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Madam Gao looked at Alexandra and said,"Do I need to lie to you?"
Everyone nodded. Given their relationship, Madam Gao really didn't need to deceive anyone, and the matter was indeed serious enough to warrant a five-person meeting.
Madam Gao continued,"According to the intelligence I've gathered, the Dragon Ball incident mainly involves John Wick, a former registered hitman at the Continental Hotel, and Smith Doyle, the new leader of the Assassin Alliance."
Hearing that the Assassin Alliance had a new leader, everyone was somewhat surprised. More than ten years ago, when the Assassin Alliance restructured into a council of elders, they had expected the other party to form an alliance with them—but they didn't expect that the organization would elect a new leader again.
"According to my information, John Wick currently possesses two Dragon Balls. He has now joined the Assassin Alliance and is under their protection. He is also the trigger for the war between the Assassin Alliance and the High Table."
As Madam Gao spoke, she took out a photo and placed it in front of everyone, beginning her introduction:
"This is John Wick's late wife, Helen. She passed away a few months ago. This photo was taken just a few days ago."
"Oh, she died of cancer. I also have her hospitalization records and death certificate."
Everyone carefully examined the photo. The background was outside John Wick's house. Clearly, someone else had taken the photo while John Wick was bringing something home with his wife—and Helen had just been resurrected.
Sovanda added,"Even people have been brought back to life. There's no doubt—that must be the Dragon Balls. I just don't know whether they obtained the Dragon Bones along with the Dragon Balls."
"I just don't know how much it cost to revive her. If it used a Dragon Ball, that would be a huge waste."
The Gambler said,"Since it's confirmed, let's not waste any more time. Let's go to New York and retrieve the Dragon Balls."
Seeing everyone aligned in their goal, Madam Gao said,"This time, we need to get the Dragon Balls from the Assassin Alliance, and we can't miss the Dragon Bones beneath the building either."
"I hope you cooperate sincerely this time and bring your elite subordinates to New York."
Elsewhere, in his office in Hell's Kitchen, the King Jin sat with a dark expression. Standing beside him was his subordinate, Target Eye.
After the fall of the High Table, various factions were leaderless. Jin had planned to break out from here, control all of New York, and ultimately become the overlord of the American underworld. To do this, he contacted the "Hand" organization, hoping to leverage their power to open the flour market.
But he had just received news that a large group of elite Hand members had already entered New York. It was as if the wolves had left, and the tigers had arrived.
The Hand was established in the 16th century. He also heard that their leader hadn't changed for 500 years. He didn't know whether the new leader inherited the predecessor's name or not.
If it was the former, it was just a historically long-standing organization. Though such organizations are rare, they do exist. Not long ago, the Assassin Alliance that destroyed the High Table supposedly had a history of over a thousand years. But if it was the latter, then it was something beyond understanding.
After some thought, Jin decided to shift responsibility and secretly leaked information to the Assassin Alliance about the Hand members entering New York.
If he could provoke a war between the two, he might still have a chance. Otherwise, once the Hand arrived, he would be in danger.
"Target Heart!"
Target Heart responded respectfully,"Yes, Boss!"
Jin said,"Secretly inform the Assassin Alliance that they are launching a large-scale invasion of New York."
"Don't use your own handwriting. Print it from a computer, then throw it into the castle with your throwing knife."
Hearing Jin's orders, Target Eye said,"Yes, Boss."
Obadiah, upon learning that Tony Stark was behind the company building, immediately went over. After confirming with Happy that Tony was next to the giant Arc Reactor in the exhibition hall, he swiped his card and entered.
Obadiah, with a cigar in his mouth, glanced at the massive reactor in front of him and said to Tony,"Look at what you've done."
Tony asked indifferently,"Am I the target of public criticism now?"
Obadiah took the cigar from his mouth, approached Tony, and asked,"You're the target of public criticism—what about me?"
"How much do you think the stock will drop tomorrow?"
Tony draped his suit jacket over the nearby railing and said,"Optimistically, about 40%."
Obadiah added,"That's just the minimum."
"Tony, we're weapons manufacturers."
Before Obadiah could finish, Tony interrupted,"Obadiah, I'm just…"
"I don't want to make money off the dead."
This time, before Tony could finish, Obadiah countered,"But that's our business. We're arms dealers."
Tony looked at Obadiah and said,"This company is mine. I have the final say."
Obadiah ignored Tony's rebuttal and continued,"Everything we do is to maintain world order."
Tony emphasized again,"I don't see it that way. We haven't done enough."
"We can do better. We need to do something else."
After listening to Tony, Obadiah asked,"For example?"
"Let's make the bottles."
Tony said seriously,"I think the Arc Reactor technology is worth considering."
Obadiah scoffed,"Heh, the Arc Reactor? That's just a showpiece."
"Tony, stop. The purpose of this is to shut up those nosy people!"
"It was initially just a gimmick."
Tony looked at the reactor and said,"It's not a gimmick. It has value."
Obadiah smiled,"Yes, it can be seen as a scientific project."
"We won't even recoup our investment. We knew that before building it."
"Arc Reactor technology—there's no way forward, right?"
Tony looked up at Obadiah and said,"That's your idea."
Obadiah added from behind,"Did I say something wrong?"
"How many years have we had breakthrough progress in this field?"
"Almost thirty years."
Tony then turned to face Obadiah and said proudly,"They all say that. Can your poker face get any grimmer?"
"Tell me, who said that?"
Obadiah looked at Tony and said,"Never mind them. Let me see the breakthrough."
Tony asked curiously,"Rhodey or Pepper?"
Obadiah taunted,"Show me the so-called breakthrough."
Tony continued,"Alright, Rhodey said this."
Tony unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the Arc Reactor on his chest.
"How's the situation? Are you satisfied?"
Seeing the Arc Reactor, Obadiah's eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. He stepped forward to help Tony button his shirt, saying,"This thing is truly yours."
"Listen, Tony, we're a team, got it?"
"As long as we work together, nothing is impossible—just like your father and I did back then."
Tony replied,"Alright. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
But if I had said it earlier…
Obadiah hugged Tony, smiling,"Tony, you can't keep doing things first and explaining later."
"Do you understand?"
Tony looked at the reactor beside him and said,"That was my father's policy."
Obadiah patted Tony on the shoulder and said,"Let me straighten things out. We're going to make a complete transformation."
"We'll be in the spotlight. You must promise me to stay low-key."
Tony smiled, picked up his jacket, and walked out of the Arc Reactor hall.