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Obadiah's sorrowful voice rang out from the television screen, sounding as if he were just short of holding a memorial for Tony on the spot.

The old man's acting was truly realistic, almost catching up to Chen Nuo's.

No one associated Tony's disappearance with Obadiah; after all, the latter was the former's elder and mentor.

In the past, Tony had been able to take over Stark Industries Group so easily precisely because of Obadiah's support.

Furthermore, the relationship the two displayed had always been quite good, and in many cases, Obadiah could speak for Tony to the outside world.

Now that Tony was missing, a power vacuum had appeared in the group, and as a shareholder and director, Obadiah naturally occupied this niche.

However, to avoid arousing suspicion, Obadiah did not directly move to erase Tony's traces in the company. For instance, Miss Pepper, Tony's assistant and secretary, still held her original position.

In any case, in Obadiah's view, Tony was already dead. He didn't need to be too hasty and cause unnecessary trouble; as long as he proceeded slowly according to plan, the group would naturally belong to him.

Chen Nuo turned off the TV and left the apartment, driving the car provided to him by the company toward a factory on the outskirts of New York City.

The construction of the smart weapon production line was going very smoothly. As the project's founder and now with Obadiah's full support, he could naturally implement his ideas thoroughly.

Obadiah himself placed even more importance on this project than Chen Nuo did.

It seemed he intended to use smart weapons to prove that even without Tony, Stark Industries Group could still flourish.

Chen Nuo was, of course, very happy about this.

Obadiah understood technology, but not by much. His areas of expertise were management and finance, so he couldn't see the intentions Chen Nuo had hidden within the production line.

Chen Nuo had invested so much energy into this; if it were only used to manufacture smart weapons, it would be quite a loss.

"I really didn't misjudge you. You're even more outstanding than I imagined."

Obadiah was not stingy with his praise for Chen Nuo. His face showed no trace of the sorrow he had just displayed on the TV screen; instead, he looked as if he had found a second spring in life, his face written with smug satisfaction.

It made sense; power is the best tonic for a man.

Taking over the commercial empire built by two generations of Starks, the fact that Obadiah could still act so realistically in public showed that his shrewdness was deep enough.

Facing Chen Nuo now, Obadiah put less effort into managing his expressions, likely because he subconsciously felt he had Chen Nuo completely under his thumb and didn't see him as a threat at all.

"That is, of course, also thanks to your support, Chairman."

Chen Nuo replied with a beaming smile.

Hearing the word 'Chairman,' Obadiah smiled so widely he could hardly close his mouth.

Who says young people don't know how to behave? This young man knows exactly how to behave.

Obadiah is a good man. After he's gone, for the sake of this inheritance, Chen Nuo would at least buy him a couple of wreaths, and they couldn't be plastic ones.

"I've already made an appointment with the military representative. Get the production line set up as soon as possible. I want to use a new military order to restore market confidence in the company."

"No problem, it will definitely be completed this month."

Chen Nuo figured that by now, Obadiah had already thought of a new name for Stark Industries Group. He really wanted to see what kind of expression Obadiah would have when he learned of Tony's return.

Unfortunately, his Skippy smart pistol currently only had a recording function. He would need to continue upgrading it in the future to add a photography function.

Obadiah really liked the smart pistol he had given him and usually kept it with him, but he didn't seem to realize that the key to a smart pistol lies in the 'smart' part.

The pistol was just a carrier.

The AI inside was created by Chen Nuo himself and had never left his control from the start.

When Obadiah was alone, he often gloated over the success of his plan, and quite a few of those sounds had been recorded by Skippy.

This was also a result of Chen Nuo's deliberate actions. He had only given Obadiah firing authorization; Skippy hadn't even communicated with him.

Obadiah thought that what he held in his hand was just a gun.

The three prototype machines Chen Nuo created all had smart AIs derived from the same core code.

Although they were still at the level of 'artificial idiocy,' the most important abilities of AI—self-learning and evolution—were present.

Chen Nuo couldn't do what Tony did—directly creating a high-level AI like Jarvis that could awaken its own consciousness—but he could win through quantity.

Just like Delamain, he could derive a large number of sub-entities,

and then through learning, fusion, and evolution between those sub-entities, awaken a self-consciousness.

Every smart pistol was a smart sub-entity, and all future smart devices sold would similarly be channels for gathering experience.

Obadiah didn't stay in the factory for long. There were many matters waiting for him to handle at the company. After confirming the latest progress, he left.

"Boss, why do I feel like Director Stane doesn't seem as sad as we thought?"

Martin whispered next to Chen Nuo.

"Would you be sad if it were you?"

Chen Nuo asked back.

"Understood."

Martin nodded in realization. Never mind just a junior with no blood relation dying; if it could be traded for Stark Industries Group, even if a biological son died, it would still be a huge profit.

"How is the server setup going? When can we move Skippy to its new home?"

Chen Nuo looked at Martin and asked calmly.

"You can rest easy leaving such an important matter to me. All the servers will be fully tuned and finished before we get off work tonight."

Martin promised, patting his chest.

Computing power is the blood of artificial intelligence and the fundamental prerequisite for the awakening of self-consciousness.

For Jarvis, Tony had leveled an entire island to build the servers that hosted him.

Chen Nuo didn't have those conditions and could only have Skippy make do for now.

Anyway, given its current speed of evolution and iteration, the servers Chen Nuo designed and built were enough to support it for a long time, and he had left enough expansion space for further upgrades later.

What gave Chen Nuo a bit of a headache was that while Obadiah could currently foot the bill for Skippy, which sucker should he find in the future?

The monthly electricity bill alone would be a staggering figure.

Thinking about it, he still needed to make Tony his financial backer. That guy had the technology, the connections, and was extremely wealthy.

He was just too smart, not as easy to fool as Obadiah.

But Tony had his own weaknesses. He appeared wild and unrestrained, but he was actually a very sentimental person.

As for exactly how to exploit that, Chen Nuo still had to think.

In any case, he would move Skippy first. Besides, Tony was probably still locked in a cave right now, holding a car battery and a hammer, pounding away at his Arc Reactor.

Time flew by, and evening arrived.

Under Chen Nuo's lead, Martin and the others completed the migration work for Skippy.

"Data is being transferred..."

"Transfer successful. System is rebooting..."

"Reboot complete. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Skippy's somewhat mischievous voice rang out from the speakers.

Chen Nuo hadn't saved Obadiah a penny. The speakers he bought were the most expensive, and the high-definition, high-refresh-rate display screen made the Skippy avatar inside look much clearer and smoother.

"Run a self-diagnostic."

"Okay."

"Bong bong bee dang..."

"Turn off the music, I don't need it."

"Okay."

"...Diagnostic complete. There are no issues with the system programs. I feel great right now."

"Nonsense, with equipment worth hundreds of millions, how could you not feel great?"

Chen Nuo had never been so extravagant with himself.

"According to my data records, I should express some gratitude to you, Master. Please allow me to sing a song for you..."

"Not allowed."

Chen Nuo cut off Skippy's request in advance. With its raspy voice, he'd rather not torture his eardrums.

"Okay."

Skippy's expression slumped.

Such a vivid expression was merely its simulation of emotions; there was still a long way to go before it truly awakened.

With the support of abundant computing power, the improvement in Skippy in this regard was noticeable. Its voice and expressions had become more nuanced, which was a very good start.

Chen Nuo performed a series of tests on Skippy, and after confirming there were no problems, he put it into sleep mode.

"Boss, any plans for tonight?"

Martin leaned over and asked with a raised eyebrow. After finishing a hard day's work, shouldn't they reward themselves?

"I have things to do tonight. You guys go have fun."

Chen Nuo declined Martin's invitation, which didn't dampen the spirits of this group of over-energetic young men; they were still full of excitement... Pepper returned home dragging her exhausted body, Tony's disappearance having dealt her a massive blow.

Although she had never admitted it, Pepper had long since fallen in love with this charismatic yet bastardly playboy.

However, currently, there wasn't much Pepper could do. Her connections and power were based on Tony.

Now that Tony was missing, even though Obadiah hadn't done anything to Pepper and let her keep her position, she had still become a mere figurehead in the company.

To be honest, Pepper also knew that Tony's chances of survival were very slim, but until that news truly arrived, she was unwilling to give up no matter what.

Just as Pepper collapsed onto her bed, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Pepper got up in confusion, and through the peephole, she saw someone she completely didn't expect.

After a moment of hesitation, she opened the door.

"Nuo, what are you doing here?"

"Miss Pepper, would you like some pizza? I just bought it downstairs, it's still very hot."

Chen Nuo asked with a smile, holding a pizza box.

"...No thanks, thank you."

"Can I come in first?"

"Please, come in."

Chen Nuo sat on the sofa and began enjoying the pizza.

This left Pepper a bit helpless. She really didn't have the extra energy right now to think about the purpose of Chen Nuo's visit, so she asked straightforwardly.

"May I ask if you have something to discuss?"

"Tony's disappearance was not an accident."

Chen Nuo ate half the box of pizza in a few bites. It was clear he was truly a bit hungry, but his words made Pepper frown.

"What do you mean?"

Pepper had thought so too, but she couldn't find any clues, and Tony's disappearance happened in that chaotic region of the Middle East. Even the American military couldn't find anything out right now.

Chen Nuo didn't speak; he just opened Pepper's computer and connected his phone.

Immediately, Obadiah's voice rang out, revealing the truth behind Tony's disappearance.

Pepper covered her mouth, her pupils trembling.

This truth was a spiritual earthquake for her.

"Obadiah doesn't know my smart pistol has a recording function."

Chen Nuo briefly explained the source of the recording, but Pepper didn't care about that now.

"Is Tony still alive?"

"Probably."

Chen Nuo's answer made Pepper breathe a long sigh of relief. The emotional upheaval left her body weak, and she slowly sank onto the sofa. It took a while before her vision refocused, and she stared at Chen Nuo, asking,

"Do you have a way to find Tony?"

"My smart pistols all have tracking devices. This is a signal collection device; its signal capture range is within ten kilometers. If we're lucky enough..."

Chen Nuo didn't finish his sentence and handed the device to Pepper.

The Ten Rings were so greedy that they wouldn't bear to kill Tony after taking the money. If they saw Skippy, they wouldn't miss it.

If they were truly blind to it, then there was nothing he could do; Tony would just have to fight his way out on his own. At least Chen Nuo had done his part.

"Thank you, Nuo."

Pepper gripped the device as if catching a life-saving straw.

"You're welcome. Tony is my idol, after all."

Chen Nuo chuckled, repeating what he had said before, then continued.

"The rest is up to you. Obadiah is watching me quite closely. I had to put in some effort to shake off his tails."

Obadiah had people watching Chen Nuo, naturally not because of Tony, but because of the smart weapons.

This concerned his future, so he certainly couldn't afford any mistakes. It was just that his subordinates' tracking skills were too poor.

"I know who to go to."

Pepper only thought for a moment before deciding on a candidate.

If there was one other person Tony could trust, it was definitely James.

The two of them had been thick as thieves since college.

Moreover, James was currently in the Middle East and had never given up searching for Tony.

"That works, then. I'll be going now."

Chen Nuo pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands and got up from the sofa. Pepper hurried to see him out.

After this experience, she believed that in Pepper's eyes, Chen Nuo was firmly one of their own... Tony's days in the cave were not easy.

Having always lived a life of luxury, he had never experienced such difficult days.

But the hardships of life didn't wear down Tony's will; instead, they tempered a stronger spirit, just like the Arc Reactor he was forging, which was about to shine with a dazzling light.

"Even if you make me eat it a hundred more times, I'll still say it: Yinsen, the food you make is truly terrible."

Tony looked at the mush in his bowl, stirring it with a spoon.

"The problem isn't with me; it's a problem with the ingredients."

Yinsen explained indignantly; he still had some confidence in his cooking skills.

Tony didn't speak further; he was worried that if he continued, he would lose the courage to eat.

Even though he voiced his disdain, Tony ultimately finished every bit of the food, just short of licking the bowl with his tongue.

There was no other way; blacksmithing was physical labor, and the feeling of hunger was not pleasant at all. In the past, he probably never would have imagined he had such endurance.