Huh?
Wait a minute!
Before he could even finish his self-indulgent thoughts, Tony Stark's gaze inadvertently landed on the key phrase, "survived to Endgame."
His expression immediately became extremely serious.
What did it mean, survived to Endgame?
He, Tony, was dead by the time of Endgame?
The Endgame diary had mentioned it before, though the details were vague. But with the playboy's intelligence, he could naturally deduce some things.
Without a doubt, it was a "supernatural war" involving extraordinary powers and superheroes, just like the Battle of New York!
And during that battle, Tony Stark had even snapped his fingers, a crucial act!
However, the diary didn't reveal any more information about the crucial Endgame battle.
So...
What exactly had happened in that battle that led to his death?
Who killed him?
The Purple Potato Spirit?
Tony Stark began to ponder.
And soon, the playboy's eyes lit up; he'd really thought of something.
"Jarvis, do you remember Zhou Cheng mentioned at the beginning that I sacrificed myself to save the world?"
Tony Stark's eyes gleamed, and he instinctively asked Jarvis.
"Yes, sir. Zhou Cheng did say that when you first got the diary."
Jarvis immediately chimed in.
"That's right, he did say that, so that's the key!"
"Do you remember the mysterious 'The Snap'? The one that should be able to bring the dead back to life!"
According to the diary, The Snap had a high probability of reviving the dead, but it should be for ordinary deaths.
Some special deaths, such as Black Widow's, couldn't be undone by The Snap.
But special deaths should be a minority, and most people should have died ordinary deaths.
So, the key question arises.
During Endgame, Tony Stark snapped his fingers, saving countless lives!
At the same time, the diary also stated that Tony Stark died to save the world!
Could there be a connection?
Could it be that Tony Stark sacrificed himself because he snapped his fingers, saving those who died in the war?
After all, such a world-defying snap, capable of even reviving the dead, might require a significant cost from the user. It wouldn't be hard to understand.
"Jarvis, do you think this is possible?"
Tony Stark shared his thoughts and speculations with Jarvis.
"Logically, it is certainly a possibility."
Jarvis agreed, as the playboy's analysis didn't have any obvious flaws.
Based on the fragments revealed in the diary so far, it was indeed possible to piece together such a picture.
Of course, Tony Stark understood this as well.
Because there were so few related fragments, the current puzzle might only be the tip of the iceberg.
Whether it was accurate or not would have to wait until more fragments were revealed. There was no point in dwelling on it now.
However, no matter what, a question made Tony Stark feel like he had a fish bone stuck in his throat, needles on his back, and ants in his pants. He wouldn't be happy until he figured it out.
What exactly was this Snap?
Why would the touch of two of his fingers produce such a miraculous power, enough to bring the dead back to life?
Technology clearly couldn't do this, so it should be some kind of magic, witchcraft, or other mysterious power?
Could it be that his future self actually mastered powers like magic?
Hmm, Stark the magician, that didn't sound bad!
It was also strange, considering Stark was such a genius, many of the technologies he mastered were far beyond the current era.
Even someone like the Purple Potato Spirit has heard of Tony Stark, calling him "the man cursed by knowledge."
In terms of intelligence, he could rank in the top three in the entire Marvel universe.
Well… let's put him in the top five for now, considering there are quite a few top-tier scientists in Marvel.
Not many would dare say they're definitely smarter than Stark, maybe only one or two, but there are a few who are on par with him.
A tech genius of this level, when they make a move, it's all kinds of black technology!
He can invent all sorts of incredible armors, and all kinds of black tech are at his fingertips, yet he can't solve a little Palladium Poisoning?
"Hmph, I knew it!"
A smug smile spread across Tony Stark's face, and the playboy felt like he was on cloud nine.
It was so refreshing, so smugly satisfying.
That Zhou Cheng guy, always badmouthing him and putting him down in his diary.
But in the end, it turned out he thought so highly of him.
This must be Zhou Cheng's true feelings, right?
This must be what he really thought! It has to be!
Indeed, he, Tony, was the most outstanding! Even those who didn't like him, who couldn't stand him, had to admit his excellence from the bottom of their hearts.
He, Tony, was just that outstanding, hopelessly so.
"Sir, that Purple Potato Spirit has even heard your name."
Jarvis's voice sounded, the thoughtful AI also expressing a certain degree of surprise.
That was the Purple Potato Spirit!
A terrifying being who wiped out half the life in the universe, a top-tier bigshot throughout the cosmos.
Such a person, had actually heard of Tony Stark's name?
And even gave the incredibly high evaluation of "cursed by knowledge"?
It was simply unbelievable!
"It seems I'm even more excellent than I thought!"
Tony Stark couldn't be more pleased with himself, and he realized even more clearly just how outstanding he truly was.
It seemed that his previous self-assessment of being the most awesome on Earth was too low-key, too humble.
He, Tony, was among the best in the entire universe.
Wait, wait a minute!
As he continued reading, the playboy's smile froze.
His own intelligence was only ranked in the top three, no, the top five?
Were there really people in the world smarter than him? And not just one, but freaking two?
Besides those two, were there others who were just as smart as him?
What a joke!
This Zhou Cheng's old habit had resurfaced. He'd barely been able to resist expressing his internal self-affirmation, only to instinctively belittle himself the next second.
He, Tony, was definitely the smartest person! No one could be smarter than him!
And the Palladium Poisoning issue? That was just a bias, an unfair assessment.
True enough.
Even if he, Tony, had synthesized a new element thanks to Howard's reminder...
But Tony Stark believed that he could have done it even without this process.
It's just that the playboy didn't want to waste his brilliant IQ on such things!
It must be like that!
So is it possible that the problem of Palladium Poisoning is Stark's destiny?
Or, is it like the "Absolute Time Point" mentioned by the Ancient One, an unavoidable event?
Just like Doctor Strange's car accident, no matter which universe it is, no matter how many times Doctor Strange tries to go back to the past, it is destined to happen?
I think this explanation is more reasonable. Otherwise, it's a bit ridiculous that the Iron Man would die of a small problem like Palladium Poisoning.
It's as ridiculous as Sun Wukong, who can blow up planets, dying of a heart attack.
Ancient One?
Doctor Strange?
The moment he heard those two names, Tony Stark's attention was immediately piqued.
Although Zhou Cheng didn't say much about them, even the brief descriptions hinted at their extraordinary nature.
First of all, their titles.
Before he got the diary, if Tony Stark had encountered someone calling themselves a "master," he would have immediately assumed they were charlatans or con artists.
But now?
The playboy knew magic and sorcery were real!
So, without a doubt, this Ancient One was a superhero in the future superhero era!
More precisely, a superhero skilled in magic or spells, likely following a similar path to Scarlet Witch.
The nickname "Doctor Strange" was a bit strange.
Judging from the name, this person should be a scholar or a scientist.
But it seemed like he enjoyed researching some peculiar fields?
Or was it that the person was just strange, with an odd personality?
So strange, in fact, that everyone gave this person the nickname "Strange"?
However, Tony Stark couldn't figure out the specifics because the information available was too limited.
But one thing was certain: Doctor Strange was also a ridiculously powerful extraordinary individual.
After all, this guy could actually travel back in time!
That was just too insane.
As for Sun Wukong later on, wow, he was even more incredible, actually blowing up planets!
Even Tony Stark couldn't help but gasp.
As a top-tier scientist, he naturally knew the scale of energy required to blow up a planet.
He really couldn't imagine someone actually achieving such an unbelievable feat.
So, solving the Palladium Poisoning problem still depends on Nick Fury, or rather, on Howard.
I just don't know if Fury has discovered Stark's Palladium Poisoning problem yet, and if he's sent Black Widow to be a spy near Stark.
I estimate he probably has.
I remember Nick Fury also had S.H.I.E.L.D. research a Lithium Dioxide medicine that can alleviate Stark's symptoms.
"That thing probably can't be researched in a short amount of time, right?"
"Speaking of which, S.H.I.E.L.D. is worthy of its name, they do have some skills. Tony Stark seems to only drink fresh vegetable juice, and he hasn't even researched anything to suppress the virus."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. not only researched it, but it's also quite useful!"
"After Black Widow's injection, it was visibly effective!"
Ah, this!
Nick Fury's already dark, egg-like face darkened again, and his mouth twitched.
He was just giving Natasha the order to infiltrate Stark.
And now, Satan had exposed the whole thing?
What's the point of even playing this game then?
After analyzing Tony Stark's series of actions, Nick Fury was now quite certain that the playboy was another diary holder.
In other words, at this moment, there was a high probability that Tony Stark already knew about this!
Wouldn't this be a complete giveaway?
Anyway, Natasha hadn't yet found a suitable opportunity to infiltrate Stark's side. Should they withdraw Natasha and abort the mission?
No, that wouldn't work either.
Nick Fury subconsciously shook his head.
If Tony Stark had really seen the diary, he would know that, according to the "plot," S.H.I.E.L.D. should have a mole infiltrating.
If there wasn't one, wouldn't that also be abnormal?
"Forget it!"
After a moment's thought, Nick Fury quickly made his decision.
The infiltration mission would continue without any changes. After all, it was an important test in itself.
If Tony Stark didn't notice anything and Natasha successfully went undercover, then there wouldn't be any problems.
He would let Natasha proceed as planned, and do whatever she needed to do.
But if Natasha was discovered by Tony Stark, wouldn't that directly prove his guess was correct, that Tony Stark truly possessed the diary?
Therefore, Natasha's actions still held significance.
"That baldy, he never stops!"
Tony Stark immediately couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He hadn't cared much for Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., before.
But after seeing the series of actions the man took in the diary…
Like showing up just as his death was imminent, and researching super weapons only to have them used by Hydra, all but destroyed any goodwill he had toward the man.
Now he found out that the bald-headed bastard even planned to send a spy to be around him?
What the hell did he want? Did that big bald head really think he was easy to push around?
Sending a spy, huh?
Fine, bring it on. When the time came, Tony would make that spy regret it!
"Black Widow? Sir, this is a future Avenger, a future team member of yours."
Jarvis's voice chimed in at this moment, highlighting this key piece of information.
"Yeah, Black Widow, I see her."
Tony Stark still looked completely unfazed.
He hadn't expected that the bald egghead would take him so seriously, sending such a heavy-hitter agent.
But so what if it was Black Widow? Would he, the great Tony, be afraid?
This was a good opportunity to see what that Black Widow was really made of! It must be mentioned here.
Actually, Tony Stark had looked into Black Widow before, shortly after the diary had revealed the Black Widow.
But unfortunately.
Without knowing her real name, only the alias, the playboy hadn't found anything.
Thanks to book friend "Da Xian Zhe" for the tip!
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
" Marvel Rise of the Spider-Verse "
" Marvel: The Multiverse Wanderer "
" Marvel: Wrath of the Dark Superman "
" Marvel Rebirth of Doomsday "
" Marvel's Divine Game Producer "
"Marvel's Gravity God Shinra Tensei From the Start"
" Marvel: Hyperion Journey "
"Marvel Starting from Spider-Man No Way Home"
many more are available
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)