Five Days to the Countdown

When Lin Xu and Lao Wang returned to Kamar-Taj, Strange was standing wearily in the training grounds.

Lao Wang glanced at the two of them, then silently returned to the library. The matter between the sect leader and the supreme elder was not something he, a mere transmission elder, could get involved in.

"Tell me, how many futures have you seen?"

Twenty-three million seven hundred thousand.

"Hey, didn't I tell you that showing me millions of varieties would be enough?"

Strange didn't answer the question. After hesitating for a long time, he asked, "Senior brother, who exactly are you?"

How so?

"In those 23.07 million possible futures, I haven't seen you even once..."

"So what did you see?"

"I saw... another version of myself possessed by demons!"

How many times have you lost?

"..."

"Tsk, looks like you haven't won a single time."

Strange lowered his head and remained silent.

Lin Xu continued, "How many days are left?"

Five days~

"So fast?"

"Senior brother, is it really impossible to bring Christine back to life?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xu waved his hand, and a Mirror Dimension quickly formed, enveloping the person in it.

Strange's eyes lit up. Clearly, he knew that if the answer was no, he could have just told him directly instead of beating around the bush like this.

"Senior brother?"

"Within this multiverse, there are four main types of timelines: Multiversal Timeline, Fixed Timelines, Branch Timelines, and accompanying timelines..." (If you've forgotten, refer to chapters 1, 2, and 3; I won't go into detail here.)

Soon, Lin Xu told Strange everything that the Ancient One had told him.

"Our universe exists on Branch Timeline. The other version of yourself you see comes from Fixed Timeline within this branch. On this timeline, minor trends can be altered, but major trends cannot."

What is the general trend?

"The Sorcerer Supreme fell into darkness to save Christine."

Strange quickly spotted the blind spot. "You just said we're on Branch Timeline, so does that branching have a major trend?"

"No..."

Strange's smile had barely formed when Lin Xu's next words poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"Although there is no overall trend, there are Absolute Point in Time."

For Strange, who had read "The Book of Cagliostro," he knew very well what Absolute Point in Time was—an alternative Paradox.

"You came to Kamar-Taj and became the Sorcerer Supreme because of Christine's death. Therefore, you cannot use your acquired knowledge and power to resurrect her across time. If she were alive, you would not come to Kamar-Taj. This is the Absolute Point in Time."

These words, though cold and ruthless, did not break Strange. He looked at Lin Xu with hopeful eyes. "Senior brother has a way, right?"

"Have!"

"Senior brother!!"

"The day after your car accident, I switched Christine's body and used alien technology to preserve her cells."

"Where is she?" Upon hearing this, Strange instantly became incredibly excited.

"Look at you, always in such a hurry!"

"I..."

"Alright, she'll be fine. My original plan was to wait until you became the Sorcerer Supreme, then go back in time and bring her here from that point in time, thus bypassing the Absolute Point in Time."

Seeing Strange's anxious expression, Lin Xu put his hands behind his back, walked to the edge of the square, and looked at the distant snow-capped mountains through the Mirror Dimension, displaying the demeanor of a master.

"But now, I want to wait a bit longer!"

"Senior brother, as long as you can save Christine, I'll agree to any condition!" Strange thought Lin Xu was going to negotiate with him. Indeed, with such a scheme, senior brother must have paid a heavy price.

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Xu glanced at him irritably.

"The Christine of the past has disappeared, which means my plan is half complete. Now, the corrupted you is about to strike. Hehehe, as long as I don't go back to the past, I will live indefinitely during the time I do go back."

"So, as long as I don't bring Christine here, it proves that your 'darkened' self hasn't managed to kill me. Hahaha, I'm such a genius."

These roundabout words would be difficult for a layman to understand, but Strange grasped them in an instant.

Senior, you're exploiting a bug in the time loop! Seriously? Is this even possible?

"Ahem... Senior brother~"

"Put!"

"What if, I mean, what if, I die in this incident?"

"Hey, don't worry."

"Mmm~"

"If you die, I'll take good care of Christine for you."

"Ah?"

About ten hours later, it got dark in Kamar-Taj; it was already the next day in New York.

Lin Xu arrived at the Avengers Compound.

At this moment, only Tony Captain America, and Banner remained in the base, with Banner looking at Lin Xu with a resentful expression.

"Ahem... Tony, where are they?"

Tony poured Lin Xu a Coke: "It's all because of our newly appointed Secretary of State. He said I was harboring a wanted criminal, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, I sent them to California to test the new equipment."

"Thaddeus Ross?"

"Besides him, who else is so obsessed with regulating superhumans?"

Lin Xu understood. He wondered if Thaddeus Ross had been injected with the Hulk Serum. He couldn't go to see Old Cyttorak empty-handed next time.

"Is Steve's armor ready?"

"I was just about to tell you this." Tony pulled Lin Xu in front of the projector. "Look~"

"I don't understand..."

"Uh, I forgot you're illiterate."

Lin Xu:(∝_∝)

"Ahem, I don't know what material that bone set you gave me is made of. Its hardness is practically comparable to Vibranium. However, it seems to repel other materials from getting close. Every time it's set up, the material next to it either loosens or cracks the next day."

Have you tried Vibranium?

"Same effect."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xu frowned instantly. If the skeleton wasn't built well, he wouldn't feel comfortable letting Steve fight against Dark Strange with him; he would be a burden rather than a helper.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xu took out Mjolnir and tossed it to Captain America.

"Steve, next."

"Watt?"

Steve held Mjolnir in his hand, feeling the thunderous power within, and was momentarily lost in thought.

The moment Tony saw Mjolnir, he even planned out where Thor would be buried, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Captain America catch him.

They had all tested it before; in the entire Avengers Compound, only Vision was able to lift it.

"Wow, this thing looks real! Where did you get it?"

Seeing Tony about to take a touch, Captain America instinctively handed it to him.

Thump~

Glug~

It's actually true...?

How is Thor? Is he still alive?