Sora Yukihara asked unhappily, "JARVIS, why didn't you issue a warning when they approached the front entrance?"
JARVIS replied, "At the time, I was subjected to severe artificial interference. There was not only electronic disruption but also a cyberattack. Furthermore, the cyberattack had authorization access to this system. Preliminary analysis indicates it was orchestrated by Stark Industries' CEO, Obadiah Stane."
"As expected."
Sora Yukihara couldn't help but sigh at the man's cunning.
That old fox had been secretly eating away at Stark Industries while keeping Tony completely fooled—treating him like a golden goose that laid eggs.
And the moment Tony noticed something was wrong and tried to resist, Obadiah struck first.
Sora Yukihara said, "Since things have come to this, there's no point dwelling on it. Tell me where Obadiah is—I need to stop him."
"Apologies. He has disappeared."
JARVIS continued, "My database analysis indicates that the armed group consists of top-tier international mercenaries. They are also extremely familiar with Tony's environment, which further increases the probability of Obadiah's involvement. However, when I attempted to locate him immediately, he had already vanished, completely evading my surveillance."
Sora Yukihara asked, "If he completely avoided your surveillance, then he's not at home and not in Stark Industries either. Can you predict where he went?"
JARVIS replied, "No. There are too many possible locations. Any answer would lack meaningful accuracy."
Sora Yukihara paused, pacing back and forth inside the mansion.
Then his gaze landed on a pool of blood near the window.
He recalled the earlier attack footage.
That was where Tony had killed the first mercenary using a chemical explosion.
But the corpse had been taken away, and the attacker had been masked the entire time—even JARVIS couldn't reconstruct his identity.
Still, Sora Yukihara got an idea.
"JARVIS, I need you to analyze the owner of this blood sample."
"Yes. Please collect a sample and place it into the underground analysis device."
JARVIS immediately allocated resources.
Soon, the results came out.
Sora Yukihara watched as JARVIS hacked into international mercenary databases—and even certain classified government intelligence archives—comparing genetic sequences until it finally identified the original owner of the blood.
"Got your tail."
Sora Yukihara smiled coldly.
"Even the world's top mercenary groups don't receive full payment upfront when a mission is issued—that would be idiotic. At most, they get a generous deposit."
"According to industry rules, the full reward is only paid after the mission is completed."
"In that case, after successfully stealing the armor and blueprints, they'll definitely contact Obadiah to settle payment."
"And for something this valuable, Obadiah will most likely show up in person."
"Which means… I have a chance to catch him."
Having finished his deduction, Sora Yukihara gave a sinister grin and ordered, "JARVIS, track every movement of this mercenary team. They're carrying too much cargo—they can't have gone far."
A bustling port in Los Angeles.
As the largest harbor on the west coast of the United States, its shipping industry was incredibly developed, with maritime trade at its core.
Massive ships of all kinds entered and exited daily. The place was unbelievably prosperous.
But beneath that prosperity lurked countless hidden evils.
And today, among them, was a transaction that could potentially change the balance of the world.
On a massive cargo ship registered to a mineral-exporting country, a shadowy figure arrived.
The figure descended from the sky, appearing out of nowhere before immediately melting into the darkness.
It was Sora Yukihara.
"Go."
He opened a small box. From it flew out three miniature flying surveillance drones, each only the size of a fist.
Tony had created these on a whim in his younger days.
But because they posed serious privacy risks and legal liabilities, they had remained part of his private collection, never seeing real use.
Now, they had fallen into Sora Yukihara's hands.
Watching the drones fly off, Sora Yukihara muttered, "These look just like the pumpkin bombs from Spider-Man 3… except they don't explode—they're for surveillance."
Genius seemed to resonate with genius.
Just look at Norman Osborn—his Green Goblin suit and Rhino armor were clearly in the same technological category as Iron Man's suits.
And now these drones, resembling pumpkin bombs, only reinforced that feeling.
"Hm? Hidden surveillance?"
"What a nasty placement. Damn, these top-tier mercenaries really don't mess around—even their temporary base has such dirty defensive setups."
Before arriving, Sora Yukihara had already used JARVIS to obtain the ship's schematics.
He knew its internal structure, as well as its security systems, inside and out.
But he hadn't expected additional hidden surveillance.
Without the drones, he would have definitely been detected.
Now that he knew, he naturally wouldn't expose himself.
A few minutes later—
Inside a large, empty cargo hold.
It had been converted into a temporary base.
Seven people were resting there.
A massive black man wearing a skull necklace was carving strange wooden figures with a jungle machete.
Nearby, a bespectacled man monitoring surveillance footage suddenly frowned as one of the screens flickered.
The giant asked, "What's wrong?"
After checking repeatedly, the man replied, "Nothing. Probably just electromagnetic interference."
Still, the giant stood up.
Among them, his instincts were the sharpest.
After all, he had survived for over a decade in the wild jungles—a true beast.
"Relax," the bespectacled man said. "Just interference."
The giant shook his head. "No. I have a bad feeling. That Obadiah guy isn't trustworthy. Even though the deal is done, there's no guarantee he won't try to silence us."
Their team leader stepped in. "Relax. Obadiah may be rich, but we rejected his route and deliberately stayed here for two days. If I were him, I'd assume we already left North America."
"Not bad. I almost thought the same myself."
A voice suddenly echoed.
Sora Yukihara slowly walked in.