Luo Chen had never imagined that one day he would meet Tony Stark, let alone have a friendly conversation and become a friend. While Tony's sharp tongue and caustic remarks could make him difficult to deal with, it would still be fun to be friends with him—at least, in theory.
However, such a meeting had to be carefully planned, approached in a way that made sense. Luo Chen didn't want to disrupt the timeline; doing so wouldn't benefit him at all.
But now, here they were, meeting unexpectedly in mid-air. And under such circumstances, the entire plotline had been thrown into disarray.
If he had met someone like Brother Who Chui—someone carefree, with a serious childhood illness—maybe he could have charmed him with a few words. But Tony Stark was a different beast altogether.
On the surface, Tony seemed like a cold-blooded arms dealer, a genius with a sharp tongue, rude manners, and a knack for speaking without thinking. But in reality, Tony Stark was incredibly astute, deep-minded, and calculating. He wasn't a simple person to fool with a casual laugh and a few words.
If you look at his history, you'll see that even those closest to him couldn't fully earn his trust. He built anti-Hulk armor, anti-Thor armor, and many other pieces of tech designed to combat potential threats. Tony Stark wasn't as superficial as he appeared. After today's events, Luo Chen realized that his peaceful life would be upended.
Tony Stark's actions would eventually draw the attention of Nick Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.—a whole web of problems that would unfold.
Luo Chen suddenly felt a wave of urgency. He had originally thought he had at least ten years before Thanos arrived—time enough to grow stronger and be ready to face whatever came his way. Given the speed of his own growth, he thought ten years was more than enough to become powerful enough to protect himself.
But now, meeting Tony Stark early had dramatically accelerated the timeline. His involvement in the coming turmoil was now inevitable, and he felt woefully unprepared. His current strength wasn't enough. At least, that's how Luo Chen felt.
After all, he wasn't the protagonist of a typical hot-blooded comic, the type to fight tooth and nail against every enemy, regardless of the odds. He preferred to silently improve his strength, then crush his opponents with overwhelming power, all without surprises or setbacks.
But now, unexpected events were forcing him into action.
Luo Chen quickly returned to his apartment, moving at an astonishing speed. He sighed as he stepped inside, realizing that sooner or later, something was bound to go wrong.
It had been a careless moment—floating above the clouds and basking in the sun—but sooner or later, someone would notice. Military satellites from various countries weren't exactly passive. Unless he could acquire some stealth technology, he couldn't continue his carefree sunbathing for much longer.
He couldn't help but open his diary to record the day's events. Recently, though, he hadn't been as enthusiastic about writing it every morning. Back when he first started, he would do anything for a chance at the lottery. No matter how late he stayed up, he'd wake up early to write in the diary and collect his reward.
At the time, he didn't realize how much he was annoying Tony Stark and Nick Fury. Both of them would be up early, cursing under their breath about his "psychotic" behavior of writing a diary so early in the morning.
But his diary entries had been too important for them to ignore. Whenever he updated it, they would drop everything to study the contents, even if it was just a trivial entry.
After a few attempts at the lottery, Luo Chen found the rewards underwhelming. Though the lottery had a vast selection of items, most of what he drew didn't really satisfy him. For example, once he won a million dollars—sure, it was a lot of money, but not something he particularly needed.
The only useful item he won was a black super suit, made of high-tech alloys. It was a tight-fitting suit with a large "S" on the chest, resembling a Superman-style costume. After testing its durability, he found that regular firearms couldn't even scratch it. It was strong, possibly even using Kryptonian technology.
But there was something about wearing tights that bothered him, so he never bothered putting it on.
As a result, his interest in the lottery—and in writing the diary—diminished. He no longer felt compelled to wake up early just to torture Tony Stark and Nick Fury with his random updates. That, at least, had been the only benefit.
Then, he discovered something new about the system: lottery draws could be accumulated, rather than happening once a week. This meant he could save up several draws and then make a big haul in one go.
Since then, Luo Chen had been saving up his lottery chances. Currently, he had three saved up and planned to keep going. He didn't need anything common from the lottery—he wanted something valuable.
With this in mind, Luo Chen summoned the diary and began writing.
[Damn, damn, damn, today has been absolutely insane!]
Luo Chen began his entry with a few words to express the shock he was feeling. While his strength had grown significantly, his mindset was still that of an ordinary person. Today's events—meeting Tony Stark and disrupting the timeline—had shaken him to the core.
[I never expected that after trying to get some sun today, I'd run into Tony Stark wearing his Mark armor. What kind of timeline is this? My entire worldview has been shattered!]
[I didn't hear anything about him yet—has Tony Stark returned from Afghanistan? But wait, I've never heard of him being kidnapped. This was a missed opportunity for a big payday!]
[Now that I've caught the attention of someone like Tony Stark, I'm sure it won't be long before S.H.I.E.L.D. steps in. Nick Fury won't miss a chance like this.]
[Maybe I'll even run into Phil Coulson, the head of the "novice village." I wonder what identity he'll use to approach me this time—FBI or CIA? Oh, and if there's a "widowed sister" involved, things could get interesting.]
[But I can't forget that she's actually Black Widow, the former Russian agent. A real "beautiful snake." If she bites Tony Stark, he'll be toast! Hahahaha, now that's interesting!]
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