The next day, early morning.
Morning light streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling into the biological laboratory on the top floor of Stark Tower.
However, the Master of the laboratory was in no mood to appreciate the sunrise.
Tony Stark's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the data stream scrolling across the holographic screen before him, his face dark enough to wring water from.
Scattered at his feet were seven or eight empty coffee cups.
"Jarvis, final report." His voice was hoarse from a sleepless night.
"Sir, I have performed one hundred and twenty-eight cross-comparative analyses for you throughout the night." Jarvis's voice was as steady as ever. "The conclusion remains consistent with previous findings: all physical, chemical, and biological indicators in the water quality sample are within the safe thresholds of the city's water supply standards. From a scientific perspective, it is ordinary water."
"Ordinary water!"
Tony slammed his fist on the console in frustration, the metal surface emitting a dull thud.
An entire night!
He had utilized Stark Industries' most advanced equipment, from the quantum level to spectral analysis, practically dissecting the water sample retrieved by the Drone overnight down to the atomic level.
The result was a damn cup of water, ordinary beyond ordinary.
This made him feel more defeated than if he had directly detected some unknown deadly virus.
His science, his theories, everything he prided himself on, looked like a joke in the face of this cup of water.
"That kid..." Tony's mind conjured Lin Huai's calm face. "He anticipated this result yesterday."
On the screen, New York news was rolling, reporting that the unrest in Queens had escalated overnight, with CDC experts at a loss before the cameras.
The clock pointed to nine in the morning.
One hour remained until the time Lin Huai had agreed upon.
"This isn't about investment returns at all." Tony suddenly chuckled lowly, a trace of provoked excitement in his smile. "This is a test. An exam set by a prodigy for a mortal."
He abruptly stood up, tearing off his grease-stained work suit.
"Jarvis! Notify the New York Police Department. I'll be at the Jefferson Reservoir in one hour. Have them prepare. I hate being watched while I work."
"Get the car ready, Happy!" He strode towards the elevator. "Bring my sunglasses equipped with the micro-environmental sensors. Since my lab is useless, let me see with my own eyes how this 'examiner' diagnoses things!"
At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a conspicuous Audi R8 broke through the Police barrier without a second to spare, executing a perfect drift to a screeching halt in front of the reservoir's main dam.
"Boss, we... just barged in like this. Is that okay?" Happy looked at the Police officers who had rushed over only to abruptly stop in their tracks.
"What else? Wait for them to send me an invitation?" Tony pushed open the car door. That face recognized worldwide was the best pass.
Ignoring the on-site Commander who ran over to salute, his sharp gaze searched through the chaotic crowd.
Soon, he found his target.
Lin Huai was being stopped by two Police officers at the outermost perimeter.
The corner of Tony's mouth lifted as he walked over confidently.
"Hey, Officer, he's a consultant I invited."
The officer turned around, immediately freezing in place, and stammered, "M-Mr. Stark!"
"Now, can he go in?"
The officer immediately cleared the way, his look at Lin Huai instantly changing from "suspicious character" to "expert of a VIP."
Lin Huai gave Tony a slight nod and calmly walked into the chaotic core area.
"Did your instruments yield any results?" Lin Huai looked at him, getting straight to the point.
"They told me you should run for Mayor of New York, because you've successfully solved half the city's insomnia problem." Tony put on his sunglasses, using his usual method to mask his sense of defeat.
On the lenses, Lin Huai's heart rate, body temperature, emotional fluctuations, and other data were as steady as a flat line.
"Impatience is a sign of incompetence, Mr. Stark." Lin Huai's gaze moved past him, looking towards the shimmering reservoir. "Now, it's my turn for the diagnosis."
He reached out to Happy, gesturing for him to bring the water sample.
Happy immediately "borrowed" a tube of freshly extracted raw water sample from the case of a nearby CDC researcher.
Lin Huai took the test tube, his eyes becoming focused.
"To ensure the divination is not disturbed by external spirituality, a barrier must first be established."
He took a step back and, with himself as the center, began pacing counterclockwise. His steps were small, just enough to trace a circle, enclosing both Tony and Happy within it.
Simultaneously, he began reciting indistinct syllables in an extremely low voice. The language was ancient and obscure, like the echoes of a lost civilization, each syllable carrying a peculiar vibrato.
In Tony's sunglasses, Jarvis's voice immediately sounded, carrying a rare hint of "confusion": "Sir, audio signal captured. Cross-referencing language database... Failed. No match found in any known human language, including extinct ones."
Tony's heart gave a violent leap.
A language even Jarvis couldn't identify? This shocked him more than any warning on his instruments.
At the same moment, red data streams popped up on the lenses!
[Warning: An unanalyzable energy field has been generated! Spherical dome shape, radius 2.7 meters, exhibiting stable inward containment and isolation properties!]
Happy's face even paled. He clearly felt the surrounding cacophony of voices, wind, Police sirens... instantly being cut off by an invisible wall, becoming distant and muffled.
The "fraud" option was thoroughly, completely crossed out in Tony's mind.
Ignoring the shock of the two men, Lin Huai had stopped walking and now stood in the center of the circle. He loosened his fingers, letting an ancient yellow crystal pendulum hang naturally, suspended directly above the water sample test tube.
He once again chanted in that incomprehensible language, his voice low:
"In the name of the Fool, there exists an anomaly within these waters."
The originally still pendulum, as if thrown into boiling oil, instantly began to swing violently and erratically, emitting a buzzing lament.
"Do you see, Mr. Stark?" Lin Huai looked up. "It is not water, but a bowl of'soup' filled with malice, hunger, and pollution."
"My sensors... read nothing." Tony forced himself to maintain composure, but his voice was somewhat dry.
"Your eyes can only see matter, but my 'Spirit Vision' can see the essence." Lin Huai explained calmly. "The source of this'soup' is a type of Beyonder creature that parasitizes the spiritual plane. According to the revelations of the 'Fool,' they are called 'Whispering Leeches.'"
He put away the pendulum, comparing the information point by point with the Queens incident reports. Every detail matched perfectly.
This wasn't divination; this was a clear, complete, logically self-consistent... pathological diagnostic report.
"What are their weaknesses?" Tony's Adam's apple bobbed as he asked the most crucial question.
Lin Huai once again let the pendulum hang low and softly recited those mysterious syllables again.
This time, the pendulum first rotated smoothly clockwise, then began to vibrate extremely rapidly at a high frequency in an up-and-down motion.
Lin Huai opened his eyes and delivered the final conclusion:
"They fear two things: pure and intense 'light,' and 'High-Frequency Vibration' that can disrupt the water body."
Light! High-Frequency Vibration!
Lin Huai had given an answer from the realm of mysticism, but to Tony's ears, this was nothing but a pure physics problem!
-
Shock first appeared on Tony's face, followed by a fanatical, almost ferocious smile. Using physics methods to solve a mystical disaster? Was there anything more exciting to him?!
"Deal!" He looked at Lin Huai, his eyes shining brilliantly. "I'll help you retrieve the 'sacrificial offerings' you want!"
He suddenly paused, changing the subject. The intense curiosity of a scientist towards unknown knowledge could no longer be suppressed.
"But before that, answer me one question." Tony stared into Lin Huai's eyes. "That language you used just now... what was it? My AI couldn't find it in any known database."
This was one of the points he cared about most. The energy field could be studied, the Beyonder creature could be analyzed, but a brand new "language system" with supernatural power implied a complete, unheard-of knowledge system.
This was an undiscovered gold mine.
Lin Huai met his gaze calmly, his answer leaving no opening: "Hermes Language. It is the key to communicating with the 'rules,' Mr. Stark, not for 'conversation.' You don't need to know its meaning. You only need to know it yields the results you require."
With one sentence, he blocked all of Tony's follow-up questions.
Tony stared at him for a few seconds. Far from being angry, his grin widened even more happily.
Having thresholds, barriers, and core knowledge not easily obtained... now that resembled a truly advanced discipline!
"Good, I like these rules." His tone regained its commanding, unquestionable edge. "You've prescribed the medicine. Now, it's time for Dr. Stark to prepare it! Happy, let's go!"
Tony turned and got into the car. The Audi R8's engine roared as it sped away, leaving behind the mess and his newly established ally.
That same afternoon, Stark Tower.
"Jarvis."
"Yes, sir."
"Archive all data acquired today, highest encryption level. Create a new independent file. Store the audio of that unknown language just recorded in it, codename—'hermes script.' Continue running background comparisons in all linguistic databases for me, exhaust every algorithmic model!"
"Understood, sir. 'hermes script' file created."
"Good." A gleam shone in Tony's eyes. "Now, pull up all blueprints for the Queens groundwater system and the city power grid! Our 'Dr. Lin' has finished the diagnosis. It's time for 'Engineer Stark' to solve the problem!"
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Also, create a new project plan, codename: 'Deep Sea Fishing.' Target: The Lava Octopus in the Bermuda Triangle, and... plan a close encounter with a meteorite. Bring up the technical reserves for the 'poseidon' and the 'Earth Walker.'"
"Once we finish cleaning up the sewers in Queens... it'll be time to pick up an expensive delivery for our new friend."