"I thought I'd have to wait a long time for this moment. Is this the will of God, or just my luck?"
The excitement in his voice was completely undisguised.
"Why are you doing this? I don't understand!"
Vision looked toward Yue Tingfeng in the distance.
But now, standing beside Yue Tingfeng was a man nearly four meters tall.
"You understand too little. The complexity of human nature isn't something someone as newly born as you can grasp."
With that, Yue Tingfeng stabbed his long blade into the ground.
Vision tilted his head, looking at the giant. "Ultron?"
After planting the blade, Yue Tingfeng stood up and patted the giant beside him.
"Ultron's soul has already been forcibly erased by me. Strictly speaking, what remains now… is just artificial intelligence. Like your predecessor, JARVIS."
At this moment, Natasha and Wanda were finally able to open their eyes. They had been unable to see before, and even now their vision hadn't fully recovered.
Wanda's condition had improved slightly. The moment she opened her eyes, she could clearly see her surroundings.
At a glance, she saw the giant standing in the open space, along with Yue Tingfeng.
"What did you go through all this trouble to bring us here for?" Wanda asked curiously.
Natasha's tone softened as well. "Three days ago, you could've let Ultron kill us. Isn't this a bit unnecessary now?"
"Three days ago, I couldn't bring you here. Vision isn't that easy to capture," Yue Tingfeng said with a smile.
He could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. He was finally about to complete the first step. Once this step was done, everything else would fall into place.
"Vision?" Natasha looked at him, then suddenly realized. "You want the Mind Stone!"
Yue Tingfeng nodded. "That's right. This is only the first step."
"Aren't you afraid of our retaliation?" Natasha pressed hard against her waist.
Nothing escaped Yue Tingfeng's notice.
He didn't stop her, only said coldly, "No matter how many people come, it'll all be the same. Even if Superman came, it wouldn't matter."
Vision scanned the surroundings, then looked at the two women. "I'll try to drag him away later. Can you two find a way to open the door?"
But the door was gone. The entrance they came through had disappeared. Vision searched, but couldn't find any exit.
"Looking for a door?" Yue Tingfeng almost laughed. "Stop looking. There isn't even a window here."
After confirming there was indeed no exit, Natasha quickly took out her communicator.
"Damn it!"
After trying and failing, she put it away and said seriously, "The signal's been blocked. None of my messages went through. We'll have to fight this out ourselves."
The other two nodded.
Wanda lifted her head. "I'll try to break through. I'll do my best not to let him interfere."
"Don't worry, I won't interfere. Go ahead and try," Yue Tingfeng said casually.
He sat on the ground, still playing with a pitch-black stone in his hand.
"Stop talking about him. Whether he comes or not doesn't matter," he muttered to himself, as if speaking to someone unseen.
Wanda's eyes turned crimson, and scarlet energy began swirling around her.
She took a full minute to recover her strength. True enough, no one disturbed her.
Yue Tingfeng simply watched, even admiring her figure. "Wanda, how about we get to know each other?"
Ignoring him, Wanda gathered her energy.
"Ahhh!!"
She flung her arms forward, releasing a burst of power.
"Boom!!"
There was only sound—nothing else.
No shockwave. The ceiling remained intact.
Yue Tingfeng tossed away the black stone and stood up. "Did you really think I was lying?"
He began walking toward them step by step.
"Everything is contained within this place. Why would I lie? You can't get out."
Vision stepped forward, blocking his path.
Yue Tingfeng didn't move an inch. Standing before Vision, he said, "Originally, I planned to preserve your consciousness after taking the stone. But now I realize… there's no need."
He crushed the black stone in his hand.
It shattered into a cloud of dark energy, which quickly dissipated into the air.
Vision immediately sensed something ominous.
No one knew where the energy went—but Vision felt himself growing weaker. His body began to stiffen.
He could no longer maintain flight, and his form started reverting to a metallic state.
Unable to speak, Vision stood there like a statue.
"What did you do to him?!"
"If you kill him, I'll kill you!" Wanda shouted.
Yue Tingfeng glanced at them, then at Wanda. "Don't worry. Your thoughts will change."
He reached out and easily removed the stone from Vision's forehead.
Holding it in his hand, his face twisted with near-mad excitement.
"This really is an Infinity Stone!"
He pressed the Mind Stone against his chest, and it disappeared into his body.
Looking again, a faint golden line had appeared on his forehead.
He closed his eyes, savoring the power. It filled him with comfort—and an overwhelming sense of security.
"Ah…"
A low, almost intoxicated moan escaped him.
Behind him, Ultron now stood like a lifeless statue, the slot on his forehead empty.
At the same time Yue Tingfeng obtained the Mind Stone, something changed in Kamar-Taj.
Strange's residence.
There were two Stranges.
One was bound in black energy chains, while the other sat at the edge of the bed with his eyes closed.
The seated Strange opened his eyes and looked at his hands.
"As expected of an Infinity Stone… I feel like I could destroy the Earth at will."
Knock knock.
Someone was at the door.
Strange looked toward it.
Through the crack, he saw Gu Yi standing outside.
It was late at night. Normally, everyone would be sleeping or meditating. She wouldn't come at such a time without reason.
Still, he got up to open the door.
"You shouldn't be here," Gu Yi said the moment the door opened.
"When did you find out?" he asked.
Strange's appearance began to change—into Yue Tingfeng.
Since he'd already been exposed, there was no need to hide anymore.
Gu Yi showed no reaction.
"The moment you stepped into Kamar-Taj, it began."
Yue Tingfeng was briefly surprised, but quickly recovered. "Aren't you afraid I'll destroy Kamar-Taj?"
Gu Yi looked at him calmly. "At first, I sensed no malice in you. But now, you've been consumed by power. I must help you."
"Help me?" Yue Tingfeng scoffed. "No need. I like this feeling."
Gu Yi shook her head. "You shouldn't let power blind you. Without strong will, any power greater than yourself will lead you astray."
"Hahaha…"
Yue Tingfeng laughed wildly. "You, a sorcerer who borrowed Dormammu's power, are lecturing me? Have you ever asked yourself why you did it?"
Gu Yi's expression changed slightly. That secret was known only to a few.
"We are not the same—"
"What's the difference?" Yue Tingfeng interrupted. "We're all human. Do you have extra limbs? Is willpower not an issue for you too?"
His expression darkened.
"I was only going to take the Time Stone. But now, I've changed my mind."
He raised a finger, and a powerful surge of energy erupted.
Gu Yi instantly summoned a shield to block it.
Crack—!
The shield shattered.
Though she avoided a fatal hit, the residual energy nearly pierced her chest, leaving only a light wound on her shoulder.
The surroundings began to distort.
The ground stretched, and Kamar-Taj transformed into a world of massive stone flowers.
Each one towered like a building, constantly shifting and colliding.
Gu Yi had opened the Mirror Dimension to prevent destruction from spilling into the real world.
"You're jealous of me, aren't you?" Yue Tingfeng said madly, smashing a stone flower. "Now that I've surpassed you, you want to kill me."
"You can't kill me. Once I fully control this stone, you'll obey me."
Gu Yi frowned. Things were getting out of control.
The figure before her flickered—clearly just a projection.
With a wave of her hand, a portal opened.
She stepped through it and returned to Strange's room.
"Mmm—!"
The real Strange lay on the ground, freed from the chains, tied up and gagged.
Standing beside him was Di Wan.
"What happened?" Gu Yi asked.
Di Wu walked over and said, "When I arrived, he was packing up. So I restrained him first."
"How is Carl?" Gu Yi asked.
"Usually, Carl wouldn't send Di Wu out… something must be wrong."
"Let's go to America!"
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