The Ancient One

By the volcano, Yang Bo saw the nervous anticipation in Coulson's eyes and couldn't help patting him on the shoulder. "It's true!"

"Why would I lie to you? You're not some beautiful female investigator."

"This is just one friend helping another. Though I'm not too sure exactly where he is right now."

To stop Red Skull's evil plan, Captain America had followed him aboard the plane he intended to use to destroy major cities. During their final battle, Red Skull had vanished into a wormhole formed by the Tesseract's energy.

Captain America had discovered that the plane was badly damaged and about to attack New York, so he had decided to crash-land it on a nearby glacier. But the crash had also thrown him into the Arctic Ocean, where he had become frozen in ice.

Yang Bo organized what he knew and told Coulson, "Because of the Super Soldier Serum, he's still alive. He's just waiting for someone to find him and dig him out!"

After hearing Yang Bo's words, Coulson became visibly excited. As an agent, he should have been able to keep a straight face, but now that he knew Captain America, the man he admired most, was still alive, he simply couldn't contain his emotions.

"Yang, could you give me a cigarette?"

"This news is just too..."

Coulson took the cigarette Yang Bo offered and put it between his lips. Yang Bo pulled out a lighter and lit it for him.

Bzz... bzz...

An extremely faint, rhythmic vibration came from Coulson. Holding the cigarette between his lips, he took the earpiece he had put away earlier out of his pocket.

He pressed it lightly.

"Director, I'm fine!"

"Yes, it might be because of the heat. I'm standing on volcanic rock that hasn't cooled yet!"

After a few more words, Coulson tucked the earpiece back into his pocket. From his answers, Yang Bo could tell that the caller was probably Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson ended the call with his director and looked at Yang Bo with a complicated expression. "How did you know the Captain was still alive? Or rather, why did you tell me?"

"Me? I saw it on TV! Coulson, remember, this is information I'm giving a friend, not an agent!"

Yang Bo spoke half-jokingly. He wasn't particularly worried about Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. He wasn't even afraid of Thanos's Snap now, so why would he fear S.H.I.E.L.D.? At worst, he could dig straight down to the Earth's core. What were they going to do, blow up the planet?

Coulson took a deep drag, then tossed the cigarette butt away and said very seriously, "I know what to do!"

"I think it's time we left. I can't wait to find my idol!"

After a pause, he continued, "I'll find a way to deal with the pressure from the vampires' believers. But try not to kill the believers if you can. They're still human, after all!"

If he could?

So he could kill them if he wanted?

With his superior powers of comprehension, Yang Bo raised an eyebrow slightly, a delighted smile spreading across his face. With Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. there to take the blame, he could let loose a little more when dealing with vampires.

I shouldn't make things too difficult for Coulson. I'll turn those believers into vampires first, then send them on their way!

Just as the two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the Quinjet, sparks suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of them, spraying in every direction like New Year's fireworks before rapidly spinning.

The instant he saw the sparks, Yang Bo's expression went through quite a change. He wasn't an idiot. At this point in time, whoever could open portals and travel around certainly wasn't Doctor Strange.

Coulson also drew a pistol from his waist, but Yang Bo reached out to stop him and gently shook his head. That thing would be useless against the person behind the portal.

The sparks quickly formed a portal. Inside a bedroom furnished in an antique style, a bald woman in pale yellow robes looked at him with a calm, composed smile.

It was the Ancient One of the Marvel Universe. She took a gentle step forward and emerged from the glowing ring, radiating an unhurried composure as she asked softly:

"Hello, visitor from another dimension!"

Hearing the Ancient One's words, Yang Bo panicked inside. She was unquestionably the strongest person on Earth at this point. If she hadn't decided to quit, Thanos would never have had his chance.

"Hello, Sorcerer Supreme!"

The Ancient One showed no surprise at all, the same faint smile still on her face. She took another step forward, and the portal behind her closed without a sound.

She studied Yang Bo carefully from head to toe and asked softly, "You are quite mysterious. I can see neither your future nor your past!"

"Could you tell me why you came here, young man?"

Facing the Ancient One put Yang Bo under considerable pressure. He might not fear death, but what if she locked him inside the Mirror Dimension?

Wait... the Mirror Dimension? Maybe I really could dig my way out. I'll have to try that when I have time!

At that thought, much of Yang Bo's nervousness eased, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"I don't know either. I just went to the bathroom at home and ended up here. Could you see if there's a way to send me back?"

As Earth's guardian, protecting it from threats from other dimensions and alternate spaces, the Ancient One had seen all sorts of strange "otherworldly travelers." But this was her first time encountering someone as full of unknowns as Yang Bo.

The Ancient One shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot locate your dimension at all. I don't know where you came from. If Captain America hadn't appeared ahead of time, I wouldn't even have noticed your existence!"

Yang Bo felt somewhat disappointed at her words, but he also understood why the Ancient One hadn't sought him out at the beginning.

What exactly does this powerhouse want? Is she planning to kill me because I'm from another world?

"Master, may I ask what you wanted to see me about?"

The Ancient One said very seriously, "After you appeared, the world's timeline changed. It has already diverged from the Sacred Timeline, and that could cause a major crisis!"

Yang Bo froze for a moment. He hadn't expected the Ancient One to know about the Sacred Timeline, which surprised him. Put simply, the so-called Sacred Timeline was the plot of the movies he had watched.

Disrupting the Sacred Timeline simply meant changing the plot.

But Yang Bo knew perfectly well that the current timeline was already a mess. Otherwise, the first thing he had seen when he crossed over should have been the Time Variance Authority.

Their conversation left Coulson completely bewildered. Looking at the Ancient One, who had emerged from the portal, he stepped forward and said softly, "Hello, I'm Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. May I ask who you are?"

The Ancient One smiled politely. "Hello, Agent Coulson. My name is the Ancient One!"