Tony Stark (Part 1)

"Sure enough, everything in this world ultimately pointed to the Infinity Stones." Shen Fei stared at the red Pym Particles in his hand and fell into thought.

While observing Dr. Hank Pym creating the Pym Particles, Shen Fei had also learned their origin. Hank had discovered them while researching the Space Stone.

It was like how Howard had discovered a new isotope through his research into the Space Stone. However, limited by the technology of the time, Howard had been unable to create that isotope. It was not until Tony became Iron Man that it was finally produced.

Only then did Shen Fei realize that Dr. Hank Pym had not simply created something as miraculous as Pym Particles out of thin air. Their ability to freely alter size was precisely an expression of spatial power.

"In Days of Future Past, Pym Particles could travel through time. Does that mean the Quantum Realm is part of the domain of time? Is that why Wasp was trapped there for over thirty years without food or water and nothing happened to her? Because time doesn't exist there—an instant is eternity. Come to think of it, Jane Foster is really pitiful."

Remembering the powers Wasp had gained in the Quantum Realm, Shen Fei could not help thinking of Thor's girlfriend, the one he would eventually break up with. The Reality Stone had parasitized Jane's body, yet she had gained no power at all. If she had obtained power from the Reality Stone, perhaps they would not have broken up.

It would be extremely difficult for ordinary Jane to be with Thor. Their circumstances were simply too far apart. Other differences could be dealt with, but their lifespans were the real problem. As one of the Gods, Thor could live for at least hundreds of thousands of years. As for Jane, even if human technology kept advancing and Thor kept giving her things that extended her life, she would still live no more than a thousand years.

As a mage trained at Kamar-Taj, Shen Fei could be considered an authority on lifespan. Two key factors affected a person's longevity: the body and the soul. The two complemented each other, but the soul was the more important of them.

For example, someone whose body was damaged could still live on. At worst, they would become disabled. But if someone's soul was damaged, even the mildest outcome would be becoming a vegetable.

Why were many terminally ill patients cured at Kamar-Taj? Was it not because Kamar-Taj possessed methods to strengthen the soul, then use the soul to heal the body?

Living longer than ordinary people was one of the essential abilities of Kamar-Taj mages. The stronger the soul, the longer one lived.

Human lifespans were so short not because souls had short lifespans, but because bodies decayed with time. If a body could be restored to youth, then one's lifespan would naturally not be short.

"If it can be located in the Quantum Realm, I wonder whether it can be located in Dimension Space as well." The Quantum Realm allowed time travel, while Dimension Space allowed travel through space.

If one could establish a location within Dimension Space, that would mean being able to travel freely to other worlds.

The world they inhabited was merely one among an infinite number of universes. This was the first lesson at Kamar-Taj. If one could not even understand that, then one could never learn Kamar-Taj's magic.

Since it was only one universe among infinite universes, it was impossible that other mages had no interest in other worlds. However, the countless dimensional spaces made reaching those worlds extraordinarily difficult.

Dimensional monsters were one factor, but not the main reason. The true reason was that there were simply too many dimensions. Many of those dimensions contained no monsters—in fact, they contained nothing at all. The only problem was that there were so many of them that one could become lost in endless Dimension Space, just as Wasp had become lost in the Quantum Realm.

Back at Kamar-Taj, Shen Fei had asked Wong about this. Wong's answer had been that unless one was absolutely certain, one should not rashly enter Dimension Space, because that was simply courting death.

At present, only the Ancient One at Kamar-Taj could freely enter and leave Dimension Space. No one else could do it, including Kaecilius.

At first, Kaecilius had not actually discovered that the Ancient One was absorbing dark power. He had merely been deeply dissatisfied with her withholding knowledge. Among all the mages at Kamar-Taj, only the Ancient One could freely enter and leave Dimension Space. No matter how long others cultivated, they could not do the same.

Under those circumstances, it was only natural to suspect that their master was holding back. Otherwise, why could no one else do it? The reason Kaecilius later told Strange that the Ancient One would never teach him true magic was because, at that time, he believed her ability to freely enter Dimension Space came from a unique spell.

Kaecilius had wanted to learn the magic that could enter Dimension Space in order to seek a way to resurrect his wife. Just because this world had no means of resurrection did not mean other worlds lacked one.

At that time, Kaecilius had not yet become immersed in Dormammu's power. It was only later, as he continued researching various spells related to time, that his goal shifted from resurrecting his wife to having Dormammu devour the entire Earth.

What was humanity's greatest enemy? Naturally, it was time. Whether kings and generals, immortals and demons, none could defeat those two words.

Look at Odin of Asgard. Renowned throughout the Nine Realms and feared across the universe, he still fell to time in the end, sending Asgard into Twilight of the Gods.

Dormammu was a dimensional monster that transcended time. Kaecilius believed that if Earth were absorbed by him, humanity would no longer be troubled by time and would enter eternity.

It had to be said that the ideal was good, but the method was wrong.

For Shen Fei, traveling to other worlds was equally tempting, especially when it was something he could potentially accomplish. As the saying went, the world was so vast, and he wanted to see it.

When one could not accomplish it, though, those words were merely an ideal. Before transmigrating, Shen Fei had also wanted to travel around the world and see the sights everywhere, but reality had severely constrained him. More accurately, his wallet had constrained him.

Now, however, he was no longer bound by such conditions.

Of course, all of this was merely part of Shen Fei's future plans. Going to other worlds would not be just for sightseeing. Another purpose would be to avoid Thanos's snap if things became impossible to handle. He refused to believe that Thanos's snap could affect other worlds.

Of course, it was still too early to talk about that. What Shen Fei needed to do now was keep learning and start a company to make money.

What businesses made the most money in this world? Without a doubt, arms, pharmaceuticals, drugs, or high technology.

For Shen Fei, with the abilities of the Op-Op Fruit, the arms trade would not be a bad choice. However, entering that field required extensive connections. It was far too difficult for a stranger to establish himself there.

Of course, Shen Fei could go to Stark or Justin Hammer now and discuss cooperation, but he ultimately gave up on the idea. The arms trade was simply not very appealing. Did Tony not abandon the arms business later as well?

If he would not deal in weapons, then he certainly would not deal in drugs. In fact, if he relied on the Op-Op Fruit, Shen Fei could definitely create entirely new drugs with exceptional potency, far better than anything made in Breaking Bad. He might even become a drug lord, but that would be far too unconscionable, so he dismissed it outright.

That left only pharmaceuticals and high technology.

Considering the knowledge Shen Fei had been studying and the abilities of the Op-Op Fruit, pharmaceuticals were undoubtedly the best choice. Even though the pharmaceutical market had been affected by what Umbrella Corporation had done, the profits remained enormous. As long as there was life, there would always be a need for medicine.

Of course, it was impossible to enter the pharmaceutical market directly. Drug development, testing, production, and market release all took far too long. After all, medicine was not like clothing or other ordinary products.

If one added the mutual suppression and infighting between pharmaceutical companies, then establishing a company would become even more distant.

Unless he was willing to give up a large portion of the company's profits. That would allow him to set it up quickly, but Shen Fei would never do that. In the world of capital, shares were an extremely peculiar thing. If he dared do so, then before he knew it, the company might no longer belong to him.

Just like Pym at Pym Technologies. He had founded the company himself, yet one vote from the board had been enough to kick him out.

Norman of Oscorp had been the same. He had founded the company, yet the board could sell it whenever it wanted.

Shen Fei had no intention of ending up like that. If he was going to do it, he would do it like Tony. Although there was a board of directors, the absolute controlling interest in Stark Group was in Tony's hands. The board could not restrain him at all.

That was why Tony could shut down the arms division whenever he wanted. My company, my decision. Let another arms company try doing the same.

Thus, what Shen Fei was making now was both a pharmaceutical product and not one: a women's health supplement. What kind of place was America? Hollywood was full of female stars, not to mention wealthy socialites and rich ladies. The prospects for such a supplement were undoubtedly immense.

However, to make this supplement famous, he needed someone with enough influence. Who would that be? Naturally, Tony's secretary, Pepper. As long as she was interested, meeting Tony would not be a problem at all.

"After all that circling around, I still couldn't avoid Iron Man."

Shen Fei could certainly seek out other people, such as major Hollywood stars. He believed they would also be very interested in this kind of health supplement, but that could lead to trouble later.

Finding Tony would make everything much simpler. First of all, with Tony Stark's pride, he would never covet the profits brought by this supplement. Shen Fei truly could not be so certain about anyone else, considering the enormous profits involved.

With his current strength, Shen Fei was not afraid of anyone trying anything. Anyone who dared to make a move could simply be eliminated. But would that not be far too troublesome?