The night was as dark as ink.
A black Audi R8, like a crouching Black Panther, glided silently into the old streets of Queens, finally coming to a stop before the unremarkable wooden door of the Divination House.
Tony Stark pushed the door open and stepped out, sizing up the rundown shop before turning back to say something to Happy in the driver's seat.
"Wait for me here."
His voice lacked the madness and excitement of the previous few days, carrying instead a rare, settled focus.
Click.
The door to the Divination House was gently pushed open.
No lights were on inside; only the moonlight filtering in from outside outlined the contours of the tables, chairs, and shelves.
A figure sat quietly in a chair behind the counter with eyes closed, as if merging into the Darkness.
Lin Huai counted the seconds in his head, forcibly suppressing the restlessness born of waiting.
Twenty-four hours!
This hyper-competitive genius had stubbornly dragged out a task he could have finished much faster for a full day and night! If he didn't advance soon, he was truly afraid he would lose control.
Sensing the visitor, Lin Huai slowly opened his eyes.
"I knew you would come, Stark," his voice rang out in the silence, steady and clear. "And not via a phone call."
Tony didn't speak immediately. He walked straight to the counter, scanning the surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
He turned back to the door and snapped his fingers at Happy in the car.
"Happy, bring in that bottle of Macallan and the glasses from the car. It seems the hygiene standards here don't meet my requirements."
A moment later, Happy walked in carrying an exquisite leather case. He took out a bottle of fine vintage whisky and two crystal-clear glasses, placing them carefully on the counter before tactfully retreating and closing the door.
Watching this, Lin Huai's lips couldn't help but twitch.
Tony skillfully poured half a glass for both himself and Lin Huai, the amber liquid shimmering in the moonlight.
Clink.
He pushed one of the glasses in front of Lin Huai and then tossed a thin stack of reports onto the center of the table.
It was a server damage list, and the amount of loss on it was enough to buy the entire block.
"Tell me," Tony picked up his glass but didn't drink, merely rubbing the cold rim with his fingertips, his eyes shining startlingly bright in the dark. "Based on what 'theory' did you write this damn thing?"Check
There was no anger or interrogation in his tone, only a pure, intense investigative curiosity belonging to a top scientist.
He wanted to know the answer.
Lin Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
'Here it comes, just as expected.'
'This guy's competitiveness and thirst for knowledge are even stronger than I imagined. But this is fine; it's better to talk things out once and for all than to let him keep suspecting me.'
He picked up the glass and took a small sip. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, bringing a hint of warmth.
"I thought you had already found the answer in your own way, Stark," Lin Huai said with a smile.
"My answer?" Tony raised an eyebrow, as if a switch had been flipped, immediately entering "Tony Stark" showtime.
"That's right, I did." He set down his glass, waving his hands in the air to bring up a miniature holographic projection.
"I tried acoustic, electromagnetic, and even bio-neurological models; they all failed. Until I changed my approach—quantum entanglement."
He pointed to a complex model in the projection, his eyes sparkling with the light of wisdom.
"I succeeded using this theory. But..."
Tony turned off the projection, leaning forward slightly to stare intently at Lin Huai.
"This is just my 'translation,' a forced explanation based on the existing scientific framework. It can replicate the results, but it can't explain the source."
"Now, I need to hear the 'author's' original theory. Don't use those mystical words of yours; say something I can understand."
Lin Huai listened quietly to his grand discourse and took another sip of whisky.
"To be honest, you're truly impressive, being able to express something so abstract through science."
"But you're like a scholar trying to analyze Oracle Bone Script using English grammar. Although you can guess some meanings from the shapes, you'll never understand its true 'ideographic' logic."
"'Ideographic logic'?" Tony caught the term.
"Yes." Lin Huai set down his glass and held up a finger. "In the World we live in, beyond science, there exists a deeper underlying operating system. We call it 'spirituality'."
"'spirituality'?" Tony's expression was like he was listening to a fairy tale.
"You can think of it as a kind of cosmic background radiation—omnipresent, but imperceptible to mortals. Beyonder powers are simply about learning how to utilize this 'radiation'."
Lin Huai continued, "In that 'heavenly book' of mine, every symbol isn't a mathematical or physical unit, but a carrier of a 'concept.' For example, 'home,' or 'the way back'."
"What I did was use mysticism to weave these 'concepts' together, allowing them to create a 'resonance.' This resonance stirs the 'spirituality' of a specific area, thereby stimulating Beyonder creatures who are also affected by 'spirituality'."
"It's not sonar on a physical level, but... a'shout' on a spiritual level."
"It isn't simple materialism, but semiotics and resonance. Yet, it follows logic and is also a part of science."
The Divination House fell into a long silence.
Tony didn't argue or mock. He just sat there quietly, his brain working at an unprecedented speed, trying to grasp this brand-new worldview.
spirituality, concepts, resonance, semiotics... each of these words was as ethereal as philosophical ramblings, yet together they eerily explained everything that had happened in his lab—why pure physical simulations failed, while that absurd quantum model could hit the mark by chance.
He hadn't translated the oracle.
He had merely built a repeater that could barely mimic the oracle's pronunciation.
After a long time, Tony let out a long breath. He picked up his glass and drained it in one gulp.
He gave up.
He gave up trying to deconstruct Lin Huai's World with his own theories.
"Fine," he looked at Lin Huai, his gaze becoming incredibly serious. "I don't care if you're a Demon or an Angel, but I believe you can deliver 'results'."
Tony stood up, straightened his collar, and extended his hand to Lin Huai.
"I've decided to upgrade my 'Angel investment' in you into a formal, long-term cooperation agreement."
"From today on, you are Stark Industries' sole 'Chief Consultant of Unknown Fields'."
Lin Huai looked at the outstretched hand, a calm smile appearing on his face.
He knew that from this moment on, he truly possessed the... trust of this top genius on Earth.
He reached out and shook Tony's hand.
"It's a pleasure to work with you, Stark."
This conversation, worth far more than a glass of whisky, laid the foundation for their future cooperation.
Tony turned to leave, but as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and looked back to ask.
"One last question."
"Before I head out, can I get some samples of those 'Beyonder materials' you mentioned?"
In his eyes sparkled the uncontrollable fever and curiosity of a scientist facing the unknown.