Xiao Han travels through the boundless void. The stars are like scattered light points, dotted with the black curtain of Eternity. His speed exceeds the constraints of physical laws, but he appears so calm, as if he is just walking in a familiar courtyard. Solar System behind him has long shrank to an insignificant spot, and is finally completely lost in the background noise of the stars.
He passed by a Binary system. Two stars were intertwined with each other, ejecting huge prominences. The energy surged violently. It was too noisy. He didn't even slow down, but just glanced at it indifferently. In his eyes, the violent energy turbulence was no different from the ripples in the pond. They were just meaningless noises in the background of the universe.
He also passed by a huge Nebula, a hotbed that nurtured countless newborn stars. In the colorful gas clouds, there were lightning and thunder, gravitational tearing, and protostar jets piercing the dust like sharp swords. It was too noisy. He frowned slightly and accelerated away from this overly dynamic area. The magnificent wonders of the universe behind him failed to give him the slightest idea of stopping to appreciate it.
What he needs is absolute tranquility. A place where there is no violent activity of stars, no electromagnetic noise from civilization, or even excessive friction from interstellar dust. A corner where he can quietly bask in the sun without any disturbance.
The concept of time became blurred in the high-speed movement. Maybe a few days passed, maybe a few months. He finally perceived a galaxy that met the conditions at the edge of a relatively empty interstellar space.
A solitary middle-aged star, burning steadily, with gentle light and stable activity. The third planet surrounding it is similar in size to the Earth, but its surface shows a lifeless gray-brown color. There is no green vegetation, no blue water, and the atmosphere is thin and stable. The main components are carbon dioxide and inert gases, which transmit almost no sound.
There was no wind, no water circulation, no geological activity. It was dead silence.
Perfect.
Xiao Han landed on the surface of the planet. There was fine dust soil under his feet, and it was silent when he stepped on it. He looked up at the sky, where the star's light was shining, the temperature was suitable, and the energy was stable. The surroundings were eternal silence, with only the weak tidal force brought by the star's gravity slowly acting on the rock formations. This level of force change was like the deepest lullaby to him.
He exhaled with satisfaction, and his breath instantly condensed into tiny ice crystals in the cold air, and fell silently. He sat down casually, with his back to the direction of the star, feeling the steady flow of gentle energy flowing into his body. A long-lost, almost absolute tranquility enveloped him. There was no buzzing of insects, no roaring of machines, and no idiots trying to disturb him regardless of life and death.
He could finally truly relax.
At the same time, the distant earth.
Tony·Stark stood in the laboratory on the top floor of Stark Tower. In front of him were dozens of holographic projection interfaces, with dense data streams and star maps flowing on them. His face was more solemn than ever before, and the shadows under his eyes showed long-term anxiety and lack of sleep.
"Still unable to lock?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse.
The faces of Bruce·Banner appeared in the virtual interface. He also looked tired and shook his head. "The last reliable energy signature signal disappeared outside Kuiper Belt. All subsequent tracking attempts failed. His speed... and the way he completely concealed his own energy radiation exceeded the limits of all our detection technologies."
"That is to say, he really left." Tony stated a fact in a complicated tone. The landlord who was unbelievably strong and bad-tempered, but who had become the most powerful insurance device on earth, really left because he thought it was too noisy.
"Council of Watchers also confirmed this." Nick Fury's voice entered the communication, and there was no emotion in his single eye. "Their final report stated that the 'abnormal individual' has left the Solar System observation area, and its direction is unknown. At the same time, they have canceled most of their direct monitoring of the earth."
"Cancel the surveillance? Why? Because the target they were interested in ran away?" Tony raised his eyebrows.
"The more likely reason is that they judge that continuing to watch may bring unpredictable risks." Maria·Hill's voice added calmly, "According to the very few parts we have deciphered, 'Leviathan Echo' broadcast content, Xiao Han's existence has been marked as an 'extremely high-risk chaotic variable' by multiple advanced civilizations. Now that the variable has left, for some beings, the earth has been downgraded from an 'observation restricted area' to... an 'accessible area'."
There was silence in the laboratory. Everyone understood what this meant.
In the past, because of the existence of Xiao Han, a terrifying entity that could easily manipulate the laws of the universe, the alien forces that coveted the earth were more or less cautious and acted more cautiously, relying more on observation and testing. But now, the greatest deterrent has disappeared.
"How is the progress of Wakanda's 'Planetary Defense Initiative'?" Steve·Rogers's face appeared on another screen, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier in the background.
"Accelerating." King T'Challa's voice came in, with a hint of urgency in his calmness, "But we are facing a huge bottleneck in technology and resources. Simulations show that the existing energy barrier technology can only withstand the impact of small and medium-sized interstellar fleets at best, and it cannot last long."
"We need more time." Banner concluded with a helpless tone.
"The question is, will the enemy give us time?" Natasha·Romanoff leaned against the console, crossing his arms. "The frequency of the Kree Empire's reconnaissance ships appearing near the orbit of Mars has increased by 300% in the past month. Several tentative contacts have been full of hostility."
"We can't place our hopes on the kindness of others or on Xiao Han being in a good mood one day." Tony interrupted the dull atmosphere and slammed the table hard, "Speed up 'Planetary Defense Initiative', priority Speaking of the highest, Banner, the energy matrix project we are cooperating with must be accelerated. Fury, use all resources to monitor extraterrestrial threats. Captain, Avengers's training and combat readiness need to be strengthened."
He paused and glanced at every heavy face on the screen. "He left, and the sky did not fall. When he was not there before, we carried it on our own. It will be the same in the future."
Having said that, everyone knows deep down that the enemies before and now are not at the same level. Without the sea-fixing needle, the ocean has truly revealed its deep and terrifying fangs.
On a dead planet.
Xiao Han maintained a sitting posture, as if he had turned into an eternal statue. The energy of the stars slowly and steadily nourished him, and the silence around him was so sweet and intoxicating. He even closed his eyes slightly, enjoying this moment of ultimate peace.
However, some extremely subtle and discordant vibrations began to invade this tranquility.
At first, it was as weak as an illusion, like the most insignificant fluctuation in the cosmic background radiation. But Xiao Han's senses were too sharp, and this vibration was like dust falling on an absolutely smooth plane, which seemed particularly abrupt.
It's not a sound, it's not an energy fluctuation, it's more like a... structural tremor. It's as if something, on an extremely distant scale, has gently plucked the strings of the universe, and this star field happens to be a link transmitted by Echo.
Xiao Han did not open his eyes, but his brows furrowed almost unnoticeably.
The tremor continued, very regularly, with an unnatural, mechanical precision. It penetrated the rock formations of the planet and penetrated his Biological Force Field, trying to create some kind of extremely subtle resonance with the vast energy in his body.
Disturb.
Pure, unquestionable intrusion.
Xiao Han finally opened his eyes. There was no emotion in the golden pupils, only a cold indifference. He stood up slowly, looked into the deep void of nothingness, and locked the direction of the tremor.
The peace he had just found was destroyed again.
This time, he wanted to completely, completely, and forever erase the source of the noise, along with all the repercussions it might produce.