Meeting with Ancient One

The moment Li Nian said this, the surroundings fell silent.

"Wait, a robot is actually arrogantly claiming to be human?" Barton shook his head. "Forgive me, but I can't believe you. Tony's idea is completely wrong."

"He isn't wrong." Li Nian cut Barton off. "He saw the future. He saw the Avengers' crushing defeat, saw his comrades die. You, Dr. Banner, the Captain, even Thor—you'll all die!"

Li Nian spoke with agitation. "Ultron's goal is to destroy every planet with life. We need to stop him, and only we can stop him."

"Ultron is waiting for you. Natasha is in its hands, in Sokovia. That's where it is."

"How do you know that?" Barton questioned.

"Because I saw the future too." Li Nian pointed at the gem above his head, glowing with yellow light. "It showed me Ultron's thoughts."

"But..." Dr. Banner stepped forward, rubbing his hands and looking uneasy. "What if we're wrong to trust you? What if you're a demon created by Ultron..."

"What will you do then?" Li Nian stared at them. The others fell silent.

Li Nian chuckled inwardly. Clearly, he had gotten his answer.

"My subjective consciousness tells me not to kill Ultron."

The Avengers immediately became alert.

"He is in great pain, but his pain will be passed on to Earth. So we must kill him and erase every trace he left in this world—his robot army, every trace of him on the internet..."

"We must act quickly. His power is beyond our imagination. No Avenger can defeat him alone."

Li Nian looked at Steve and said softly, "Together..."

Steve's gaze toward Li Nian immediately softened somewhat.

"Maybe I look like a demon to you. Maybe I truly am one, because I'm different from you..."

Li Nian turned around and slowly walked over to Thor.

"So we have to act..."

He picked up Mjolnir from the table and handed it to Thor.

Everyone's expressions changed instantly. They stared in disbelief at Li Nian's actions and at Mjolnir in his hand. After all, only someone kind-hearted and possessed of a sense of justice could earn Mjolnir's recognition and lift it.

Among the Avengers before this, even Hulk, who claimed to be the strongest, and Tony, who had carried a nuclear missile through a wormhole, had been unable to budge it in the slightest. Even Steve had only managed to make it tremble.

Yet this robot before them had lifted Mjolnir with ease. It utterly stunned everyone.

Thor blankly accepted Mjolnir. Seeing everyone's shocked expressions, Li Nian knew his little display had been a great success.

Without saying another word, he left the scene. Whatever the Avengers imagined afterward had nothing to do with him.

"Ultron... Thanos... Wanda..."

Li Nian softly recited those names. All three would be extremely troublesome enemies in the future, even Wanda, Vision's lover.

Of those three, Ultron was the simplest and easiest to deal with. After all, his performance in the movie had indeed been limited. He had tried to lift the entirety of Sokovia and smash it into Earth to destroy the planet.

Whenever Li Nian watched that part, he could not help mocking it. An artificial intelligence, a lunatic capable of invading bank accounts in a second and freely roaming the digital world, had actually come up with such a low-tech method. He was not even as capable as the Ultron from What If...? who stole the nuclear launch codes.

At this point, Li Nian did not see Ultron as much of a threat. Although many people had died in Sokovia, it was still within controllable limits. Compared to the later Infinity War, it was nothing at all. It was not even as shocking as the Battle of New York. An alien invasion was far more interesting than an artificial intelligence rebellion.

"Thanos..." Li Nian rubbed his nonexistent temples. That monster truly gave him a headache. A cosmic overlord who could crush Vibranium with his bare hands, pin Hulk to the ground and beat him senseless, and leave even the three Avengers powerhouses unable to fight back.

Li Nian looked at his Vibranium body and silently calculated how much chance he would have against Thanos at his peak.

He knew that Ultron from What If...? had sliced Thanos in half with a laser fired from the Mind Stone. But the two universes were different, after all. Who knew whether Corvus Glaive might stab him once and short-circuit him?

"I still need to find a way to increase my strength."

As Li Nian walked, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong with his surroundings. How had the futuristic Avengers Tower turned into a shabby old library?

As Li Nian looked at the changed scene before him, a name suddenly sprang into his mind.

"Ancient One?!"

"Welcome, Vision. May I call you by that name?"

Li Nian instantly took flight, his golden cloak fluttering behind him. A bald woman in white monk's robes was reading an ancient book. Without even looking up, she asked Li Nian this question.

"Perhaps before I decide what to call you, you can tell me your name, traveler from another world."

Ancient One slowly closed the book in her hands, a mysterious smile on her face.

"Ancient One?!"

Li Nian actually called out the woman's name without thinking.

"It seems you truly are a traveler who has disrupted time and space." Ancient One slowly turned around, and the surroundings changed once more. Li Nian clearly remembered this as the place where Strange had first met Ancient One.

Ancient One sat gently behind the tea table. The tea on the table still gave off a hazy mist. "Then, Mr. Vision, would you like a bowl of tea?"

"I'm a robot. I can't consume human food," Li Nian said. "At least, not for now."

"What a pity." Ancient One shook her head as though she were genuinely disappointed, then quietly savored the fragrant tea. She looked exactly like the old men Li Nian had seen sitting at the entrance to his old neighborhood in his previous life.

"I don't think I've provoked you. Don't tell me you intend to personally deal with a baby who was only born ten minutes ago."

Li Nian spoke with feigned calm. Ancient One's power had never been clearly shown in the movies, but there was no doubt that she was a Celestial Father-level powerhouse.

In the world of What If...?, Ancient One had been able to cross the gaps between universes and project herself into Dark Strange's world. Strange could not compare to that even if he rode a horse.

Of course, if Ancient One got serious, dealing with him would not take much effort either. She could simply exile him to another universe, or erase his consciousness and allow the original Vision to return...

Li Nian could not determine what Ancient One intended to do, so he kept his distance, ready to smash through the ceiling and flee at the slightest movement.