Gradually Taking on Tony's Shape

[Dear Navigator, you have arrived in the world of "Number: Marvel Universe -199999"]

[Estimated duration of stay: 30 days]

[Source Power: 0]

[Current world exploration progress: 5%]

[Divine Protection: Born to Die]

When Alvin opened his eyes again, he looked at the desolate Gobi Desert and rubbed his temples.

Although he had already guessed that each time he transmigrated, he wouldn't land in a good place, this time... reminded him of when he first transmigrated to Marvel, he was also thrown into a desolate, godforsaken place.

Could it be that he has some connection with desolate, uninhabited areas in the Marvel Universe?

"Magnetic tape, scan the surrounding terrain."

Fortunately, he was no longer the Alvin he once was. He pulled out the "cassette tape" warrior from his Personal Space and issued orders.

Soon, the tape scan was complete, guiding him in the right direction.

After walking for a long time, Alvin finally saw the shadow of a small town at the end of the Gobi Desert.

"It was really tough..." He walked for nearly twenty kilometers before finally finding a place with human habitation. All around him was an endless expanse of Gobi Desert, with sand and tumbleweeds, a desolation that was simply appalling.

The town is surrounded by almost entirely barren Gobi desert, with no arable land and very little vegetation.

If it were Alvin, it would be hard to understand why he would build a small town here.

However, the town seemed to be quite civilized, with convenience stores, hotels, and a few restaurants. Although it wasn't very big, it was small but complete in every way, except that there were hardly any people around.

Alvin changed his clothes, dressed like an adventurer, and stepped into the town.

The first step, of course, is to gather intelligence.

Of course, he could also choose a more convenient method, which would be to bring in "Soundwave" and hack into S.H.I.E.L.D..'s satellites.

That way, he won't be able to hide anything from her.

But considering the current S.H.I.E.L.D.., or more accurately, "Hydra Bureau," he abandoned the idea.

This is the Marvel Universe; making too much noise here isn't good.

While pondering, Alvin arrived in front of a restaurant.

The door jingled as it opened, waking the waiter who was slacking off at the counter.

The restaurant was almost empty. Alvin found a seat by the window and gestured to the waiter, "An iced Americano, please."

As for the payment method... he naturally couldn't carry US dollars, so as usual, he placed a gold coin on the waiter's tray.

The waiter looked at the strange "customer" with a hint of unease in his eyes.

Despite the dust, one could still see the noble air emanating from this handsome young man, just like the top United Kingdom aristocrats he had seen on television, inspiring a sense of awe in those who saw him.

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment."

The waiter bowed respectfully, turned around and secretly took a gold coin from the tray, put it on his teeth and took a bite.

Seeing the clear teeth marks on the gold coin, a hint of smugness finally appeared on his face.

The value of that single gold coin was enough to cover half a month's salary for him. As for where this strange guest came from, or why he was paying with a gold coin... he had absolutely no interest in those questions!

Soon, the waiter brought Alvin an iced Americano to his table.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Alvin called out to him, "Wait, I have something I want to ask you. Thank you."

As he spoke, as if by magic, he flicked a gold coin from between his fingers, which landed precisely on the waiter's tray with a crisp sound.

"No problem, sir!" The waiter's face immediately lit up with a smile, rubbing his hands eagerly. "My name is Shaw Cullen. Feel free to ask me anything. I'm not bragging, but I have the best connections in the whole town!"

"What time is it? Where are we?"

Alvin asked two seemingly silly questions.

"... It's 2012 now, sir." Shaw hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly, "This is America, Puente Antiguo, New Mexico."

2021, New Mexico, Puente Antique.

Combining the above information, fragments of memory pieced together and flooded into Alvin's mind.

If he remembers correctly, the plot of the first God of Thunder seems to have taken place in New Mexico.

Although I've forgotten the exact location, judging from the Gobi Desert, the small town, and the fact that the Navigator's locations after each crossing are always at "plot points," this town should be the place where "God of Thunder" and his beloved hammer are about to land.

To further confirm the information, Alvin asked, "Has anything happened these past few days? Like something falling from the sky?"

"A meteorite? Probably not." Xiao scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "If a meteorite had really fallen, I would definitely have noticed such a big commotion."

Nothing fell, which means... he's in a situation before the story begins?

"Have any strangers come to town?" Alvin turned around and asked.

"Strangers..." Xiao thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "You know what, there really are. A few people came a while ago, saying they were... astrophysicists? They wanted to investigate something here, and they lived not far away."

"I'd like more detailed descriptions of these people," Alvin said earnestly.

"Let me think... It should be one man and two women. The man is older, around forty or fifty, and the two women are very young, probably around twenty. As for their names... sorry, I only know the man's name is 'Erik'," Shaw said.

"Okay, thank you."

Alvin nodded slightly and said, "Could you please take me to their residence?"

As he spoke, he flicked out another gold coin.

The golden light shone into Xiao's eyes, captivating his gaze. He swallowed hard.

"Okay, no problem!"

"Let's go then."

Now that he had received a satisfactory answer, there was no need for him to waste any more time.

Getting straight to the point is better.

Soon, Alvin, led by Shaw, found the house where the three of them were renting.

It was a fairly well-off mansion in the small town. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see three people inside, hurriedly packing their things.

The three people inside also noticed Alvin and Shaw outside the courtyard.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A woman with long blonde hair, wearing a plaid shirt and sunglasses, came out of the house. "We probably don't know each other, right? This... gentleman..."

"Hello, Ms. Jane Foster, I am a businesswoman."

Alvin cut to the chase, pulling a gold-embossed business card from his inner jacket pocket. "I've heard you're researching astronomy related to atmospheric geomagnetic storms, and I'm very interested in that, so I'd like to join your research team."

Jane was stunned for several seconds until the girl next to her nudged her with her shoulder, and then she came to her senses.

"Hug, hug..." She stepped forward and took the business card. "Alvin Valshius,"

"Rogue Trader... what is that?"

"You can think of me as a wandering businessman." Alvin smiled gently, cleared his throat, and stated his purpose directly. "I am willing to initially invest one hundred million US dollars in your research project, Ms. Foster."

"One hundred million?!"

Jane was completely dumbfounded, feeling like a pie had fallen from the sky and landed on them.

For Alvin, the easiest way to blend into the story is... to spend money!

Any scientific research project requires a significant influx of funding to sustain its ongoing operations.

Especially in the storyline, Jane leads this team, and because of their unusual research direction, almost no one is willing to invest in them.

Therefore, Alvin's approach was simple: just "throw money at it."

Finally... he became the kind of person he used to hate the most.

But Tony was right, he really loved the feeling—spending money... it was so exhilarating!