As the most densely populated district among the five boroughs of New York City, Manhattan is home to some of the city's most prominent companies, making it the wealthiest area in New York.
"Mr. Walter, this is our plan for the quarter. Please take a look."
The slender blonde woman with piercing blue eyes pushed open the office door and entered, speaking as she placed a stack of documents on the desk in front of the young man seated behind it.
Next to him, an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a housekeeper's uniform, silently wiped down a vase. After glancing briefly at the scene, he resumed his duties.
"Alice, I've told you countless times—just call me Kyle. Don't make me feel old. And why are there so many documents?"
With a clear, steady voice, Kyle Walter turned his head, gazing out the window. His angular face was etched with exhaustion, and he looked at the stack of papers with a deep sigh. His golden eyes reflected a hint of frustration, but he couldn't pull himself away from the task. He ran a hand through his slightly messy black hair in annoyance, picked up the papers, and began reading.
This was the seventh document he'd reviewed today, and Kyle felt as if he might explode.
"This is impossible. You've only just taken over the company, and your proposals are full of radical ideas. Even the PR department's plans are ambitious, and these samples you brought—"
Alice, visibly excited, launched into an enthusiastic breakdown of their progress. Initially skeptical of her new boss—after all, he was only fifteen—Alice quickly developed a deep respect for Kyle after he solved several problems that had stumped her. In an instant, she saw him as a child prodigy.
Observing the situation unfold, Kyle gave a subtle look to the old butler, silently signaling him to remove Alice, who seemed like a workaholic.
"Miss Alice, Master has a dinner engagement later. Allow me to escort you out."
Understanding Kyle's silent cue immediately, the butler gently interrupted Alice's report and led her out of the room.
Now, finally having a moment of peace, Kyle could focus on his own plans. After all, he had been in this world long enough to start thinking about his next moves.
Indeed, Kyle was a transmigrator, but he had been reborn as a newborn. Initially, he had hoped to use his knowledge of the future to make a fortune in this new world. But everything changed when, at the age of four, he visited a World War II museum with the old butler and saw a statue of Captain America holding his shield.
At that moment, it hit him: he had transmigrated into the Marvel Universe. After researching the world around him, he learned that he was now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a version of the Marvel world that was relatively less dangerous. The difficulty level wasn't as high as he had feared.
And then, just as he pieced everything together, the transmigrator's "system" activated.
"System, open the panel."
Kyle thought, and immediately, a holographic blue screen appeared in front of him.
[Host: Kyle Walter]
[Abilities: None]
[Owned Territory: Water International Corporation]
[Owned Item: No. 7 Crystal Manufacturing Recipe]
[Points: 95]
[Drawing Chance: 0]
[Current Task: Establish a new company. Reward will be based on theme.]
[Ultimate Mission: (???)]
This was Kyle's golden finger—a hero-building system that allowed him to exchange points for hero-related items.
The items could include equipment that ordinary people could use to become heroes, methods to unlock human potential and create superpowers, or advanced technologies for heroes.
However, points were difficult to accumulate. After traveling through this world for fifteen years, Kyle had only just managed to collect enough points for a drawing.
Still, he was satisfied with what he had drawn. The No. 7 Crystal was a unique item capable of turning ordinary people into superhumans.
When implanted into the human body, the crystal would dissolve and begin enhancing the person's physical attributes, increasing them by ten to thirty times. It could also unlock latent superhuman abilities hidden within the person's genetic code. However, the process had a high fatality rate.
The one perk Kyle particularly appreciated was that he could disable the abilities of any superhumans he created, preventing potential threats from turning on him.
"System, when will the ultimate mission be unlocked?"
Kyle asked inwardly, but the system only responded with a chilling, robotic voice.
[Please remain calm, host.]
The disembodied voice only fueled Kyle's indifference. There were more pressing concerns for him right now—chief among them, ensuring his own safety in a world where crises were always just around the corner.
Even in a relatively low-risk movie universe, dangerous situations could arise unexpectedly, and Kyle was keen to avoid dying at the hands of the inevitable cosmic threat.
His parents' tragic death provided him with an opportunity to seize control of the company. His parents had never truly cared for him, only visiting home a handful of times a year and leaving the management of the estate to the butler, Gasco Warren.
Water International Corporation, the family business, had been passed down by his father. But it was in shambles, weighed down by several internal issues, including shareholders with designs on his shares.
Kyle had no emotional attachment to his mother, who had been forced into an arranged marriage and had at least three extramarital affairs. As for his father—there were too many lovers to count.
"How archaic!" Kyle muttered under his breath after reviewing the quarterly plan. To people of this era, it might have seemed adequate, but to Kyle, it was outdated. Young people craved innovation, and static advertising slogans would only bore the masses.
The company's current flagship product was a special stomach medication, but Kyle had dissolved the project team and redirected them to focus on the development of the No. 7 Crystal.
Now, he needed to find a way to pull Water Corporation out of its financial slump so he could free up resources for his next move.
If he didn't want to be a passive participant in the plot—waiting for the inevitable snap of Thanos' fingers—he had to change the story. And Kyle already had a rough idea of how to do it.
"Speaking of which... Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver should still be wandering around!"
Kyle suddenly stood up from his chair as his thoughts shifted to the two mutants. If Quicksilver hadn't died in Sokovia, he could have become a major asset, potentially even stopping Thanos from acquiring the Infinity Stones.
"If I recall correctly, they're still living as nomads in Sokovia around this time."
Kyle paused and reflected on his next steps. There were two ways to earn points. The first was direct money exchange—one billion dollars for a thousand points, which granted him a drawing opportunity.
The second was interfering with world events to collect points, though this method only granted a drawing every fifteen years.
At this point, the fastest way for Kyle to strengthen himself was through the system's drawing. If he could obtain advanced technology or powerful items, he could level up quickly.
But then, his optimism faltered. The total market value of Water Corporation was just over one billion dollars—far from enough to make such a direct purchase.