Dimensional Trap, Ripples in New York

Inside Thunder Temple's medical bay, the sole captive had barely clung to life under cutting-edge medical technology and a trace of lightning energy Lin Ye used to sustain him. Yet he remained deeply unconscious, his brain activity faint and chaotic, like ruins ravaged by a storm. No valuable information could be extracted from him anytime soon.

Lin Ye was not surprised. He had witnessed the ruthlessness and resolve of the Inheritors' core members firsthand in Norway.

"Remy, continuously monitor his vital signs and brainwave activity. Report immediately if he wakes up or shows any abnormal fluctuations. At the same time, set the 'Sahara Desert' and those three codenames—Hermit, High Priestess, and Hanged Man—as top-priority surveillance targets. Mobilize every resource we have. Even if we have to turn over every inch of ground, find some trace of them." Lin Ye issued the order. The deeper the enemy hid, the greater their ambitions had to be.

"Order confirmed. Surveillance network resources are being redirected toward the targets."

After dealing with the captive, Lin Ye turned his attention back to himself. This brief clash with the Inheritors, especially their strange methods involving dimensions and souls, made him realize the importance of [Soul Barrier] and spatial knowledge even more deeply. He once again immersed himself in processing the knowledge The Ancient One had taught him and integrating it with his lightning system, trying to weave spatial vibration techniques more delicately into both defense and offense.

However, the Inheritors' "return gift" arrived faster than expected—and was even stranger.

Several days later, in Brooklyn, New York, an unprecedented dimensional anomaly suddenly erupted!

It was not the same kind of wraith infiltration as before. Instead, the spatial structure of an entire area itself underwent an extremely unstable "swelling" and "distortion"! Centered around an abandoned old textile mill, the space within several hundred meters became bizarre and warped like a funhouse mirror! Streets twisted and folded, buildings stretched or compressed like clay, and light bent through the area, creating countless dizzying illusions!

Even worse, the space in that area became incredibly fragile. Without warning, temporary spatial rifts of varying sizes would tear open! Beyond them was not a stable dimension, but a void between worlds filled with chaotic energy currents! Powerful suction burst forth, swallowing nearby cars, debris, and even unlucky pedestrians who ventured too close, leaving their fates unknown!

Alarms instantly rang throughout New York! S.H.I.E.L.D., the police, and fire departments rushed to the scene, but they could not get near the core area at all. Any vehicles or personnel attempting to enter were immediately flung away by the distorted space or nearly swallowed by randomly appearing rifts!

"Damn it! What is this now?!" Maria Hill, commanding the scene, watched the drone footage of the twisted neighborhood that looked like a painting of hell, her expression grim.

"The energy pattern is similar to the infiltration incidents in Greenland and elsewhere, but its manifestation is completely different! This is a temporary malignant distortion of the spatial structure itself! It's extremely unstable and impossible to predict!" a technician reported anxiously. "We must stabilize it quickly, or the affected range may keep expanding and even trigger a chain collapse!"

"How are we supposed to stabilize it? We can't even get close!" Hill shouted.

Inside Thunder Temple, alarms sounded as well.

Warning! A high-intensity dimensional distortion has appeared in Brooklyn, New York! Spatial structural stability is plummeting! Numerous random spatial rifts are forming!

The holographic screen displayed live footage of the chaotic area.

Lin Ye was instantly alerted. He ended his training and fixed a sharp gaze on the screen.

"This distortion bears heavy signs of being man-made!" He immediately reached his conclusion. This was unlike a naturally occurring infiltration. It was more like a carefully designed and detonated "bomb," using dimensional energy to forcibly twist and destroy the local spatial structure!

"Remy, analyze the core pattern and spread of the energy distortion! Try to reverse-engineer its energy source!"

"Analysis in progress. The energy pattern is extremely chaotic, but the core point contains extremely faint traces of detonated mystic runes that partially match the Inheritors' energy signature!"

"So it was them!" A cold gleam flashed through Lin Ye's eyes. Was this revenge? A ploy to lure him away? Or did they have some other agenda?

Whatever it was, he could not stand by and watch. If this distortion continued spreading, all of New York could suffer.

"Lock onto the coordinates of the distortion's core. Prepare to teleport to the outer perimeter at a safe distance."

In a flash of lightning, Lin Ye appeared on the rooftop of a building at the edge of Brooklyn's distorted zone. From this close, the warped and chaotic space was even more vivid and terrifying. Cries, explosions, and the groaning of twisting buildings blended together.

He did not rush in recklessly. In a large-scale spatial distortion like this, charging in blindly could get him swept away as well.

He rose into the air and activated [Thor Form], using his powerful senses to analyze the structure of the distortion at full capacity.

"The core is a dimensional energy seed that was forcibly injected and detonated, creating a persistent spatial cancer. Multiple spatial nodes must be smoothed out simultaneously to stabilize it." He quickly saw through the situation. This was countless times harder than repairing those small infiltration points.

He raised his hands slightly, his fingers moving rapidly as though playing a piano!

Streams of highly condensed lightning energy carrying spatial stabilization frequencies shot toward key spatial nodes throughout the distorted zone like precise surgical lasers!

This was not violent destruction, but exceptionally delicate "stitching" and "soothing"!

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Lightning sank into the twisted space. The wildly writhing streets and buildings seemed to be pressed down by an invisible hand, calming slightly. Yet soon, new distortions formed elsewhere!

"The repair speed can't keep up with the rate of destruction. The energy core is still continuously outputting power." Lin Ye frowned. He had to find that energy core and destroy it!

His gaze pierced through layers of warped scenery and locked onto the center of the abandoned textile mill! There, a purple-black energy vortex slowly rotated, constantly spewing destructive dimensional energy!

But the path there had been completely sealed off by distorted space. Forcing his way through would be extremely risky.

Lin Ye's thoughts raced, and suddenly, he had an idea.

He brought his hands together, then violently pulled them apart!

A gigantic Thunder Spear formed in his hands, entirely composed of lightning energy and condensed to an extreme degree! But this time, he had compressed and reinforced its internal structure to the utmost with spatial techniques, making it almost tangible!

"Thunderforce Sky-Piercing Arrow!"

Go!

He hurled the Thunder Spear! Rather than flying in a straight line, it moved under his remote control as though alive, cleverly avoiding the most unstable spatial folds and random rifts along an incredibly tricky, ever-changing trajectory as it stabbed toward the core energy vortex!

Everyone on the perimeter—from rescue workers to media cameras—captured the scene, and cries of shock erupted one after another!

The Thunder Spear was like an elf dancing on a blade's edge. Every turn was terrifyingly perilous, yet incomparably precise!

Finally!

The Thunder Spear passed through layer upon layer of obstacles and plunged into the heart of the purple-black energy vortex!

BOOM!!!

A violent explosion erupted from the core point! But this time, it did not spread outward. Instead, it collapsed inward! The ultimate thunderous power and spatial stabilization frequencies contained within the Thunder Spear instantly destroyed the energy core's structure!

The purple-black vortex suddenly froze, then crazily collapsed inward, vanishing into Annihilation!

With the core destroyed, the entire distorted area seemed to lose its power source. The frantic twisting and folding slowly began to settle, while the randomly appearing spatial rifts swiftly closed and disappeared.

A few minutes later, although the spatial structure in the area still bore scars and traces of distortion, it had basically stabilized and was no longer lethally dangerous.

The rescue teams immediately rushed in and began saving the injured.

On a distant rooftop, Lin Ye let out a faint breath. That move had consumed an enormous amount of his energy. He looked at the neighborhood returning to calm, but his frown did not ease.

"You Inheritors made such a huge commotion just to cause me a little trouble?"

He could not shake the feeling that it was not that simple. This seemed more like a test—or perhaps a show of force.

Meanwhile, in Queens, New York.

Peter Parker had just gotten out of school and was about to change into his suit for a "patrol" when he saw the horrifying scenes in Brooklyn on the news, along with footage of Captain America, Iron Man, and others participating in the rescue. His heart began pounding wildly.

"My God, what's happening to this world..." he murmured. He felt his own power growing ever more insignificant. At the same time, his desire to become a "Stark Industries intern" grew even stronger—if he had that kind of technology and resources, could he help people better too?

On S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.

Fury and Hill watched Lin Ye resolve the crisis, their expressions grave.

"It was him again. This incident's energy pattern is very similar to the residue left behind at the Inheritors' base in Norway," Hill analyzed.

"They're testing him." Fury's single eye flashed with cold light. "Or they're forcing him to act repeatedly, draining him? Maybe even collecting more energy data from him?"

Deep within the Sahara Desert, inside Obsidian Hall.

"Energy data collection is complete. Perfect." The High Priestess's lazy voice rang out. "His understanding and application of space are advancing even faster than we expected."

"It's enough to activate the final stage of the Void Hand." The Hermit's voice carried a trace of satisfaction.

"Next, it's time to make him 'willingly' step onto the stage we prepared for him." The Hanged Man laughed deeply.

A more dangerous conspiracy targeting Lin Ye had already been quietly set in motion.

This dimensional distortion in New York was only the beginning.

End of Chapter 33