Chapter 104: Tony’s Truth! Batman Returns! [10k]
The Kamar-Taj library.
Dust slowly drifted down in the beam of light.
“This book…”
Stephen Strange wiped away the thick dust on the table with his sleeve, revealing ancient runic carvings underneath. He carefully placed the glowing golden ancient tome in the center.
A faint light illuminated the tight frown of the Doctor of Medicine.
《 Ian’s Magic Book》
The title shimmered in the dim light.
As if breathing with life.
“Ian… Ian’s Magic Book… this is probably not a coincidence.” Doctor Strange muttered, his fingertips lightly brushing the cover. The book glowing was something he had never encountered.
This book had been sealed for many years.
It had existed in the library since the birth of Kamar-Taj.
However.
It had never emitted a golden light before today. One unexpected event and another unexpected event occurring simultaneously, Doctor Strange, who was well-versed in all sorts of mystery novels, believed this was absolutely not a coincidence.
“According to my irresponsible Bastard Teacher, the origin of this book is untraceable, but it is at least two thousand years old and was discovered alongside our Kamar-Taj’s heritage artifact.”
Doctor Strange pulled at his collar, revealing an ancient pendant—a small metal disc inlaid with a jade-green gem, its surface etched with the same runes as the book’s title page. The Time Gem was sealed within a container, which Doctor Strange held in his hand, a faint green light flickering within.
“Because of this book, it is called the Eye of Ian. There are rumors that it is an artifact of an ancient, higher-dimensional being.” Doctor Strange had read almost all of Kamar-Taj’s books more than once over the years, which was why he felt a familiar memory surge when recalling the name Ian.
“Ian, Ian’s Magic Book, Ian’s artifact Eye.”
He began to murmur again.
The Time Gem flickered slightly within its container, reflecting Doctor Strange’s thoughtful face. He felt as if Sherlock Holmes had possessed him, his brain racing as he began to connect the clues.
1. The boy knew of the Sorcerer Supreme’s existence, yet was completely ignorant of the modern magical system.
2. The Demon Gods mentioned by the boy, along with names like Dormammu and Zarathos, were unknown to anyone.
3. His powerful magical talent was so great that even the Sanctum Sanctorum had to submit.
…
At this moment.
Doctor Strange’s pupils constricted, feeling that he had finally understood.
“He is an ancient being who has awakened from his slumber!” Doctor Strange’s pupils twitched violently, as if he had contracted a retinal disease. His fingers tapped the table unconsciously.
“Yes, perhaps that’s it, which is why he seemed so contradictory; he knew knowledge about sorcerers yet made me feel his ignorance of the magical world.”
“Actually, perhaps only I am ignorant. What he has been talking about likely pertains to ancient secrets, to true history that has been submerged in the river of time!”
“What Demon Gods, Demon Lords… he is subtly expressing his own identity and probing me, probing the only Sorcerer Supreme in this generation who could possibly pose a threat to him!”
Thinking of this.
Doctor Strange’s mind was greatly shaken.
The rhythm of his tapping on the table grew faster. The temperature in the library seemed to drop by a few degrees. Doctor Strange’s breath condensed into white mist in the cold air.
Or perhaps Doctor Strange’s mind was in turmoil.
After all.
Reflecting and thinking based on such a deduction, Stephen Strange, a top figure in the medical field, also realized with his super-human intelligence that he had likely divulged information that should not have been revealed.
“My answer is equivalent to telling him that there are no longer demons or Demon Gods in this world, and he has become the sole surviving Demon God after some earth-shattering event!”
Doctor Strange felt he had connected all the clues. Indeed, the mystery novels he had read over the years had not been in vain. He even connected Ian’s “arrogant” departure to pushing him away—wasn’t this a sign that the Sorcerer Supreme, who had no backing, was no longer taken seriously by him?
That act of kidnapping the takeout girl!
It was simply a demonstration of his ability to do as he pleased with such arrogance!
“This is too astonishing!”
Doctor Strange was shocked by his own deduction. Could there truly have been such a period in the past, a time like a legendary story? Was there a glorious era when sorcerers could gain power without effort?
“Now is not the time for me to envy those sorcerers. If demons and Demon Gods truly existed in this world, does this mean that boy…”
Doctor Strange’s fingertips trembled.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Is that boy the evil villain from legends, who only exists in stories?” What an unfamiliar term, yet it made Doctor Strange gasp and feel a chill down his spine.
Let alone him.
His teacher, Master Ancient One, might not have encountered such a situation. The Sorcerer Supreme was already at the pinnacle of cultivation; their lives consisted of nothing but eating and sleeping, a routine that had continued for generations.
To put it nicely, deceiving people on the street for pocket money was the daily life of the Sorcerer Supreme… And now, a living, ancient threat had actually appeared?
“I will be the only one who can prevent disaster?”
An unprecedented emotion arose in Doctor Strange’s heart. Unease and excitement intertwined in his veins. He felt that his empty life might finally have found its intended meaning.
“I will become… a hero?”
Doctor Strange felt his pores relax. He wasn’t someone who particularly enjoyed sacrificing himself for others, but his dull life had finally stirred with a hard-won ripple.
How could he not seize this opportunity?
“He said he was going to Stark Tower!”
At this very moment, Doctor Strange, his heart boiling with excitement, felt his mind more active than ever. He predicted one evil plan after another that could be brewed using Stark Industries.
He knew.
What he needed to do.
The red cloak flew to him automatically and draped over the shoulders of the man bearing responsibility. He grabbed the Time Gem pendant and hung it on his chest, then stood up and ran towards the door.
However.
More than ten seconds later, Doctor Strange retreated.
“Thank you. No wonder my Bastard Teacher said I was the smartest among all the past Sorcerer Supremes.”
He kissed the 《 Sherlock Holmes Mystery Collection 》. Without reading this book, he felt he would not have possessed such a logical and rigorous way of thinking like Sherlock Holmes.
“Now, you are my Watson.”
Doctor Strange patted the cloak on his back and once again ran towards the door—his figure disappeared outside. Due to his excessively active mind, he even forgot to close the library door.
A breeze swept through, and the door hinges turned silently, slowly closing.
“Snap.”
An aged hand gently pressed on the door panel, completely sealing the gap.
“Ai~”
A deep sigh followed.
“This is simply too… overly clever.” The slightly hunched old man stood in the quiet library, the sleeves of his long yellow robe hanging down. He was the Bastard Teacher whom Doctor Strange remembered as having died.
The previous Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One.
“Those who haven’t endured hardship will inevitably experience some setbacks.” The Ancient One’s bald head shone with a gentle luster under the candlelight, a helpless smile on his lips.
Inside the library, the dust settled again, as if time flowed exceptionally slowly there. He slowly walked to the center of the room, his gaze locked onto the 《 Ian’s Magic Book 》.
“I’ve studied it for eight hundred years, and there isn’t a single bit of magic inside. Turns out, the book’s owner simply doesn’t know magic yet.” The Ancient One placed the golden book back on the bookshelf.
“Our Sorcerer Supreme will help me figure out what’s going on.”
“However, I need to be prepared. I can’t have him truly believing my nonsense and thinking he can ascend to heaven and earth after death, roaming the universe… becoming a free astral spirit.”
The Ancient One muttered to himself and walked to a hanging rope. He reached out and retied the knot into a slipknot, pulling it a couple of times to confirm it wouldn’t cause a fatal hanging before he felt slightly relieved.
“Tonight, I still need to send him a dream, telling him that if he doesn’t find a successor, even dying heroically won’t count.” The Ancient One mumbled to himself, his figure gradually disappearing in the empty, deserted room.
“Still thinking of borrowing others’ strength, hmph. Sorcerers must rely on themselves… even great beings like Eternity can’t be counted on.” The Ancient One’s residual mumbling faded away in the room.
He was physical.
He had simply left his old haunt again.
…
New York.
Above Manhattan.
Ian bounced between buildings like a human cannonball.
Of course, some people witnessed his actions.
“Ahhh! Look, someone is jumping in the sky! Is he a Rabbit Man?” From the streets below, exclamations could be heard from time to time.
“Oh, my god, he must be delivering takeout.”
A girl pointed at the sky, her tone astonished.
“This is truly amazing. If I had the same ability as him, I can’t even imagine how much tip I could earn in a day,” the girl’s boyfriend exclaimed with envy.
He was probably also a takeout delivery guy.
“Can’t you be a little more ambitious? With such an ability, why are you still delivering takeout! You should go to Mexico to transport local specialties—avocados there are so expensive here.”
The girl sternly reprimanded her boyfriend’s short-sightedness.
Her boyfriend showed a look of shame.
“You’re right, I could actually go to Cuba to transport cigars.”
This really made the boyfriend fantasize.
“Dealing in tobacco? Wouldn’t that be a bit wrong?”
The girl actually started worrying about her boyfriend’s character.
It’s true that birds of a feather flock together.
Both of them were quite prone to fantasizing.
Fortunately, no one called the police—the citizens of New York in this world seemed to accept that a “jumping, tight-clad pervert” was a part of the city’s infrastructure.
Perhaps.
Was it because excessive evil had never taken root in this world?
With each leap.
Ian had already distanced himself from the Sanctum Sanctorum.
“Don’t move, you’re making my shoulder uncomfortable,” Gwen Stacy, on Ian’s shoulder, was like a bristling cat, fiercely gripping Ian’s back collar with a look of speechless exasperation.
She was being carried by Ian like a bag of cement.
Headfirst.
All she could see after opening her eyes was Ian’s well-developed backside.
“My father is a police officer! He’s a great shot! Let me down quickly!” Gwen shouted through gritted teeth, her voice torn apart by the strong wind.
“I’m doing something important, and you’re the ones who asked me to help you.” Ian thoughtfully made a turn mid-air, so that the bird droppings that should have been yelled about by Gwen only landed on Gwen’s cheek. He didn’t need Gwen’s thanks, as he admitted to being slightly in the wrong this time.
If it weren’t for the fact that his return time was rapidly approaching, Ian wouldn’t have adopted such a direct method.
“My father will really arrest you and put you in prison!” Gwen continued to pressure Ian relentlessly while accepting the toilet paper he handed her to wipe her cheek.
“Stop messing around, fighting over fathers is pointless. I’ve grown several hours older now, past the age of showing off my father. I won’t brag about my father being a great superhero anymore.”
Ian seriously squeezed Gwen’s nape with his other hand.
Gwen immediately flinched.
“No, wait, why do I feel like this scene is familiar?” Gwen, reacting instinctively, was bewildered, unable to figure out the reason for this inexplicable feeling.
Hearing her words.
Ian’s golden pupils flickered slightly.
“That’s because even though our bond has been broken, I am still guiding you.” Ian was indeed intentionally testing how to trigger Gwen’s soul memories.
“See, I guarantee Spider-Man can’t do this.”
He suddenly bent his knees and exerted force.
He leaped up from a height of over ten stories again, grabbed the bird that had just defecated, and then, as he descended, stuffed it into Gwen’s arms on his shoulder.
“Is this thoughtful enough? Regretting not choosing me as the new Spider-Man?” Ian landed on the top of a tall building again, secretly looking for Stark Tower.
“…”
Gwen did not feel the thoughtfulness that Ian claimed to be a warm person. She directly let go of her assailant, “You little lunatic! Didn’t you just say that I begged you to be the new Spider-Man?”
Her spontaneous question was filled with suspicion and confusion. For some reason, apart from the anxiety of being “kidnapped,” Gwen seemed not to fear high places.
She was completely calm.
“Tsk tsk.” Ian rolled his eyes at her words.
“Normal people would continue to question why I kidnapped you, but you’re concerned about who begged whom to be Spider-Man. Your mental state explains why you can sit at the same table as Tony.”
His words left Gwen speechless.
Although slightly confused, her Red Temperature was still normal.
“I’ve already questioned you dozens of times!” she emphasized loudly, but Ian ignored her, merely scanning the distant buildings with his Super Vision.
In the City.
There were several tallest buildings.
But none of them resembled Stark Tower.
“How strange!”
Ian remembered Stark Tower being very conspicuous.
“Where is Stark Tower?”
He asked the local resident, Gwen.
“Why do you think I would help you just because you kidnapped me?” Gwen clung tightly to Ian’s neck, her eyes closed, a cold smile on her face.
Ian nodded, acknowledging Gwen’s words. However, this didn’t mean he had no countermeasures. “Setting aside our bond, you wouldn’t want me to ask for directions everywhere because I’m lost, would you?”
“Perhaps we’ll end up running through every corner of the city.” He knew Gwen was an excellent student and understood the probability of meeting someone she knew by calculating it in her mind.
“Where did you learn to be so despicable?”
Gwen was indeed greatly shocked; the threat was clearly very effective.
“My Batman Uncle.”
Ian lowered his voice.
“He’s definitely not a good person!”
Gwen didn’t know who the person Ian mentioned was, but this didn’t affect her certainty. “Damn it, playing psychological warfare with me… Stark Industries is over there!”
Gwen finally gave in.
She pointed the way for Ian.
She didn’t know why she felt such a familiar sense of being wronged, but she knew she shouldn’t have left the house today, otherwise she wouldn’t have encountered this damn nemesis again!
Huh?
Why did I use the word “again”?
Gwen was utterly confused.
And just at this moment.
Having received specific directions, Ian immediately leaped up, the airflow blowing Gwen’s wool hat off her ears. Fortunately, she was quick enough to catch it.
“Of course, I know a little psychology, I have plenty of experience.” Ian had a mouth full of hair, so his reply was a bit late. He coughed out Gwen’s hair, feeling a bit stifled.
“You definitely didn’t wash your hair today!”
His voice was deafening.
Gwen’s silence was equally powerful.
She didn’t yell about being kidnapped anymore, and directly fell into an awkward mood. Thus, Ian gained a moment of peace, darting and leaping between buildings.
Several minutes later.
The two drew a perfect parabola.
They finally landed with a crash in front of Stark Tower. The area wasn’t very wide, and the building was of normal height, so it was no wonder Ian had trouble distinguishing it.
“Boom~”
Ian’s high-altitude landing lacked the proper family tradition.
The paving stones beneath his feet shattered radially.
However.
Upon landing, Gwen only felt a slight jolt. The comfort on Ian’s shoulder made Gwen feel as if Ian’s body had a deluxe shock absorption system, even absorbing the impact of the landing perfectly—this was perhaps due to Ian’s absolute control over his muscles and strength in his state of absolute focus.
“We’re here.”
Ian put Gwen down.
Gwen, who had tried to attribute the “shock absorption” to her own chest fat, was back on solid ground.
She was still a little disoriented.
“What are you doing?”
Gwen looked at Ian, who had squatted on the ground, with immense confusion.
“Although based on the merit I’ve accumulated, I wouldn’t need to compensate at all, but who told me to be so well-behaved.” Ian placed three hundred US dollars beneath the shattered paving stones.
Along with a note stating that whoever picked it up would be responsible for repairing the paving stone.
Three hundred US dollars, as long as it didn’t involve Commissioner Smith, even included labor costs. This is what it means to be conscientious. As for whether others are conscientious, that’s none of Ian’s business.
“Huh? You damaged public property and you’re still going to compensate? I don’t believe you have that kind of awareness.” Gwen looked him up and down, as if very surprised, as Ian stood up again.
“It can’t be helped, since this is the world I created, it deserves me to show my good character.” Ian clapped his hands and walked towards the entrance of Stark Tower.
“You’re already reaching the stage where you think you’re God and believing in you grants eternal life, right? Next, are you going to erect a giant statue of yourself in the city center?”
Seeing Ian head for the door, Gwen immediately followed.
After all, they were already here.
She also wanted to understand why she felt so familiar with Ian, as if something had been forgotten. She wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if she didn’t figure out that strange feeling.
“Just a little taller than the Statue of Liberty, thank you.” Ian’s footsteps were swift, and the glass doors of Stark Tower slid open silently as they approached.
There were no security guards, no security checks, not even a receptionist robot. There were two pretty girls at the front desk, but they only glanced at Ian and a guilty-looking Gwen.
With no reaction.
Ian headed straight for the elevators.
Gwen followed closely behind.
“Are you a shareholder of Stark Industries?”
She followed Ian into the elevator, her face full of disbelief. It was a luxurious elevator, completely wrapped in genuine leather inside, and even the handrails were polished rosewood.
Gwen saw the sign for management personnel on the outside.
“I am a shareholder of this world. Now I need to go and ask the CEO who planned this world what kind of trick he pulled in the plan.”
Ian pressed the button for the top floor.
The elevator doors slowly closed, and it ascended rapidly.
“What are you talking about?”
Gwen felt she should not understand Ian’s words, but she had a contradictory feeling that she did. This absurd mood made her increasingly confused.
“Ding~”
It wasn’t Ian’s system that chimed, but the elevator arriving at the top floor. As the elevator doors opened, the young girl, who had already endured too much today, discovered that the presidential office was indeed outside the elevator.
“You have that kind of authority?”
Gwen was stunned.
She knew that in a large company like Stark Industries, different floors required different levels of access. Only a select few people had the right to reach the president’s floor.
“Don’t tell me you’re not a shareholder of Stark Industries! Liar!” Gwen stared at Ian, her eyes filled with suspicion. She couldn’t understand why Ian, having such corporate authority,
couldn’t find Stark Industries.
“I tell at least twenty percent truth every day, and you still call me a liar?” Ian glanced at Gwen speechlessly. He had just been testing if his “special privilege” was still valid.
The result of this test did not disappoint Ian. Whether it was bestowed by Teacher Tony or by the Creator, the other party had not completely abandoned him.
He could still gain some special access by showing his face.
“Alright, there are twenty minutes left. I need to find a way to use you to awaken Tony’s memory.” Ian walked out of the elevator into a ridiculously luxurious office.
The Persian carpet was woven with gold thread, a glass wine cabinet filled an entire wall displayed whiskeys of absurd vintages, and a pure gold globe on the desk gleamed in the sunlight.
It reeked of a newly rich person.
“Where is Jarvis? Jarvis, are you there?” Ian spoke to a surveillance camera, seeing that the office was empty. He remembered that Tony’s beloved artificial intelligence was everywhere in Stark Industries.
This might also be why there were no security guards at the entrance.
“Who is Jarvis?”
Gwen surveyed the surroundings.
She seemed to disapprove of the taste of the office’s owner.
“Jarvis? I’m looking for your boss.”
Ian jumped up and tapped the camera’s head.
The camera did not respond.
The response came from the restroom on the left side of the office—a flushing sound echoed from inside, and the restroom door opened, revealing a shiny bald head.
“Jarvis has been dead for many years, along with my dear friend Howard. Now, I am the boss here.” The bald man, adjusting his luxurious Hermès belt, walked slowly out of the restroom.
Upon seeing this man, Ian’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor, his brain momentarily short-circuiting.
“Huh? You… how could it be you? Iron Monger!” Ian was truly bewildered. Even with his intelligence, he had never anticipated the current scene.
“Uh, he should be called Obadiah Stane.” Gwen, seeing a prominent figure she usually only saw on television, couldn’t help but nervously hide behind Ian.
As a descendant of a police family, she knew too well what illegal entry meant. “You little crazy, you’re not here to claim kinship, are you? Are you a descendant of the Stark family?”
This was probably the only logical explanation Gwen could think of.
She had clearly watched too many prime-time soap operas.
“I am Obadiah Stane, not Iron Monger. Your little girlfriend is much more insightful than you are.” The bald man, Obadiah, walked towards his luxurious desk.
“I’m not his girlfriend, I’m his hostage.” Gwen quickly denied it, creating an opportunity for later debate to get leniency from the police and the courts.
“Aren’t you the navigator I captured?”
Ian glanced back at the cunning Gwen.
“So, now that you’ve used up my value, we have no bond, right? I’ve become a navigator, right?” Gwen wanted to curse the guy but realized she couldn’t recall the word.
“Damn it, what’s wrong with me.”
Gwen covered her forehead, feeling many fragments surfacing.
“Discarded after use, all men are like that…” Obadiah chuckled, applying some sort of cream to his hands. He looked at Ian and Gwen with curiosity.
“Obviously, I don’t know you. Normally, you shouldn’t have access to my office.” Obadiah picked up the phone, as if intending to dial the front desk.
He didn’t seem nervous or on guard at all.
“This little crazy guy is looking for Tony Stark, he keeps muttering about Tony Stark.” Gwen spoke for Ian while he frowned, surveying the surroundings.
Her words made Obadiah pause.
“Looking for Tony?”
Obadiah put down the phone.
He seemed to be thinking.
“Tony, are these your guests?”
Obadiah asked into a microphone.
“Yes, sir.”
A familiar voice responded. The next moment, something unexpected happened: Tony appeared, though still in holographic projection.
“…”
Ian was dumbfounded.
Holographic Tony glanced at him, then turned back to Obadiah.
“This is Mr. Ian from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We have some sensitive business related to Stark Industries that needs to be discussed.”
His words surprised Obadiah.
“Isn’t this kid still a minor!”
Obadiah looked at Ian with a strange gaze. Many people only knew how powerful the IRS was in the US, but few realized that the ATF and the IRS were both behemoths.
Most companies harbored some fear of these two departments.
“Who said I’m not an adult?”
Ian wanted to pull out a Spirit Calling Card but forgot he hadn’t brought it. Holographic Tony, seeing this, immediately defended Ian, lowering his voice as he spoke to Obadiah.
“Inheritance works like this.”
A very logical statement.
Obadiah suddenly understood.
His attitude immediately became enthusiastic.
“I knew it. In that case, I’ll leave this to you. Drink whatever you want. There’s also a room I personally designed inside, you’ll like the little props in there.”
He winked at Ian and left the office without further suspicion. Only when the elevator doors closed and the floor numbers began to descend did Ian and Gwen look away.
“What little props room?” Gwen, full of curiosity, started to explore the room on the side, but before she could take two steps, Ian grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her back.
“Damn it! What’s going on, why is my neck so sensitive!” Gwen felt like a cat, having an instinctive reaction. Ian “imprisoned” her between the desk and the coffee table sofa.
“What happened? You’ll have to ask him.” Ian looked at Holographic Tony. “Are you dead? How did you end up like this? Did Obadiah steal the company?”
Ian didn’t know if Tony remembered him, so he started with a barrage of greetings. Holographic Tony didn’t seem angry about this.
“Howard Stark never had children, only an artificial intelligence he created with his life’s work, which is me—Tony Stark.”
His words were truly shocking.
It was another great Marvel shock for Ian.
“????”
Ian’s face was filled with question marks; he felt like he was about to turn into a white person with question marks.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re saying that Tony Stark—the playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, genius inventor—never existed as a living person in this universe?”
Such a fact was truly beyond Ian’s imagination.
He was a writer, after all.
But even he wouldn’t write such an absurd plot.
“If the Tony Stark you’re referring to is me, then I can answer that I have indeed never lived. I was created by Howard for his wife after she had a miscarriage, as a companion.”
“At least, that’s how it was at first.”
Holographic Tony nodded, answering Ian’s question.
“…”
Ian opened his mouth but couldn’t re-establish an effective language system. His mind was completely filled with conceptual beings like “Grass Mud Horse” stampeding through.
This development was too unbelievable! And at this moment, Gwen, who was crouching behind the desk, suddenly said, “He lost his soul from the very beginning.”
“So, in the new world, he won’t have a second chance.” After saying this, even Gwen was shocked, covering her mouth in disbelief.
“Huh?”
Ian’s pupils trembled, and he looked at Holographic Tony.
“Is that so?”
A hint of confusion appeared on Holographic Tony’s face. “Since my birth, there has been a piece of information in my core that even Howard didn’t understand. I think this is for you.”
Saying so.
He displayed a portion of his stored data.
It was a video.
In the image.
The background was still that underground base.
“Where is this?”
Gwen wanted to ask, but Ian covered her mouth with his hand. Inside, the familiar digital Tony turned around, as if facing the camera recording the information.
“When you see this information, I assume everything has gone very smoothly.” Digital Tony spoke in a calm tone, making Ian feel the difference in understanding between humans and artificial intelligence.
No wonder there were AI crises.
This wasn’t a matter of different worldviews anymore, was it?
“How is this going smoothly?”
Ian thought about everything he had encountered today and didn’t even have the energy to complain. Perhaps, Digital Tony seemed to anticipate his question and continued to speak in the video.
“You may have doubts, but that’s normal. The world you are facing now is not a result of my deliberate adjustment, but an unavoidable beginning. It belongs to the universe we recreated, but it did not go through all the processes a universe needs to develop to its current state.
“People and things, good and evil, they will have a period of chaos, but in the end, they will gradually settle down, and this process cannot be accurately simulated by data.”
This sentence contains a lot of information.
Ian’s brain was operating at full speed—operating—still operating.
Digital Tony probably saw the limit of Ian’s calculations, “You just need to know that if you still want to continue to receive the kind of help that Omni-Man and Sentry give you.”
“Then what you need to do is to help this world get back on track—at least on the track you think it should be on. It will eventually become a benchmark, evolving into a new multiverse center.”
Digital Tony looked like an NPC giving a mission.
His tone had no emotional fluctuation.
It was unclear if he was trying to cover something up.
Ian always felt that there was a little bit of Tony’s personal bias mixed into this world.
“It’s unreasonable not to give me a new profession as a 【 Marvel Nanny 】, right?”
Ian probably understood what Tony meant, which was to help all heroes get back on track. Perhaps this was his new way of acquiring the professions contained within those heroes.
He didn’t need to think about how Tony calculated this.
Mechanical Tony is a god.
Of course, he has wisdom that is even more super than Super Intelligence.
“No way, are you guys really discussing creation?” Since Ian loosened his grip, Gwen could finally speak again, her face showing a look of horror as if she had seen a ghost.
Ian ignored Gwen.
He checked the time.
He was a bit anxious to ask the Tony in the video why he chose himself. But the video was already at its end, and Digital Tony gave Ian an apologetic expression.
“Listen, the world was supposed to be like this—sunshine, coffee, damn traffic jams, annoying reporters… even all the crap we always complain about.”
“It shouldn’t be ruins, it shouldn’t be an apocalypse. So… we rewrote its ending together.”
“I’ve done everything I could. I’m sorry, I’m too far from home, and there’s no way for me to return. So I won’t be able to help you further.”
Digital Tony, looking a bit melancholic, lowered his head.
“This was destined from the beginning, and it’s an ending I’ve accepted. After all, if someone has to sacrifice, it’s better to be me—to avoid others messing it up.”
“The sun is up, the world is still turning, and that’s enough.”
His image began to blur.
The image finally disappeared.
It finally ended.
“That wasn’t me.”
Holographic Tony spoke.
“We all know he wasn’t you, he was just a tiny bit more handsome than you.”
Ian replied, his mood complicated.
Hearing this.
Holographic Tony did not deny it.
He just looked directly at Ian, with data streams sliding in his eyes.
“However, I will also provide you with all the help I can. This is Howard’s highest directive to me—his subsequent upgrades to me were all to prepare for the arrival of the recipient of this video,” Holographic Tony said, explaining why he had covered for Ian earlier.
It wasn’t due to Digital Tony’s legacy.
It was because of the man, Howard Stark.
“Huh?”
Ian looked at this unfamiliar Teacher Tony, his eyes flickering slightly. He couldn’t fathom the wisdom of Mechanical Tony being a god, but he felt he could begin to fathom Howard.
Why did Howard give such a directive to this Holographic Tony?
Behind it.
There must be a deep meaning!
As for what that deep meaning was… he would have to think about it again. When he figured it out, Ian felt that would be the perfect moment for him to slap his forehead and realize the truth.
“Then I have a request.”
To be honest, Ian still had many doubts, but he looked at the clock. There was only one minute left until his return to the DC Universe.
“I need technology, a lot of technology, and… a ready-made piece of black technology.” This was Ian’s request, and regarding this, New Teacher Tony was the same as Old Teacher Tony.
He granted requests.
And the speed was really very fast.
When the bell sound for his return rang.
Ian woke up from his sleep.
He had returned with a full harvest.
“Where is he!!”
Gwen saw Ian vanish from his spot, her brain instantly short-circuited. She felt countless memories surge, and she painfully clutched her head, squatting down again.
“Ian said he left you the fare to go back.”
Holographic Tony controlled the office’s robotic arm to hand Gwen fifty-six US Dollars.
“I…”
Gwen took a few deep breaths, didn’t take it, and stumbled towards the elevator. Long after she had left, tiny golden sparks appeared in the office air.
“Sorry, I took a shower and got dressed… No, where is he? My location should be correct.” The refreshed Doctor Strange arrived late.
…
The night outside the window was as dark as spilled ink, with an occasional star struggling to emit a faint light.
“Tonight was too scary.”
Ian turned on the desk lamp in front of his desk. He had a lot of information to digest today, and there were still unresolved doubts. However, he could still enter the Marvel Universe tomorrow night.
“Now, let me see what New Teacher Tony’s black technology is.” Ian first called using his old mobile phone. As expected, at night, he would be intermittently blocked by that man.
Previously.
Ian could only be furious about this.
But now it was different.
He took out his new mobile phone.
Of course.
The old mobile phone was not discarded; it was linked to the new mobile phone. Regardless of which Teacher Tony’s technology it was, Ian successfully bypassed the block and made the call.
“What’s your deal? How can you hack into my phone?” The other person seemed to be hitting someone, with villains yelling, and a low voice panting.
“Don’t underestimate family heritage, Batman…” Ian also lowered his voice, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by a voice infinitely lower.
“Speak plainly.”
Batman’s tone carried a warning.
“Uh, okay, actually it’s because I also used my external brain… I wanted to see who was more powerful compared to my dad’s external brain.”
Ian was honest.
At least he himself thought he had honestly provided an answer.
“?????”
Batman on the other end fell silent.
The act of hitting someone seemed to become even more vigorous.
The screams of Gotham’s villains were fierce.
They were very recognizable.
After all, villains in general cities weren’t very well-trained, and their wails weren’t as sustained—to the point where Ian couldn’t stand it and pulled the phone about half a meter away from his ear.
He made a disgusted face.
Everyone refresh, I just did some fine-tuning.
