The Ancient One Arrives

"Dumb bro, you're home early today. Oh, Lin! You're here too!"

"Show some respect. Call him Uncle Lin!"

"Okay, okay! Mon, stop making your Swiss roll. Lin's here, and I want pineapple jiaozi."

Lin Xu: "..."

He really wanted to say she didn't have to go to all that trouble. Before transmigrating, he'd been a southerner, and boiled dumplings had never been a necessity for him, let alone these bizarre creations.

Last time he came, he'd eaten some kind of chocolate dumplings. They were so cloying that his burps had tasted like chocolate when he got home.

"Boss, if you don't like them, you can say no." Perhaps seeing Lin Xu's predicament, Adrian hurried over and spoke in a low voice.

Lin Xu turned around and frowned. "Then why don't you say no for me? This is your house!"

"..."

"Oh! Don't tell me you're scared of your wife!"

"..."

"Well, I'll be damned. I never would've guessed that about a strapping guy like you. Forget it, the kid likes them. Next time I come over, I'll buy a few bags of Synear dumplings at the supermarket. In a few years, you won't be able to buy them anymore."

"What's Synear? What won't we be able to buy anymore?"

"That's capitalist business. Wage earners shouldn't ask too many questions." Ignoring Adrian's confusion, Lin Xu waved a hand and continued, "All right, let them get on with it. Let's move the stuff into the basement!"

"Okay."

"Unit Two specifications!"

"Weight: 185 kg."

"Wingspan: 522 cm."

"Theoretical lift capacity: 6,000 kg."

"Theoretical speed: 300 m/s."

"Power core: BAR1.5 (palladium reactor)/NAR2.5 (New Element reactor)."

Holy crap!

As Lin Xu listened to the figures, his eyes lit up. Eight tons of lift! The weight of five cars!

Although that kind of strength was nothing compared to Spider-Man or the Hulk, it didn't stop Lin Xu from getting excited. For an ordinary person, being stronger than he was himself was enough!

"Adrian, can I try it now?"

"Of course... not!"

"Huh?"

"Ever been skydiving?"

"No."

"What about wingsuit flying?"

"I'm afraid of dying... Besides, you used Unit One right away."

"When I was twenty, I studied wingsuit flying systematically. I haven't flown in many years, but I can still adapt." As he said this, a Batman-like confident smile appeared on Adrian's face.

Hearing that, the excitement instantly faded from Lin Xu's face. In the past, he might have tried those extreme sports sponsored by Red Bull.

Time was too tight now. Stephen Strange would spend the next six months in a slump, then accidentally join Kamar-Taj and spend another six months becoming the guardian of the Time Stone.

And then... to bring Christine back to life, he would sacrifice the entire universe!

Hopefully, future me will come through in this timeline.

"Forget it, then. You can wear Unit Two yourself. I'll wait until you develop a more convenient Unit Three..."

Before Lin Xu could continue dangling promises in front of his subordinate, a yellow flare suddenly lit up the dim basement, growing larger as the two men stared in astonishment!

"...Three. Holy shit!"

With no time to think, Adrian grabbed the automatic weapon nearby that was meant to go with Unit Two. "Sir, this is private property. Whoever you are, please leave!"

Lin Xu: ...

Well, admirable courage, but not recommended.

The magic portal opened, but no one came through. Then a booming voice rang out. "Though this may be a little rude, there are some things I'd like to ask you. Come over."

Lin Xu looked at Adrian, fooling himself a little. "He's looking for you?"

Adrian said, "I think he was speaking... Chinese."

Chinese? Huh? Lin Xu thought back carefully. The person did seem to have spoken Chinese... and the voice had been male.

Could it be Wong? Didn't he just take over the library around now?

The voice came from the other side of the portal again. "That's right. Kaecilius killed the librarian, and Wong of the Hong Kong Sanctum has just taken over the library."

"Just as I thought. Looks like I remembered right. Wait..."

In an instant, Lin Xu's face went from yellow to red, then from red to white!

Gulp~~

Fuck, I didn't say anything just now. Can this old bastard read minds???

"I can't read minds."

...Hmm! Fuck!

"I've already forgotten what my mother looked like, so I really don't care what she did for a living. Next time you curse someone in your head, remember to use an alien language."

"You understand dialects too?"

"What you just said... hmm, thought, was Southwestern Mandarin, one of my favorite languages."

"All right... Looks like I have no choice but to make this trip today."

Click. Adrian stepped forward without a word, switched off the safety, and aimed the gun at the portal. His intentions were obvious.

"All right, Adrian. Unless you want your soul knocked out of your body, step back. I'll be fine."

"Okay!" The moment Lin Xu finished speaking, Adrian put the gun away without a trace of hesitation. Although the conversation had been in Chinese, he had taught himself a lot over the past few years. Apart from things like "one for two, two for one," which he couldn't make sense of, he could communicate normally now.

From what he'd heard, the person on the other side wasn't hostile and could read minds. A man could die, but he couldn't suffer social death. He had to act before the person revealed his secret of wetting the bed at fourteen in front of his boss...

Oh no! Why did I just think of that?

"Ahem, boss, since this fellow countryman of yours is so sincere, go on over. Remember to come back soon. Liz and I will wait for you to eat!" Adrian hurried to salvage the situation. At the same time, out of Lin Xu's sight, he pressed his palms together toward the portal and bowed slightly.

Don't say it. Please, please!

Lin Xu found it a little strange and abruptly turned around like an aircraft carrier. Adrian reacted quickly, adjusting his posture and expression in an instant, one hand behind his back and the other held out, his face full of righteous conviction.

"All right." Although he found it a little strange, Lin Xu didn't dwell on it. For now, he had to deal with Kamar-Taj first.

He cautiously reached into the portal and poked around a couple of times. Seeing nothing unusual, he lifted a leg and stepped through.

"Hello? Anyone here? Could someone turn on the lights? Or light a kerosene lamp or something?"

Click.

Dim yellow incandescent light shone down from overhead, revealing a spacious hall. All the furniture was made entirely of wood and had an unmistakably antique charm. A statue of a deity stood enshrined in the very center of the hall.

A strange statue.

It had three heads and six arms, unlike Nezha. This one looked more like three statues joined together, with different genders and species: a man, a woman, and a tiger.

"Oshtur the Omnipotent, Agamotto the All-Seeing, and Hoggoth the Hoary. They are the trinity known as the Vishanti."

The voice suddenly came from behind Lin Xu, giving him a fright.

"Sorry for inviting you here so early in the morning."

"Who are you?" As a transmigrator, Lin Xu naturally knew that only the Sorcerer Supreme could invite outsiders into Kamar-Taj at will, but he really couldn't be sure of the identity of the person before him.

"The Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One. Of course, you may also call me... Yao." As he spoke, the newcomer pulled back his bright yellow hood.

Snow-white eyebrows, a white beard, and silver hair falling to his shoulders.

A male Ancient One!!!!