Tony, Long Time No See

Tony stared wide-eyed at the man and woman not far away. At that moment, he genuinely wondered if he was hallucinating.

Because that man in the distance was Noah, the person Tony had gone to London to visit several times without ever meeting!

That appearance—short pale blond hair, a face only slightly less handsome than his own, and those azure blue eyes… Wait, how had one of this guy’s eyes turned red?

Of course, that wasn’t the important part. The important part was that Tony could never mistake this guy for someone else!

There was a very distinctive aura about him, the kind Tony believed all wizards possessed. It absolutely would not allow someone like him to go unnoticed.

What confused Tony was that wasn’t this guy completely uninterested in women?

Tony had WeChat for the wizarding world, and there had been plenty of talk there about Noah’s connection with that little girl from the movie—Hermione Granger from the London Ministry of Magic.

Neither of them had denied it, but as an experienced man, how could Tony fail to see that Noah was not actually interested?

Or rather, in Tony’s eyes, Noah was someone slightly more capable than himself but utterly uninterested in women.

He himself merely had not had that kind of thought for the time being—no, that wasn’t right. Tony felt that Pepper Potts had been steadily finding her way deeper into his heart.

But Noah was different. This guy completely ignored every direct and indirect hint, stubbornly remaining single through sheer ability and utterly dismissing the opposite sex.

Yet now, this very guy had a woman by his side, and their relationship seemed almost excessively close?

That made Tony hesitate. Was this guy really Noah?

Or was he merely someone who looked rather similar?

Looking at the woman again, Tony figured she could be considered quite beautiful.

But the somewhat chilly aura around her made Tony uncomfortable. It felt like encountering a snake—cold and dangerous.

After hesitating for a long time, Tony considered whether he should go over and say hello.

If he got the wrong person and the other man merely resembled Noah, it would be rather awkward.

But if he did not go over, Tony would not be satisfied either.

After thinking it over for a long time, Tony ultimately decided to go take a look.

This was his Stark World Expo, after all. Even if he mistook someone else for Noah, it would not be a big deal.

So what if he embarrassed himself? Tony did not think anyone would care. That guy might even be happier for it.

As he slowly walked over, Tony was still thinking about how to start a conversation with the mysterious pair when he heard the mysterious man speak. "Nagini, see? Isn’t he coming over? My magic worked perfectly."

Tony froze when he heard that voice, then immediately smiled. "Damn, I thought I had the wrong person. But what do you mean, your magic?"

"Clearly, you did not mistake me for someone else."

Noah turned around and took a sip of juice from his glass. "Don’t worry about the magic. Good to see you, dying man. How should I put this? I heard you’d come looking for me many times as soon as I got back, so I came over to take a look."

"Damn it, who said I’m dying?" Tony shot back unhappily, though he lacked confidence and even deliberately looked around behind him.

"Don’t worry, no one else can hear what we’re saying." Noah spoke casually. "And I’m not talking nonsense. You really are dying. How does that feel, buddy?"

Tony let out a breath, then said with a stern face, "If you came here to predict my death, then I don’t think that’s necessary. Damn it, my situation is indeed pretty bad right now, but it’s not as bad as you say!"

"Is that so?" Noah drained his juice in one gulp. "Then I’ll be going. I was planning to help you out, but it seems attending your funeral would be better."

"Wait." Tony froze, then immediately grabbed Noah, who was about to leave. "Don’t talk nonsense about funerals. You said you could help me?"

"That’s right. That is indeed the case."

"Damn it, I think we can have a proper talk!"

"Talk about what? Aren’t you not that bad?"

"No, no, Mr. Phileas, I’m in terrible shape. I feel like I’m about to die!"

Tony was truly anxious now. Of course, he knew exactly what condition he was in.

And honestly, Tony was deeply desperate right now. No matter how confident he was that he could do something, in the end he had discovered that he still could not solve the problem.

But the mysterious wizard before him seemed able to help him resolve his trouble?

Tony felt like a man who had fallen into a river and suddenly saw a plank of wood drift before him. He would not care whether that plank could bear his weight.

The only thing he wanted was to try it quickly and see whether that plank could save his life.

In his eyes, Noah was that plank—or rather, the magic Noah possessed was the plank that could save his life. No matter what, he wanted to give it a try.

As for things like magic research meaning "studying magical elements," or "throwing dead animal corpses and rotting plants into a cauldron," he no longer cared about any of that.

As long as it could help him, even if he had to eat dead rats, it would not be a problem!

"Don’t panic, Tony." Noah smiled indifferently. "Do you expect me to do something to you here? Besides, there’s more than one way to save you. I think we should find somewhere to have a proper talk."

"Of course!" Tony nodded seriously. This really was not a very suitable place.

In his haste, Tony turned around and prepared to pull Noah away. But he soon seemed to remember something, immediately stopped, turned back, and looked Noah up and down for quite a while.

"What is it?" Noah gave Tony a strange look.

"You just said you used magic?" Tony tilted his head. "I was originally planning to leave, but for some reason I decided to come back. I thought it was just psychological suggestion."

"It was psychological suggestion." Noah nodded unconcernedly. "Asgardian magic. A minor spell, but very useful."

"Asgard? What kind of place is that? The legendary realm of the gods?"

"If you think they are gods, then they are gods. Of course, Odin is probably truly a god. As for the others…"

"Damn, such a place really exists? And how long have you been here? You couldn’t possibly have cast that spell without a target, right?"

"Of course. We’ve been here for a while and had our fill of food and drink. Why?"

Why? Tony rolled his eyes. You had been watching me here?

Wouldn’t it have been better to just say hello? Did you really have to cast some magic?

Was that necessary?

But Tony did not intend to say anything more. He was finally relieved now.

So it was not that he had wanted to come back and have fun with some hot girls. He had merely been controlled by some damn magic.

Yes, that was it!

Tony nodded seriously to himself. This would also make it easier to explain things to Pepper Potts if she really found out.

Noah had no interest in playing any game of guessing what Tony was thinking. With a snap of his fingers, he immediately dispelled the Expulsion Curse around them, and people soon noticed Tony Stark again.

Noah, meanwhile, led Nagini straight toward the exit. He was not Tony’s bodyguard, so he certainly would not help Tony out of a tight spot.

However, Tony did not make Noah and Nagini wait long. He came running out in a flash.

As for the people looking for Tony?

There was no need to think about them at all. In Tony’s eyes, they were just random passersby. The only thing that annoyed him slightly was that a woman serving a summons had stopped him and delayed him for a while.

"Damn it, those bastards still haven’t given up on my armor!" Tony said with an unhappy expression from the driver’s seat. "If something similar happened in your wizarding world, what would you do?"

"Sorry, that’s a question I really find difficult to answer." Noah stroked his chin and only said that after thinking for a long while.

In the wizarding world, a problem like this truly did not seem likely to cause much trouble.

A wizard’s weapons were probably wands and enchanted equipment, but honestly, those things could basically be bought.

Moreover, wizards—especially powerful wizards—were rarely that interested in magical equipment.

What interested them was usually something special, such as items that increased their magical power or mental strength. So weapons were truly unlikely to trouble wizards.

As for those special items, Noah had some experience with them himself—meditation.

But because Noah’s status was special, at least no one had ever made a move against him—not to mention that Noah had gone to hide in Kamar-Taj ahead of time, and he had a super wizard as his teacher.

"All right, forget I said anything." Tony sighed. "Damn it, I still have to make a trip to Washington. It’s really irritating."

"You can choose not to go." Noah spoke without turning his head. New York’s night scenery was quite nice, and Noah felt that watching the city streets rushing past outside the window was also a pleasant experience.

"Forget it." Tony shook his head. "I may be rich and handsome, but those things can’t free me from the responsibilities and obligations I have to bear. On the contrary, they can sometimes become sturdy shackles. When you’re in a circle, you have to follow its rules, understand, Mr. Wizard?"

"Of course I understand, but sometimes, when your status becomes exceptional enough, you can break free from those shackles."

Noah gave a light laugh. "Don’t forget, the wizarding world is the same. Most of my friends work at the Ministry of Magic, and I personally went through something that could be considered a war. Your reasoning is useless to me. I might understand these things even better than you do."

"All right, Mr. Wizard, then let’s not talk about that. Do you have any ideas about my condition?"

"It’s simple. I suggest you completely remove the device in your chest."