Chapter 10 Time Shard
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Facing the incoming bullets, Luke Cage blinked. He made no move to dodge, simply standing his ground to meet the oncoming attack head-on.
A few seconds later, with several dull thuds, flattened and deformed bullets fell to the ground.
On Luke Cage, aside from the bullet holes in his clothes and the strong smell of gunpowder, not another trace was left.
"Why is it that you all know about my powers, yet you still refuse to believe it?"
Looking down at the holes in his clothes, Luke Cage spoke with a somewhat helpless expression on his face.
As he spoke, he strode over to the two black robbers.
Under their terrified gazes, his large palm crushed the gun in one of their hands into a lump of scrap metal as if it were modeling clay.
Clang!
As the fingerprint-covered handgun fell to the ground, the two black robbers seemed to snap out of a daze and turned to run.
"Do you really think you can get away in a situation like this?"
He extended his arms, gave a slight lift, and casually knocked the two fleeing men's heads together. After easily dealing with them, Luke Cage clapped his hands together and turned with a relaxed expression to walk in Colin's direction.
They were just two ordinary robbers. For Luke Cage, with his invulnerable skin and Super Strength, it didn't even count as a warm-up.
Returning to Colin's side, Luke Cage reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, pal, I've taken care of..."
Luke Cage's deep voice continued to echo in his ear.
However, at the same time, along with Luke Cage's casual pat, Colin's vision began to blur, and countless flashes of Green Light appeared within it.
Amidst the flashing Green Light, he saw countless figures of Luke Cage appearing, constantly fighting, getting knocked down, and rising again. Among these Luke Cages, other figures seemed to flicker, but they remained too blurry to identify.
"I am a Defender!"
Finally, following a roar from the Luke Cage in the vision...
[Contact with Twisted Time Node, one Time Shard collected]
[Black Iron Mark (1/10)]
[Faith (32/1000)]
A line of faint text flashed before Colin's eyes.
"Twisted Time Node?"
"Time Shard!"
"Black Iron Mark? And... Faith!"
Looking at the text before him, an expression of astonishment couldn't help but appear on Colin's face.
But he subconsciously blurted out the word Luke Cage had roared at the end of the vision: "Defenders."
"Defenders?"
Hearing this name from Colin, the Luke Cage in front of him couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, then corrected him.
"Did you get me mixed up with someone else? I'm with the Thunderbolts, not some 'Defenders' you're talking about."
"Although, 'Defenders' does have a nice ring to it."
Repeating the name 'Defenders', Luke Cage inexplicably felt it suited his ideals.
"Thunderbolts."
Hearing Luke Cage's words, Colin looked up at him, his mind subconsciously recalling the text he had just seen.
"So, this is the so-called [Twisted Time Node]?"
"Luke Cage, a member of the street-level hero team, the Defenders, has become a member of the Thunderbolts in this world."
Complex thoughts flashed through his mind, but the current situation didn't allow Colin to ponder any further.
"Could you please call an ambulance for me? Otherwise, I don't think I'm going to last much longer."
Clutching the wound on his body that was throbbing with intense pain, Colin made his request to Luke Cage.
"You're hurt?!"
Only then, prompted by Colin, did Luke Cage notice his injuries.
You couldn't really blame Luke Cage for this.
After all, the alley was dim, and Colin had been leaning against the wall the whole time, concealing the injured part of his body. It was only natural that Luke Cage wouldn't have noticed his wound at first glance.
...
Metropolis General Hospital.
After confirming that Colin's injuries weren't life-threatening, Luke Cage hurriedly left the hospital.
As a member of the Thunderbolts, his daily life was anything but idle.
The only reason he had appeared in the alley was because he happened to hear gunshots nearby.
"Mr. Luper, it might not be appropriate for me to say this, but I have to say, you're very lucky..."
After treating Colin's wound, the doctor remarked with a sigh, "If the bullet that hit you had been just a centimeter or two lower, you wouldn't just be resting in a hospital bed."
The doctor didn't finish his sentence, but he was clearly implying that the only other place in the hospital to lie down besides a bed was a drawer in the morgue.
"Lucky?"
Faced with the doctor's remark, Colin said nothing on the surface.
In his heart, however, he knew that his survival was due to more than just simple luck.
The bullet that hit him hadn't missed its mark as the doctor suggested; on the contrary, it had struck a vital spot with pinpoint accuracy.
At least, that's where his vital spot was before he transmigrated.
...
Lying quietly on the hospital bed, he touched the bandages on his body, feeling the location of the wound wrapped beneath them.
Colin's gaze, however, was fixed on the line of text in his field of vision.
[Time Shard (Luke Cage)]
The shard's surface resembled shattered glass, and through it, he could faintly see the figure of Luke Cage flickering within.
Looking at this [Time Shard], a few theories began to form in Colin's mind.
It had been about a week since he'd transmigrated to the Anti-World. During this week, Colin, as a Reporter, had met many people, but none of them had produced a [Time Shard]. If it weren't for Luke Cage's appearance, Colin might have never known they existed.
Or, to put it more bluntly.
If Luke Cage hadn't happened to show up, he might not have even had the chance to learn of the [Time Shard]'s existence.
At this thought, Colin couldn't help but feel grateful for his luck.
Although, no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like luck he'd traded his life for.
Since contact with Luke Cage allowed me to obtain a [Time Shard], does that mean other similar individuals can provide them as well?
Or is it that only a [Twisted Time Node] can provide a [Time Shard]?
(end of chapter)
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