Chen Mo was deep in thought, while Nite Owl sat quietly opposite him.
"Aba."
Nite Owl raised his head and gave Chen Mo a wise smile.
Chen Mo stared at him for two seconds, then gave up on the idea of fixing it. The person behind it had deleted everything too thoroughly. Even if they managed to bring him back, Nite Owl, having lost his experiences and resolve, would just be an ordinary, intelligent person.
"It's a pity that such a perfectly good limited edition figure was dismantled and turned into a defective product."
Chen Mo pressed his hand against the ground, and the black and red substance spread along the passage, covering the entire base. Important equipment was kept separately and neatly categorized. As for Nite Owl, he left him a separate room with a bed, water, and an automatic feeding system.
"Ababa."
The Nite Owl pointed at the light on the wall, seemingly pleased.
"Okay, whatever you like."
Chen Mo closed the door and completely emptied the entire base.
However, he didn't send the items back to his territory. That snarling guy could have left a backup plan in the communicator beforehand; who knows what other ambushes he might have? Taking potentially dangerous items back to his hometown would be too stupid.
Chen Mo chose a cosmic coordinate where there were few discoveries, threw all the core equipment inside, and left a few clusters of viral tissue to guard it.
Having done all this, he opened the portal and returned to the Marvel Universe.
New York Sanctum.
As soon as Chen Mo stepped out of the spatial rift, he saw the Ancient One sitting at the table making tea.
Odin's projection sat opposite him, also holding a cup of hot tea.
Wow, everyone's here today!
Chen Mo pulled out a chair and sat down, pouring himself a glass of water.
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd secretly set up a senior activity center behind my back."
Odin's eye twitched slightly.
The Ancient One lowered his head and drank his tea, as if he hadn't heard.
"How's it going? Have you dealt with the intruders?" The Ancient One asked.
"Well, at least on the surface, I've eaten everything."
Chen Mo put down his teacup, his smile fading slightly. "But they have someone behind them, and I suspect they know about me."
The room fell silent immediately.
Odin sat up straight, a hint of seriousness appearing in his single eye. Chen Mo recounted the self-destruction of the black crystal and the precise erasure of Nite Owl's memories; that defensive mechanism likely existed before he appeared.
"Could it be a prophecy?" Odin asked in a deep voice.
"What the old God-King said is very possible, and it could also be an observation from the timeline," The Ancient One said, turning her teacup. "But I haven't seen this invasion in our future."
"In this respect, I also did not sense their entry into the Nine Realms. Perhaps they bypassed the World Tree's observation."
Chen Mo nodded.
"That's the most troublesome part. The mastermind hasn't even shown up yet. The Crime Syndicate is just a stepping stone he's used to test the waters. The real danger is this mastermind."
Yes, the diverse world is still drawing closer to each other.
The Ancient One raised her head, her gaze falling on Chen Mo. "Their first operation failed; they will definitely have a second one."
"That's what I thought too, so I'm here to let you know."
Chen Mo opened his palm, and the black and red substance condensed into seven sets of coordinates. "I have the locations of several other worlds here, one of which contains another version of the Crime Syndicate."
Which world are you planning to travel to?
"I'll go sooner or later, but not now." Chen Mo put away the coordinates. "You haven't even cleaned your own house properly, and you're already going to visit someone else's? Don't be so efficient when your own house catches fire."
The meeting didn't last long. Odin had to return to Asgard to inspect the boundaries of the Nine Realms, and the Ancient One had to go to the various Sanctum to add monitoring arrays.
Before leaving, Odin stopped.
" Chen Mo, Thor and Loki are still on Earth."
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I won't eat them."
Odin was silent for a moment. That wasn't what he wanted to say, but upon reflection, it seemed quite important.
The golden projection disappeared.
The Ancient One looked at Chen Mo, a smile appearing on his face.
"You've really frightened the old God King."
"That's pure slander. Why would he be afraid of someone as sunny and cheerful as me?"
Chen Mo stood up and opened a portal to S.H.I.E.L.D.., saying, "But I can understand the concern of elders for their children."
S.H.I.E.L.D.. temporary headquarters.
Nick Fury requisitioned an underground base and raised its defenses to the highest level.
When Chen Mo entered the conference room, it was already full of people. There was Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Banner, Thor, Tony in armor, and even Loki.
Goodness, the cast of the Avengers actually came together on its own without anyone noticing.
" Chen Mo, you're the one who asked us to come to this meeting, and you're the one who's late," Fury said.
"I had a meeting with two old men. One's in charge of Earth, the other's in charge of the Nine Realms. If you're not satisfied, next time I'll have them come to S.H.I.E.L.D.. and sign in with you first."
Fury didn't respond, afraid that Chen Mo would really call someone over.
Tony lifted his mask and sized up Chen Mo.
"You were the one who finally took care of that speed demon from before?"
"Sort of. He ran into the old man's portal and became my dessert." Chen Mo glanced at his armor. "But you, you got beaten up, and your gear got upgraded again?"
"That's called collecting combat data and making improvements." Tony projected a set of models. "Next time there's a speedster, I'll show him that speed doesn't equate to intelligence."
Hawkeye glanced at the model and casually asked, "What if it's faster than your system?"
Tony smiled confidently.
"Then you're in charge of shooting him."
Hawkeye said expressionlessly, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me."
Banner couldn't help but chuckle, then lowered his head and pretended to continue reading the documents.
Thor slammed his hand on the table and said seriously, " Mjolnir can now respond to my calls. If the enemy comes again, I can use lightning to seal off the battlefield."
"And then, while you're at it, smash our equipment?" Black Widow glanced at him. "The repair bill from last time is still in Fury's office."
Thor opened his mouth, then slowly lowered his hand. The God of Thunder wasn't afraid of battle, but the bills from Earthlings were indeed troublesome.
Captain America didn't participate in the mutual insults. After reviewing the intelligence, he looked up at Chen Mo.
What is the enemy's objective?
"We don't know at the moment."
Chen Mo's smile faded. " The Syndicate is just a pawn. The people behind it haven't revealed their identities or their purposes. But one thing is certain—"
He glanced at everyone present and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
Our world has been exposed.
The meeting room fell silent.
Nick Fury pulls up a global defense map, revealing vast areas still unmonitored. Forget dealing with multiverse invasions, even the Earth's internal structure isn't integrated.
Chen Mo looked at the picture and slowly stood up.
"Everyone, let's get serious. The Interstellar Plan I mentioned before must be implemented."
He zoomed in on the Earth's projection, "Before the next group of guests arrives, we at least need to take control of our own world."