Chapter 61: Well, the plot is completely broken
"Zzzzt—!"
A small string of dazzling blue electric sparks instantly exploded, and the smell of burnt protein began to fill the air.
It was only for an instant.
Thor, who had been roaring like an angry lion just moments before, suddenly stiffened.
His angry blue eyes instantly rolled back, and his entire body seemed to have its bones removed, falling straight down with a "thud," face-first onto the ground.
The world was finally quiet.
Jane: "..."
Erik: "..."
Darcy, holding the still-sparking taser, looked at the unconscious naked man on the ground and swallowed awkwardly.
"Uh… I said I didn't do it on purpose, would you believe me?"
Erik sighed, rubbing his temples, feeling that he had experienced more fright in one day than in the past ten years combined.
"Never mind… As long as he doesn't keep making trouble."
"I'll go borrow a pickup truck and take him to the hospital first."
With that, he turned and walked towards the onlookers, starting to explain and ask for help.
On the rooftop.
Lin Chen and Banner were also stunned.
"Holy crap."
Lin Chen couldn't help but curse, "So, no matter what, Thorwas going to get hit by that, huh?"
Banner's mouth twitched as he adjusted his glasses, unsure what to say.
Just then, Lin Chen seemed to realize something belatedly and slapped his forehead.
"That's not right!"
"Where's Tony? Why hasn't that guy arrived yet? With his speed, it shouldn't be like this!"
No sooner had he spoken.
High in the sky, over two hundred kilometers away from Puente Antiguo, Tony Stark, still struggling to make his way, was sweating profusely and restless.
"Achoo!"
He let out a loud sneeze without warning.
"F*ck! Who's cursing me?"
Tony cursed, then gave an order to Jarvis, the AI system in his armor.
"Jarvis! Stop analyzing! Connect me to that bastard Lin Chen's phone!"
"I want to ask him if he's a rabbit, running so fast to reincarnate?!"
"Yes, sir."
Almost at the same time.
As Lin Chen, standing on the rooftop, finished speaking, his phone in his pocket buzzed.
Lin Chen took out his phone, looked at the "Iron Clump" caller ID on the screen, and raised an eyebrow.
He pressed the answer button, and before he could speak, Tony's roar erupted from the other end:
"Lin, you bastard, are you rushing to grab cacti in the desert by running so fast?!"
"My armor's thrusters are almost burnt out, and you? Why didn't you wait for me?!"
"What's the rush?"
Lin Chen held the phone to his ear, his gaze dropping to Jane and Darcy struggling to put clothes on Thor, his tone full of playful mockery:
"I just finished watching a big show here, guess what?"
"The Prince of Asgard, streaked, landed, and was taken down by a little girl with a taser."
"Interesting, right?"
"What?"
Tony's voice instantly rose, mixed with the roar of the armor's engine, "That god has already arrived? He didn't bring a weapon? And he was taken down by a mortal with a taser?"
"Otherwise?"
Lin Chen chuckled, "A god is just a powerful person; he's not immune to bleeding."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
Then, Tony's low laugh came through: "A bit interesting… Wait, I'll be there in twenty minutes!"
With that, the phone hung up with a "beep."
"That guy Tony…"
Lin Chen shook his head helplessly, casually putting his phone back in his pocket.
However, before the smile on his face, enjoying the show, had completely faded, his expression suddenly shifted.
Almost at the same time, Dr. Banner beside him let out a short gasp, pointing downwards, his voice slightly distorted:
"Lin! Look! That… that muscular guy, he, he's awake again!"
Lin Chen immediately followed Banner's finger and saw Doctor Erik on the town road, who had borrowed a somewhat old Ford pickup truck from somewhere.
At this moment, he, Jane, and Darcy were exerting all their strength, grunting and huffing, trying to lift Thor's massive and heavy body onto the back of the truck bed.
The scene was like three ants trying to move a piece of honey far exceeding their weight, both comical and strenuous.
However, just as they were about to succeed, an unexpected event occurred.
"Ah!!!"
A roar, suppressing endless fury, suddenly exploded from deep within Thor's throat.
His tightly closed eyes snapped open, and the confusion from before was gone, replaced by a raging inferno ignited by humiliation and anger.
Despite having all his divine power sealed by his father, Odin, Thor was still an Asgardian.
The taser's effect, for his divine physique far surpassing mortals, merely made him take a nap.
There was no substantial harm whatsoever.
"Get lost! You humble insects!"
Thor struggled like a madman, and a terrifying surge of immense power erupted from his body.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The next second, three dull thuds sounded consecutively.
Jane, Darcy, and Erik were sent flying backward like scarecrows gored by an enraged bull, each gasping as they fell, dazed and disoriented.
Thor leaped up, landing steadily on the pickup truck bed.
He stood high above, his naked body under the sun like an enraged statue of a War God, every muscle bulging with destructive power.
He spread his arms, making a declaration of a god to all the stunned mortals around him.
His voice was like rolling thunder, making everyone's eardrums buzz:
"Listen well, Midgardians! I am Thor! Son of Odin! The Thunder God of Asgard!"
"How dare you provoke a god with such ridiculous toys?! You will pay the most painful price for your foolishness and disrespect!"
"It's over, it's over…"
Doctor Erik clutched his bruised waist, his face drained of color, "He's completely lost it; now he's fantasizing that he's a god."
Darcy trembled as she reached for her waist, intending to repeat her trick.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Lin Chen sighed more helplessly, patting his forehead.
"Well, the whole plot has collapsed… 'Changing Lives' is about to turn into a violent assault on the film crew."
He mumbled, "Can't watch the show anymore; if this big oaf keeps making trouble, before Tony arrives, this big oaf will go on a rampage here."
After he finished speaking.
Lin Chen's figure, on Dr. Banner's retina, instantly transformed into an almost uncatchable afterimage.
"Whoosh!"
The next second, he appeared like a ghost before the enraged Thor.
This sudden turn of events brought Thor's roar to an abrupt halt.
His pupils suddenly constricted, his vision blurred, and he only felt a vague figure appear out of thin air, with no time to even see the other person's appearance.
He couldn't even feel a hint of danger in his heart.
Immediately after, an irresistible force, like a battering ram, slammed heavily into his chest!
Chapter 62 Thor: Who am I? Where am I?
"Boom!!!"
In that instant, Thor felt as if he had been directly struck by a high-speed train, his powerful divine body experiencing what "force majeure" meant for the first time.
His feet instantly left the ground, and he flew backward like a cannonball, his body tracing a pathetic arc in the air.
"Crash!"
Accompanied by a crisp, shattering roar, he directly smashed through the display window of a roadside general store.
Then, amidst the clatter of falling merchandise, he crashed heavily into the depths of the shop, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The entire street suddenly fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
Jane, Darcy, Erik, and the surrounding onlookers, all stood with their mouths agape, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
How did the imposing, self-proclaimed "Thor," the raging naked man, just... fly away in the blink of an eye?
Then, everyone simultaneously looked at the young figure in the back of the pickup truck.
Where did he come from?
Did he really knock that big guy flying?
Just as everyone was bewildered, an angry roar and the sound of objects being smashed suddenly came from inside the dust-filled shop.
"Roar ahhh!!!"
Thor roared as he charged out of the rubble.
A clear fist print was still on his chest, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and the anger in his eyes was almost solid, ready to burst forth.
"Midgardians! You are too rude!"
"You actually ambushed the great son of Odin! This is not a quality a true warrior should possess!"
He stared intently at Lin Chen, suddenly extended his right hand, and roared, "mjolnir!"
"Whoosh..."
A gust of wind blew past, and Thor froze.
He incredulously grasped at the air in vain, then suddenly remembered that his father had sealed mjolnir along with him.
Awkwardness.
It clearly appeared on Thor's face.
"Hmph... Even without mjolnir, I can still beat you!"
Thor subtly retracted his right hand, then once again assumed a fighting stance commonly used by Asgardian soldiers, his muscles tensed, ready for what he considered a "battle of glory."
However, Lin Chen merely picked his ear in boredom.
"Warrior? Where is he? I don't see him?"
"Stop messing around, Thor."
"You're just a naughty child whose daddy confiscated all his toys and threw him into the countryside to experience life. How can you even talk to me about warrior qualities?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Chen's figure flashed again.
"Again?!"
This time, Thor was prepared, his expression changing drastically, his arms instinctively crossing to protect his chest.
But even with his guard up, Lin Chen's movements had already exceeded the limits of his dynamic vision!
Almost at the same moment Thor made his blocking motion, Lin Chen had already reappeared in front of him, close enough to touch.
Their eyes met, and Thor's eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
How is this guy so fast?
It's like teleportation!
Even stranger, although the other party had appeared in front of him, he didn't see the other party punch, nor did he feel any killing intent.
He only caught a glimpse, out of the corner of his eye, of a rune carved with a goat pattern on an ancient belt at the other party's waist, suddenly lighting up with a soft White light.
"Buzz—"
The next second, Thor's eyes rolled upward, revealing the Whites, feeling as if his body had been instantly emptied.
That feeling was extremely bizarre.
It wasn't pain, it wasn't numbness, but a... an indescribable sense of emptiness.
All his strength, all his vitality, all his anger, and even the most basic control over his body, were forcibly stripped away by an incomprehensible power of law the moment that White light lit up.
"Thud."
His legs went soft, and although his arms still maintained a blocking posture, he knelt powerlessly to the ground, his tall body like a puppet that had lost its strings.
Immediately afterward, something even more soul-shaking happened to him.
He "saw" a translucent, glowing "himself" slowly floating out of his kneeling body.
Astral projection!
"This... this is..."
Thor, in his soul state, looked down at his ethereal hands, then turned his head to look at the lifeless body behind him, which still maintained vital signs, and his mind went completely blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What happened?
After being completely bewildered for three full seconds, he finally reacted, letting out a terrified and angry roar at the calm young man in front of him:
"Midgardian! You! What did you do to me?!"
"Tsk."
Lin Chen picked his ear with a look of disdain, as if Thor's soul roar was just annoying noise.
"Save it, Thor, don't yell and scream here like a vengeful spirit, it's dreadful."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and kicked Thor's kneeling body over.
Then, as if carrying a sack of sand, he effortlessly hoisted the future core member of the Avengers onto his shoulder.
"Your father sealed your divine power and threw you down here to make you reflect on your arrogance and recklessness, not to let you throw tantrums everywhere on Earth like a madman."
"You..."
Thor's soul trembled violently, his roar abruptly ceasing, replaced by unparalleled shock.
"How do you know?! You're not a Midgardian?!"
"Sigh..."
Lin Chen shook his head helplessly, carrying Thor's body and turning to leave, muttering softly:
"Why does everyone ask the same question?"
"Do you plot characters have no other lines? Can't you come up with something new?"
With that, he no longer paid attention to the still bewildered soul behind him, took big strides, and walked straight towards the open desert outside the town.
"Hey! Stop!"
Thor's soul finally snapped back to reality, seeing his body being carried away by a stranger like that, and immediately became frantic.
"Where are you taking my body?! Give it back to me!"
He shrieked, transforming into a streak of light, desperately floating to chase after Lin Chen's footsteps.
But no matter how he shouted, the other party remained oblivious.
Only Jane, Darcy, and Erik remained in the middle of the road, standing dumbfounded, exchanging glances with the equally petrified townspeople around them.
From a naked man falling from the sky, to being zapped and knocked down, then going mad and claiming to be a god, then being punched away by someone, and finally... suddenly collapsing as if unconscious and being carried away by that mysterious young man?
Everything that happened today was happening so fast that their brains couldn't quite process it.
It was as if the movie had just started, and the big screen already displayed "The End."
In the wind, only Darcy remained, trembling as she raised her stun gun, instinctively wanting to press the switch, aiming at Lin Chen's retreating back.
At the same time, she mumbled, "Should... should we... call the police?"
Chapter 63 Thor's Out-of-Body Soul
The desert outside the town, under the midday sun, was like a scorching hot iron pot.
The burning sand seared the Earth, and the air shimmered slightly from the intense heat.
Lin Chen carried Thor's heavy body, yet he walked with a leisurely stride, not even breaking a sweat.
Beside him, Dr. Banner followed, stumbling and gasping for breath, his face a little pale.
And around them, a translucent golden soul buzzed like an irritated wasp, circling Lin Chen frantically.
"Let go of my body! You despicable Midgardian thief!"
"Do you hear me?! I command you! In the name of Odin's son!"
"What kind of monster are you?! Why can't I touch you? And why can't I return to my body?!"
Thor's soul form roared almost every second, his voice filled with unprecedented terror and impotent rage.
He had tried to re-enter his body.
But each time, the moment his soul touched his physical form, he was repelled by a soft yet indestructible white energy.
It felt like a drop of Water hitting a wobbly jelly, completely unable to merge even a little.
This feeling of complete loss of control was, for Thor, who had always been arrogantly powerful, more unbearable than death itself.
However, no matter how he screamed or threatened, Lin Chen in front of him seemed deaf, completely ignoring him, and even had the leisure to chat with Dr. Banner.
"Banner, do you think Tony got lost? From Taos town to here, even if he ran, he should have arrived by now, right?"
"Uh… Lin, is it possible that your speed is just too fast?"
Dr. Banner wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze flickering.
Since earlier, he had felt a constant prickling sensation, as if another presence was nearby.
In contrast, after shouting for a long time and realizing the other party completely ignored him, Thor's anger was gradually extinguished by a sense of powerlessness.
He floated dejectedly in front of Lin Chen like a deflated ball, his handsome face showing a pleading expression for the first time:
"Hey… um, friend from Midgard, can we talk?"
"I apologize for my previous rudeness. Can you… can you please give me back my body? Please."
Lin Chen glanced at him, a playful smile playing on his lips, but still said nothing.
Soon, they returned to the vicinity of the huge crater where Mjolnir had fallen.
Lin Chen found a dune top with an excellent view, and like throwing a sack, he casually tossed Thor's body onto the ground.
Then he unceremoniously sat down on it, even adjusting his posture to make the Asgardian Prince's back more comfortable against his buttocks.
"Hmm, not bad. This human cushion is just right, not too soft, not too hard, and it even has a constant temperature. Much more comfortable than a leather sofa."
He patted the sturdy "cushion" beneath him and enthusiastically called out to Banner:
"Come on, Banner, don't just stand there. There's plenty of room, sit down with me."
"No, no, no, no need!"
Dr. Banner's mouth twitched violently, and he quickly waved his hands, his face full of embarrassment and reluctance.
He couldn't bring himself to use a living person in an unknown state as a stool.
He chose to stand aside, offering no opinion and not participating.
Immediately, his gaze was drawn to the distant crater, and he couldn't help but exclaim:
"Wow, Lin, look, when did so many people gather here?"
Around the huge crystalline crater, it was now packed with people.
They were all residents who had rushed from Puente Antiguo town after hearing the news.
Each of them craned their necks, pointing and gesticulating at the ancient-looking hammer at the bottom of the pit, their faces filled with curiosity.
Even a few brave strong men had already entered the pit, lining up to take turns trying to pull out the hammer.
However, no matter if they used all their might or applied the principle of leverage, the hammer remained motionless, as if it had merged with the entire Earth.
The scene was bustling with activity, much like a rural outdoor party.
Lin Chen looked up at the sky; a S.H.I.E.L.D. quinjet was already faintly visible in the clouds, clearly Coulson, who had dealt with the Destroyer incident and was nearby, had arrived with his team.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has arrived, Tony's efficiency is a bit too low, isn't it?"
He muttered softly.
Just then, Thor, who had been floating beside him, also saw the scene in the crater.
When he recognized the familiar hammer, his entire soul trembled with excitement, and his ethereal eyes instantly burst with a light of ecstasy!
"mjolnir! It's mjolnir!"
He cheered, no longer bothering to argue with Lin Chen, and transformed into a streak of light, rushing fiercely towards the center of the crater.
However, the next second, something he never expected happened.
His body… passed directly through mjolnir's hammer handle!
It was as if the warhammer he once cherished as his life had now also become a nothingness of an illusion.
"No… how can this be?!"
Thor anxiously darted back and forth around the hammer several times, and each time the result was without exception.
He finally panicked completely, flying back to Lin Chen's side like a madman, his voice tinged with a sob:
"Quick! Give me back my body!"
"I must get mjolnir! That's my hammer! Only I can lift it!"
Lin Chen's ears buzzed from the noise, and he impatiently dug at his ear.
"Quiet down, you're deafening me."
"Even if I let you go back, you won't be able to lift it. Your father's enchantment, have you forgotten?"
"Impossible! I am Thor! mjolnir will always belong to me!" Thor roared defiantly.
Dr. Banner on the side looked utterly bewildered. He cautiously leaned closer and asked in a low voice:
"Lin… are you… talking to me?"
He couldn't see anything, only Lin Chen talking to himself in the air, looking quite impatient.
"It has nothing to do with you." Lin Chen waved his hand.
Dr. Banner was even more puzzled: "Then who are you talking to?"
Lin Chen expressionlessly patted Thor's body beneath his buttocks and said in a calm tone, as if remarking on "nice weather today":
"Oh, nothing, I found him too noisy, so I separated his soul and body."
"What?!"
Dr. Banner gasped in shock, almost falling onto the sand. His eyes widened, and his voice changed pitch:
"S-soul and body separation?! Then… then is he dead?!"
"Not dead."
Lin Chen shook his head, "Sigh, it's a bit complicated to explain this to you. Just assume he was knocked out by me and is currently dreaming, and he talks a lot in his dreams."
"This…"
Dr. Banner felt his scientific Worldview being violently rubbed against the ground.
He was about to ask something more, when at that moment… "Boom!!!"
A piercing sonic boom suddenly exploded from the sky!
Immediately after, a red and gold streak of light descended from the sky with astonishing speed, tracing an extremely flamboyant arc in the air, then, accompanied by a harsh metallic grinding sound and gas expulsion, it slammed onto the ground.
Chapter 64: Raise Thor's Hammer?
"Bang!"
The heavy armor crashed onto the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust. The powerful Shockwave made the residents gathered at the edge of the pit lose their footing, eliciting gasps of surprise.
When the dust settled, the Iron Man armor, full of futuristic technology, was half-kneeling on the ground in a classic superhero landing pose.
"Wow! It's Iron Man!"
"My God! It's really Tony Stark!"
"Take pictures! Quick!"
The crowd at the pit's edge instantly erupted. Their initial curiosity about Mjolnir was immediately ignited by the arrival of the billionaire playboy.
Lin Chen waved from afar at the figure, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Hey! Tony! Can't you find a different way to make an entrance? Every time it's like a missile strike, way too much commotion!"
The Iron Man armor slowly stood up. The metal faceplate clicked open upwards, revealing Tony Stark's handsome but annoyed face.
He accelerated, instantly landing in front of Lin Chen, and questioned him directly:
"Lin, you're so uncool, not waiting for me. Do you know how hard I looked for you?"
As he spoke, his gaze finally fell upon the naked muscular man beneath Lin Chen's butt, and his brow shot up sharply:
"Hmm? Who's this guy?"
"Hiss… Lin, no matter how thirsty you are, you wouldn't go for a guy, would you?"
"Get lost, my sexual orientation is perfectly normal!"
Lin Chen spat, then explained, "He is Odin's son, Thor."
"What the heck?"
Tony was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something, his face changing drastically. He pointed at Thor's body and exclaimed in shock:
"Wait! You killed him?!"
Lin Chen felt three black lines instantly appear on his forehead.
He looked at Tony, speechless: "In your eyes, am I the kind of person who indiscriminately kills innocents at the drop of a hat?"
Tony Stark, upon hearing this, actually propped his chin, displaying an incredibly serious expression of thought.
A moment later, he turned his head to Dr. Banner, who was looking dazed beside him, and asked earnestly:
"Dr. Banner, what do you think?"
Dr. Banner opened his mouth, about to say something, but was interrupted by an increasingly intense "buzzing" sound.
The sound, like a swarm of countless giant hornets, was rapidly approaching from the edge of the horizon.
"Boom! Rumble rumble—"
A quinjet, entirely black and futuristic in design, tore through the clouds, bringing with it strong air turbulence, and hovered above the deep pit.
The hatch opened, ropes descended, and dozens of black-clad Agents, like wolves and tigers, streamed out, swiftly setting up a cordon around the giant pit.
"Hey! What are you doing? This is a public area!"
"Why can't we look?"
"We were here first!"
The surrounding townspeople immediately erupted, their shouts of dissatisfaction rising and falling.
However, facing these well-trained, expressionless Agents, their protests seemed pale and powerless, and they were soon forcibly "escorted" out of the cordoned area.
Amidst the chaos, a middle-aged man in a well-fitted suit with a slightly receding hairline walked unhurriedly from beneath the quinjet.
He wore his usual gentle smile, as if all the chaos before him had nothing to do with him.
Phil Coulson.
He walked to the base of the sand dune, looked up at Lin Chen, and greeted him familiarly: "Good afternoon, Consultant Lin. We meet again."
Then, his gaze shifted to the other two, and he nodded politely:
"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, it's a pleasure to see you here as well."
"Coulson?"
Lin Chen lazily shifted his butt from Thor's "human cushion," adopting a more comfortable posture, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
"I seriously suspect S.H.I.E.L.D. is about to go bankrupt. Why do they send you, a department head, on every field mission? Does Fury, that Egghead head, really like to exploit you so much?"
Coulson's smile visibly stiffened for a second, and a barely perceptible twitch appeared at the corner of his eye.
Lin Chen's words almost broke him.
His heart was filled with sorrow.
Bankrupt?
Heh, it's pretty much the same as bankrupt.
If Fury doesn't give me a raise soon, I'll be the first to resign!
Do you know I only slept three hours in two days dealing with that damn Corruptor? And now I have to rush to this godforsaken place without stopping!
I'm not a department head, I'm a donkey for the production team!
Of course, he only dared to roar these words in his heart.
On the surface, he was still the impeccable ace Agent, responding with a smile:
"Director Fury takes this anomalous event very seriously. Consultant Lin, regarding this… extraterrestrial object, do you know its origins?"
"Oh, that."
Lin Chen seemed to just remember, casually raising his foot and kicking Thor's body beneath him with the sole of his shoe.
"Ah ah ah! You damned mortal! How dare you touch the body of a god with your filthy foot!"
"I swear, once I get mjolnir, I will smash your head open!"
Thor's soul body on the side was so enraged it almost dissipated, letting out a frantic roar that only Lin Chencould hear.
Lin Chen ignored him, nudging his chin towards the curious Coulson: "That thing is called mjolnir. Uh… you might not understand it this way, so to put it simply, it's mjolnir."
"As for this guy…"
He kicked him again.
"…He's its Master, Thor."
"Thor… Thor?"
Coulson's professional fake smile instantly froze.
He was stunned for several seconds before asking with some uncertainty: "You mean… in Norse mythology, Odin's son, the one who controls lightning… Thor?"
"The real deal."
Lin Chen nodded, then, with extreme insult, ground his foot on Thor's sturdy back.
Thor's soul had already given up roaring, and instead began to curse Lin Chen's ancestors for eighteen generations with the most malicious language.
Coulson's pupils suddenly constricted. He gasped sharply, feeling a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
The myths are real?!
They had seen aliens, and dealt with superheroes more than once, but a living "God"—that was an entirely different dimension of concept!
This Shockwave, enough to overturn everyone's existing Worldview, made even this ace Agent, accustomed to grand spectacles, feel his brain briefly shut down.
"Consultant Lin, Mr. Stark, please excuse me for a moment."
Coulson's expression became more serious than ever before.
He hurriedly dropped a sentence and then quickly walked to the side, pulling out an encrypted phone, clearly going to report this groundbreaking news to Nick Fury.
"Hey, Lin."
Tony withdrew his gaze from Coulson, letting it fall back on Lin Chen.
He frowned, looking impatient, "Stop playing coy. What exactly do you want to do? You must have a plan, right?"
"Plan?"
Lin Chen grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
His eyes gleamed with the light of someone who loves a good show, "No plan, but don't worry, the real show is about to begin."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stood up from Thor.
With a slight bend of his knees, he shot into the air like a cannonball, tracing an elegant arc in the sky before lightly landing in the center of the deep pit.
Right next to the warhammer.
"Whoosh!"
Tony's armor immediately followed, hovering beside Lin Chen.
He looked down at the hammer deeply embedded in the crystalline sand, his voice from beneath the Iron Manfaceplate tinged with surprise:
"This hammer looks very heavy. I saw it from the sky just now; several strong men with pickup trucks and winches couldn't budge it an inch."
"It's more than just heavy."
Lin Chen smiled, like the devil tempting Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, and raised an eyebrow at Tony, "Want to try it?"
Chapter 65 He can't lift it, right?
"Try it?"
Tony's interest was instantly piqued.
As Earth's top scientist and engineer, nothing stimulated his competitive spirit more than an object that couldn't be explained by science.
"Then I'll try!"
He didn't hesitate; his suit landed on the ground with a clang.
Bending down, his mechanical hand, covered in red and gold alloy, gripped mjolnir's rough leather handle.
"Jarvis, set the suit's power to maximum output!"
"Yes, sir. Arc Reactor energy output 100%..."
"Now... lift it!"
Tony let out a low growl.
Every joint of the suit groaned under the strain, and the thrusters on his feet spewed scorching plasma, charring the ground black.
The sand beneath his feet even sank due to this terrifying force.
Yet... the hammer remained completely still.
It was as if it wasn't stuck in the sand, but firmly welded to the entire mass of the Earth, to the gravity of this planet.
"What the F..."
Tony released his grip, looking incredulously at his palm, then at the unremarkable hammer, and swore:
"What the hell is this thing made of?! Dark matter?! How can it be so heavy?!"
"The material is one aspect."
Lin Chen, with his arms crossed, shrugged at his leisure, "More importantly, Thor's father, Odin, placed a magicspell on this hammer."
"This spell dictates that only those who meet specific conditions can lift it."
Tony immediately pressed, "What specific conditions?"
Lin Chen's mouth curved into a mysterious smile, but he remained silent.
He just waved at Tony, as if shooing a fly: "Move, move, let me try."
This scene almost made Thor's soul body, who was not far away, laugh out loud.
He floated in mid-air, his illusory arms crossed, his face filled with disdain and mockery.
Tony Stark's failure just now had restored a trace of his superiority as the Prince of Asgard.
An overestimating mortal!
Thor sneered in his heart.
"mjolnir is my companion, a symbol of kingship!"
"Besides me, no one in the entire Nine Realms—no! The entire Universe—can lift it!"
"You despicable thief, how dare you even covet my glory? It's simply a pipe dream!"
"Just watch, you'll soon be like that tin can, revealing your ridiculous and ignorant mortal nature before mjolnir's great power!"
Under Thor's scornful gaze, Lin Chen slowly extended his right hand.
"I think it's better if you say those words later."
He turned back and gave Thor a friendly smile, then placed his palm over the ancient hammer handle.
Although Thor complained, he also clenched his fists at this moment, his eyes unblinkingly following Lin Chen's hand as it landed on the hammer handle.
He... shouldn't... be able to lift it, right?
Thor's soul body almost crushed his illusory fists, the disdain and mockery in his eyes almost materializing, pinning Lin Chen down.
This thought had just flashed through his mind.
The next second, he saw Lin Chen's palm suddenly exert force!
"Hmm?"
But very quickly, Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.
He felt a mountain-like, no, a planet-like mass of weight emanating from the hammer handle.
That force wasn't purely physical weight; it was more like a conceptual "rejection," a "you are not worthy" from the level of cosmic laws.
Indeed, relying solely on his body, strengthened after his transmigration, he couldn't budge this thing an inch.
"Hahaha! See that, mortal?!"
Thor's soul body instantly breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, then burst into even more arrogant laughter.
"mjolnir rejected you! It's spitting on you, you vile thief! The power of a god is beyond your comprehension, how could an ant like you..."
However, he hadn't finished his sentence.
An indescribable, savage and violent aura suddenly erupted from Lin Chen's body!
It was a power pure to the extreme!
As if an ancient beast had awakened within him, terrifying energy capable of tearing the Earth apart surged through his limbs and bones!
Ox Talisman, activate!
"Hmph!"
Lin Chen let out a low roar from his throat.
The muscles on his arms bulged at a visible speed, veins like coiled dragons, making the sleeves of his T-shirt almost burst!
"Move—for—me—now!"
The sand beneath his feet suddenly sank, forming a shallow pit.
The warhammer, imbued with Odin's divine power, actually let out a faint "hum" under this brute force, seeming to show a slight sign of loosening!
Thor's laughter abruptly stopped.
His soul body fluctuated violently, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"This... what kind of power is this?! So... so violent!"
Thor felt it.
Although that power was not yet enough to contend with Odin's spell, its purity and strength had already exceeded his understanding of mortals!
Good... good... mjolnir still stood firm!
Thor's heart, which had just settled, leaped back into his throat.
But seeing that the hammer still hadn't been lifted, he forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and continued to mock with bluster:
"It's useless! What if you're strong? You, this beast who only knows brute force, will never gain mjolnir's acknowledgment!"
"beast? Heh heh..."
Lin Chen grinned, his stark White teeth appearing somewhat unsettling in the sunlight.
"Well said, pure strength indeed isn't quite enough..."
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
With another thought, another completely different, yet equally unfathomable power, surged from the depths of his soul.
The talisman carved with a tiger totem on his waist suddenly lit up!
If the power of the Ox Talisman was violent yang, then the function of the Tiger Talisman was the yin that perfectly harmonized it.
In an instant, the violent power within Lin Chen's body, which was enough to burst his physical shell, was instantly smoothed by a profound and mysterious artistic conception.
All power, all emotions, all states of mind, were balanced to an extremely subtle point at this moment.
Hardness and softness, motion and stillness, yin and yang... perfectly unified.
This was no longer mere "force," but a realm almost akin to "Dao"!
"Crack—!"
A crisp cracking sound suddenly exploded in the silent deep pit.
Below Mjolnir, the sand crystallized by high temperatures, like glass struck by a heavy hammer, suddenly spread with dense, spiderweb-like cracks.
The mocking expression on Thor's soul body completely froze.
Then, as if he had seen a ghost, his illusory eyes widened, staring intently at the warhammer, which had begun to vibrate slightly.
A distorted scream escaped his throat: "This... this is impossible!!!"
Chapter 66: Mjolnir, why do you reject me?
"Crackle—"
Before Thor could finish speaking,
strands of brilliant silver-blue electrical arcs suddenly erupted from mjolnir's hammerhead without warning.
Like a group of playful little snakes, they crackled and wrapped around Lin Chen's arm, following the handle.
However, instead of harming Lin Chen, they seemed to be... welcoming him?
"Hmph!"
Immediately after, Lin Chen let out another low grunt.
With a push from his waist and back, he suddenly lifted his arm!
Then, under Thor's almost splitting gaze, he once again performed the action of lifting Mjolnir.
And that King's Hammer, which combined Asgard's highest craftsmanship with the divine power of Odin, King of the Gods, actually trembled violently, as if truly being shaken by this force.
Then, Mjolnir, under Thor's furious gaze... was pulled out of the Earth by Lin Chen, inch by inch, with brute force!
"Boom!"
The moment the hammer left the ground, an invisible wave of air exploded with Lin Chen at its center, kicking up a sky full of dust.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Tony, standing nearby, instantly retracted his iron faceplate, revealing a face full of 'Holy crap,' and he seemed to doubt his own eyes.
Dr. Banner in the distance pushed up his glasses, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg.
Coulson, who had just finished his call, also happened to witness this scene, and the encrypted phone in his hand fell onto the sand with a 'clatter.'
Although he had been on the phone, his peripheral vision had never left this area.
And Thor, one could say, was the most intensely reactive of everyone.
His soul body began to tremble the moment the hammer was lifted, as if struck by lightning.
He looked at that mortal, that mortal he had always despised and cursed.
He actually... actually so easily held mjolnir, which he regarded as his life, his honor, his everything, in his hand.
mjolnir didn't even resist?
At that moment, Thor felt his pride, his self-esteem, his beliefs... everything he had, shattered by that lifted hammer!
"No... no... this is impossible..."
His soul fire dimmed rapidly, like a candle in the wind.
This once arrogant Prince of Asgard, his knees suddenly buckled, and he fell to his knees in the void with a 'thud,' murmuring lost and distraught, again and again.
He plunged into deep self-doubt.
"Phew..."
Lin Chen, on the other hand, let out a long breath, holding Mjolnir in one hand, and casually swung it.
"Damn, that's heavy as hell!"
He cursed inwardly, but his face showed a calm and unruffled expression.
To be honest, he had only tried it with a 'let's see' attitude, never expecting that the power of the Ox Talismancombined with the balance of the Tiger Talisman would actually 'trick' Odin's magic.
This was definitely a pleasant surprise!
"Lin! You... you monster!"
Tony finally snapped out of his shock.
He flew to Lin Chen's side, circling him and the hammer twice, his voice filled with disbelief.
"I just used all the power of my armor, and I couldn't even make it budge."
"You actually lifted it, that's incredible..."
"Lin, tell me quickly, how did you do it?!"
He had tried it himself, so he knew better than anyone how terrifying this hammer was.
This was beyond the realm of physics!
And Lin Chen actually lifted it with pure physical strength.
The shock this brought Tony was ten thousand times stronger than seeing aliens arrive.
"Ahem, would you believe me if I said I'm an upright person?"
Lin Chen smiled, just about to continue showing off... "Give me back mjolnir!!!"
Just then, Thor's shattered soul suddenly roared like a madman, a desperate shriek.
His soul body instantly turned into a phantom and lunged at Lin Chen, but passed through his body without any obstruction.
"It's mine! It's mine!! You shameless Bandit! Thief!"
Seeing Thor's frantic appearance, the smile on Lin Chen's lips grew wider.
Not only was he not angry, but he even showed off, flicking his wrist.
The heavy Mjolnir spun gracefully in his palm, then he caught it steadily.
"Heh, yours?"
Lin Chen squinted at Thor's enraged soul, asking playfully, "I say, big guy, do you know why your father kicked you to Earth?"
"Believe it or not, even if I give the hammer back to you now, you still won't be able to lift it."
"Impossible!"
Thor's soul shrieked, "You're lying! mjolnir will always belong to me!"
"Is that so?"
Lin Chen chuckled, a smile that, in Thor's eyes, was more hateful than a devil from the abyss.
"Then let's try it."
Saying that, he shouted to Dr. Banner in the distance, "Banner! Give me a hand, carry that chunk of Asgardian muscle over here!"
Although Banner was full of doubts, he still walked over and laboriously dragged Thor's heavy physical body to the center of the deep pit.
Lin Chen bent down and gently placed Mjolnir on Thor's chest with a 'thud.'
Then, he looked at Thor's soul body and snapped his fingers.
"Now, you can go back."
The power of the Sheep Talisman activated again.
Thor's soul body was instantly pulled by an uncontrollable suction force, and instantly merged back into his body.
The next second.
Thor, lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes!
A trace of confusion flashed in his azure pupils, which was immediately replaced by endless rage.
Finally... finally, he was back!
"Midgardian, this will be the biggest mistake you've ever made in your life!"
Thor roared.
He wanted to get up, he wanted to reclaim his hammer, he wanted to smash this mortal in front of him into a pulp!
Let him know that no one dares to challenge Thor!
However... the next moment after his furious roar, he was completely stunned.
He found that he couldn't move.
His body felt as if it was being pressed down by a huge mountain, let alone sitting up, even moving a single finger was incredibly difficult!
There was even a suffocating pressure coming from his chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
"Uh... ah..."
He stubbornly used all his strength to struggle, his muscles bulging, veins throbbing on his neck.
But no matter how hard he tried, the warhammer on his chest, which he knew all too well, remained motionless, as heavy as if it carried the weight of the entire world.
How could... how could this be?
The anger and ferocity on Thor's face slowly faded, replaced by a deathly pale and bewildered expression.
He gave up struggling, staring blankly at mjolnir pressing on his chest, his voice hoarse, with an imperceptible tremor and plea.
"mjolnir... my friend..."
"...What's wrong with you?"
"...Why... why are you rejecting me?"
Chapter 67 He is not actually his biological son
Thor's voice echoed in the empty sand pit, filled with the desolation and helplessness of betrayal.
His sky-blue eyes, once as clear as the heavens, were now only a desolate stillness, devoid of any light.
He was like a little widow who had been abused.
He murmured, calling out to mjolnir again and again, but the divine hammer, once so attuned to him, was now like a piece of common iron.
Cold, heavy, it pressed mercilessly on his chest, crushing his last shred of dignity.
"Hey, Lin," Tony Stark stood shoulder to shoulder with Lin Chen.
He sized up the distraught giant on the ground with a look mixed with surprise, disdain, and a strong sense of gossip.
"Are you sure this guy… is a Celestial?"
He pouted, his tone full of undisguised doubt.
"Crying and sniveling, his willpower is weaker than my stocks when they hit rock bottom."
"If Odin, the King of the Celestials, knew his son was such a character, he'd probably be so angry he'd fall off his throne, wouldn't he?"
These words were like a needle, sharply piercing Thor's heart.
But he didn't even have the strength to retort.
Yes, what kind of Thor was a good-for-nothing who couldn't even lift his own weapon?
Lin Chen ignored Tony's sharp tongue.
He just walked up to Thor, bent down, and with two fingers, casually lifted Mjolnir, which had rendered Thorimmobile, from his chest.
"Thud."
The hammerhead gently tapped the sand next to Thor, making a dull sound.
"Do you see?"
Lin Chen looked down at him, his gaze as calm as a deep pool.
"It no longer belongs to you. The current you is not worthy to pick it up again."
These calm words, however, became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"No…"
Thor suddenly rolled over, burying his face deep into the scorching sand, his shoulders trembling violently.
Suppressed whimpers, like the wails of a beast, came from beneath the sand.
Father… Father really doesn't want me anymore… I am no longer the Prince of Asgard, no longer Thor… I am nothing.
I am just a… banished mortal… The pain of shattered belief, the despair of being abandoned by the entire world, engulfed him like a tide.
"Tsk."
Lin Chen listened to the endless whimpering and felt a headache coming on.
He hated this kind of self-pitying drama the most.
The next second, he unhesitatingly raised his foot and kicked Thor's backside.
"Bang!"
Thor's muscular body was directly kicked several meters away, plowing a ditch in the sand.
"I say, can't you stop whimpering here like a woman?"
Lin Chen frowned, his face full of impatience.
Thor, dazed from the kick, looked up, his face covered in sand and tears, staring blankly at Lin Chen.
He seemed not to have recovered from the shock of being kicked flying.
Lin Chen looked at his foolish expression and sighed helplessly.
Forget it, considering this guy will be an important fighting force in the future, it's like an early investment.
"Alas, it seems I need to help you understand something in advance."
Lin Chen crossed his arms, his voice suddenly turning cold.
"Thor, you are an idiot!"
"A complete and utter, spoiled musclehead who can't even see his own father's good intentions!"
Thor's whimpering stopped.
He stared blankly at Lin Chen, his blue eyes full of confusion: "You… what did you say?"
"I said you are stupid!"
Lin Chen said unceremoniously.
"Why do you think your father went to so much trouble, stripping you of your divine power, cursing your hammer, and then kicking you to this godforsaken place?"
"Did he really want to abandon you? Don't be ridiculous!"
"If he really wanted you dead, he would have just thrown you into the void of the Universe to feed those monsters, why go to all this extra trouble?"
Thor's lips moved, as if he wanted to retort, but he didn't know what to say.
Lin Chen sneered and continued: "He is teaching you!"
"Teaching you humility, teaching you reverence, teaching you how to become a true King!"
"And not a war-crazed lunatic who only knows how to show off his strength and act impulsively!"
"If you still don't understand, your good brother Loki will soon fabricate news of your father's death, then send the Destroyer to kill you, and then logically ascend to the throne of Asgard!"
"Impossible!"
Upon hearing this, Thor finally bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he leaped up from the ground and roared.
"Loki is my brother! He would never do that!"
"And Father is the King of the Celestials! He is so powerful, how could he… how could he let Loki mess around!"
"Heh, powerful?"
Lin Chen's lips curved into a highly mocking arc.
"You know nothing!"
He took a step forward, leaned into Thor's ear, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, dropped a real bombshell.
"Do you know that your 'good brother' Loki is actually not your parents' biological child?"
Boom!!!
These words, like a divine thunder from the nine heavens, struck Thor's head fiercely!
His whole body froze.
The anger, excitement, roaring… all the expressions on his face, solidified at this instant.
Time, as if, stood still.
He stood there blankly, his pupils contracting violently, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world.
"You… what… did you say?"
"I said, Loki is not your biological brother."
"He is the son of Laufey, the Frost Giant. Your father won the war in Jotunheim and picked him up, raising him as his own son."
Lin Chen calmly stated a shocking secret that could overturn the Asgardian royal family.
Thor's face turned pale, his chest heaved violently, and his breathing became incredibly heavy.
He stared intently at Lin Chen, his eyes as if they wanted to devour him.
After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth.
"Don't… don't say another word!"
"You dare to try and sow discord between us brothers! You despicable Midgardian liar!"
"You don't believe it, do you?"
Lin Chen spread his hands helplessly, took two steps back, with a look of "I knew this would happen" on his face.
"Alright, if you don't believe it, we'll wait and see."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking.
"Buzz—"
As if to confirm his words, the sky above their heads suddenly ripped open without warning!
A mysterious green-gold vortex slowly rotated, emitting heart-pounding energy fluctuations.
Immediately after, a figure, stepping on crystal clear ice crystal steps, slowly descended from the vortex.
His appearance immediately attracted all eyes, and the expression on Thor's face also suddenly became surprised.
The newcomer was dressed in magnificent golden armor, wearing a ferocious horned helmet, and holding a gilded scepter carved with the world Tree totem and battle patterns.
His face was handsome and pale, with a hint of innate arrogance and gloom in his eyes.
It was Loki, the Celestial of Mischief!
Chapter 68 He is under the control of our Earth
"Loki!"
Thor saw the newcomer, and his eyes instantly erupted with a joyful light. He excitedly shouted his brother's name.
Loki's gaze fell on Thor, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, forming a smile of unknown meaning.
"Brother, it seems you're... doing quite well here."
"Loki! Quickly! Please, quickly intercede with Father for me!"
Thor said urgently, "Tell him I know I was wrong! I..."
"It's no use, Brother."
Loki's voice was light, yet it carried an undeniable cruelty.
He interrupted Thor, saying bluntly:
"Father... he is dead."
"Wh... what..."
The wild joy on Thor's face instantly froze, then shattered into pieces.
He looked at Loki in disbelief, as if struck by lightning, then abruptly turned his head and stared at Lin Chen with a look as if he had seen a ghost.
Lin Chen shrugged lazily at him.
The meaning was clear.
"See? I told you so."
Upon hearing this, Loki finally shifted his gaze from Thorand looked at Lin Chen, Tony, and Banner.
His eyes swept over Tony's armor, finally resting on Lin Chen, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
He was somewhat surprised, because he actually felt a hint of threat from this mortal.
A misconception?
"Mortal."
Loki composed himself, resuming his haughty demeanor, and said with a smile:
"I think it's best if you don't get involved in Asgard's family matters."
"Otherwise, the consequences are not something you can bear."
"Alien."
Tony Stark took a step forward with a clang, subtly blocking Lin Chen, his eyes under the faceplate flashing with vigilance.
Dr. Banner also quietly walked over and stood on the other side.
"This is Earth. This big guy is under our jurisdiction now."
"Overestimating yourselves."
Loki's smile turned cold; he didn't even bother to say another word.
With a flick of his wrist, a sharp dagger instantly appeared in his hand, and he flung it towards Tony's chest!
He wanted to use the most direct method to make these foolish mortals understand what divine power like a prison truly meant!
However, the moment the dagger left his hand.
Loki only felt a blur before his eyes.
The dagger, imbued with his divine power and as fast as lightning, had flown less than half a meter before it was lightly pinched between someone's fingers.
Steady as a mountain.
Loki's pupils suddenly contracted!
He abruptly looked at the person who had acted; it was the black-haired youth who had made him feel uneasy from the very beginning.
Lin Chen held the sharp dagger as if it were an insignificant leaf.
He looked at Loki, whose expression had drastically changed, and a grin spread across his face, revealing a set of stark White teeth.
"It seems you already know your origins, little Frost Giantcub."
"However, Tony is right."
Lin Chen's eyes suddenly sharpened, and a terrifying aura surged skyward.
"Thor is under our jurisdiction now."
"So I advise you, please pay attention to the occasion and your attitude when speaking!"
As he spoke, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, who had already reacted, also gathered around with pistols at Coulson's gesture.
Loki did not look at these people.
The smile on his face had completely vanished the moment Lin Chen spoke, replaced by a dark rage.
Origins!
This mortal actually knew his biggest secret!
"Truly a bunch of ants who don't know their place..."
Loki was so enraged he laughed.
He tightened his grip on the scepter in his hand.
"Are you trying to provoke a god?!"
Loki spoke chillingly.
His voice was cold and arrogant, carrying the indifference of a deity looking down on ants.
And as if sensing his anger, the tip of the scepter in his hand flickered with a golden light, as if it would strike out the next second.
However, what he waited for was not the fear and trembling of mortals.
But a... sneer.
"Pfft."
Tony Stark seemed to have heard the best joke of the year, the corners of his mouth under the faceplate stretched into an exaggerated arc.
He took a step forward, his metal boots making a soft 'creak' on the sand, meeting Loki's murderous gaze without fear.
"God?"
Tony's voice, transmitted through the amplifier, carried a strong electronic tone and an even stronger mockery.
"Buddy, although I haven't seen what a god looks like with my own eyes."
"But I bet, a god... at the very least wouldn't look like a sissy wearing smoky eye makeup and a reindeer antler helmet like you."
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Dr. Banner's eye twitched, and he subconsciously took half a step back.
Even Thor, who was still distraught on the ground, forgot his sadness and looked at Tony with a dazed expression.
This Midgardian... has he always been this brave?
Although Thor also looked down on Loki somewhat, he did not believe that this Tin Man in front of him had the strength to provoke Loki.
And having grown up together, he knew his brother's personality well.
Like a venomous snake, he would always seek revenge.
"You..."
Sure enough.
Loki's handsome face instantly contorted, his elegance and arrogance completely gone, replaced by a volcanic eruption of rage.
"Tin Man, you're asking for death!"
Loki roared.
Before his words even finished, he violently swung the Scepter of Odin in his hand.
"Buzz—!"
In an instant, a thick golden energy beam tore through the air, carrying a destructive aura, and instantly slammed into Tony's chest!
It was so fast that Tony didn't even have time to raise his arm to block!
"Boom!!!"
The next second, a deafening explosion echoed across the entire desert.
Tony Stark's red and gold armor was like being hit head-on by a full-speed locomotive; he was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
Then he heavily ploughed a deep, dozens-of-meters-long gully in the sand, finally smashing hard into a huge rock.
"Sir! Chest armor energy shield overloaded! 7% of armor structure is disintegrating! Anti-impact system has reached critical value!"
Jarvis's urgent alarm blared wildly in Tony's ear.
"Cough, cough..."
Tony struggled to get up from the rock fragments, his chest armor already somewhat deformed, with even electrical sparks flickering at the edges.
A wave of fear washed over him.
That was close!
If he hadn't been wearing the latest Symbiote armor this time, with its special structure for dispersing impact, that blow just now would have been enough to blast him and his armor into smithereens!
"Roar!!!"
On the other side, seeing Tony attacked, Dr. Banner's eyes instantly turned green with rage.
His body began to swell abnormally, his clothes tearing apart as his muscles expanded.
A violent aura was about to spiral out of control!
"Calm down, Doctor"
A hand gently pressed on Banner's shoulder.
"It's not your turn yet."
Lin Chen appeared beside him at some point, his voice calm, yet it seemed to carry a strange magical power, instantly soothing the other soul within Banner that was about to go berserk.
The green tide slowly receded.
Banner gasped for breath, looking at Lin Chen with surprise and uncertainty.
Lin Chen, however, did not look at him, but turned his gaze to the golden-haired giant who had been kneeling on the ground the entire time.
Chapter 69 Loki: Mortal, you are strong
"Thor."
Lin Chen spoke indifferently.
"Now, do you still think you're right?"
"Do you still think that 'good brother' of yours was just playing a harmless prank on you?"
Thor suddenly lifted his head.
His heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe.
He looked at Loki, who stood not far away, holding a scepter, his face cold, and asked with a trembling lip and a hoarse voice:
"Why... Loki... why?"
"I always... treated you as my only brother..."
"Why did you deceive me? Why did you do this to Father..."
"Shut up!"
Hearing this, Loki seemed to have been poked in a sore spot. He immediately gave up chasing Tony, spun around, and roared at Thor.
"Brother? I'm sick of that title!"
"I always live in your Shadow! You are Thor of Asgard! The great Thor! Son of Odin!"
He walked towards Thor step by step, the resentment in his eyes almost overflowing.
"And me? What am I? A clown for your amusement? A backdrop to highlight your greatness?"
"You are reckless, arrogant, proud, and stupid! What do you have besides brute strength?!"
"Why is the throne yours? Why does Father always favor you?!"
"You don't deserve to be king at all!"
Loki's voice grew sharper and sharper. He pointed at Thorand shrieked, word by word:
"I! Do!"
"Loki..."
Thor looked heartbroken, unsure how things had come to this.
He said sorrowfully, "I never wanted to be king. I just wanted our family..."
"That's a lie!"
Loki didn't believe him at all. He sneered, "You're just a loser whose true colors have been exposed, trying to gain sympathy here!"
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Before he finished speaking, a crisp round of applause abruptly interrupted this family drama.
Lin Chen clapped his hands, looking at Loki with interest, a playful smile on his lips.
"Well said, a truly moving declaration of usurpation."
"Unfortunately, you still haven't figured one thing out."
Lin Chen paused, his gaze suddenly turning cold.
"You, and this idiot brother you speak of, are essentially no different."
"Both are... useless."
"Mortal!"
Loki's rage instantly shifted to Lin Chen. He stared at Lin Chen menacingly.
"You, time and again, provoke me."
"Do you really think I won't kill you?!"
With that, he once again brandished the scepter in his hand.
Golden energy once again gathered at the tip of the staff, even more violent than when he attacked Tony just now!
However... just as he was about to swing it.
He only felt a blur before his eyes.
The figure of the black-haired young man suddenly disappeared from his sight!
Where is he?!
Alarm bells rang in Loki's heart, and an unprecedented sense of crisis instantly enveloped his entire body.
The next second.
A terrifying sense of suffocation came from his neck.
He moved his eyeballs in horror, only to see that the black-haired young man had appeared in front of him at some point.
At the same time, a hand, not particularly thick but seemingly forged from steel, was tightly gripping his neck.
And the owner of the hand was looking at him with a playful expression, his eyes full of amusement.
Loki's feet had already been lifted off the ground by this immense force.
He was like a chick whose neck had been squeezed, held in mid-air by Lin Chen with one hand.
How... is this possible?!
Loki's mind went blank.
His proud divine power, in front of the other party, was like a babbling brook hitting a towering mountain, completely unable to move an inch!
However, the panic lasted only for a moment.
As the Celestial of Mischief, Loki quickly forced himself to calm down.
He struggled to squeeze out a smile, saying brokenly, "Mortal... you... you are very strong..."
"But... do you know who you are facing?"
"How about... we make a deal... you help me... kill this useless Thor... and I can make Asgard, and your Earth... allies!"
Lin Chen did not answer.
He just tilted his head, as if examining an interesting toy, and joked:
"Speaking of which, I've always been curious."
"The current you... is it a clone, or the main body?"
Loki's pupils suddenly constricted!
Before he could react.
"Crack!"
A crisp, teeth-grating sound of bone breaking rang out.
Lin Chen's hand suddenly exerted force, directly snapping Loki's neck!
At the moment of death, the "Loki" lifted in the air did not bleed a single drop from his mouth.
Instead, like a broken mirror, his body transformed into specks of green light, dissipating with the wind.
This was an illusion.
"Indeed."
Lin Chen shook his hand, looking at where the illusion had disappeared, and murmured to himself.
"As expected of Loki, he truly takes the art of self-preservation to the extreme."
Then he turned around, looking at Tony, who had just flown back with a wary expression, and Banner, who was equally tense.
"Alright, don't be nervous."
"The show has only just begun."
Lin Chen grinned.
"Next, there will be a big battle."
A big battle?
Tony and Banner's expressions tightened, and their eyes immediately scanned their surroundings warily, thinking Loki's true body was still hiding nearby.
"Don't look."
Lin Chen waved his hand, as if seeing through their thoughts.
"That guy is very cowardly. His true body is still in Asgard; he didn't come here at all."
"But..."
He changed the subject, looking up at the sky.
"He'll probably send a big guy over soon."
"A... metal can called 'Destroyer.'"
After speaking, he ignored the bewildered duo and walked directly to Thor.
At this moment, Thor was kneeling in the sand, his eyes empty, as if all his spirit had been drained.
"Thor."
Lin Chen looked down at him.
"Now, think carefully."
"Why did Odin banish you, and why does Loki hate you."
"All of this... you brought upon yourself."
Lin Chen's words were like a heavy hammer, striking Thor's heart again and again.
Yes... why... was it me... who caused this?
Thor buried his face deep in his hands, once again falling into endless self-doubt and pain.
And just then!
"Rumble—!!!"
The sky, without warning, darkened.
Everyone looked up in horror, only to see that the sky above them had become covered in dark clouds at some point.
A vortex, even larger and darker than when Lokidescended earlier, was furiously churning and gathering.
At the center of the vortex, lightning flashed, emitting a terrifying aura of destruction.
The next second!
A scorching rainbow beam of light, like the sword of a Celestial, descended with a roar from the vortex!
"Boom!!!"
The light beam slammed into the desert far from the town, kicking up a sky full of yellow sand and forming a small mushroom cloud!
The wind howled, and dust permeated the air.
In the center of that chaos and destruction, a huge, hideous, metallic-glowing figure slowly... rose from the yellow sand!
Chapter 70 What on earth are you protecting?
Yellow sand filled the air, and heat waves rolled.
At the center of the energy storm caused by the Bifrostimpact, the menacing metal figure stood completely upright.
It had no facial features, only a narrow slit on its smooth faceplate, like the peeking eye of hell.
Its body was forged from dull Uru metal, inscribed with ancient and powerful Asgardian runes, each rune flowing with an aura of destruction.
It just stood there silently, and a suffocating sense of oppression, enough to make mortals gasp, swept across the entire area like a tsunami.
The Destroyer.
Asgard's strongest weapon of war, the ultimate creation of Odin, the All-Father.
It had finally arrived, just as Lin Chen had anticipated.
"Hey... that thing doesn't look too friendly."
Tony's voice came faintly, with a hint of gravity.
The lingering fear from Loki's attack had not completely dissipated, leaving him with a lingering trepidation.
And the sense of threat from this iron can in front of him, in his perception, seemed more than ten times stronger than Loki's.
However, Lin Chen merely chuckled softly, turned his head, and patted Dr. Banner's shoulder beside him.
His movement was light, but Dr. Banner jolted as if he had been electrocuted.
"Banner."
Lin Chen's gaze remained fixed on the distant Destroyer, a curve of amusement playing at the corner of his mouth, "It's your turn to make an appearance."
Upon hearing this, Banner took a deep breath, a complex, bitter smile appearing on his face.
He pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold sheen of the distant metal puppet.
"To be honest, Lin..."
He took off his glasses and placed them on the ground, his voice dry but unusually calm.
"I actually feel... I can somewhat accept the existence of that big guy now."
Perhaps it was Tony's ambush, perhaps Loki's undisguised murderous intent, or perhaps the extreme threat posed by this weapon of war before him.
At this moment, Bruce Banner, for the first time in a true sense, did not resist, but chose to... embrace the rage.
"ROAR!!!"
A roar, suppressed to the extreme, as if from an ancient beast, erupted from deep within Banner's throat!
Before his words finished, his body began to swell wildly like a balloon.
His scholarly shirt was torn into strips by bulging muscles, and his skin turned a frightening, hideous green at a visible rate.
Amidst the cracking of bones, veins like coiling dragons snaked across his body.
That rational, gentle aura was gone.
In its place was pure, primal, tearing savagery and fury!
Hulk, Appearance!
"Go, big guy."
Lin Chen looked up at the green giant, who was over three meters tall, his tone like someone teasing their pet.
"Smash it for me."
"ROAR!!!"
Hulk responded with an even more deafening roar.
His eyes, filled with rage, locked onto the distant Destroyer, as if he had seen the most smashable thing in the world.
The next second, his legs bent sharply, and the sand beneath his feet instantly collapsed.
"BOOM!!!"
Accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom, Hulk's massive body transformed into a green comet, trailing a long plume of dust, and shot like a cannonball towards the metal figure in the center of the desert, in a manner completely defying the laws of physics!
Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Tony.
He was about to speak when a red and gold stream of light had already soared into the sky.
"Don't worry, Lin!"
Tony's voice came from afar, with his usual confidence and swagger, "I'll protect Banner!"
Lin Chen watched the Iron Man armor disappear instantly, shaking his head somewhat speechlessly.
Tony, this guy... it's still uncertain who will protect whom.
Immediately, he no longer paid attention to that battlefield and once again fixed his gaze on the distraught Thor.
After a moment of thought, Lin Chen suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the rolling dark clouds, looking towards the depths of the Universe.
He spoke tentatively, his voice not loud, yet it seemed capable of reaching the ends of the world.
"Heimdall, are you watching here?"
"If you haven't been frozen by that little bastard Loki with the casket of ancient winters, give me a response."
"Otherwise... Asgard is going to become Loki's harem."
His words echoed leisurely in the desert.
Unfortunately, apart from Hulk's roars and the metallic clangs from afar, there was no response from the sky.
Lin Chen shrugged helplessly.
"It seems Loki's actions are much faster than in the original plot."
He muttered to himself, "Right now in Asgard, I guess the Frost Giants of Jotunheim have already gone in to party, right?"
At this thought, he looked at Thor again, feeling that he needed to add some more intense fuel to truly awaken this prince, whose brain seemed to be all muscle.
"Thor."
Lin Chen's voice became calm, devoid of any emotion.
"Look up, and truly see."
He pointed to the distant Destroyer, which was furiously battling Hulk and Tony, speaking each word like a heavy hammer striking Thor's heart.
"Because of you, because of your arrogance and foolishness, Earth will suffer this unwarranted attack."
"Do you think what you're doing is right?"
"You always claim to be the Guardian of the Nine Realms, but have you ever considered what you have truly protected?"
Lin Chen's questioning was like a sharp knife, piercing deeply into Thor's most vulnerable and proudest spot!
"Aside from war, glory, and your ridiculous vanity, have you ever considered the feelings of others?! Have you ever considered the feelings of the people of the Nine Realmswhose homes were destroyed by war because of your recklessness?!"
"..."
Thor trembled all over. He slowly looked up, his blue eyes filled with pain and confusion.
He looked at the distant battlefield; every swing of the Destroyer's hand could unleash destructive high-temperature rays, melting the desert into crystals.
Every punch from Hulk could make the Earth tremble.
All of this... because of me?
Lin Chen didn't give him a chance to breathe. He threw Mjolnir down with a clang, right in front of Thor.
The Mjolnir lay silently on the sand, as if mocking its former Master.
"You are Thor, the son of Odin, inherently nobler than most beings in the Universe."
"But..."
Lin Chen's tone suddenly shifted, carrying a judgmental authority.
"If you remain as arrogant, conceited, and disdainful as before, then..."
"You will never be worthy of wielding mjolnir!"
"And even less worthy of the title, Thor!"
Having said that, Lin Chen no longer looked at him. He turned and walked casually towards the distant battlefield.
Leaving Thor alone, kneeling blankly, staring intently at the familiar yet strange war hammer before him.
In his eyes, something was quietly shattering, and something else was painfully... being born... On the other side, on the battlefield.
While Lin Chen was talking to Thor, the battle had already entered a fierce stage.
The yellow sand had just dispersed, and the Destroyer's massive body had just straightened up when a green Shadow descended from the sky.
"ROAR!!!"
Hulk, with the force of a collapsing mountain, brought his fists together like a meteor and slammed them fiercely onto the Destroyer's head!
"CLANG—!!!"
As a deafening metallic roar erupted.
The Uru metal helmet, capable of withstanding planet-level impacts, was actually dented slightly by Hulk's punch!
The Destroyer's massive body staggered, and before it could counterattack...
"BOOM!!!"
Hulk landed, and then delivered another furious right hook, hitting its waist squarely.
Terrifying power erupted instantly, and the Destroyer, unable to react, was sent flying sideways like a broken sack, instantly soaring through the air.
"Nice job, big guy!"
Tony's voice descended from the sky. He flew at extreme speed above the Destroyer.
Before it could land, the repulsor rays from his palms had already accumulated energy to their maximum!
"Taste this!"
"WHIRR—!"
Two scorching energy beams instantly burst forth, accurately striking the Destroyer in mid-air.
BOOM!!!
The Destroyer was once again redirected by the immense impact, slamming heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving a bottomless crater in the desert!
"Haha, alien robot, that's all you've got!"
Tony laughed happily.
But soon, he stopped laughing.