Three Books

Ravonna’s words greatly displeased Sylvie. She sneered, "What’s there to envy about an old monster who secretly manipulates other people’s lives?"

"A brute like you will never understand the appeal of power."

Ravonna smiled disdainfully and strode toward the castle. Wang Bert could not help laughing. Brute? That word suited Sylvie perfectly.

"I’m a brute?"

Sylvie was enraged by Ravonna’s words. She drew her broadsword and charged inside after her. Wang Bert shook his head and followed the two of them into the castle.

The castle was old, drab, and somewhat eerie. Kang the Conqueror’s choice to live here showed that his heart was filled with exhaustion.

"No wonder he let someone kill him. He’d had enough. He had been searching for an heir all along, but his luck was bad—Old Tony chopped him to death."

Wang Bert shook his head and thought to himself, Of course, either ending would have been a release for him.

Next, Wang Bert arrived at Kang the Conqueror’s study. There were many books here. Some were regular books published by publishers, while others had been written by Kang the Conqueror himself.

Worth mentioning was that most of the regular books came from the thirtieth century. In other words, Kang the Conqueror had brought them back from the future.

Sylvie had no interest in these books. She was considering whether to set the place on fire. Ravonna, on the other hand, kept searching through the books, hoping to find a way out.

With a sweep of his divine sense, three books flew off the shelves toward Wang Bert. They were titled "Sacred Timeline," "Time Variance Authority," and "Alioth"! Worth mentioning was that all three books had been written by Kang the Conqueror, though he had used his real name—Nathaniel Richards.

"Hopefully, you can give me a pleasant surprise."

Wang Bert opened "Sacred Timeline." It was a special history book recording the major events of the Sacred Timeline. For example, Iron Man was born in 2008, Hulk rampaged through New York in 2009, Loki led the Chitauri invasion of Earth in 2012, and so on.

"Thor encountered Gorr the God Butcher in space. In the end, his ex-girlfriend lifted the hammer and became Female Thor…"

Wang Bert skimmed through the book at an astonishing speed. After finishing it, he could not help sighing. No wonder Old Tony had gone dark. There were far too many disasters in the future. Worse still, his family had been fighting against those disasters all along, suffering heavy casualties.

There was no helping it. Iron Man had started the age of Super Heroes. His descendants were destined to be unable to escape that vortex.

"This book will be very useful to me. With it, I can deal with the Main Universe’s disasters ahead of time. Although these disasters are nothing with my current strength, it’s still better if fewer people die."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction and picked up the second book, "Time Variance Authority."

This book introduced the founding and development of the Time Variance Authority, and it even recorded the Authority’s detailed structure. Besides that, it documented something Wang Bert was extremely interested in—Materialism Power.

Materialism Power had not been created by Kang the Conqueror. It came from the Material Universe—in the future, the Material Universe would invade this universe, only to be driven back by the Super Heroes.

Kang the Conqueror stole Materialism Power while those people were being defeated, then used it as the foundation of the Time Variance Authority. Inside the Time Variance Authority, aside from technological power, every other kind of power was unusable.

Without that foundation, the Time Variance Authority would have long since been torn apart by those Time Criminals.

"The foundation is enormous and cannot be taken out of the Time Variance Authority. Later, Old Tony found a way to shrink it down and turn it into a super divine artifact."

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully read the book’s description. Kang the Conqueror was a great scientist, and he shared a common flaw of scientists—he liked getting to the bottom of things.

After obtaining Materialism Power, Kang the Conqueror had studied it closely and understood its strengths and weaknesses extremely well.

"Materialism Power can not only lock down magical power, but also all idealistic power. However, it is not without flaws. For example, if idealistic power is converted through high technology and becomes materialistic power, Materialism Power will lose its effect."

Seeing this, Wang Bert could not help narrowing his eyes. Kang the Conqueror’s deduction was correct. A few days ago, Tony’s Godslayer Armor had not been suppressed by Materialism Power.

"It’s not just Tony. The Eternals are the same."

Wang Bert thought to himself, The Celestial Group are idealistic beings and are suppressed by Materialism Power. But mutants and Eternals were created by the Celestial Group through technology, so mutants and Eternals are not suppressed by Materialism Power.

Also, Hulk’s power is not suppressed. It isn’t magic—it is mutated science, even if that power is rather idealistic.

In other words, as long as I can create a high-tech armor powered by Mind Power, I can escape Materialism Power’s suppression.

Wang Bert’s eyes lit up. He immediately contacted his main body and told him to create a high-tech mind armor.

"Received."

Wang Bert’s main body received the message and immediately passed the order on to Ivan, Dr. Richards, and the others, then continued handling the wedding with Wanda.

What, why did Wang Bert not research it himself? Nonsense. He was a grand boss with a whole group of genius scientists under him. Why would he need to do the research personally?

"This trip was absolutely worth it."

Wang Bert put down "Time Variance Authority," picked up the third book, "Alioth," and after finishing it, smiled at Ravonna. "Stop looking. I’ve already found a way to leave this place."

All three books were incomparably valuable. Kang the Conqueror was truly an amazing author.

Worth mentioning was that Old Tony had not destroyed the books because he could not—after killing Kang the Conqueror, Alioth went berserk and drove everyone out.

"Really?"

Ravonna and Sylvie were both overjoyed. They hurried over and asked, "What’s the way?"

"Ravonna, didn’t you say earlier that Kang the Conqueror used special means to stabilize the Timeline at the End of Time?"

Wang Bert said, "His special means was actually Alioth."

"Alioth?"

Ravonna was stunned. "How does Alioth maintain it?"

"It’s simple. It devours Time Criminals and Time Branches, converts the time on them into special energy, and uses it to repair the End of Time, extending its life."

Wang Bert said, "That is why Kang the Conqueror exiled Time Criminals to the End of Time."

"So we weren’t just exiled—we were turned into materials? Food?"

Sylvie’s expression became utterly ugly. She turned around, kicked the desk hard, and roared, "I’m going to chop Kang the Conqueror to pieces!"

Wang Bert shrugged. "You’ll have to be quicker next time, because Old Tony has already chopped him up."

Ravonna suddenly understood. "So that’s it. No wonder the End of Time collapsed. After the Time Variance Authority was destroyed, Alioth lost its food."

"Kang the Conqueror was the purest kind of scientist. He would choose whichever method worked best, even if that method hurt a great many people."

Wang Bert said, "It’s hard to imagine someone like that could be a savior."

"What savior? He only wanted to preserve this universe."

Sylvie cursed, "He died too easily. I should have given him Death by a Thousand Cuts."

Ravonna did not argue with Sylvie. She asked Wang Bert, "Blood God, what does this have to do with leaving this place?"

"Of course it has something to do with it."

Wang Bert said, "This world is filled with Alioth’s energy. As long as it is willing, it can reclaim all that energy within a month. At that point, this Timeline will head toward destruction."

"Once the Timeline is destroyed, the Six Infinity Stones will lose their target of confinement. Then, we will be free."

As he said this, Wang Bert’s eyes flickered. Perhaps he could use this chance to seize the Six Infinity Stones. If he succeeded, his main body could descend upon the Future Universe and end all this damned nonsense.

Sylvie said, "After the world is annihilated, you can indeed leave. The problem is, we’ll definitely die."

Ravonna also said, "Blood God, this is good news for you, but for us, it is nothing but terrible news."

"Don’t worry. I won’t forget about you."

Wang Bert said, "After Alioth reclaims its energy, it will become extremely powerful. By then, it can protect everyone and let them survive. I mean everyone at the End of Time, not just you two."

"Great."

Sylvie and Ravonna were delighted. Then Ravonna thought of something and asked worriedly, "Blood God, are you planning to take everyone out? Those Time Criminals might cause some enormous disaster."

Sylvie could no longer hold back. She slashed at Ravonna with her sword. "I hate bastards like you who keep talking about the bigger picture!"

Wang Bert raised his hand and caught Sylvie’s wrist. "Enough. If you want to chop her, do it after we get out. I promised to take her out."

Sylvie knew she was no match for Wang Bert. She snorted and lowered her broadsword, then said to Ravonna, "I won’t let you off."

Ravonna was extremely disdainful. Why would she fear a mere brute? Then Wang Bert said, "We’ll definitely take the Lokis. As for everyone else, their fate will decide."

"Blood God, do you know how many Lokis live at the End of Time?"

Ravonna smiled bitterly. "If they all return to Earth, they’ll soon play Earth into collapse."

Wang Bert was astonished. "That exaggerated?"

Ravonna said, "It really is. Lokis are best at escaping. Most of the Lokis exiled to the End of Time survived. There are at least several thousand."

"During the time I was on the run, I ran into Lokis every day."

Sylvie said unhappily, "Honestly, Lokis are incredibly annoying. They’re either deceiving people or betraying them. Our previous hideout was nearly destroyed by President Loki because of Black Loki’s betrayal."

"You’re a Loki too, thank you."

Wang Bert said, "Then we’ll take the few from before. Everyone else can leave it to fate."

"Fine."

Sylvie and Ravonna stopped objecting. Wang Bert did not waste any more time and ordered Alioth, "Start reclaiming the energy."

"Yes, Master."

Alioth was delighted by the order and immediately began reclaiming its energy. Earth and the Solar System began shrinking at the same time. Within a month, this world would completely cease to exist.

Wang Bert thought of something and muttered, "I hope Earth doesn’t suffer some huge disaster in the next month. Old Tony is going to cause a major catastrophe sooner or later by doing things like this."

Earth. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed. During that time, both Old Tony and Wakanda had been searching desperately for Ultron. Unfortunately, they found nothing. Ultron seemed to have disappeared without leaving the slightest trace.

This result made everyone extremely anxious. Everyone knew that the longer this dragged on, the more troublesome it would become.

In Iron Man’s underground laboratory, Phastos went to the warehouse to fetch materials as usual. As he entered, he quietly placed a golden Chip behind the door. The warehouse surveillance system flickered, then immediately returned to normal. Even Friday did not notice anything wrong.

"I really hate this kind of sneaky behavior, but for Earth’s sake, I have to do it at least once no matter how much I dislike it."

Phastos sighed inwardly. He walked to the cabinet storing Ultron’s mechanical body and opened it with an instrument. Then, he took out a tube of Pym Particles and sprinkled them over the mechanical body.

That was right, Pym Particles. Druig had sent them over specifically to obtain Ultron’s mechanical body.

Worth mentioning was that, on the surveillance feed, Phastos was currently checking items in front of a shelf. There was not the slightest abnormality.

Under the effects of the Pym Particles, Ultron’s mechanical body rapidly shrank. Phastos placed it into a specially made pocket, then took a miniature, highly convincing replica of Ultron’s mechanical body from his other pocket.

"Human wisdom is truly incredible. They can even develop something like Pym Particles."

Phastos marveled as he dispelled the shrinking effect on the replica body. The replica body abruptly grew larger. Phastos forcefully placed it into the cabinet, then shut the door.

Finally, Phastos left the warehouse with the materials. Before leaving, he inconspicuously slipped the Chip back into his pocket. Everything appeared flawless.

"An intelligent program is still only an intelligent program."

Phastos felt a little smug. Just then, Old Tony’s voice suddenly came from a nearby speaker. "Mr. Phastos, please put Ultron’s mechanical body back in the cabinet. It is made of Vibranium and worth hundreds of millions. That amount is enough to keep you in an American prison for the rest of your life."

Phastos’s body stiffened. Then he asked, "How did you discover me? There is no problem with my technique."

"You are only a scientist, not a master thief."

Old Tony said, "Ultron’s mechanical body contains a great number of Chips I made. How could I possibly fail to notice it leaving the warehouse?"

"Mr. Phastos, I am sincerely willing to cooperate with you. I do not wish for something like this to happen again. Otherwise, do not blame me for being rude."

"Tony Stark, you should give the mechanical body to Wakanda. Wakanda can use it to find Ultron’s whereabouts."

Since Old Tony had discovered him, Phastos stopped hiding anything. He said, "More than half a month has already passed. We must find Ultron immediately, or Earth will face a great disaster."