"Actually, it would be more accurate to say that this country belongs to Mr. Hunter rather than being founded by me."
"Just like that, I don't even know how many years I lived."
"In his presence, he also formed the Avengers—the ones you see."
"During that period, Mr. Hunter would often disappear from time to time, and I never knew where he went."
"Then, one day—"
"He came to find me and spoke very seriously."
"He said that in the future, there would be an enormous and extremely advanced country here."
"And beneath this meteorite, there would be a boy exactly like him who would come to me."
"He asked me to wait here for you."
"I didn't expect the wait to be so long."
"Even this remaining energy of mine is almost exhausted."
"A few years ago, I was still thinking that if you had arrived just a few days later, I'm afraid this old man would have broken his promise."
At this point, the story of the prehistoric Black Panther came to an end. Blaine, who had listened attentively the entire time, fell into deep thought as well. Ordinarily, Blaine would feel impatient with such long-winded stories, but now he truly resembled a student—listening carefully and reflecting deeply.
After all, this was a Bounty Hunter who never wasted words when killing, who never blinked when deceiving others, a ruthless and merciless Bounty Hunter—yet at this very moment, he was acting like a student…
First, just as the prehistoric Black Panther had said, the prehistoric Bounty Hunter helped him build Wakanda because of the Black Panther's kindness toward him. Although it was mentioned only briefly, it was not difficult for Blaine to imagine how many people would have opposed bringing such a stranger into the tribe, especially under the feudal superstitions of that era.
Even though the prehistoric Black Panther did not elaborate, Blaine could imagine the pain involved without effort. Being expelled from the tribe at that time was no different from abandoning a three-year-old child—except this was a child burdened with caring for a wounded person. The danger was self-evident. Food aside, mere survival would have been a daily struggle.
At this moment, Blaine finally understood why the prehistoric Bounty Hunter had called him "senior," and why, before dying, he had told him to treat Wakanda well. Because to him, the prehistoric Black Panther was a gift of rebirth.
And judging from the details, the fire rain must have been a meteor shower, and the fireball itself was naturally this vibranium meteorite.
But then—why had the prehistoric Bounty Hunter been so close to death at that time? Was someone chasing him? And who was it that directly brought a vibranium meteorite to Earth? Was it the god group?
The Celestial Group?
It seemed that when the first Celestials arrived, the prehistoric Bounty Hunter had already known in advance. And since he also knew that Blaine would eventually come here, he had specifically asked the prehistoric Black Panther to wait for him—and to let him see all of this.
Still, the universe was vast. Blaine could not yet understand how the Celestials could so easily come to Earth.
"Senior, did he leave you any other words for me?"
Although the story was deeply moving, it seemed to offer Blaine very little practical use.
"Words? What words?"
"No more. That's all," he said. "He only told me to wait for one person."
"Also, you really do look like him."
"Nani? That's it? Nothing more?"
Like him? Not just similar—this was practically carved from the same mold. They were basically the same person. And what did he mean by "nothing more"? Blaine wore an expression of disbelief. Did the prehistoric Bounty Hunter really go to such lengths to predict millions of years into the future just to stir Blaine's curiosity? What was this? That was just mischievous—purely adding an extra layer of difficulty for Blaine…
"No, Senior, think about it carefully. Have you forgotten anything over all these years?"
"For example, anything about the Hunter System?"
"Or did he ever tell you anything about himself? Any secrets?"
"Or his experiences?"
Hearing Blaine's questions, the prehistoric Black Panther fell silent for a moment. Blaine understood—he was probably struggling to recall. Sigh… after being reminded this much…
"System? What system?"
"However, I do vaguely remember that Mr. Hunter spent his entire life collecting something."
"He said he devoted his whole life to figuring out one thing."
"That is—who am I?"
"Although that question sounds ridiculous, he really was searching for something very seriously…"
"Oh, right. He also mentioned that he had collected various energies, star cores, and things like that for some kind of system, but I don't know the specifics."
"In any case, that system was extremely mysterious."
After Blaine's prompting, the prehistoric Black Panther seemed to recall something.
"Serving the system?"
"Was he fixing bugs, or collecting equipment and skills?"
"So that's how it is."
"Did the prehistoric Bounty Hunter not rely on the Hunter System at all?"
"Or was he perfecting the Hunter System solely to make things easier for me?"
In just a few sentences, Blaine seemed to have uncovered the secret of the prehistoric Bounty Hunter. At the same time, it filled him with overwhelming shock. The idea that the prehistoric Bounty Hunter could be so powerful without relying on the Hunter System was simply unbelievable—almost monstrous. On the other hand, it really did feel like predecessors planting trees so that later generations could enjoy the shade.
But what kind of secret could have caused the prehistoric Bounty Hunter to suffer a fatal blow during his search?
"Also, he once mentioned his origins."
"He said he came from another universe."
"He doesn't belong to this place."
"But the secret he sought his entire life lies here."
"There were simply too many secrets in his life."
"Oh—yes, yes. He asked me to pass something on to you. I almost forgot."
"?"
Hearing this, Blaine's eyes lit up immediately. To be blunt, after millions of years of planning, it surely couldn't just be meaningless words.
"He said that what you are exploring is related to the survival of the entire universe."
"No—no, not just that. It's related to the existence of all parallel universes."
"But once you step into this—"
"You will be on a road of no return."
"There will be countless difficulties and obstacles along the way, so you must only move forward and never turn back."
"If your will is not strong enough, you will eventually pay the price for your actions."
"Follow your heart. We are all jumpers."
"That last sentence was his own words."
"Is there anything else you want to ask? I may be fading away."
"After so many years, I can finally go down and accompany him."
Blaine frowned once more.
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