Lin Xiu stood on the rusted iron plates atop an abandoned factory. The metal beneath his feet creaked softly in the morning wind, while the decrepit machines around him lay coated in dust and the crumbling structure seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
The air was thick with the mingled scent of old metal and dust. The wisp of golden light in his palm slowly faded with the breeze.
The Oracle System's blue glow flickered across his retina. The newly unlocked "Quantum Resonance Scan" mode rendered streams of data into web-like bands of light, which eventually converged into a flashing red dot—near Central Park in Brooklyn, a high-purity Asgardian energy source was moving.
He touched the dark gold-edged armor patterns over his chest, and the image of Balder's core shattering when he died suddenly flashed through his mind.
The faint gleam that had burst from the Azure Core before it fell had a 0.78% overlap with the frequency of the thunderous energy he had just detected.
"Looks like it wasn't a coincidence." Lin Xiu murmured, lightly tapping his goggles with his knuckles. The Nanite Swarm surged out from his spinal core and formed an ordinary black hoodie over his body.
As he slipped a miniature signal jammer into his pocket, its metal casing brushed his thigh with a faint chill.
Choosing Brooklyn's commercial district had been deliberate—the heavy foot traffic would spread the energy fluctuations faster. Bringing the jammer was meant to confuse S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance; after all, he had no desire to directly clash with Nick Fury's black-tech just yet.
When Lin Xiu blended into the morning market along the commercial street, colorful shop signs shimmered in the dawn light, and the buildings lining both sides of the road carried a strong retro charm.
The crowd bustled around him. The scent of fried dough sticks tangled with the smell of coffee in the air, mixed with the cries of countless vendors.
He glanced down at his watch. It was 9:17 in the morning, right around Thor's usual patrol time.
"Oracle, activate the electromagnetic pulse field. Intensity level three." He issued the command silently. The core at the nape of his neck grew faintly hot as the Nanite Swarm traveled through his blood vessels to his fingertips, gathering in his palm as an almost invisible mist of blue light.
The instant the first current burst from his fingertips, the streetlights began flickering.
The crepe vendor looked up and cursed, "Damn it," then raised his spatula and went to smack the electrical box. A schoolgirl shrieked and grabbed her companion's hand, pointing above Lin Xiu's head. "Look at the clouds!" The originally gray-white cloud cover churned around him, as though invisible hands had kneaded it into a vortex. Lightning flickered faintly beneath the clouds, and the crackling sound of electricity was especially piercing in the air.
On the rooftop of a fire station three kilometers away, Thor was taking a swig from a beer bottle.
The power of thunder suddenly stirred in his veins. He shot upright, and his golden arm ring scraped against the bottle with a crisp clink.
"This energy..." He narrowed his eyes toward Brooklyn as the wind lifted his red cape. "It isn't Chitauri. It feels more like..." Before he could finish, Mjolnir was already roaring down from the clouds toward the ground.
When Lin Xiu heard the shriek of tearing air, his pupils contracted slightly behind his goggles.
Assessing the impact of that overwhelming power, he did not fully activate his armor. He merely had the Nanite Swarm form a translucent dynamic shield over his body.
The next second, violet-blue lightning wrapped around the hammer's shadow and slammed into the ground three meters in front of him. Spiderweb cracks instantly spread across the pavement, and the shockwave overturned a flower stall, sending lilies, roses, and shards of glass flying toward the crowd.
"Run!" Someone screamed as they crashed into a hot dog cart, splattering ketchup across the ground in crooked red streaks.
Lin Xiu used the force to leap into the air. The Nanite Swarm unfurled a glider membrane across his back, while pale blue armor patterns spread from his cuffs to his neck—the sign that Basic Combat Form had been activated.
He could clearly feel the ionized particles dancing through the air being absorbed by the nanoparticles on his armor's surface. The Oracle System flashed wildly across his retina: "Energy collection progress: 37%." "Resonance frequency matching in progress."
Thor stepped closer over the rubble, Mjolnir spinning arcs of electricity in his palm. "State your name!" His voice was mixed with the roar of thunder. "You carry the aura of Asgard. Did Heimdall see wrong, or..." He suddenly stopped, his gaze locking onto the faintly azure eyes beneath Lin Xiu's goggles—the exact same light that had appeared when Balder's core shattered before his death.
Along with his surprise, complicated feelings over Balder's death rose within him.
"Ding—resonance frequency matching complete." The Oracle System's notification made Lin Xiu's chest tremble slightly.
He deliberately made the blue light on his armor shine brighter as the Nanite Swarm converted the gathered lightning particles into streams of data.
Just then, a glass-shattering crack sounded from the sky. A green rift opened like a giant eye, and the Ancient One's projection stepped out, her red robes fluttering without wind. "Young man, what are you searching for?" Lin Xiu was startled. He had not expected the Ancient One to appear so suddenly, and fear and confusion flashed through him as he considered how to respond.
He immediately cut off every external sensor. The Nanite Swarm retracted into the core within 0.1 seconds, and even the glider membrane vanished completely.
With a splash, he fell into a roadside fountain like an ordinary human. Water splashed over his hoodie, and his goggles slid down to the bridge of his nose.
Thor's grip on Mjolnir loosened slightly as he frowned at the rift that had already closed in the sky.
The Ancient One's gaze swept between him and the "ordinary person" in the fountain before finally settling on Lin Xiu's nape. A faint blue light flashed there, like a meteor streaking across the night sky.
"Some powers are not meant for mortals to wield." Her voice carried an echo as she vanished into the clouds along with the rift.
In the shadows of a high-rise rooftop, Loki lowered his binoculars and curled his lips into a cold smile.
The fingertips of his black gloves lightly stroked the dagger at his waist. A diamond-studded brooch reflected an eerie gleam in the morning light. "Balder's core... interesting. It seems this struggle over Balder's core will be quite entertaining. I can use it to gain even more profit. I should go meet this 'Quantum Sentinel.'" he murmured to the air.
As the chaos gradually subsided, Kevin, a reporter in a plaid shirt, held up his phone with trembling hands.
The video he had just recorded showed the crater left by Mjolnir, blue armor that could fly, and the green rift that had suddenly appeared.
"Upload it?" He swallowed, his finger hovering over the send button for three seconds before finally pressing it down hard.
Almost instantly, his phone began vibrating—the notification "Your video has been recommended to trending" filled the screen.
Beside Asgard's Bifrost, Heimdall's golden eyes suddenly narrowed.
He tightened his grip on Watcher's Spear and turned toward Earth. His silver-white hair whipped wildly in the energy wind. "Your Majesty, a new energy fluctuation has appeared on Earth... connected to Balder's core..."
Odin sat upon his throne, the tip of Gungnir resting against the floor.
He stared at the energy spectrum projected by Heimdall, dark tides churning in his eyes with greater violence than any storm across the Nine Realms.
"Balder..." He murmured the name, his fingers tightening until the runes on the spear glowed red. "It seems it is time to settle what happened back then."
Lin Xiu stood before the hotel's floor-to-ceiling window, his phone screen glowing as the top trending video, "Nano Man VS Thor," played on repeat.
He pulled off his soaking hoodie. In the mirror, the core at the nape of his neck glimmered azure, while the dark gold-edged armor patterns slowly flowed like living things.
"Half the plan succeeded." He smiled at the mirror, his fingertip brushing over a blurry screenshot labeled "mysterious woman in green." "Next..."
Outside the window, the morning news broadcast drifted through the glass. "A mysterious nanotech warrior appeared in Brooklyn today and engaged in a fierce confrontation with Thor..." Lin Xiu watched the city lights gradually brighten, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes—he knew that once this video exploded across the internet, certain lurking figures would have to awaken.
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