The laboratory on the top floor of Stark Tower now resembled a war fortress engulfed by digits and light.
The once chaotic piles of sports car parts, half-finished armor, and empty pizza boxes had been replaced by an almost obsessive neatness.
In their place were dozens of suspended holographic screens, like silent Sentinels, surrounding a central, frowning Tony Stark.
The screens no longer displayed dazzling armor designs or virtual global threat models, but were instead divided into countless windows, repeatedly playing and analyzing public or... less-than-public video footage from the Hero Association.
"Jarvis, mark time point 00:01:34, the moment Iron Wall constructs the energy barrier.
Analyze the energy overflow characteristics, and compare them with all known energy shield technologies in the database, including the part we reverse-engineered from Loki's scepter."
"Marked, sir.
Analyzing... The energy characteristics show a match rate of less than 2.3% with any known technology currently on Earth.
Its energy condensation method exhibits extremely high efficiency and... stability that defies conventional physical models.
No matches in the database."
Tony snapped his fingers, and the screen in front of him magnified, a waterfall of complex data scrolling down.
"Defies physical models?
I like that.
Continue, zoom in on the background energy readings when The Silent Heart Master constructs the silent force field; I want to see the most subtle fluctuations."
Another screen lit up, displaying a spectrum image imperceptible to ordinary people.
"Target 'The Silent Heart Master' Lin, her form of psychic energy emission, shows significant differences from known Mutant, Inhumans, or magic-side energy fluctuation patterns.
It is closer to a form of... highly purified and directional biological field application, but its efficiency and controllability far exceed current biological understanding."
Tony said nothing, only gesturing in the air to bring up the next clip—Times Square, during the "Traffic is King" event, showing how the inconspicuous cleaning vehicles from the Association's Logistics Department handled the scene with astonishing efficiency, even categorizing and recycling some twisted metal and electronic debris.
"Look at this, Jarvis.
Material identification and rapid sorting technology.
This efficiency, even our most advanced automated factories can't match it.
Analyze their robotic arm trajectories and sensing modes."
"Analysis complete, sir.
Its motion trajectory algorithms contain a large number of non-optimal solutions, yet the results achieve extreme efficiency, suggesting the existence of some 'intuitive' computational core that we cannot understand.
Sensing mode... cannot be fully parsed; it seems capable of directly perceiving the intrinsic structural properties of matter."
Only Tony's pacing footsteps and the faint hum of holographic interface interaction remained in the laboratory.
The usual flippancy on his face had been replaced by an almost ravenous focus.
Kingpin and his Association were like an opponent who suddenly appeared at the chessboard, not only playing outside the rules but also using pieces whose material and physical rules he couldn't even grasp.
This feeling, more than being imprisoned in a cave by the Ten Rings Gang and looking at his weapon blueprints, made him feel an offended... excitement, and a hint of imperceptible chill.
"Bring up all information about their Equipment Research Department, especially the things designed by that guy named Leo Fitz."
Tony stopped, his gaze fixed on several standard Association pieces of equipment displayed on the screen—the "Restrainer" that could fire sticky energy nets, and the "EMP Grenade" that had shone brightly during the "Mammoth" armor incident.
"The equipment design style exhibits a strong... utilitarianism and low-cost orientation, sir," Jarvis commented, "but its energy core and trigger mechanism are also untraceable.
Take the 'EMP Grenade' as an example; the intensity and range of the electromagnetic pulse it releases instantly are completely disproportionate to its simple appearance and tiny volume.
According to the law of conservation of energy, this is almost impossible."
"Impossible?"
Tony's lips curled into a smileless arc.
"Jarvis, in our line of work, 'impossible' just means we haven't found the right formula yet.
Continue, cross-reference all data, look for commonalities, look for the underlying logic!
Don't miss even the slightest anomaly!"
Time quietly slipped away amidst the intensive data processing.
Tony forgot coffee, forgot sleep; his eyes only saw the constantly disassembled, analyzed, and reassembled signals and images.
He tried to find the golden thread running through these seemingly chaotic technological manifestations, to find the "source code" of the Hero Association's technology.
Finally, after billions of data cross-comparisons and model calculations, Jarvis's voice sounded again, with an unprecedented, almost human-like gravity:
"Sir, after deep pattern recognition and cross-dimensional data analysis, a preliminary conclusion has been generated."
On the main screen, all scattered analysis windows were cleared, replaced by a huge, intricate energy spectrum comparison chart.
On one side was a broad but relatively concentrated color block labeled "Known Earth Technology/Supernatural System," and on the other, a series of light points representing Hero Association technology.
These light points were extremely dispersed, as elusive as cosmic background radiation, but they seemed to be connected by some invisible, unified "field" or "imprint."
"Based on the existing data model, a tracing analysis was performed on the observed technologies of the Hero Association."
Jarvis's voice was clear and calm, "The analysis results show: the overall similarity of the target technology system to Earth's existing tech tree (including known alien technology and magic systems) is less than 7%."
"Repeat, similarity is less than 7%."
The laboratory fell into a deathly silence.
Less than 7%.
This number was like a cold scalpel, instantly dissecting all appearances.
It wasn't some unknown Mutant ability, not a hidden genius inventor, and not even the remnants of any currently known alien civilization.
This was a completely heterogeneous system.
Tony stood still, unmoving.
The light from the holographic screens cast alternating shadows on his face.
He slowly raised his hand, pointing at the scattered light points on the screen, his voice hoarse from excessive concentration:
"Less than... 7%?"
He repeated it, as if to confirm he wasn't hallucinating.
"Yes, sir.
Error range plus or minus 0.5%.
Its methods of energy utilization, material science, and even the manifestation of some fundamental physical rules, all show fundamental differences from our understanding.
This is not simply technological advancement, but rather... another possible technological path."
Another possible technological path.
This sentence exploded in Tony's mind like thunder.
He suddenly remembered Kingpin's calm, almost inhuman demeanor, the Association's implausibly efficient mode of operation, and the seemingly bizarre but always precise heroes and abilities that countered villains... All of it seemed to have an answer.
An organization with a technological system completely different from Earth's was rapidly rising in New York, right under the World's nose, in the form of a "Hero Association."
And its leader was a former crime lord.
This was no longer a simple competition or conflict of ideology.
Tony felt a chill crawl up his spine.
All his previous mockery and skepticism seemed so pale and... ridiculous now.
He was not facing a parvenu trying to tarnish the name of a hero with money, but a dangerous entity with unknown power, unclear intentions, systematically reconstructing the order of superhuman forces.
What Kingpin wanted to establish was not just an Association; what he brought might be an entire set of unfamiliar rules.
"Jarvis," Tony's voice deepened, with an unprecedented seriousness, "Encrypt all analysis data, elevate security level to 'Gamma' (second only to Tesseract level).
Initiate 'Watchtower' protocol; I need you to continuously monitor all energy signals, technological applications, and personnel movements related to the Hero Association 24 hours a day."
"Additionally..." He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife, "Re-evaluate Wilson Fisk... No, re-evaluate the overall threat level of the 'Hero Association.'
Place it... at the same priority as known alien invasion threats."
"Already in execution, sir."
Tony walked to the giant floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the brightly lit New York below.
The Association's new headquarters building, rising rapidly, was particularly striking in the night, like a wedge from an unknown World embedded in the city's fabric.
He had initially thought this was just a struggle for the discourse on the definition of "hero"; now he realized it might be a silent war concerning the future direction of technology, and even the path of civilization's development.
"Kingpin..." Tony murmured to himself, his eyes devoid of any trace of disdain, only intense inquiry and vigilance remaining, "You and your damned system... Where exactly did you come from?"