Cosmic Variable

"Is that really General Kyle?!"

In just a few seconds, an uproar erupted on the streets of New York.

Regardless of age or gender, passersby around Kyle grew excited the moment they saw him and rushed forward. Before long, an exaggerated sea of people had formed, surging toward him in wave after wave of madness.

"Damn it, Gu Yi. Couldn’t you have made the exit somewhere more discreet…" Kyle gritted his teeth. Without the slightest hesitation, he charged toward the nearby commercial building. With a powerful leap, he vaulted directly onto the second-floor sign.

Climbing activated!

He stepped onto the wall above him. A faint black glow coated the soles of his feet, carrying an incredibly strong adhesive force. Each step fixed firmly to the building’s surface, allowing him to walk across the wall as if it were level ground.

With just a few simple leaps and bursts of speed, his retreat and escape unfolded in one fluid sequence.

In less than three seconds, Kyle successfully climbed onto a ten-meter-high section of the commercial building. Concealed by the wall, he quickly vanished from sight.

Only the intersection beneath the commercial building remained jammed with people and vehicles, while countless frenzied shouts rang through the skies above New York.

Half a minute later.

Kyle, once again disguised by Venom as an ordinary office worker, walked down another nearby street with lingering fear. Only then had many pedestrians realized what had happened, chattering as they rushed toward the place where he had appeared. Even police cars had been dispatched to maintain order on the roads.

"It was General Kyle! He showed up over by the pedestrian street outside the commercial building!"

"Where?! I want General Kyle’s autograph!"

"Get lost! General Kyle is mine!"

"General Kyle moved too fast. I heard he climbed a ten-meter-tall building and got away."

"You heard wrong! My friend said he jumped straight onto the top of the commercial building and disappeared!"

"Bro. Isn’t that commercial building around a hundred meters tall? But if it’s General Kyle, maybe he really could do it…"

Listening to the excited discussions of pedestrians passing by, Kyle could not help smiling bitterly. He nearly pulled the brim of his hat down to his sunglasses.

In an era that practically had no idol stars, as the first superhero—and an officer who had symbolized national conquest and strength during World War II—the public’s worship had reached an unprecedented level of fervor.

"This has its advantages and disadvantages…" Kyle stroked his chin. At first, he had merely wanted to establish himself in this Marvel world, build a career, and then slowly consider how to deal with the future villains and enemies.

Now, it seemed that the reputation boost from being a superhero had become a little too much. He could not keep a low profile at all.

"Once World War II ends, it’ll be time to consider retiring as a hero. Otherwise, even every private move I make will draw the focused attention of all kinds of organizations around the world." Kyle pondered in secret, recalling the deep wariness and helplessness he had felt when facing Gu Yi earlier.

"Gu Yi probably won’t trust me that easily. Before I learn how to control the Space Stone, I can’t casually take it out of Card Space and use it."

"Also, I have to find a way to draw the magical abilities of those monks from Kamar-Taj, the organization Gu Yi created!"

Kyle made his decision in secret. A glint flashed through his azure eyes as he strode away from the noisy streets behind him and headed toward the street where his home was located.

Meanwhile, in Kamar-Taj, within a hidden residence created from an expanded space inside a building.

Sparks spun into a blazing wheel, revealing a circular spatial tunnel large enough for people to walk through. Gu Yi stepped out with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Master Gu Yi."

Inside the dojo-like hall, a Black male monk had already been waiting nearby. He bowed respectfully to Gu Yi upon her return.

Gu Yi nodded with a smile.

The Black monk said with some confusion, "Master, you haven’t left Kamar-Taj for nearly a hundred years. This time, you made an exception to visit a major general from a single country."

"Major General Kyle is no ordinary person." Gu Yi frowned faintly and said softly, "His body appears to have fused with an extraterrestrial symbiotic life-form. Even when I use magic to read his thoughts, all I can hear are the chaotic thoughts of that symbiote."

The Black monk said solemnly, "An extraterrestrial life-form? Do you need me to handle it?"

"No. That symbiotic life-form does not possess enough power to threaten Earth. Besides, you should know who the enemies are that we truly need to remain vigilant against." Gu Yi reminded him, then turned and walked out of the dojo hall.

"Kyle of America? If I get the chance to go to the United States, I’ll have to test him properly." The Black monk muttered to himself, committing the name to memory.

Gu Yi arrived at an underground library and placed the Eye of Agamotto into a book-shaped storage case. She set it on a shelf alongside the forbidden spellbooks, then sealed them with magical chains.

There was another strange matter concerning Kyle that she had not told any other sorcerer.

Whenever she used time reversal or sent her soul and thoughts through the past and future of various timelines, she could never clearly see any scene involving Kyle.

That man was like someone who had appeared in this world out of thin air, disrupting all the original trends of the future. The countless possibilities ahead had all become blurred, impossible to deduce or rehearse.

"Variable"—that Eastern term was the most fitting description.

"Will he be the hero who saves Earth, or the demon who destroys everything in this world…" Gu Yi let out a sigh. As Earth Guardian, she had once again encountered something far beyond her expectations and control, aside from the Cosmic Stones.

Brooklyn District, Harlem Street.

Kyle had no idea what Gu Yi was thinking. He followed the address in the records all the way to his former residence, finally stopping in front of a classical duplex villa.

"If I remember correctly, this should be it." Kyle looked up. It was his first time "coming home." After confirming the house number, he pressed the doorbell beside the entrance.

"Coming, coming." A young girl’s clear reply came faintly from behind the villa door.

A moment later, Lucy, dressed like a girl relaxing at home, opened the door a crack. Her clear amber-like eyes examined Kyle, who stood outside.

After all, during wartime, many young men had left home to enlist, leaving far more single young women and wives living alone in New York. Beautiful women naturally remained wary of unfamiliar men.

Especially Lucy, who was as beautiful as Angel. Recently, some "old gentlemen" had even asked where she lived. Who knew what they wanted to do.

"Who are you? The fresh milk was delivered during the day, and I didn’t subscribe to any newspapers." Lucy asked, warily watching the suspicious young man outside, whose clothes, hat, and sunglasses concealed him completely.

Kyle froze slightly, then seemed to realize something. With a mischievous urge, he lowered his voice and said hoarsely, "Door-to-door service."