Research on time travel at the underground laboratory is progressing vigorously.
Hank Pym naturally joined the underground laboratory and became a powerful collaborator with the Justice League.
As for Pym Industries, it is now managed by Hank Pym daughter, Hope van Dyne.
Since Hope van Dyne was already an old employee from the early days of Pym Industries, through Cross Technologies, and back to Pym Industries, her rise to leadership did not cause any disturbance.
The smooth transition of power stabilized Pym Industries completely.
After Hank Pym joined the underground laboratory, thanks to their good cooperation, Pym Industries also strengthened its ties with Wayne Enterprises.
This move significantly boosted the stock price of Pym Industries.
Although it could not return to its peak, the current situation was very satisfying to shareholders and investors.
In the eyes of others, the biggest beneficiary was not Pym Industries, but Wayne Enterprises, which always emerged more prominently at the end of events, cleaning up and reaping the benefits.
They found that Wayne Enterprises always managed to turn crises into opportunities.
Among the confrontations between big capitals like Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Osborn Corporation, Cross Technologies, and now Pym Industries, Wayne Enterprises always emerged as the final victor.
Especially in the military camp.
Wayne Enterprises had solidified its footing and no longer faced any so-called arms giants daring to snatch food from its plate.
That day.
After the related news had settled, Anton sat in his office as usual, handling some minor affairs.
"How is the filming of Shazam going?" he asked Betty, who was updating him on company activities.
"It in the final stages," Betty replied.
"The filming of Shazam hasn't been difficult, and the script and character arrangements are very well done. We believe it has the potential to be a huge hit."
"Good," Anton nodded. "Let me know once filming is completed, and arrange the premiere as soon as possible. The rest you can handle as per the normal process."
He wasn't actually that concerned about the progress of Shazam filming.
After all, as long as the release of Shazam could generate enough fan interest to make the character viable, that was sufficient.
The rest was just details that didn't require his constant attention.
"Oh, and by the way," Betty suddenly said, "Tony Stark just sent an invitation, hoping you would attend the launch of Stark Industries latest product, which is also Tony newest research."
"Newest research?" Anton narrowed his eyes with interest. "What is it?"
"I don't know," Betty shook her head.
"Stark Industries has kept it under tight wraps, and no one has been able to get the inside scoop, not even Eddie."
"Is that so?" Anton said, intrigued by Tony Stark invitation.
During this time, Tony had been maintaining a low profile, rarely appearing in the media, and Anton always felt he was brewing something big.
Especially after learning from Harry about the disbandment of the Avengers and Tony formation of the Illuminati...
That made him take the idea even more seriously.
Now, it seemed Tony already had plans and was moving on them.
"What exactly is he planning to do?" Anton pondered, wondering how Tony would face a seemingly invincible and globally beloved superhero team like the Justice League.
However, he would not underestimate Tony Stark.
As Iron Man, Tony Stark was undoubtedly the most beloved man in the Marvel universe by the cosmic consciousness.
His death was only necessary for the storyline.
Before that, Anton never felt that any difficulty could completely defeat Tony.
One could imagine, before the plot point of his death, Tony, favored by fate, was like an indestructible cockroach, always walking on the stage of destiny.
"When does the press conference start?" Anton asked.
"Tomorrow," Betty replied.
The next day, Anton accompanied the Daily Bugle interview team to Stark Tower in Manhattan, New York.
After the Battle of New York, Stark Tower had been rebuilt and now stood as the tallest building in New York—a perfect representation of Stark Industries and Tony Stark ostentatious and image-conscious nature.
In the lobby, a simple yet elegant setup was constructed.
A woman familiar to many, stood at the center of the venue, giving instructions to the staff around her. This woman was none other than Tony Stark close confidant, Pepper Potts.
"Hi," Pepper quickly noticed Anton and others arriving.
"Anton, long time no see," she greeted with a smile, then turned to Eddie Brock and others beside Anton.
"Your seats are in the front row," Pepper said.
"As previously communicated, being America leading media, you will have the privilege to ask Tony the first questions. Afterward, we've arranged a one-on-one interview with you guys for half an hour."
"No problem," Eddie readily agreed.
Pepper then moved on to supervise other areas.
Anton and Eddie took their seats.
"It not like Tony Stark to host a press conference for Stark Industries new product unless he thinks it matches the significance of his Arc Reactor," Anton turned to Eddie. "What do you think?"
After receiving the invitation, he had reached out to Eddie, who said that although he had also received an invitation and had communicated with Stark Industries, he still knew nothing.
According to Eddie, even the employees within Stark Industries were clueless about what their former chairman and major shareholder, Tony Stark, was up to. Probably only Pepper Potts was in the know.
Of course, given Tony Stark status, no one would press Pepper to reveal anything.
"This is getting interesting nobody knows what Tony Stark is up to!" Anton focused on the stage, where a standee of Tony Stark was placed, and suddenly smiled, increasingly eager to see what would unfold.
Finally, the time for the press conference approached.
This time, Tony Stark was not late.
He walked in with confident strides, his mustachioed face still radiating confidence.
As he ascended the podium, the room fell silent.
Just then, the countdown timer at the venue hit zero.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the press conference begins now!" Tony Stark scanned the audience, his gaze lingering a second longer on Anton, and slowly said,
"This time, I want to introduce a groundbreaking new product from Stark Industries, an artificial intelligence assistant named Ultron."
The audience didn't react immediately, as nobody knew what Ultron was or what its capabilities were. The term "artificial intelligence assistant" was a broad description, letting everyone know that Tony Stark might be about to explain further.
Only Anton was momentarily stunned, doubting what he just heard.
Ultron?!
He looked at the charismatic Tony Stark on the stage and mentally gave him a thumbs up.
Impressive.
Anton had not expected that Tony Stark would bring out Ultron, a classic Marvel villain, at this time, especially as an artificial intelligence assistant to be introduced to the whole world.
Though Tony hadn't explained exactly what his intentions were yet, just hearing the name Ultron, coupled with the press conference, made Anton realize he had a pretty good idea of where this was going.
Clearly, Tony intended to introduce Ultron as a groundbreaking artificial intelligence product, embedding it into people everyday lives.
Much like Siri from Apple in the past, or Huawei Xiao Yi.
In the current Marvel world, the development of artificial intelligence was advancing even faster than in the previous timeline.
However, Tony Stark already had J.A.R.V.I.S. from the start, so this technology seemed almost ordinary to the audience.
In truth, as Tony had said, it was a truly revolutionary product.
At this moment, Tony seemed determined to turn this revolutionary product into a new business venture for Stark Industries.
As for his true purpose, Anton couldn't be entirely sure yet.
But if he thought about it, he knew Tony wasn't simply trying to increase Stark Industries stock price.
Wealth had already become the least important thing for Tony Stark.
Instead, Tony biggest goal now seemed to be leading his organization, the Illuminati, to surpass the Justice League, erase past humiliations, and make himself the world most credible and influential superhero.
A flash of realization crossed Anton mind.
He then continued to listen to Tony explanation, which confirmed his suspicions. Tony announced that Ultron would have countless applications.
Through these applications, Ultron would integrate into people lives, just like smartphones and computers in this era, becoming an indispensable part of everyday life.
Soon after, under everyone gaze, Tony unlocked several features of Ultron.
The level of intelligence displayed by Ultron was roughly equivalent to one-tenth of J.A.R.V.I.S. from Iron Man 1, with its computing power significantly reduced to less than one-thousandth.
Of course, this was the result of Tony intentionally limiting it.
However, despite the fact that Ultron Tony showcased had only one-tenth the intelligence of J.A.R.V.I.S. and less than one-thousandth of the computing power, it was still enough to shock everyone at the press conference.
Someone in the crowd raised a concern about Ultron.
"With this level of computing power, Ultron could replace many human workers. This would impact many industries and jobs...
Mr. Tony Stark, how do you view the potential threat to jobs posed by the artificial intelligence assistant you created, Ultron?"
"Indeed, Ultron possesses many abilities that surpass human capabilities, but it has not yet learned human creativity.
We, as humans, are still irreplaceable by machines. Our creativity allows us to adapt to changing circumstances and create more meaningful jobs,
such as those that fulfill human emotional needs. This is something machines will never be able to satisfy."
Tony said, "Additionally, while Ultron has significant commercial potential, we've divided Ultron services into three categories: civilian, public, and military.
These three services represent different levels of computing power. The civilian service will be made available to the public,
while the public and military services will be provided to those who need them, at equivalent levels."
Such an answer didn't satisfy the questioner.
However, Tony didn't pay any more attention to the question and simply ignored him, which left the questioner feeling helpless.
In fact, Tony willingness to respond to his question at all was already a great favor.
Otherwise, with Tony usual arrogant personality, he would have kicked the questioner out of the press conference without giving him a chance to speak.
Anton listened to Tony words, his expression remaining calm.
Tony answer didn't surprise him, as it was the most official response possible.
In such a public setting, Tony could hardly reveal his true intentions.
After mulling over it for a moment and listening to Tony boast for a while, Anton began to form an idea.
Could it be that Tony wanted to monitor everyone lives?
If Ultron truly integrated into people lives, then as its creator, Tony would naturally become the handler of all the world data.
At that point, Tony could create various data models to predict where crimes were occurring or where crises were emerging.
It would be like the original version of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Hydra Insight Program was implemented.
Except this time, the Insight Program was Tony Stark idea, and he intended to carry it out in what he believed to be a good way to change the world.
"Alright, today press conference is over."
Suddenly, Tony Stark voice snapped Anton out of his deep thoughts.
"Mr. Stark, could you elaborate on your vision for Ultron?"
"Mr. Stark, why did you create an artificial intelligence like Ultron? I heard you already have a super AI named J.A.R.V.I.S. Was it your inspiration for Ultron?"
"Mr. Stark..."
A cacophony of shouting voices followed.
Anton watched as Tony completely ignored the crowd of reporters around him, not even glancing at them as he walked into the elevator and disappeared from public view.
He then looked over at Eddie, who nodded in response.
Thus, the Daily bugle team, under the leadership of Pepper Potts, made their way to the highest floor of Stark Industries—Tony private apartment in the Stark Tower.
Anton was no exception. As the owner of Daily bugle, he followed Eddie and the others to the apartment.
Inside the apartment, Tony, who had been waiting for the Daily bugle team, showed no change in expression when he saw Anton.
He had already anticipated that Anton would come looking for him.
From what he knew of Anton, it was clear that he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to interview him.
Or rather, the reason Tony had sent the invitation to Anton was that he was expecting Anton to come knocking.