Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 304 (First Update)

The sorcerer was extremely wary of the AI. Immediately after parting ways with Anna, he returned home and to Kamar-Taj, shutting down the entire network and turning off all devices with cameras. Only after doing this did he contact Agent Romanov. This was not only to protect his privacy but also to prevent the AI ​​from obtaining arcane information through cameras or phone calls.

Artificial intelligence combined with magic is just too bad; he must do everything he can to prevent the leakage of magical information.

Jarvis took over Salomon's phone, and Stark gestured for the sorcerer to go to a secluded corner to continue the call. Fortunately, Stark wasn't the main focus of this charity gala; the reporters were currently surrounding the organizers, giving him a chance to escape. Stark quickly led the sorcerer towards the fire escape—perhaps no one knew the best hiding spots in this building than Stark. He had attended countless events here, and the hall was as familiar to him as home.

"Sir," Jarvis asked in a calm tone, its voice amplified in the deserted fire escape, creating a small resonance, "would you like me to block this call?"

"Of course not, Jarvis. Try tracing this call." Stark pulled a data cable from his phone and connected it to Salomon's. He didn't explain much, but instead started operating the system on his own, working alongside Jarvis. To be honest, he was somewhat interested in the artificial intelligence Salomon described, and also curious about its creator—according to Salomon, the system's creator used numbers provided by the AI ​​to prevent crime, a classic trope from old-school superheroes like Batman and Green Arrow. More importantly, Stark's curiosity was about to explode. An ordinary person had independently created such a magnificent work; his curiosity drove him to understand the system, to see its code.

He attempted to hack into the system via the phone call. With Jarvis's help, he had just managed to access the firewall through the operator's network node. However, before he could even begin to crack it, the AI ​​seemed to have detected the intrusion attempt. Suddenly, Jarvis's voice became intermittent, and the arcane mage's phone began to heat up. Then, a small flame and smoke, accompanied by the acrid smell of burning electronic components, emerged from Salomon's phone.

"That AI cracked the security protocol, overloaded the capacitor, and it tried to overload mine too." Stark put down his phone, shrugged, and showed no remorse on his twitching mustache. "But Jarvis stopped it... I must say, you're not exaggerating, it really is an AI. The bandwidth here is limiting Jarvis's capabilities, otherwise we would have witnessed an AI war. Okay, relax, I'll buy you another phone later. I'm getting more and more interested in this system. When are you going to take me to meet the creator?"

Salomon rolled his eyes. Frost was rapidly forming on his burning phone, and he used magic to extinguish it. Stark had indeed prevented the information leak, but his collection was gone too. He never had the habit of putting memory cards in his phones; those things were priceless—photos from school idol concerts, handshake events…

"You'd better know how to fix the data on this phone, Stark, or I won't forgive you." Salomon pulled out the SIM card and tossed the phone to Stark.

"Relax, relax, is there anything I can't do?"

"So... the machine chose to contact you, Mr. Damonette." Two old books sat on Harold Finch's desk. The books were very thick and did not cover topics Salomon had ever worked on, so the covers gave the sorcerer a headache just by looking at them.

Are you interested in "The Mathematical Principles of Communication," a work by Claude Elwood Shannon, the father of information theory?

"No, thank you." Salomon shook his head and picked up the cold tea on the table. He had chosen this café to meet Harold, but he had disguised himself beforehand; apart from the ring on his hand, he looked no different from an ordinary American youth. "I'd like to schedule a meeting with you, Mr. Finch." He glanced around, but avoided the café's security cameras. This was a blind spot; he had deliberately chosen this location. Salomon said, "Your machine makes me extremely insecure. I have a lot of important information that cannot be leaked, but I can't make a contract with artificial intelligence—not the kind you're thinking of. I'm worried about the negative consequences if artificial intelligence comes into contact with magic, so I need you—"

"Set up a firewall?"

"Yes, with Tony Stark." Steam rose again from Salomon's teacup. The arcane mage took a small sip and then put down the cup. "I'm sorry for telling anyone about the machine without your prior consent, but I assure you, I haven't leaked any of your personal information."

“There’s no need to apologize, Mr. Damonette.” Mr. Finch also took a sip of green tea. “Everyone has a fear of having their privacy invaded, but your situation is rather special. I won’t ask you why you know that billionaire Tony Stark; I think I might get a rather surprising answer.”

"Thank you very much for your understanding." Salomon breathed a sigh of relief. "My magical organization also has a network, although it's protected by protective spells. But I can't risk having magical data captured by cameras by restarting the network, since protective spells can't stop the flow of information, and my technological magic is powerless against it—but disconnecting the network would cause a lot of inconvenience. I first contacted Tony Stark, but the results weren't ideal, so my teacher thought I should come to you to solve this problem. Don't worry, Mr. Finch, we're not like the US government. As long as you're willing to keep it confidential, I can even do you a favor personally."

"Anything?"

"Within my personal capabilities. How about a fireworks display for a Halfling Midsummer Festival, for example?"

"While I love The Hobbit, I think it's better not to waste magic on such things. And don't kill anyone, Mr. Damonette. In fact, I'm very grateful that you didn't do anything at the nuclear facility."

"That's nothing. There's something else Mr. Stark would like to discuss with you, about your machine. He seems very interested in the technology in your work..."

"No, no, no, Mr. Damonette." Mr. Finch shrank back onto the sofa like a shy little animal, raising his glass to block the sorcerer's view. "I'm not suited to use this identity to contact others. Besides, everyone who gets close to Tony Stark is investigated by S.H.I.E.L.D., and the identity I'm using now isn't perfect; I can't afford to expose the risk of my identity."

"I'll prepare a sufficiently secluded location, and you don't need to worry about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation. All travel will be through the portal. Remember the portal?"

"Of course I remember. It was because of the portal that the machine gave you your number. Because you appeared in different places at the same time, the machine thought your identity had been stolen. Later, it was confirmed that your identity had not been stolen, and the machine's logic malfunctioned. This is likely why it contacted you; it wanted to correct the error..."

"Whatever your machine's intentions may be, I think it's best to resolve this issue as soon as possible, Mr. Finch." The sorcerer sighed. "You don't understand our lives, but my fellow disciples are almost in tears, and even my teacher can't shop online anymore. The sooner this problem is solved, the sooner I'll be free."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)