didn't care about Stark Industries' weapons sales channels anyway. Tony would soon announce the suspension of weapons manufacturing, and Smith planned to convert those channels into procurement pipelines for research equipment and materials—letting Tony handle the purchases while he handled the money.
With Tony's status, acquiring materials that Smith couldn't obtain himself would be easy.
Standing nearby, Rhodes noticed Tony standing alone and immediately stepped forward to hug him, then slung an arm around his shoulder.
"Buddy, don't disappear from my radar again. A happy jeep isn't happy without you."
Tony shrugged helplessly.
After Pepper finished thanking Smith, Tony added:
"Smith, don't forget our deal. When the time's right, I'll show you my next masterpiece."
Clearly, Tony hadn't forgotten the embarrassment of crashing during his Mark I flight test—or his promise to give Smith a private jet.
Just then, a shuttle vehicle delivered a large metal crate. Tony instructed his staff to take it away, waved to Smith, and headed for his Rolls-Royce. He had a lot to deal with next.
Fox, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward after Tony and the soldiers left. She hugged Smith tightly.
"Oh my God—welcome home!"
John Wick opened the car door and took the driver's seat.
After the embrace, Smith and Fox got into their Rolls-Royce, with John Wick driving.
Inside the car, Fox reported:
"We've borrowed five million yuan worth of Stark Industries shares from other institutions. If the stock price falls, we'll just return the equivalent number of shares."
"If the price rises later, we'll need more capital to buy them back. But Tony Stark is back. As Stark Industries' chief scientist, news of his return will drive the stock price up. We might end up losing money on this play."
Smith shook his head.
"Don't worry about the short-term rebound. Sell all the borrowed shares and push the price down."
"At the same time, I'll keep looking for other lenders. As long as they're willing, I can provide sufficient collateral—and the interest will be more than enough to satisfy them."
"The borrowed shares are still a bearish position."
Fox frowned slightly.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Smith nodded.
"Let them understand that five million pounds worth of shares isn't enough."
"You'll understand why soon enough."
Fox nodded and immediately began issuing orders, while John Wick focused on driving toward headquarters.
Meanwhile.
In another vehicle, Happy asked while driving:
"So… where are we going?"
Pepper answered first:
"Happy, take us to the hospital."
Tony, sitting beside her, said flatly:
"No."
Pepper turned to him in surprise.
"No, Tony. You have to go to the hospital."
Tony refused again.
"No. I mean it. No."
Pepper insisted:
"You need a medical examination."
Tony replied stubbornly:
"I don't need anything."
"I was locked up for three whole months. Right now, I only want to do one thing—"
Pepper immediately misunderstood and cut him off coldly.
"Don't say another word."
Tony realized the misunderstanding and quickly explained:
"That's not what you think. I want to hold a press conference."
Pepper blinked in surprise.
"A press conference?"
Tony looked at Happy in the driver's seat.
"Alright, Happy. Drive."
Still confused, Pepper asked:
"Why do you want a press conference?"
Tony didn't answer her directly.
"Get ready. Call the reporters."
"I'm sure they'll be very interested to hear that I'm still alive."
Happy stopped hesitating, started the engine, and drove out of the airport.