Inside the luxurious villa, Peter remained calm and unsurprised as he watched the breaking news report on TV.
As a transmigrator, he had long anticipated that Tony Stark would one day be kidnapped by terrorists. This event was an inevitable turning point in Tony's life, a necessary ordeal that would push him into the second stage of his destiny—becoming the superhero known as Iron Man.
Just like Spider-Man's Leap of Faith, it was a rite of passage that could not be avoided. The process would be painful, but overcoming it would lead to transformation and responsibility. In this parallel universe, Iron Man's emergence had simply been delayed. But now, finally, the moment had arrived.
"Boss, are you friends with this playboy? You seem to care about him a lot," Felicia asked, just having stepped out of the shower. She slowly approached Peter, wearing a black lace nightgown and black stockings. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she leaned close.
"You could say we're friends," Peter replied with a shrug. "I helped him once, and he helped me. The brain chip for 2B was provided by him."
As he spoke, he pulled Felicia into his arms. His right hand slid beneath her nightgown, prompting a flush to rise on her cheeks. She bit her lip and looked incredibly alluring.
"No wonder," Felicia purred.
"No wonder what?" Peter asked curiously.
"No wonder you know so many positions. They say birds of a feather flock together. I didn't really believe it before, but now I do. Tony Stark is a world-famous playboy. That you two are friends suggests you're cut from the same cloth. Tell me, before me, how many women have you played with?" she asked, tugging on Peter's collar and resting her face against his chest with a wild gleam in her eye.
"If I told you I was a virgin before I met you, would you believe me?"
"Of course not! What kind of virgin is that experienced? If you said you were a master seducer, I'd believe that," she said, shaking her head with a laugh.
Peter raised his hands with mock helplessness. "Ah, what can I say? I had some very responsible teachers. They worked hard to prepare educational videos for me—so I could review the 'moves' anytime. With teachers that dedicated, how could I not study properly?"
Felicia rolled her eyes. "Just say you watched porn—why make it sound so artistic? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Alright, since you've seen through me, I won't pretend anymore," Peter said, grinning. "I'll be honest: before I met you, I was New York's number one erotica appraiser."
Felicia groaned and leaned in to silence his teasing with a kiss. Her tongue tangled with his, cutting off his babbling like it always did.
After a long while, the two finally separated, and Peter fell silent.
Ever since she discovered that Peter occasionally couldn't help but ramble nonsense, Felicia had learned the perfect way to shut him up.
"Alright, no more jokes. Let's talk business," Peter said, his tone turning serious. "I plan to intervene in Tony Stark's kidnapping."
Felicia blinked. "Since he's your friend, it makes sense. But how exactly do you plan to intervene? Are you going to rescue him personally? That seems… complicated."
Peter shook his head. "You misunderstand. I'm not talking about simply rescuing him. That's important, yes, but there's something more crucial."
"More important than rescuing Tony Stark?" Felicia asked, genuinely puzzled. "Isn't saving him the top priority?"
"For Stark Industries and Pepper Potts, yes. But for us? Not necessarily. I'm more concerned about the company's stock price. Since news of the kidnapping broke, have you checked how much Stark Industries' stock has dropped?"
Felicia thought for a moment. "Within three hours of the news, the stock plummeted 20%. By now, it's probably down by nearly 30%. It's reached an all-time low. But why are you so interested in this? Wait… You're not thinking of buying in at the bottom, are you?"
Peter smiled. "Congratulations, you guessed it. That's exactly what I'm planning. We'll buy in while the price is rock bottom. Then, after Tony is rescued and the stock rebounds, we sell and make a fortune."
Felicia frowned. "But what if Tony doesn't make it out alive? The stock would crash even further. We wouldn't profit—we'd lose big. Isn't that a huge risk?"
"I know Tony Stark," Peter said confidently. "He won't die so easily. And I will ensure he's rescued. So yes, it's a gamble, but a calculated one. By the way, how much liquid capital does Kingpin currently have? Have you checked the books?"
Felicia nodded. "Number 1 did a full audit the first day after we took over. There's about two billion dollars in liquid assets. It's solid."
Peter scoffed. "Only two billion? For the so-called king of the underworld, that's disappointing. I was hoping to use his resources to gain a real foothold in Stark Industries. But compared to a trillion-dollar corporation, two billion is pocket change."
He leaned back with a sigh. "We'll just do some short-term speculation and earn a small profit. After this, I'll begin transferring all of Kingpin's assets and establishing my own company. I can't rely on someone like him long-term. Kingpin is merely a stepping stone."
Felicia nodded thoughtfully. "I agree. Kingpin may be powerful, but he's still a shadowy figure. Sooner or later, he'll become a liability. It's better to keep him in the background, as a hidden support."
"Exactly," Peter replied. "That was my plan all along. Now that Tony's kidnapping has created this opportunity, I'm going to act ahead of schedule—and make some money while I'm at it."
"Boss is brilliant," Felicia said admiringly. "So what will your company be called?"
"That's easy," Peter said with a confident smile. "Parker Technologies. And in the future, it'll become the Parker Industries Group."
Felicia's eyes lit up. "Understood!"
"Tomorrow morning," Peter continued, "take the full two billion and buy as much Stark stock as you can. Leave no opportunity unexplored. You and Number 1 will handle the trading. I'll take care of the rest."
Felicia nodded. Seeing Peter's confidence, she felt reassured. He always had a reason for every move he made. Her role was to support him and follow his lead.
What she didn't know was that Peter wasn't just a genius—he was a transmigrator. Unlike others, he knew Tony Stark was still alive. In fact, according to his estimation, Tony was already working on his first-generation Iron Man suit right now.
Even if Peter did nothing, Tony would eventually return safely. But Peter couldn't risk unexpected changes. He wanted to intervene to secure control of the situation—and more importantly, to create disturbances that would generate more energy in the Sea of Consciousness.
That energy would help him open the gateway to another dimensional world.
And that, for Peter Parker, was the ultimate goal.
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