Yiping had spent three years believing that his greatest advantage was his knowledge of the future.
He was beginning to understand that it might actually be his greatest weakness.
Because knowledge of the original timeline only mattered if the timeline remained predictable.
And this one no longer was.
Stark Tower remained unusually quiet that morning.
Tony had ordered the entire floor locked down.
No visitors.
No unnecessary communications.
No external network access.
FRIDAY had isolated the eight anomalies into a separate analytical model.
Yiping stood in front of the holographic display.
Seven names were visible.
The eighth was simply represented by a question mark.
No identity.
No location.
No history.
Nothing.
Tony walked beside him.
"You've been staring at that question mark for twenty minutes."
"I'm thinking."
"That's dangerous."
Yiping ignored the joke.
"Can I ask you something?"
Tony glanced at him.
"Sure."
"Do you believe the eighth person is a transmigrator?"
Tony's expression changed slightly.
"I believe something is wrong."
"That's not an answer."
"Because I don't have enough information for an answer."
Yiping looked at him.
That was surprisingly reasonable.
Tony continued.
"But I have a theory."
"What theory?"
Tony enlarged the eighth anomaly.
"Whoever this person is, they're not changing the timeline."
Yiping frowned.
"Then what are they doing?"
Tony pointed at the graph.
"Watching it."
Yiping's expression became serious.
That possibility had crossed his mind.
But he had rejected it.
Because observation alone shouldn't create this level of distortion.
Unless...
"Their presence itself is causing interference."
Tony nodded.
"Exactly."
Yiping stared at the graph.
A person who didn't need to interfere.
A person who only needed to exist.
That was terrifying.
Suddenly, FRIDAY spoke.
"Boss."
Tony looked up.
"What?"
"I have located a possible connection."
The hologram changed.
A photograph appeared.
A young man.
Black hair.
Ordinary clothes.
An ordinary face.
Nothing remarkable.
Tony frowned.
"Who is that?"
"Unknown."
Yiping stared at the photograph.
His blood ran cold.
He knew that face.
Not personally.
From the stories.
From the countless discussions he'd read before transmigrating.
But this person wasn't supposed to exist here.
Not yet.
Not like this.
"Where did you find him?" Tony asked.
FRIDAY displayed several locations.
New York.
Berlin.
Tokyo.
London.
Los Angeles.
The same person appeared in different surveillance recordings.
Always at a distance.
Always for a few seconds.
Never interacting with anyone.
Never appearing twice in the same place.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible."
Yiping didn't answer.
Because he understood what he was seeing.
The man wasn't traveling between cities.
He was appearing in them.
Tony noticed his reaction.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
Yiping slowly shook his head.
"I know of him."
Tony stared at him.
"That's becoming your favorite sentence."
Yiping ignored the comment.
"He isn't the source."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know?"
"Because if he were responsible for all of this..."
Yiping looked at the surveillance images.
"...he wouldn't need to hide."
Tony smiled.
"Good."
He turned toward the holographic display.
"Then let's find out what he wants."
At that exact moment, the unknown man stood on a rooftop several kilometers away.
He looked toward Stark Tower.
His expression remained calm.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Tony Stark."
A pause.
"Yiping."
His eyes narrowed.
"You're both much earlier than expected."
A translucent interface appeared before him.
Unlike Yiping's system, this interface contained no colorful notifications.
Only a single line.
Timeline Convergence: 14.7%
The man smiled.
"Still too low."
He closed the interface.
"There's no reason to rush."
He turned away.
Then stopped.
Something had appeared behind him.
A small golden notification.
[External Observation Detected]
The man's expression changed for the first time.
Surprise.
Then amusement.
"So..."
He looked upward.
"The observers are finally watching the observer."
Back inside Stark Tower, Yiping suddenly felt his system activate.
A warning appeared.
Unknown entity detected.
Distance: 8.4 km.
Threat assessment: unavailable.
Yiping's eyes widened.
Tony immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Yiping looked toward the window.
"It's here."
Tony's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Yiping didn't answer immediately.
Because something had just appeared on the building across the street.
The mysterious man stood there.
Looking directly at them.
Even from several kilometers away...
He smiled.
Then raised one hand.
Not attacking.
Just waving.
Yiping's heart sank.
Tony's armor began assembling around him.
"Well," Tony said.
"Looks like our mystery guest finally decided to introduce himself."
The man disappeared.
No explosion.
No teleportation effect.
No energy signature.
Just—
Gone.
Tony stared at the empty rooftop.
"...I hate people who do that."
Yiping didn't respond.
His attention remained fixed on the last system message.
[Timeline Convergence: 14.8%]
It had increased.
Only by 0.1%.
But Yiping understood the implication.
The man hadn't come to fight.
He had come to move the story forward.
And that meant the real conflict had already begun.
Author's Note
We are now entering the final arc of the story. The countdown to Chapter 200 has officially begun, and every chapter from here will lead directly toward the final confrontation and the resolution of the timeline mystery.
If you're enjoying the story and want to see these final chapters completed, please support the story with Power Stones, votes, and comments. Your support is what helps keep the story going until the final chapter.