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Chapter 1: The Identity of the Time Traveler Is Exposed
🕑 Added 2025-03-24 18:32:51 +0000 UTCIn 2008, within the headquarters of Stark Industries in New York, Tony Stark sat at his desk, skimming through the latest quarterly financial report that his assistant, Pepper Potts, had prepared. He glanced at it twice but quickly lost interest—this kind of administrative work never appealed to him.
For the longest time, such affairs had been handled by his uncle, Obadiah Stane, and Pepper. Tony only concerned himself with the company's strategic direction, particularly as the head of its research and development division.
At present, Stark Industries’ most profitable projects and weapon systems were primarily developed under his name. That was also the reason why the company's shareholders tolerated his carefree lifestyle—his drinking, partying, and extravagant indulgences.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a notebook appeared right in front of him.
Yes, just like that—it materialized out of thin air.
Tony rubbed his eyes in disbelief. But no, the notebook was real. It had simply appeared without warning, as if conjured by some invisible force.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., scan the entire office for anomalies!" Tony ordered immediately.
"The scan is complete, sir. No abnormalities detected," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
"How is that possible?"
Tony stared at the mysterious notebook, his mind racing. Could this be... magic?
This sudden and inexplicable event shattered his perception of reality. How could such a thing happen in a world governed by science?
Thinking fast, he issued another command. "J.A.R.V.I.S., scan this notebook!"
"Scan complete. It is an ordinary notebook, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
Tony let out a small sigh of relief before carefully picking up the notebook. Upon inspecting it, he noticed the name written on the cover—Luo Chen.
Luo Chen?
A Chinese name? Judging by its style, it definitely belonged to someone from East Asia, most likely China.
However, as he flipped through the pages and read the contents, his expression darkened.
June 6th – The weather is nice today. Waiting for the first day of Tony Stark’s kidnapping!
June 7th – Cloudy today. Still waiting for Tony Stark to get kidnapped!
June 8th – Luo Chen, Luo Chen, you can’t keep slacking off! You need to work harder! Just hold on until Tony Stark is kidnapped, buy a bunch of stocks at rock-bottom prices, and sell them after he switches to clean energy. That’ll be enough money for a lifetime. Who needs to work hard when you can do that?
June 9th – I just realized something. As a time traveler, I should have caught the attention of the Ancient One by now… or maybe not. If anyone would notice me first, it’d probably be Kang…
June 10th – This is ridiculous. Why did I end up in such a dangerous world? In the future, that ‘purple potato’ is going to snap his fingers and wipe out half of all life. How the hell am I supposed to survive? Am I supposed to rely on the Avengers?!
That was as far as the diary had been written, and Tony's face was now grim.
The very first entries were essentially predicting his kidnapping, as if it were a foregone conclusion.
And yet, it also felt like a warning.
"Sir, I believe you should consider increasing your security detail," J.A.R.V.I.S. suggested at the perfect moment.
Tony narrowed his eyes. He thought about it carefully. His mansion and the company were both heavily guarded—security was not an issue in those places.
However, he was the problem.
Tony Stark was not the type to stay in one place. He drank, partied, gambled, and indulged in every vice imaginable. He rarely brought more than one bodyguard—usually just Happy Hogan—when he was out.
And in a country where tens of thousands of people died from gun violence each year, he was starting to feel… uneasy.
For the first time in a long while, Tony Stark felt a sliver of fear.
"I got it," he muttered, frustrated but unwilling to risk his life out of sheer arrogance. As one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, he wasn't about to gamble with his own safety.
Then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind—
If this world is so dangerous… why not build a suit of armor to protect myself?
For now, he set that thought aside and focused on analyzing the diary.
If he had simply found this lying on the street, he wouldn't have cared. But this diary had materialized in front of him, defying all logic.
That alone made it worth taking seriously.
Especially since it involved his personal safety.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., create a new file—title it ‘Luo Chen,’" Tony ordered.
"File created, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed instantly.
"Now, let's make an assumption. If the person behind this diary is not an ordinary individual but someone with supernatural abilities—magic, witchcraft, or even something eldritch—then why would they send this notebook to me? What's their motive?"
Tony stroked the goatee on his chin, deep in thought.
"Is this a warning? Or is there another agenda at play?"
If the person behind this was real, then there were two possibilities—
Either they were being helpful and warning him that someone was plotting against him.
Or they were hostile and trying to manipulate him—perhaps scare him into canceling a certain trip, derailing business plans, or preventing him from securing important deals.
Both possibilities were on the table.
But setting aside how they managed to pull off such an insane stunt, the real question was—
"Who is behind this? Is it some unknown figure… or is it this Luo Chen himself?"
That was the biggest mystery.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., do you know what ‘time traveler’ means?" Tony asked.
"Based on available information, the term ‘time traveler’ is commonly used in novels and comics to describe protagonists who travel to another world, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
"So, hypothetically speaking, if the contents of this diary are true… that means Luo Chen is a so-called ‘time traveler.’"
At that moment, Tony's sharp eyes gleamed with newfound intensity.
If this was true… then everything he thought he knew about the world was about to change.
