Wonder Woman, next

Li Qi led the many villagers steadily across the rather wide river. Its water was crystal clear, shimmering beneath the sunlight like a flowing silver ribbon.

The white divine dragon that had been circling overhead gave an extremely reluctant low rumble, by way of greeting Li Qi, then plunged beneath the lake's deep waters like a bolt of silver lightning and went back to resting.

The female villagers waved, their eyes filled with respect, bidding farewell to the divine dragon that had guarded their tribe for over ten thousand years. Then they gathered around Li Qi and returned to Ta Lo Village with light steps.

It was still bright out, and sunlight continued to spill generously over the land. By their reckoning, fewer than three or four hours had passed since the battle ended. Night would not fall in this mysterious space for another two or three hours.

Li Qi sat with the sisters Ying Nan and Ying Li on a soft bamboo bed that gave off a faint bamboo fragrance. Xu Wenwu and Xu Xialing remained dutifully on guard at the entrance, standing straight like a pair of loyal sentries, constantly alert to any movement around them.

Li Qi thought for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly, a trace of concern and determination in his eyes. He instructed the artificial intelligence JARVIS to leave two Iron Man suits at the towering mountain where the dragon-scale seal had collapsed, maintaining constant surveillance and vigilance against unexpected developments.

These two suits would remain stationed there long-term and would be replaced regularly in the future. Li Qi was determined to spare no effort in safeguarding this important area.

After he exchanged some ideas with the two sisters, the sky gradually darkened. The lingering glow of sunset dyed it orange-red, like a length of brilliant silk.

That night, all the villagers of Ta Lo Village were beside themselves with excitement, pulling their beloved village chief into their singing and dancing.

A roaring bonfire burned in the square, its light illuminating everyone's faces and their joyful smiles. The villagers' laughter and cheerful voices echoed throughout the village. Only after the festivities had continued for more than half the night did the grand celebration gradually draw to a close.

Li Qi took the sisters back to the village chief's residence and enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep in the cozy room.

The next day, Li Qi had no particular business to attend to, so he stayed at the residence without going out. Sitting by the window and gazing at the quiet village outside, he considered whether to rebuild Ta Lo Village, with its millennia-old traditional heritage, into a more modern settlement.

There were no mobile phones, computers, or Wi-Fi here. The only modern conveniences were electricity and a few electrical appliances. The entire village seemed stuck in the 1980s or 1990s, untouched by modernization.

Here, there was no browsing the internet on a phone, nor any entertainment news. People lived simple, uncomplicated lives, but as the times advanced, Li Qi wondered whether he should let this place modernize alongside the outside world.

As he pondered this, he turned toward Ying Nan and Ying Li, who were sitting beside him, and asked their opinions.

The sisters exchanged a smile, their eyes full of tenderness and compliance. Ying Li said softly, "We'll listen to you, Li Qi."

Ying Nan added, "When we find the time, we can survey all the villagers and ask what everyone thinks. Naturally, we support your idea."

When the conversation turned to modern communications, Ying Nan blinked her bright eyes, her face displaying the gentle grace of a mature woman. She tilted her head slightly, considered for a moment, and spoke to Li Qi.

"Leader, we aren't actually completely cut off from the outside world. Aside from the fact that the villagers rarely leave Ta Lo Village, there's a Concealed Transmission Stone in the ancestral hall. Through it, we can contact and communicate with people in other mysterious spaces or places. That's also how we learned of the existence of many strange spaces. Just like Ta Lo Village, the people in some places are also guarding, defending, or standing ready to support other places at any time."

What Ying Nan told him came as quite a surprise to Li Qi. His eyes widened slightly, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. He had been in Ta Lo Village for two or three days, and although he had walked around the village several times, he had yet to enter the tall building resembling an ancestral hall at its center. He knew nothing of the specific conditions inside.

Hearing that there was such an object for communication immediately piqued Li Qi's interest, and curiosity shone in his eyes. He said eagerly to Ying Nan, "Then hurry and take me to see it."

Ying Nan and Ying Li rose gracefully from the bamboo mat, their skirts fluttering slightly. They accompanied Li Qi out of the courtyard toward the ancestral hall at the center of the village.

Along the village's main road, female villagers passed to and fro, some talking softly, others busy with everyday chores. When they saw the village chief and the two deputy chiefs-Li Qi's assistants, with similar duties and standing-they greeted them warmly, simple, honest smiles spreading across their faces.

Li Qi responded to each of them. He truly liked these honest, unpretentious villagers, and warmth welled up within him.

They reached the entrance to the ancestral hall and stepped inside. The light abruptly grew much dimmer, as though they had passed from bright daylight straight into dusk.

Li Qi saw several rows of memorial tablets arranged neatly ahead, engraved with the names of successive village chiefs. Ying Nan explained that these were the memorial tablets of deceased village chiefs.

Ta Lo Village had a history spanning ten thousand years, and every village chief would ultimately experience birth, aging, illness, and death. The villagers' average lifespan was slightly longer than that of people outside, but not to any particularly extraordinary degree.

Li Qi cupped his hands toward the memorial tablets of the former village chiefs, his heart filled with respect. Then he went around them and headed deeper into the ancestral hall.

They passed through something like a corridor, with ancient scroll paintings hanging on the walls on either side, depicting Ta Lo Village's history and legends.

The space ahead suddenly opened up. Before them was a room measuring roughly twenty or thirty square meters. In its center stood an object shaped like a folding screen, about two meters tall and one meter wide, with several slightly smaller, similar screens around it. These screens gave off a faint glow, as though they contained mysterious power.

Ying Nan told Li Qi that this was the Transmission Stone used to communicate with the outside world, allowing them to contact people outside this space.

Intensely curious, Li Qi kept his eyes fixed on the Transmission Stone and circled the huge central stone twice, carefully examining every detail. He found no electrical power supply or other transmission system. It appeared to transmit information entirely across space.

The sisters stepped forward and gently worked with the Transmission Stone. Ying Nan's slender fingers slid lightly over its surface, searching for a particular spot. Ying Li watched intently beside her, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Before long, a hazy glow appeared on the surface of the Transmission Stone. It gradually grew larger and brighter, and soon became something like a television screen, except that it was a vertical rectangle with quite a large display area.

As the hazy glow gradually developed into a visible visual signal, a spacious room resembling part of a royal palace appeared on the Transmission Stone's image plane. The room was lavishly decorated, with exquisite paintings hanging on its walls and polished marble covering the floor.

Ying Nan explained to Li Qi, "One mysterious space we contact more often through the Transmission Stone these days is called Paradise Island. Everyone there is female, even more exclusively so than in Ta Lo Village. After all, our village had a fairly balanced ratio of men to women in ancient times. It's only now that the proportion of men has become extremely small."

At the name "Paradise Island," something stirred in Li Qi's heart. So he could reach Paradise Island from here, and Wonder Woman was there-a female superhero with a graceful figure and beautiful face. He could not help picturing Wonder Woman's valiant bearing.

Li Qi could not help wondering what stage of her life Wonder Woman, Diana, was in now. Had she already left Paradise Island for the human world?

Without a doubt, Li Qi had already set his sights on Wonder Woman as his next target.