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Chapter 269: Tony's New Idea
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 03:55:37 +0000 UTCPepper Potts had recently noticed that Tony seemed a bit off. She hadn’t seen Tony—the self-proclaimed genius—pick up a book and read it seriously for a long time. And his attitude had shifted too, becoming unusually focused, which intrigued Potts.
However, every time Potts tried to ask him about it, Tony would quickly find an excuse to brush her off. What made matters worse was that Tony kept the books hidden, not allowing anyone to take a peek.
Potts tried not to dwell on it, but she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. After all, Stark Industries was a complete mess. Since Tony had announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons department, shareholders and Wall Street had been in an uproar.
But there was one thing Potts found particularly bothersome: she had helped Tony with what she called his “heart surgery”—the replacement of the glowing arc reactor in his chest. After going through that once, Potts never wanted to do it again.
As for what Tony was doing at the moment? Potts had no time to care. He was either buried in a book or tinkering with a server terminal. It seemed odd that Tony was still focusing on these things when Stark Industries was in crisis.
Sitting at her desk, Potts shook her head and decided to stop thinking about Tony for now. She needed to focus on finding solutions to Stark Industries' issues. Just then, her phone rang, and it was Tony.
"What's wrong, Tony?" Potts answered absent-mindedly.
"Pepper, have the super servers I ordered been delivered?" Tony’s voice came through the phone.
"Super servers?" Potts thought for a moment and remembered that Tony had asked her to order a few super servers after his return from London. However, he hadn’t explained what they were for.
Potts wasn’t too concerned about it, thinking it was just a trivial matter. The real crisis was with Stark Industries. She left the task to others, but now it seemed Tony was very invested in it.
"It should be delivered soon. You know these things aren't easy to come by," Potts replied while quickly checking the status on her computer.
"Great! I hope it gets here faster. Someone is coming," Tony’s voice sounded a bit smug. "I want to give him a good surprise when the time comes!"
"‘He’?" Potts raised an eyebrow. She was certain Tony wasn’t talking about a "her." Could it be one of Tony’s friends? But before Potts could ask more, Tony hung up.
Potts sighed, rubbing her forehead, and put her phone down. It was clear that this matter was important to Tony, so she decided to prioritize it.
After hanging up, Tony returned to his work chair, staring at the cluttered parts in front of him. He had been thinking deeply since returning from London. The idea had first crossed his mind after his time in Afghanistan, but he had never fully committed to it.
He wanted to create an armor—one that would protect both himself and the world.
Tony felt increasingly strange about the world around him—magicians, aliens, and the like. After his return from London, he added a new friend on WeChat, a guy named Nick Fury.
At first, Tony had declined the friend request, but out of curiosity, he accepted, wondering if Fury, being on WeChat, saw him as a magician. However, after a brief conversation, Tony regretted it. He suspected that Fury might be the director of the Logistics Bureau, a possibility confirmed when Coulson mentioned his boss was named Fury.
Just as Tony was about to delete Fury from his contacts, the man sent him a blurry video. It was a top-secret recording made 15 years ago, taken by a satellite. The video showed a fleet surrounded by a mysterious halo, and then the ships were sliced into two and turned into a sea of fire, with only a few ships escaping using some form of space jump.
Tony watched the video in silence, and Jarvis confirmed that it was authentic—no editing or post-processing. It was real. Tony recalled seeing a similar golden halo with Noah, which further intrigued him.
The existence of such powerful beings beyond Earth made Tony believe in the magicians' cause. But, at the same time, he felt uncomfortable. Why should it be magicians protecting the world instead of ordinary people?
To better understand these magicians, Tony spent several days reading three books on the “History of Magic.” The more he read, the more confused he became. It turned out that magicians had always existed, but something happened over time that caused them to separate from ordinary people.
"So, the stories of King Arthur and Merlin are actually true?" Tony wondered.
Tony had always known about Merlin and King Arthur, but according to the "History of Magic," Merlin was not a young girl, as some stories suggested. Merlin was an old man, and King Arthur had been betrayed by his son, Mordred. It seemed that magicians had become isolated from the ordinary world, no longer caring about everyday matters.
In fact, magicians had their own world now, and even though they occasionally visited the ordinary world, it was more out of boredom than a sense of duty. Tony could sense the pride and superiority in their attitude toward ordinary people. For instance, in the American magical community, non-magical people were called "No-Maj," and in Britain, they were referred to as "Muggles." While not explicitly insulting, these terms had an underlying sense of superiority.
However, modern magic history had evolved, and Tony was surprised to learn that someone named Noah Finniel had played a significant role in this shift. Despite Noah appearing to be in his twenties, Tony knew better than to assume his true age. After all, magicians lived for centuries.
"Forget it, why dwell on this? The world is vast and dangerous. If others can’t protect it, why can’t I, Tony Stark, do it?" Tony thought, determined.
After reading the history of magic and understanding the magicians’ world, Tony made a decision: he would never expose the magical world. The chaos it would cause was too great. But Tony wasn’t going to rely on others for his protection. He had an idea to create something more powerful—an armor that could protect him, just as he had done in the past.
Tony was not a man who just talked about things; he took action. His work on the artificial intelligence terminal for Noah was nearly complete with Jarvis’ help, and now he was focused on designing the perfect armor.
Though Tony considered copying Jarvis for a new AI, he knew better than to be too cocky. Charles, another top scientist, was now involved with magic, and Tony respected his expertise. He couldn’t afford to be arrogant.
"Though Charles is a leading expert in biological genetics, he can still make an AI terminal. That’s enough to prove his strength," Tony reflected.
As for his new armor, Tony was laser-focused on the design. Even though he was a genius, he knew that a detailed plan was crucial. When he created the social software for Noah, it was because Noah had shared some "memories" that allowed Tony to classify everything efficiently.
After three hours of hard work, Tony finally completed the design. As Jarvis projected the 3D model, Tony studied it intently. The design looked sleek and futuristic, but Tony couldn’t help but wonder how it would hold up against magic. Would it withstand the magical forces he might face?
"There's also Magneto among the mutants. Could this armor resist him too?" Tony wondered, his mind racing.
It was a complicated thought, but Tony knew one thing: he couldn’t afford to let his knowledge of the magical world make things more complicated. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.
Sitting back, Tony picked up one of the "History of Magic" books again, thinking it might be a good distraction. "Hey, in stories, can’t magicians enchant things? What would it be like if my armor was enchanted?" he mused.
