When the audience saw Thanos stepping on the Collector's chest, everyone exclaimed.
"Damnit all! Another Infinity Stone is gone!"
"Thanos is really unstoppable. If he wants something, it seems he'll definitely get it."
"This Collector is all talk. I remember when he was entrusted with the Aether before, he kept bragging that this was the safest place."
"Three. Once the Reality Stone falls into Thanos' hands, he'll have three Infinity Stones."
"What I'm curious about is, what ability does the Reality Stone have?"
"We've already seen the Space Stone and the Time Stone. One lets you go anywhere, and the other lets you control time."
"Their combined power is much greater."
"Maybe it's because of that golden gauntlet. Without it, I'm afraid the true power of the Infinity Stones can't be fully unleashed."
"It's not three, it's four. He already has the Time Stone."
"How do I feel like Gamora is delivering herself right to him? She probably knows where the Soul Stone is; otherwise she wouldn't have told Quill so much."
"These people are great for comedy, but are they really going to fight Thanos?"
"They don't have any other choice."
Dark and silent, it looked like a gigantic broken mechanical head. Quill and the others quietly looked ahead.
The Collector said with fear in his voice, "I don't have it."
Thanos said coldly, "Everyone in the galaxy knows you'd sell your own brother... if you thought it would add even the slightest trinket... to your pathetic collection."
Thanos pressed down with his foot. "I know you have the Reality Stone, Tivan. Giving it to me will spare you a great deal of suffering."
The Collector was pinned beneath Thanos' overwhelming strength.
Breathing became difficult, blood flowed from his nose, and his face turned pale. In a hoarse voice, he said, "I told you. I sold it."
The Collector stared at Thanos. "Why would I lie?"
Thanos replied mercilessly, "I imagine it's like breathing for you."
The Collector said in disbelief, "Like suicide."
Thanos smiled faintly. "You do understand. Not even you would surrender something so precious."
The Collector gasped desperately for air. "I didn't know what it was."
Thanos had completely lost his patience. "Then you're more of a fool than I took you for."
Quill, hiding in the corner, stared at Thanos while Drax's face was filled with fury. "It's him."
Thanos continued stepping on the Collector. "Last chance, charlatan. Where's the stone?"
Quill noticed Drax's expression. Immediately, he sensed something was wrong. He whispered urgently, "Drax."
Drax's eyes were filled with murderous rage. "Today... he pays for the deaths of my wife and daughter"
Quill reached out to stop him. "Drax, wait. Not yet, not yet, not yet."
But Drax obviously wasn't listening as he pulled a dagger from his leg. Looking back at Quill, he charged straight toward Thanos.
"I'm telling you, this big guy is about to ruin everything!"
"I knew it. These people are unreliable."
"This team is hopeless!"
"Is he insane? Charging at Thanos is basically suicide!"
"Drax has been blinded by hatred."
"Way too reckless."
"Quill should knock him out, or this is going to end badly."
"So the Reality Stone isn't with the Collector? Then there's still hope."
"I thought it was already gone."
"Exactly. Just wait until Thanos leaves, then look for the Reality Stone."
"Anyway, Thanos doesn't have the Reality Stone yet."
Quill's hurried over, stood in front of Drax, and grabbed him. "Drax, Drax, Drax. Listen to me. He doesn't have the stone yet."
Quill lowered his voice while staring into Drax's eyes. "If we get it, then we can stop him. We have to get the stone first. Yeah"
Drax paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No. For Ovette, for Camaria."
The audience frowned as Drax looked ready to charge. Once he did, everything would be exposed. Everyone present would probably be dead.
"Huh? The antenna girl is amazing!"
"She just prevented a disaster."
On the screen, Drax shoved Quill aside, but Mantis suddenly stretched forward and touched Drax's head, and her antennae glowed. "Sleep."
Drax instantly became drowsy. He remained standing for a second, then fell asleep immediately. His heavy body crashed straight forward. The floor was made entirely of steel and metal, and Drax was incredibly heavy, so the deafening crash echoed through the entire Knowhere.
The audience erupted.
"What a terrible teammate."
"Hahaha, that's so funny!"
"What an absolute hothead."
"That's a god-tier assist."
"Thanos definitely heard that."
"As expected! Thanos found them!"
"He's coming!"
The noise was so loud that even a fool could hear it. Naturally, Thanos immediately pinpointed the source. He grabbed the Collector from the ground and threw him into a nearby glass display case while Quill and the others hid behind pillars.
Drawing his weapon, Quill whispered, "Okay. Gamora, Mantis, you go right."
Before he could finish explaining the plan, Gamora had already rushed out, and Quill sighed helplessly. "The other right."
Gamora stepped onto a shelf and charged directly at Thanos. Her sword slashed toward him, but it was caught effortlessly by Thanos. A smile appeared at the corner of Thanos' mouth, and with a squeeze of his hand, the sword shattered instantly.
Gamora reacted immediately. Using the broken blade, she stabbed at Thanos' neck. Though broken, the blade remained razor-sharp, and it pierced straight into his neck. A shot followed, passing cleanly through Thanos' chest.
Thanos clutched his neck and chest as blood sprayed outward while Gamora pulled out the broken blade and quickly retreated.
The audience was stunned.
"Uh... Gamora's combat power is actually off the charts?!"
"Unbelievable! Gamora is the real hidden boss!"
"Wow! Thanos's neck is about to be pierced, and he's been stabbed through the heart. He's going to die!"
"Celebrate!"
"Hehe, Thanos is so weak!"
"It must be because Gamora is too strong, although I can't really tell how strong she is."
"No, Thanos hasn't used the Infinity Stones' power yet."
"But it's obvious that Gamora pierced Thanos."
"You have to remember that Gamora is Thanos' adopted daughter, and Thanos still doesn't know she wants to kill him. It's normal for him to be caught off guard by a sneak attack."
"As long as Thanos is dead, or even seriously injured, it'll be much easier for the Avengers when they fight him later."
"Is it really possible for him not to die? No matter how powerful Thanos is, he's still a living being. He has to have a weakness."
Inside the Administration.
The Director said in a deep voice, "No, Thanos won't be injured that easily. Even judging from everything we've seen so far, Thanos isn't that weak. He must have some kind of plan."
The people present were all highly astute. The moment they saw Thanos being pierced so easily, they already felt something was wrong.
Tonio frowned and said, "But I can't see anything unusual. Could it be that Thanos also knows Loki's illusion magic? But Frigga only taught that spell to Loki. I don't believe someone could learn it."
Johan stared at the screen and said, "Let's keep watching. We'll probably know the truth very soon. Destroy him if you must, but he won't die so easily. Compared to Thanos dying here... I'd rather he didn't die."
Although Johan's words sounded contradictory, everyone understood what he meant. If Thanos really died now, then the cause of the historical gap during Terra's First Era would have to be something even stronger and more terrifying than Thanos.
On the screen.
Pain appeared across Thanos's face as he reached out and pulled the blade from his chest; then, one hand covered his neck while the other pressed against his heart.
Looking painfully at Gamora, he asked, "Why?"
As he spoke, blood poured from his wounds. He staggered to his knees before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Lying weakly on the ground, Thanos said, "Why you, daughter?"
Hearing those words, the blade slipped from Gamora's hand. She rushed forward, hugged him, and burst into tears. Finally, Thanos tilted his head to one side and became completely motionless.
The audience was stunned, and the comments instantly became much quieter. No one had expected defeating Thanos to be so easy. When Thanos completely stopped moving, everyone went crazy.
"Holy crap! We actually won?!"
"Thanos is dead! Who cares about the six Infinity Stones now!"
"Destroy Thanos!"
"The Avengers can finally relax."
"We won! Hahaha!"
Even the Director and everyone inside the Administration questioned their own judgment. The body looked completely real, and there wasn't the slightest sign it was fake. But just as viewers were preparing to celebrate, something suddenly changed.
Drax stared blankly at Thanos's body as he had never imagined his revenge would be fulfilled so easily.
Quill frowned as he looked at Thanos. "That was quick."
The Collector, trapped inside the glass display case, first showed a shocked expression. Then he suddenly began clapping excitedly. "Magnificent! Magnificent! Magnificent!"
The very next moment, a voice echoed throughout the area. It was Thanos's voice, yet it sounded nothing like someone on the verge of death. Everyone present froze.
The audience was horrified.
"He's not dead?"
"What the hell did I just see?"
"It was fake?"
"Did Thanos fake his own death? What's he planning?"
"Damn! It's true! Look, the body on the ground disappeared!"
"My God! Thanos is already so powerful, and he still uses tricks like faking his death? That's too much!"
The body lying on the ground suddenly dissolved into dark red particles before gradually fading away, and Thanos's voice echoed through the ruins. "Is that sadness I sense in you, daughter? In my heart, I knew you still cared. But one never knows for sure."
As his voice continued, everyone realized something shocking. Not only had Thanos faked his death... Even the surroundings had been an illusion. It was as though a veil had been lifted when the true reality was revealed. Flames burned everywhere. Ruins and destruction covered the landscape. It was completely different from the silent darkness everyone had seen moments earlier.
Gamora stood frozen in panic as she stared at the devastated surroundings in disbelief, when Thanos slowly emerged from the burning ruins.
"Reality is often disappointing. That is, it was. Now..." He raised his left hand. "Reality can be whatever I want."
The red Infinity Stone embedded in the golden gauntlet glowed brilliantly. He had possessed the Reality Stone long ago.
Tears filled Gamora's eyes. "You knew I'd come."
Thanos nodded confidently. "I counted on it. There's something we need to discuss, little one."
The audience nearly collapsed. No one had expected Thanos to fake his own death, as it was completely inconsistent with someone of his overwhelming strength.
The Director stared at the glowing red Reality Stone in Thanos's gauntlet, and his face turned pale. "The Reality Stone... it can alter reality itself? Everything we just witnessed was created by Thanos using the Reality Stone. It was all an illusion shown specifically to Gamora and the others."
The expressions of the others became grim. Although everyone had doubted Thanos's death... They had still nearly been fooled.
Xiaotian said, "Thanos deliberately went through all the trouble of faking his death just to see whether Gamora would truly attack him. I believe Gamora is extremely important to Thanos. And now... Thanos has obtained the answer he wanted."
His words caused everyone to pause before nodding in agreement. Tonio suddenly exclaimed, and everyone immediately looked back at the screen. They saw that Gamora didn't answer Thanos. Instead, she crouched down to pick up the broken sword. Thanos immediately grabbed her by the collar and lifted her into the air.
Not far away, Drax roared. "Thanos!"
He charged forward with his twin swords, but Thanos merely smiled. The Reality Stone on the golden gauntlet flashed, and the next instant... Drax's body transformed into countless building block-like pieces, and they scattered across the ground with a loud clatter.
The chat instantly fell silent.
Inside the Administration.
The Director and every person present took a deep breath