Soul Stone Acquired

May 11, 2018, Planet Vormir.

It was a gloomy, desolate planet. The sky was covered in dark clouds, and everything around them was shrouded in a chilling gloom, as though they had entered hell.

The light of the stars was blocked by the planet’s satellites, and the little light that managed to shine through could not provide even the slightest warmth.

If someone opened their eyes and suddenly found themselves facing such a scene, they would definitely be scared out of their wits. Could I have transmigrated into the world of Diablo, and been dumped straight into the fourth map?

However, for the two people who had descended here, this hellish environment could not affect them in the slightest. Compared to the two of them, any demon crawling out of hell was nothing but trash!

One of them was the dark emperor feared throughout the universe, while the other was one of the universe’s top assassins.

One was Thanos, and the other was Gamora.

With Gamora leading the way, Thanos slowly walked up a narrow path that led straight to the mountaintop. The two remained silent the entire way, each occupied with their own thoughts.

Thanos had his own goal, but Gamora could not understand it. Toward the murderer who had killed her family, all she felt was endless hatred.

Tony’s daughter could sincerely say to her father, "Love you 3,000," but each of Thanos’s two daughters wished they could stab him 3,000 times!

If that still did not feel satisfying, they would stab him another 3,000 times after he came back to life, continuing until they were exhausted, until the end of time…

When they reached the mountainside, Thanos suddenly sensed something. He looked up and saw a figure hovering in the air, waiting for them beside a dilapidated stone archway.

Its blood-red face looked like a skull. Combined with the ragged gray cloak, it looked exactly like the Grim Reaper from Western legends, the harvester of lives.

It was enough to make anyone instinctively recoil!

Of course, that only applied to ordinary people. In Thanos’s eyes, the Red Skull actually looked quite handsome. If he were turned into a woman, he might even possess one percent of the charm of the Goddess in his heart?

"Thanos, son of A’Lars." The red skull spoke leisurely to Thanos. "You came here for the Infinity Stones as well?"

Thanos was startled. "Who are you?"

In truth, he was even more astonished that the other party could immediately name his father. Ever since Titan was destroyed, that name had rarely been mentioned.

"Come with me." The Red Skull led the way and continued, "I was once a pursuer of the Stones’ power. I even obtained one of the Infinity Stones, but it abandoned me and banished me here, guiding others to seek the treasure I could never obtain."

As he spoke, the three of them arrived at the edge of the cliff. Between two towering stone pillars that reached into the clouds, it looked like a gate leading straight to hell.

The Red Skull continued, "The Soul Stone holds an extremely special position among the Infinity Stones. You might call it a form of wisdom. To take the Stone, you must lose the one you love most. A soul for a soul!"

Thanos shuddered violently. His entire body felt as if it had been struck by lightning. He turned around with a complicated look in his eyes and gazed at Gamora beside him. Tears of sorrow had already gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Seeing Thanos shed tears, Gamora smiled.

She smiled so happily, so triumphantly, as though she could finally vent some of the hatred she had harbored for this murderer over the years through his sorrow.

"Do you feel disappointed? Do you feel helpless? But there’s nothing you can do. This is karma!"

"You were heartless to begin with. You don’t understand what love is!"

However, the Red Skull beside them shifted his gaze to Gamora. "He isn’t crying for himself. He’s shedding tears for you!"

Gamora was shocked. Just as she was about to turn and run, Thanos grabbed her by the arm.

Unwilling to let her entire life be destroyed by an old purple-skinned bastard, Gamora struggled desperately, crying and beating at him, trying to make Thanos release her and save herself from the tragic fate that awaited her.

However, how could a frail woman like her possibly be a match for the physically powerful Thanos?

Thanos’s large hand was like a pair of pincers, clamping down on her delicate arm and dragging her toward the edge of the cliff. No matter how Gamora struggled, it was all ultimately futile. Aside from displaying her determination to resist to the death, she could only let Thanos do whatever he wanted to her!

No one could change her tragic fate now!

Gamora’s youth was destined to be destroyed by this demonic stepfather!

At last, they reached the edge of the cliff. Thanos closed his eyes and, filled with endless guilt, pushed Gamora over the edge.

Listening to Gamora’s despair-filled scream, tears of sorrow fell from Thanos’s eyes.

In the next moment, however, he briefly lost consciousness. After sacrificing Gamora, his soul appeared in a body of water. When he slowly awoke, an orange gemstone had appeared in his hand.

Now!

Just as Thanos briefly lost consciousness and his soul left his body to obtain the Soul Stone, a figure suddenly shot out from the darkness, sweeping past Thanos. Seventeen highly technological circular devices had appeared on the latter’s smooth bald head. His bald head now looked more like the distinctive topknot of a Buddhist monk.

The Red Skull, their guide, turned his head and saw that Li Congxin had already appeared ten meters away from him and Thanos.

The Red Skull had intended to tell Li Congxin that he had arrived too late, and that someone else had already obtained the Soul Stone first.

However, he did not say it. After being dazed for a moment, Thanos had already regained consciousness. An orange Soul Stone had likewise appeared in his left hand.

There was neither joy nor sorrow on Thanos’s face, only utter bewilderment.

Why had he obtained the Soul Stone in the spirit world just now, only to feel an itch on his scalp the moment he returned, as if something had been added?

Before he could figure out what had happened, Li Congxin, standing behind him, pressed a button on a remote control in his hand.

The next moment, all seventeen neurotoxin electroshock devices discharged simultaneously, injecting their toxins!

Then Thanos convulsed…

Before coming here, Li Congxin had already tested the power of these things.

For him, a single neurotoxin electroshock device could only make his body feel extremely uncomfortable. It was nowhere near powerful enough to knock him out in one strike. Considering that Thanos’s strength was roughly comparable to his own, he had to increase the output power to achieve an effective single blow.

Thus, Li Congxin installed no fewer than seventeen of the electrotherapy devices he had packed up and brought out from the Grandmaster’s place onto Thanos’s forehead in one go!

As the saying went, quantitative change led to qualitative change. When all seventeen neurotoxin electroshock devices were concentrated on one person’s head, even someone as powerful as Thanos had his eyes roll back in an instant and passed out completely.

However, the Mad Titan’s strength was still formidable. Even after taking such a heavy blow, he could only be rendered unconscious for a short time—about three minutes at most.

But for Li Congxin, that was already enough!

After all, with the Quantum Battle Suit as a cheat in hand, no matter how much he toyed with the Stones after bringing them back, or how long he toyed with them, he could choose to return them one second after taking them.

Li Congxin hurried forward, removed the neurotoxin electroshock devices from Thanos’s head and put them away, then snatched the Soul Stone from his hand. He smiled at the Red Skull, making the Red Skull’s hair stand on end. Though, technically, he had no hair…

In fact, Li Congxin had originally prepared two plans for obtaining the Soul Stone.

The first was to steal it from Thanos: simple and direct, but highly dangerous.

The second was to make use of the Red Skull. Whether he found someone the Red Skull loved or someone who loved him, as long as Li Congxin had enough power, he could freely decide whether they lived or died. The Soul Stone would likewise end up in his possession.

However, considering that he did not understand the Red Skull well, fulfilling those conditions might require him to meddle with the past timeline for a long time. There were simply too many uncertain factors.

Therefore, Li Congxin ultimately decided to spare the Red Skull and target Thanos directly.

This unlucky member of Hydra had, in the process, managed to avoid a calamity.

Amid the other party’s bewildered expression, he said, "Hail Hydra!"

Then Li Congxin’s body vanished from the other party’s sight with another "whoosh."

After returning to the Avengers Base in 2023, Li Congxin could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had finally managed to circumvent Black Widow’s death.

Speaking of which, Black Widow had been terribly unlucky in 2023.

First came the Widow Chasing the Sun…

Everyone, don’t misunderstand. The detailed events went like this.

After his entire family was killed, Hawkeye tried to heal his emotional wounds by frantically killing criminal organizations and other evil forces around the world. His methods were extremely ruthless. To bring this lost companion back, Black Widow flew a Quinjet all the way to Japan after him.

In short, the Widow Chasing the Sun.

After bringing Hawkeye back, she was assigned to go with him to Planet Vormir to obtain the Soul Stone. Since Old Captain America had not personally experienced the specific events, he had not explained them in detail. However, based on the rules for obtaining the Soul Stone and the personalities of the two superheroes, the facts were not difficult to deduce.

Li Congxin guessed that after learning that someone had to sacrifice themselves to obtain the Soul Stone, Hawkeye and Black Widow had fully demonstrated the traditional Northeastern virtue of fighting to pay the bill, even coming to blows over it.

Judging from their overall strength, these two weakest superheroes in the Avengers were both laggards, but there was still a tiny difference between them. Naturally, Black Widow, who ranked second from the bottom, defeated Hawkeye, who ranked dead last, and won the competition to pay the bill.

Then she died.

Thanks to book friend Koujiao Jiaota Lang for the 1,000 Qidian coins reward!

Also: I was busy all day today, so this update came quite late. Please forgive me.