The glow of the Infinity Stones lit up the room.
For some reason, Digital Tony still had not turned off the holographic projection.
"Wait, this isn't right. Why are there only four of them?"
Ian stared at the four stones in surprise. That did not match what he had heard earlier about there being only one stone left. After thinking for a moment, he immediately seemed to realize something and looked up at the sky.
That was his intelligence kicking in.
Just not all the way.
All Ian saw was the projected darkness. He could not even see the ceiling of the base, much less catch Galactus's body reflected in his eyes.
"So one of the Stones is on mighty Galactus, right? He's dead, but he still agreed to let me touch him. If you don't believe me, ask his corpse after I do it."
"I guarantee my respected Uncle Galactus won't deny it."
Ian clearly sounded greedy, and this time Digital Tony did not deny his guess.
Of course,
he also still did not comment on Ian's obsession with touching corpses.
"Gathering all the Infinity Stones is when we'll find out whether this can truly succeed."
He stared at the floating stones, as if he had no fear that everything might still end in failure.
"They're really beautiful."
Ian's eyes practically lit up.
Seeing that, Digital Tony let the four Infinity Stones drift in front of him.
"I can touch these?"
Ian's fingertips brushed the surface of the stones. Cold. Hard. There was no feeling of gaining a new class like he had hoped, and that gave him a tiny bit of disappointment.
He did not feel any surge of power either.
"Could it be that my immunity in this world also means I can't use the Infinity Stones?"
Ian sighed inwardly. He had actually guessed Tony might want him to be the one to snap his fingers.
Apparently not.
"These Stones really are beautiful."
Digital Tony still did not show any real change in expression.
"They are the final Infinity Stones, and the strongest Infinity Stones. The collapse of the multiverse also means they are closer than ever to their original form."
He softly explained it to Ian.
"I know."
Ian nodded.
He had heard the story about the Infinity Stones once belonging to Nemesis, and that was exactly why he had been trying to figure out how to trigger a class gain from them.
Did they need to bleed?
Or maybe...
Ian frowned and turned on his superior intelligence.
At the same time,
Digital Tony stared at Ian, then spoke in a tone of simulated surprise.
"You're really not excited at all? What once represented omnipotent power is now in your hand... your mouth?!"
"What the hell?! You can put those in your mouth too?!"
That reaction from Digital Tony sounded completely genuine.
He immediately raised a hand and pulled on the Infinity Stones. The four stones that Ian had already stuffed into his mouth broke free from his lips and floated back out.
"I just wanted to test my teeth and see whether they were worthy of being in my mouth."
Ian was not telling the truth, which was perfectly normal.
He just did not think Digital Tony would understand him.
Sometimes,
if you do not test your stomach a little, how can you know whether the system might be hidden inside it?
"Can you let me bite them one more time?"
Still unwilling to give up, Ian looked at Digital Tony hopefully.
To be fair, this would not really hurt anything in this world. He did not need to actually digest anything to gain a class. Afterward, he could just wash the Stones and no one would ever know they had been through his body.
They might even come out looking brand new.
"..."
Faced with Ian's proposal, Digital Tony truly had no words. He shook his head rapidly.
Honestly, if he had possessed the authority to do it, he really would have liked to allocate a portion of his processing power toward predicting Ian's behavior in advance.
"I can satisfy almost any other request you have, but absolutely not that one."
Digital Tony directly took back the Infinity Stones and dismissed the surrounding dark projection. The busy hall full of researchers appeared around them again, and none of those researchers seemed aware that any conversation had happened inside the hologram.
"Fine."
Ian nodded with obvious disappointment. In the end, he had still failed to figure out a way to make Nemesis's power create a new class and become great again on his body.
Feeling a little depressed,
Ian grabbed a bag of snacks from one researcher's desk. The researcher shot him a look and immediately guarded a small box of snacks at his side, preventing Ian from taking a second bag.
"You're guarding snacks from a good person like me?"
Sensing the other person's suspicion, Ian felt even more irritated. He angrily tossed down a Franklin he had already taken out, only to see the researcher still staring at him helplessly.
"Do you really think money is useful anywhere with Earth in this condition?"
The researcher still refused to let go of the snacks.
"..."
This time, Ian had no answer.
"Maybe you could use it to wipe your butt? Trust me, it'd probably work better than paper. You'd just feel a little morally dirty afterward."
Genius that he was, that was the best excuse he could come up with.
"Has it occurred to you that my body is disposable for the day, so I don't need to wipe anything?"
The researcher stared back at Ian with huge innocent eyes.
Big eyes against big eyes.
A moment later,
Ian still could not think of anything to say.
Fortunately, Digital Tony rescued him.
"Greedy little kid, don't bully Dr. Helen Cho. Let's get back to it. Do you have any other requests?"
Digital Tony had given him a perfect way out.
Ian immediately pretended he had been very busy and hurried back over.
"Let me touch Sentry and Omni-Man and I'll be happy."
Ian really was the sort of person who knew how to be content, so he quietly added one more name to the list in order to reach that state of contentment.
"Fine."
Digital Tony looked surprisingly easygoing about it.
"Your time is up."
He said it very suddenly.
Then he turned and signaled for a researcher to return the sealed box containing the demon head to Ian.
"Uh..."
The moment Ian took the box,
Clang...
The bell of return rang out immediately.
Watching Ian's body disappear from the base, Betty, who had been observing all of this from the corner the whole time, finally stepped forward.
"Tony, he keeps coming and going like this, over and over. Nobody knows what he wants, and we still don't even know who he really is or where he comes from."
"That makes him dangerous for us. Especially at a time like this."
Betty looked worried. To her, uncertain variables were things Tony should guard against.
Her suspicion was understandable.
After all, this world should no longer have contained a truly living human, let alone a demon.
"Miss Ross, I no longer possess curiosity, so I have no need to know where he comes from or what his purpose is every time he appears and disappears."
"I only need to do my best to satisfy his requests."
Digital Tony's hologram had already returned to the screen, with streams of silent data moving across his face.
"Why? What exactly is going on between you and him? You wouldn't even let me analyze that demon he brought..."
Betty frowned, her eyes full of confusion.
She already knew Ian had high-level access to the base, but she had never imagined his authority ran this deep. Tony's only purpose should have been to push the world toward a reboot.
"I'm not the complete Tony Stark, so I can't give you a definitive answer. What you do need to understand is that, within this universe, that boy also holds the highest level of authority."
The air seemed to freeze.
After a brief pause,
Tony spoke again.
"Higher than me. Higher than you. Higher than this base. Higher than... everything."
His voice echoed across the vast hall, and Betty's face gradually turned pale.
She looked utterly horrified.
The savior's words
left the scientist feeling a deep, creeping dread.
(End of Chapter)
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