Loki was taken back to Asgard to await judgment

The wind blew a corner of the package open a little more, revealing red fabric, like someone secretly hiding a smoldering fire. Ye Mo didn't stop walking; he simply raised his hand and pressed the backpack zipper, stuffing it even deeper.

He had just come out of the supply center, his shoes still dusty. The delivery truck at the alley entrance was gone, and the streetlights were turning on one by one, illuminating the broken walls that hadn't been cleared yet. In the distance, rescue teams were calling out, their voices intermittent, but it was very quiet here.

He stood on the side of the street, looking up at the sky.

A golden light suddenly tore through the clouds, as if someone had slashed the night with a knife. The Bifrost opened.

He knew who was leaving.

Thor appeared, holding Mjolnir in one hand and gripping Loki's wrist with the other. Loki was in shackles, his clothes were torn in several places, and his face was pale, but the corners of his mouth were turned up, as if he had just won some game of chess.

Ye Mo narrowed his eyes.

He didn't move or approach; he just stood there. A system notification sounded in his mind: [High-intensity mental fluctuation detected, source: Loki Laufeyson, record?]

He silently recited: Record. Mark as a Level S potential threat.

Meanwhile, his consciousness sank into the "Gene Spiral Tower," examining the newly unlocked ability fragments on the 19th floor. Regenerative Phasing was still on cooldown, and Wall Phasing Technique was usable, he was now more interested in trying to piece together something that offered magic resistance. For example, he wanted to combine Shadowcat's Phase Perception with Wade's Self-Healing Response to see if he could create a "Magic Resistance Neural Chain."

It hasn't been tested yet.

Over there, Thor glanced at him and nodded. The movement was subtle, but the meaning was clear—it was over, and he was being taken away.

Ye Mo replied, "I hope that's the end."

Thor didn't speak.

Loki turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Ye Mo, lingering on Ye Mo's face for two seconds. In that instant, Ye Mo's heart skipped a beat.

It's not fear, it's familiarity.

He'd seen that look in Loki's eyes far too many times. Every time Loki was knocked down, the first thing he did after getting up was laugh. Not because he was crazy, but because he was calculating. He was remembering who had hurt him, who had blocked his path, and who thought they had defeated him.

The same thing happened this time.

Ye Mo immediately severed the Telepathy. He didn't want to delve any deeper. Some people's minds are like black holes; once you're in, you can't get out.

Thor, pulling Loki along, stepped onto the bridge of light.

The two figures were swallowed by the golden light, and in a flash on the bridge, they disappeared into the air.

A gust of wind blew down, causing Ye Mo's hoodie to cling to his back. He stood still until the light completely dissipated.

He looked down at his hands. His right shoulder felt heavy, where Loki's beam had pierced through him. The skin was intact now, but it would tingle slightly in quiet moments like this.

He knew this wasn't an injury.

This is a warning.

He turned and headed towards the east section. There were still several dilapidated buildings there that hadn't been demolished, with piles of rubble towering high. The temporary command post was located at the entrance to parking lot B3. He needed to go back and export today's combat data, and also check if the system had any new notifications.

There was no one on the street. Occasionally, a patrol car would pass by, its lights sweeping across his face before quickly moving away. He knew many people recognized him now, and that some had started calling him "Mr. X." But he didn't want to be a symbol, nor did he want to be worshipped. He just wanted to live, and incidentally, to ensure no one died unjustly.

Halfway there, he pulled out the Vibranium fragment. It was still hot, even hotter than before.

He frowned.

This thing usually only reacts when Mutants's abilities are present. But now there's no one around, and no residual energy. Why is it hot?

He stopped and looked around.

The streets were deserted, the streetlights were working steadily, and even the wind had died down. Nothing seemed amiss.

But he didn't believe it.

He clenched the fragments tightly, closed his eyes, and activated his Mental Scan. The range was small, just a scan within fifty meters.

We found nothing.

The fragments were still hot.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ground in front of him. The sky was reflected in the puddles, a dark blur. He suddenly remembered playing games when he was a child, where someone would hide in the bushes and not move, only jumping out when you walked by.

This isn't the first time Loki has disappeared.

This wasn't the first time he'd been fooled.

He whispered, "You didn't lose, did you?"

No one answered.

But he knew the answer.

He gathered the fragments and continued walking. His pace remained the same, but his mind had shifted. The previous weariness was still there, but now it was overwhelmed by a clearer feeling—this wasn't over.

He recalled the first time he met Loki, the man standing on the Chitauri Mothership, smiling and saying, "Humanity needs a god to rule." The second time was in the underground parking lot, where he used his scepter to control Hawkeye, throwing the Avengers into chaos with a single sentence. The third time was during the Battle of New York, where he was clearly beaten to the point of being unable to stand, yet still dared to sneer at Thor.

Every time, he felt like he had lost.

But each time, he always had a backup plan.

Ye Mo walked into the ruins, his feet crunching on the broken glass. He took out his recorder and pulled up the frequency curve of Loki's last attack. The green beam and Shockwave waveform were different from the previous attacks. This time, the energy peaked in the third second, then suddenly dropped, as if he was deliberately holding back his power.

He stared at the screen for ten seconds, then opened the system log.

[Analysis of the reason for unlocking the 19th level ability]: The high-frequency magical impact triggered Gene Resonance, which is speculated to be related to the Asgard Imprisonment Spell. It is recommended to try the combination of "Regeneration + Phase Shift" to improve the ability to resist control.

He closed the recorder and exhaled.

The cold air entering his lungs made him a little more awake.

He leaned against the broken wall, took out his phone, and opened the encrypted messaging interface. He didn't send any messages; he just looked at the contact list. Tony, Emma Frost, and Natasha's names were all there, but he didn't tap any of them.

We mustn't alert anyone now.

He needs to figure this out himself.

He re-examined the ability modules in the Gene Spiral Tower. Currently usable ones included: Steel Bone Shield, Wall Phasing Technique, Buzzing Protocol, Telepathy, and Vibranium Resonance. What he lacked was a way to withstand magic-based attacks. He had survived before by relying on Regeneration because Loki hadn't gone all out. What about next time?

He tried to mentally construct a combo attack.

"Wall Phasing + Self-Healing" → Regenerative Phasing, can dodge fatal blows, but cannot counterattack.

"Telepathy + Buzzing Wave" → Can disrupt the enemy's neural synchronization, useful against the Chitauri, but less effective against Loki.

"Phase Perception + Vibranium plate" → can predict the trajectory of magic in advance, but someone needs to make the first move to probe.

That's not enough.

He needs an ability to actively suppress magic.

For example... to disable the opponent's spell before it is cast.

He considered a possibility: if the Molecular Shift of the Shadowcat could be combined with Wade's Rapid Regeneration, and then connected to the oscillation frequency of the Vibranium plate, it might be possible to form a "Magic Interference Field." As soon as the enemy begins casting a spell, their body molecules would slightly shift, causing the spell to be interrupted.

That sounds like nonsense.

But he did even more outrageous things.

As he was thinking, the Vibranium fragment in his pocket suddenly went cold.

He was taken aback.

It was so hot I almost dropped it a moment ago, how come it's not hot anymore?

He turned around immediately.

Behind me were only ruins; half the wall had collapsed, exposing the steel bars, and the ground was covered in dust. There were no footprints, no sound.

But he still felt that something was wrong.

He slowly took a step back, his right hand stealthily reaching for the Vibranium device at his waist. This was a small transmitter he had modified; a single charge allowed him to fire three shots, each delivering a high-frequency Shockwave specifically designed to disrupt energy connections.

He hadn't released the safety, but his finger was already on the trigger.

The wind blew again.

This time, he saw the reflection in the puddle ahead move.

It wasn't blown by the wind.

The reflection moved on its own.

His heart suddenly raced.

Normally, a reflection should follow the real object. But just now, the reflection in the water was a fraction of a second slower than him. He raised his hand, and the reflection in the water raised its hand a fraction of a second later.

This is unreasonable.

unless...

Someone is imitating him.

He held his breath and didn't move.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

The reflection in the water finally caught up.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but his hand remained on the device.

He whispered, "I know you're watching."

There was no response.

He turned and left, his pace quickening slightly.

After walking twenty meters, he mentally commanded: [Activate recording mode, mark time point T-0, monitor all abnormal light and shadow changes within a thirty-meter radius.]

System reply: [Started, silently logging.]

He didn't look back.

He knew that some enemies wouldn't attack you in front of you. They would wait until you relaxed, until you went home, until you took off your hat to drink water, before gently tapping you on the shoulder.

He said that Loki was not a loser.

He simply changed locations and continued playing chess.

What Ye Mo needs to do now is--

Live long enough to see the day he'll be able to predict his next move.

He turned into the underpass, where the lights were dim and water was dripping from the pipes overhead.

He walked very steadily.

As the last light came on, he raised his hand, wiped his face, and found his palms were covered in sweat.