Chapter 142 [Gate of Truth]〈4K〉

Perhaps it was due to some mysterious tuner called "fate" interfering with all this.
The curiosity and doubts about the secrets hidden by Hydra were inexplicably magnified, which aroused Tony Stark's reason. At the same time, a touch of blue light flashed in his eyes.
Tony Stark walked slowly into the dimly lit metal passage, while MARK-43 behind him stood quietly on standby, always on alert.

Then they went deeper and deeper, and the crisp footsteps echoed in the silent metal passage.
Tony Stark also noticed the deep arc of light faintly revealed in front of him.

His heart moved slightly, realizing that the place ahead was most likely the secret laboratory where the Hydra members had been conducting covert research, and his pace quickened.

As Tony Stark paused, he looked at the scene in front of him with some surprise and astonishment.

The steady voice of Steve Rogers came from the communication device beside his ear at the right time.
"I found Strucker,"

"Tony, what's going on over there?"

Tony Stark's tone was a little surprised, and he looked at the scene in front of him with burning eyes:
A familiar yet strange giant was fixed on the experimental table. It was the Chirita invasion weapon that appeared in the Battle of New York before - [Leviathan]

Broken bone armor plates with a metallic luster wrapped around the surface, pale and sharp huge fangs, staggered and missing,

Dark yellow flesh and blood are interwoven with mechanical alloys, and sharp and wide armor-like scales are stacked layer by layer on its body surface.
Half of a hideous head drooped to the side, dozens of dense and thick cables connected, and complex data curves were jumping on the detection equipment.

Some of the cut mechanical mixed flesh and blood tissue were piled on the tray.

Not only that, Tony Stark also saw some damaged [Iron Legion] intelligent units also lying on the experimental table.

These are most likely the reference basis for Hydra to steal data and imitate the Iron Legion.

It's just a pity that the Hydras were wiped out by the Avengers before they could even get a chance to do anything.

Suddenly, Tony Stark raised his head and saw something not far away.

The light golden long-handled pointed scepter, which was fixed by a mechanical device and emitted a fascinating azure glow, was also an important target of the Avengers' trip - the [Scepter of the Mind].

Just as Tony Stark was about to take a step forward, a figure appeared quietly behind him.
She stretched out her hands and lightly touched them. A scarlet light lingering like a cotton thread flickered and enveloped Tony Stark, who had not yet had time to react.

In his eyes, azure and scarlet intertwined, forming a dark vortex.

"boom--"

There was a sudden loud bang behind him, and Tony Stark turned around subconsciously.

The wreckage of the Leviathan, which had been silent just now, seemed to be given new life. Even though its body was already dilapidated, it began to move.
The bony fins whipped up a gust of wind that swept over Tony Stark's head.

At this moment, Tony Stark was shocked to find that everything around him had changed.
There were piles of corpses everywhere, and the chaotic darkness was like a thick fog that would not dissipate.
Looking at the corpses lying on the ground, Tony Stark was stunned when he saw their faces clearly.

Those familiar yet unfamiliar faces now looked miserable,

This hellish and horrific scene pierced Tony Stark's heart like a sharp blade.
He staggered to the corpses of his companions in disbelief and stretched out his hand tremblingly.

"No...this is not true..."

The grief overwhelmed Tony Stark's mind like a flood.
At this moment, there was an inappropriate applause from behind.
"Pah - pah - pah"

The calm and powerful applause broke the atmosphere of compassionate silence.

Immediately, Tony Stark turned his head and looked towards the source of the sound with bloodshot eyes.

The next moment, his pupils suddenly expanded and shrank.

It was an invisible and intangible "blue flame", but strange applause came from it.

The constantly twisting and changing "blue flame" began to gradually approach Tony Stark.

As the distance got closer, the distorted "blue flame" began to change into a certain form.
Finally, this ball of "flame" that was jumping like a living thing gradually began to fill and spread.

It formed a tall humanoid shape, with a "crown" formed by twisted and hideous horns, but its specific face could not be seen clearly.

"We meet again, Tony Stark."

The "unknown existence" who claims to be the god of hope and wisdom, the wise man who holds the power of destiny, and the master of all changes, once again appears in front of Tony Stark.
He let out a low, strange laugh, as if he was mocking Tony Stark.

However, Tony Stark tensed up, clenched his fists tightly, stared at the "devil" in front of him, and spoke in a deep voice with doubt and disbelief,
“These…are all the future?!”

"Who knows?"

The elusive response of "Unknown Existence" made Tony Stark frown.

"But I have to thank that little girl. If it weren't for her, I would still be wondering how long I would have to wait before you could..."

"Tony Stark, how does "knowledge" taste?" Hearing this, Tony Stark fell silent. At this moment, he had already vaguely realized that the "knowledge" he was trading with the "devil" in front of him was not that simple.
As I peeked into the "chaos" buried deep in my mind again and again, I absorbed knowledge that I had never understood and was far ahead of my time.

That extremely addictive bone-melting feeling often lingers in my heart, and I can't resist it at all.
Gradually, Tony Stark felt more and more that this endless "knowledge"
It was as if it had transformed into twisted and swollen tentacles, tearing at his soul, drilling into it, spreading, multiplying, and even trying to pull him into the "abyss" and sink him there.

It is not you who are absorbing knowledge, but knowledge that is polluting your "soul"!
But when Tony Stark realized this serious problem, it was too late.
He was surprised to find that some changes had quietly occurred to him. The arc-shaped Ark reactor in his chest had "fused" with his body without him knowing when.
It is not just a simple physical combination, but a deeper "connection". Tony Stark has tried to separate the connection between the reactor and himself.
But even so, the "mutation" continues.

After all, at first, Tony Stark felt that his energy was growing stronger.
Even though I didn't eat or drink, and continued to conduct research and immersed myself in work for nearly a month, I didn't feel hungry or exhausted. I even felt that my body was becoming more and more excited and I was eager to immerse myself in it?
Of course, it doesn't mean that he has completely lost his "feelings", but more of a mental exhaustion. His physical strength and fitness have also begun to rise at a steady rate - but he obviously hasn't done any training plans.

This abnormal situation was first noticed by Jarvis, who promptly informed Tony Stark.

"Sir, you have not had any water or excretion for more than 72 hours. This is beyond the limit of what a normal human can endure..."

"...Sir, I detected that your body is healthier than ever before? Some of your physiological status values ​​even slightly exceed the average value of ordinary humans."

"Sir, your skin's stratum corneum and subcutaneous tissue have undergone unexpected and unknown mutations..."

"Sir, after testing, it was found that your skin is tough enough to withstand smaller caliber bullets, but cannot penetrate completely..."

"Your central nervous system has undergone unpredictable changes. Judging from the current test results, they are tending to be benign."

Tony Stark, who was gradually transforming into an inhuman being, was naturally aware of this, but he was unable to make any substantial changes or influences.

At least for now, these "changes" are not bad?
Moreover, Tony Stark used the "information" and "knowledge" that kept spreading out of the "chaotic black fog" in his mind.
Combining some of the products obtained from the changes in the research itself, a great plan was revolutionary constructed.

Although this plan is in its early stages, the blueprint has not yet been expanded and extended, and some important frameworks and technologies to support the success of the plan have not yet been implemented.
But there is no doubt that it at least gave Tony Stark a clear direction and visible progress to keep climbing!
So, what is the price?

Soon, Tony Stark found out that he was wrong, and very wrong.
The "shortcut" of absorbing knowledge from the "chaos and darkness" can indeed speed up Tony Stark's thinking and make his inspiration burst out continuously.

But this is not without cost. After a period of "obsession",

Tony Stark found that the changes in his body also accelerated a lot. At first he didn't think much of it and didn't care.
As time went by, Tony Stark realized that his emotions were "missing".
"Humanity" between rationality and sensibility has begun to be on the verge of extinction.
He increasingly felt that he was beginning to become like a "machine" that only knew how to work and move towards a goal. In order to achieve the goal, he would do anything to achieve it.
I have even started preparing to carry out some project experiments that I would never have thought of in the past.

It's called "high efficiency"

This is horrible, really horrible!

It feels like my brain is shaking!

After realizing that [knowledge] was actually constantly devouring and eroding him, Tony Stark made a decisive decision to "withdraw".
He returned to New York, to his "home" where he could still vaguely feel the "emotional changes".
Tony Stark needs an "anchor" to stabilize his own personality, to avoid personality collapse and complete transformation into another "self".
By then, he couldn't imagine what he would become.
When facing family, lovers, friends, and people who need their protection,

What attitude and way of thinking should we use to deal with it?
In the simulation results, Tony Stark got an almost desperate answer.

In order to avoid the possibility of such a bad situation,
Tony Stark has begun designing and continuously improving a plan called "Narcissus".

It serves as an "insurance mechanism" that locks itself in and ensures that the future development of mankind will be benign and controllable.

In the early stages of the project, we began to build an intelligent level suitable for the underlying basic logic of the mechanism.
At first, Tony Stark also considered Jarvis, but after some planning and experimentation,

It was found that Jarvis was not suitable. Based on the humanoid bionic mathematical model and neural deep learning, the artificial intelligence Jarvis was only suitable as a "housekeeper", "assistant", and "trustworthy helper".
The evolution and expansion over the years have, in a sense, limited Jarvis.
Tony Stark realized that he needed a more advanced, more powerful "soul" suitable for the Narcissus project.

He already had a vague idea about this.

However, such a grand and epoch-making plan naturally requires more complicated technical breakthroughs, integration and sorting, and a series of other coordination.
Tony Stark alone, no matter how brilliant his mind is, cannot shorten the progress of a huge project.
Of course, the premise is that Tony Stark no longer uses the "knowledge" that can be called cheating and "bugs".
Tony Stark implanted that in his mind, suspecting that it did not exist in the material world, but in a higher dimension of "chaos and darkness".
Call it——【Gate of Truth】

Enter it, pay a price, and obtain "forbidden knowledge" that does not belong to you but is a gift from God.

Moreover, the figure that had not appeared for a long time now appeared before his eyes again.

The "unknown existence" seemed to solidify into substance, and looked Tony Stark up and down with malicious "gaze".

Tony Stark couldn't help but shudder, as if a thorn was on his back, and felt an inexplicable creepiness.

It was like the look of someone sizing up a delicious meal that was about to be cooked.
But soon, the dense black fog surrounding the place began to dissipate, and the scarlet light also dimmed.
The "flame" that was dancing like a living thing gradually began to shrink and dissipate, as if it had never appeared.
The corpses scattered on the ground began to disappear, and the surrounding environment gradually began to return to the original laboratory.
Tony Stark, who had not yet recovered from his shock, suddenly raised his head, his cloudy eyes full of determination.
He raised his arm, and his mind moved

"boom--"

The arm armor module of the MARK-43 armor came at high speed, accurately combined with Tony Stark's arm, stacked and extended,

Then, Tony Stark quickly walked to the device that fixed the [Mind Scepter], stretched out his hand and took it off.

Looking at the bright light on the top of the scepter, Tony Stark remained silent, with darkness in his eyes...

(End of this chapter)