He also tried to have Jarvis scan the diary, hoping to find something like invisible ink that would appear under specific conditions or after a certain time.
But he came up empty. It was just a normal diary.
If there was anything special about it, it was that this diary had been unintentionally discovered by Tony Stark, was impervious to fire and water, and nothing could be written on it.
However, after scanning with the most sophisticated instruments, it was confirmed that it was indeed just a normal diary. But could a normal diary survive being burned in a fire without a scratch?
Obviously not!
So, up to this point, Tony Stark finally confirmed that he might have stumbled upon something… supernatural!
Therefore, he began to take the diary's contents seriously.
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, according to the diary's contents, was it really possible that he would be kidnapped in the future?
Judging by the tone of the diary, the person didn't seem to be behind the kidnapping plot, but rather knew something about the future, or perhaps possessed some kind of superpower?
A superpower to predict the future?
Such superpowers were common in Hollywood's cheesy movies, but they usually implied that people couldn't change their fate and would ultimately fulfill the prophecy.
But he was the kind of person who simply didn't believe in fate.
"Mr. Stark, the board just sent an email, informing you that you need to go to Afghanistan next month to demonstrate the missiles our company is selling to the Department of Defense!" Jarvis's voice interrupted his thoughts, but it also gave him a jolt.
Afghanistan?
Wasn't that the place where this person named Lin Feng mentioned in his diary that he was kidnapped?
However, he didn't even know about his trip to Afghanistan himself. He was used to being a hands-off boss, and most of the administrative matters in the company were entrusted to his uncle, Obadiah, and Pepper.
He was mainly responsible for research and development, as well as some occasions where the boss had to show up in person. He spent most of his remaining time eating, drinking, and having fun.
For example, the Jericho Missile, which was about to be sold to the US military, was his latest masterpiece. Selling it to the US military would bring in a profit of over a billion dollars, which was worth the trip for him, the big boss.
After all, the US military was known for its deep pockets; everyone knew that they could sell a thermos for tens of thousands of dollars, so why couldn't his Jericho Missile do the same?
However, the board's sudden decision to send him to Afghanistan hadn't been mentioned to him before today. After all, he usually avoided board meetings whenever possible.
Anyway, he had his trustworthy uncle Obadiah and Pepper keeping an eye on things.
But today, this seemingly ordinary notification gave him a somewhat creepy feeling. Someone had actually predicted it.
"Actually," Tony Stark mused, "it seems he accidentally stumbled upon some plot against me. Everything seems possible now."
"Jarvis, any updates on the information I asked you to gather on this Lin Feng?" Tony Stark inquired.
The diary cover's characters were in Chinese, which Tony Stark couldn't understand initially. He scanned it to figure out what it meant and how to pronounce it.
"Based on the name, it's more in line with Asian naming conventions, specifically those of China and Korea, where single-character surnames are common. However, based on Korean naming customs, this name doesn't seem Korean, only a twenty percent chance. There's an eighty percent probability that he's Chinese!" Jarvis's mechanical voice echoed. "According to the information we've gathered, if he is Chinese, we've infiltrated global household registration websites and searched for Chinese individuals. There are approximately 283,765 people with the name Lin Feng in Chinese characters."
Hearing the sheer number of people, Tony Stark felt a headache coming on. There were far too many Chinese people, and the name was incredibly common.
"273,560 of them are in China, and the rest are among the Chinese diaspora worldwide!" Jarvis stated.
"Let's eliminate those outside the country first!" Tony Stark said. "Judging from the diary entries, it seems he sees my news frequently. It's more likely he's local. Foreign media probably wouldn't focus so much on my gossip."
Tony Stark considered this. He had been on the front page many times, which was normal. But constantly seeing gossip meant he was likely in the United States. Foreign media wouldn't bother to fill space with his tabloid stories unless something really big happened.
Only paparazzi in America would track his every move like this.
"Pull up all the Chinese people in America named Lin Feng!" Tony Stark said.
There were about four to five million Chinese people in America, which wasn't a small number. The fact that Jarvis could find them instantly was a testament to his powerful algorithms and processing capabilities.
"There are 138 people named Lin Feng currently in the United States!" Jarvis replied.
"How many of them are from families that are well-off, or at least middle class or above?" Tony Stark asked.
"Sixteen are middle class or above, and one of them is in the wealthy class! He's a third-generation immigrant with a family fortune exceeding 100 million!" Jarvis answered directly.
"Focus on this third-generation rich kid!" Tony Stark said. "Also, keep an eye on the other Lin Fengs who are middle class or above, but keep the others under minimal surveillance."
"Sir, how did you come to this conclusion?" Jarvis asked.
"Because this diary says he's been waiting for me to get kidnapped in Afghanistan every day, and then for the stock price to crash. Then he'd swoop in and buy low. If he's going to buy low, he needs to have some money, right? Otherwise, if his own financial situation is bad, how could he afford to buy the stock? What was our stock price yesterday? Ninety-eight dollars a share. I'm not looking down on them, but even if ordinary people knew about this, they wouldn't have enough capital!" Tony Stark explained his analysis.
This is also the current reality for Americans. The vast majority of Americans have every penny accounted for. Even coming up with five hundred dollars on short notice can throw them off, causing their cash flow to collapse, let alone trying to buy low on their company's stock.
If they only have a few hundred bucks, what would they even make if they did buy low?