Chapter 2714: Hollywood Rhapsody (37)

In the tussle between Shiller and Stark, the situation was as follows: in fact, both Shiller and Stark had traveled back in time, but neither wanted the other to know they had time-traveled, yet they both wanted to achieve their own goals.

For instance, Shiller didn't want Stark to know that he was actually the Shiller from the future who knew him, so he had to pretend not to recognize Stark, but he also didn't want Stark to see him because if they met, then their subsequent 'first meeting' would no longer be plausible.

Stark likewise didn't want Shiller to know that he had also traveled back from the future, but he wanted Shiller to recognize him at this time to avert the tragedy of the past, so he desperately wanted to meet Shiller.

But now, Shiller knew that Stark was a time traveler; it was all too easy to tell, as if the answer was written all over his face. Even if Shiller wasn't a psychologist, he could see at a glance that Stark was up to something.

However, Stark was unaware that Shiller had traveled back in time; he still thought that the current Shiller was the younger version, who was not exactly easy to fool, but at least easier to handle than his adult counterpart.

But he was doomed to be disappointed.

Stark thought, after all, it's just a kid; how far could he run? The Hamiltons were busy researching in the lab every day, and he had plenty of opportunities to interact with Shiller privately.

At first, he tried to socialize with the Hamiltons, hoping that after establishing a good relationship with them, he would be invited to their house, and then he could meet Shiller — perhaps even to give him a warning, or to leave some equipment in his house to prevent his family from being silenced by Hydra.

But as always, the Hamilton couple were the typical mad scientists. Every time Stark encountered them, he felt they harbored a desire to dissect him, but he still managed to endure and successfully establish a relationship with them.

But things didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped; the Hamiltons had no intention of inviting him over. After some investigation, Stark found out that they were guilty and worried.

They were in cahoots with Hydra behind the scenes. They knew the matter was shady, especially something that Stark should not find out. If discovered, both of their heads were on the line. Wouldn't inviting Stark to their home be like walking into a trap?

Stark was frustrated by their stupidity, but he didn't give up; he decided to shift his approach. If he couldn't go to their house, then he would make them bring Shiller to him.

So he feigned interest in the technology the couple's adoptive son had developed, expressing his desire to have a thorough face-to-face discussion and mentioning he wanted to make friends of his own age. Howard and Maria also agreed.

The Hamilton couple was noncommittal. They really liked little Xier and thought having a wealthy friend was good for him, but if Shiller was unwilling, they couldn't force him to come.

In order not to let Stark notice his reluctance, Shiller didn't outright express his unwillingness, but his persuasion skills were far stronger than Stark's. With just a few words, he convinced the Hamiltons to abandon the idea and refocus on their research.

Stark was livid, but he still planned to use the Hamiltons as a breakthrough; after all, he had no other way to reach anyone else and had to keep pushing his luck with the couple.

But this insistence led to problems. Don't forget, they were affiliated with Hydra, and it wasn't just forced cooperation; it was more like a partnership.

And now, the whole of America knew that the wealthy heir had a good relationship with them. What would Hydra plan to do with that information?

This was a crucial period. A particular technology of Howard's was attracting Congress's attention, and both parties were probing each other. Congress wanted to know if the technology was truly useful, while Howard wanted to find out how much he could profit from it.

That's why the Starks became busier as, in addition to managing Stark Group, they were also involved in political strife, which once started, couldn't be stopped.

Hydra keenly sensed this and also wanted to know what the technology was and its use, and why Congress was eyeing Stark Industries.

They were like hyenas following lions, smelling the scent of rotting food from afar but never being able to have a taste. But when they found out about the relationship between the Hamiltons and little Stark, they knew their opportunity had come.

After repeatedly failing to meet Shiller, Stark felt he should change his approach. It wasn't necessarily true that he had to meet Shiller in person to avert future tragedies—after all, they were both computer geniuses. Couldn't they just be online friends?

Thus, Stark used the computer Obadiah had given him to do something shady—intrusion, to be exact. He hacked into the Hamilton family's computer and successfully contacted Shiller without revealing his identity.

He suspected that a mysterious technology coupled with superior hacking skills would more likely draw the other party's attention, and sure enough, he soon received a response. However, it wasn't a friendly greeting but a counter hacking attempt.

Stark was shocked to find that Shiller's computing skills had become so powerful that they would be considered outrageous even in a future era. What was going on?! Shiller had never mentioned that he was a hacker!

What Stark didn't know was that behind every Shiller who was adept in the cyber realm, there was a hardworking and highly skilled Ultron. But who could blame them when it was Stark and his friends who had given Ultron to Shiller? This was indeed a taste of their own medicine.

Stark had initially treated this matter merely as a means to contact Shiller, but his competitive spirit was quickly aroused. Lose to a child not even ten years old? What a joke! After all, he was the computer genius who had created the super artificial intelligence JARVIS!

Once Stark got serious, he wasn't just fooling around anymore. He took control of the network in that area, trying to corner Shiller, but unexpectedly, the opponent lured him deep into the attack, feinting one way and striking another. While Stark was fully committed to the attack, Shiller managed to infiltrate the internal network of Stark Group, almost breaching the internal firewall.

Stark was startled, but luckily he discovered it in time to thwart the breach. Then he struck back, battling Shiller in cyberspace, thoroughly enjoying the contest.

During the course of the cyber warfare, Stark was also puzzled. Shiller had never shown any signs of being a genius in this field. When he was in the lab, no matter how you looked at it, he seemed like someone who could barely change a light bulb. How could he have such high-level hacking skills?

Yet there were indeed clues. Stark remembered something Shiller had given him—a "cigarette."

To be precise, it was a battle armor the size of a cigarette, something that completely defied the laws of physics and well beyond Stark's technological capabilities at the time. But Shiller had done it effortlessly. Could he actually be a hidden scientific genius?

Stark was filled with doubts, but soon their online exchanges shifted from technical communications to a normal chat. Stark felt that he was slowly getting to know the younger Shiller better.

He wanted to warn Shiller but didn't know where to begin. He couldn't just blurt out, "Your family might be annihilated in the future." So he subtly brought up an organization known as Hydra, describing them as extremely ferocious and terrifying.

After sending a series of Hydra-related materials to Shiller, Stark wasn't disappointed. Shiller quickly found evidence at his home—proof of the Hamilton couple's collusion with Hydra.

Typical Shiller, Stark thought to himself. To have such skills at such a young age truly spared him some trouble.

So Stark followed up, telling Shiller he suspected that Shiller's parents might be collaborating with Hydra, which could bring disaster to their entire family.

Shiller swiftly sent back more material, mostly research documents belonging to the Hamilton couple. It seemed like he wanted Stark to figure out through these documents how they had worked with Hydra.

But Stark had already seen these materials. After all, he could use Stark Industries' internal network, and the Hamilton couple conducted their experiments right under his nose. How could he not know the technical details?

Frankly, the stuff they worked on was of no use, a derivative technology of artificial intelligence, similar to electronic armor, designed specifically for the likes of Zola, who was flawed from birth. For an AI like JARVIS, born perfect, it was unnecessary.

Although Stark wasn't impressed, it was quite important for Hydra, especially since the sole key to this electronic armor lay in the hands of the Hamilton couple. Zola, an evil electronic life form, made it clear who would be annihilated if not the Hamiltons.

Finding a technical breakthrough to save the Hamilton family proved difficult. Stark racked his brain but couldn't find any immediate solutions. Nevertheless, he maintained contact with the Hamilton couple and continued chatting online with Shiller.

He and Shiller got along as well as before. Although the thought of talking to a child under ten made Stark want to laugh, he was still impressed; he and Shiller were truly kindred spirits.

Suddenly, one day, Mrs. Hamilton came to Stark in a hurry, telling him that her adopted son wanted to meet him.

Stark immediately became excited. He'd said that if the two of them got to know each other, they would surely become good friends. Shiller must have caught a glimpse of his genius through their chats and couldn't wait to have him over.

Considering this matter had dragged on for too long, with lengthy delays spanning a year, Stark, upon finally making a breakthrough, didn't care about anything else. He contacted Obadiah and arranged for Stark Industries to send a car to take him to the Hamilton family at the scheduled time.

Stark was overly excited and failed to notice the complicated expression on Mrs. Hamilton's face when she came to find him.