Thor Odinson's Gaze

In the laboratory, the stark fluorescent lights crackled with sharp, grating electrical sounds as they powered on, as if countless tiny insects were crawling frantically inside the tubes.

Lin Xiu's fingertips hovered above the Quantum Field Generator's activation button. He stared intently at the display, its stream of data leaping like a green brook and reflecting in his pupils, the flickering light swaying endlessly in his deep eyes.

Just as the Oracle System's notification tone faded, fine goosebumps suddenly rose across the skin at the back of his neck, every pore like a startled little beast.

It was not the chill of the air conditioner. It felt more like the gaze of something beyond the laws of physics, gripping his nerves like icy tweezers and making him shudder.

"Inject quantum flow," he murmured to the air, his voice half a note deeper than usual, low and suppressed, as though it came from the depths of a shadowy valley.

The Nanocore warmed faintly along his spine. The heat spread outward from there like a red-hot coin pressed beneath his skin, and he could clearly feel the scorching temperature lightly burning him.

It was a burning sensation he had not felt since the Battle of New York, each trace of heat like a sharp needle pricking his nerves.

The Vibranium button on the console sank beneath his fingertip with a crisp click.

The electric crackling abruptly rose in pitch, shrill as an alarm tearing through the night. A buzzing hum came from within the generator, as if a swarm of enraged bees was stirring inside it.

A pale blue energy halo seeped from gaps in the base, like a dreamlike veil casting cobweb-like patterns across the floor. The patterns flickered unsteadily, like mysterious constellations in the night sky.

"Energy parameters stable at the critical threshold." The Oracle System's electronic voice carried an unusual tremor, faint tension lurking within it. "Nanocore resonance frequency plus 30%. Non-electromagnetic energy interference detected..."

Before it could finish, a stabbing pain suddenly exploded in Lin Xiu's temples. It struck like lightning, as though his head were about to burst apart.

He staggered half a step and slammed his palm onto the Vibranium console. A swarm of nanites immediately covered the metal surface, weaving silver patterns beneath his hand.

The patterns shimmered with an uncanny gleam, like mysterious runes, radiating faint coolness.

The night outside the window seemed to have been splashed with ink. The starlight visible moments ago vanished in an instant, replaced by a viscous darkness, as though some living thing were writhing beyond the glass.

The darkness seemed alive, flowing slowly and giving off an eerie, hair-raising aura.

"What is that?" he gritted out, his nails nearly digging into his palm, the sharp pain making his hand tremble slightly.

The heat from the Nanocore began to spread, racing from his spine to the back of his neck before crawling up his blood vessels to the tips of his ears.

He could feel that heat winding through his body like a blazing little serpent.

This was not a combat warning. It felt more like the scrutiny of a higher being—like a rabbit suddenly realizing it had been locked onto by a hawk.

At the same time, the space around the laboratory began to distort strangely. A mysterious blue beam flashed past like lightning, linking the laboratory to Asgard's Rainbow Bridge hall.

Within Asgard's Rainbow Bridge hall, Mjolnir in Thor Odinson's hand slammed into the ground with a boom. The immense sound thundered through the hall, making the entire chamber tremble.

He abruptly opened his eyes on the golden throne, lightning churning in his blue gaze as the golden hair at his temples stirred without wind.

That lightning flickered in his eyes like flames of fury.

"Balder..." he murmured, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice low and full of doubt.

That faint, barely perceptible aura was too weak, as faint as ash soaked by rain. Yet the divinity it contained made his godly power tremble instinctively—it was an energy frequency possessed only by Asgardian god-blooded descendants, carrying the lingering warmth of stardust from the forging of the Rainbow Bridge.

But that was impossible. Balder clearly... His fingers suddenly clenched, his knuckles turning white, the tense muscles revealing his shock and confusion.

Blazing electricity burst from Mjolnir's hammerhead, scorching black marks into the floor. The flashes were dazzling, like an enraged roar.

Thor rose to his feet, his cape snapping behind him as the runes on his golden breastplate glowed.

The sound of his cape dancing in the wind was like a battle standard fluttering on the battlefield, filled with the air of war.

"Heimdall!" His voice shook the crystal lamps hanging from the dome, loud as a great bell, as if it could pierce the universe itself. "Open the Rainbow Bridge's sight! I want that fluctuation located!"

The watcher of the Rainbow Bridge emerged from behind the clouds, his single eye as deep as the cosmos. "That power is mixed with the metallic scent of mortal technology, my lord." Heimdall's voice cracked like splitting glacier ice, cold and crisp. "It is on... Earth. Brooklyn."

Thor's pupils contracted sharply, his gaze revealing a trace of vigilance and resolve.

Without hesitation, he raised a hand and pressed it to the rune on his chest. Divine power erupted from him like a volcano.

That divine power surged from his body with blazing heat.

The next second, his consciousness left his flesh and transformed into a streak of azure-gold light. It pierced through the Rainbow Bridge, carving a brilliant trail across the universe.

The streak crossed the night sky like a meteor, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Back in the laboratory, Lin Xiu suddenly covered his ears.

He heard it—not a sound, but a tremor beyond hearing, like the hum of colliding stars exploding into fragments within his skull.

The tremor crashed through his mind like invisible waves, making him dizzy.

Fragments of Nano Armor seeped uncontrollably from beneath his skin, forming a translucent shield around him. The Oracle System's alarm nearly tore his eardrums apart. "God-level consciousness projection detected! Threat level: Asgardian god-blooded descendant!"

"Fuck." Lin Xiu cursed, cold sweat beading across his forehead and sliding down his cheeks, as though reflecting the fear in his heart.

He yanked the Quantum Field Generator's power cord free. Sparks burst from the metal connector like blooming fireworks, instantly illuminating the dark laboratory.

The nanite swarm receded into his body like a tide. He grabbed the tactical backpack in the corner and turned to smash through the laboratory's rear wall—one of its weak points, which he had long ago corroded with nanites. Chunks of concrete crashed down, exposing metal stairs leading underground.

The falling concrete sounded like a collapsing mountain, filled with shocking force.

"Position interference activated. Target trace obscurity: 92%." The Oracle System's voice finally steadied. "Recommendation: evacuate to the Vibranium shelter fifty meters underground. It can block 99% of god-level perception."

Lin Xiu's shoes slipped on the stairs. Holding the rusted railing, he rushed downward, every step as heavy as if he were treading on cotton.

The railing was cold and rough, creaking beneath his grip.

The burning sensation at the back of his neck remained, but it had clearly weakened—had that gaze withdrawn?

At the same time, deep in the universe, Thor's consciousness projection condensed into a blurred humanoid figure above Brooklyn.

He looked down at the ruins shrouded in darkness, his brow furrowing deeply.

The Balder aura that had been clear moments ago suddenly became muddled, like clear water scattered with shattered glass.

"Strange," he said softly. The fingertips of his consciousness form swept through the air, but grasped only energy residue mixed with Vibranium particles and quantum turbulence. "This power... resembles both Balder's divine blood and machinery forged by mortals."

"Do you need me to send the third warrior regiment to investigate?" Heimdall's voice came through the Rainbow Bridge.

Thor withdrew his consciousness and descended once more before the throne.

He bent down and picked up Mjolnir, its lingering warmth still burning against his palm.

"No." He stared in Earth's direction, storms churning in his blue eyes. "I'll go myself. But not now—" He paused, his fingers brushing the runes on the hammer's handle. "Have Heimdall watch that area first. Record every energy fluctuation."

Inside the underground laboratory shelter, Lin Xiu slid down the Vibranium wall until he sat on the floor.

He loosened his collar, his Adam's apple rising and falling as he panted urgently.

His hurried breathing sounded like bellows pumping, revealing his exhaustion and tension.

The Nanocore's heat finally receded, but the skin at the back of his neck remained red, as though it had been burned by a branding iron.

The reddened skin was hot and painful, like a mark left by his clash with that mysterious power.

"Was that... a god?" he asked the air, his voice still trembling, exposing his fear and confusion.

"Based on energy signature comparison, there is a high probability it was an Asgardian god-blooded descendant." The Oracle System's voice regained its mechanical steadiness. "Rainbow Bridge energy was detected within its consciousness projection. Based on fluctuation frequency, the highest-matching target is Thor Odinson."

Lin Xiu's fingers tapped unconsciously against his thigh, the rhythmic sound like the beating drums in his heart, full of unease.

He remembered the blond warrior he had seen in the sky during the Battle of New York, and the lightning that had split open the wormhole with a raised hammer.

"Why him?" he muttered. "Why did he notice me?" At that moment, beneath his confusion was an even greater fear—fear of being dragged into an unknown danger. Yet he was also curious, wanting to uncover the mystery behind it all, and unwilling to let an unknown fate toy with him so easily.

"Residual energy waves detected," the Oracle System suddenly reported. "Analyzing... 30%... 50%... Analysis complete. The residual energy contains divine-script encoding with the keyword 'Balder.'"

Lin Xiu's breath caught.

Balder—he remembered the Oracle System mentioning that name before. It was the Nano Armor's original name.

"Balder is connected to Asgard?" He abruptly straightened. "Is it because of the Nanocore?"

"Causality cannot be confirmed, but a strong correlation exists," the system said. "Recommendation: activate the energy tracking module and trace the residual god-level energy wave in reverse—"

"Wait." Lin Xiu cut it off, pressing his fingers against his temple.

He suddenly remembered the quantum experiment on the day he had crossed over, the blue light that had appeared out of nowhere, and the chant resembling divine script that he had heard while merging with the Nanocore.

All the fragments came together in his mind. His pupils gradually narrowed. "This crossing over... was never an accident."

A faint wind whispered through the ventilation opening of the underground shelter, stirring the loose strands of hair over his forehead.

The breeze was like a gentle caress, yet it could not calm the turmoil in his heart.

Lin Xiu lowered his gaze to his palm. The nanite swarm was emerging from beneath his skin, condensing at his fingertips into a tiny silver arrow—the Oracle System's new prompt.

"Energy tracking module activated." The system's voice carried a fluctuation he had never heard before, almost... excitement?

"Weak residual energy detected. Locking onto the source..."

Lin Xiu stared at the silver arrow, his Adam's apple moving.

Asgard's gaze had already fallen upon him, while an even deeper secret beckoned to him from some unknown corner.