"Illegal Income Tax"

Because Lin Xu had stayed in this universe too long, the Quantum Suit's built-in one-way crossing ability had stopped working. To reactivate it, he had to find someone with expertise in that field.

But this universe's Tony had become the nuclear bomb hero early on.

That left Pym as his only shot.

As for Kamar-Taj? Come on. One look at Kaecilius's face told him he was good with people. After Odin's possession, he was suspicious even of good people, let alone Uncle Hannibal.

Five days later, Lin Xu settled into number 603 on Buena Vista Avenue. It was one of San Francisco's long-established wealthy neighborhoods, where homes cost four or five times as much as those in Pacific Heights.

Dr. Pym's house was right next door at number 601. (From the Marvel Cinematic Universe.)

What, you wanted to know where Lin Xu got the money?

That was thanks to the two worlds having identical economies and technology.

He had over forty million US dollars in his Chase account, with only a loophole in his identity information. But after paying 22 million in "illegal income tax," the remaining twenty million became legitimate funds.

The IRS had even thoughtfully helped him obtain a green card.

Did JPMorgan Chase have a problem with it? Take it up with the IRS!

For the next while, Lin Xu stayed home, converting divine power and practicing the mystic arts.

He was in no hurry to approach the Pym family. Now that he had become a god, he no longer felt the urgency he had at first. Besides, this universe was relatively safe, enough for him to keep a low profile for a long time.

All he needed was for them to stay where he could keep an eye on them and for nothing to go wrong.

Early that morning, Lin Xu went out to the front garden as usual, poured himself a glass of cola, added a few ice cubes, and watched the sunrise.

Suddenly, an aura that felt both familiar and unfamiliar entered the yard. He turned to look, but there was nothing there.

Lin Xu would have doubted his eyes before his senses. He steadied himself and looked carefully toward the source of the aura.

On the leaf of a large azalea was an ant a tenth of its normal size, with a tiny figure in a red-and-black suit riding on its back.

Scott?

That made sense. The Avengers of this universe had long been gone, so Scott had never had the chance to take part in the Civil War and hadn't been confined to his home by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Lin Xu turned back and took another sip of cola, pretending he hadn't seen Scott. He wanted to see what the little fellow had come for today.

A moment later, the little ant took off again, deliberately circled around in a wide arc, and finally landed on Lin Xu's left wrist.

Ha, so he was after the tracker!

Half an hour earlier.

Before dawn, Scott had hurried over to Hank Pym's house.

Hank was not only bad-tempered but also especially irritable when woken up. Roused from sleep, he flew into a rage on the spot. "Scott, you'd better give me an explanation!"

"I think I dreamed about your wife."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I dreamed I became your wife. Uh... no, that's not right either..."

"...Come inside and tell me!"

Scott explained everything to Hank and Hope, and the two immediately wept with joy.

"Oh my god, she's still alive. I knew it!"

"Daddy, we have to save Mom."

"Yes!"

Although Hank agreed, he wasn't very confident. Building a Quantum Tunnel was simple, and he could buy the missing materials on the black market. The only uncertain factor was the location.

Although they could use the quantum information on Scott to locate her, the odds were too low. The success rate was only 3 percent.

If only...

With the two of them watching, Hank opened the safe and took out two things: a photograph and a personal file.

[Lin Xu, male, 30 years old (unconfirmed)

Place of origin: Clinton, New York (unconfirmed)

Home address: 603 Buena Vista Avenue

Life history: none

Appeared suddenly two months ago, paid $22 million in taxes, and purchased a mansion

Interests: cola, DC movies, staying home

Note: rarely goes out.]

The photo had been captured by a security camera. Lin Xu was holding a pack of cola, two bags of imported Synear dumplings, and chili sauce.

"Hank?" Hope was a little puzzled after seeing it. Wasn't this their neighbor, the one they had never spoken to?

Hank ran a hand over the file. "Remember what Scott took from the old Stark warehouse a year ago?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "The prototype signal cloaker. Of course I remember. Also, that's called stealing, not taking!"

Hank ignored Scott's complaint and continued, "Just last month, I reconnected it to the quantum detector. Guess what I found?"

"What?"

"Two quantum signal sources within three hundred meters!"

"Isn't that normal? Me and Hope, two people."

"No, Scott!"

Hope suddenly cut in. "I've never entered the Quantum Realm. Of the three of us here, you're the only one who's been in there!"

Then the two caught on and pointed at the photo, looking at Hank.

"Him?"

"That's right. The signal came from him—or rather, something he was carrying." As he spoke, Hank fixed his gaze on the hand in the photo that Lin Xu was using to carry the dumplings.

"Scott..."

"Come on, Hank! I gave up that life years ago."

"I'm not asking you to steal it. Just get close. I need a good look at that thing..."

Scott could have refused, but when he saw the pleading look in Hope's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"This is the last time. I don't want to be in prison when my daughter becomes an adult."

"Thank you..." Hope gazed affectionately at Scott, then went over to the computer and began making preparations.

Scott watched Hope in silence, the corners of his mouth lifting without him realizing it.

"Hey, could you stop having those thoughts about my daughter right in front of me?!"

"Ahem, sorry..."

Once everything was ready, Scott put on the Ant-Man Suit and rode a flying ant to Lin Xu's villa. Lin Xu had just gotten up.

"Whoa, cola with ice first thing in the morning. Don't they say Asians like drinking hot water?"

"This house is huge. Does he live here alone? I want a big house too, where I can live with Cassie..."

"By the way, didn't you find anything about his past?"

"Shut up, Scott!"

"Okay, it's just that surveillance is really nerve-racking. I need to talk to myself to calm down. I used to do it all the time when I did this kind of thing before..."

Suddenly, Scott fell silent. Lin Xu, who had been looking toward the horizon, had abruptly turned and aimed his gaze at him.

Shit, did he spot me? Why is he looking at me?

Fortunately, the stare didn't last long.

To make sure Lin Xu really hadn't noticed him, Scott deliberately flew in a wide circle in front of him.

Only when he saw that Lin Xu really didn't react did he breathe a sigh of relief and steer the flying ant down onto the target.

It was a gold-and-red object that looked like a watch. It had four buttons: [Nano Suit Coverage] [Time Adjustment] [Activate] [Return]

On the strap was an extremely ostentatious signature.

Anthony Edward Stark

Anthony Edward Stark (Tony Stark's real name)

"Whoa, Hank, do you know this guy?"

"Impossible!!"