Officially Setting Foot on Asgard

Li Feng naturally knew what had happened to Jane, but how was he supposed to explain it to Natasha?

Explain that poor Jane had been possessed by the Aether? Or that Jane had been parasitized by a parasite—one that ate and drank from her, crapped and pissed inside her body, shamelessly refused to pay rent or maintenance fees, and would only leave after eating her into poverty.

Besides, the Aether had another name—the Reality Stone.

The moment Li Feng finished explaining, Fury would probably show up with that black face of his and nag Li Feng to death.

Li Feng had no desire to ask for trouble.

"Don’t mention it." Li Feng rubbed his forehead and said weakly, "Jane has been entangled by some strange energy. I have no way to drive it out. Right now, I can’t even get close to her. Either Ancient One comes to help, or Heimdall in Asgard notices something wrong with Jane and Thor comes to help in time."

Natasha narrowed her eyes and said, "Getting Thor here isn’t realistic. We don’t have Thor’s number, and Earth has no interstellar communication methods. You should contact Ancient One instead."

Li Feng spread his hands and smiled bitterly. "The problem is that Ancient One is busy dealing with some bastards invading Earth. She has neither the time nor the energy to help."

Ancient One was fighting? Looks like Coulson’s analysis was right. Natasha stroked her chin and asked, "Is Jane’s life in danger?"

Li Feng nodded. "Yes. I can sense that energy devouring Jane’s life force."

Natasha frowned. Jane’s value had skyrocketed because of Thor. After all, her boyfriend was a god, a member of the royal family, and the kind destined to wear a crown in the future.

Although Jane was doomed never to become queen because of her lifespan, she was currently an important link between Earth and Asgard.

Thor had been single for a thousand years and was simple-minded. He had finally found love, yet before they had even slept together, she croaked. What would Thor think then?

Natasha had no idea whether Thor would cry himself unconscious in a bathroom if someone like Loki stirred things up around him, but the relationship between Earth and Asgard would very likely gradually fade, or even worsen. After all, Jane had met with an accident on Earth.

No matter what, they had to keep Jane alive until Thor arrived, then comfort Thor and tell him not to be sad, to protect Earth well before dying. Natasha rubbed her brow and asked uneasily, "Do you have a way to delay Jane’s death?"

Li Feng nodded and painfully took out Eternal Spring from his shoulder bag. His mouth twitched as he said, "This little bit of spring water will probably all be squandered by Jane. When Thor comes to Earth later, you have to testify for me. I’ve suffered huge losses saving his woman."

As long as there was a solution, it was fine. Natasha inwardly sighed in relief. As she took out her phone to call Fury, she said to Li Feng, "Find a way to keep Jane alive. As for your losses, I don’t think Thor is a stingy person."

"I hope so." Li Feng took a deep breath like a defeated man and slowly let it out. He approached the wall hiding the Portal again, only to—

Li Feng rubbed his forehead where he had slammed into the wall, then pointed at it with a dumbfounded expression and cursed, "Does your damn Portal keep office hours too? The sun’s shining brightly, and you dare skip work? Believe it or not, I’ll file a complaint against you."

Natasha, who was reporting the situation, watched Li Feng curse at a wall like an idiot. Speechlessly covering her forehead, she turned her back to him. She was afraid that if she looked a few more times, she would get angry enough to pull out her gun and shoot him.

Seeing Natasha turn away from him in disgust, Li Feng’s lips curled slightly. He quietly clenched the necklace around his neck, covertly activated the Mind Stone, and opened the Portal.

After returning to Jane’s side, Li Feng did not immediately give her Eternal Spring. Instead, he sealed the Mind Stone inside the Matryoshka Doll, carefully approached the Aether, sat cross-legged on the ground, and sensed the energy characteristics of the Reality Stone.

Only after the Aether withdrew into Jane’s body and he could no longer sense its energy did Li Feng open his eyes and quietly wait for Jane to wake up.

After a long while, Li Feng sensed spatial fluctuations beneath Jane. The next moment, Jane vanished before his eyes. Without a word, Li Feng transformed into gray mist and followed Jane through the Portal, returning to the abandoned warehouse.

At that moment, Jane opened her eyes. She stared blankly at Li Feng, who was circling around her, then sat up from the ground and rubbed her forehead. "Austin, what are you doing?"

Li Feng crouched before Jane and took a drop of Eternal Spring from his shoulder bag, floating it before her lips. As he motioned for her to swallow it, he asked, "How do you feel now? Dizzy? Blurred vision? Weak limbs?"

"What?" Out of trust, Jane swallowed the Eternal Spring even though she did not know what it did. Then, with a baffled look, she recalled what had happened to her on the alien world. "I remember touching some kind of red liquid, and then I passed out."

As she spoke, Jane clenched her fists and felt around her body. Shaking her head, she said, "I only feel a little dizzy. I don’t feel weak all over or anything like that."

"That’s good." Li Feng stepped back a few paces, signaling Jane to get up on her own. "Those red liquids are actually a type of energy. They attached themselves to your body and are draining your life force. And this energy is very unusual. Before, I didn’t dare touch you. What I gave you was spring water that replenishes life force, but—"

Li Feng shrugged helplessly. "But your body is like a funnel now. No matter how much life force you replenish, it will absorb it all. So you’d better pray Thor reaches Earth before my Eternal Spring runs out. Otherwise, you should buy a graveyard plot you like in advance—"

Before Li Feng could finish, he suddenly turned to look in the direction where spatial energy was emanating.

This energy fluctuation feels so familiar. Is it the Bifrost? Li Feng smiled. "All right, Thor is already here."

Hearing that Thor had come to Earth too, Jane no longer cared how long she could live. She hurriedly ran out of the abandoned warehouse.

Li Feng looked toward a dim corner and groaned melodramatically, "Knowing she could croak at any moment, yet she can still cast everything aside before true love. Love, you’re fucking great. Am I right, girl?"

In the dim corner, Natasha, dressed in a black skintight suit, rolled her eyes and walked over to Li Feng. She teased, "You’ve been single for ten thousand years, and now you’re yearning for love? Why don’t you find yourself a partner when you have time? Want me to post some personal ads online for you? Don’t worry, Fury will reimburse the expense."

"Heh." Li Feng rolled his eyes, ignored Natasha’s teasing, and walked out of the abandoned warehouse while rubbing her shoulder. "Come on. Let’s hold up banners and give the distant Prince Thor a warm welcome."

Natasha glanced back at the spot where Jane had been lying and asked as she walked out of the warehouse, "Is there still a Portal there?"

"It disappeared." Li Feng casually explained, "The Convergence of the Nine Realms isn’t obvious yet, and the spatial energy is unstable. The anomaly is here now, but it might all disappear tomorrow."

Natasha frowned. "So if we want to collect data, we need to do it as soon as possible?"

Li Feng nodded.

Outside the warehouse, teams of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., dressed in protective suits, busily set up equipment under the torrential rain.

Jane, who was likewise standing beneath the open sky, seemed to have an invisible umbrella over her head as she and Thor exchanged sweet nothings.

Li Feng and Natasha speechlessly glanced at the thunderous sky, then at Thor and Jane, who were about to kiss.

Li Feng complained weakly, "Didn’t they say a French wet kiss in the rain was romantic? Isn’t Thor cheating?"

Natasha patted the hand on her shoulder, signaling that Li Feng’s groping should end there. She quickly walked toward Thor and said, "Thor, long time no see."

Thor, who had been about to kiss Jane’s sexy lips, said with slight annoyance, "Natasha, long time no see." Thor glanced at the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. around them and asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"

Natasha pointed at Li Feng. "He told us about the Convergence of the Nine Realms. Jane and Selvig are experts in this field, and you know S.H.I.E.L.D.’s responsibilities. To protect civilians, we used Jane’s expertise to find and seal off the areas where anomalies had appeared."

"You know about the Convergence of the Nine Realms too?" Thor looked at Li Feng in surprise.

As if I shouldn’t know. Li Feng shrugged and put on a serious expression. "Thor, Jane is in danger. She has been corroded by some strange energy. Right now, she can only stay alive by taking a drop of Eternal Spring every half hour. You should take Jane back to Asgard for a thorough examination."

As he spoke, Li Feng took out a drop of Eternal Spring from his shoulder bag, showing Thor the precious Eternal Spring, then floated it to Jane’s lips.

Realizing that the Eternal Spring contained abundant life force, Thor watched nervously as Jane swallowed it. He took Jane’s arm and cautiously probed it with Divine Power.

The moment Jane’s arm came into contact with the Divine Power, red energy surfaced and resisted Thor’s Divine Power.

Seeing this, Thor hurriedly embraced Jane. Just as he was about to summon Heimdall, he heard Li Feng say, "I’ll go with you. My Eternal Spring can buy time for Jane’s treatment."

With Jane’s safety at stake, the panicked Thor agreed without a second thought. He motioned for Li Feng to grab his arm, then raised his head and shouted, "Heimdall!"

The instant Thor finished speaking, a seven-colored pillar of light enveloped the four of them.

After passing through a dazzling, fantastical passage, Li Feng officially set foot on Asgardian soil.

However, carried by the Bifrost’s momentum, Li Feng instinctively staggered forward several steps. Just as he was about to fall, a burly man clad from head to toe in gleaming golden armor caught him. "You should exercise more, Mage."

I’d like to, but I don’t have any method to train. Li Feng smiled awkwardly. Once he had steadied himself, he said, "You must be Heimdall, guardian god of the Bifrost, one of the twelve principal gods of Asgard, the God of Light, the God of Dawn, and the one with eyes that can perceive all things. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Heimdall froze for a moment, then revealed what he believed was his friendliest smile. "Asgard welcomes you."

As he spoke, Heimdall glanced at the invisible Kreacher beside them. Frowning, he motioned for Kreacher to dispel his invisibility, then looked at Jane and nodded. "You are welcome as well."

Thor was preoccupied with the energy inside Jane and had no mood to chat with Heimdall. After apologetically saying, "We’ll talk when there’s time," he led Jane and Li Feng straight toward the hall representing Asgard’s greatest medical technology, where there were equipment and hope for treating Jane.