Yiping couldn't take his eyes off the message.
YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.
Those words had appeared on every screen in Stark Tower.
Not hacked.
Not transmitted.
They had simply appeared.
Tony broke the silence first.
"So."
He pointed toward the screens.
"Apparently, you're trespassing."
Yiping didn't laugh.
"I think I finally understand."
"That's usually when things become dangerous."
Yiping looked at him.
"This world wasn't originally supposed to have me."
Tony nodded.
"That part was obvious."
"But it also wasn't supposed to have the other anomalies."
"Meaning?"
Yiping walked toward the holographic display.
"Someone—or something—expected this world to follow a predetermined sequence."
He highlighted the eight anomalies.
"We interrupted it."
Then he highlighted the mysterious observer.
"But he isn't one of us."
Tony frowned.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because he doesn't behave like a transmigrator."
Yiping enlarged the surveillance footage.
"He's not trying to exploit future knowledge. He's not trying to obtain technology. He's not trying to become powerful."
Tony studied the footage.
"Then what does he want?"
Yiping's answer came quietly.
"To make sure the story happens."
Tony stared at him.
"You're telling me someone is deliberately trying to restore the original timeline?"
"Yes."
"And you're saying he might be..."
"The original protagonist."
Tony slowly leaned back.
"That's ridiculous."
Yiping nodded.
"Probably."
"Probably?"
"In this universe, ridiculous stopped being a useful measurement a long time ago."
Tony smiled.
"Fair."
Somewhere Else
The mysterious man stood inside an empty room.
There were no doors.
No windows.
No visible source of light.
Yet the entire room was illuminated.
A massive holographic timeline floated in front of him.
Countless branches extended from a single central line.
Most were dead.
Some had collapsed.
Others were still developing.
He touched one.
It displayed Earth.
Then another.
Another Earth.
Another.
Different histories.
Different outcomes.
Different versions of the same people.
He stopped at one particular timeline.
The original.
Before the anomalies.
Before Yiping.
Before the other transmigrators.
Before everything went wrong.
"Beautiful."
A voice spoke behind him.
"You still believe it can be restored?"
The man didn't turn.
"No."
The voice became silent.
"Then why continue?"
The man smiled.
"Because restoration was never the objective."
He touched the timeline again.
A new branch appeared.
His eyes became cold.
"The objective is to determine what happens when the story loses its protagonist."
Back at Stark Tower, Yiping suddenly felt a massive headache.
His system activated.
New information acquired.
Original Timeline identified.
Deviation cause: External entities.
Primary anomaly: Yiping.
He froze.
Tony noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?"
Yiping stared at the notification.
"I found the beginning."
Tony walked over.
"And?"
Yiping swallowed.
"I'm not the first anomaly."
Tony waited.
"The original timeline was already broken before I arrived."
Silence.
That changed everything.
If the timeline was already damaged...
Then Yiping hadn't caused the instability.
He had only accelerated it.
Tony crossed his arms.
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long was the timeline broken before you arrived?"
Yiping looked at the system.
"I don't know."
Tony smiled.
"Then we'll find out."
He walked toward the armor platform.
Yiping stared at him.
"You're going after him?"
"Of course."
"Tony, we don't know what he is."
"Neither does he."
Yiping frowned.
"What?"
Tony pointed toward the holographic timeline.
"Look at the numbers."
Yiping followed his finger.
The convergence percentage had increased again.
21.4%.
Tony smiled.
"He wants us to react."
Yiping understood immediately.
Every time they discovered something, the convergence increased.
The observer wasn't merely watching them.
He was guiding them.
Tony grabbed his helmet.
"So let's give him something he doesn't expect."
Yiping raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Tony's smile became wider.
"We stop playing his game."
Far away, the observer suddenly looked up.
For the first time...
His expression showed uncertainty.
The timeline had changed.
But not in the direction he predicted.
A new branch had appeared.
One he had never seen before.
Tony Stark and Yiping were no longer following the predetermined path.
The observer stared at it.
Then smiled.
"Interesting."
The convergence percentage stopped increasing.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then the number changed.
21.3%.
It was going down.
The observer's smile disappeared.
"That's impossible."
Back on Earth, Tony looked at the same number.
Yiping stared in disbelief.
"It dropped."
Tony nodded.
"Which means we finally found his weakness."
"What's the weakness?"
Tony put on his helmet.
"The story itself."
The reactor in his chest ignited.
"And we're going to break it."
Author's Note
The truth is finally becoming clearer, but the final mystery has only just begun. The story is heading toward its planned conclusion in Chapter 200, and every chapter from here will bring us closer to the final confrontation.
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