Are You Dissatisfied with Me?

Loki, who had long since made up his mind, carried the Scepter of Mind and stopped about ten meters in front of Thanos.

He first planted the scepter on the ground, then dropped to one knee before Thanos.

"Thank you for your gift, Lord Thanos. I will never disappoint you!"

"Mm. I trust Asgard, and I trust its Prince.

Ebony Maw, take him to the Chitauri fleet."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Thanos's order, Ebony Maw nodded respectfully. He then led Loki to the docking bay of the Sanctuary mothership, and the two boarded a small spacecraft.

After boarding, Loki smiled as he sat in the co-pilot's seat. Compared to him, however, Ebony Maw's expression was far from pleasant.

The spacecraft quickly took off and jumped directly toward the Chitauri gathering point.

The moment the jump ended, Ebony Maw could not help but speak to Loki, whose smile was especially wicked and unruly.

"His Majesty does not easily trust anyone, yet you have earned his trust.

But I know your heart is filled with deceit and pride. I hope your pride will not disappoint His Majesty!"

"Heh, Lord Ebony Maw!" Loki replied confidently at once. "Now that I have received Lord Thanos's help, do you think failure is still possible for me?"

"Indeed."

Ebony Maw considered it, then seriously shook his head. He folded his hands behind his back and stood beside Loki like a statue.

Only after the spacecraft arrived did Ebony Maw move again, continuing to lead Loki into the Chitauri flagship.

The Chitauri flagship looked like two U-shaped magnets pressed together back-to-back.

Or rather, it looked more like a giant letter H.

Around the flagship, countless dragon-like landing craft made of fused flesh and machinery continuously circled and cruised around the hull.

Ebony Maw and Loki's spacecraft flew straight toward the center of the flagship—the middle section of the H-shaped vessel.

The sealed flagship immediately opened its doors for Ebony Maw's craft.

After entering, Ebony Maw led Loki out of the small spacecraft and into the flagship's Command Center.

As they walked, Ebony Maw introduced the place to Loki.

"The Chitauri will be the most suitable army for you, because this force has no Commander.

As long as you upload your genetic information into the Chitauri leader, you will gain complete command over this Bio-mechanical army.

They can enter hibernation at any time to avoid wasting energy. They have no consciousness and do not tire. All you need to do is issue orders, and they will fight to the death without retreating.

Even among the seven top-tier armies commanded by His Majesty, the Chitauri are not among the lowest-ranked."

As he spoke, Ebony Maw lightly waved his right hand, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through Loki's forehead.

"Damn it!"

Loki roared instinctively.

At the instant the pain struck, a long, narrow wound actually appeared in the center of his forehead!

A single wave of the hand had injured the body Loki was so proud of?

This was the body of Asgard's greatest assassin...

The greatest mage's body!

Loki's face instantly darkened.

Yet Ebony Maw acted as if he could not see Loki's displeasure. He gently moved his right hand, and a small clump of flesh floated along with the motion toward the Leader container.

Completely ignoring Loki's fury, he directly completed the process of uploading the genetic information.

"Flesh closest to the brain is more effective. The Chitauri leader likes the taste of intelligence. Though you are rather foolish, you do have a little cleverness!"

As he spoke, Ebony Maw continued waving at Loki.

His right hand seemed like a Hand of God capable of controlling everything. Countless mysterious pieces of equipment piled inside the Chitauri flagship's Command Center immediately floated into the air.

The equipment continuously assembled itself in the Command Center, eventually forming a device that looked somewhat like a trampoline.

Once the device had finished assembling, Ebony Maw put his hands behind his back and explained to Loki.

"This is the Teleportation array His Majesty once used to search for and harness the energy of the Space Stone. Through it, you can exert a certain degree of influence over the Space Stone.

However, that influence is not especially strong. If you wish to remotely control the Stone through the array and send yourself and your army into Earth..."

Ebony Maw lightly shook his head.

"That is basically impossible!"

"So, Lord Ebony Maw, you must have a solution, right?"

Loki did not look worried in the slightest. He believed Thanos's subordinate would surely be able to solve his problem.

As for why he believed that...

Because in the current universe, there was almost nothing Thanos could not solve.

What happened next proved Loki's guess correct.

"Indeed!"

Ebony Maw explained unhurriedly.

"We do not need to send all of your army into Midgard. Therefore, the first to arrive in Midgard will only be you.

You should understand what I mean!"

At those words, Loki nodded in understanding.

"The old-fashioned method. I personally go to Midgard and open the door, right?"

"Correct!"

Ebony Maw confirmed.

"Remember, you will have fewer than five chances to teleport. The reason we can use the array to control the Space Stone is that the array came into contact with it five thousand years ago and retained a small portion of its energy.

After you activate the array, that energy will continuously disperse into the universe. So you must quickly learn the Space Stone's fluctuation patterns and open the portal at the proper moment.

That moment will be extremely brief. Calling it the blink of an eye would be fitting.

Therefore, you will not have many opportunities to practice. Study it, familiarize yourself with it, master it. Do everything you can, Prince of Asgard.

I look forward to your success!"

After saying that, Ebony Maw nodded to Loki, then turned and left without hesitation.

Watching Ebony Maw's retreating figure grow farther away, Loki had to admit that he felt a little envious.

He was incredibly envious of the damned confidence Thanos and his subordinates possessed!

Just look at them. He had merely made a suggestion, nothing more than a suggestion!

He himself had never expected to succeed. He only wanted to secure a position under Thanos.

And what happened? Thanos gave him the Mind Stone and gave him the Chitauri fleet.

Yet after giving him those things, they had not made any demands of him. Instead, they allowed him to handle everything however he wished!

All he had to do was fulfill his promise.

That kind of confidence was downright inhuman.

Thanos and his subordinates were simply certain that whether or not he obtained Earth, whether Loki fled to the ends of the universe, whether he gained any kind of power in the future...

If you broke an agreement with Thanos, then no matter how far you were from him, Thanos would always find you and make you pay a sufficient price!

That invisible intimidation made Loki instinctively shake his head. He did not like the feeling of being shackled.

So he quickly walked over to the spatial array and began examining the device.

After a while...

"Hm, incredible. The research style from five thousand years ago is surprisingly simple."

Looking at the array, which did not have even a single control button, he said helplessly.

"So simple that I do not even know where the switch is!"

As he spoke, Loki simply stepped onto the array.

"Then let's think about this another way. What if the array has been operating all along?"

As he spoke, he spread his arms atop the array's platform and continuously tried to sense the power of the Space Stone.

A moment later.

"Haha, just as I thought. I can feel that power constantly suppressing itself as it waits for its final eruption.

The Midgardians' use of the Space Stone is far too crude. They merely extract, compress, store, and release the power within the Stone.

It is like obtaining the finest heavenly steed, yet instead of letting it charge into battle, forcing it to breed endlessly and produce offspring.

I have always believed these miracle-like Stones possess souls. What the Midgardians are doing is completely dishonoring the Stone.

Therefore, I am the Mandate of Heaven the Space Stone has brought to Midgard.

The Mandate of Heaven that will punish them, then rule them!"

As his words fell, Loki communicated with and harnessed the Space Stone's energy for the first time.

In an instant, layers of blue fluorescence gradually enveloped Loki's body.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon lasted only two seconds before disappearing.

"Hm, this tearing sensation from space feels completely different from Bifrost teleportation.

The Bifrost is like riding a boat downriver with the current.

But this makes me feel as though I have fallen directly into an underground chasm, with the destination at the bottom being where I intend to go!"

After saying that, Loki began continuously pondering the cause of his failure. His thoughts lasted for quite some time.

Midgard... in other words, our beautiful Earth.

Inside the not-so-beautiful Pegasus Base, more than two thousand S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and elite scholars were leaving the base in orderly fashion like migrating ants.

They had just received a High-level order directly transmitted from the Helicarrier!

"Evacuate all personnel involved in Project Pegasus. Suspend research on the Cosmic Cube!"

Inside the Command Center, Hill spoke helplessly to Banner and Professor Selvig.

"I have followed your advice and evacuated everyone. So will the risk you mentioned still remain?"

After speaking, she looked tiredly at Banner and Professor Selvig, silently awaiting their answer.

Hearing Hill's question, Professor Selvig immediately shook his head.

"The risk will always remain. The Cosmic Cube is more active than it was two days ago. I cannot guarantee what you want!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Banner immediately continued.

"That is far too conservative. Let me put it simply for you, Director.

The Cosmic Cube has long lost its previous balance and stillness. It is like a sleeping volcano slowly waking up, gathering its energy. Once that energy has finished accumulating, it will inevitably erupt!"

"Erupt?!" Hill pressed her lips together. "To what extent?"

"It will create a wormhole, and it may even evolve into a Black hole!!!"

"Fuck!"

Banner's answer made Hill curse outright. This was a result she absolutely could not accept.

What was a Black hole? Hawking had told them long ago. Earth could not bear the price of a Black hole appearing!

Fortunately, Professor Selvig quickly continued.

"However, we have a solution, Director Hill. As long as we do not stop stimulating the Cosmic Cube and allow it to continue accumulating energy, while using our instruments to prepare to isolate the Cube's energy at any time, it will be possible!"

"What exactly do you mean?" Hill was somewhat confused.

Selvig explained on his own.

"We actively speed up the Cube's energy activity, allowing the wormhole to form before it has accumulated sufficient power.

At the same time, we isolate the Cosmic Cube's energy immediately, preventing the wormhole from developing into a Black hole.

That way, the wormhole will collapse violently. There will be danger, but according to my calculations, its power will not exceed that of a medium-yield hydrogen bomb!"

The moment he finished, Banner beside him immediately shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Selvig!"

Banner looked especially furious.

"This is not a good solution. We cannot determine the scale of the wormhole, and it may even release a Black hole from the outset. I already discussed this with you. Do not treat deliberately unleashing danger as a solution, especially when we cannot be one hundred percent certain of the extent of the danger!

You clearly promised me that we would stop stimulating the Cube's energy, bury it in an uninhabited wasteland, and completely delay the Cube's eruption. Why are you proposing this radical plan again now? Are you dissatisfied with me?"