Thor raised Mjolnir high in the air with one hand, soaring into the sky. Silver-blue lightning exploded from the hammer, and a gale swept up from beneath his feet, making the surrounding military tents rustle loudly. Coulson's documents were scattered everywhere by the wind, but he was completely unaware. Hawkeye held his bow horizontally in front of him, muttered a curse under his breath, but his gaze was fixed on the figure in the sky. Several young agents gaped, not even noticing their phones had fallen to the ground.
"I never imagined he really was... Thor," Walker murmured, his dark face filled with awe.
Thor had only one thought in his mind at that moment: to go back, smash the Destroyer to pieces, and let Loki know that he, Thor Odinson, had finally returned.
Thor was incredibly fast. The sky, torn apart by lightning and crimson light, drew ever closer. He took a deep breath and swung his hammer three times above his head. Lightning wove a visible coating around him, and his cloak billowed and fluttered in the wind.
Not long after, he saw Fandral and his group supporting each other on the ground, Thor slowly descended.
"Warriors of Asgard! I'm back!"
His roar was so powerful that before he even landed, the sound wave had already pushed the sand and dust on the ground three zhang away.
The Asgard's Warriors Three looked up simultaneously. Volstagg's eyes welled up, and his axe clattered from his hand. Fandral wiped his face hard with his sleeve, smearing blood and sand together. Hogun stood there, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but his eyes reddened first.
Thor landed steadily in front of the crowd, his cloak billowing without wind, crackling with lightning, exuding an imposing aura. He glanced at the crowd and slowly spoke, "Step back, all of you. I'll take care of the Destroyer. You've all done your part."
After saying that, he turned around and held the hammer horizontally in front of his chest. The next scene had already appeared in his mind: he would soar into the air, smash through the Destroyer with one blow, lightning would engulf everything, and then he would fall down in the dust and smoke, killing it with one blow!
But the next second he realized that none of the three had moved. Just as he was looking on in confusion, he saw Hogun's lips twitching violently, as if he wanted to laugh but couldn't, and he pointed into the distance.
Thor frowned and looked in the direction he was pointing.
That was in the center of the battlefield, a huge crater.
Black smoke still billowed from the edge of the crater, and the acrid smell in the air was several times stronger than before. At the bottom lay the Destroyer's mangled remains; its arms were blasted to pieces, its chest armor shattered into more than a dozen fragments, and its core was broken into three halves, its light completely extinguished. Lin Xiao sat on the edge of the crater, his legs dangling into the water. He intended to pick up a piece of armor with his right hand, but his fingers froze the moment they touched the edge, and his entire arm began to tremble uncontrollably. He hissed, withdrew his right hand, and used his left to pick it up, muttering to himself, "This thigh is pretty good. I'll melt it down for Tony later and make a mechanical arm. The hardness, the texture, tsk tsk, Asgard's product, always top-notch. Sif, do you still collect scrap metal over there? If not, I'll take it all."
Thor slowly turned his head to look at Hogun, his eyes filled with "What the hell is going on?"
Hogun sighed, shoved the broken knife into the sand, and plopped down on the ground.
"After Lin Xiao saw you off, the four of us barely managed to hold off the Destroyer."
Thor's face was tense, and his knuckles tightened more and more on the hammer handle.
"Then what?"
"Just when the four of us were about to give up, Lin Xiao returned." Hogun looked up, his gaze falling on the charred battlefield in the distance. "Speaking of which, Thor, you might not believe it, but that Midgardian could also use lightning. He saved me first, then abandoned me to save Sif. I saw him with one arm around Sif, and a five-colored lightning pillar forming in his other hand. That lightning was completely different from any we'd ever seen before—five colors, several meters wide, like it had torn the sky apart before crashing down. The three of us didn't have time to get far enough away and were almost swept away by the aftershocks."
Volstagg chimed in, his tone tinged with reluctant admiration. "I've fought three hundred years of war, and this is the first time I've seen the Midgardian use thunder more recklessly than Thor."
Thor raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced by the assessment.
Hogun ignored him and continued, "After the Destroyer was struck by the five-colored lightning, its outer shell cracked in several places, its left leg was crippled, and a hole was torn in its chest, exposing its core. Its regeneration ability also became extremely slow. We thought there was hope, so we all rushed up, trying to completely destroy it. But it directly shot out a dark red laser beam. That beam was thick and hot; even from a dozen steps away, I felt like my skin was burning."
Upon hearing this, Thor's breathing became heavy, and he gestured for Hogun to continue.
Hogun paused for a moment, as if recalling the scene. " Lin Xiao pushed Sif away and took the blow with his arm. I watched with my own eyes as his sleeve was gone, the flesh of his arm rolled up, and the bone was exposed. We all thought his hand was ruined, but not only did he not fall, he suddenly had a pair of black glasses on his face, and then..."
He paused abruptly at this point.
Thor's brow twitched slightly. "And then what happened?"
Hogun opened his mouth, but didn't continue. He stared at the figure still sitting on the edge of the pit in the distance, his eyes churning with an emotion that even he himself couldn't quite understand.
A dozen minutes ago.
The moment Lin Xiao put on the Super Sunglasses, a chilling force seeped into his temples from the edge of the frame. The " Danger Sense " function of the Super Sunglasses was automatically activated, and the Destroyer's energy reading was projected onto Lin Xiao's eyes in the form of a light screen.
The bright red data assaulted my mind.
The core in the Destroyer's chest is charging, and the energy peak is rising wildly.
But within that blindingly red data stream, Lin Xiao saw something that shouldn't have been there.
A faint purple hue flickered deep within the Destroyer's core, rising and falling with each pulse of the core.
What is that?
Lin Xiao squinted, and the visual enhancement function of his sunglasses automatically magnified the image. He saw it.
Lightning was moving within, a purple bolt of lightning. The residual energy of the Five Thunder Spell hadn't dissipated; it burrowed into the Destroyer's torn chest, into the smallest cracks within its core. It was slowly corroding the Destroyer's inner core. Though tiny, it was still there, almost extinguished by the energy of the Destroyer's core, but ultimately not completely destroyed.
Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
" Doupao— " he roared inwardly, his voice trembling with pain, "Is my Five Thunder Spell still lingering in the core of that iron lump?"
"Ding--Residual lightning-attribute energy released by the host has been detected inside the target core, accounting for approximately 7.3% of the total core energy. The residual energy is being continuously repelled by the target core, but has not yet been completely eliminated."
"If I shoot a laser in, will the remaining mines detonate?"
"Ding--Theoretically feasible. If the high-energy beam accurately hits the core crack, it will trigger internal energy resonance. If the residual lightning energy within the target core has a frequency close to that of the external beam, it will create a chain reaction, destroying the target core from the inside."
After listening, the red light in Lin Xiao's pupils slowly brightened.
"Let's take a gamble."
He looked up at the crack that was still gathering power. His eyes behind his sunglasses turned into two balls of burning red light, exactly the same color as the crack on the Destroyer's face.
Two red laser beams shot out from his eyes.
The laser grazed the air and struck precisely the crack in the Destroyer's core. The Destroyer's laser also shot out simultaneously, one red and one dark red. The two beams collided in mid-air, and the shockwave from the explosion sent sand and gravel within a radius of tens of meters flying into the air.
Lin Xiao's feet were firmly planted on the ground. His body was trembling, his muscles were groaning, and the pain in his arms made his vision blur. But he did not retreat, nor could he.
"Explode it!"
His roar was so hoarse it was no longer human.
The next second, he saw the purple dot move.
The purple light surged suddenly deep within the Destroyer's core, like a spark being injected with oxygen, transforming from a faint glimmer into a raging inferno. The Destroyer's body froze for a moment, the cracks on its surface widening to their maximum, but the laser suddenly ceased. A muffled hum came from within, as if something was expanding wildly inside its iron shell, trying to burst out.
Taking advantage of this opening, Lin Xiao poured all his energy into his eyes. The red laser beams, like two roaring fire dragons, slammed into the very center of the core crack.
"Boom--"
The Destroyer exploded starting from its chest.
In the instant of the explosion, Lin Xiao felt as if he had been slammed away by a giant hand. He tumbled several times in the air, his consciousness shattered into pieces, and the world before his eyes was spinning. He felt his back hit the ground, bounce up, and hit it again. His arms were completely numb; he could only feel scalding sand mixed with blood, smearing his face and mouth.
Finally, his back hit a rock about half his height, and he came to a stop.
He lay on the sand, panting heavily. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, mixing with the sand to form a dark red streak.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally managed to turn over, using his left hand to support himself on the ground, and slowly dragged himself toward the edge of the pit. His arms no longer felt like his own; they hung from his shoulders like two charred logs.
He sat on the edge of the pit, his legs dangling into it, looking down at the scattered remains of the Destroyer, and grinned.
"Holy crap... the Crystal exploded."
When Thor walked over to Lin Xiao, Lin Xiao was still sitting on the edge of the pit, holding a reddish-blue Crystal in his left hand, turning it over and over in the sunlight.
Thor remained silent for a long while before asking in a hoarse voice, "Your hand... is it alright?"
Lin Xiao didn't even look up. "Something's wrong, I'm in terrible pain, so hurry up and help me move two big pieces to distract me."
Thor didn't move. He looked down at Lin Xiao's arms, which were wrapped up like dumplings, and then at the still-smoking remains in the pit. His Adam's apple bobbed.
"I thought it was my turn to save you this time."
Lin Xiao then looked up at him. He saw the resentment and self-blame in Thor's eyes, grinned, and tossed the Crystal in his left hand into Thor's arms. "Then you come to save him, and keep this one for me too. It's quite heavy."
Thor instinctively caught the Crystal, looked down at it, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something. Lin Xiao had already turned his head and gestured towards the pit with his chin. "See that? Your brother's package is overflowing with good stuff. Want some? Since you're my good brother and new employee, I'll give you a 20% discount."
Thor opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "So, what did I come all this way for?"
Lin Xiao raised his eyes, nonchalantly saying, "You came here to cheer me on, but you're a little late."
For a second, Thor really wanted to punch Lin Xiao, but seeing his arms wrapped up like dumplings, he couldn't bring himself to do it. In the end, he could only sigh, slung the hammer over his shoulder, and mutter, " The S.H.I.E.L.D.. people are almost here. I saw several cars driving out of the camp when I came out."
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Hogun: " Old Huo! Come here for a second, I have something to say."
Hogun's lips twitched, but he still limped over.
As Lin Xiao watched him approach, his expression turned serious. " Hogun, I just got lucky. Without you guys holding off the Destroyer at the beginning and killing it half to death, I wouldn't have had a chance to finish it off. It's all thanks to you guys." He paused, lowering his voice, "So you'll get a share of these things too. If you don't mind, pick out what you can use later."
Hogun paused for a few seconds, his previously weary and helpless expression softening slightly. Volstagg and Fandral exchanged a glance but remained silent.
Lin Xiao ignored them. He lowered his head, trying to pick up the Crystal from the edge of the pit with his right hand, but his fingers trembled so badly he couldn't hold them. He clicked his tongue, switched to his left hand, and picked up the scattered Crystal fragments one by one, neatly stacking them on his knees. He counted them; there were seven pieces in total. The largest was half a palm's size, and the smallest could be made into a pendant. They were all different colors, some leaning towards blue, some towards gold, and one was a very pale pink, as if it had been bathed in the glow of the sunset.
Sif appeared unnoticed and stood behind him, her eyes sweeping over the row of Crystal he had placed on his knees. She spoke, "These are energy Crystal. The Destroyer was forged from Uru metal and Starlight Magic. After its core was shattered, the crystals formed from the condensed energy retained a portion of their original owner's power. These are just fragments, but they do contain energy fluctuations."
Sif paused, then added, "Different colors correspond to different energy attributes. The pieces you picked up should all contain some residual Starlight Power."
Lin Xiao put the Crystal down and suddenly asked, "So this thing can be used as a battery?"
Sif was taken aback by the analogy, and after a long pause, she said, "Perhaps... that's a fair way to understand it."
Lin Xiao fell silent. He slowly tucked the Crystal pieces into his robes, his movements agonizing, because each movement felt like his arms were being scorched. But the smile on his lips deepened.
" Sif."
"Um?"
"Now take out my phone and call someone named Tony. Tell him to send someone to collect these metal fragments. Say it's Asgard high-grade alloy, useful for making armor. His number is in my contacts."
Sif stood there for two seconds, picked up the phone Lin Xiao handed her, and flipped through it. When she saw the contact name, her eye twitched. Without saying anything, she turned around and made a call.
Lin Xiao continued collecting Crystal, smiling as he mentally calculated: These are enough to make pendants. One for May; she likes light blue. One for Betty; she has fair skin, and gold would look good on her. Gwen Stacy would have pink; all girls love that. Natasha wants a cool tone; red hair goes tacky with something too bright. He also wants one for Hill; she seems cold on the surface, so he can't be too deliberate with gifts. He'll keep one for Kara as a parting gift. And he'll give Storm one too.
He thought of Carol again. She was drifting in space, and he didn't know where she was now. He would get her a piece when she returned.
"Where did you learn that sly grin?" Sif's voice brought him back to reality.
Lin Xiao snapped out of his daze and found that Sif had already finished her call and returned, staring at him. He quickly straightened his face and said seriously, "Huh? You finished the call? What's with the smirk? I'm just relieved to have survived. Look, that lump of metal almost shredded my head off, and now it's all shiny and shiny. I'm just being sentimental."
"You call this being sentimental?" Sif walked to his side, squatted down again, and checked the gauze on his arm. She noticed that Lin Xiao's movements had loosened the gauze in two places, and the seeping blood had stained the white bandages pale red. She sighed softly and slowly tightened the gauze. Lin Xiao gasped.
" Sif, be gentle. I'll forge the most beautiful Crystal from these later and give it to you, on the condition that when you bandage me in the future, your hands can be as fast and accurate as your marksmanship, and you shouldn't always be thinking about murdering your loved ones--"
"What are you kissing for? If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll stab you to death." Sif stood up, patted the dirt off her knees, but her ears were even redder than before. She turned to leave, but Lin Xiao's hand reached out and gently pulled her wrist. Sif didn't turn around, but she didn't shake off Lin Xiao's hand either.
The sound of engines could be heard in the distance, and several black armored vehicles, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, drove toward them.
Lin Xiao looked up and squinted. The person sitting in the car at the very front was Sitwell. Lin Xiao's brow furrowed slightly, then he let go, pulling Sif along as they walked towards Thor.
"Not everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D.. is good. This group, for example, isn't any better. They need to be taught a lesson." Lin Xiao's voice was extremely low, only the two of them could hear it. Thor frowned, thought for a moment, and then made his move.
A thin bolt of lightning shot from the tip of the hammer, striking the ground three meters in front of the convoy. The lightning exploded, blasting a shallow crater in the sand. Several armored vehicles braked sharply at the same time, their tires skidding, and they came to rest sideways on the sand. The first vehicle spun around, and the two behind it crashed into its rear. The sirens blared, and the agents scrambled out of the vehicles in a disheveled state.
Sitwell emerged from under the first car, his glasses askew on his face, his bald head gleaming in the sunlight. Before he could even steady himself, he saw Thor shake his hammer, and he shrank back half an inch in fright, dropping his gun to the ground.
Lin Xiao was so happy his shoulders shook, and he gave Thor a thumbs up. "Great job, Thor."
Thor tucked the hammer into his waistband, his face still bearing that righteous expression. "The sandstorm was too strong, it got in my eyes, and my hand slipped."
Sitwell was helped up from the ground by a young agent. His suit was stained, and he had scraped his knee. He was about to get angry when he looked up and saw Thor's blue eyes staring at him. He opened his mouth, but swallowed his words.
Lin Xiao leaned against a rock and lazily waved to Sitwell: "Hey, Agent Sitwell, what happened to you? The sandstorm here is really bad, and the road is difficult to walk on. Look, this place is remote and the wind is fierce. You guys are suffering a lot here. Maybe next time, we should let the younger and stronger people do this kind of dirty and tiring work?"
Sitwell adjusted his glasses, which were askew, wiped the dust off his face, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, "It's alright, agents are meant to be where they're most needed. Agent Lin Xiao, are you alright? Are you injured?"
"I'm fine. You guys are late and missed the best part." Lin Xiao waved at him with his left hand and said with a smile, "But don't be discouraged, there will be plenty of scenes like this in the future. There are a lot of strange things happening in New Mexico. Agent Sitwell, there will be even more exciting things to come."
Sitwell's smile grew even more strained. He felt there was something implied in Lin Xiao's words, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.