Cradle of Life Technology

Next door to the three of them was Dr. Helen Cho’s "Cradle of Life" laboratory.

Now, this leading authority in nanotechnology was working on constructing Xu Yingli’s body.

Although she had once complained that Oaks’s healing magic had nearly put her out of work, Dr. Cho had still been thrilled when Oaks told her what they were doing this time.

In a sense, what Oaks was about to create with the "Cradle of Life" technology really did count as a "vegetative person."

But compared with the Vibranium body Ultron had created, this low-cost solution was more suitable for ordinary people.

Strictly speaking, however, the plant cells Oaks used were not truly cells from any particular plant, but a kind of plant nanomaterial extracted through Nature Magic.

One could imagine Dr. Helen Cho’s astonishment when she discovered the remarkable properties of this material.

Compared to the nanomaterials she had originally used to simulate human tissue—which Tony had mocked as "plastic"—these life-infused plant nanomaterials adapted to the human body far better and could almost pass for the real thing.

After all, Oak Environmental Technology Company could even make Plant-Based meat indistinguishable from the real thing.

But the real key was the brain.

When used for repairing human tissue, even internal organs, Cradle of Life technology could perform well enough. But when it came to the brain, it was basically helpless.

After all, making a "wooden head" was not so easy, unless they simply stuck a Mind Stone in it like Ultron had.

Still, Xu Yingli had caught a lucky break, hadn’t she?

A Biological Computer brain, combined with Malorne’s soul transfer technique, could be modified slightly to work perfectly on a human body.

"So I’ve already been very considerate of Xu Wenwu’s feelings. Otherwise, even if I sent him a tree wife, he’d have to accept her obediently, wouldn’t he?"

Oaks recalled Dr. Helen Cho’s earlier amazement at the "miracle of resurrection." The only problem was that there was currently no mature scientific method for preserving souls. Otherwise, this really could have become a way to resurrect humans.

Of course, that was only from a technical standpoint.

"Still, Dr. Cho said your metal armor was outdated. What do you think?"

Skipping over the "vegetative wife" joke, Oaks began teasing Tony.

"Nanotechnology is the future. I agree with that completely, but I think you’ve run into a problem."

"I’m Tony Stark, the man known as the ‘futurist’! Of course I can see the future of nanomaterials clearly!"

Tony folded his arms, bragging first before frowning in frustration.

"But it really is a major problem. Uru Metal is simply too difficult to smelt. There’s no way to apply it to nanomaterials for now. Otherwise, even Heracles could shrink down to the size of a fist."

"Maybe you could consider Vibranium."

Banner immediately offered a suggestion.

"Vibranium’s molecular structure is very unusual. It should be able to do this, except…"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Are we going to melt down the Captain’s shield?"

"Uh… that does count as all the Vibranium we know about, but Vibranium isn’t suitable either."

Tony shook his head, rejecting Banner’s suggestion.

"Vibranium molecules absorb energy. That would make nanotech armor built from it lose efficient energy transmission. In my vision, nanomaterials aren’t meant only for defense."

"…That does seem to be the case."

Oaks suddenly understood. No wonder Wakandan technology was so advanced, yet Black Panther’s armor still focused mainly on close combat.

Of course, Black Panther himself excelled at close combat, but their other energy weapons had never been made into nanotech storage forms like armor either.

That was also due to Vibranium’s characteristics. It could be used as armor plating or in key components, but if they wanted a mass of nanoparticles like Tony’s armor to transform endlessly and form all kinds of energy weapons, Vibranium alone would not work.

"Keep researching Uru Metal. At least you have plenty of materials to experiment with."

That was all Oaks could do to comfort Tony. After all, Tony was a genius at charging Uru Metal.

"Is Malorne ready?"

A service robot rolled over and brought drinks for the three of them. Tony picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, temporarily setting aside that difficult issue.

Compared to another evolution of his armor, he was more concerned about the coming Gaia Hypothesis projection—the completed version of the global warning system, in his eyes.

"Everything is ready. The latest algorithm doesn’t even require further increases in computing power.

Xu Yingli’s body will be completed tomorrow. Three days from now, we can begin the Gaia Hypothesis projection!"

Oaks took a sip of coffee and gave Tony an affirmative answer.

"I’ve already sent an invitation to Dr. Pym. His reply came very quickly… though his tone was still as tsundere as ever."

"Ha! No matter how tsundere someone is, faced with the three of us working together, he’ll have to face reality!"

Tony waved a hand grandly.

"The consciousness of an entire world! The ultimate cure for tsunderes!"

"Yes, it really is the ultimate cure for tsunderes…"

Banner adjusted his glasses, glanced at Tony, and his expression became strange.

"By the way, is Colonel Rhodes coming to this gathering?"

He gestured with both hands.

"What I mean is, although Colonel Rhodes is involved in Avengers missions now, he still belongs to the U.S. Military."

"I understand, Bruce…"

Tony fell silent for a moment, then drained his glass in one gulp.

"This concerns the whole world. For now, I won’t notify Rhodey.

He plans to join, but he isn’t officially an Avengers member yet. That excuse will hold up and won’t put him in an awkward position with the U.S. Military."

In fact, Tony understood this perfectly well. That was why the War Machine armor’s upgrades had progressed so slowly.

Originally, Rhodey had formally joined the Avengers Alliance after the Ultron incident. But under Oaks’s influence, Ultron had never even been created, and Rhodey was currently only a prospective Avenger.

"Understood." Banner slowly nodded.

"Then I’ll notify the others first. We’ll gather in three days."

The next day, the nanomaterial body created according to Xu Yingli’s DNA information was delivered to Ta Lo. Oaks personally cast the spell, placed her soul into the body, and resurrected her.

Reuniting with Xu Wenwu and even her children would still take some time for her to adjust to.

Shaun needed some time to handle matters related to the newly established security company, so Xu Xialing left Oaks’s side and remained in Ta Lo to accompany her parents through this period.

With the matter of Ta Lo completely resolved, two days later, all Avengers members gathered beneath the Sacred Oak in Avalon.

Quite a few of them, such as Carter, Bucky, Sam, Clint, and even Natasha—those who were not members of the Benevolence Society—were visiting Avalon for the first time.

Although Malorne’s appearance was familiar to them, they could not help being surprised when they saw his true body in person.

Still, compared to the old tsundere Dr. Pym and his family, everyone else remained much calmer.

"Captain America… it’s such an honor to meet you! I’m a huge fan!"

Scott Lang, Dr. Pym’s successor and the second Ant-Man, was gripping Steve’s hand and shaking it vigorously.

"Ah, sorry… I held on for too long. Whoa, this is amazing!"

Finally releasing Steve’s hand, he waved dramatically at Pym and Hope.

"Did you see that? Captain America! I know everyone else too…"

"But they don’t all know you, idiot… Get over there!"

Dr. Pym cleared his throat, grabbed Scott with a stern expression, and shoved him behind himself. Hope rolled her eyes and pulled him behind her again.

Otherwise, it would make her image-conscious father look rather bad.

"Is this your achievement? It’s impressive, but it’s far from being a ‘miracle.’"

Although Dr. Pym had already been shocked by the fact that he was in another dimension, he still scrutinized the scene before him with a critical gaze.

A massive Holographic Projection was displayed atop a huge platform before the Sacred Oak.

It was a slowly rotating holographic image of Earth.

Now, supported by immense computing power, more than sixty percent of the global natural environment could already be fully simulated within that projection.

But to Dr. Pym, that was really nothing remarkable. Even with Malorne included, it had only drawn the faintest trace of surprise from the old tsundere.

"Carter, you brought so many people all this way. Don’t tell me it was just to look at an Earth model?"

Peggy Carter spread her hands and looked toward Oaks, who was resting with his eyes closed nearby. He opened them, smiled, nodded, and looked at Dr. Pym.

"I’m ready… Dr. Pym, everyone, what you’re about to see today is naturally far more than this. The time has come to witness a miracle!"

Oaks stepped forward through the crowd and stood before the Sacred Oak. Thick Emerald Light rose from both hands as he pressed them heavily against the trunk, his mind already entering a special state—

Drawing close to the Gaia Hypothesis!

Because Oaks was currently in Avalon, his consciousness had effectively formed a "passage" between Avalon and Earth.

Endless Nature Force poured down through that "passage," and the terrifying pressure made all the Avengers abruptly pale.

"This is… the power of the Gaia Hypothesis?"

Tony, Banner, and Steve exchanged glances, then shook their heads with bitter smiles. Their understanding of magic’s upper limits had remained at Thor’s level.

In terms of sheer destructive might, Thor’s lightning magic—also called divine power—was naturally beyond dispute.

In terms of wonder, Wanda’s magic controlling matter and minds was no less impressive.

In terms of strangeness, Agatha was the expert, with her endless assortment of spells and incantations.

But even they, who knew nothing about magic, could see that before the majesty Oaks now displayed, all of those were insignificant.

This was merely the pressure before the consciousness of the world descended.

PS: I received a review notice saying that SQ apparently can’t be written about… It had been fine before. Maybe it can’t be written in certain regions… I can’t just crudely cut it out either, so I can only try changing a letter first. Please take note. (_)