"Umbrella Corporation was one thing, but this too? This world was getting more and more interesting." Shen Fei let out a helpless, wry laugh as he looked at the enormous ring of light before him, roughly ten meters across, like countless shards of crystal-clear glass flashing with strange radiance.
Although this was his first time seeing it, Shen Fei still recognized what it was: an Anomaly Point, an Anomaly Point from Primeval. If it had only been this ring of light, he could not have been certain. But combined with the dinosaurs imprisoned in the lower-level underground base, there was no doubt.
"So this might be where Umbrella Corporation's Zombie Dinosaurs came from." When Zombie Dinosaurs had appeared in Raccoon City, Shen Fei had initially believed they were created through Umbrella Corporation's genetic technology. But the appearance of the Anomaly Point made him realize he might have been wrong.
"As I recall, Anomaly Points lead to another world. Judging from this military base, this Anomaly Point must have existed for a long time. Maybe this base—even this entire island—was built because of it." The more Shen Fei thought about it, the more reasonable his deduction seemed. There was no way someone would build an artificial island here for no reason.
"Room." After pondering for a moment, Shen Fei walked directly toward the Anomaly Point, activating the power of the Op-Op Fruit while also using magic.
Half an hour later, Shen Fei finally withdrew the Op-Op Fruit's power. He brought his hands together, and a huge three-dimensional golden magic circle appeared around the Anomaly Point, enclosing it. As the golden magic circle contracted, the Anomaly Point gradually shrank as well, until both vanished at the same time.
"Something this troublesome can't be allowed to remain." Just as Shen Fei muttered under his breath, he suddenly felt the surroundings change. He immediately darted aside, only to find a figure in a yellow Taoist robe, with even their head concealed beneath a yellow hood, standing near where he had just been.
"Sorcerer Supreme." Upon seeing the person, Shen Fei immediately raised one hand before his chest and bowed respectfully.
Shen Fei appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, his heart was pounding. Why had Ancient One appeared? He had no idea.
Over the years, he had not used Portals and mirror magic often, but neither had he used them rarely. And he had apparently used them to do bad things. Shen Fei worried that Ancient One had come to take back his Sling Ring.
Having studied at Kamar-Taj, Shen Fei knew very well that it was impossible to use magic on Earth without Ancient One discovering it. The magical barriers of the three Holy Temples covered the entire planet. They formed Earth's defense against invasions by dimensional Monsters, but they also monitored magical power across the planet.
It could be said that as long as Ancient One wished it, no fluctuation of magical power anywhere on Earth could escape her notice.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Ancient One would not concern herself with such matters. Just as a nation's highest leader would not go out of their way to care about a crime in some village, if she truly did that, Ancient One would probably be worked to death.
That was why Shen Fei had dared to use Portals and the Mirror Dimension.
"Do you know what that was?" Ancient One walked to Shen Fei's side and spoke softly.
Though Ancient One did not specify what she meant, Shen Fei knew what she was referring to.
"It looked like a Portal, one that seemed to lead to another world." Naturally, Shen Fei could not say that he knew about Anomaly Points. But he could explain their nature. For Kamar-Taj sorcerers skilled at opening Portals, analyzing the nature of an Anomaly Point with magical power was not particularly difficult.
"Take a look at this." After Shen Fei finished speaking, Ancient One suddenly took out a spellbook and handed it to him.
"This..." Seeing the name on the spellbook, Shen Fei froze. After a brief silence, he still accepted it.
The Book of Cagliostro. That was the spellbook's name, and it was also the only spellbook at Kamar-Taj that Shen Fei had never read. Knowing that he would eventually leave Kamar-Taj, Shen Fei had spent that period not only reading many spellbooks, but also copying many books onto his computer so that he could study them slowly later.
In particular, he had memorized some of the spells Doctor Strange would use in the future, such as Images of Ikonn and the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.
After all, he did not possess Strange's photographic memory.
Ancient One had not stopped him from doing so. In fact, many of the spellbooks in her possession were available online as well, such as The Lesser Key of Solomon, the Grand Grimoire, and Dictionnaire Infernal.
But he had never touched the Book of Cagliostro, because it was a spellbook concerning time. Kamar-Taj's spellbooks were kept in the Library, bound with iron chains. Those chains were not to be underestimated; Ancient One had cast magic upon them. Any spellbook that Ancient One did not wish someone to read simply could not be taken down.
This made Shen Fei even more certain that Ancient One's death had been deliberate. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Kaecilius to find the ritual magic circle for summoning dark power from the Book of Cagliostro.
Seeing no reaction from Ancient One beside him, Shen Fei began reading the Book of Cagliostro directly. He had always been extremely curious about this spellbook.
Kaecilius had wanted to bring back his wife. In truth, there had been no need for anything so complicated—he could have simply used the Time Stone to rewind time. Yet he had never done so.
"This..." When he reached the middle of the Book of Cagliostro and saw that the two central pages were stuck together, Shen Fei immediately understood that Ancient One did not want him to see the dark summoning ritual. After a slight pause, he continued turning the pages.
"Did I just steal Doctor Strange's job?" The Book of Cagliostro was not very thick. Since Ancient One did not rush him, Shen Fei closed his eyes and began recalling its contents after finishing it.
It would have been impossible to say Shen Fei had no designs on the Time Stone. After all, it was one of the six Infinity Stones. But considering the trouble that followed the Infinity Stones, he could only give up on that desire.
"Thank you, Sorcerer Supreme." The Book of Cagliostro was truly remarkable. Even though he had only just finished reading it, Shen Fei felt that he had gained a deeper understanding of Kamar-Taj's magical system.
"You're welcome. You only need to close such things if you encounter them again." Once Ancient One finished speaking, she immediately dispelled the Mirror Dimension, and then she herself disappeared.
"So this was time." After Ancient One vanished, Shen Fei looked at his watch, whose hands had barely moved, and could not help sighing.
As expected of Ancient One. Even without using the Eye of Agamotto, she could use an ability similar to stopping time. He had spent quite a while reading the Book of Cagliostro in the Mirror Dimension.
"This was nothing. When Ancient One died, she seemed to have stopped all of New York."
The Book of Cagliostro's greatest help to Shen Fei was not teaching him time magic. For the current Shen Fei, knowing time magic was not especially useful, because he could not use it.
To use time magic, one had to meet one of two conditions. The first was possessing the Eye of Agamotto. That was the simplest option; with it, one could basically manipulate time as one pleased.
The second was possessing power as overwhelming as Ancient One's, using immense strength to drive time magic. Of course, time magic activated in that manner could not compare with using the Eye of Agamotto.
"So I had another task now. Fortunately, Ancient One only said to close them when I encountered them. She did not ask me to search the entire world for Anomaly Points." After finishing the Book of Cagliostro, Shen Fei finally understood why Ancient One had made him read it.
It was because Anomaly Points were caused by the Eye of Agamotto—or, more precisely, by the Time Stone.
Time could not be toyed with carelessly. The main reason Ancient One had not used the Time Stone to save Kaecilius's wife was this. Normally, dimensions possessed their own capacity for recovery. Ordinary usage, such as the time magic in the Book of Cagliostro—like the time stop Ancient One had just used—would naturally be restored as time passed.
But the Eye of Agamotto was different. It contained the Time Stone. Every Infinity Stone possessed infinite energy.
And at present, the only people on Earth capable of closing Anomaly Points were Ancient One and Shen Fei. There were quite a few Kamar-Taj sorcerers, but unfortunately, they were all too weak to do it.
Shen Fei could close Anomaly Points not because his magical power was so strong, but because he possessed both the Op-Op Fruit's ability and magical power.
"I'll take it one step at a time. The impact of Anomaly Points shouldn't be too severe anyway. The news barely mentioned such incidents, which showed that the government's efficiency was still pretty good." Most Anomaly Points only existed for an extremely brief period. They might disappear on their own before anyone even discovered them. Moreover, the vast majority appeared over the ocean. After all, most of Earth's surface was ocean.
With that in mind, Shen Fei began looting the military base: tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, armored vehicles, missiles, all kinds of firearms and ammunition.
Along with all kinds of research equipment.
There was simply too much stuff. After using up all the Pym Particles in his inventory, Shen Fei had no choice but to stop regretfully.
PS: Sorry, my computer crashed. Everything is gone. I'm coughing up blood.
Before you continue