"Mr. Rowan, may I ask what are the prices for your Kroluminum alloy?"

The crowd, still reeling from the demonstration, now turned their attention to Rowan with anticipation in their eyes.

Rowan offered a calm smile, then turned to the large display screen behind him.

He tapped the remote control in his hand, and immediately, a list of numbers appeared:

Grade One Kroluminum: $20,000 per kg

Grade Two Kroluminum: $100,000 per kg

Grade Three Kroluminum: $400,000 per kg

The room fell silent. The dozen or so representatives exchanged glances, clearly surprised by the pricing.

"Mr. Rowan, do you have sufficient inventory? NASA would like to place a pre-order for 200 kilograms of Grade Two Kroluminum."

Rowan nodded, satisfied that the alloy's outstanding performance had successfully won over even these seasoned industrial giants. Despite the steep prices Grade Two being more than twice the price of gold they were still eager to buy.

"Our stock is limited," Rowan explained. "For now, we can only accept pre-orders. You may pay 50% upfront, and I will deliver the alloy within two weeks."

"Two weeks? That's acceptable," the NASA representative responded without hesitation. For their aerospace program, a two-week wait was nothing.

"We at Hammer Industries would like to purchase 200 kilograms of Grade Two and 50 kilograms of Grade Three."

The Hammer Industries representative quickly followed suit. This was the maximum budget he could authorize without higher-level approval.

"Agreed," Rowan said with a nod.

"Our military would like samples of each grade of Kroluminum," said a defense representative, his tone cautious. It was clear he intended to take the materials back for review before making a larger commitment.

"That's fine. Anyone with purchasing needs can coordinate with my CEO," Rowan replied, glancing at Sharon. "But remember, supplies are limited. If you delay, you'll be put in the queue."

With that, Sharon stepped forward, holding a stack of pre-prepared purchase agreements and began processing orders with the various representatives.

Witnessing the enthusiasm in the room, even the more hesitant attendees started calling their superiors to secure funds. Soon, they too joined the growing list of buyers.

Just then, the sound of brisk footsteps echoed from the entrance.

Rowan looked up and saw Tony Stark striding in, his signature roguish smile on full display.

Rowan walked over to greet him.

"Well? Not bad for your global ambassador, huh?" Tony said with a grin. "Every one of those folks represents a heavyweight in their industry. I bet you racked up some serious contracts today."

"Very impressive," Rowan replied. "I'll deliver your personal batch of Kroluminum this evening."

"Make it tomorrow," Tony said, shaking his head. "I've got to argue with the board later today. Then tonight, I plan to follow your advice and wear the suit to a party."

"A party?" Rowan raised an eyebrow, not expecting Tony to actually take his suggestion seriously.

"Some charity gala thrown in my name," Tony said offhandedly.

Rowan looked at him for a long moment.

This had to be the same party from the original timeline the one where Obadiah Stane finally revealed his betrayal. After that night, Tony realized he couldn't stop Stark Industries from selling weapons to war zones, which pushed him to take action on his own. It was during that period that the Iron Man suit truly made its mark on the world stage.

"Well then, have fun," Rowan said, clapping Tony on the shoulder.

Tony chuckled and made his way upstairs to find Pepper.

By the time the afternoon had passed, all the representatives had left.

Sharon was practically glowing with excitement as she reported back to Rowan.

"We signed seventeen contracts in total. The combined value exceeds a billion dollars!"

And that was just the beginning most of these organizations were simply testing the waters. They hadn't even started placing full-scale orders yet.

"Rowan, all the contracts require us to deliver within two weeks. With so many orders, can we actually meet the deadlines?"

Sharon's smile faded slightly as the logistics began to sink in.

Rowan gave her a reassuring grin.

As long as he had enough capital, supply wasn't an issue. All of today's orders had required a 50% down payment. That meant he had plenty of funds to exchange for other materials and then purchase more Kroluminum from the Swallowed Star world.

"Don't worry, Sharon. You just focus on maintaining communication with our clients."

"Also, over the next two weeks, I need you to help me lease an office building. We need a proper headquarters for Krolum Industries. Once we've got that, we can start building the company's internal structure."

He handed Sharon a thick folder. "This is my preliminary organizational framework. Take a look."

Sharon took the file and flipped it open her eyes widened in surprise.

Rowan's ambition was staggering.

The proposed Krolum Industries would eventually include eleven departments: Energy, Biotech, Weapons, Materials, and more each with its own independent research division.

He had even listed candidates for department leads.

For the biotech division, Rowan had selected a biologist named Dr. Helen Zhao, and included her full profile in the folder.

For the weapons division, the proposed leader was a recently released Russian convict, someone with no scientific credentials and a dubious background. His profile looked more like a rap sheet than a résumé, yet Rowan had marked his name with a bold red star.

Sharon looked up, speechless.

Rowan simply smiled without offering an explanation.

"The ones I've marked, try your best to recruit them. If you can't get them right away, keep monitoring them closely."

"Got it," Sharon replied seriously, though still visibly puzzled.

With her tasks assigned, Rowan dropped Sharon off at home and returned to his apartment within the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound.

The day had gone better than expected. While the total volume of orders wasn't overwhelming, it was a solid foundation and the follow-up orders would only get larger.

Krolum Industries wouldn't be short on business anytime soon.

It was time to get the interdimensional trade pipeline running smoothly.

With that thought, Rowan snapped his fingers and disappeared into a swirling vortex.

"Hey, Howard, how'd the rice sell last time?" Rowan asked as he arrived in the world of Swallowed Star, calling up his trusted contact.

Before becoming a full-fledged warrior, his safest bet remained selling rice.

"All gone!" Howard Zhou's voice came through, brimming with excitement.

"That fast?" Rowan raised an eyebrow.

"The quality of your rice is off the charts!" Howard exclaimed. "I had about twenty thousand bags left, but some rich guy from Hongning Base City bought out the entire stock. He even asked if we had more in reserve."

"Hongning Base City?" Rowan echoed, surprised.

That was far from the Chinese territories in fact, it was located in the Middle East. The city had been founded by the world's strongest warrior, Hong.

During the Great Cataclysm, Hong had led a band of followers to build the base city in the region. Over time, Hongning Base City had grown into one of the most prosperous and secure places on Earth. Thanks to Hong's presence, it became a magnet for wealthy elites and elite warriors alike.

But due to the region's harsh environment, it wasn't suited for growing crops so every year, the city had to import huge volumes of food and supplies.

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