Tony Stark did not sleep well that night.
Not because of alcohol.Not because of work.But because of patterns.
The boy—Yiping—was too clean.
Too calm.Too aware.
Someone who casually dropped phrases like "mixed Marvel world" didn't belong to coincidence. That wasn't genius intuition. That was context leakage.
And Tony Stark hated leaks.
Stark Tower – Research Floor
Yiping stood in front of a holographic display, hands in his pockets, eyes calm.
He looked… ordinary.
Black hair. Slim build. No visible enhancements.The kind of person you'd forget five minutes after meeting.
That alone made Tony uneasy.
"Your equations are solid," Tony said casually, rotating the projection. "A bit aggressive, though."
Yiping smiled.
"Efficiency demands aggression, Mr. Stark."
There it was again.
That phrasing.
Not innovation.Not curiosity.But optimization.
Tony leaned against the table.
"So," he said lightly, "what do you think of the Avengers Initiative?"
Yiping's pupils contracted for a fraction of a second.
Too fast for normal people.
Not fast enough for Tony.
"…A necessary step," Yiping answered after a pause. "Though premature."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Premature how?"
Yiping hesitated.
Then laughed.
"Well, threats escalate too quickly. Without sufficient internal stability, a team like that risks implosion."
That answer was perfect.
Too perfect.
It avoided names.Avoided events.Avoided spoilers.
Only someone actively restraining knowledge would speak like that.
Tony smiled.
Internally, alarms screamed.
Group Chat – Multiversal Channel
Playboy:
Update: He's confirmed hiding information.
Happy Spoiler:
Of course he is.
Golden Retriever:
Does he know he's hiding it badly?
Playboy:
No. That's the problem.
He's hiding it well.
Not really a girl:
That means he's experienced.
Self-explosive master:
Or he's read too much and thinks he's smart.
Happy Spoiler:
Tony, be careful.
Transmigrators fall into two categories.
Playboy:
Let me guess.
Happy Spoiler:
The ones who want to survive…
…and the ones who want to control the plot.
Golden Retriever:
And the second type causes disasters.
Playboy:
Good thing I specialize in disasters.
Back in Stark Tower, Tony activated a hidden scan.
No implants.No nanotech.No foreign energy signatures.
Pure human.
That made it worse.
"Tell me something, Yiping," Tony said. "If you had unlimited resources… what would you build first?"
Yiping didn't answer immediately.
He looked out the window.
At the city.
"At scale?" he asked.
Tony nodded.
Yiping spoke calmly.
"A distributed defense system. Autonomous. Adaptive.Not reliant on heroes."
Tony's smile froze.
Ultron.
Not named.But outlined perfectly.
"So you don't trust heroes?" Tony asked.
"I trust probability," Yiping replied. "And probability says individuals fail."
That was the moment.
Tony was sure.
This wasn't just a transmigrator.
This was a planner.
Group Chat
Playboy:
He's aiming for early Ultron logic.
Happy Spoiler:
…That's bad.
Golden Retriever:
That's really bad.
Not really a girl:
Tony, don't let him cook.
Self-explosive master:
Rule number one: never let a transmigrator accelerate tech trees.
Playboy:
Relax.
I'm not stupid.
Tony looked at Yiping again.
A harmless smile.Polite posture.Perfect assistant candidate.
Someone who believed he could steer fate.
Tony chuckled.
"Well," he said aloud, clapping his hands, "welcome aboard.Let's change the world."
Yiping's eyes gleamed.
But Tony was already planning three contingencies, two betrayals, and one controlled failure.
If Yiping wanted to play god—
He'd do it on Stark's board.
And Stark always kept the kill switch.