The Hidden Corner

In a hidden corner of New York, space suddenly seemed to ripple. Then, an azure doorway opened, and several people stumbled out of it in disarray.

"I never imagined the power of the Infinity Stones could be this great. As expected, they aren't something ordinary people—or even ordinary gods—can wield."

That was right. These people were Loki, the agents under his control, and Chen Xu. During the battle, Loki had realized that they were no match for Chen Xu at all. So he had used the Space Stone in advance to open a spatial portal and retreat.

Loki felt the injuries on his body. It would take some time for them to heal.

"Looks like I need to find somewhere to recover."

Loki directly asked the controlled agents what other forces were nearby.

Loki followed them to find a mafia boss. He used the Space Stone to teleport directly into the man's room and, while the man was asleep, stabbed the Mind Scepter into his chest, instantly taking control of him.

The next day, Loki sat on the sofa in a luxurious mansion, holding a glass of red wine in one hand and the Mind Scepter in the other. He leisurely drank while several agents and the controlled mafia boss stood beside him.

"I never thought mortals could sometimes enjoy themselves even more than gods. Have you found the titanium element I told you to find?"

The mafia boss stared blankly ahead and answered like a machine.

"Yes, Master. We have found it. We should have gathered enough very soon."

Dr. Wade, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s chief scientist, spoke from the side.

"We need enough titanium element as a catalyst for the Cosmic Cube to open a sufficiently large and stable wormhole."

"You heard him. Why aren't you getting to it?"

"Yes, Master."

"I'm really looking forward to it. Once I open the wormhole and lead my army to conquer Earth, what will they think of me?"

As he spoke, Loki looked up at the sky.

Meanwhile, after escaping successfully and seeing Chen Xu's true face, Nick Fury immediately ordered Agent Phil Coulson to investigate his background. Dragging his injured body along, Nick Fury looked over the records concerning Chen Xu on the desk and was too shocked to speak.

"This is incredible. In just one year, he became a mage. How did he do it? What secrets does Kathmandu hold? What is so strange and miraculous about that place that it could allow an ordinary person to become a mage in such a short time?"

Agent Phil Coulson said, "It seems this world is far more complicated than we imagined. There are still far too many wondrous things hidden from us."

"Send someone to Kathmandu immediately to investigate what is there. Then we'll go find him."

"Understood. I'll take care of it right away."

"Have S.H.I.E.L.D. make its highest-level combat preparations. I have a feeling that war is about to begin."

"Understood. I'll go now."

"I wonder how well that person has prepared. My team members are still too young and lack team spirit. I don't know whether they can handle this sudden war."

And so, in a world where ordinary people saw no sign of trouble, war was quietly drawing near, and the situation was growing increasingly tense.

At that moment, Chen Xu, who was meditating in the New York Sanctum, had no idea that he would soon meet a bald Black man.

"Excuse me, is there someone here named Chen Xu? We need to speak with him and hope he can meet us."

Chen Xu was startled for a moment, then walked straight outside.

"What do you want with me?"

When Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson saw Chen Xu, their hearts stirred with excitement.

"Hi, Chen Xu. We meet again."

"What do you want?"

"If you want me to join you or help you with something, then forget it. Goodbye."

"We recently discovered that a gang in New York has been acting rather strangely."

"Based on past experience, we suspect Loki is with that gang and seems to be making them search for something."

"You don't want me to open a portal for you, do you? Sorry, I don't work for free. You have to pay."

"No need. We have our own aircraft. We don't need your help."

"If you don't step in to resolve this, this place definitely won't remain peaceful."

"You're calculating far too loudly. There's nothing I can do."

Nick Fury was driven to the brink by Chen Xu. He tossed out one final sentence before turning and leaving.

"We've delivered the message."

Because of Nick Fury's behavior, Chen Xu's tone became even colder.

Within the vast expanse of space, an incomparably massive army waited. They seemed to be preparing to attack somewhere. This was the Chitauri army, and naturally, they were waiting for Loki. Once he used the Cosmic Cube to open a wormhole and connect the two sides of the universe, they could directly invade Earth.

Asgardian Palace, Asgard

At that moment, Thor also sensed Loki's presence and understood what he had done. He flew into a rage.

"Loki, what exactly are you trying to do?"

On Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent Phil Coulson to investigate the gang. He infiltrated the area controlled by the gang and watched to see whether any new faces appeared or whether they made any unusual moves.

However, the gang naturally noticed the activities of Phil Coulson and the other agents.

"Master, I think S.H.I.E.L.D. may have noticed something about us..."

Loki, who was sitting on the sofa in his luxurious residence and elegantly drinking red wine, abruptly opened his eyes.

"So soon? You need to speed things up. Once I have enough titanium element, we won't need to fear them anymore."

"But we should still change locations, just in case."

"Hawkeye, you've been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for so long. Do you think they pose a major threat? What should we do next?"

"Yes, they still pose a threat to us. They have found several people with strange abilities and formed a team. Setting aside whether Stark can fight Thor, his armor can stand up to the Hulk head-on. The Hulk's threat cannot be underestimated."

"So it would be better for us to proceed more cautiously."

"Has that mage named Chen Xu joined them?"

"I heard that he has not. Nick Fury personally went to invite him, only to be coldly rejected. But I don't believe Nick Fury would give up such a powerful ally. So, to prevent them from working together, we can use this titanium element incident to frame him. If they cannot cooperate, it will benefit us and allow us to better complete the plan and open the spatial wormhole."

As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Hawkeye's information channels had always been extremely well-connected and useful. But now Loki had controlled him with the Mind Scepter, so Hawkeye revealed every secret without reservation, telling Loki everything.