Chapter 549

Oreses’s claim was certainly bold.

There was some truth behind it, but the way she put it made human technological progress sound as though it had been standing still for centuries.

The President and the other officials in the conference room didn’t seem particularly impressed.

One flipped through a file.

Another cleaned his glasses.

Someone else took a sip of water.

Nobody looked shocked. Nobody looked offended.

They simply didn’t react.

It wasn’t because they agreed with Oreses. Nor did they secretly believe she’d uncovered some great truth they’d failed to notice.

They’d heard this sort of sales pitch too many times.

These days, anyone trying to sell something would first explain why everything made by their competitors was obsolete. It didn’t matter whether they were selling rifles, ammunition, aircraft, missiles, or something as mundane as a toilet.

Our competitors’ toilets clog.

Their designs are ugly.

Their plumbing is inefficient.

But ours? Beautiful. Elegant. Revolutionary. And every flush saves water.

The technique wasn’t exactly groundbreaking.

So perhaps Oreses had simply exaggerated to establish an advantage.

But if she was willing to make such a grand claim, then her company presumably had something worth showing.

At the very least, they could humor her.

Especially since this rising political figure had been the one to arrange the introduction.

The presidential adviser who had been cleaning his glasses finally finished polishing them and slipped the expensive-looking gold-rimmed spectacles back onto his nose.

He turned toward Oreses.

"So what does this so-called complete revolution actually look like? Are you talking about energy weapons and powered armor like Iron Man?"

The last part was clearly meant as a joke.

Several people around the table chuckled.

Nobody seriously believed that just anyone could produce technology on Tony Stark’s level.

Oreses immediately answered.

"Why couldn’t we?"

The laughter died.

Every face in the room turned toward her.

For a moment, nobody seemed quite sure they’d heard correctly.

Could there really be another genius capable of producing technology on Stark’s level?

Oreses smiled.

"Tony Stark truly is a genius. His inventions and the way he approaches technology are decades ahead of his time. There is much that can be learned from him."

That statement immediately caught everyone’s attention.

The President and his advisers leaned forward.

The U.S. government had coveted Iron Man’s technology for years. If Oreses was suggesting that her company could reproduce anything remotely comparable, they wanted to hear every word.

Then she changed direction.

"Unfortunately..."

The enthusiasm around the table dimmed.

"Unfortunately?"

Oreses sighed as though the matter genuinely pained her.

"When you consider production costs, practical deployment, and especially the legal complications, our company can’t manufacture something identical to Iron Man’s armor."

"I see."

The President nodded.

He understood those concerns all too well.

Cost and mass production weren’t actually the biggest obstacles. Even if Iron Man’s armor was too expensive to equip the entire military, the United States could certainly afford a few hundred suits for an elite unit.

The technology was a more complicated issue, but even that wasn’t insurmountable.

War Machine, now officially designated Iron Patriot, was already in the hands of the U.S. military. If they transferred the armor to a research facility and took it apart piece by piece, they might not be able to reproduce it perfectly, but reverse-engineering some of its technology should be entirely possible.

The real problem was the law.

That was the minefield.

The President couldn’t simply do whatever he wanted when Tony Stark was involved.

If the government openly violated Stark’s rights and crossed his red lines by seizing or copying his armor, the President was fairly certain an impeachment resolution could be moving within twenty-four hours.

Or worse.

He could end up like President Kennedy.

Stark Industries was already a major industrial power with considerable political influence in the United States.

And if the government attacked Stark’s property rights, other major corporations would almost certainly stand beside him.

From their perspective, it would set a dangerous precedent.

If the government could seize Tony Stark’s technology today, what would stop it from nationalizing the Federal Reserve tomorrow?

Better to remove the administration that had decided private property was optional.

"So," the President said after a moment’s thought, "your company has already solved these problems?"

He suspected it had.

Oreses wouldn’t have come here to pitch her company’s technology if legal and manufacturing obstacles made the proposal impossible.

"Of course."

Oreses nodded.

"We admire Tony Stark’s ideas, not necessarily his exact products. Our technology is much easier to mass-produce, and it won’t create the same legal complications."

"Good."

The President’s smile widened.

"Very good."

He leaned back.

"If what you’re saying is true, and your technology satisfies the military, I can guarantee that your company will become the Department of Defense’s largest partner."

Then, perhaps carried away by his enthusiasm, he added:

"Honestly, if I were you, the only problem I’d be worried about right now is how quickly you can build enough production lines to meet the demand."

Oreses looked at him strangely.

"Mr. President, there’s really no reason to be this excited over something of this scale."

The President blinked.

"What?"

"Everything we’ve discussed so far," Oreses explained with an almost amused smile, "is merely a side project our company developed on a whim."

She lifted her glass.

"At most, it’s an appetizer."

She took a sip.

"My actual sales pitch is only just beginning."

The President and his advisers fell silent.

For a moment, they looked as though they’d all been slapped with the same invisible hand.

An appetizer?

They were beginning to feel like country bumpkins who’d been shown a fancy toaster and told there were still bigger wonders waiting in the barn.

Before anyone could recover, Alice stepped forward.

She was the flight attendant the Twins had specifically requested.

Without saying a word, she refilled Oreses’s glass.

"Thank you."

Oreses smiled at her.

This girl certainly knows when to be useful.

The small interruption gave the President and the other officials enough time to regain their composure.

The President cleared his throat.

"Please. Continue with your presentation."

Oreses set down her glass.

"The project our company has devoted the most effort to, the one with the greatest value, is—"

The aircraft suddenly lurched.

The entire plane shook violently.

The conference room jolted hard enough to throw several people against their seats.

Officials grabbed whatever they could.

Some hurriedly reached for their seat belts.

Oreses alone remained calm.

She lowered herself into her chair with perfect composure, crossed one leg over the other, and slowly looked toward the door.

Her expression had gone cold.

"I hate being interrupted while I’m speaking."

An instant later, a shrill alarm screamed through the aircraft.

The intercom crackled.

"Unknown object impact! The aircraft has sustained damage! Lower-deck decompression! Repeat, unknown object—"

The announcement was cut short.

Gunfire erupted in the corridor.

Then came screams.

The Secret Service agents in the conference room immediately drew their pistols and aimed them at the door.

Everyone tensed.

Then—

BOOM!

The conference room doors were smashed inward.

A familiar armored figure stood amid the wreckage.

Iron Patriot.

The agents had already received the Vice President’s warning.

They knew exactly what they were looking at.

An enemy.

They opened fire without hesitation.

Bullets hammered into the armor.

They did absolutely nothing.

A handgun against powered armor was about as useful as throwing coins at a tank.

The agents were highly trained professionals, but they weren’t superheroes.

Oreses watched the scene with undisguised irritation.

"How annoying."

She slowly raised one finger.

Her hands had been resting elegantly in her lap only a moment before.

Now one finger pointed toward the intruder.

And the air around it began to change.