Splitting the narrative, Cindy and Gwen, along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, arrived at the world the soul of Reed Richards yearned for. But this time, the scene was almost entirely unexpected by everyone.
There was nothing here, just one Reed Richards spacing out in a pure white space.
"I have to say, I always thought Reed's brain was a little off, but I never imagined he could be this off."
Johnny (Human Torch) sharply critiqued his brother-in-law here, earning a glare from his sister. Susan (Invisible Woman) walked up, looking at her husband. "Are you alright, Reed?"
"Who are you—oh, Susan. I apologize... I am... I find that all my knowledge has been forgotten."
Reed spoke words that shocked everyone. The Human Torch looked at him in disbelief: "Reed Richards' ideal is to be an idiot?"
"No, my ideal is perpetual knowledge-seeking and curiosity, along with the satisfaction of gaining knowledge."
Another Reed Richards appeared in the pure white space, and as everyone was confused, he revealed the truth to them: "Simply put, he is responsible for permanent curiosity and the drive to seek knowledge. I am responsible for the satisfaction. All the knowledge he gains is retained by me, while I will never be aware of my own ignorance or confusion, only the satisfaction of knowledge. Therefore, every time he calculates that one plus one equals two, he is extremely satisfied because he has forgotten this fact, and so am I."
Gwen was silent for a moment, then exchanged a look with Cindy. They had absolutely no idea that Reed Richards was such an extraordinary figure. To simultaneously achieve the satisfaction of having knowledge and the curiosity of wanting knowledge, he had literally split himself in two, with each half responsible for different functions.
"How do we wake him up?"
The Thing (Ben Grimm) posed the first question. Gwen thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Dr. Richards, do you know where you are right now?"
"Oh, that's an excellent question."
The Ignorant Reed smiled brilliantly, while the Omniscient Reed quickly provided the answer: "A soul world constructed according to a person's wishes. This conclusion is based on my current state. I have not undergone any surgery on my own brain, so this power must be external. Furthermore, the surrounding space indicates this is an independent pocket dimension—it must be inside the Soul Gem."
"I don't even understand how he came to that conclusion."
Gwen complained, shrugging her shoulders. Meanwhile, Reed was still analyzing why he had arrived in this world. He had already deduced that it was Adam Warlock who contained everyone at the moment of the explosion and used these soul worlds to develop a personality for Korvac.
Cindy directly interrupted Reed's incessant chatter.
"Dr. Richards, Peter and Kang the Conqueror were teleported to the future node of his mental universe. How do we find him?"
"Since you've come to seek my help, it indicates that this matter exceeds Adam's capabilities. He can't directly dismantle each person's pocket dimension."
Reed smiled, preparing to launch into a long lecture, when Cindy sheepishly added, "I'm sorry, we didn't ask him... we just thought of coming to you to handle the problem."
In an instant, Reed's pocket dimension collapsed.
"You didn't ask?! How can something as rigorous as science involve 'not asking'?! Do you have any idea how important it is for an experiment when a constant becomes a variable!"
The near-collapsing Reed Richards felt ignorance through his omniscience—not the ignorance of knowing nothing, but the ignorance of outright stupidity. Even the Human Torch was moved to exclaim: "Whoa, looks like even Omniscient Reed has something he can't figure out, and that's how people can be so ignorant."
"I... apologize. What was your question again?"
"If you're asking about directly dismantling Spider-Man's mental universe, I can't do that right now," Adam walked over, giving Reed the answer he needed. "The energy of the Cosmic Cube is filling the Soul Gem. I can't fully mobilize the gem's power."
"Aha, in that case, the answer is quite simple," Reed stroked his chin. "We only need to re-gather the Cosmic Cube's consciousness and energy. This power is strong enough to modify reality and break through the barriers of time. Theoretically, this world should not contain the concept of time. It was Kang's Time Gem that established the concept of time here. Therefore, we only need to summon the self-aware Korvac within Spider-Man's mental universe, and he should be able to take us to that created time node."
What are we waiting for?
Gwen excitedly prepared to lead the group, only to find an argument breaking out on the other side. Star-Lord, who had now brought out Rocket, Groot, and Mantis, was verbally sparring with Rocket, and it was getting ugly.
"You guys are nothing but busybodies. I knew I was in a dream all along; you didn't have to rescue me."
"Oh, really? Who was bawling their eyes out when they realized their little buddy was about to vanish after waking up?"
"Shut up, Quill. When you die, I'm going to inherit your ship and laugh my head off while keeping your urn strapped to the back of the engine."
"The complete opposite, Rocket. When you die, I'm going to wail my heart out and wipe all my snot and tears all over your grave."
The two walked over, hurling insults at each other, making it impossible to tell if they were good friends or not. In any case, everyone was now accounted for, except for Mar-Vell and Carol. Since the others didn't know these two well, Adam suggested that the current group was sufficient to go, especially since Reed Richards had already found the method for time travel.
"I quit. Get me out of here, Adam," Rocket complained. "Quill is a fu—[BEEP]—idiot. He wants to play the hero and drag everyone next to a bomb. I don't want to get blown up."
The tall tree person placed a finger on Rocket's shoulder.
"I am Groot."
"Am I wrong? Is this the team we want? Saving others, saving others—what do we get? Getting ourselves killed?"
"To save the next Rocket." Drax's one sentence silenced Rocket. He turned to look at the big, simple guy. "What did you say?"
"If the Guardians of the Galaxy had been formed a long time ago, you and your friends would have been saved, Rocket."
Rocket stared blankly at Drax, while Star-Lord put on his mask. "Yeah. So, we're going to save the world again. For the second time."
"Going to die together, Rocket?"
Someone was overlooked; did everyone notice?
Mantis is present; she has been added.
-----------------------------------------------
An Important Announcement: Time to Write Our Own Novel!
Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support; it truly helps me keep going!
I have some exciting news: after translating many fanfics, I've decided it's time to start writing my own Novels! I plan to begin with a new fanfic—I'm currently thinking of either the Avatar: The Last Airbender or Douluo Dalu universe, featuring a Neutral protagonist.That is exactly what I meant by Neutral Protagonist (This refers to the character's Alignment. A Neutral Protagonist is not strictly bound by concepts of absolute good or evil, nor are they necessarily tied to Law or Chaos. Their actions are generally motivated by their own survival, personal goals, or a desire for balance, operating in a morally gray area.)
Once I've written a few fanfics and gained more experience, I can then move on to developing my own original novel soon after.
If you want a direct hand in shaping the main character's destiny and giving input, be sure to join the poll!
I've launched a poll on my P@t reon page!
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
1. Head over to our P@t reon page and become a member. (Don't worry, even those with a free membership can join the poll and share their input!)
2. Select any option you desire in the poll
3. Leave a comment on the poll post or send me a DM if you have any specific thoughts or ideas!
p@treon HongMengZi