Stark's Trespass, a Cross-Dimensional Counterattack in the Old Apartment
Tony Stark hated this feeling.
A sense of powerlessness, as if shrouded in thick fog, detached from control.
Since returning from Nick Fury's concrete coffin-like Safe House, he had been alone in the basement workshop of his cliffside oceanfront villa in Malibu for over ten hours. The rich aroma of fine coffee mixed with the smell of metallic coolant—a scent he was most familiar with and that brought him peace of mind—now felt somewhat irritating.
"Sir, your heart rate has been above the normal threshold for three consecutive hours, and your blood pressure is also at a critical level. I suggest you do at least fifteen minutes of meditation, or enjoy the sunset over the Dothraki Sea."
JARVIS's gentle, British accent echoed in the empty laboratory, carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.
"Shut up, JARVIS." Tony didn't even look up, his eyes fixed on the dozens of Holographic Screens surrounding him. On the screens, countless Data Stream poured down like waterfalls, eventually converging on a bright red, constantly rotating "error" symbol.
That was the only "trophy" he managed to salvage from the wreckage data of the Washington, D.C. incident—a graffiti-style spider logo with a mocking smile.
Fury's fear was not feigned.
The deep-seated fear that veteran spy king displayed when mentioning the name "Lynn" spoke volumes more than any encrypted document.
A dead logistics agent is connected to Deity powers and a "ghost" who can freely move through the cracks of the cyber world. The whole thing is like a script filled with third-rate science fiction plots—absurd, yet it's actually happening.
"The game of mortals is over..."
Lynn's condescending words during the live stream echoed in Tony's ears once again.
"Hold."
Tony cursed under his breath and jumped up from his seat. He couldn't continue playing a guessing game with a bunch of ghosts through a screen like this. He needed physical evidence, entities that could be analyzed under a microscope.
"JARVIS, retrieve the last known address of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Level 3 Agent Lynn. The agent's apartment in Queens, New York." Tony's eyes sharpened. "I need to go in and check it out."
"Sir, this address has been designated a Level 7 restricted area by S.H.I.E.L.D.., and... based on my reverse engineering analysis of the ' Ghost-Spider ' data packets, the last time she left a clear trace in our world was also there," JARVIS cautioned. "The unknown risks are extremely high."
"Risk? I was born for risk." Tony walked to the circular platform in the center of the laboratory, and several mechanical arms immediately extended nimbly, equipping him with a suit of War Armor that was entirely black, with smooth lines, and deeper than the night itself.
The Mark-37, codenamed "Night Diver," is not equipped with any heavy weapons, but integrates Stark Industries' most advanced stealth, soundproofing, and electronic infiltration technologies. It can infiltrate 99% of the planet's military restricted areas without triggering any alarms.
"Activate ' Absolute Silence ' mode. I don't want to disturb a single... spider." Tony's voice came from inside the War Armor, tinged with a cold humor.
The next second, the black nano-coating on the surface of the War Armor glowed faintly, and then, along with Tony himself, it vanished completely into thin air, as if it had never existed.
New York, Queens.
An unassuming red-brick apartment building, exuding the unique smell of an old neighborhood, a mixture of rain-soaked earth and pizza. Lynn's former spy apartment was at the far end of the third floor.
An invisible shadow passed silently through the wall and hovered in front of the door of room 301.
Through the tactical visor of the "Night Diver" War Armor, countless green Data Stream were rapidly refreshing, performing a carpet scan of the entire corridor.
[Infrared sensor... no abnormalities detected.]
[Sound wave detection... no abnormalities found.]
[Energy field scan... no normal energy reaction.]
[Door lock structure analysis... S.H.I.E.L.D. 7 encrypted mechanical composite lock, with built-in miniature electric shock trap and data self-destruct protocol.]
"Child's play," Tony scoffed into the comms. "JARVIS, initiate physical decryption, simultaneously conduct electronic deception."
"Yes, sir."
The right index finger of the War Armor silently extended several Probe, thinner than a hair and shimmering with a faint light, precisely piercing the core of the door lock. At the same time, a massive Data Stream surged in, simulating S.H.I.E.L.D..'s internal keys, attempting to dismantle the Defense Line from within.
The progress bar steadily advanced on Tony's retina.
5%...30%...70%...
Everything went incredibly smoothly.
99%...
Click.
A barely audible click, almost imperceptible, rang out. The door was unlocked.
Tony didn't push the door open immediately. He remained absolutely vigilant, having his War Armor's sensors scan behind the door several more times.
Still... nothing unusual.
How could a place sealed off by S.H.I.E.L.D.. at Level 7 and considered a lair by the mysterious "Ghost-Spider" have such lax defenses?
Tony frowned slightly, a sense of unease rising within him. But this doubt was quickly suppressed by his intense desire to uncover the truth. He manipulated his War Armor, slowly and very gently pushing open the door.
Just as the door opened a crack, revealing the dark interior behind it, and the War Armor was about to step inside—
A sudden change has occurred!
There was no explosion, no alarm, and no energy Impact of any kind.
Something has appeared.
It appeared out of thin air on the War Armor's tactical visor, and simultaneously at the very bottom of all the War Armor's core processors.
That was a "net".
A spiderweb composed of countless translucent threads shimmering with an eerie luster. These threads are not physical entities, but rather strings of unreadable and incomprehensible "code" that subverts existing computer science. They twist and fold, seemingly existing simultaneously in two dimensions, three dimensions, and even higher levels, constructing a magnificent yet deadly geometric paradox that mortals cannot directly behold.
"Sir! Alert! Unknown logic contamination encountered! My firewall... is being... being 'understood'! It's not attacking, it's redefining the rules!"
For the first time, JARVIS's voice revealed genuine panic; it became intermittent amidst the violent crackling of electricity, like that of a person about to drown.
Tony's pupils contracted sharply. He tried to order the War Armor to retreat, but was horrified to find that the neural connection between him and the War Armor was being "enveloped" by a gentle yet irresistible force.
That magnificent spider web has permeated from the virtual realm into physical reality.
The "Night Diver" War Armor, a creation representing the pinnacle of Earth's technology, was abruptly frozen in place, as if a door had been pushed open. All its systems were still functioning normally, and the Arc Reactor was still outputting surging energy, but all commands went unanswered.
It's like a painting, nailed to the canvas of time and space. All the "kinetic energy," "potential energy," and "electrical energy" are "absorbed" and "neutralized" by that net. Not canceled out, but conceptually rendered meaningless.
This is an absolute, unreasonable crushing defeat.
Technology, in the face of an unprecedented set of "rules," is as fragile as a sheet of paper.
Tony stood frozen in place, thousands of kilometers away, feeling the power that sent shivers down his spine through the sensors of his War Armor. His pride and joy in his intelligence and technology seemed utterly ridiculous at that moment.
Then, in the visor of the War Armor, the intricate spiderweb—enough to drive any mathematician mad—slowly faded away.
Instead, a pink, pixelated dialog box slowly appeared, word by word. The font was a playful handwriting, and next to it was a simple line drawing of a spider sticking out its tongue.
[Hey, Tin Can.]
[I've already reserved this place.]
[The things inside belong to 'him'.]
[And 'he' is mine.]
So, before you dirty the floor I just cleaned for him, take your junk with you...
[roll.]
[--Gwen. S. ^_^]
That final smiley face emoji was like a resounding slap across Tony Stark's face.
The moment he finished speaking, all connections between him and his "Night Diver" War Armor were instantly severed. Not interfered with, not blocked, but cleanly and decisively cut off. On his Holographic Screens, the green icon representing the War Armor instantly turned gray, with three cold red words displayed next to it: [Connection Lost].
Inside the underground laboratory in Malibu, there was a deathly silence.
Tony Stark slowly removed his helmet, his face deathly pale. He stared at the pink dialogue box and the glaring smiley face that JARVIS had painstakingly captured on the main screen, his body trembling slightly with extreme anger and humiliation.
A stealth War Armor worth billions of dollars, embodying his Supreme Intelligence, was destroyed without him even seeing the enemy's face, by a "little girl" who appeared out of nowhere, in a way he couldn't understand, as easily as swatting a fly.
They were also left with a humiliating note.
"Hahaha..."
Tony suddenly chuckled softly, the laughter growing louder and louder until it became an almost manic laugh.
He slammed his fist hard onto the alloy control panel in front of him!
"Bang!"
The sturdy console was dented, and the pink dialog box on the screen, along with the smiling face, shattered into countless points of light from the violent tremor.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Tony looked up, the anger in his eyes gone, replaced by an unprecedented, chilling resolve.
He didn't lose to the enemy; he lost to the "unknown."
What Tony Stark finds most intolerable is the unknown.
He will define it, analyze it, and then... take control of it in his own way!
"JARVIS," he said in a voice that was almost a murmur, yet incredibly clear.
"... I'm here, sir." JARVIS's voice sounded weak, as if he were recovering from a serious illness.
"Archive the data from that pile of scrap metal. Name it... ' Deity's Toy'."
Tony turned and walked step by step into the deepest part of the laboratory, where all his craziest and most dangerous ideas were kept.
"Since they don't follow the rules of physics," he muttered to himself, a dangerous glint in his eyes, "Then I'll create something... something that can rewrite the rules, to play with them."