Chapter 1: Every Day Waiting for Iron Man to Be Kidnapped

Marcus Lee glanced at the towering skyscrapers, focusing on the giant portrait of Tony Stark. It felt almost unbelievable to him; how did this all happen so suddenly?

Originally, he was just an ordinary young man on Earth. After watching "Captain Marvel 2," he felt it was a waste of money. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he went online and posted a long rant criticizing the movie's terrible plot.

Then, after he woke up, he found himself in this Marvel world.

In this world, he is a third-generation Chinese/other Asian immigrant, with his ancestors having immigrated during the founding of the modern state. Through two generations of hard work, his family accumulated a net worth of over a billion dollars, most of which is in real estate, with around ten million in cash flow.

So, he is technically a wealthy third-generation heir! Originally, this should have been a great start for him. After all, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary middle-class kid. His family wasn't poor, but they weren't wealthy either; his parents never let him go hungry, but compared to his current wealth, it was nothing.

But the problem is, where is he now?

This is the Marvel world. The early threats like the Hulk and Thor are nothing compared to what's coming. Even the first phase's big villain, Thanos, only aims to wipe out half the universe's life. It sounds scary, but with the concept of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) appearing later, entire timelines can be erased, making Thanos seem like a minor villain.

In other words, with one wrong move, Marcus might cease to exist without even realizing it, erased from the root.

Facing events involving superheroes like Thor or the Hulk, he could just run faster, stay away from New York City. But how could he escape when half the universe disappears with a snap, or an entire timeline is erased?

So, even though he is now a wealthy third-generation heir, he isn't really happy.

The only thing he can be thankful for is that those world-ending events are years away. Even the first Avengers movie is set in 2012, and it's only 2008 now. Tony Stark hasn't even been kidnapped yet.

But it should happen soon. Once Tony Stark is kidnapped, Stark Industries' stock will plummet. That's when Marcus plans to buy low.

In this life, besides owning a large apartment, Marcus has a million dollars in cash, which his family gave him to start his own business. Working a regular job is out of the question.

If his family had relied on regular jobs, they couldn't have amassed a billion-dollar fortune.

Especially after Tony Stark abandons the military division, Stark Industries' stock price will crash. That's when Marcus plans to buy at a low price and watch it multiply several times over, maybe even tenfold.

No wonder Americans love playing with finance. If they honestly built factories and produced goods, it would take forever to grow a million dollars to ten million.

But this kind of economy is ultimately fragile. The rapid decline of America in the future is proof of that, considering the amount of debt.

However, none of this really matters to Marcus. He has money, and if things go south, he can just take his money back to other country. Besides, if the whole timeline might be erased in the future, what's the point in working hard? He might as well take it easy.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Marcus, inside Stark Tower, Tony Stark was flipping through a diary.

[Marcus Lee's Diary (Tony Stark's Copy)]

Tony had already read this diary countless times over the past few days, which was unusual for someone with little patience for anything outside of his research.

But the contents of this diary is what made him sweat bullets.

[May 1st, Weather: Clear

Waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped, day one!]

[May 2nd, Weather: Overcast

Waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped, day two!]

[May 3rd, Weather: Clear

Waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped, day three. Saw Tony Stark on the news today, it felt surreal, like seeing a young Robert Downey Jr.!]

[May 4th, Weather: Clear

Feeling a bit uneasy about this dangerous world! If only there was a progress bar to check Tony Stark's progress in becoming Iron Man!]

[May 5th, Weather: Overcast

Stark Industries' stock price is ridiculously high for an industrial company. It's almost comparable to some internet companies. But then again, their leader is Tony Stark. Without Tony Stark, Stark Industries might not be worthless, but a significant drop in value is expected.

But this is a great opportunity. Once Tony Stark's disappearance is announced, it's time to consider buying. When he shuts down Stark Industries' weapons division and the stock crashes, that's the perfect time to invest!]

[May 6th, Weather: Clear

Saw that playboy on the news again. With his personality, he can't go a day without being in the news. But this also helps me gauge whether he's been kidnapped in Afghanistan yet.]

So far, this is all that's been recorded in the diary. Each day's entry isn't very long, but for Tony Stark, it's undoubtedly a massive shock.

Given his scientific background, Tony Stark naturally didn't believe in any supernatural phenomena. Under normal circumstances, if he found such an item, he probably wouldn't even look at it, dismissing it as a trick from some charlatan trying to fool him.

He never believed in such unfounded things!

However, this diary fell from the sky, landing directly in front of him, which was a different matter altogether.

On that day, he had just finished handling company affairs in his office and planned to sneak out without telling Pepper Potts to go on a date with a cover girl. But then, suddenly, whoosh! right before his eyes, the diary appeared out of thin air and fell onto his desk.

Afterward, he had JARVIS scan it inside and out to ensure there were no hidden mechanisms, such as a secret compartment in the ceiling from which it might have fallen. There were none.

Everything seemed normal…. Except it is not.

What was even more outrageous was that the diary's content would automatically update at a certain time each day. Sometimes, he could even see new entries appearing right before his eyes.