Clang~
Luca casually tossed the iron bar aside and looked at Dragan, who was lying at his feet like a dead dog. He remained calm and silent.
He took the clean handkerchief Shamila handed him, wiped his mechanical prosthetic a few times, and fell into deep thought.
Initially, Dragan had racked his brains trying to exonerate himself.
Unfortunately for him, the man named Barton was much more sensible. Knowing he was done for, Barton spilled everything he knew readily, just asking for a quick death.
And Dragan, not being a tough guy to begin with, confessed everything once Shamila used a few small tricks.
Luca, who already had a rough idea, quickly pieced together the remaining information.
According to Dragan, two minor shareholders in Aurantius Industries had been cooperating with Kingpin.
After the Battle of New York, these two unlucky shareholders "coincidentally" died. This drew Kingpin's attention to Aurantius Industries, or rather, to Luca, the child holding a pot of gold.
Perhaps Kingpin wanted to use Aurantius Industries as a springboard to secure contracts for cleaning up alien debris in post-disaster Manhattan. Or maybe he simply coveted the company's assets.
In any case, after some investigation, Kingpin proactively approached Dragan, who was struggling to survive in Las Vegas.
He intended to use Dragan's identity as an Aurantius to swallow the entire company.
Initially, Kingpin likely had two plans.
Plan A: The gentle approach. Have Dragan deceive the "naive" Luca into voluntarily handing over control of the company.
Plan B: The efficient approach. Kill Luca directly and make Dragan his puppet.
However, even though Dragan had no cards to play, he had his own little schemes.
Clearly, even as a puppet, he preferred to control Aurantius Industries directly. So, he deliberately botched the "reunion" with Luca.
Dragan vehemently denied involvement in the subsequent car accident.
Luca also believed it was likely Kingpin's doing, as it happened too quickly.
Maybe something unexpected happened that made Kingpin urgent?
Normally, that kind of car accident was a kill shot, timed perfectly right after Luca left the cemetery.
With a few connections and no evidence, Kingpin could easily intervene in Aurantius Industries afterward.
However, Luca survived unscathed, and Kingpin seemingly learned about Pepper Potts' appearance at the funeral.
The realization that the famous Tony Stark might have some inexplicable connection with Luca likely deterred Kingpin.
Not wanting to provoke Iron Man, Kingpin decisively abandoned overt assassination attempts that were too conspicuous. He prepared to seize Aurantius Industries through "legal" means, allowing him to distance himself regardless of the outcome.
And Dragan naturally became his pawn.
But tonight's raid...
Looking at the pathetic Dragan, Luca shook his head speechlessly.
These people were indeed Kingpin's subordinates, but Kingpin hadn't ordered them to assassinate Luca.
Their true identity was actually "bodyguards" assigned to watch over Dragan.
However, using his glib tongue honed from swindling in Las Vegas, Dragan successfully persuaded them to eliminate Luca for him. He promised them a large sum of money afterward to flee, convincing them to send everyone out to attack Luca's villa in the middle of the night.
"So, where did this large sum of money come from?"
As he spoke, Luca stepped on three fingers of Dragan's right hand and ground his heel, eliciting another loud scream.
"Aaaah~~ It's gone! There's no money! I lied to them! I gave them all the money I had on me! Aaaah~~ Spare me!"
"No money? These people would need to run after betraying Kingpin. If you can't pay up, aren't you afraid they'd kill you before fleeing?" Luca asked curiously, pausing his foot slightly.
"They... ah, they wouldn't dare. Killing... killing you helps Kingpin too, so he won't hunt them down. But killing me would ruin Kingpin's entire plan, and he definitely wouldn't let them off."
"Besides, as long as I'm alive and control the company, I can definitely pay them back later! Really!"
Dragan's mind had completely collapsed. He desperately explained everything, hoping to suffer less.
Seeing him like this, Luca rolled his eyes behind his glasses.
Seems he has a little brain, but really just a little...
For a moment, Luca didn't know whether to admire his courage and confidence or mock his ignorance and arrogance.
Dragan's logic was simple: If he was the sole heir to Aurantius Industries, Kingpin would keep him alive to prevent the assets from falling into government hands.
Then, even as a puppet, he could ostensibly enjoy the wealth and fame.
But...
Logically, persuading his guards to betray Kingpin for non-existent money while being held captive was somewhat impressive.
But didn't he consider whether Kingpin would just kill him afterward once the deed was done?
Or did he think that after "cooperating" with Kingpin, he could rest easy forever?
Having gathered almost all the intel, Luca didn't bother dwelling on these details. He asked the final question directly.
"Who holds the share transfer contracts of the two dead shareholders?"
Hearing this, the trembling Dragan suddenly tensed up, his face filled with unconcealable despair.
Seeing that look, Luca nodded calmly.
"Understood."
Dragan felt like he had fallen into an ice cave.
The next moment.
Luca raised the [Dominator] in his hand.
Bang~
A gunshot.
Dragan's body on the ground twisted violently, then his upper torso exploded into a pile of gore.
Looking at the few blood specks on his suit jacket, Luca clicked his tongue in disgust.
Definitely shouldn't use lethal mode at such close range. Disgusting as fck!
Seeing this, Shamila said somewhat sympathetically.
"Master, let me do it next time. No need to dirty your hands."
Luca waved his hand indifferently, took off his bloodstained suit jacket, and casually threw it over Dragan's gruesome corpse.
Master Luca was kind-hearted and couldn't bear such bloody scenes.
"Master, shall we start staging the kidnapping scene?" Shamila asked.
Yes, according to Luca's previous plan, he intended to fake a scenario where he was attacked at home and kidnapped here by criminals.
Then, he and his loyal bodyguard Shamila would use their wits to turn the tables and escape.
Afterward, they would either call the police or summon Tony Stark.
This way, everything he did today would be legally justified, and he wouldn't leave a bad first impression on the superhero Iron Man.
However, after learning the truth, Luca hesitated.
Besides solving the trouble and getting revenge on Kingpin, Luca now had other ideas.
Well, to put it bluntly, he coveted the shares in Kingpin's hands.
And... he didn't want to pay for them.