Lin Xiu's thrusters beeped when he was three hundred meters above the ground. His visor automatically adjusted its light sensitivity—strange violet flames flickered atop the tower of the abandoned weather station below.
The flames did not burn like ordinary fire. They were more like some form of energy twisting the air, making the rusted metal tower sizzle, yet not even a scrap of iron fell.
White mist rose inside his breathing mask. The Oracle System's temperature monitor showed that the surface temperature had dropped another three degrees from five minutes ago.
"Abnormal energy source confirmed." The system's mechanical voice vibrated in his ear, and a surveillance feed appeared on his retina—it was from the miniature camera he had concealed in the weather station three days ago.
In the footage, a man in gray robes crouched before the wreckage of some equipment. His gloved fingers traced over charred circuit boards, and wherever they passed, faint golden patterns surfaced on the metal, as if he were extracting something.
Lin Xiu's pupils narrowed slightly.
The tips of the boots beneath the gray robe were embroidered with ancient Norse runes, identical to the pair Loki had worn at an Asgardian banquet.
"Target identified: Loki Laufeyson." The system synchronized the result.
Blue light glimmered at the crook of his Nano Armor's arm. It was the startup preheating for the eighth stage of Tactical Form.
Why here?
Lin Xiu's thoughts raced.
Three days ago, to test the range of quantum entanglement, he had indeed activated the weather station's old equipment with a low-grade fragment of the Tesseract. In theory, the residual energy fluctuations should have dissipated within twelve hours.
But now it seemed... Loki had been waiting for this residual frequency all along.
The violet flames suddenly surged half a meter higher, and static filled the