As Earth gradually receded behind him, Nolan began preparing his experiments.
The research conducted by Stark Industries had little in common with his own. Naturally, their paths rarely crossed.
Once in space, everyone became absorbed in their respective tasks. Space travel was no easy feat, especially in this era.
In his home universe, over time, space travel had become fairly common. Many tech companies possessed the capability, especially after events like the Battle of New York and the Dark Elves' invasion. Those experiences provided benchmarks for rapid technological advancement.
Here, however, the Avengers had yet to form, Tony Stark had only recently become Iron Man, and even the Fantastic Four hadn't officially come together. Without external pressure, the technological boom simply wouldn't occur. In this world, space travel remained an extraordinary event.
Nolan calculated silently. A solar flare was expected to hit Earth in two days.
Despite Nolan's absence, work on Big White continued smoothly. Before its release, anticipation was high, but most assumed the robot's technology was ordinary and its functions easily replicated, so sales would be limited.
They were soon proven wrong.
Even after overestimating Big White's pre-sale numbers, the actual figures shocked everyone.
"Eight hundred thousand units!"
The tall blonde secretary's eyes widened.
"I wonder if the boss sees this, will he go crazy?" she muttered, a hint of excitement on her face. Nolan was about to become wealthy. She couldn't help but imagine the possibilities as she adjusted her posture.
Beyond Rock Technologies, competitors were equally stunned.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark sipped coffee from Pepper Potts while flipping through a magazine. Though still a playboy, he had already been captured by Pepper's charm.
"Tony, have you heard about Rock Technologies?" Pepper asked.
Tony glanced at her.
"Rock Technologies? Oh, right, that Nolan Rock guy's company. Honestly, I regret letting him on my ship. It was a waste of time. Uh… sorry, what were you asking?"
Pepper rolled her eyes.
"You know about Rock Technologies' Big White robot, right?"
Though phrased as a question, her tone carried certainty. Stark had his flaws, but he took research seriously. If he agreed to collaborate with Nolan Rock, he would have at least glanced at the company's history.
"Of course," he replied, dismissively.
"That idea is absurd. The robot's technology is standard mechanical engineering, nothing advanced. The only noteworthy aspect is the power system, and even that isn't impressive. What's worse, the concept is extremely common. Nolan Rock actually made this the company's main strategy. That idiot might go bankrupt over it," Stark scoffed.
Pepper, unimpressed, countered calmly, "The pre-sale numbers for Big White are already out."
"Three thousand units?" Stark assumed a fair estimate, setting aside personal bias.
"No, eight hundred thousand."
"That's impossible!" Stark exclaimed. The pre-sale was only the first day. Considering Rock Technologies' size and the robot's concept, selling even one hundred thousand units would have been extraordinary.
Eight hundred thousand was beyond belief.
Pepper's eyes sparkled with admiration. If even Stark found it unbelievable, the rest of the industry would be flabbergasted. Big White had achieved a miracle.
Stark's face darkened. He hated unpredictable competitors. Who were these people buying Big White? Mad, perhaps. But reality was reality.
At Doom Technologies, Susan Stone sat at the dining table reading the paper.
"Big White's pre-sale is eight hundred thousand units? That's an incredible number," she thought. Whoever had developed this robot was about to shake up the tech industry. As a secretary deeply familiar with technology trends, she understood the implications.
Reed Richards also received the news. His brow furrowed.
"Incredible," he muttered.
"What is it?" Ben Grimm, busy repairing a switchboard, asked.
"Someone is selling a product with no real technological innovation and still convincing a huge number of people to buy it. But never mind, it's not important," Reed said, shaking his head.
"We need to reach out to other investors," he added. Despite contacting many companies, results were poor. Many rejected him without even seeing the owner.
Ben hesitated. He respected Reed's talent but knew Reed's blunt personality might be off-putting to others.
"Maybe I should try? I don't know the details of the research, but all we need is a chance to meet the boss," Ben offered.
Reed paused, then nodded. "Alright, maybe someone else can get a different result." He didn't care about networking. He was a genius; his work spoke for itself.
Ben reviewed the list of potential investors and decided to focus on Doom Technologies. Unlike Reed, Ben's approach lacked forcefulness, so the file was accepted without hesitation. He quickly moved on to other companies, hoping for more opportunities.
"Research on the latent logic of human genetics?" Susan Stone noticed the document in the office. She didn't usually pay attention, but the researcher's name caught her eye: Reed Richards. Probably not just one person, she thought. She passed the file to Victor Von Doom.
"Victor, maybe you should take a look at this," she said.
Victor raised an eyebrow. He knew what Reed Richards had been working on and was surprised that Reed had come proactively.
"I have a meeting soon. We'll discuss this later," Victor replied, not wanting to talk about it.
Later, in the boardroom, the directors were ready for confrontation.
"Victor, Doom Technologies' profits are declining, and the ship project has nearly drained the company," a shareholder complained.
Victor knew the man was challenging him, hoping to push him out.
"Trust my abilities. This is only a temporary crisis," Victor said confidently.
The shareholder scoffed. "We've trusted you many times. If we do again, I doubt the company's future."
Other directors' expressions shifted.
"Victor, what's the plan? Show us hope for the future."
Victor remained silent. He had no plan. Investment required opportunity, and the ship project was a failed venture. His position as CEO was at risk.
Suddenly, Reed Richards' experimental plan flashed in his mind. A smile spread across his face.
"Of course. Rest assured, I have a foolproof plan," Victor said. The directors relaxed.
Five days into space, Nolan finally encountered the solar flare he had been waiting for.
As the solar flare's energy surged, Nolan activated his gamma experiment apparatus and compared the data.
Moments later, a wild grin spread across his face.
It worked. The frogs and mice in his experiments showed varying degrees of mutation. Most had mutated according to his expectations.
In other words, gamma-induced mutation was indeed controllable.
Though full control was still far off, Nolan knew he could take a calculated risk. If he could induce the mutations he wanted, coming to this world might finally give him the true power he had always lacked.
The thought alone sent his heart racing with excitement.
After a long moment, he suppressed his exhilaration. This was just the beginning. Getting on that superpowered ship would be the real challenge.
And controllability was still only a tendency, far from complete success. He had to be patient, deliberate.
Nolan reassured himself. But one thing was certain: he was on the path to success.
The space journey ended perfectly, yielding exactly what he wanted. The next step was to exercise his true strategic genius.