"Maximum warp!"
As Lin Huai's cold command was issued, the engines of the golden wing-shaped ship opened fully, turning into a stream of light that tore through the Darkness, preparing to charge into the deeper reaches of the Universe.
However, at the very moment the ship was about to complete its acceleration, Lin Huai frowned slightly and suddenly raised his hand.
"Wait."
The roar of the warp engines came to a sudden halt, and the ship hovered steadily within the debris belt of Xandar.
"What's wrong?"
Steve immediately became alert.
Lin Huai did not answer.
He closed his eyes, pushing his ability to capture historical information to its limit after advancing to a Scholar of Yore.
In this vast wasteland of death, the vast majority of life traces had already been annihilated.
But he could vaguely sense that on the scorched surface of the Planet below, a few faint breaths of life had not yet been extinguished, flickering like candles in the wind.
"Descend; go to the surface."
Lin Huai opened his eyes and issued a new command.
"There are still survivors there; perhaps they can be of help."
The ship immediately changed direction, passing through the shattered atmosphere and slowly landing amidst the scorched city ruins of Xandar.
Through the porthole, everyone saw a tattered orange spaceship.
Half of its hull had been burned through, and it was wedged crookedly into the wreckage of a collapsed building.
"Jarvis, scan for life signals."
Tony said.
"Sir, four faint life signs detected, all in states of severe coma and blood loss."
"Let's go down!"
Steve gave the order decisively.
A few minutes later, the rescue team found four injured individuals in the messy cockpit of the spaceship.
A tall, muscular man with a terrifying puncture wound in his chest.
A man wearing a flight jacket, still death-gripping a helmet even in his coma.
A tree-man with only half a branch left, on the verge of death.
And a small raccoon covered in blood, lying next to the branch.
"What a chaotic combination this is."
Lin Huai's gaze swept over the scene, understanding everything in his heart.
Gamora had already been taken by Thanos.
"Save them first."
After a round of emergency first aid, their vital signs finally stabilized, and they were brought back to the medical bay of the golden wing-shaped ship.
Lin Huai walked to the bedside of the man in the flight jacket, Peter Quill.
At that moment, Quill's eyelids flickered, and he slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was still a bit blurry, but what came into view was a strange Eastern man and that menacing dark gold gauntlet.
Three brilliant lights shimmered on the gauntlet.
Three stones radiating infinite power were embedded upon it.
One was a blue stone as deep as a sea of stars.
One was a red stone as eerie as fresh blood.
One was a green stone as emerald as time itself.
Quill's brain completely stalled.
He felt entirely numb.
What is going on?
He had fought tooth and nail to barely protect the Cosmic Orb from Ronan, only to be intercepted by a purple Lunatic the moment he arrived at Xandar.
In the blink of an eye, the prosperous capital of the stars had turned into ruins.
His teammate Gamora had been taken, and the Power Stone had been snatched away.
Now, having barely struggled back from the brink of death, he opens his eyes to see a stranger wearing a gauntlet embedded with three Infinity Stones?
Out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's lair.
And this wolf's lair seemed even more ridiculous than the last one!
"Who... who are you?!"
Quill jerked upright and shrank back, looking at Lin Huai with a face full of terror.
"Another cosmic overlord? Thanos? Isn't Thanos a Titan?"
"I am not Thanos."
Steve walked over, trying to soothe him.
"We are the Avengers."
"Avengers? What on Earth is that?"
A sharp voice came from another hospital bed.
The little raccoon had woken up at some point; it rubbed its eyes and surveyed its surroundings warily.
"Hey! Where's my gun? And Groot! What did you do to that branch!"
"Calm down, furry friend."
Tony shrugged.
"We saved you; otherwise, you'd be a charred corpse in the ruins right now."
Rocket Raccoon's gaze finally landed on Lin Huai's gauntlet, and his furry face instantly slumped.
"It's over, Quill."
It said despairingly.
"We might as well be dead; this World is too crazy."
"We are not enemies."
Lin Huai spoke calmly.
"Thanos is our common enemy. We are preparing to stop him."
"Stop him?"
Quill acted as if he had heard the World's biggest joke.
"Just you guys? Do you have any idea how crazy Thanos is? And... where did that thing on your hand come from?"
"Picked it up on the way."
Lin Huai replied without changing his expression.
This answer made Quill and Rocket exchange looks, clearly unconvinced.
But looking at the three genuine Infinity Stones on Lin Huai's gauntlet and the group of extraordinary Avengers around them, they eventually chose to believe for the time being.
After all, the mystery and power of this group were visible to the naked eye.
Both sides quickly exchanged information.
Once it was confirmed that Thanos had obtained the Power Stone and taken Gamora, Lin Huai immediately pressed for the coordinates of Vormir.
"I know the last stone is on Vormir. Has any of you been there? I need someone who has visited the Planet to provide me with coordinates for a space jump."
Hearing this question, Quill and Rocket, those Cosmic drifters, looked at each other.
Rocket spoke hesitantly.
"An ancient legend, the center of the Universe, a dead Planet called Vormir. Legend says... an unknown Infinity Stone is hidden there."
"But I advise you not to go."
Quill added.
"It's said that you need to exchange your most precious thing there."
"Coordinates."
Lin Huai was concise.
"You really want to go? I have been there, but how am I supposed to tell you?"
Rocket looked at Lin Huai strangely.
"It's simple, just lean your head over here!"
Lin Huai reached out his right hand, and the Spirit Thread plunged into Rocket's head.
Then, he raised his left hand.
The Space Stone burst with a dazzling blue light.
"Hold on tight."
As soon as he spoke, the space in front of the ship distorted and folded like the surface of water.
Without any acceleration, the golden wing-shaped ship charged straight into that distorted space.
In just a momentary daze, when Quill and Rocket came to their senses again, the scene outside the porthole had completely changed.
A desolate Planet shrouded in blood-red nebulae, exuding an ominous aura, floated quietly before them.
Vormir, they had arrived.
"This... this is..."
Quill was dumbfounded and incoherent.
What was that just now? Mass teleportation?
Rocket also gaped.
"What did you just do? You... you... did you just enter my head?"
Lin Huai waved his hand.
"I simply took a peek at your soul, that's all. Alright, we're here."
...
The ship landed among a range of rugged red mountains.
As everyone stepped off the ship, they immediately felt a chill that seeped into their bones.
The sky was an eerie blood-red, with no Sun and no stars.
Atop a distant mountain peak, an ancient altar could be vaguely seen.
The group walked silently toward the altar.
As they reached the summit, a figure in a black robe, like a ghost, drifted slowly out from the shadows of the altar.
It had no physical form, and its face was a void of Darkness.
"Welcome to Vormir."
It spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Where is the Soul Stone?"
Lin Huai asked directly.
The black-robed figure seemed to chuckle as it pointed to the bottomless cliff below the altar.
"To obtain it, a great price must be paid."
"A soul for a soul."
"You must... sacrifice the soul of the one you love most."
These words, like a thunderclap, exploded in everyone's hearts.
Everyone was stunned.
The cold wind on the mountain peak howled, and the surroundings suddenly fell into silence.
Sacrifice the one you love.
Everyone involuntarily looked at the people beside them.
Steve subconsciously clenched his fists as Bucky's figure appeared in his mind.
Dr. Banner adjusted his glasses, his eyes wandering, seemingly thinking of someone far away on Earth.
Quill and Rocket looked at each other, both seeing terror in the other's eyes.
Thor's breathing became heavy; he thought of his Mother and his recently deceased father, and even of his brother Loki, whom he both loved and hated.
While Loki just kept his head down, no one able to see his expression.
Lin Huai also fell silent.
His gaze swept across everyone present, across these companions who fought by his side.
Loved ones?
Whom should he sacrifice? Did they count as his loved ones?
"Ha!"
A self-deprecating laugh broke the suffocating silence.
It was Tony Stark.
He walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down into the bottomless Darkness, a look of disdain on his face.
"After all that, it turns out to be this kind of cliché 'choose one or the other' plot."
He turned around, looking at the silent crowd, and spread his hands.
"What, is everyone thinking about who to push off?"
No one answered him.
Tony shook his head and walked up to Lin Huai, looking him straight in the eye.
"Don't listen to this damn thing."
He pointed at the black-robed figure.
"What bullshit rules, what bullshit price."
He looked around at everyone, his voice not loud, but powerful and resonant.
"Only children make choices."
"Since everyone is reluctant, then let's not sacrifice anyone."
"We'll just go kick Thanos's ass and protect the ones we love, wouldn't that work?"