Many powerful beings were extremely wary of interfering with time.
The saying, "When you play with time, time plays with you," wasn't merely a joke.
Therefore, even though someone had suddenly frozen time, those capable of sensing it had no intention of interfering. Beings at their level were already highly resistant to ordinary temporal manipulation. As long as there was no direct danger, they didn't care much about being caught in a temporary time stop.
After all, time couldn't remain frozen forever.
Even with Karl's mid-stage Single-Universe-level strength, he couldn't completely stop every Single-Universe-level existence, much less beings at the Super Single-Universe or Multiversal level.
However, freezing the TVA personnel standing before him was easy.
They were merely Minutemen equipped with advanced temporal technology. Their personal strength wasn't particularly impressive.
Whoosh!
Karl instantly appeared before them.
Their Time Sticks, TemPads, and the temporal-control devices attached to their equipment all fell into his hands.
The next moment—
Bang!
The three Minutemen's heads exploded simultaneously.
Would killing TVA personnel bring further pursuit?
Of course.
But even if Karl spared them, the TVA would still regard him as a dangerous temporal Variant.
So why bother?
Golden energy flashed from his palm.
The three bodies instantly disintegrated into nothingness.
At the same time, Karl released his time stop.
...
"The organization they belong to is called the Time Variance Authority—the TVA."
Seeing the puzzled expressions of Ganata, Yan, Black Phoenix, and Hela, Karl began explaining what he remembered.
"In the records I know, the TVA is an enormous bureaucracy responsible for monitoring and regulating timelines and temporal anomalies throughout the Multiverse."
"In one version, their headquarters exists in the Null-Time Zone, outside the normal flow of time. Their Minutemen are mass-produced through cloning and cybernetic technology, while higher-ranking Justices possess greater authority over temporal operations."
Karl looked at the equipment in his hands.
"They monitor branching realities, investigate temporal interference, and erase or prune timelines they consider dangerous."
"However, their authority over time isn't absolute."
"If it were, people like Kang, Immortus, Doctor Doom, and countless other time travelers wouldn't have caused so many temporal disasters."
The women nodded slightly.
Karl's expression nevertheless remained serious.
He had only recently attracted the attention of the Celestials.
Now the TVA had also come knocking.
Neither was an organization he wanted pursuing him.
Karl walked to the sofa and sat down, rubbing his temples.
This was becoming troublesome.
A moment later, a pair of soft hands began gently massaging his temples.
It was Hela.
Ganata, Yan, and Black Phoenix sat beside him.
They could naturally understand Karl's concerns.
One mistake could bring catastrophic consequences.
No one present could afford to be careless.
Karl lowered his hands and examined the captured equipment.
There was a TemPad.
Several temporal-control modules.
And three Time Sticks.
Karl immediately recognized the TemPad.
It could open Time Doors, allowing TVA personnel to travel between different points in time and space and return to TVA-controlled regions.
The Time Sticks were even more dangerous.
They weren't merely weapons for knocking someone unconscious. Their most important function was pruning targets from the timeline and sending them away from normal reality.
As for the temporal modules taken from the Minutemen's equipment, they appeared capable of manipulating localized time for movement, restraint, offense, and defense.
Karl examined them for a moment before looking toward Yan.
"All right. It's fine."
"Yan, take these and analyze them."
He handed the three temporal modules to her.
"See if you can reverse-engineer their principles and modify them into something useful."
"But don't equip anything until you've completely understood it."
Karl's expression became serious.
"And don't casually manipulate time."
"Changing something by even a second could produce consequences much later."
"That's what I mean when I say that while you're playing with time, time is also playing with you."
After thinking for a moment, Karl distributed the equipment.
One temporal module remained with Yan.
The other two went to Black Phoenix and Hela.
Karl then looked apologetically toward Ganata.
"Ganata, you'll have to go without one this time. There were only three, and this level of temporal equipment probably wouldn't help you much anyway."
"I'll make it up to you next time, okay?"
Yan examined the device in her hand.
"All right. I'll study it first."
Even she was somewhat surprised.
In the universe she came from, manipulating time itself was an extremely difficult field. Even the advanced technology of the Angel Civilization rarely interfered directly with the fundamental flow of time.
"It's fine."
Ganata smiled.
"As long as you're okay."
Then her expression became slightly embarrassed.
"Although..."
She lowered her head.
"I'm a little hungry."
Karl couldn't help smiling.
He immediately pulled Ganata beside him.
Then he took out the Multiversal-level energy crystals previously produced using the Infinite Concept Energy Formula.
Ganata initially shook her head.
She knew how valuable that energy was.
Besides, the original Multiversal energy had been something she obtained from her father specifically for Karl.
But Karl immediately pinched both of her cheeks.
"Eat."
Ganata looked at his slightly annoyed expression.
"...Fine."
She obediently opened her mouth.
Karl began feeding her the energy crystals one by one.
Ganata swallowed each crystal, converting the enormous energy within into nourishment.
Only after consuming all one thousand Multiversal-level energy crystals did she finally seem somewhat satisfied.
"That's enough."
Ganata shook her head.
"I'll eat more next time."
Karl naturally understood what she was doing.
She was deliberately conserving his Multiversal-level energy reserves.
He didn't expose her.
There would always be another opportunity to feed her properly.
Karl then took Ganata and Yan by the hand and headed toward the central hall.
Black Phoenix and Hela followed behind them.
When they entered the central hall, Tony and the others were already there.
Ruby Crystal was holding Morgan, and the two of them were watching something together on a blue holographic screen.
...
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