"Wasn't I dead? Where is this place? Loren Morgan? Did I… travel through time?"
Inside a sprawling manor in New York's Upper East Side, a young man with refined features sat up on a king-sized bed, staring blankly at his pale hands.
He sprang up suddenly, disbelief flashing across his face, and rushed into the bathroom guided by flashes of unfamiliar memories.
In the mirror, a handsome Western face with sharply defined features stared back at him. It was not the face he remembered.
"A Westerner? So I really did travel through time," he muttered, running a trembling hand over his reflection.
Then, a torrent of foreign memories exploded in his mind. In mere seconds, fragments assembled into clarity.
This world—was the Marvel Universe.
Whether it was the main continuity (Earth-616) or an alternate branch like Earth-199999, he wasn't sure yet. But one thing was certain: his new identity was no ordinary one.
He was Loren Morgan, the sole heir of the Morgan family, one of the top ten financial dynasties in the United States—a family with corporate influence rivaling Stark Industries or Oscorp.
But his new life was already soaked in tragedy.
Just a day earlier, Loren's parents had been gunned down in public after leaving a gala. The official report blamed a random mugging, but that was nonsense. The heir of a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate targeted in a "random" street crime? Impossible.
If this were Gotham, he'd almost laugh—it mirrored Bruce Wayne's story too perfectly. But this was Marvel's New York, a city crawling with crime families, supervillains, and shadow organizations like HYDRA, A.I.M., or even The Hand.
If they could kill his parents, they could come for him next.
He had to act fast.
Just as that grim realization sank in, something pulsed inside his mind—a familiar instinct from too many webnovels.
A soft chime echoed.
[Ding! Binding complete. Welcome, host, to the Super Dimensional Technology System.]
A translucent interface unfolded before his eyes.
[Host]: Loren Morgan
[World]: Marvel Universe
[Dimensional Worlds]: None
[Available Technology]: None
[System Points]: 0
(Note: As this is the host's first binding, a novice reward package has been granted.)
Loren exhaled, a nervous smile tugging at his lips. "A golden finger, huh? I knew it."
He focused his thought on the floating icon labeled Novice Gift Pack.
"Alright, let's see what you've got for me."
With that, he opened the reward package—unaware that the sound of the system's chime would soon mark the beginning of Marvel's newest technological era.
Suddenly, a crisp electronic chime echoed in Loren's mind.
[Congratulations! You've been selected for a random dimensional lottery. Upon drawing a world, you will receive one piece of high-tech technology unique to that dimension. Would you like to begin the draw?]
"Draw it now!" Loren replied without hesitation.
His situation was too dangerous to waste time thinking. In this world full of hidden predators and corporate vultures, any chance to gain power could mean survival.
The moment he confirmed, a holographic screen shimmered into existence before him. Countless names flickered rapidly across it — each representing a different science fiction universe he knew from his past life.
Neon Genesis Evangelion. Transformers. Gundam. NieR: Automata. Resident Evil.
"So, the 'dimensional worlds' are sci-fi universes from anime and movies?" Loren's pulse quickened. "Then the technology rewards must be insane…"
He couldn't help but grin. The tech in those worlds was beyond imagination — true black-box miracles. Even here, in the Marvel universe, there was already no shortage of impossibly advanced creations: Stark's arc reactor, the Iron Man suits, vibranium energy shields, enhancement serums, even interstellar drives.
If he could obtain just one of those technologies — or anything comparable from another world — he'd no longer be an easy target.
The roulette of universes spun faster, then suddenly froze.
A holographic image appeared on the screen: a silver-haired woman in a black combat dress, half her face hidden beneath a sleek visor.
Loren's breath caught. Any man with a trace of otaku blood would recognize that silhouette instantly.
"2B…" he murmured, almost reverently. "YoRHa No. 2 Type B."
Before he could process his excitement, the system chimed again:
[Congratulations, host! You have drawn the dimension NieR: Automata. Reward granted: Manufacturing method of a general-purpose combat android.]
A flood of information surged into Loren's consciousness — schematics, assembly sequences, synthetic neural frameworks — every step burned directly into his mind like a digital baptism.
He gasped as the knowledge solidified. "This… this is real. I can build a YoRHa unit. My own 2B… or even an entire android force."
His eyes gleamed with wild ambition.
Just then, a knock echoed, followed by a trembling, relieved voice from outside the room.
"Master! You're awake!"