Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Tony Stark stood in the center of the lab, surrounded by flashing holographic projections and data streams, but his attention was completely elsewhere than on the complex formulas and blueprints. His fingertips unconsciously tapped the metal surface of the workbench, producing a dull, rhythmic sound, like the countdown running through his mind.

Two days had passed since the last "test" of Chen Haotian. In those two days, he had utilized every available resource—from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s early encrypted files to Stark Industries' global intelligence network, and even used "special channels" to investigate recent activity by the Ten Rings Gang. The result was nothing. Chen Haotian's background was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, as if he had appeared out of thin air in that medical pod. And the "prophecy" about his trip to the Middle East was so precise that it went beyond the realm of "coincidence" or "intelligence analysis."

The suffocating feeling of being gripped by an invisible hand grew stronger. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, philanthropist (a term he wasn't quite used to yet), had never felt so passive. He loathed this feeling, loathed uncertainty, and especially loathed the source of that uncertainty—the guy who claimed to be his brother, lying in the upstairs hospital room, seemingly weak but holding a world-shaking secret.

Conventional methods are ineffective. Therefore, unconventional methods are needed.

He needs an answer, irrefutable evidence to break the current deadlock. If Chen Haotian claims his information comes from "special channels" or "precognition," then let him demonstrate those "channels."

Having made up his mind, Tony returned to Chen Haotian's hospital room. This time, he brought no testing equipment and didn't pretend to be conducting a routine check-up. His expression was more serious than ever before, his eyes sharp as knives, and he cut straight to the point.

"Chen," Tony's voice was deep and carried an undeniable pressure, "it's time to end this guessing game between us."

Chen Haotian leaned against the headboard, flipping through a journal about quantum physics—a journal Tony had "unintentionally" left behind, part of a test. Hearing this, he put down the journal, his face still bearing that enigmatic smile that Tony couldn't quite decipher, a smile that blended languor and shrewdness. "I thought we'd been having friendly academic exchanges, Tony."

"Friendly?" Tony scoffed, taking a step closer and looking down at him. "You're telling me that the technology I'm so proud of has a fatal flaw, predicting that I'll be kidnapped and might even die in a cave! And you're telling me that's 'friendly'?"

He braced himself on the edge of the bed, leaning forward in a menacing posture: "Tell me, how did you know? Stop trying to fob me off with those vague answers. I need the truth, now."

The air in the ward seemed to freeze. Sunlight streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, but it lost its warmth in Tony's icy tone.

Chen Haotian watched him quietly, a glint of light seeming to flicker deep within his eyes. He had long anticipated that Tony would take this step. This proud genius, having ruled out all conventional possibilities, would inevitably choose the most direct method. And this was precisely the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"I told you, but you might not believe me." Chen Haotian spoke slowly, his tone calm, carrying a strange soothing power, yet also revealing mystery.

"Whether you believe me or not is my business. Whether you tell me or not is your business." Tony stood his ground. "Prove it to me. If you really have any 'special' abilities, show them now. Otherwise, I'll hand you over to S.H.I.E.L.D., or some more 'professional' agency, so they can find out who you really are and who's backing you."

This is an ultimatum. It carries a strong sense of threat.

Chen Haotian remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his options, or perhaps gathering his strength. Finally, he sighed softly, his expression less like that of a patient driven to desperation and more like that of an elder helpless against a child's stubbornness. "Alright, as you wish."

He threw back the covers and slowly got out of bed. His movements were still somewhat slow, indicating that he had not fully recovered, but his back was ramrod straight. He raised his right hand, palm up, fingers slightly spread.

"Watch closely, Tony." Chen Haotian's voice deepened, carrying a chanting-like rhythm. "This is not magic, nor is it a phenomenon that can be explained by any of Stark Industries' current technologies."

Tony held his breath, his eyes fixed on the hand. Reason told him it was absurd, but a strong premonition deep inside made him involuntarily anticipate something.

At first, nothing happened. The only sound in the ward was the faint hum of the air conditioning system.

But gradually, Tony felt the surrounding air become thicker, and an indescribable sense of oppression enveloped the space. Then, a few centimeters above Chen Haotian's palm, the air began to distort slightly, as if viewing objects through a layer of scorching steam.

The distortion intensified, and the center began to emanate an extremely dim, unnatural halo, a light that defied description, like a void that had swallowed all colors. Accompanying the appearance of the light, a faint yet piercing shriek rose from the depths, as if it were the mournful cry of space itself being forcibly torn apart.

Tony's pupils constricted. As a top physicist and engineer, he instantly recognized that it was no holographic projection or optical trick. The gravitational field readings around the distorted region were fluctuating wildly, and the curvature of space was visibly abnormal! Jarvis's voice rang in his ears almost simultaneously, with unprecedented urgency: "Sir! High-intensity spatial distortion detected! Energy readings are surging! The source... the source is Mr. Chen Haotian's palm! Warning! The energy form is unknown, extremely dangerous!"

To Tony's astonishment, the spatial distortion in Chen Haotian's palm reached its peak. The dim halo suddenly contracted inward, and then, a pitch-black "crack" about ten centimeters long and no more than two centimeters wide appeared out of thin air!

Unlike any known cutting mark, it was more like a gash torn open space itself. The edges of the crack were irregularly jagged, with flashes of light, like shattered glass, constantly flickering. Inside the crack was absolute, chilling darkness, so deep it seemed to devour all light and matter. A cold, deathly, and utterly alien aura emanated from it.

What chilled Tony even more was that through the narrow crack, he caught a glimpse of the scene on the other side—it seemed to be... a desolate, gravelly red land, with an eerie, dim yellow sky and a twisted, unnatural silhouette of a huge shadow in the distance!

"What...what is this?" Tony's voice was hoarse. He subconsciously took a half step back, his hand already on a hidden device on his wrist—the emergency summon button for the Mark armor. Everything before him completely overturned his understanding.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Chen Haotian's forehead, and his face was even paler than before; clearly, maintaining the crack had taken a heavy toll on him. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly!

The pitch-black spatial rift vanished instantly, as if wiped away by an invisible hand. The distorted air, the unsettling shriek, and the chilling aura from another world also ceased abruptly. The ward returned to normal, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

But Tony knew it wasn't a hallucination. Jarvis's urgent alarm still echoed in his ears, the lingering abnormal energy readings in the air, and the image of the red wasteland remaining on his retina were all frantically reminding him—he had just witnessed a miracle, or rather, a devil's trick.

Chen Haotian, slightly out of breath, lowered his hand and looked at Tony. His usual playful smile, reminiscent of a charming rogue, reappeared on his lips, but this time, it carried an indescribable depth and weariness.

"Now," Chen Haotian's voice was slightly hoarse from using his ability, but his tone was exceptionally clear, "do you believe me now, Tony? What I know doesn't come from the intelligence network of this world. The 'scenes' I saw came from... the other side of the rift."

Tony Stark stood frozen in place, his brain processing the terrifying information he had just received at an unprecedented speed. A spatial rift? An otherworldly vision? This was completely beyond science… no, even beyond the realm of “magic” that he could comprehend!

The crisis of trust was not resolved; instead, it pushed him into an even more dangerous and unknown abyss. But at the same time, a burning excitement, a mixture of extreme fear and extreme curiosity, began to grow wildly deep within his soul as a scientist and explorer.

He looked at Chen Haotian with an extremely complex expression. Doubt still lingered, but more than that, there was an instinctive attraction to the unknown.

He opened his mouth, but found his throat so dry that he couldn't make a sound.