After a few seconds, a shuttle specifically for the Stark Group arrived before him. Stark was taken aback for a moment. He glanced down at the card on his chest and figured there might have been a facial recognition system on the terminal.
Stark tightened his shirt and coat on the spot, gently coughed twice, adjusted his face, and stepped into the shuttle.
The obsession with his goal in his heart gradually faded as he sat in the shuttle watching the scenery outside. The two sides of the small shuttle were spacious and bright glass, so Stark could fully view the New York night scene.
The sleepless and brightly lit Manhattan was a common sight, but what surprised Stark was that the suburbs and the less developed Bronx also had a richer nightlife than his universe.
The almost ubiquitous construction sites were another mystery. Stark was almost leaning against the shuttle window, but he couldn't figure out what they were building.
New York, being an early developed area, hardly had any room for development left, but those rumbling strange machines seemed determined to excavate something new in this long-settled area of celebrities and wealthy people.
Curiosity began to outweigh obsession. Every scientist's dream must have a stable, wealthy, and developed scientific research environment. As Stark was still distracted by this, a "beep beep" sound of arrival prompted him.
Stark was a little surprised and stunned for a while. He looked at his watch and found that less than five minutes had passed. This was from the suburbs of New York to the city center. The flight was probably too fast, wasn't it?
Despite the surprise, Stark still acted as steady as a rock. He stepped out of the shuttle and then found himself on the roof of the Stark Building, but not quite the roof.
Previously, during the Stark Building's technology exhibition, Stark added several more floors to the top of his homestead. It was an air platform similar to a Sky Carrier, which still hovered above the building.
What was once a limited period technology exhibition has now become a ticketed technology museum. There were always many people visiting during holidays. However, if Stark wanted to go down, he still needed to take a special lift.
Stark looked around and found that he didn't recognize the route, but he didn't dare to show it. Just then, a soft voice rang out, "Welcome back, Mr. Stark, are you lost again? Please head to your right, the safety elevator indicator has lit up."
Listening to the familiar voice, Stark breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Jarvis, I'm lucky to have you," he said.
Then he reacted. This was not his intelligent butler, but that of the Tony Stark of this universe. That gave Stark a strange feeling. But thinking that they were both Tony Stark made him feel relieved.
He thought, he could at least leave some research findings here as compensation. Stark was confident that even in the future, his mind would still be the most precious treasure.
Following Jarvis's guidance, Stark finally returned to the laboratory, which was somewhat familiar to him. Looking at the familiar lab bench layout, Stark breathed a sigh of relief, finally having a place to refuel.
Stark almost couldn't wait to sit back down in his usual thinking chair. The familiar touch made him sigh deeply. When that taut nerve finally relaxed, countless sad memories surged back to his heart.
The smoke was thick, amidst the impossibly chaotic battleground gleaming with the lustre of the Infinity Gemstone, like a bright nightmare.
Stark watched helplessly as the young man dressed in a red and blue uniform gradually turned to ash. The extreme grief and anger, even now as he recalled it, still made Stark feel breathless.
But then, unexpected changes happened all too suddenly. Many black flames engulfed Peter Parker's body, pulling him away from Iron Man's arms. A huge demonic figure descended on the battlefield and left the battlefield, carrying Spider Man away with those black flames.
He's still alive!
This was the only thought in Stark's mind. He didn't wonder where the demonic shadow came from, or how Peter could possess such power. The only thought resounding in his heart was—his child was still alive, and he must find him!
Stark couldn't control his actions. He knew that the war was far from over and it wasn't time to leave, but he was desperate to follow Peter's lifeline.
What if the demon takes him away just to kill him? What if he ends up dead because he didn't go and save him?
This concern repeatedly echoed in Stark's mind, forcing him into almost thoughtless action. Therefore, he began to search for traces of black flame's power worldwide using Stark Group's technology.
As Stark had limited understanding of the powers of the magic side, and Supreme Magician Strange had died in this war, Stark could only contact the New York Temple.
However, the team at the New York Temple was heavily injured in this war and couldn't help others. The mages could only help Stark reach out to the Hong Kong Temple.
While Stark was following the clues in the East, the Ten Rings gang was planning to take advantage of the situation to seize the Hong Kong Temple. Stark had heard of this organization before, but they were never the main enemy of The Avengers, and they had never directly confronted.
At that time, Stark had almost entirely lost his reason. Anyone who showed malice towards him would be considered the kidnapper of Spider-Man. He thought that it must be more than a coincidence that the Ten Rings attacked the Hong Kong Temple at a time when he needed their help.
Hence, he manipulated his battlesuit, landed at the Ten Rings' base, and launched a fierce attack. Knowing that they couldn't rival Iron Man, the gang called for their leader, the Mandarin, who manipulated the Ten Rings and fought against Iron Man in the Hong Kong Temple.
Iron Man, having lost his rationality, was able to bring out his full potential. The Ten Rings couldn't restrain him, infuriating the Mandarin, who combined the power of the Ten Rings and launched an attack against Stark.
The attack missed Iron Man but hit the energy storage center of Earth's magical defense network. In the ensuing huge explosion, Stark only felt a vast force engulfing him, and everything began to spin.
Countless stars flashed before his eyes. Amid the confusing and bewildering scenes, Stark saw one spider silk after another, connecting one point of light after another, forming a massive spider web that connected the entire multiverse.
Traveling through the multiverse isn't easy for any entity, including the mighty Demon God Mephisto.
Mephisto had been hired to make an extraordinary journey by the Holy Sanctuary, so he directly used the spider silk to borrow Spider-Man's multiverse portal. This portal, opened by the Spider Totem and the Weaver, was to rescue people from the Universe where the distress signal was transmitted.
Due to a fortunate coincidence, Iron Man mistakenly entered the multiverse portal left by the Spider Totem during an explosion. He then followed the route Mephisto took when he took Peter and ended up in this universe.
Physically crossing the universes is not simple. The Spider-Man could effortlessly traverse the multiverse because they were the spokespersons for the Spider Totem and were very familiar with this kind of power.
However, the Spider Totem can't accommodate strangers. Mephisto could withstand the reaction because he is a mighty Demon God with a life form different from carbon-based life, but Stark could not.
He just survived two battles, and his battlesuit was almost completely damaged. The unending darkness continuously depleted his spirit, and countless strange whispers rang in his ears.
Yet nothing in the world could stop a father determined to save his child. The more painful it was, the stronger his determination became.
Leaning back in his chair, Stark slowly closed his eyes. Regardless of the length of the journey and the danger of the destination, he was determined to find Spider-Man, his child, Peter Parker.