Sleeping Again?

Alex looked at Joshua in surprise. After a long silence, he asked a crucial question, "How long would it take?" Given Alex’s current condition, he would probably be dead before long. It was clearly impossible for Joshua to break through in such a short time.

Joshua did not panic at the question, nor did he hide anything. He answered honestly, "I don’t know. Three to five years at the shortest, or…" He paused, hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Ten or twenty years is also possible. Maybe even longer."

"Are you screwing with us?!" Little Logan, standing among the crowd, immediately jumped out at Joshua’s words. The tall man, standing six-foot-two, easily lifted Joshua by his collar, two Bone Claws protruding menacingly from his knuckles.

Alex had not expected Little Logan to step in. He shot him a fierce glare, snorted, and raised a hand to rescue Joshua. After offering a few words of apology, he changed the subject. "Do you have another solution?"

"As long as we rapidly freeze my teacher’s body and maintain it at an extremely low temperature, the flow of energy within his body will stop. That would prevent the Energy Toxin from spreading." Joshua considered his words for a long while before explaining. When he finished, he turned to Howard. "The US Government has already made considerable progress in this technology. I’m sure Mr. Howard knows about it."

Howard nodded, his expression extremely grave. "In theory, this method is feasible, and the experiments have made significant breakthroughs." He suddenly paused and turned toward Alex, speaking with concern. "But no one knows whether he can be successfully thawed and revived. The experiments have not progressed that far yet."

After hearing Joshua’s freezing method, Alex immediately thought of Steve. In the movies, Steve had been frozen after sinking into the ocean, then thawed and revived seventy years later. Hadn’t he been perfectly fine? Alex believed that, compared to Steve, he was in no way inferior after receiving the Super Soldier Serum. In fact, he was even stronger. Being frozen for a few decades would be no problem at all.

There was nothing wrong with the method. The only thing Alex could not accept was that being frozen meant falling asleep again—another decade, perhaps even longer. He had already been separated from Emma, Vivien Leigh, and the others for ten years. Alex did not want to face that pain again, and it would not be fair to them either.

Emma saw through Alex’s thoughts at a glance. Before he could speak, her expression hardened, and she said earnestly, "A temporary separation is for the sake of being together for a long time afterward. Even if we have to wait decades, we’re willing!"

As she spoke, Emma reached out and tugged Monroe. Monroe instantly understood and nodded without hesitation. Holding back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, she gritted her teeth and said firmly, "We’re willing to wait for you. Even a hundred years. As long as we’re alive, we’ll wait forever!"

Alex looked down at Emma and Monroe. After hesitating for a long time, he sighed. "I’ll think about it some more." Without waiting for anyone to speak, Alex used Teleportation and left.

On Mount Everest, in Attilan, the hidden city of the Inhuman race, Alex used Teleportation to return.

"Alex, why are you back?" His Highness Alex was sorting through something when he suddenly sensed someone behind him. He quickly turned around, and when he saw Alex, he broke into a delighted smile, his face full of surprise. "Did you find Medusa?"

Alex could not help feeling awkward at his adoptive father’s words. He brushed it off with, "I’m still looking. The Earth is huge. It won’t be that fast." He quickly changed the subject and said quietly, "I came to see you, Father."

His Highness Alex shuddered violently. His slightly aged face was filled with wild joy, but he quickly suppressed it. He did not want to lose control in front of his son.

After finally calming himself, His Highness Alex gave a light cough before asking, "What is it? What did you come to see me about?"

"Father, would you let a woman wait for you?" Alex did not know whom else to ask. After thinking it over, he had ultimately decided to seek out his adoptive father. "There’s no definite time. It could be years, or it could be decades. There’s no guaranteed outcome either. Maybe, in the end, she’ll wait for nothing and simply grow old in vain."

His Highness Alex had initially thought Alex was seeking justice for his mother. But when he noticed Alex’s expression, panic rose in his heart, and he asked anxiously, "What happened? Tell me!"

Alex looked at his worried father. After hesitating for a while, he explained everything.

"Is this really the only way?" Although His Highness Alex said that aloud, his mind was already searching through the Inhuman race’s special abilities for a cure. Unfortunately, after combing through all his memories, he was disappointed. The Inhuman race’s abilities were stranger and more unpredictable than mutants’ powers, but an ability like Joshua’s was unheard of.

Alex did not know what his father was thinking. He nodded. "I’m afraid of death, but I don’t want them to wait pointlessly for me. I already owe them a lifetime for one decade!"

"You think it’s a debt, but they won’t." From Alex’s earlier words, His Highness Alex realized that his son had more than one woman, and every one of them loved Alex desperately. His old face immediately brightened with pride.

Alex shook his head, his expression growing even more despondent. "That’s exactly why I don’t want to owe them."

"If you feel you owe them, then wait until you’re well and repay them double!" Seeing the pain on his son’s face, His Highness Alex suddenly understood. The boy had trapped himself in a dead end. He had been fixated on their agonizing wait while he slept, yet had forgotten that once he was thawed and revived, he would have plenty of time to make it up to them.

Emma had said something similar before. But Alex’s thoughts had been muddled at the time, and before long, he had fallen back into the same dead end and forgotten it completely. He had remained immersed in painful guilt, unable to pull himself free.

Alex froze slightly. The pain in his eyes gradually cleared, as though he had understood something.

"Have you figured it out?" His Highness Alex smiled lightly and patted Alex on the shoulder. In a gentle voice, he comforted him, "There’s still a long future ahead, but there’s very little time now. Go back and comfort them properly!"

Alex smiled. His warm smile instantly dispersed the sorrowful haze shrouding him, and his whole person seemed to brighten like sunlight. "Thank you, Father!" As he spoke, Alex reached out and embraced his adoptive father.

After bidding farewell to his father, Alex returned once more to the Floating Temple. The vast Floating Temple had gained quite a few more people. Vivien Leigh and Audrey were among them, and even Nick Fury, Carter, and Natasha had arrived.