"Athena, is this really the Marvel Universe?" William asked.
"According to the system's analysis, this world is 90% similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
William leaned against the wall and gazed up at the azure sky at a forty-five-degree angle, looking utterly hopeless.
As the saying went, the Marvel Universe was a dangerous place.
Why was it dangerous?
Forget Thanos, who wanted to collect all the Infinity Stones, or Ultron, the artificial intelligence bent on destroying humanity... The superheroes on Earth alone were enough to give anyone a headache.
William had already seen the news about Tony's disappearance. It wouldn't be long before Iron Man came into existence.
Iron Man's combat ability depended entirely on his wide variety of suits of armor. Tony knew he was only human, so he kept creating powerful mechs to enhance his abilities.
Steve Rogers had taken part in the United States' Super Soldier Program during World War II, becoming Captain America. Aside from his immense physical strength, he also had a shield made of Vibranium.
Bruce Banner looked like a harmless scientist, but deep inside him slumbered a monster named Hulk. The Hulk had been born from lethal Gamma Rays, and the angrier he got, the stronger he became.
Hawkeye and Black Widow had no superpowers, but they were both battle-hardened agents. Hawkeye's archery was peerless; if he wanted to kill you, he could probably do it with his eyes closed. Black Widow was alluring, but she was deadly poison.
Thor Odinson was the son of Odin, the All-Father, heir to Asgard, and the god of thunder and lightning. His weapon, Mjolnir, had the power to destroy the world. In the Avengers, only the Hulk could match his strength...
William had thought he'd come to a new world and gained the Overwatch System, with a bright future ahead of him. Even if he didn't want to rule over everyone, surely he could still live a happy, peaceful life here.
Who would've thought reality would pour cold water all over him? This world was far more dangerous than he'd imagined.
Fortunately, it was too early to worry about all that. Iron Man was still trapped in Afghanistan, Captain America was still frozen beneath the ice, the Hulk was playing hide-and-seek with his father-in-law, Black Widow and Hawkeye were probably on a mission, and Thor was still in Asgard...
What advantages did William have right now? The Overwatch System, and his knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
First, there was the Overwatch System. The heroes in Overwatch mostly wielded advanced technology from the distant future. Overwatch and the Avengers were essentially alike: both had come into being to protect the world. If he could unlock those heroes, he wouldn't have to fear even superheroes or supervillains.
Then there was his knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He wasn't a die-hard Marvel fan, but he'd watched most of the movies. He might not remember all the details of the plots, but he knew the future of the Marvel Universe and some of the things that were about to happen.
The Avengers assembling, the Age of Ultron, Infinity War... These would be unprecedented trials.
Starting with Iron Man, Marvel had laid out a grand plan: the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story of the entire timeline had begun here.
If he remembered correctly, Tony Stark had been missing for three months. That meant he had three months to get stronger.
Well... that was a decent amount of time.
William looked again at the newspaper in his hands. Besides the report on Tony Stark's disappearance, there was news about Stark Industries' falling stock prices and a statement from Obadiah, Tony's father's friend, among other things.
But soon he realized something was wrong. The newspaper wasn't dated today. It was from more than two months ago!
That was awkward. It was a newspaper from over two months ago, which meant Iron Man had already been missing for a long time.
By that reckoning, Tony would be found in less than two weeks, and Iron Man would make his official debut.
There wasn't much time left. He had to get stronger as quickly as possible!
He was quite worried by what Athena had said: according to the system's analysis, this world was 90% similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It didn't even have to be a 10% difference. Even a 1% change could turn the whole world upside down.
Who could imagine what a Marvel Universe with a 10% difference would be like?
After gathering his scattered thoughts, William picked up the bag and returned to the restaurant. He hadn't planned to take it for himself; he wanted to show it to the owner.
He knew he'd lost the last delivery order, and Jonathan would surely fly into a rage.
"William! Where have you been?" As soon as William walked through the restaurant doors, Jonathan shouted, "Don't you know a customer complained about you? Do you not want your wages this month?!"
William said helplessly, "Believe it or not, I was stopping a thief. The thief bumped into me and spilled the pizza!"
"Who do you think you're fooling?" Jonathan said, his eyes wide. "If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better excuse. Why not say you bumped into an alien and it stole your pizza?"
William held up the bag. "This is what the thief stole. I haven't found its owner yet."
Jonathan looked like he was about to say something, but when he saw the bag, his expression turned suspicious for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Wait, William. Let me have a look at that bag!"
William hesitated, but handed it to Jonathan. Jonathan only needed one glance before saying, "Chanel... William, I'll return this bag to its owner for you. Since you were stopping a thief, I won't deduct your wages today. Remember, there won't be a next time. If another customer complains about you, you're done here!"
No wonder. The owner must be rich.
William had thought there might be something valuable inside the bag, but all he'd found was a newspaper. He hadn't expected the bag itself to be the most valuable thing. From the look of it, Jonathan wasn't going to return it to its owner, either.
"William, you have successfully completed the hidden task: Marathon. Congratulations! You have received the following rewards: Loot Box x1, Gold x100."
After work, William had no bicycle, so he had to run home. As he reached his front door, Athena's voice rang out.
He remembered that the Marathon task required him to run ten kilometers. He hadn't expected to complete it just one day later. Only then did he remember that besides delivering food, he'd spent half the day chasing a thief. With everything else he'd done, his running had added up to nearly ten kilometers.
"You have a Loot Box. Would you like me to open it for you?"
"No, no." William shook his head at once. "I want to choose a special time to open my first Loot Box."
Back home, William ate a simple sandwich for dinner. As he looked at the Captain America poster on the wall, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was dreaming.
He was just an ordinary office worker, yet he'd ended up in the Marvel Universe. This was only his first day here. Who knew what dangers would be waiting for him tomorrow?
With that thought, William sat at his desk and began writing out a plan. It concerned the future of the Marvel Universe and his own development. He didn't want to be unprepared, especially in a world like this. There was no one who could help him now. He could only rely on himself.
Before he knew it, the clock had struck midnight. William rubbed his eyes and called out, "Athena, get ready to open the Loot Box!"
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