Malibu Villa The sun outside seems to be a bit brighter than usual. Xiao Han is lying on a brand new special beach chair - this is the latest work of Tony, which is said to use some kind of material from Wakanda The energy-absorbing material obtained by Vibranium Technology's reverse engineering can conduct and store solar energy more evenly, and the angle of the chair back has been precisely calculated to ensure that every inch of skin can receive the best exposure. Xiao Han has no interest in technology itself, but gives silent recognition to the practicality of this chair.
He had just "fixed" the unpleasant "logical error", and the world had returned to a state of orderly cause and effect and clear timing. This sense of certainty and order made his efficiency in absorbing sunlight seem to improve a little. The ice cubes in the drink melted just right, and the speed and humidity of the sea breeze were also in the most pleasant range. Everything seemed to be back on track, even better than before.
However, this perfect tranquility did not last long.
An extremely subtle but persistent "noise" began to seep into his Super-Senses. It was not a sound, nor an energy fluctuation, but more like... background radiation at the information level. It was everywhere, weak but unable to be completely shielded, like a continuous whisper broadcast to the entire planet.
The content is fragmented, mixed with a large number of incomprehensible symbols and logical breakpoints, but the core information appears repeatedly, pointing to a coordinate - the earth, and a vague but powerful energy signature - highly similar to himself.
Xiao Han frowned. This kind of continuous information harassment is more annoying than the previous direct energy attacks or rule distortions. It is not violent, but it cannot be ignored, like a mosquito that is always buzzing in the ear.
"Friday," Tony's voice came from the laboratory's internal channel, with a rare solemnity, "Have the analysis results come out? What is going on with this global abnormal information redundancy?"
"Analyzing, boss." Friday's tone was still steady, but the processing speed was obviously slower than usual. "The information structure is extremely complex, and the encryption method exceeds any known standard on earth. It seems to be a... broadcast, the source cannot be located, as if it infiltrates from the space structure itself. The repetition frequency is slowly increasing."
"Broadcast?" Tony's image appeared on the holographic platform of the laboratory. He was wearing a work vest and his face was stained with machine oil. He had obviously just escaped from a mechanical project. "Who would randomly post small advertisements in the universe? And send them to the entire planet in bulk?"
"Based on cross-referencing specific identifiers that repeatedly appeared in the information fragments," Friday called up a series of blurry cosmic images and an image of a ferocious metal Leviathan, "There are 78.3 % probability is the same as a certain mark detected in the Leviathan creature Mechanical Entity that was shot down by Mr. Xiao Han during the previous Chitauri invasion."
Tony was stunned. "Chitauri? Aren't they completely wiped out? Even if there are remnants, where can they get the technology to carry out a planet-wide broadcast of this level?"
"It's impossible to be sure. But the broadcast signal does not originate directly from the Chitauri parent star or any known Chitauri Fleet signal characteristics. It is more like a... triggered automatic response mechanism, or... a beacon."
"Beacon?" Tony's face darkened, "What do you mean?"
"One possibility is that the destroyed Leviathan, or its core components, recorded and encrypted some kind of extreme environmental encounter information at the last moment before destruction. Now, this information is being received and rebroadcast by some unknown monitoring network throughout the universe, and its purpose may be... marking and positioning."
"Mark the earth? Or mark..." Tony's eyes couldn't help but cast towards the figure on the beach outside the window.
"The energy characteristics contained in the information core are highly consistent with Mr. Xiao Han, and the priority is much higher than the earth coordinates themselves." Friday's conclusion was cold and clear.
"Damn it!" Tony cursed in a low voice, "I knew it! That thing must have saved something before it died! This is not revenge, this is... reporting! Telling the whole universe that there is a super energy here!"
He scratched his hair fiercely. "Can it be shielded? Interfere with it?"
"With the existing technology on Earth, the possibility of completely blocking this deep space-penetrating broadcast is less than 0.04%. The local interference effect is limited, and the signal repetition frequency may be accelerated to combat interference."
"Damn!" Tony paced irritably, "In other words, now we are like the only target illuminated by the spotlight on a dark stage, and the radio is still shouting, 'Look, there is a rare thing here'?"
"The metaphor is appropriate, boss."
Tony took a deep breath, pushed open the door of the laboratory, and walked to the beach. He needed to talk to the "rare thing" - although he knew that there was a high probability that the talk would not yield any results.
He walked to Xiao Han and looked at him with his eyes closed, as if the ubiquitous cosmic broadcast was just a breeze.
"Uh... man," Tony said after careful consideration, "Did you notice anything... particularly noisy? It's not a sound, it's a... feeling?"
Xiao didn't open his eyes, but replied calmly, "Inferior advertisements. They are everywhere. Low-grade and interesting loops."
Tony choked, and sure enough he felt it. "That's not an advertisement. That might be a trouble. Do you remember that big bug you smashed to pieces? It might have 'reported' us, mainly you, before it died. Now the whole universe may know that there is an existence like you here."
"Oh." Xiao Han's reaction was so bland that it made Tony want to go crazy.
"Oh? Just an 'oh'? This means there may be countless aliens, space pirates, or other weird things attracted here! Like sharks that smell!" Tony tried to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.
"As many as come, beat them to death." Xiao Han's tone did not waver at all, "When bugs gather, there are just more bugs."
"This is not a matter of being shot to death!" Tony said a little weakly, "They will bring war, chaos, and endless temptations! Do you want to continue your pure life?"
Xiao Han finally opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Tony: "You are making noise now."
Tony: "... I'm reminding you! Isn't this broadcast itself a kind of noise? You don't want it to shut up?"
"It's too weak. It's not worth taking special action." Xiao Han closed his eyes again, "Wait until the main body making the noise gets closer and deal with it together."
Tony is completely speechless. This guy's logic is so simple and crude: If you are not afraid of thieves, just be afraid that thieves will not come? If they come, then slap them to death? But how many waves of harassment will the earth have to endure during this period?
"What if... I mean what if, what comes is not a ship, but a fleet, or some cosmic existence that we cannot understand?" Tony made a final effort.
Xiao Han was silent for a few seconds. Just when Tony thought he would not answer anymore, he spoke, with a hint of impatience in his tone. "The fleet is a bug. An incomprehensible existence. If it can make noise, it is also a bug. The only difference is that it requires a little more effort."
Tony looked at the person in front of him and suddenly realized a fact that he had been deliberately avoiding: Xiao Han's threat level may have already exceeded the scope that can be defined by the earth or even a single universe civilization. The "trouble" he understood and the "trouble" understood by other forces in the universe were not in the same dimension at all.
For Xiao Han, the so-called "Leviathan Echo" and the cosmic attention it may attract may really be just a relatively long-lasting and widespread "inferior advertisement".
"... Okay." Tony finally gave up the communication, "I will let Friday continue to monitor the signal changes. If there are any... signs that the 'body' is approaching, I hope you can 'deal with it' before they tear the earth apart."
No response. Xiao Han seems to have been immersed in his sunbathing again, treating the continuous cosmic broadcast as irrelevant white noise.
Tony sighed and turned to leave. He needed to contact Fury, the space telescope array, and all the forces that could be contacted to prepare for the upcoming cosmic storm caused by an "echo".
At a level that Tony cannot see, Super-Senses of Xiao Han has actually been passively monitoring the broadcast signal. Its information structure, encryption method, and transmission mechanism were quickly analyzed with his understanding that far exceeded the technology of the earth.
He really felt that this signal was very low-level, with low transmission efficiency, crude encryption method, and high information redundancy. It was like using the original Morse Code (Morse Code) to shout across the universe, and the content was smelly and long.
But he also captured some hidden information from this signal. The coverage of this broadcast network is extremely wide, and the technical support behind it obviously surpasses the level of civilization of Chitauri. It is more like an... ancient, automatically operating cosmic monitoring system, which was activated by a certain protocol by the specific signal sent by Leviathan before his death.
"Cosmic level... information pest cleanup list?" A slightly sarcastic thought flashed through his mind. Perhaps in the eyes of some beings, an energy body like him that goes beyond the norm is a "pest" that needs to be marked and cleaned up?
It doesn't matter. If the so-called "cleaner" dares to come and bring noise to his door, he doesn't mind letting the other party understand who really needs to be "cleaned".
He focused his attention back on the sunlight, trying to filter out the annoying background broadcast. Compared with potential troubles in the future, absorbing energy and strengthening oneself in the present is fundamental. As long as one is strong enough, any trouble can be solved with just a slap.
At the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Wakanda monitoring center, Heimdall eye of Asgard, Sanctum Sanctorum, Guardians people on the earth and all sides have all detected this abnormal space penetration broadcast to varying degrees.
Anxiety is spreading. They don't know what this broadcast means, but the words "Leviathan", "Chitauri", "Unknown Universe Signal", and "Energy Marker" are connected together, which is definitely not a good thing.
A cosmic-level storm caused by Xiao Han, but requiring the entire earth to face, seems to be brewing silently. But at the center of the storm, at this moment, he only cares about whether his sun bath is comfortable.
In the distant deep space, a small Kree reconnaissance fleet captured this repeated broadcast. Commander Ronan's adjutant, Korath, looked at the description of "abnormal high-energy reaction" and "unknown powerful individual" in the information interpretation report, as well as the accompanying earth coordinates, with a flash of interest in his eyes.
"Mark this coordinate. Increase the priority of the information and send it to Supreme Intelligence. A primitive civilization with such an individual... may deserve special attention." He gave the order.
In the more distant star field, the Collector's messenger also noticed this information in the monitoring network. For the Collector Tanlia·Tivan, who is dedicated to collecting rare items in the universe, "unknown powerful individual" itself is a very tempting collectible label.
"Leviathan's Echo" is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. The ripples are beginning to spread towards the infinite universe. The first "bug" attracted may already be on the way.