Ever since Tony returned—
And immediately announced the closure of Stark Industries' Weapons Division—
Nearly two months had passed.
Tony was immersed in developing the Mark II in his coastal villa and almost never showed up.
Since the announcement of the department's closure, Stark's market value had fallen again and again throughout the following month.
Many small shareholders who lacked vision chose to sell their shares, and Ethan took the opportunity to profit.
Not much—just an increase from 2% to 5%.
Obadiah Stane was also very busy and had little time to trouble Ethan.
After all, although Tony—the golden goose—had not died, he still brought Stane another golden egg.
Obadiah would not make any big moves until he secured that egg.
As for Ethan, since his last trip to Afghanistan, he had almost never left home.
At this time, there wasn't much for him to plan other than grabbing a handful of stocks and making a little money.
More importantly, he hadn't fully mastered the super gene he had just acquired, so he had no time to worry about other things.
Although the combat gene he received was the complete version, obtaining it didn't mean he could wield it effortlessly.
It still required a process of continuous learning and control.
That would undoubtedly take time.
---
Under the night sky—
Ethan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a flicker of expectation in his eyes.
Today was the hundredth day since he had traveled to this world.
The daily progress of one percent had now reached the critical point of ninety-nine.
As soon as midnight struck, the bar would complete, and the second "arrival" would come.
The first had been something on the level of a super gene.
This second reward, after one hundred days… Ethan couldn't help feeling anticipation.
He would not underestimate whatever came.
As long as it was an ability he could control, he would accumulate more and more powers.
After all, the world looked calm on the surface, but underneath, danger lurked everywhere.
There was still a bomb buried in the ground that would inevitably explode in the near future.
---
The moment the clock struck midnight—
The hidden progress bar filled.
In a daze, Ethan felt something—like paper—suddenly appear in his hand.
This time… it wasn't an ability, but an item?
Ethan lowered his head and raised his hand, then froze.
"An invitation?"
The paper in his hand bore two gilded characters: [Invitation Volume].
The texture was silky, soft to the touch, but unnervingly tough.
An ancient and heavy aura radiated from it, enough to make him cautious.
He doubted whether even his full strength could leave a mark on it.
Frowning slightly, he studied the item carefully.
Aside from those words, there was nothing else.
No time, no place, no introduction.
It was… confusing.
An invitation with only one word?
What kind of invitation ticket was this?
A banquet? A trap? What would happen if he used it?
For a moment, Ethan hesitated.
The super gene of the Victorious Fighting Buddha had indeed given him power.
But that power had limits.
If this invitation hid something terrifying, would using it rashly be foolish?
"Analyze rationally… or trust intuition?"
After a long pause, Ethan chose instinct.
He slowly channeled dark energy into the invitation.
In the next instant—an illusory interface unfolded in his mind.
Ethan froze.
"A… group chat?"
The interface, blank at first, began to scroll. Messages appeared one after another:
---
[Beep: Playboy Stark, Kamigawa Warrior Ethan, join the group chat!]
[Traveler·Ying]: Welcome newcomers, take awesome photos!
[Trailblazer Star]: Welcome newcomers, take awesome photos!
[Slime Rimuru]: Welcome newcomers… You two should restrain yourselves a little, don't scare the newbies!
[Traveler·Ying]: This is not important. We haven't had new members in a long time. Two at once today—is it a special occasion?
[Slime Rimuru]: This is a good thing. It's livelier with more people.
[Trailblazer Star]: Uh-huh, and when new members join, remember to read the group notice. Saves time explaining…
[Slime Rimuru]: Also, please allow me to explain first—even though I am a monster, I'm not an evil slime!
[Traveler·Ying]: Funny, I just killed a bunch of slimes today…
[Slime Rimuru]: …Don't expose me like that, you jerk! You already admitted I'm different from the ones you fought. Honestly, your words drip with malice. How can anyone fix that impression?
[Traveler·Ying]: Do you blame me?
[Slime Rimuru]: …
[Playboy Stark]: Now this is entertaining. First good laugh I've had in a while. Tell me—how much does this tech cost? I'll buy it!
[Traveler·Ying]: Another newbie who didn't read the group notice… speechless.jpg
[Trailblazer Star]: Weren't you the same at first? But hey, @Playboy·Stark—are you really that rich? How do you compare to Esta…
[Traveler·Ying]: Forget that—there's a big boss among the newbies this time. @Kamigawa Warrior Ethan, the boss has arrived!
---
Ethan's eyes flickered strangely as he scrolled through the feed.
Good grief. He recognized them.
Traveler Ying—from Teyvat.
Trailblazer Star—from the Astral Express.
Slime Rimuru—famous enough on his own.
And… Stark. Could it really be the Tony from his own world?
This group was interesting.
Ethan didn't speak right away. Instead, he followed their advice and opened the so-called group notice.
Living in the information age, and being a gamer and novel-reader in his past life, he understood the routine.
He didn't know what kind of group this was. Some were broken, some useless. Which type was this?
He skimmed the notice quickly.
For now, it seemed to be just a chat group.
No store. No sign-in points. No daily missions.
Just conversation.
A bit too simple.
"Forget it… at least it brings some fun."
The reward wasn't immediately useful, but it wasn't worthless either.
At the very least, he could chat and argue with others when bored.
Maybe it would make things less lonely.
…Maybe