Chapter 150: How Many More Are There?

Soaring through shimmering, radiant light, Lin Yu shifted his thoughts, and his perspective rose infinitely under the influence of his core consciousness, as if leaping beyond the quantum realm and the river of time, seeing all possible future timelines.

Unfortunately, this time-travel was far too brief.

Before he could carefully examine the scenes of those different timelines, he had already arrived in a future seven years ahead.

When he opened his eyes again, the world before him had become the Avengers’ base in 2019.

Everyone stood on the future quantum tunnel device, opened their eyes, and exchanged glances.

“No one’s missing—it all looks smooth!”

“So… did it actually work?”

“We got all the stones?!”

War Machine James Rhodes lowered his helmet, his face flushed with excitement.

Rocket Raccoon frowned, suddenly pulling out an energy rifle and aiming it coldly at the only unfamiliar face: “No one’s missing—but someone’s extra!”

“Who are you?!”

Rocket bared his teeth, glaring fiercely at Lin Yu, his energy rifle shifting form, revealing a blue energy charge held in reserve.

“Whoa, easy there, little raccoon!”

Tony immediately stepped in front of Lin Yu and explained: “He’s a helper we brought from the past—not an enemy!”

“Wait!” Rhodes frowned. “Didn’t we agree not to interfere with the past?”

“… ”

Tony and Steve exchanged a glance, then sighed: “That’s a long story.”

At that moment, Banner, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke: “Not one—two.”

“Two?” Rocket blinked. “What do you mean, two?”

Banner spoke softly: “Two extra people.”

Rocket froze for a moment, then turned to look at the others beside him.

Tony, Steve, Banner, Scott, Rhodes, Nebula, Thor, Barton, Lin Lie—and himself—ten people total. The count added up perfectly!

“… Wait!”

“Lin Lie?!”

Rocket’s eyes widened, and he blurted out: “Aren’t you dead?!”

“He’s the Lin Lie from the past.”

Banner said this, then turned to the silent Hawkeye: “Where’s Natasha?”

At these words, the group’s earlier excitement vanished, as if doused in ice water. They stared at Barton, stunned.

Meeting their gazes, Barton could not speak a word—only knelt, gripping the Soul Stone in silence.

Seeing this, Lin Lie and Lin Yu exchanged a glance, both sighing inwardly.

【Lin Lie: Good news—we succeeded.】

【Lin Lie: Bad news—they succeeded too…】

【Xiang Yunye: What do you mean?】

【Lin Lie: It means that besides my universe branching off due to Yu’s influence, all other future Avengers traveled back to the past and successfully retrieved the Infinity Stones.】

【He Jingfeng: Are Natasha and Hawkeye among them?】

【Lin Lie: Yes.】

【He Jingfeng: Ah, what a pity…】

The Soul Stone’s rule demands a soul for a soul.

According to the original plot, Natasha and Barton went to retrieve the Soul Stone.

After learning the rule, they fell silent, then fought over who would die—until Natasha sacrificed herself to secure the Infinity Stone…

Barton spoke in a choked voice, recounting his and Natasha’s final moments.

After hearing it, everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with clear sorrow.

Lin Yu sighed inwardly, then turned to the group and said: “I know this isn’t the right moment, but I must correct something…”

“… ”

Everyone frowned slightly but turned to look at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu glanced at the feigning-sad Nebula and said calmly: “Those who came from the past aren’t two… they’re three!”

Three?

The group froze. Nebula’s pupils shrank—she spun instantly, drawing a metallic short blade from her right arm and pressing it against Rhodes’s throat.

“Don’t move!”

Nebula held the still-dazed Rhodes hostage, her eyes icy as she stared at the group.

Everyone reacted at once: Tony instantly activated his full nanotech armor, Thor gripped Stormbreaker and Mjolnir, and Steve raised his vibranium shield.

In an instant, all the Avengers were armed and alert, watching Nebula with fury and disbelief.

“… What the hell is going on?”

“Simple!” Lin Yu looked at Nebula calmly. “She’s Nebula from 2014—back then, she was utterly loyal to Thanos, volunteered as a guide, and replaced the 2019 Nebula to return to this future universe.”

What?!

Everyone was stunned.

Rocket’s finger hovered over the trigger as he glared at Nebula: “Where’s the other Nebula?!”

Nebula sneered: “If you’re lucky, you’ll meet her in hell!”

“You—!”

Rocket was furious, but restrained himself—Rhodes was still in her grasp.

Lin Yu turned to Tony and Steve beside him: “Now do you believe me?”

They exchanged a glance, then nodded grimly.

Lin Yu nodded: “Good.”

“Boom!”

Before he finished speaking, a deafening explosion rocked the base.

Rhodes, startled by the sudden noise, looked down in confusion.

The floor tiles beneath him cracked violently, spreading into a dense web of fissures.

The 2014 Nebula who had just held him hostage now gritted her teeth, her metallic face pressed flat against the ground—as if crushed under a mountain, utterly immobile!

For a moment, silence fell—except for Lin Yu, who turned calmly and stepped off the quantum tunnel platform.

“Handle it yourselves!”

“… ”

The Avengers snapped back to reality and stormed forward, furious.

Half an hour later, the 2014 Nebula was locked in a cell.

The Avengers returned to the lab, silently watching the energy barrier in its center.

Six Infinity Stones now glowed brilliantly within the barrier, slowly being loaded onto Tony’s nano-constructed Infinity Gauntlet by mechanical arms.

As planned, once the Gauntlet was complete, Lin Yu would snap his fingers to restore all lives lost to Thanos’s snap—on Earth and across the universe.

Watching the silent Tony and Steve beside him, Lin Lie hesitated, then whispered:

“How was my relationship with Natasha in the future?”

“… Very good.”

Tony looked at Lin Lie softly: “You saved her. You saved me too.”

Lin Lie mused: “So the future me was still pretty reliable…”

Tony forced a smile: “Of course—you nearly became the strongest Avenger.”

Lin Lie blinked: “I joined the Avengers?”

“No,” Tony shook his head. “That’s why it’s ‘nearly.’”

They chatted idly, one remark at a time.

Steve, silent for a long while, suddenly spoke: “Lord Lin Yu.”

Lin Yu, facing away, replied: “Hmm?”

Steve stood up, speaking quietly: “There’s something we’d like to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

“After you snap your fingers and bring everyone back, let us return the Power Stone and Soul Stone to their original timelines.”

“… ”

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow—he understood immediately. He turned and said: “You want to go back to 2014 and rescue Nebula, captured by Thanos?”

Steve said firmly: “We’ve lost Natasha. We can’t lose another teammate.”

Lin Yu said calmly: “Even if it means facing Thanos again?”

Steve met the eyes of the Avengers one by one—they all nodded resolutely.

Lin Yu gazed at them deeply, then spoke slowly: “After all this circling, we’re back to Thanos. This is what happens to those who toy with time—they are toyed with in return.”

The Avengers exchanged glances, their expressions dark.

Only Steve stood firm: “Then let him come!”

“Good!”

Lin Yu looked at him with admiration: “From the moment you chose to break time’s order, you should have been ready for this.”

Steve’s eyes lit up: “So you’ve agreed?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Lin Yu shook his head. “Thanos’s power isn’t as simple as you think. The number of troops under his command far exceeds the mere hundreds of thousands of Chitauri soldiers at the Battle of New York.”

Mere… mere hundreds of thousands?

The others exchanged glances.

Lin Yu glanced at them. “Think about it: before gathering all six Stones, Thanos and his Dark Order had already invaded countless life-bearing planets and slaughtered half the population on each.”

“To accomplish this, he couldn’t rely on brute-force weapons of mass destruction. He needed a large enough army to precisely eliminate exactly half.”

“Take Earth, with its seven billion people. To efficiently kill half the intelligent life, you’d need at least a few million troops.”

“Even if the number of intelligent lifeforms falls short, he’d need intelligent machines or similar substitutes.”

“Given Thanos’s efficiency in conquering life-bearing planets, he’d need at least ten such armies…”

So… tens of millions of interstellar troops?

The Avengers’ hearts sank. They all realized how dangerous this mission was.

Yet even so, their resolve didn’t waver. They still insisted on rescuing Nebula.

The only problem: Lin Yu had just refused them.

They exchanged glances, hesitating over how to persuade Lin Yu.

Lin Lie watched their expressions and sighed. “Yu-ge, stop teasing them. This isn’t the time for jokes.”

At these words, Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting instantly into a cheerful grin.

“I was just testing their resolve~”

“So you actually agreed?”

Lin Yu shook his head. “No. What I meant was: returning to 2014 is too dangerous. Better to let Thanos come to us.”

Steve stared. “Let him come?”

Lin Yu smiled. “Pym Particles are limited. Even if he captures the 2014 version of Pym, he can’t bring back his entire army—only his flagship and main forces.”

“That small force? You don’t even need to lift a finger. I can handle it alone.”

The others exchanged glances, their expressions hardening as they made their decision.

At that moment, the Infinity Gauntlet, forged like a nanotech suit, was finally completed. The six Stones were fully embedded into the steel glove, glowing with a dazzling, terrifying radiance within the energy barrier.

Lin Yu turned, his gaze fixed intently on the Infinity Gauntlet before him.

After Tony awakened the AI “Friday” and secured all protective measures, Lin Yu extended his arm and eagerly plunged it into the Gauntlet.

“Boom!”

In an instant, terrifying energy surged from the Stones, violently scouring Lin Yu’s right arm.

A torrent of six-colored energy raced up his limb, destroying muscle and nerve in an instant—his entire arm withered and turned charred black.

Huh!

That’s intense?!

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, utterly unsurprised by what unfolded.

This body was merely a puppet of the Sacred Scripture Pendant. Though it could borrow power from his true self, its physical strength remained only at the Golden Core stage of the magic cultivation system—far too weak to withstand the power of six Stones.

But with his true avatar—the Sacred Scripture bearing his original consciousness—that was another matter entirely.

Thinking this, Lin Yu shifted his intent. Instantly, the Sacred Scripture Pendant around his neck blazed with brilliant light.

The next instant, the withered, charred arm rapidly regained its fullness. The torrent of radiant energy reversed course and surged violently into the Pendant at his neck.

All of this happened in a flash—so fast the anxious Avengers didn’t notice a thing.

To them, Lin Yu had simply donned the Infinity Gauntlet, endured the energy torrent without flinching, calmly raised his right hand—and then—

“Snap!”

(End of Chapter)