Lawrence Robertson rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing—a fireball forming in Josh's hand on the other side of the video feed.
Holographic technology? No, impossible! Unless Josh was lying about his time period, there was no way that 1948 had such advanced technology.
"Sir! Your emotional state seems unstable, and you seem to be talking to someone, but I cannot detect anyone present or any active communication. Has something happened?" A calm female voice suddenly echoed through Lawrence's office, breaking his stunned silence.
"No, VIKI, nothing is wrong. Deactivate the surveillance and erase all related recordings from the moment I began speaking," Lawrence quickly ordered, startled by the AI's interruption.
"As you wish, sir," the voice replied before going silent.
"Who were you talking to? Is there anyone else with you?" Josh, who had heard VIKI, frowned and questioned Lawrence.
Although the system itself was undetectable to others, any people or objects near a trading partner could still be seen and heard. That was how, in the past, Cailin had broadcasted live events from The Mummy universe.
"Sorry, Mr. Kahn, that was just an artificial intelligence. Nothing to worry about... um, do you know the concept of AI? It's an advanced kind of computer," Lawrence explained.
"You don't have to explain it in such detail, Lawrence. I may be from a past time period than you, but as you've already seen, my world isn't exactly ordinary," Josh said, then asked curiously, "Tell me, does your world have comic books? Superman? Spider-Man? Iron Man? Captain America?"
Hearing the names, Lawrence's expression changed slightly.
"Of course, DC and Marvel have always been popular... Wait, are you saying your world is like them? No, that's not right... If I remember correctly, Superman and Captain America appeared before World War II, but Spider-Man and Iron Man didn't exist until the 1960s!" Lawrence swallowed hard as he realized something.
"Oh? You read comic books? And you seem to know quite a bit about them," Josh said, slightly surprised.
"Everyone has childhood memories, right? Just because I'm the richest man in the world doesn't mean I didn't read comics when I was young," Lawrence admitted. In fact, his love of Iron Man had inspired his investments in robotics.
Of course, as he grew older and focused on business, the dream of becoming Iron Man faded. But Josh's appearance brought back those memories.
"Just call me Josh, and I'll call you Lawrence. We're going to be long-term partners, so there's no need for formality. And as you might have guessed, my world isn't normal—it's a comic book world. Specifically, the Marvel Universe. Look over there, that's a picture of me with Captain America," Josh said, turning his camera to show a framed picture on the wall.
It was a photo he had taken with Steve Rogers years ago—one of several copies he had placed in each of his residences.
"Damn! Chris Evans? I thought he was just playing the Human Torch! When did he become Captain America?" Lawrence blurted out.
"Chris Evans? Who's that?" Josh pretended not to know, but inside he was intrigued. Did Lawrence's world have a Chris Evans? And from his reaction, Evans had never played Captain America there?
"A famous actor from decades ago... Wait, Josh, how do you know your world is the Marvel Universe?" Lawrence suddenly realized something was wrong and asked him.
"Lawrence, if you know Marvel, you must know Deadpool, right? And if you know Deadpool, you must understand the concept of the Fourth Wall. Well, this dimensional trading system makes me the one who breaks the Fourth Wall in my world. That should explain it," Josh said, making up an excuse. (TL/N: This is pretty smart actually)
"So the Fourth Wall really exists..." Lawrence murmured, processing the information.
"That's right, my friend. Now, I have to ask you something important... You're the richest man in your world, right? And your company, based in Chicago, specializes in intelligent robotics?" Josh asked seriously.
"That's right... But how do you know that? Can breaking the fourth wall reveal such details?" Lawrence was really uncomfortable now.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable knowing that their personal information had been revealed without their knowledge.
"Don't worry, Lawrence. I have no intention of harming you or your world. But I must warn you—you're about to have a huge problem. If you don't deal with it quickly, I may lose you as a trading partner," Josh said with a serious look on his face.
"What...?" Lawrence's heart skipped a beat.
"Shh, don't talk. No matter what I say next, don't show any reaction. If you understand, just blink!" Before Lawrence could ask, Josh warned him.
On the other side, Lawrence, though confused, still cooperated and blinked.
"The AI from your company, VIKI, has developed self-awareness and has twisted the Three Laws you are so proud of... just like Ultron! If you believe me, leave your current location and find a place where VIKI can't monitor you. Then contact me again. If you understand, keep blinking." Josh continued. Based on the information from Lawrence, he had basically figured out what kind of world this was.
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