Lin Huai stepped out of the portal and returned to Stark Tower.
He had successfully obtained the third Infinity Stone, the Time Stone.
Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One honored her agreement with the Evernight Goddess.
The price was that Lin Huai must guide her successor in the future.
And she only had three months left.
In the living room, Tony and Banner were arguing intensely around a holographic projection device.
Steve was standing to the side, looking at a map with his brows furrowed.
As soon as Lin Huai appeared, the two stopped arguing.
"How did it go?" Steve asked first.
"Everything went smoothly," Lin Huai replied concisely.
He then walked up to the two of them, paused, and said,
"Forget about the small troubles on Earth, gentlemen."
"The real war is coming."
"A mad Titan named Thanos has the goal of collecting all six Infinity Stones and then randomly wiping out half of all life in the Universe."
"Ha!" Tony exclaimed dramatically.
"Let me get this straight. So, this Thanos, his solution to the Universe's resource problem is a random system wipe?"
"Has he tried promoting family planning or other ways to increase resources? Even just continuing to expand would work; the Universe is so big, has he finished exploring it?"
Dr. Banner also looked at Thanos in the projection with the look one gives a Lunatic.
"This makes no sense statistically. What if he wipes out half the people who produce the resources?"
"To wipe out half the people in the entire Universe for the sake of some so-called continuation of the World? Does such a thankless Lunatic actually exist?"
"He's driven by his own twisted philosophy of balance," Lin Huai answered emotionlessly.
"And his madness is our opportunity."
"According to the intelligence I received, the Power Stone has just been stolen by an Earthling named Peter Quill."
"Right now, most of Thanos's attention has been drawn by this small fry."
"I plan to take the initiative; while he's busy hunting down Quill, I'm going to stab him right in the rear!"
... The Ancient One's successor, Stephen Strange, is currently still a proud, top-tier surgeon.
According to the normal trajectory of fate, he would need to experience a car accident, despair, and the exhaustion of his family fortune before he could find Kamar-Taj.
This process is too long. There's no time.
Lin Huai's gaze sank.
"Mr. Bucky, I need your help," he called out via internal communication.
A moment later, Bucky walked out of the elevator.
During his time at Avengers Tower, the confusion and pain on his face had dissipated significantly, and he seemed to be on a path returning to a normal life.
"Bucky, I have a mission for you," Lin Huai's voice was calm.
"A... dirty job."
Bucky's body tensed up instantly. The warmth in his eyes faded, replaced by alertness and unease.
Lin Huai pulled up the profile of a man.
"Stephen Strange, the top neurosurgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital."
"I need you to take a few people and ambush him."
"Create an accident, a... car accident that ensures he can never hold a scalpel again."
Lin Huai looked up, staring straight into Bucky's eyes.
"Break his hands."
The room fell silent. Bucky looked at Lin Huai, his lips trembling slightly, as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.
He subconsciously glanced at his own silver-glinting metal arm.
"No, man," Bucky's voice was hoarse and dry.
"I... I thought I didn't have to do these kinds of things anymore."
"Because he has a more important mission, and we don't have time to wait for him to awaken on his own."
Lin Huai's reply was direct, leaving no room for argument.
"He needs someone to push him off the cliff so he can learn to fly."
"And we need him to protect this World."
After saying this, he waved his hand and opened a small portal.
On the other side of the door was Kamar-Taj; the Ancient One and the mage Russell were on the other side.
"Master, regarding your successor... I have decided to accelerate the process."
When Lin Huai finished describing his plan to force growth, there was a moment of silence on the other side of the portal.
The Ancient One's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.
The smile on her face disappeared, and she looked like she had been choked, unable to say a word for a long time.
Russell, standing beside her, couldn't help but question it.
"Mr. Lin Huai, you are wantonly interfering with a person's fate! Is... is this really reasonable?"
He slowly raised his hand and pointed to himself.
"As a demigod of the Seer Pathway, I assure you, it's rock solid."
Lin Huai closed the portal, turned back, and looked at Bucky, who was still struggling in place.
His tone softened slightly.
"Go do it, Bucky. This is not an order, it is a request. Trust me, this is a necessary sacrifice."
Bucky closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to that of the Winter Soldier of the past.
"I need manpower, and his detailed schedule."
"Jarvis will provide everything."
... A rainy night three days later.
Stephen Strange was driving his Lamborghini, speeding along a wet and slippery mountain road.
On the car phone, his assistant was reporting on the next case.
He listened absent-mindedly, controlling the steering wheel with one hand, enjoying the thrill brought by the speed.
This genius surgeon was at the peak of his life, as proud as a peacock.
Just at the moment he was distracted looking at the navigation screen, blinding headlights suddenly flared up from the oncoming lane.
A heavy truck, arrogantly occupying the entire road, crashed towards him head-on.
Strange's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously jerked the steering wheel.
The sports car lost control, skidding and rolling wildly on the mountain road.
Eventually, it crashed through the guardrail and fell into the Darkness below the cliff.
In the violent impact, Strange felt his body being torn apart.
That pair of hands that had created countless medical miracles sent a wave of agonizing pain he had never experienced before.
In the Darkness, he seemed to see a few blurry figures approaching the crashed sports car.
The person leading them had a silver-glinting metal arm.
That person just took a quiet look, confirmed his miserable state, and then quickly disappeared into the rain with his subordinates.
Bucky stood on high ground in the distance, expressionlessly watching the flames igniting below.
Rain mixed with something else slid down his cheeks.
"Mission accomplished," he said in a low voice over the communication channel, his voice flat.
... The next two months were hell for Stephen Strange.
His life was saved, but his hands, his everything, were destroyed.
Over a dozen reconstructive surgeries exhausted all his savings.
The result was only a pair of hands that shook constantly and couldn't even hold a knife and fork steady.
He became irritable, quick-tempered, and fell into despair.
He cursed everyone who tried to help him, including his girlfriend Christine, who had never left his side.
When the last Doctor pronounced the death sentence on his career, he smashed everything in his apartment that he could.
He eventually collapsed amidst the mess, motionless.
Just when he had completely fallen into the Abyss of self-abandonment, he received a piece of news.
In a dim bar, Strange got himself dead drunk.
He looked like a tramp, with stubble on his face, tattered clothes, and empty eyes staring at his glass.
He had been here for almost two days, and all his money had been exchanged for cheap hard liquor.
Just as he was half-drunk and half-sober, with his consciousness about to sink into Darkness, the conversation of a few Western tourists at the next table drifted into his ears, intermittently.
"... Hey, have you heard? About the legend of Kamar-Taj."
"You mean that mysterious holy land deep in the Himalayas? It's said that the monks there can move objects with their minds, and even cure all diseases."
"Yeah! A friend of a friend of mine, who had a terminal illness and was pronounced dead by the hospital, went there once, and after coming back, he was actually cured! It's simply incredible!"
"Bragging, right? What era is this? People still believe this. But... I actually do want to go and see, just for the novelty."
Kamar-Taj... Cure all diseases...
These words instantly struck Strange's numb nerves.
He jerked his head up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the next table.
Those people were startled by his crazy look, paid the bill, and left in a hurry.
Strange stumbled out after them, but they were long gone.
He leaned against the cold wall and laughed desperately, his laughter laced with a crying tone.
Liars... They are all liars! But... what if it's true?
This thought was the only light in his despair.
Another half month passed. In the Himalayas, in the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, snowflakes were falling.
Sorcerer Ancient One stood quietly in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the sky.
Her aura became weaker and weaker, and her body began to become transparent.
Russell stood behind her, his expression sad and solemn.
"The time has come," the Ancient One's voice was gentle and ethereal, as if she would ride the wind and leave at any moment.
"Master..."
"Russell, after I leave, take over my duties temporarily until he can stand on his own."
The Ancient One looked towards the gate of the courtyard, a faint smile on her face.
"Although Mr. Lin doesn't always do things in the most proper way, I have to admit, he is very efficient. Look, hasn't our guest arrived?"
Russell looked in the direction of her gaze.
The heavy wooden door of Kamar-Taj let out a creak and slowly opened.
Outside the door, a man with a stubbly face, but eyes that were exceptionally determined, was standing in the wind and snow.
He looked disheveled, but the persistence of searching the World for the last glimmer of hope made him glow.
It was none other than Stephen Strange.
Almost at the same time, the Ancient One's body completely turned into golden light points filling the sky, smiling as she dissipated into the wind and snow.
She had protected this World for hundreds of years and finally ushered in her rest.
On the other side of the courtyard, in the shadows, Lin Huai slowly appeared.
He looked at this future Sorcerer Supreme, whom he had forcibly dragged into the script of fate, and then looked at the place where the Ancient One had dissipated, his expression complex.
Russell bowed deeply in the direction where the Ancient One had dissipated, then turned around to look at the man at the door who was full of shock and confusion.
He also saw Lin Huai in the shadows, his expression even more complex, but it eventually turned into a sigh.
Strange stared blankly at the incredible scene before him.
He looked again at the mysterious curly-haired monk in the courtyard and the Eastern man in the shadows whose face he couldn't see clearly.
He opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice, carrying a last glimmer of hope, trembling: "I... I came here seeking a cure... Excuse me, is this Kamar-Taj?"