Lin Xiao lay in bed, his consciousness seemingly dragged downward by an invisible hand, and found himself standing on an endless expanse of shallow water.
The water was like a mirror, reflecting a starry sky that did not exist-no light pollution from New York, no neon staining the night orange-red, only countless points of light, as though someone had scattered an entire bag of diamonds across black velvet. It felt cold beneath his feet. Every step sent out a ring of tiny ripples that spread in all directions before silently fading.
"Where is this?"
Lin Xiao looked around curiously. Just as he was about to explore, he spotted someone standing nearby.
A woman. Bald, dressed in pale yellow monk's robes, her hands folded in front of her, watching him quietly. Behind her stretched an even larger expanse of stars. Those stars were not still but flowed slowly, like some kind of living creature. Her posture was casual, like someone waiting for an old friend in a park, her expression serene, her gaze calm, and the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.
Lin Xiao did not recognize her, but every hair on his body stood on end in an instant.
"Ding-high-energy life-form detected. Matching against the local world setting database..."
The system's voice rang out in his mind, a fraction of a second faster than usual. That detail instantly put Lin Xiao on full alert-the fucking bastard system had never been this quick when screwing him over.
"Ding-match successful. Identity: The Ancient One. Sorcerer Supreme. Earth's highest guardian on the magical side. Current Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj. Actual age: approximately seven hundred. Combat rating: S. Note: multiverse-level entity. Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous."
Lin Xiao's mind went blank for a second. He remembered that name. Before transmigrating, he had not properly watched many Marvel movies, but he had some idea of the weight the name "The Ancient One" carried-the Sorcerer Supreme, seven hundred years old, protecting Earth from invasions by other dimensions. The Mirror Dimension alone could fold all of New York into a paper airplane to play with.
This was a true big shot of the Marvel Universe whose thigh he could hug. She was on an entirely different level from the people he had previously wanted to latch onto. If Coulson was a district official and Fury a city leader, the person before him-was on the central standing committee.
Watching the rapidly shifting expressions on his face, the Ancient One smiled a little more deeply. "You seem to have recognized me."
Lin Xiao snapped out of it. His brain was spinning at three hundred revolutions per second.
Why had the Ancient One appeared in his dream? Clearly, she had come to inspect him, an "outsider." A seven-hundred-year-old Sorcerer Supreme could sense abnormal fluctuations in the multiverse. A soul from another world had fallen into her territory; it would have been strange if she had not come to investigate.
Then what was her attitude? Friendly or hostile? If she wanted to attack, with her abilities, he would not even have a chance to react. She would not go to all this trouble to meet him in a dream. If she did not intend to attack, that meant she was observing, evaluating, seeing whether this outsider was worth keeping around.
What had someone who had lived seven hundred years not seen? Money, power, threats, displays of weakness-tricks that worked on ordinary people were probably no different from children playing house to her. But Lin Xiao was certain of one thing-people who had lived for centuries were often lonely. The title of Sorcerer Supreme sounded impressive, but in reality, she spent every day dealing with things like Dormammu, the Dark Dimension, and dimensional rifts that could frighten ordinary people out of their minds. People around her came and went. She might not meet someone she could chat with for hundreds of years. Maybe I can do something to break new ground.
Lin Xiao took a deep breath. Then he moved.
His movements were so swift, his attitude so resolute, and his expression so sincere that even the Ancient One, a Sorcerer Supreme who had lived seven hundred years, raised an eyebrow slightly.
Lin Xiao strode forward, cupped his fists, and bent at the waist to a ninety-degree angle, all in one fluid motion, his voice booming as though he were counting off on a sports field:
"I, Lin Xiao, have wandered half my life without finding a worthy lord. If you would not reject me, I would gladly take you as my godmother!"
The ripples on the water stopped for an instant.
The Ancient One's expression did not change much. Her smile remained, her eyes still watched Lin Xiao just as peacefully, and her posture was still casual and composed. Seven hundred years of cultivation had not been for nothing. The Sorcerer Supreme's skin was thicker than vibranium, her emotional control steadier than the Winter Soldier's mechanical arm. She did not even frown, step back, or show any sign of offense.
Only the fingers of her hands, folded in front of her, tightened ever so slightly.
It was very subtle. So subtle that Lin Xiao did not notice at all.
"Interesting." The Ancient One spoke softly, yet her voice seemed to come from every direction at once, each word as clear as if spoken beside his ear. "A soul from another world falls into mine, and rather than thinking about how to hide, you try to claim a godmother the moment we meet."
She paused, something hard to define entering her tone. "Is this how you always deal with people?"
Lin Xiao straightened, his expression outrageously earnest. "Honored godmother, you're a perceptive person, so I'll tell you the truth. I don't know how I came to this world. Every day, I've been muddleheaded and terrified, always feeling empty inside. Today, it was as though fate guided me here, and now I understand. The meaning of my existence is to meet you and give everything for you, even my life."
The Ancient One said nothing, merely watching him quietly.
Silence.
A silence so long it seemed to last a century.
The Ancient One watched him, her eyes still peaceful, but Lin Xiao kept feeling that something was turning behind them. Not killing intent, not wariness, but something more like-self-restraint, as though she had been amused and wanted to laugh but could not.
After a long while, she spoke.
"There's an aura of a higher dimension on you. What is it?" The Ancient One's tone was casual, as though they were chatting. "Where does it come from?"
Lin Xiao froze for a moment. He had not expected the Ancient One to ask about this directly. His instinct was to gloss over it, but then he reconsidered-the person before him was the Sorcerer Supreme, someone who could see through even rifts in the multiverse. Lying to her was probably no different from running around naked.
"I call it Doupao," Lin Xiao admitted honestly, "because it's a real dog."
"Ding-host, please watch your wording. This system has no biological connection to canines."
The Ancient One's gaze lingered on Lin Xiao for several seconds before she nodded slightly, as though confirming something. "An interesting little thing. Its rules don't conflict with this universe's underlying logic. At least, that appears to be the case for now."
A weight lifted from Lin Xiao's heart.
The Ancient One turned away from him and looked up at the flowing stars. She was silent for several seconds before speaking, her voice very soft, as though talking to herself.
"Something outside fate's web, yet willing to step into it of its own accord. It has been a long time since I last saw such a thing."
She turned back to look at Lin Xiao. The smile remained on her lips, but there was something in her eyes he could not quite understand.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you," The Ancient One said. "As for taking me as your godmother-"
Her fists clenched. Very, very tightly.
The smile on the Ancient One's face remained kind and peaceful, but the knuckles of those clenched fists stood out, veins twitching faintly, as though she were using seven hundred years of composure to suppress some deeply undignified thought.
"...Let's leave that for today."
Lin Xiao was a little disappointed, but he had enough sense not to pursue the subject. Having the Sorcerer Supreme say, "I'll be keeping an eye on you," was already his greatest gain today. Hugging a powerful thigh could not be rushed. He had to take it step by step. Add her on WeChat today, invite her to dinner tomorrow, and the day after, perhaps-
"Your thoughts are very interesting." The Ancient One suddenly interrupted the scene playing out in Lin Xiao's head. Her expression was somewhat subtle, as though she had heard something she would rather not have heard. "But I need to remind you of something."
"What?"
"In a dream, I can hear everything you think."
Lin Xiao froze completely. Then that meant-the whole "add her on WeChat, have dinner, claim her as my godmother the day after" fantasy just now-
The Ancient One raised a hand.
Her hand was beautiful, with slender fingers and fair skin that glowed faintly beneath the starlight. That hand traced a circle in the air-a circle that spat sparks, its edges burning with golden fire. Inside was neither water nor stars, but a blurry scene spinning rapidly.
"You've spent too long in this dream," The Ancient One said, her voice as calm as water. "Time to wake up."
Then that fist-the fist that had been clenched for so long, held back for so long-finally loosened.
Her palm opened toward Lin Xiao and gave a gentle push.
Lin Xiao felt a gentle yet irresistible force strike his chest. His entire body flew backward... Not long afterward, he woke.
He shot upright in bed, gasping for breath. The back of his shirt was soaked, clinging coldly to his skin. The curtains were not fully drawn, and a shaft of sunlight stabbed through the gap, falling directly on his face and making him squint.
His phone buzzed on the bedside table, its screen glaringly bright.
Lin Xiao stared blankly for two seconds, then reached over and grabbed it. The caller ID read: Coulson.
He answered, and Coulson's voice came through the receiver, as gentle and courteous as ever. "Good morning, Lin Xiao. Sorry to bother you so early, but something urgent has come up."
Lin Xiao rubbed his eyes, his mind not yet fully recovered from the disappointment of "my godmother doesn't want me." "What happened?"
"Tony Stark. You know him, right?"
"Sure. That playboy, the head of Stark Industries."
"He's going to Afghanistan next month and has arranged a weapons demonstration. A few of the people originally assigned to perimeter security have been reassigned at short notice. We're short-handed and need replacements." Coulson paused. "You'll handle perimeter security in coordination with the New York Police Department. Mostly just to fill out the ranks."
Lin Xiao froze for a second. Then his brows knitted, and his voice rose half a pitch. "Boss, I'm a desk worker."
The other end of the line went quiet for a fraction of a second.
"We really are short-handed." Coulson's tone remained gentle, but Lin Xiao caught a hint of helplessness. "It's mainly the perimeter. You won't need to do anything. Just stand there and make up the numbers."
"Boss," Lin Xiao's voice suddenly became very serious, "a desk job. When you interviewed me, I said a desk job. You agreed it was a desk job. You can't use me as manual labor just because I organize files a little faster. I'm a desk worker with dignity."
There was another stretch of silence from Coulson.
Then, an extremely faint sigh.
"One meal."
"What?"
"The two thousand you owed me last time-we'll call it even." Coulson's voice was as steady as though he were discussing business. "Plus a meal at the buffet downstairs. The one you said looked good last time but couldn't bring yourself to spend money on."
Holding the phone, Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.
"Boss," his voice suddenly became righteous and resolute, "as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., how could I stand by when the organization needs me? Filling out the ranks, right? What time? I'll be early. The debt's canceled, and the meal had better be good. That's settled, I'm hanging up."
Before Coulson could say anything, Lin Xiao had already hung up. He stared blankly at the ceiling for several seconds, his conversation with the Ancient One surfacing in his mind again. Would it turn out to be a blessing or a curse?