Chapter 1: Waiting Every Day for Iron Man to Be Kidnapped

Brian Carter glanced between the skyscrapers at that giant portrait of Tony Stark, and still found it a bit unbelievable—how did things suddenly turn out like this?

He was originally just an ordinary young man on Earth. After watching Captain Marvel 2, he felt like he’d wasted his ticket money. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, so he posted a long rant online criticizing Captain Marvel 2’s dogshit plot.

Then, when he woke up, he found himself in this Marvel world.

In this world, he’s a textbook third-generation Chinese immigrant, whose ancestors moved here back when New China was founded. Thanks to two generations of hard work, his family has accumulated a fortune of over a hundred million dollars. Most of it is in real estate, and the cash flow is only about ten million.

But that still makes him a rich third-generation kid!

Originally, this should have been a god-tier start. After all, in his previous life, he was just a regular middle-class kid. His family wasn’t poor, but definitely not rich either. His parents never let him go hungry, but compared to his current net worth, it was worlds apart.

But the problem is—where is this?

This is the Marvel world. The early threats like Hulk and Thor are nothing, and even the first phase’s super big boss, Thanos, only wants to wipe out half the life in the universe. Sounds scary, but after the Time Variance Authority shows up, entire timelines can be erased at the drop of a hat. That’s a whole new level of threat.

In other words, if he’s not careful, Brian Carter could be wiped out without even realizing it—erased from the root.

If he runs into events like those in superhero movies—Thor, Hulk, etc.—he can just run faster, or at worst, stay far away from New York. But if it’s something like a snap that wipes out half the universe, or an entire timeline being erased, how could he possibly escape?

So even though he’s a rich third-generation kid in this life, he’s not exactly happy about it.

The only thing to be thankful for is that those world-ending events are still years away. Even the first Avengers plot is in 2012, and right now it’s only 2008. Even Tony Stark’s fated kidnapping hasn’t happened yet.

But it should be soon. Once Tony Stark gets kidnapped, Stark Industries’ stock will plummet, and that’ll be the perfect time to buy in.

In this life, besides a large luxury apartment, Brian Carter also has a million dollars in cash. This is the company his family gave him to train himself and start a business. Working a regular job is out of the question.

If his family had just worked regular jobs, how could they have saved up a hundred million dollars?

Especially after Tony Stark gives up the weapons division, Stark Industries’ stock price will tank. At that point, he can buy in at a low price and easily multiply his money several times over—maybe even tenfold.

No wonder Americans love playing the financial markets. If you just build factories and make things, it’d take forever to turn a million into ten million.

But this kind of economy is ultimately hollow. Just look at how fast America declined in later years—it’s ridiculous!

But none of that really matters to Brian Carter. He’s got money, after all. Worst case, he can take his money back to China, or go to another country. Besides, the whole timeline might get erased in the future, so what’s the point of working hard? Might as well just go with the flow.

But what Brian Carter doesn’t know is that, inside Stark Tower, Tony Stark is flipping through a diary in front of him.

Brian Carter’s Diary (Tony Stark’s copy).

He’s read this diary so many times over the past few days he’s lost count. For someone who usually has no patience for anything outside of research, this is highly unusual. But the things written in here really got his attention!

[May 1st, weather: sunny

The first day waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped!]

[May 2nd, weather: overcast

The second day waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped!]

[May 3rd, weather: sunny

The third day waiting for Tony Stark to be kidnapped. Today I saw Tony Stark on the news. It felt like a lifetime ago, as if I was seeing a young Robert Downey Jr.!]

[May 4th, weather: sunny