Marvel: The Imposter Inventor

Chapter 219 Ordinary Soul Ritual Experiment
"Hakimi, increase the output power by another 5%."

In the top-floor laboratory of the Orange Tower, Luca stared intently at the data panel in front of him.

At this moment, in the very center of this laboratory, there is a black stone tablet about three meters high, covered with intricate and strange runes.

What's even stranger is that the futuristic base at the bottom of this stone monument is cluttered with a multitude of wires and pipes.

At the other end of the line was a strange device, roughly conical in shape, emitting pale red light particles.

As the cone-shaped device, which appeared to be an energy engine, continued to increase its power, the red light rapidly rose to the stone tablet it was connected to.

At that moment, a connection seemed to be formed between technology and magic, and all the strange runes carved on the stone tablet lit up instantly.

The characters flashing red light swayed constantly, casting an eerie glow over the entire laboratory.

However, just as Luca was about to summon the Si Cup and form hand seals for the 12th 'Hell Positioning Soul Guiding Ritual' test.

Outside the glass curtain wall of the building, a rhythmic knocking sound suddenly came from the door.

Luca, who was concentrating on his experiment, was startled and almost dropped the tablet in his hand.

Looking back at the glass exterior of the laboratory, a flamboyant figure in gold and red armor was hovering in mid-air, peering into the room with his armor visor open.

Seeing this, Luca was speechless for a moment.

He raised his hand and pressed the button beside him, manipulating the glass membrane wall to separate to both sides, letting the uninvited Tony Stark into the laboratory.

"You idiot, this is over two hundred meters high. You opened your mask just to see if you can see through one-way glass with your naked eye?"

Watching Tony land steadily in his Mark armor, Luca casually swiped the data on the virtual screen to the background, then muttered a somewhat helpless complaint.

"Hey, these are all brand new marble floors! I'll send the bill to Miss Pepper, so don't even think about trying to renege on it!"

Upon hearing this, Tony, who was in the process of removing his armor, looked down at the marble floor beneath his feet, which had been blackened by the flames from his armor, and replied dismissively without a care in the world.

"Coincidentally, while the new Avengers base was being renovated, I acquired two marble quarries in Italy. I will arrange for someone to transport a batch to you later."

'Rich dog!'

Luca rolled his eyes in disdain, but still asked the question.

"What do you want? Haven't you been busy quelling unrest on the West Coast lately? What brings you here to see me?"

Tony frowned slightly and quickly corrected him.

"Don't talk nonsense. We are just cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight Hydra. Dealing with the rebellion is the government and military's job. Now that most of Hydra has disappeared, we naturally don't need to get involved in the rest."

As an 'international' 'public welfare organization,' the Avengers should not interfere in political affairs.

Although the actions of Captain America and others have substantially influenced the landscape of America and even the world, and financial professionals in the market now need to prioritize the impact of superheroes on certain events when dealing with the ups and downs of stocks.

But at least on the surface, the members of the Avengers are still not in a position to get involved in these politically related matters.

Tony, who hadn't yet experienced the Superhero Registration Act, naturally shared similar thoughts.

This is why he has been trying his best to distance himself from organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D.

However, Luca didn't see it that way, so he simply shrugged indifferently at Tony's explanation. Seeing his expression, Tony sighed slightly, looking somewhat helpless, but didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he chose to return to the topic of why he had come today.

“Gwen, I’m telling you, you haven’t left this lab for over a month? You’re not answering video calls or returning phone calls?”

"She was a little worried about your condition, which is why she wanted me to come and check on you."

As he spoke, Tony glanced around.

However, I hadn't had a chance to observe carefully when I came in, and now the more I look at them, the stranger their expressions seem.

Although Luca hadn't left the lab for over a month, the lab wasn't dirty or messy because of the intelligent robots that helped with cleaning and maintenance.

But the stone tablet in the middle was covered with strange runes.
'This looks more and more like some kind of cult ritual. Has this kid gone astray?'

Thinking of this, Tony's tone suddenly became hesitant, his eyes constantly scanning the words on the stone tablet.

"Runic script? Ancient Celtic script? And... oracle bone script? Have you been watching too many fantasy and horror movies lately? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Upon hearing this, Luca rubbed his temples, looking somewhat troubled.

However, since he chose to let Tony directly into his laboratory without any concealment, he naturally did not intend to hide what he was doing from Tony.

His experiment has hit a bottleneck, but if a genius like Tony were to get involved, it might be able to speed things up.

Of course, Luca was still making up a story in his head about how to explain it to the other party.

However, before he could even think of what to say, Tony, who was already somewhat worried, had already bypassed the large black stone tablet in the center of the laboratory.

However, when he saw what was behind the stone tablet, he exclaimed in surprise.

"Fa! Luca! What on earth are you doing?!"

Tony, who had just rounded the stone tablet, staggered back half a step. His gaze toward Luca changed from initial bewilderment and hesitation to one of horror.

Without him.

Behind the stone tablet was a semi-transparent hibernation pod shaped like a coffin, and inside this hibernation pod, which was connected to the base of the stone tablet by a bunch of pipes, lay a woman's corpse.

Seeing the other person's startled expression, Luca could only weakly offer an explanation.

"Don't make a fuss. Justin attacked me, and I killed him. The compensation lawsuit from Hammer Industries is still ongoing."

“I remember asking you last month, and you said yourself that you weren’t interested in Hammer’s industry and technology.”

Yes, at this moment, lying in the dormant coffin connected to the stone tablet is the body of Justin Hammer.

Using this corpse to attempt 'soul recall' is simply Luca making use of its waste.

However, Tony was clearly not concerned about the attack or the current state of Hammer Industries, but rather why there was actually a corpse in this laboratory that resembled a scene of an evil ritual.

Seeing his expression, Luca shrugged and explained in a somewhat casual tone.

"Don't look at me like that. This is just a necessary step in a normal soul magic experiment."

(End of this chapter)