After returning home, Ethan Chen finally got some well-deserved rest and ended up sleeping until noon the next day.
"The Arc Reactor tech finally broke through!"
Upon waking up, Ethan received some exciting news. Just before he fell asleep, the Arc Reactor technology he'd been working on had reached a breakthrough.
Now, to clarify—Ethan hadn't unlocked the complete miniature reactor technology like Tony Stark's famous chest piece, but he had mastered the industrial-scale version. That alone marked a major technological leap forward.
Originally, the large Arc Reactor concept had been designed by Howard Stark, but due to technological limitations of his era, it remained a blueprint dream. Later, Stark Industries revived the project mostly for exhibition purposes—something flashy to show off, but not functional for real-world application.
It wasn't until Tony Stark refined it years later that the Arc Reactor became a practical and sustainable energy source. Ethan's breakthrough followed a similar path—his version was now viable and capable of generating usable energy.
In simple terms, once manufactured, the Arc Reactor would provide a virtually unlimited energy supply.
This was revolutionary for business and national infrastructure alike.
Beyond his own entrepreneurial ambitions, Ethan understood the broader implications. A reliable, self-sustaining energy source like this could help resolve China's domestic energy crisis. It would be a major milestone in the country's quest for technological and energy independence.
"No luck on the new element though…"
The new element was what Tony Stark used to stabilize the miniature Arc Reactor in his chest and prevent palladium poisoning. That specific breakthrough hadn't been part of Ethan's success this time.
"The new element was mainly created to save Tony's life anyway. I'll probably need to unlock the miniature reactor technology to really get that far."
Unfortunately, the system Ethan relied on to trigger these technological leaps only allowed for breakthroughs in a specific domain once. In theory, he couldn't just spam advancements in reactor tech. If he wanted another leap forward, he'd need to either go deeper into related tech areas or wait.
"Maybe I'll just wait until Tony advances more and analyze his methods."
It was a viable strategy, but waiting wasn't Ethan's strong suit. What he lacked more than anything right now was time.
In just four years, 2012 would arrive—the year of the first Avengers film event. That was when the alien Chitauri army invaded Earth through a portal in New York, shaking global politics and military alliances. It was also the moment when the United States, with the Avengers at its side, cemented itself as the unrivaled superpower.
This was the outcome Ethan wanted to prevent at all costs. A world where the U.S. alone held dominance was one where every other country, including China, was relegated to second-tier status.
For China to stand tall on the global stage, Ethan needed to seize the moment and display its strength during that pivotal event.
"Iron Man's armor is basically an advanced exoskeleton. Honestly, with my current tech reserves, I could build something similar. Especially since I already have the core energy source. Creating a knockoff Iron Man suit shouldn't be too hard."
Ethan had acquired tech blueprints and design insights from both Hammer Industries and Stark Industries—two of the biggest players in weapons and military tech. With knowledge from both, building battle armor was technically within reach.
"Still… I don't have an advanced AI system like Jarvis. That's going to hold me back."
Jarvis wasn't just a voice assistant. It was Tony Stark's tactical brain, managing the armor's interface, decisions, and complex maneuvers. Without Jarvis, an Iron Man suit was just a high-tech tank—not a true marvel.
"Let's be real. With what I've got now, I'd end up building something closer to Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger suit. Big, clunky, and definitely not cool."
Without Stark's next-level tech—like nano-suit compression or advanced materials—the best Ethan could manage was a heavy-duty, oversized mech suit. And without any AI to help control it, even that would be a nightmare to pilot effectively.
"So yeah, the Iron Army project? On hold for now."
"Let's focus on growing Xiaomu Technologies first."
Xiaomu Technologies, Ethan's tech startup, was still waiting on a much-needed investment from Stark Industries. Ethan wasn't too concerned about making money from smartphones—his goal was rapid growth and technological relevance.
"Obadiah tried to take 80% of Xiaomu Mobile's shares last time. Seriously? Stark Industries is greedy as hell."
Ethan knew full well that Stark Industries' real goal wasn't just investing. They wanted to use Xiaomu phones as a trojan horse to sneak Jarvis into the Chinese market. Still, he agreed to the deal—some might call that betrayal, but Ethan had bigger plans.
"Fine. Let's see who ends up getting played."
Ethan wasn't naïve. He was betting on his own vision and the backing of the Huaqiangbei tech ecosystem—China's answer to Silicon Valley. That combination gave him the confidence to take risks.
Whoever underestimated him would regret it soon enough.
In terms of smartphone development, Ethan intended to follow the blueprint laid out by Apple in his previous life.
Step one: eliminate competitors by releasing a revolutionary device. He planned to go directly after the big names of the early smartphone era—companies like Nokia—and knock them off their pedestal.
As for product design, he'd model it closely after the timeline he remembered.
Ethan had already sketched out a company logo: a stylized white letter "mu" on a soft pink background. The design resembled a rounded quadrilateral—something deliberately distinct and modern, avoiding the need to later hire expensive designers to give it "rounder edges."
The phone's branding would be equally simple: "mu" laser-engraved on the back casing.
In any reality, the smartphone game came down to three things: user experience, hardware power, and aesthetic appeal. Nail those three, and you control the market. With his memory of past smartphone evolutions, Ethan was confident that mimicking proven designs could set trends here too.
"Truth be told, everything needed to make a smartphone already exists. I could have the first-gen phone assembled tomorrow."
The parts were all available, and Android had already been developed by Google. With a few tweaks to optimize the interface, Ethan could launch a new flagship device.
"And even if I hit any snags, I've got the Huaqiangbei system to patch over the problems. Building phones is honestly the easy part."
With everything else in place, all Ethan needed now was that Stark investment. Once the funds hit, the first generation of Xiaomu smartphones would hit the market.
And when they did, the global tech scene would feel the impact.