Chapter 3: Who writes in a diary in this day and age?

"So the prime suspect is this wealthy third-generation Marcus!" Tony exclaimed.

Of course, the term 'wealthy third-generation' is relative to ordinary Americans. With his Tony-level wealth, amounting to several hundred billion dollars, just this trip to Afghanistan could easily earn his company billions. That amount of money is hardly worth mentioning.

"Hack into his account, see how much money he has?" Tony suggested.

For Tony, who owns an artificial intelligence like JARVIS, there are few places in the world, except for a few exceptions, where he can't hack. Of course, he refrains not only due to his conscience but also because he's one of the biggest beneficiaries of these rules. If he starts breaking them, who else will abide by them?

You can't take everyone for fools; it's really troublesome if you get targeted by government agencies.

[Check the records; his parents transferred a million dollars to his account just a few days ago!] JARVIS reported.

"Then it's highly likely to be him." Tony stroked his small beard thoughtfully. "Do we have more information about him? Is he a troublemaker, does he have any connections with gangs or terrorists, or anyone in his social circle who fits that profile?"

Instinctively, Tony was still unwilling to believe in so-called prophecies. He was more inclined to think that Marcus had heard about this from someone around him.

[All the information we've found so far shows that he's a typical template for a Chinese youth: smart, good grades, disciplined, hardworking. He hasn't had any contact with gangs, and before he became independent from his family, he lived in an upscale villa area. Currently, we haven't found anyone in his social circle capable of plotting a kidnapping case!] JARVIS explained.

"Smart, good grades, disciplined, hardworking—it's just too fitting with our stereotypical image of Asian people," Tony muttered to himself. "Doesn't sound particularly special, does it?"

[If there's anything special, it's probably that he had a car accident a month ago and miraculously survived...] JARVIS added. [Other than that, his life trajectory has been quite ordinary.]

"A car accident? Did that trigger some special abilities?" Tony pondered briefly, finding the idea absurd.

Especially the prophecy part—predicting his potential kidnapping in Afghanistan might suggest advance information, like knowing the board's decision through some means. But predicting he'll shut down Stark Industries' weapons division?

That's completely outlandish! Stark Industries' main cash cow is precisely this weapons division. While other sectors contribute, at least eighty percent of its stock price is upheld by it. This legacy has been going strong since his father's time, spanning several decades.

Unless he's gone insane, how could he possibly give that up? Plus, he needs to consider shareholder interests. Though his family holds the majority, the collective power of other shareholders is not negligible. In America, even founders can be ousted by the board—a fate that befalls many.

He absolutely wouldn't make such an absurd move.

But let's entertain the idea—if he really did dissolve the weapons division, abandon military contracts, Stark Group's stock price could indeed plummet.

That is, if he makes such a ludicrous decision. But why is this Marcus so certain, as if he's sure Stark will make such a move? Could it be that, during his abduction, he made promises to someone? Is this the price for his rescue?

Tony's mind was a mess of confusion.

[Sir, in that case, why not confront him directly?] JARVIS interjected.

"Because the moment that thought crosses my mind, I feel an intense pain—a terrifying resolve warns me not to have any dealings with this Marcus," Tony sighed. "Considering his temperament, if I could confront him directly, I would have done so on the spot."

"And besides, what if he doesn't actually have any prophetic abilities, just knowledge of certain information? That would just alert the snake in the grass," Tony said.

The crucial point was that he still felt the warning of that willpower might be more severe than he had imagined. He felt that if he really confronted him, he would probably die before he could even speak.

He, a capital businessman, one of the few people at the top of the world, one of the masters of this world, didn't want to die because of this matter.

He might not know the truth, but he couldn't die. He hadn't had enough fun yet.

"Keep an eye on this Marcus!" Tony ordered.

[Sir, Marcus has started writing in his diary again!] JARVIS suddenly spoke up.

Sure enough, words began to appear in the diary on the desk out of thin air.

Tony was a bit speechless, especially considering it was broad daylight outside.

Who writes in a diary in this day and age?

Who writes their innermost thoughts in a diary, let alone a good person during the day?

These days, he had observed that Marcus's diary entries were completely irregular. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, JARVIS would be called to look at the diary.

Sometimes, early in the morning, just after messing around with a model, he had barely fallen asleep before being summoned, which really annoyed him.

And now, writing in the diary in broad daylight.

[May 7th, Weather: Sunny

Just passed through a block in New York, supposedly the street where the Hulk and Abomination battled years ago. The repairs still aren't fully completed, and the efficiency of these Yankees is really lacking. But considering their firefighters during 9/11, who fearlessly risked their lives for rescue operations, only to end up without any compensation—capitalism is truly ruthless!]

Reading this, Tony furrowed his brow. Why did it feel like he had heard this name somewhere before?

"Who is this Hulk guy, and what's this Abomination thing? A battle that could affect a whole street? Did they use heavy weaponry?" Tony couldn't help but ask.

[Sir, several years ago, there was indeed a related incident near the China Grand Theatre. A street suddenly suffered massive destruction, and a few Stark family storefronts were affected as well. The government later explained it as encountering suicide bombers!] JARVIS timely replied.