Chapter 153: Resurrection Coin

“Bang!”

A muffled metallic clang rang out as the Thunder Hammer, hurtling through the air, struck Thanos squarely on the back of the head, sending him stumbling.

Thor, his body grotesquely bloated with a beer belly, roared and leapt into the air, raising his Stormbreaker axe high, unleashing a furious torrent of blue-white lightning as he brought it crashing down upon Thanos.

Thanos barely stabilized himself, swinging his twin-bladed sword in fury to meet the Stormbreaker.

“Boom!”

Another thunderous crash echoed as the Stormbreaker and the twin-bladed sword collided, sending out a powerful shockwave.

At the same moment, the Thunder Hammer, having been knocked away, suddenly veered and landed in Steve Rogers’ hands.

Seeing this, neither Thor nor the other Avengers showed the slightest surprise.

They had long known Captain America was worthy of lifting the Thunder Hammer— they’d simply never spoken of it.

With the Thunder Hammer’s power, Captain America now possessed the strength to engage Thanos in close combat.

Alongside the un-infancted Hulk and Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy, the four melee tanks surrounded Thanos and unleashed a relentless barrage of blows.

In the sky above, Iron Man, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and other ranged heroes wielded various energy weapons, seizing every opening to fire sudden shots, keeping Thanos constantly off-balance.

At that moment, the Scarlet Witch made a dramatic entrance, clad in a dark red coat.

She locked her hateful gaze on Thanos, gritting her teeth as she declared, “You took everything from me,” while summoning chaos magic to bind his body.

Crimson energy coiled around his limbs, and no matter how fiercely he struggled, he could not break free.

Seizing the opportunity, Thor and Captain America raised their Stormbreaker and Thunder Hammer, joining forces to summon a colossal blue-white lightning bolt, thick as a house, that struck Thanos full force.

Tony’s nanotech armor reshaped into its maximum-output energy cannon, while his rear thrusters detached and transformed into four floating cannons, all locking onto the immobilized Thanos and unleashing a relentless barrage.

The rest of the team also unleashed their strongest attacks, all aimed at Thanos.

In an instant, energy of every color raged across the battlefield, shredding Thanos’ golden armor, piercing his skin defenses, and leaving behind charred, blackened wounds.

Pain, long forgotten, surged through every part of his body. Enraged, Thanos roared and tore free from the crimson energy bindings, snatching up the broken twin-bladed sword, slashing Captain America’s vibranium shield to pieces, kicking him away, then turning to seize the Hulk and, enduring the onslaught of energy, hurling him into Drax.

Yet even then, the Avengers’ assault showed no sign of slowing.

Watching Thanos, battered and broken in the sea of energy, Lin Yu thought bitterly: too bad—this Thanos wasn’t nearly as powerful as in the comics. Without his army or the Infinity Stones, he stood no chance against the future Avengers.

At that moment, a deafening sonic boom echoed from the sky.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and looked up to see a golden-red streak of fire streaking from the horizon, trailing a long path before crashing down before Thanos.

As the fire faded, a woman radiating golden light emerged from the impact.

It was Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel—the strongest warrior on Earth since Thor’s decline.

Based on her cinematic performance, her power was sufficient to rival a Thanos wielding four or five Infinity Stones.

Her delayed arrival delivered the final blow to the already crumbling Thanos, stripping him of any remaining chance to oppose the future Avengers.

Seeing this, Lin Yu shook his head, knowing the battle was already decided.

He flicked his fingers, and the Time Stone beside him instantly glowed green, enveloping the fighting Thor.

In an instant, Thor’s body transformed: his beer belly vanished like a deflated balloon, his muscles swelled violently, and he returned to his peak state from five years ago.

Thor froze in shock, then burst into ecstatic joy, gripping his Stormbreaker tightly and charging toward Thanos with all his hatred and rage.

At that moment, Thanos’ arms were pinned by Captain Marvel and the Hulk, his legs sunk into the ground, bound tightly by crimson energy tendrils.

Thor roared, locking eyes with Thanos, and with a swing unlike any five years prior, he severed Thanos’ head with a single axe blow.

“Thud!”

The purple, potato-like head tumbled to the ground, rolled twice, then fell still, eyes wide open in death.

The Avengers had finally achieved vengeance—but they did not cheer. Instead, they fell into long, heavy silence.

Along this path, they had lost too much: Vision, dead five years ago; Natasha, just recently gone—both irrevocable regrets they could never undo…

“Oh, Natasha—I might have a way!”

Learning the true source of their despair, Future Lin Lie smiled and spoke these words.

“...?”

Everyone froze, turning to stare at him with burning eyes.

Even Lin Yu looked startled and asked: “You can do what the Infinity Stones couldn’t?”

Future Lin Lie hesitated: “As long as the body is intact, it shouldn’t be a problem...”

Group Member Lin Lie blinked, then his expression cleared. He asked in the group chat: “Resurrection Coin?”

Future Lin Lie nodded, replying in the same channel: “After I awakened, the system gave me five.”

Group Member Lin Lie blurted: “Then why didn’t you use one when Thanos snapped his fingers?”

Future Lin Lie sighed deeply: “I wanted to—but this damn thing is a gift pack; you have to open it in your inventory first before it can be converted into a Resurrection Coin...”

Group Member Lin Lie: “...”

As a veteran player, Lin Lie instantly understood his future self’s meaning.

According to the game mechanics, the Resurrection Coin gift pack must be opened first to add to the coin count; before opening, it exists in the inventory like any other consumable and cannot function as a Resurrection Coin.

“You never noticed such a critical mistake?”

“...Does counting it after death count?”

“What do you think?”

Group Member Lin Lie looked at his future self with disdain.

The silent exchange between the two was, of course, incomprehensible to the Avengers.

But that didn’t stop them from feeling overwhelming hope at the prospect of reviving Natasha.

Still, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Scarlet Witch hesitated, as if wanting to ask Lin Lie to revive Gamora and Vision too.

Lin Lie was always a man who repaid debts and settled grudges.

The future Avengers had revived him; he remembered that debt, and so he agreed without hesitation.

Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and the others were overjoyed, showering Lin Lie with thanks before boarding their ship to leave Earth and search for Gamora’s body.

So too did the Scarlet Witch and Tony, Vision’s lover and surrogate father.

But unlike Gamora, whose body required a soul-stone exchange, Vision’s corpse was far easier to locate.

Less than half a day later, Black Panther T’Challa personally delivered Vision’s body, his forehead sunken.

Amid tense, anxious gazes, Future Lin Lie took a deep breath, summoned his system interface, and used one Resurrection Coin on Vision.

“Hum—”

In an instant, white light erupted, radiating outward in a ring from Vision’s body.

Vision’s sunken forehead rapidly repaired itself under the glow, restored to perfect condition, and his eyes slowly opened on the metal platform.

“It worked!”

The Scarlet Witch rushed forward, eager to embrace him.

But Tony, seeing Vision’s vacant expression, felt his heart sink and raised a hand to stop her.

“Wait, Wanda—something’s wrong!”

“...”

Wanda paused, then calmed herself, noticing now that Vision’s eyes were off.

Lin Yu, holding the Mind Stone, sensed Vision’s state and sighed softly: “Too bad...”

Future Lin Lie asked: “What’s too bad?”

Lin Yu murmured: “You did revive him—but he’s not the Vision you knew.”

That made sense. Vision’s soul was bound to the Mind Stone—but in this world, the Mind Stone had been destroyed by Thanos after the snap.

Even if the Resurrection Coin could bypass certain Infinity Stone mechanisms, it couldn’t surpass or recreate them.

“So Gamora can’t be revived either?”

“Probably not.”

“Then... Natasha?”

“She’s different.”

Lin Yu looked at the somber Avengers and said: “The Soul Stone she traded for is in my hands. With the power you’ve shown, Lin Lie, you might be able to use the Soul Stone to bring her back.”

Even so, the Avengers no longer felt the same confidence as before.

Steve fell silent for a moment, then sighed: “At least, let’s try.”

During Vision’s revival, the Avengers had repaired the Quantum Tunnel device and quickly assembled the team to return the Stones.

The future Avengers had traveled across three timelines: the Time, Mind, and Space Stones came from 2012; the Power and Soul Stones from 2014; the Reality Stone from 2013.

After deliberation, Lin Yu took the three Stones back to 2012; the two Lin Lies carried the Power and Soul Stones to 2014; Thor and Captain America took the Reality Stone to 2013.

Before leaving, Lin Yu obtained several technologies from Tony, including nanotech armor and a new Arc Reactor.

With that done, his journey to the future was complete.

As for the Infinity Stones, he had merely wanted to experience them—he had no strong desire to possess them.

After all, they were unique to the Marvel Universe; their power only functioned within it.

More than their strength, Lin Yu was fascinated by the authority they wielded in their respective domains. Now that he had experienced them, he had no regrets.

Passing through the Quantum Realm again, Lin Yu returned to the New York Sanctum in 2012.

Two versions of Wong and the four group members waited inside the Sanctum.

Seeing Lin Yu return, they brightened: “Brother Lin, you’re finally back!”

Finally back?

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, his awareness sweeping through the Sacred Hall, discovering that time here indeed flowed in sync with the future universe.

“Is it because of the chat group, or an independent parallel universe?”

(End of Chapter)