The sudden burst of speed from the nanotech armor once again plunged the entire Aston Heavy Industries suit division into stunned silence.
Astor had no words to describe how he felt. "I don't understand anymore. What's the principle behind this acceleration?"
It was rare for Astor to admit in front of so many people that he simply couldn't figure something out.
Yet none of his colleagues behind him felt embarrassed. After all, everyone shared the same feeling.
One colleague smiled bitterly. "This is completely different from the racing games I used to play. It's like activating nitrous boost!"
Inside Norland Base.
Guerino frowned as he observed a model of the arc reactor. It was based on the first-generation reactor Tony had built for his armor. Originally, it had been intended as part of the adaptation process for creating a new element. Now, however, that project had almost been abandoned.
"I believe the law of conservation of energy still applies, whether in the previous era or on present-day Terra. So where does this sudden surge of power come from?"
One team member spoke up. "I noticed Tony's nanotech armor has several glowing modules on the shoulders and waist. They could be a new type of energy reactor."
Guerino raised an eyebrow. "A distributed energy supply system? That would be even more difficult. Even with nanotechnology assisting, achieving something like that shouldn't be possible."
He pondered silently. The more he thought about it, the more astonished he became. Distributing energy sounded simple on paper, but dynamically regulating power throughout the armor in an instant, under constantly changing conditions, was incredibly difficult. At least, it was far beyond current technology.
"Cutting-edge technology truly is the future." Guerino sighed with emotion. He couldn't help wondering how much of this technology had already appeared in that world.
At this moment, however, everyone's attention was fixed on Tony and Strange.
Inside the Administration.
Johan looked grim. "The Time Stone is with Strange, and now he has been captured. The biggest issue is the overwhelming gap in strength between him and that giant monster."
Hawking said solemnly, "What about the rest of the Avengers? There are still Sorcerers left. Wong is still there, so we don't need to panic just yet. Let's wait and see."
Tonio nodded. "That giant monster has to be stopped. Otherwise, once the full-scale invasion begins, fighting so many enemies at once will be nearly impossible."
A gloomy silence settled over the entire office.
The live image continued to flicker.
The enormous ring-shaped spacecraft had already risen high into the sky, and countless devices inside its inner ring were operating at maximum speed. Tony accelerated after it, when his eyes suddenly narrowed. Clinging to the outer hull of the spacecraft was Parker. He was hanging there precariously, and it looked incredibly dangerous.
The moment Tony spotted him, he immediately ordered, "Unlock 17:A."
Back at the Avengers Compound, a hidden hatch suddenly opened. Numerous compact equipment pods shot into the sky at incredible speed.
Parker was still trying to climb higher when Tony called out, "Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you."
Parker shouted, "But you said save the wizard!"
Grabbing onto the hull with all his strength, Parker gasped for breath. "I can't breathe."
Tony stared at him. "We're too high up. You're running out of air."
Parker nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense."
Parker's vision had already become blurry, and his fingers loosened. He began plummeting down.
"That's way too high!"
"I can't even look down from that height!"
"What is Tony doing? What's that thing flying toward him?"
"Lack of oxygen is making Parker dizzy! If Tony misses him, he'll fall to his death!"
"Tony just ordered a command. Is this Spider-Man's new armor?"
"It looks like another one of Tony's remote-deployment armor pods."
"But they're so high up! Can armor really be equipped midair?"
"He should've just caught Parker, sent him back to the ground, then continued chasing the ship."
"If he did that, the spaceship would've escaped."
"Look! He really let go!"
The instant Parker released his grip, he dropped straight toward the ground. At that very moment, the equipment pod that had just flown past Tony suddenly accelerated twice in rapid succession. With two explosive bursts of speed, the pod caught up to Parker instantly. Then, its shell burst open. A palm-sized piece of nanometal shot forward, attaching directly to Parker's back, and electric currents crackled.
Countless layers of nanotechnology rapidly expanded across his entire body. Brilliant shades of blue and red intertwined, forming an imposing new suit. In the blink of an eye, the nanotech enveloped Parker. His consciousness immediately cleared, so he reached out instinctively and effortlessly grabbed onto the side of the spacecraft. Planting both feet firmly against the hull, he stood upright as the brand-new Nano Spider Suit gleamed brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Parker couldn't help but exclaim, "Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!"
Tony flew upward, lowered his head, and smiled. "Happy trails, kid. Friday, send him home."
"Yep." The words had barely left his mouth when he deployed the parachute behind Parker. The tremendous drag instantly caught him, pulling him safely into position.
"Oh, come on!" Peter exclaimed.
The chat exploded once again.
"It's a Nano Suit! Tony actually made one for Spider-Man!"
"That looks so freaking cool!"
"Tony is literally handing out legendary equipment!"
"Woooo! I want one too!"
"The ultimate pay-to-win sponsor has arrived!"
"Thanks to our generous donor for the Nano Armor!"
"I seriously want to know what goes on inside Tony's head. How does he keep inventing so much equipment?"
"By the way, do you think Tony made armor for Pepper, too?"
"No way. Tony would never let Pepper fight in a situation like this."
"So awesome!"
"Boom!"
Inside Aston Heavy Industries.
Astor and the others stood frozen in disbelief. Spider-Man's armor was fundamentally different from Tony's. At least according to everything they knew, its entire structure was completely unique. Moreover, it relied far more heavily on Parker's own extraordinary abilities. This Spider-Man armor had once again completely eclipsed everything they had achieved.
"I kind of want to quit my job..." Someone muttered quietly. To everyone's surprise, many people silently agreed.
However, what happened next completely shattered everyone's composure.
Tony flew to the side of the spacecraft. A large amount of nanomaterial flowed over his right arm, instantly transforming into four massive mechanical claws. The claws firmly anchored him to the hull, and his left wrist unfolded into a cutting device.
A razor-thin crimson laser shot forward, beginning an outrageous cutting operation across the ship's exterior. The sharp zzzt of the laser echoed continuously, and sparks scattered everywhere. The enormous spacecraft shuddered from the pressure, and Tony slipped through the opening he had just created.
At that moment, his communicator suddenly rang inside the helmet.
"Boss, incoming call from Miss Potts."
The signal, however, was unstable. Static crackled constantly before Pepper's voice finally came through. "Tony? Oh, my God. Are you all right? What's going on?"
As Tony carefully surveyed the spacecraft's interior, he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just think we might have to push our res."
"Why?"
A section of machinery to Tony's left suddenly glowed with crimson light, and countless mechanisms rotated at high speed. Tony glanced over and continued, "Just 'cause I'll probably not make it back for a while."
He retracted his helmet. Looking at the enormous gear-like machine before him, his expression became increasingly serious.
Pepper exclaimed in shock, "Tell me you're not on that ship!"
Tony sighed helplessly. "Yeah."
Pepper nearly broke down, "God, no, please tell me you're not on the ship."
Tony apologized softly. "Honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."
Pepper immediately cut him off.
"Come back here, Tony. I swear to God."
"Pep."
"Come back here right now... Come back..."
Friday reported, "Boss, we're losing her."
Even Friday could no longer maintain the connection.
Tony slowly looked around the unfamiliar interior of the spacecraft, then he cautiously continued his exploration.
The screen shifted once again.
At the outer edge of the ship, speeding through space, Parker clung tightly to a strand of spider silk attached to the vessel. Instead of letting go and returning to Earth, he grabbed hold of a protruding section of the hull. Finding an emergency maintenance hatch along the edge, Parker pried it open and slipped inside.
"Oh, my God! I shoulda stayed on the bus."
Inside the ship, Ebony Maw remained at the controls. Without warning, the spacecraft accelerated violently, and the entire vessel became a streak of light as it vanished into the sky.
"Good grief, Parker actually stayed on board!"
"Parker's suit is seriously amazing."
"I want a suit like that so badly!"
"Great, here's another Spider-Man adventure."
"Is Friday offline too? What about Tony?"
"The spaceship is gone; it has already flown out of Earth."
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Tony's still worried about Pepper."
"It's kind of heartbreaking. Tony didn't even get the chance to carry out the proposal he'd planned for Pepper before rushing into space."
"The Time Stone is the key! Everything revolves around the Time Stone!"
"The Time Stone is protected by magic. It shouldn't be easy for that squid-faced guy to take it."
"Don't forget how terrifying Thanos is. If he could crush the Tesseract with one hand, dealing with the Eye of Agamotto shouldn't be difficult either."
The scene changed again.
Back on Earth.
Banner picked up the flip phone from the ground, dusted the soot off it, and turned around. While Wong stepped toward a portal, Banner called out, "Where you going?"
Wong replied in astonishment, "The Time Stone's been taken. The Sanctum remains unguarded. What will you do?"
Banner held up the phone. "I'm gonna make a call."
Wong nodded, then he stepped through the portal, which closed behind him. Banner powered on the phone, and Rogers' number appeared on the screen. He immediately dialed it.
"Perfect! Banner called Rogers!"
"Looks like the Avengers are finally regrouping!"
"Yes! Time for the Avengers to assemble! Protecting Earth is up to you now!"
"It's still going to be difficult. Even if they're all together, what can they really do?"
"It's different. Vision has the Mind Stone. That kind of power is no joke."
"Come on! The Eye of Agamotto contained the Time Stone, and even that was stolen!"
"Huh? Where is this place?"
"It looks like outer space... Is that the sun?"
The scene shifted again.
Bathed in brilliant sunlight, a spaceship zipped along the edge of an asteroid field. The vessel resembled a giant bird of prey.
The audience froze as no one recognized what they were looking at.
At the same time, lively, upbeat music filled the air, and a man with a thick beard stood in front of the cockpit window. He gazed into space while dancing enthusiastically, snapping his fingers and moving perfectly in rhythm with the music. He looked completely immersed in the moment. "Sing it, Drax!"
Inside the cockpit sat a heavily tattooed, muscular man.
Beside him was a petite, green-skinned female alien.
In the back seat, a raccoon sat upright like a human, lazily yawning.
Behind the raccoon stood several wooden humanoids, and one of them was completely absorbed in a handheld game console.
Every creature aboard the ship belonged to a different species, and each had its own habits and personality.
The atmosphere inside the spacecraft was bizarre, yet strangely harmonious. What shocked the audience most was that...
The raccoon suddenly spoke. "Why are we doing this again?"
The green-skinned woman answered, "It's a distress signal, Rocket. Someone could be dying."
The raccoon scratched his neck. "I get that, but why are we doing it?"
The dancing man replied, "'Cause we're nice."
After a brief pause, he grinned. "And maybe whoever it is will give us a little cheddar cheese for our effort."
He rubbed his fingers together suggestively.
The green-skinned woman shook her head. "Which isn't the point."
He immediately protested, "Which isn't the point. I mean, if he doesn't pony up..."
The tattooed giant, who had been half asleep, muttered, "We take his ship."
"Exactly!"
"Bingo!"
"All right!"
The raccoon and the dancing man instantly agreed, while the green-skinned woman exchanged a helpless glance with the dancing man. The two looked at each other for a brief moment before silently facing forward again.
Within just a few seconds, the entire world was in an uproar.
"Are those all alien species?"
"Aliens listen to pop music too?"
"Why do these people seem... kind of crazy?"
"That ship is filled with every weird creature imaginable!"
"Why are these people appearing in the memories? Are they important to this point in history?"
The chat exploded with speculation.
Meanwhile, at the Human Potential Organization.
Ashton stood frozen, as though struck by lightning, while he stared blankly at the screen. The moment he saw the green-skinned woman, his expression changed dramatically. "This... In the memories of my third past life... I've seen a creature almost identical to her!"
His throat tightened, and his mouth had gone completely dry. This was unmistakably an alien lifeform. The more beings from his past-life memories that appeared... The more closely everything seemed connected. If they truly belonged to the same species... Then perhaps the two historical eras were much closer together than anyone had imagined. His thoughts became a chaotic blur, and he didn't know how to process this revelation.
The others around him were equally stunned. The talking raccoon... The tree-like creature playing video games... Every new alien lifeform left them both excited and astonished.
Amid the noise, Ashton remained silent, and Kayden noticed the unusual expression on Ashton's face. Her heart stirred slightly, but she chose not to ask him about it.
At the Administration.
Tonio stared at the people aboard the spaceship in surprise. "These are all new faces. Who exactly are they?"
Everyone shook their heads. It was indeed the first time they had appeared. Although they looked strange, based on everything revealed in previous memories... They were undoubtedly people who had once shared an important connection with Tony.
Many, however, wore grim expressions, especially the Director. "The appearance of even more unfamiliar people means the situation has become even more complicated. I think the odds of Thanos collecting all six Infinity Stones have just increased."
Someone shook his head. "Not necessarily, Director. I think the reason there are so many different people appearing is that there are even greater forces gathering together to defeat Thanos in the end."
Xiaotian frowned. "But if Thanos is defeated, then how does this era's historical fracture still occur?"
That question could not be avoided. Tracing history backward... Somewhere, a historical discontinuity had appeared. The current situation ultimately originated from Thanos. No matter how they analyzed it... If they could uncover methods from the history of Earth's era to oppose beings of this level... Or identify the true cause behind everything... It would be of immeasurable value to the Terra Federation.
The scene aboard the spaceship continued.
From the far corner, a female alien with black eyes and two antenna-like horns spoke softly. "We are arriving."
The dancing man immediately became serious. "All right, Guardians, don't forget this might be dangerous... so let's put on our mean faces."
Just then, the handheld game console in Groot's hands emitted a cheerful beep, and the dancing man sighed. "Groot, put that thing away, now. I don't wanna tell you again."
The wooden alien glanced at him before replying, "Groot. I am Groot!"
"Whoa!"
"Language!"
"Wow." The dancing man said. "You got some acorns on you, kid."
Rocket turned around and grumbled, "Ever since you got a little sap, you're a total d-hole. Now, keep it up, and I'm gonna smash that thing to pieces."
Groot simply smiled without responding.
The spaceship accelerated. Moments later, it entered a vast field of drifting wreckage. Fragments of shattered steel floated everywhere as countless broken ship modules drifted silently through space. Even lifeless bodies floated among the debris.
The atmosphere inside the spacecraft instantly became solemn.
The Matis-like girl asked, "What happened?"
The dancing man frowned. "Oh, my God."
Everyone stared ahead in shock while Rocket sighed helplessly. "Looks like we're not getting paid."
Just as he finished speaking, a blood-covered figure suddenly slammed into the windshield, and Rocket jumped. "Wipers! Wipers! Get it off."
They all assumed the man was dead, but the bloodied figure lying against the windshield suddenly opened his eyes.
Viewers watching instantly erupted.
"Holy crap! That's Thor!"
"So Thanos destroyed the spaceship, but Thor survived? Then this weird group found him?"
"So... does that mean Thor isn't dead after all?"