Panic-Stricken Tony Stark

Meanwhile, the screen in front of Tony Stark displayed the basic information of Rosalie and Mark.

"JARVIS, are you sure the hacker's IP address belongs to this household?"

He asked in surprise.

According to the information JARVIS had found, only two people lived in this home.

Rosalie had graduated from a third-rate college and worked as an extra in Hollywood. She had never had any contact with internet technology before.

Mark was only five years old and had not started school yet.

No matter how he looked at them, this mother and son did not seem like the hacker who could have infiltrated the CAA talent agency's official website and then hacked into Cathy Dale's computer.

"Sir, I am certain! I also checked the satellite surveillance near this home. No outsiders have entered the house recently."

JARVIS confirmed.

"Interesting!"

Tony Stark became intrigued. "Which one of this mother and son is the real hacker?"

There were only two possibilities now.

First, Rosalie had hidden herself too well. Not only had she secretly learned internet technology, but she had never revealed any ability in that area before.

Second, the five-year-old boy named Mark was a top genius no less talented than Tony Stark himself, who had become a top hacker through self-study at the age of five!

At Mark's home.

"Then, Ms. Rosalie and Mr. Mark, which of you is the hacker who infiltrated Cathy Dale's home computer?"

JARVIS asked Tony Stark's question for him.

"It was me!"

Mark knew there was no point hiding anymore, so he immediately nodded and admitted his identity.

Given the United States' protections for minors, even if he were exposed, he would at most receive community counseling. There would basically be no punishment.

"Who taught you your hacking skills?"

"I learned them online by myself."

"But child, you're only five!"

"So what if I'm five! I heard Tony Stark could make circuit boards by himself at four and build an internal combustion engine at six. If he could do it, so can I!"

Mark put on the defiant tone of a child.

He could display intelligence beyond ordinary people, but he would not expose his adult mentality.

In the Marvel Universe, people were still very tolerant of children.

No matter how serious a mistake they made, a single sentence—"He's still just a child"—could forgive everything.

"Then prove it to me, child."

JARVIS's voice rang out again.

The camera in front of the computer aimed at Mark, capturing all of his movements.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Mark's fingers flew across the keyboard. He quickly wrote a piece of code, then ran it.

"Buzz..."

A burst of static came from the speakers, and JARVIS's connection to the computer was instantly cut off.

Three seconds later, JARVIS regained control of the computer.

"Well done, child!"

JARVIS's astonished voice rang out again.

Based on what he had just done, Mark, a five-year-old child, was already one of the world's top five hackers.

JARVIS then checked the computer's browsing history and indeed found books on internet technology that Mark had studied, including programming languages, network security, and applied cryptography.

JARVIS continued reviewing the browsing history and quickly made an even more astonishing discovery.

"Oh, my God! You've even studied advanced mathematics, classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, cell biology... Child, have you been studying all this knowledge?"

"Of course!"

Mark nodded in admission.

At the Stark mansion.

"Sir, this child truly is a genius! In twenty years, he may become a second Tony Stark!"

JARVIS projected the browsing history onto the large screen, its tone filled with amazement.

After reviewing Mark's study list, Tony Stark nodded. "This child really is a genius... But there will only ever be one Tony Stark!"

"Very well, sir, you are one of a kind! But this child is different... While investigating Rosalie and Mark's information, I made some unexpected discoveries."

JARVIS then displayed Rosalie and Tony Stark's hotel registration records from that year, Mark's birth certificate, and the San Fernando Valley Entertainment News article claiming Mark was Tony Stark's illegitimate son on the large screen.

"Sir, according to my calculations, there is an 83% chance that Mark is your biological child!"

"Pfft!"

Tony Stark had just lifted the red wine beside him and taken a sip. Upon hearing JARVIS's words, he sprayed it straight out.

"Cough, cough. Th-that's impossible, JARVIS. Don't talk nonsense!"

Looking at Mark's face on the large screen, which bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to his own, Tony Stark rarely showed a trace of panic.

He remembered that on the night he broke up with Cathy Dale, he had indeed casually picked out a woman he found pleasing at a film crew reception and taken her to a hotel.

And because he had been in a foul mood, he had been somewhat rough that night. He might not even have taken any precautions.

If not for JARVIS's investigation, he would have completely forgotten about it long ago.

"Sir, if you do not believe my calculated probability, you can conduct a DNA test with Mark..."

JARVIS suggested.

"No need. He absolutely cannot be my child!"

Tony Stark loudly cut JARVIS off and ordered, "Disconnect from their network. There's no need to continue investigating."

After saying that, he stood up and hurriedly walked out of the dining room.

Ever since childhood, Tony Stark had been left with deep psychological scars from lacking his family's company.

He worried that he would one day become like his father Howard, too busy with work to spend time with his child.

That was why he had always resisted marriage and feared having children of his own even more.

After suddenly learning that he might have a child, Tony Stark's mind fell into complete chaos.

Just as he was about to leave the dining room, JARVIS's voice came again. "Sir, I have discovered that three top hackers are working together to trace Mark's IP. They have already cracked the disguised trap Mark left behind and will soon trace his real IP..."

"This has nothing to do with me!"

Tony Stark impatiently interrupted JARVIS, but after a brief hesitation, he still said, "Still, three hackers joining forces against one child is going too far. Stop them."

"Yes, sir."

At Mark's home.

"Whew... Finally gone."

Seeing JARVIS disconnect from the network, Mark immediately sighed in relief.

In front of JARVIS, he felt as though he had almost no secrets at all.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Mark hurriedly installed security patches on his computer.

Although he did not know how many seconds such patches could last against JARVIS, they could at least give him a little more sense of security.

After raising Super Brain to LV6, Mark had unconsciously developed a sense of arrogance. Sometimes, he looked at other people as though they were unevolved monkeys.

His reckless intrusion into the CAA talent agency's official website and Cathy's home computer had been influenced by that mentality.

JARVIS's overwhelming superiority in internet technology completely crushed his arrogance.