The ripples in space caused by the energy beam slowly calmed down, and the blue lines on the surface of the huge geometric body flickered on and off, like some kind of cold nerve bundle in thinking. It obviously couldn't understand why the target was unharmed under the attack of Oblivion stars, and even the most basic energy feedback was not generated.
Xiao Han will not give it a second chance.
He did not use Heat Vision, nor did he swing his fist. He simply raised his right hand in the direction of the structure, and then made a virtual fist.
There was no light shining, no loud roar. But when he raised his hand, the core of the twisted geometric structure that was large enough to accommodate several cities seemed to be grasped by an invisible and absolutely irresistible giant hand.
The dark, non-reflective material that made up its main body emitted a tooth-grinding groan that exceeded the limit of human hearing. The complex flowing lines on the surface instantly became crazy, and the blue light flashed crazily, and then dimmed and disintegrated like a blown fuse.
The structure began to collapse inward. It was not an explosion, but a more complete disintegration from the structural level. It was like a metal model that was thrown into an invisible furnace. Every inch was undergoing unimaginable pressure, rapidly twisting, deforming, and compressing.
Countless defense mechanisms, energy weapons, and space distortion fields that were tried to be stimulated were forcibly smoothed and crushed by more absolute power the moment they took shape, without even a ripple being made.
This process is eerily quiet. In an absolute vacuum, a destruction takes place silently.
Just two or three seconds later, the huge creation that originally stood in the void and exuded an ancient and ominous atmosphere had disappeared. Only an extremely dense and irregular metal block about the size of a house was left in its place. All structures, all functions, and all possible intelligence or consciousness inside it had been completely, completely, and permanently erased.
Even the most basic particle motion has almost stagnated, becoming a cold and silent tombstone in the universe.
Xiao Han put down his hand and looked at the wreckage. The continuous structural tremors had disappeared. The source had been cleared.
However, just when he thought the noise had been cleared and he could continue looking for the next quiet place, a new, more subtle but equally unpleasant wave seeped out from the depths of the extremely dense wreckage.
It was not an actively sent signal, but more like the final echo of some kind of... passive recorder. A kind of long-distance broadcast based on quantum entanglement or a more bizarre principle, which was automatically triggered at the moment when its subject was completely destroyed.
This echo does not contain any complex information, no images, no sounds, only an extremely simple and repetitive identifying code, spreading towards a preset coordinate direction deep in the universe.
The meaning of this code could be deciphered in an instant with Xiao Han's understanding ability.
That's an alert.
A highest priority alert.
The core of the content is: "Baseline Anomaly" has been detected, the coordinates have been marked, and the threat level... is unlimited.
The indifference in Xiao Han's eyes was finally replaced by a trace of extremely subtle annoyance. Cleaning one up only led to more distant and potentially more troubles. The purpose of these insect-like creations seems to be to create and spread noise.
He instantly locked onto the target coordinates broadcast by the echo. The coordinates pointed to a location that was more distant and older than here, almost at the end of the edge spiral arm of Milky Way.
He did not move immediately. Instead, he focused his perception on the wreckage again. Super Vision and Super-Brain worked together, like the most sophisticated archaeologist combined with the most powerful supercomputer, and began to trace back and analyze all the remaining information of this huge structure.
Material composition... An ancient crystalline state doped with special alloys. The technological level far exceeds the current Milky Way universal civilization. The energy signature... is slightly similar to the "Leviathan Echo" broadcast, but is older and more basic. The internal structure... In addition to the destroyed functional areas, there are also a large number of data storage units, but most of them have been physically destroyed in the destruction just now.
Only some fragmented information remains.
Some vague star map fragments point to several similar structures scattered throughout the Milky Way.
Some incomprehensible symbolic codes constantly repeat concepts such as "Guardians", "order", and "calibration".
A very short record of a disaster involving some kind of "Great Annihilation".
And, most of all, the elaboration on the "baseline" - a certain constant system that maintains the stability of reality, and any deviation from the "baseline" will be marked as an "abnormality" and needs to be "isolated" or "calibrated".
Xiao Han is obviously the biggest "Baseline Anomaly".
He understood. This was an automated "monitoring station" and "calibrator" left behind by an ancient civilization. Its duty was to monitor "Reality Baseline" in the vast star field and automatically deal with any "abnormalities" it considered. And he, an existence from other universes with completely different ability systems, was naturally judged by it to be the highest-level abnormal threat.
So it tries to scan, attack, and finally sound an alarm when it's destroyed.
Then, the object of its alarm is most likely the ancient civilization that created it, or... other similar monitoring stations scattered everywhere.
Trouble. Huge trouble.
This means that unless he completely erases all such creations and the civilization behind them from the universe, this targeted "disturbance" is likely to be endless.
And where the final coordinates point is probably the key.
Xiao Han took one last look at the dead wreckage and no longer hesitated at all. He adjusted his direction, facing the coordinates at the edge of the galaxy, and instantly increased his speed to the extreme.
He wanted to completely cut off the source of the noise.
Earth, above Atlantic Ocean, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
The atmosphere in the conference room dropped to freezing point. On the holographic star map, the cluster of light points representing the Kree Empire medium-sized battle group had unmistakably entered the Oort Cloud area outside Solar System, and showed no signs of slowing down or turning.
"They are expected to arrive at the edge of Asteroid Belt within forty-eight hours." Maria·Hill pointed to the star map, his voice cold, "Based on the analysis of their ship configuration and navigation mode, the fighting intention is obvious. Preliminary judgment shows that their primary goal may be to establish an advance base and try to seize interstellar strategic points."
"What response plan do we have?" Steve·Rogers asked in a deep voice, looking at everyone present.
Tony·Stark rubbed his brows. "My space-based weapon platform can try to conduct long-range harassment attacks, but don't expect to cause much damage. At most, it will slow down their speed. The main fleets of various countries on the earth... well, they can't be called fleets at all. They are no different from paper in front of Kree."
"Wakanda's fleet can organize the first line of defense at the edge of the atmosphere." T'Challa's voice came through the communication, "But the numerical disadvantage is too great, and it can only delay time."
"Avengers can board the modified Quinjet for boarding combat." Natasha proposed, "But the risk is extremely high and it cannot deal with large ships."
"Where is Doctor Banner?" Fury looked at the silent scientist aside.
Bruce·Banner shook his head. "The other big guy... is not suitable for precision space operations. Moreover, in a vacuum environment, his survivability is also a problem."
A feeling of despair is spreading. The gap between technological generations cannot be easily filled by courage and determination.
"Maybe..." Hill hesitated for a moment, then said, "We can consider starting 'Echo Project'."
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
"Echo Project?" Steve looked at Fury in confusion.
Fury's one eye flashed. "A plan for extreme situations. Using the extremely limited energy signature characteristics of 'that being' recorded in the past, through a large number of energy amplifiers all over the world and in low-Earth orbit, simulate and amplify its energy fluctuations, creating an illusion that... he is still on the earth, or is about to return."
"This is too risky!" Tony immediately objected, "Not to mention that we can't perfectly simulate that kind of energy signature. Even if we can simulate it, do you think those advanced civilizations are fools? Once this kind of bluff is exposed, it will only lead to more violent retaliation!"
"Also, this might really anger him." Banner added, with worry on his face, "If he senses that we are abusing his energy signature..."
"But this is the only way we can form a deterrent at the moment!" Hill argued, "We don't need a perfect simulation, we just need to create enough energy disturbance to be fake and real, so that Kree's reconnaissance system will misjudge and buy us more time!"
"This is playing with fire." T'Challa's voice came, full of caution, "Wakanda cannot support this plan."
The meeting reached a deadlock. Just when the argument was about to escalate, a rapid siren suddenly sounded from the center console of the mothership.
"Ultra-high energy level space fluctuations detected!" A technician reported loudly, his voice trembling with disbelief, "The source... the source is outside Kuiper Belt! Spectrum analysis... cannot identify it! The energy reading... far exceeds the record limit!"
All arguments stopped instantly, and everyone's eyes suddenly focused on the home screen.
At the edge of the star map, an unprecedented, extremely bright light point flashed past. Its energy signature was sharp and unfamiliar. It was definitely not any known natural phenomenon or engine of civilization.
It appeared suddenly and disappeared extremely quickly, as if it was just a brief glitch in the background of the universe.
But the next second it disappeared, another piece of monitoring data caused the technician to exclaim.
"Kree Empire battle group... slowed down! They are turning! Wait... their formation is in chaos... many ships have stopped moving forward!"
There was silence in the conference room.
Everyone understood what that meant. That light spot, that brief but ridiculously powerful energy signal, although fleeting, was enough to be captured by the advanced sensor of Kree.
They couldn't identify what it was, but that level of energy was enough to make any rational commander feel wary and hesitant.
"It seems..." Tony·Stark broke the silence with a complicated tone, whether he was thankful or helpless, "Someone passed by and accidentally stepped on the accelerator, and the exhaust gas produced almost scared away our 'guests'."
Fury didn't speak, just stared at the star map that had returned to normal, with a deep light shining in the depths of his one eye.
That departing existence, even if it is just a tiny trace inadvertently left in the distant deep space, can still easily disturb the fate of the earth.
And they still can only passively wait for the next "passing by" that may be a blessing or a curse.