Thanos? Call Me Purple Sweet Potato!
The refugee ship, having just escaped the inferno of Asgard's destruction, was completely enveloped by a massive shadow before it could even catch its breath.
It was a colossal warship that took your breath away— Sanctuary II. Like a monstrous interstellar beast lurking in the Abyss, it opened its blood-red maw and mercilessly locked onto the fragile spaceship.
"Boom--!!"
There was absolutely no room for negotiation; several dark purple energy beams instantly pierced through the refugee ship's shields.
The alarm blared shrilly throughout the cabin, and the flashes of the explosion illuminated the terrified faces of every Asgard civilian.
"Everyone back off! Protect the civilians!"
Although Thor was blind in one eye and covered in wounds, he was now exuding an astonishing aura of dominance. Holding an iron rod he had picked up from the ruins, he stood firmly at the forefront of the crowd. Heimdall gripped his Hofund tightly, Valkyrie Dragonfang, and even Loki pulled out his dagger, their expressions extremely tense.
In this atmosphere of despair, however, a discordant voice arose.
"Snap."
Jiang Li leaned against the control panel in the cockpit, slowly tearing open a bag of potato chips—a "strategic supply" Gwen had given him. He popped a chip into his mouth and mumbled indistinctly, "What rude neighbors, forcibly demolishing the house without even knocking."
With a series of heavy footsteps, the smoke cleared.
Four figures, each with a distinct appearance and exuding a terrifying aura, stepped over the corpses and entered. The leader was a tall, thin man with a face as pale as a corpse— Ebony Maw.
He stepped over the ruins, his hands gracefully clasped behind his back, and recited aloud in an aria-like tone:
"Listen to me, and enjoy it."
"You were fortunate to be saved by the great Thanos. You may see this as suffering, but no... it is redemption. The scales of the universe have been balanced because of your sacrifice..."
"Though your physical bodies perish, your spirits will become children of God..."
"Click, click."
The crisp chewing sound rang out again, sounding particularly jarring in the solemn speech.
Ebony Maw's ashen face twitched violently. He stopped speaking, his cold gaze shooting towards the source of the voice like a venomous snake.
The black-haired boy was just putting the last crumbs of potato chips into his mouth when he clapped his hands and looked at him innocently. "Sorry, keep bragging. What was that 'Son of God' thing again? Shouldn't we add 'Amen'?"
"Ignorant ants." Ebony Maw's eyes turned cold, and he raised his hand to activate his telekinesis. "Your tongue is superfluous."
That's enough.
A deep, resonant, and authoritative voice came from behind.
The Black Order immediately and respectfully stepped aside to the sides.
A giant, over two and a half meters tall, with muscles as hard as granite and skin of an eerie purple, slowly emerged. He wore a golden half-body armor and a golden glove on his left hand, with a purple gem radiating terrifying energy waves embedded below the thumb of the glove.
Thanos
The director of the Cosmic Family Planning Commission ignored Jiang Li's provocation. His gaze swept coldly over the crowd before finally landing on Loki.
"The second prince of Asgard," Thanos's voice was chillingly calm, "I know you have that thing. The Tesseract. Hand it over, and I might consider sparing your brother's body."
With that, Thanos casually grabbed Thor, and a surge of purple energy lifted Thor into the air as he tried to resist. Thor had just awakened and was weakened after the great battle, and under the suppression of the Power Stone, he was powerless to fight back.
"Stop!" Loki's face turned pale, and the dagger in his hand trembled slightly.
"This is the cosmic overlord?"
Jiang Li suddenly took a step forward, blocking Loki and Thanos. He looked Thanos up and down, then turned to the air and said:
"Gwen, are the scan results in yet?"
In his mind, Gwen Stacy's voice carried an unprecedented gravity. "Scan complete. The purple gem on the target's left glove is the Power Stone, its energy reading off the charts. Jiang Li, don't be careless; that thing can easily destroy a planet. The Plumbers's Moon Base defense system is warming up, ready to provide support at any time."
"Understood." Jiang Li nodded, then looked at Thanos again, a signature mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Hey, you purple sweet potato spirit over there."
The entire room fell silent.
Even Thor, whose neck was being choked, forgot to struggle, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Li... Sweet potato spirit?
Thanos's face, as hard as rock, furrowed slightly. He had roamed the universe for so many years, and had been called a demon, a tyrant, and a madman, but the title "sweet potato demon"... was a first for him.
"Child." Thanos looked at Jiang Li with a cold indifference, as if looking at the dead. "In this universe, arrogance comes at a price."
"Cost?"
Jiang Li smiled. He slowly raised his left hand, and the Omnitrix on his wrist lit up with a dazzling green light.
"I have two friends who are pretty arrogant, but they're doing just fine. Do you know why?"
Jiang Li's fingers rested on the watch face, his eyes instantly turning sharp as knives.
"Because we have the right to be arrogant!!"
Snap!
A burst of green light!
Under Thanos's slightly surprised gaze, Jiang Li's figure instantly elongated and mutated. Black conductive gel-like skin covered his entire body, with only his face, chest, and limbs showing white stripes. Most striking was the top of his head, from which two long, plug-like tentacles extended backward, and the tips of his fingers also turned into golden plug-like structures.
Feedback (Feedback)!
"What is that thing?!" Cull Obsidian, standing beside Thanos, roared, swinging his massive chain hammer down. "Kneel before the Titans!!"
"Get out of here, you big guy."
Jiang Li, transformed into Feedback, didn't even look at it, but casually extended a finger, the tip of which was aimed directly at the incoming chain hammer.
Sizzle--Boom!!
A golden, high-voltage current shot out from his fingertip, precisely shattering the Cull Obsidian's weapon. The enormous recoil blasted the several-hundred-pound monster against the spaceship's wall, where it was impossible to pry it off.
"That's interesting."
Thanos finally showed a hint of interest. He released Thor and slowly raised his gloved left hand.
Buzz--
The purple Power Stone shone with a blinding light, distorting the surrounding space.
"Let me see how much force you can withstand."
Boom!!
A devastating purple energy beam, carrying the terrifying power to shatter the earth's surface, slammed straight towards Jiang Li!
"Jiang Li, be careful!!" Thor and Loki shouted at the same time. This energy was enough to instantly vaporize the spaceship and everyone inside.
However, faced with the power of the Infinity Stones, which was enough to instantly kill any mortal, the Feedback not only did not dodge, but instead opened its arms as if welcoming a long-awaited embrace.
"Good timing!!"
Jiang Li laughed loudly, and simultaneously aimed the two tentacles on his head and the plug at the end of his tail at the incoming purple beam of light.
Energy Absorption!
Boom!!!
The purple beam of light slammed into Jiang Li, but the expected explosion did not occur. Instead, the Feedback's black body seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit, frantically devouring the violent energy output by the Power Stone.
As energy was injected, the white stripes on the Feedback instantly turned into a dazzling bright purple. Terrifying energy surged within him, making him feel as if his entire body was about to burst into flames.
[Ding! High-dimensional energy of "Infinity Stones: Power" detected. Emotion Points +99999!]
[Warning: Energy level has reached 200%...300%...]
"It tastes good, a little spicy."
A ferocious and fanatical smile appeared on Jiang Li's black face, which had only one eye. He looked at Thanos's increasingly astonished expression, slowly raised his hands, and pointed his fingertips at the cosmic overlord.
As the saying goes, it is impolite not to reciprocate.
"This trick is called -- 'Peel off your sweet potato skin'!!"
Boom--!!!!
The absorbed and amplified power of the Power Stone transformed into a bolt of purple lightning twice as thick as before, carrying a world-destroying force as it fiercely blasted back!
The lights on the entire refugee ship went out instantly, leaving only this purple light illuminating the entire deep space!