Kapitel 116: Ch.116 Baiting with a Straight Hook—Some People Really Fall for It
In the illusion, Tony Stark experienced something that he would never have imagined in his lifetime.
When he woke up, he found himself as a poor, destitute homeless man, with his identity stolen by someone else.
Another man, incredibly handsome, named Ronan, not only took his place but also renamed Stark Industries to Ronan Industries, even claiming that he was the real Iron Man—the one who saved humanity.
People trusted Ronan more, and no one even remembered there was once a man named Tony Stark.
Tony Stark struggled in the slums, continuously declaring that he was Iron Man, but every time he did, Ronan's fans beat him up.
To make matters worse, his beloved Pepper Potts still seemed to be working at Stark—no, Ronan Industries, serving as the CEO.
He felt utterly betrayed by everyone!
Finally, one day, Tony Stark got a chance and rushed to Pepper Potts, trying to wake up the woman he loved.
However, before he could say much, she thought he was insane and called for security.
The security guard wasn't anyone else—it was Happy, Tony Stark's most trusted driver.
Happy picked Tony up like he was a chick and threw him out onto the street, warning him not to harass Pepper anymore or next time it wouldn't just be a beating.
Tony Stark was utterly devastated. Just then, the aliens led by Loki invaded Earth.
He barely managed to escape and survive the chaos.
However, something happened that was even more unacceptable.
That so-called Iron Man, Ronan, also flew towards the enemy fleet with a nuke.
Not only did he not lose consciousness due to a lack of oxygen, but he also returned perfectly fine. A group of New York onlookers suddenly appeared, cheering loudly for "Iron Man."
This Ronan didn't just steal his identity; he even took away Tony's most glorious moment.
This was worse than killing him!
Countless people celebrated for Ronan—many beautiful women surrounded him, and even the entire Avengers looked up to him.
Steve Rogers shined his shoes, Black Widow massaged his shoulders, and Hawkeye drove him around.
It looked like Ronan was the emperor of New York!
No one remembered Tony Stark. No one remembered the playboy.
Even the woman Tony loved entered the wedding chapel a few days later.
And her groom was none other than Killian, the man Tony had once rejected.
Tony Stark went mad—he stormed the wedding, trying to stop it.
But before he could enter, he was intercepted by Killian's men and thrown into the ocean.
The cold seawater, mixed with his fury and sense of injustice, made Tony feel he couldn't die like this.
Just as his consciousness was fading, he heard a very familiar voice.
"Tony..."
"Tony...?"
"Why are you sleeping here?"
Dazed, Tony Stark opened his eyes and saw Pepper Potts.
Not long ago, she had worn a pure white wedding dress and walked into the marriage hall with another man.
"Pepper."
Tony jumped up and hugged Pepper Potts tightly.
His sudden movement left her stunned.
"What's happening?"
"Tony, are you okay?"
"Did you have a nightmare or something else happen?"
Pepper Potts gently patted Tony's back, asking him cautiously.
When she woke up, she had found that Tony was gone.
At first, she thought he had gone to his workshop or had work to do.
But after searching, she found no trace of Tony. Finally, with a hint from JARVIS, she found him here.
Upon arrival, Pepper found that Tony was asleep on the rooftop.
"I'm fine, just had a—achoo!"
"A nightmare... achoo!"
Tony sneezed twice, then began shivering.
It wasn't that his body was weak.
But even a healthy person, let alone someone who worked out regularly, would catch a cold after sleeping on the rooftop all night in January's freezing weather.
Clearly, Tony Stark had caught a cold!
Pepper Potts quickly reached out and touched Tony's forehead—it was burning hot.
"Oh no, Tony, you've got a fever."
"JARVIS, notify Happy, and have him get a doctor."
Pepper quickly instructed the omnipresent JARVIS.
Tony wanted to tough it out and say it wasn't necessary, but his legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed.
Clearly, he was in pretty bad shape.
With Happy's help, Tony was finally placed in bed.
After some chaos, it wasn't until his private doctor came and got him hooked up to an IV that things started to settle down.
Dragging his sick body, Tony only instructed Happy with one thing:
"Keep an eye on that student named Ronan."
Ronan returned to his laid-back campus life once again.
Even though it seemed leisurely, Ronan had never been one to show interest in attending classes.
If it weren't for the circumstances, who wouldn't want to be a carefree, rich heir?
So during class, Ronan was already dozing off.
"Now, the sonic waves during gliding..."
As Ronan was growing increasingly sleepy and even starting to dream, the bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of class.
Ronan jolted awake.
He glanced at the blackboard and then sighed in relief.
It seemed he hadn't traveled back.
He had just dreamed of a teacher surnamed Han lecturing endlessly about Lee Sin's mechanics.
Commonly referred to as the "Han Triangle Kill."
He thought he'd traveled back and become an office worker watching livestreams again.
"Hey, Ronan."
"How was your winter break?"
Peter Parker was the first to rush over, wrapping his arm around Ronan's shoulders.
It seemed like the two had become good friends.
"It was alright, definitely better than last weekend."
Ronan smirked, thinking back to what he had done during his winter break.
Learning to use the Space Stone?
Enhancing his understanding of Kamar-Taj magic?
Witnessing Kang the Conqueror multiply from one into countless versions?
And creating an honored name for himself?
Or perhaps digging a trap for Nick Fury and making $100,000 off of someone rich and gullible?
Anyway, Ronan felt he'd had a pretty decent winter break.
"Do you remember what I told you before?" Peter Parker asked in a low voice.
Told him?
What did he say?
Ronan was slightly confused; he couldn't remember what Peter had told him.
On that day, too many shocking things had happened, and he couldn't recall their conversation.
As for his memories of that day, all he remembered was the well-proportioned succubus and the hellish demon that nearly conquered Earth.
He had saved Earth, after all.
Forgetting some things wasn't a big deal, right?
"Well..."
"You told me a lot that day; which one exactly are you talking about?"
Ronan vaguely remembered that Peter had said quite a bit, the most notable being that Tony Stark's place had exploded.
Of course, not literally—only his house exploded.
"The thing about the portal; do you remember?" Peter's eyes were full of implication.
Ronan smirked.
He remembered that.
"Yeah, I remember."
"Do you have any leads?"
Ronan followed up.
"No leads, but yesterday, I... happened to meet someone who was saved by Spider-Man during that explosion."
"You know, I met them like that."
"They told me that a supposed FBI agent had recently questioned them about Spider-Man and the person who used the portal."
"So I thought I'd let you know."
Peter Parker shared a little secret with Ronan.
By "met them," it was clear that Peter didn't mean as himself, but as Spider-Man.
Otherwise, the person wouldn't have talked to him about Spider-Man.
As for the mysterious agency, even without thinking, Ronan could tell it was S.H.I.E.L.D.
They always had the FBI or CIA take the blame for them.
"Uh..."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Ronan suddenly became alert.
No way...
Could this kid be that smart?
However, Peter patted Ronan on the shoulder, a look of "you don't need to say anything, I understand" on his face.
Hey, what do you mean you understand?
At least explain it, will you?
"Did you not see the breaking news this morning?"
"Last night, someone filmed this near Stark Tower."
"Take a look."
Peter took out his phone and played a video.
In the video, a boy wearing pajamas inexplicably fell from the roof of Stark Tower.
Then Tony Stark jumped off to save the boy.
The video was very clear—that boy was Ronan!
They even caught his face clearly.
After watching the video, Ronan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
This was intentional.
The reason was simple: to prevent himself from being associated with the sorcerer's identity.
The main body had used the Mirror Dimension to shield itself, so it wasn't visible on the footage.
As for the clone, it couldn't use the Mirror Dimension for cover.
Otherwise, when Tony saw the footage, he would definitely become suspicious.
Moreover, if he didn't put himself out there, how could he bait Nick Fury?
Since Fury wasn't giving up on his investigation, why not give him something to chase?
It's hard to catch a fish in water, but once the fish takes the bait, it's not so easy for it to escape!
But what was Peter getting at with all this?
"Can I say I don't know anything?"
"I slept well last night, didn't even have dreams."
Ronan smirked, stating a lie he'd prepared in advance.
This morning, he'd already noticed the strange looks people gave him. He thought they'd forgotten about the dark days under Kamar-Taj's iron fist.
But he hadn't expected it to be this kind of thing.
Judging by where Peter opened the video, it was already trending on some news site.
Apparently, anything related to Tony Stark went viral.
"I believe you!"
"Actually, after giving it more thought, you probably aren't the sorcerer."
Peter patted Ronan's shoulder, saying something that left Ronan shocked.
Oh?
He'd figured it out?
"But considering what happened today, I'm sure that sorcerer has something to do with you."
"Otherwise, why choose to throw you?"
"And considering that day you only walked through the portal and didn't actually do anything, I think the sorcerer opened the portal to bring you to safety."
Peter gestured with an array of bewildering hand motions, thinking that was how sorcerers cast spells.
Even though Kamar-Taj spells had quite a few hand movements, it wasn't to that extent!
No!
Ronan rolled his eyes.
"Wait, how did you conclude we're friends?"
"He threw me off the building, and we're supposed to be friends?"
Ronan was baffled.
He had no idea how Peter had come to this conclusion.
Throwing someone off a rooftop makes you friends?
Alright then, I'll throw you off, and we can be friends afterward.
"It's definitely because you teamed up to discuss something with Mr. Stark."
"I heard from some upperclassmen that it was Mr. Stark himself who interviewed you yesterday."
"He must've gone to seek justice for you."
Peter blinked, a look of "I've figured it all out."
Ronan took a deep breath—his thoughts couldn't keep up anymore.
Even though it was somewhat accurate, the roundabout way Peter arrived at this conclusion was something Ronan hadn't anticipated.
From a normal perspective, Ronan wouldn't have thought to associate himself with the sorcerer.
After all, he had been thrown off a rooftop—how could they be friends?
Just as Ronan was about to comment, he suddenly thought of something.
Wait!
Though Peter's logic seemed strange, others might think the same way.
Like... S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Their thinking certainly wasn't normal either.
Suddenly, a few police officers entered the classroom.
"Ronan Yao, come with us."
The two officers had a clear target. After scanning the classroom, their eyes locked on Ronan.
It seemed they were here specifically for him.
The rest of the class looked at Ronan, but there weren't any particularly shocked expressions.
Clearly, they had seen the video.
"Excuse me, officers. What is the meaning of this?"
"If you don't have the proper documents, I won't allow you to take my student."
At this moment, the teacher Ms. Jenny, whom some students secretly called "The Dragon Lady," appeared.
Though she had a fierce temper, the students respected her.
For a very simple reason—just look at the situation right now.
"Hello, ma'am. We just need him to assist in an investigation regarding an incident last night."
"It's not an arrest or detainment, so please don't misunderstand."
"Here are our papers for the investigation."
The leading officer clearly knew that the students here were either wealthy or academic overachievers.
That meant the teachers weren't easy to deal with either.
For these lower-ranking officers, it was best to avoid offending anyone if possible.
"Are you alright?" Gwen Stacy approached Ronan.
Ronan smiled at her reassuringly, then stood up.
"Ronan, the documents check out," Ms. Jenny nodded at him.
Ronan nodded back, taking a couple of steps forward, but Gwen suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Uncle Grant, this is my classmate and good friend."
Gwen didn't say much, only emphasizing that Ronan was her friend.
The lead officer, Grant, gave a helpless expression.
Who wouldn't know the police commissioner's daughter?
They must have done their homework before coming here, and they were clearly aware of this.
"Don't worry, Gwen, it's just a routine inquiry."
"I'm sure you've seen that video from this morning."
Officer Grant smiled.
Gwen nodded and turned to look at Ronan.
Ronan sighed. He had already been mentally prepared for this.
"Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when I'm back."
Ronan patted Gwen's shoulder before following the two officers out of the classroom.
Since Ronan was only there to assist in the investigation—and he had the "right" skin tone—the two officers treated him quite well, joking and chatting with him.
They comforted him, and Officer Grant even patted his shoulder, telling him not to be so nervous.
Of course, being of the "right" color certainly helped, as did his connection to Gwen.
The atmosphere in the police car was light-hearted all the way to the police station, and the officers were still making jokes with him.
From their demeanor, it seemed that the NYPD hadn't found anything incriminating.
Ronan wasn't worried about the NYPD—they were easy enough to handle.
The toughest to deal with were undoubtedly those in S.H.I.E.L.D.
If Ronan guessed correctly, the one to "interrogate" him would probably be Phil Coulson, right?
Though Phil's resurrection was still likely a secret and not widely known.
If not him, then who?
Melinda May?
The so-called "Chinese"?
Ronan squinted.
As he pondered, the car came to a stop.
They had arrived at the NYPD headquarters.
Not a precinct...
Ronan got out, raising an eyebrow.
It seemed they were taking this quite seriously.
No, it should be said that anything involving the "sorcerer" was taken very seriously.
Especially since there was another major character involved in this incident—
Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Standing at the entrance of the NYPD headquarters, Ronan couldn't help but sigh.
Does this count as me "going inside" for the first time?
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein