Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Interview

New York City, Manhattan.

A young Chinese man in a well-tailored suit stepped out of a yellow taxi.

Fu Qinghai closed the door, holding a leather briefcase, and stood on the bustling sidewalk. He looked up at the towering building before him.

The iron-gray glass curtain wall shimmered under the scorching sun, its towering spire standing out even among the high-rise buildings of Manhattan. The building, irregularly conical in shape, had a massive disc-shaped helipad extending from its top.

Stark Tower, the New York office of the Avengers.

The building, usually rendered in CGI in movies, was now vividly real in front of Fu Qinghai, a sight both authentic and awe-inspiring.

Fu Qinghai lowered his gaze, took a deep breath, and stepped into the building.

"Good morning, sir. Do you have an appointment?" asked a blonde office lady with a professional smile from the circular front desk on the first floor.

"Hello, I'm here for an interview for the internship position in the holographic projection project department," Fu Qinghai said calmly, handing over a business card. It was from an HR representative at Stark Industries who had invited him for the interview.

"Alright, a security guard will escort you there," the receptionist confirmed and whispered a few words into her earpiece.

A security guard led Fu Qinghai through multiple security checkpoints to a small office on the second floor.

"Even the security in the HR department is so complex..." Fu Qinghai thought, gaining a new appreciation for the security measures at the Avengers' New York office.

Inside the small room, a middle-aged white woman casually flipped through a few pages of documents on the desk.

"Please sit down. I've reviewed your resume. Could you give a brief introduction of yourself, Mr. Fu?"

"Hello, Ms. Avery. I am Albert Fu. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. During my graduate studies, I followed the renowned professor..."

"During my Ph.D., I was deeply involved in the laser application research and development project at Hammer Industries..."

Sitting on the couch, Fu Qinghai spoke confidently, his chest puffed out.

A Stanford Ph.D. interviewing for a mere internship? This was Stark Industries.

As for the...

Stanford degrees? Forged.

Major research projects? Fabricated.

The HR manager nodded approvingly as Fu Qinghai introduced himself, occasionally asking questions about specific research projects on his resume.

Fu Qinghai answered confidently, using a barrage of lengthy, made-up technical English terms to confuse the interviewer.

Phrases like "Application of the Uncertainty Principle in Complex Zeeman Effects" and "Explaining the Citric Acid Cycle Using Superposition Principle and Stationary Wave Functions" flew out of his mouth.

Since the interview didn't require Fu Qinghai to present his research papers from university, he hadn't attached any to his resume. But if the interviewer had asked to see them, he had forged those too, ready in his briefcase.

Fu Qinghai's experience before entering this world had thoroughly familiarized him with the HR industry. A professional HR manager wasn't necessarily a technical expert, and their understanding of specific professional fields was often superficial.

Hmph, as long as I exude enough confidence, I can bluff my way through, Fu Qinghai thought. The overly smooth interview process made him feel a bit cocky.

"Finally," Fu Qinghai concluded, though he hadn't mentioned any personal hobbies or strengths, sticking to fabricated, content-heavy information. But as per usual, he wrapped up with some corporate culture, "I deeply admire and respect Mr. Tony Stark, which is why I chose Stark Industries right after graduation."

"Almost every applicant is a fan of Mr. Stark," the middle-aged white woman smiled indifferently.

"You are very impressive, Mr. Fu, and also very... young. Congratulations, you've passed the interview. If it's convenient, you can report for duty this afternoon. Here is your office address..." The interviewer swiped her electronic tablet a couple of times and handed Fu Qinghai a piece of paper with some onboarding instructions.

Fu Qinghai accepted the paper, thanked her politely, and left.

Walking out of Stark Tower, Fu Qinghai felt triumphant. Everything had gone smoothly. A remarkably young Stanford Ph.D.? it might have seemed odd, but he was Chinese. Chinese, young, a scholar—wasn't that normal?

However, the elated Fu Qinghai didn't notice that the office address on the paper given by the interviewer didn't seem to be "200 Park Avenue." It was "218 Madison Avenue."