The Supreme One's Warning, Undercurrents Rise Again

Above the Greenland Ice Sheet, the cold wind swept past, carrying away the last lingering traces of spatial fluctuations but unable to dispel the subtle silence between two of Earth's strongest beings.

The Ancient One's gaze was calm as still water, yet it seemed capable of seeing through the passage of time and the essence of all things. She looked at Lin Ye and broke the silence first. "Your power is very unusual. It does not originate from magic, yet it can resonate with space and even control it to a certain extent. In all my long years of guardianship, I have never seen anything like it."

Lin Ye dispersed the last traces of lightning around him and returned to normal. Facing this unfathomable Sorcerer Supreme, he maintained the necessary respect but felt no fear. "There has never been only one form of power, Sorcerer. As long as it is used properly and can protect what one wishes to protect, it is good power." His words were both an explanation of his own abilities and a subtle declaration of his stance.

The Ancient One nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing. "You are right. Power itself is neither good nor evil. But the greater the power, the more likely it is to attract covetous eyes, whether from mortals or... other dimensions." Her meaningful gaze swept over the place where the rift had vanished moments ago.

"What was that thing just now?" Lin Ye asked directly. He needed information.

"That was a tentacle from the Dark Dimension." The Ancient One's voice carried a trace more gravity. "It is a terrifying dimension filled with pure darkness and the desire to devour. Its ruler, Dormammu, has always sought to consume and assimilate Earth, even the entire Material Universe. This rift may have been an accidental collision at a weak point between two dimensions, or it may have been... a test."

Dormammu? Lin Ye understood immediately. So it really was that guy—the dimensional demon and Doctor Strange's troublesome enemy from the movies.

"A test?"

"Yes." The Ancient One's gaze seemed to pass through Lin Ye and look toward a more distant future. "Recently, Earth's spatial barriers have become unusually active and unstable. The Chitauri invasion through the Space Stone, the dark rift just now... perhaps there are even more unknown disturbances. This is highly unusual, as though something... or someone, is stirring the threads of fate."

Lin Ye's expression did not change, but he muttered inwardly, Who else could it be? Me, the transmigrating troublemaker, of course. Naturally, he would never say that aloud.

The Ancient One did not pursue the matter and continued, "The threat from the Dark Dimension has been temporarily removed, but the appearance of the rift itself is a warning. The crises Earth faces come from far more than the stars." She looked at Lin Ye. "Your existence and your choices will influence the course of many things. I hope that when a similar crisis arises next time, we can still stand on the same side, as we did today."

It sounded like an invitation, but it also carried a faint warning. She acknowledged Lin Ye's strength and what he had done today, but she was also reminding him to use that strength carefully and not become the source of chaos.

Lin Ye understood the implication and smiled. "As long as trouble does not come looking for me, I generally prefer peace and quiet. But if blind fools like today's decide to come here and cause trouble, I do not mind stretching my legs a little."

His answer still carried his usual dominance and confidence, but it also clearly stated his attitude: if no one provoked him, he would not provoke them.

The Ancient One gave him a deep look and said nothing further. With her hands behind her back, a golden magic circle lit up beneath her feet. "I look forward to our next meeting, Mr. Lin Ye."

With a flash of golden light, her figure disappeared as though she had never been there.

Lin Ye hovered in place, reflecting on their conversation. The Ancient One's attitude had been gentler than he expected. She seemed more inclined to observe and guide rather than directly control or oppose him. That was good news.

"Remy, return to the Sanctuary."

"Teleportation coordinates locked."

Lightning flared again, and Lin Ye left the frigid ice sheet as well.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

"Target 'Thunder' and an unidentified female individual, suspected to be a representative of Kamar-Taj, have successively departed the airspace above Greenland. The spatial anomaly has completely subsided." The technician reported the final results.

The command room fell silent.

Fury rubbed his brow. "Kamar-Taj... so it really exists. And from the looks of it, they seem to have reached some kind of... understanding with 'Thunder'?" This made things feel even more complicated. The supernatural forces on Earth ran far deeper than he had imagined.

"Record: Codename 'Thunder' (Lin Ye), threat level temporarily designated 'Ally-Class (Observation Required).' Codename 'Kamar-Taj,' threat level 'Unknown (Suspected Guardian Faction).' Incident 'Greenland Spatial Rift,' archive encryption level set to highest."

Thunder Sanctuary.

The moment Lin Ye teleported back, Dr. Banner hurried over anxiously. "Mr. Lin, are you all right? We just detected an extremely terrifying energy eruption in the direction of Greenland..."

"I'm fine. Just dealt with a minor problem." Lin Ye waved a hand and did not explain further. "How is your research going?"

At the mention of research, Banner's attention was immediately diverted. He said excitedly, "There has been major progress! Using the Chitauri energy stabilization technology you provided, I have preliminarily designed an energy core model for those biological nanobots! But..." He paused, looking somewhat embarrassed. "...manufacturing this kind of core requires an extremely special energy-conducting material. It must possess exceptionally high energy conductivity, biocompatibility, and molecular stability at the same time. None of Earth's currently known materials... seem capable of meeting the ideal requirements."

"An energy-conducting material?" Lin Ye stroked his chin and immediately thought of something. "What about Vibranium?"

"Vibranium?" Banner froze. "Doesn't that only exist in legends? It is Wakanda's national treasure. None of it circulates outside..."

"Legends are often based on reality." Lin Ye smiled. "Remy, did you get any results from monitoring Wakanda's energy barrier?"

"Yes." Remy immediately brought up the data. "Wakanda's shielding technology is extremely advanced, but due to recent domestic political conflict—the struggle for the throne between Prince T'Challa and Erik Killmonger—its border barrier has experienced several extremely brief, weak fluctuation gaps. We successfully captured internal energy signatures and confirmed the presence of massive quantities of Vibranium's distinctive energy reactions. Its technological level also far exceeds external estimates, reaching a level nearly comparable to an alien civilization."

Lin Ye's eyes lit up. "Looks like we need to find an opportunity to do some 'trading.'" His tone did not sound like he intended to make a fair deal.

Banner: "..." He had the distinct feeling that this boss's idea of "trading" might involve lightning.

At the same time, Hydra's "gentle" probing had quietly begun.

Following Garrett's arrangements, several pieces of false intelligence claiming that the hidden core of the crashed Chitauri Mothership had not been discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. and contained enormous energy were quietly circulated through several seemingly unrelated black-market channels and darknet networks. In the end, they all pointed to the same coordinates—an abandoned Hydra secret base in the Siberian wastelands.

The trap had been laid, and all that remained was for curious fish to take the bait.

Bucky, the Winter Soldier, had just been frozen again after returning from his mission to seize the meteorite. But one tiny loose end from that mission—a nearly melted Hydra emblem—had fallen near the meteorite sample collection site and was discovered by Kazakhstani military personnel who arrived later.

Although it could not directly point to Bucky, the appearance of that emblem, combined with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous purge of Hydra, made Fury even more certain that this evil organization not only existed, but that its reach extended far deeper than he had imagined and its activities were becoming increasingly frequent.

Queens, New York.

High school student Peter Parker had recently felt that something was strange about him. Ever since he had been bitten by that strange spider, his body had undergone earth-shaking changes. His strength, speed, and agility had greatly improved, and he had even developed a peculiar Spider-Sense.

He was both excited and afraid, so he could only secretly use these abilities for little things, such as helping a neighbor retrieve a cat that had fallen downstairs or stopping some bullying at school. But he could feel that the power inside him craved more... More importantly, Uncle Ben's final words lingered in his mind—"With great power comes great responsibility."

He did not yet know that everything about him had long since been silently recorded by the Sanctuary's intelligent core deep within the distant mountain.

Inside the Sanctuary's core chamber.

Lin Ye looked at the several windows displayed across the holographic screen—Wakanda's energy signatures, rumors of Hydra's trap, scattered clues about the Winter Soldier, and activity records for Peter Parker, Spider-Man...

The undercurrents had never stopped. If anything, they were growing fiercer.

He lifted a can of energy drink, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"A storm is coming... but that is what makes it interesting, isn't it?"

A new storm was gathering on the horizon.

(End of Chapter Seventeen)