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Chapter 254: Don't Compare with Him if You Have Nothing to Do
🕑 Added 2025-07-21 04:46:09 +0000 UTC"Was that a dream just now?"
Tony woke up, drenched in cold sweat, his breathing heavy and uneven.
Everything had felt so real, yet it was almost dreamlike, leaving him unsure about what was real and what wasn’t. He even questioned if he had died.
"Damn it!" Tony cursed, shaking his head in frustration.
"What's wrong, dear?" The girl lying next to him, who had stayed over, stirred awake at the sound of his outburst.
Tony attempted to get up and check his body, but as soon as he moved, he froze. He was completely naked, and the sight of his own body, exposed and vulnerable, made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. His outcry startled the girl awake.
After quickly calming her down, Tony hurriedly dressed and walked to his computer desk. As he moved, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the spot where he had just been lying. The memory of his earlier self, so disheveled and grotesque, lingered in his mind.
Shaking his head, Tony turned on his computer. But as he did, he frowned in confusion—there was nothing wrong with the machine.
He clearly remembered turning the computer on earlier and using it to complete some software work. But now, nothing seemed to be there.
After an extensive search, Tony found nothing, and the frustration built up within him.
"Did I have a dream?" Tony muttered to himself, rubbing his head. He still hadn’t fully woken up.
But then, a thought occurred to him. He still clearly "remembered" the young man’s appearance and the information the young man had given him.
Without wasting any time, Tony opened a search engine and tried to find this mysterious person.
What baffled him was that no matter how he tried, he couldn’t accurately describe the young man. He even attempted to write down his experience from that night, but he couldn’t form a single word.
"What’s going on?" Tony stared at the screen, cold dread creeping over him. Could what happened before really have been true?
After thinking it over carefully, Tony—ever the skeptic—decided to try again. He remembered that the young man had asked him to create a social software.
Typing quickly, his hands moving frenetically over the keyboard, Tony didn’t even notice the annoyed glare from the girl lying beside him. He was fully absorbed in his task.
In under four minutes, Tony finished the software.
"It seems to be true?" Tony thought aloud, his mind racing as he placed one hand on his chin and the other over his chest, lost in thought.
He had managed to recreate the software, and even more surprisingly, he felt quite skilled at it. Much of it was based on the memory in his mind.
If that was the case, then it could only mean one thing: everything he had experienced was real.
Were heaven and hell truly part of this world? And why had that strange "death god" chosen such a cheap way to keep him alive?
"Am I so cheap in his eyes? Who is he looking down on?" Tony muttered, frustration building.
But soon, another thought crossed his mind. His father and mother—Howard Stark—they seemed to be in heaven. But why, of all people, was Howard there? And why did the "god of death" think so highly of him?
Tony couldn’t help but scoff. "Stopped a war? Created peace? Go to hell!" He shook his head angrily. "Just because I inherited his company, does that make me a warmonger?"
Tony’s irritation grew as he realized the futility of trying to change things. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but every time he tried to describe the man, the words wouldn’t come. His mind was blocked. There was no way for him to close the weapons department like he originally planned.
"Does this mean he’ll come for me sooner or later?" Tony thought bitterly. He never imagined he'd be treated this way.
Shaking his head, his eyes suddenly lit up. If you want to come, then come. Am I, Tony Stark, afraid of you?
While he couldn’t deal with the man now, he had three years. If the man came back, Tony wouldn’t make it easy for him.
People like Tony weren’t ones to admit defeat. If he had become a symbol of pride, it was because he refused to back down.
"However, before all that, I need to finish the intelligent AI," Tony mused. "Whether that guy wants it or I need it for myself, this 'death god' and his friends need a proper AI system and social software. Maybe they’ll want to pull together all the 'gods of death' worldwide for a chat!"
Meanwhile, Noah had no idea that Tony was plotting to deal with him, nor did he realize that Tony’s task to create social software had such implications.
The only difference was that if Noah had requested a magician’s software, it would have been much more accurate.
Noah, after receiving the software from Tony, left with Coulson and returned to their home. He had a peaceful night’s sleep at the London Temple. When he woke up the next morning, he was eager to show what Tony had created to Charles.
"My God, who made this? It’s a genius design!"
"My idea. Made by Tony Stark."
"Oh? Mr. Stark? You actually know him?"
"Not exactly. I used some special means to get him to make it."
Noah almost laughed at the thought of Tony's terrified expression, but he didn’t explain things too clearly. His actions weren’t entirely above board, and Charles likely figured as much. He simply nodded and said no more.
After more than a week of testing by Charles, it was confirmed that there were no hidden tracking systems in the software. Charles then discussed with Noah how to release it.
"Actually, we could disassemble this thing," Charles noted. "It has so many functions. But..."
"No need," Noah interrupted. "Tony compressed it to a size of just a few dozen KB. Why bother?"
Charles didn’t mind the decision but did mention that operating the software would require more manpower and some highly skilled professionals.
"That’s why I planned to have Tony create an intelligent AI system," Noah explained. "But he said there was no one available. I’ll have to wait a few years before seeking him out. Looks like I made a mistake."
Noah’s goal in asking Tony to create the AI was to reduce the manpower required for the software’s operation. However, Tony hadn’t made Jarvis yet, which left Noah feeling helpless.
"If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll find a way to develop an AI system specifically for managing this software," Charles suddenly suggested, grinning.
"You? Can you do that?" Noah asked, surprised. While he knew Charles and other mutants had been advancing in technology, could they really create an intelligent system?
"How do you know unless you try?" Charles replied. "I’ve studied at Harvard, Oxford, and Columbia. Although I majored in biological genetics, that doesn’t mean I’m not good at software design. Everyone has to learn more, right?"
Noah was impressed but still somewhat worried about Charles’s workload. Charles still had to help him study the dragons, and Noah feared he might spread himself too thin.
"Don’t worry, I have plenty of energy," Charles reassured him. "Even if you asked me to design this social software, with your creativity, I’ll definitely catch up to Mr. Stark’s pace."
"Really?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. How long did it take Stark to design the software?"
"Less than five minutes."
"..."
"To be precise, it was four minutes and thirty seconds."
Noah shook his head as he sent Charles off to work on the AI system. Why compete with Tony Stark? he thought. Maybe you can outlast him, but trying to match him in creation and design? That’s just asking for trouble.
Charles went back to work on the AI, and Noah wasn’t idle either. With three years to go before his plans truly unfolded, he began his own "dedicated magician" training program.
Finding a magician was proving to be difficult, but with permission from Ancient One , Noah no longer had to worry about magical power. He was looking for people with perseverance and good character.
Fortunately, Noah found a group of children from Ms. Heifen’s orphanage who were perfect candidates. They had been raised with good character, and Noah was pleased to see how much they admired and looked up to him.
As Noah began teaching them, he was reminded that nothing was more reassuring than finding people who trusted and respected him. The children were eager to learn, especially once they knew they would be studying magic.
Two months passed quickly, and just as Noah was getting into the groove, his phone rang again. It was Fury.
