Lin Feng stood his ground, staring expressionlessly at the middle-aged man holding a gun.
A drop of cold sweat traced a path down the middle-aged man's cheek.
Lin Feng's gaze was like that of a wild beast, instinctively instilling a sense of fear in him.
He's not afraid of bullets!
For some reason, the middle-aged man's mind conjured this thought.
His finger uncontrollably pulled the trigger.
Suddenly—
*Bzzzzzzzz…*
A strange sound suddenly emanated from high above, accompanied by a slight ripple in the air, interrupting their standoff.
For a moment, Lin Feng felt the sound was incredibly familiar.
His heart stirred, and he turned to walk out of the villa, gazing in the direction of the sound.
Instantly, his pupils contracted.
A colossal blue portal had appeared in the sky above New York City!
To be precise, above Stark Tower!
A familiar portal! A familiar scene!
With his super-vision, it was like a magnifying glass, pulling the distant scene into the depths of Lin Feng's eyes.
Through the portal, the familiar Chitauri legions, riding on their aircraft, poured down.
This sight completely stunned Lin Feng, and a ridiculous guess suddenly formed in his mind.
"This is impossible!"
*Bang!*
A sonic boom echoed, and Lin Feng soared into the sky, heading straight for Stark Tower.
He left behind the dumbfounded middle-aged man and his family.
The youngest daughter tugged at the middle-aged man's sleeve.
"Daddy, is he a monster…"
The middle-aged man stood frozen.
"...Maybe."
After a long pause, he shook his head, walked out of the villa, and looked up at the sky.
He was curious about what the intruder had seen.
However, the next second, his expression turned grim.
"Lily, pack your things. We're going to the basement…"
The middle-aged man ordered decisively…
Arriving at the scene, Lin Feng landed on top of a tall building.
The scene before him was utterly inconceivable.
Above Stark Tower, a blue beam of light shot up into the sky.
The end of the beam connected to a portal!
Through the portal, countless Chitauri soldiers descended to the ground, wreaking havoc.
Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and even the Hulk, all threw themselves into the battle, blocking the invaders.
Captain America leaped onto a police car, directing the evacuation of civilians.
Iron Man relentlessly targeted the Chitauri legions on aircraft from the air.
Hulk, having transformed, sent a Leviathan beast crashing down with a single punch.
Each familiar scene confirmed Lin Feng's suspicions.
This was precisely the battlefield of The Avengers 1…
For a moment, Lin Feng's emotions were a tangled mess, his thoughts in utter chaos.
What the hell was going on?
Had he returned to the timeline of The Avengers 1?
Lin Feng's eyes instinctively scanned.
He didn't see himself!
His heart sank again.
He had clearly participated in the events of The Avengers 1, yet he wasn't present on the battlefield.
Lin Feng's face turned as dark as coal.
He realized he might have arrived in New York City in a parallel universe.
Although it was hard to believe, he couldn't deny the scene before him.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Feng suddenly remembered another way to verify the system.
He extended his hand and made a downward swipe in the air.
A semi-transparent personal panel appeared before him.
Thankfully, the personal panel still existed, meaning the system hadn't been uninstalled.
However, the panel flickered with intermittent ripples and lines…
It looked like an old TV with poor signal.
The panel could be summoned, but the system remained unresponsive.
What had gone wrong?
Countless possibilities raced through Lin Feng's mind.
He tried to recall his process of leaving Earth, flying towards the sun, and beginning his evolution…
There was nothing amiss.
Yet, after waking up, the system had been silent ever since.
Lin Feng's brain worked at lightning speed, deducing numerous outcomes…
Finally, he arrived at the most probable conclusion.
All of this was likely related to the Exile…
During the two months Lin Feng was evolving and dormant, events had transpired that he was unaware of.
These events had caused the system to disappear or fall dormant?
Regardless of the outcome, neither was good news for Lin Feng.
Lin Feng floated into the air, his gaze drifting, and he saw something that shouldn't have appeared in The Avengers 1.
On the roof of a building not far away.
The Hulk, who should have been on the battlefield, was standing with the Ancient One, talking about something.
Lin Feng glanced back at the Hulk smashing Chitauri on Stark Tower.
Then he looked at the Hulk conversing with the Ancient One.
Expressionless, he slowly flew over and landed between them…
Seeing a stranger suddenly flying through the air.
The Ancient One and Bruce both stopped talking and looked at the newcomer.
"Bruce?" Lin Feng said.
He looked at the clearly rational, and slightly smaller, Hulk before him, sighing inwardly.
"Who are you?" Bruce asked, confused. He didn't recognize the young man in the suit, but his attire suggested he was also a superhero.
Lin Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "Don't tell me you're from 2023…"
Bruce looked surprised. "How did you know?"
Lin Feng touched his chin, momentarily speechless.
Bruce's words confirmed another suspicion he had.
The Hulk before him was Bruce, who had merged with Hulk in The Avengers 4.
This meant that future Captain America and Tony were also here…
Without answering Bruce's question, Lin Feng turned to the Ancient One and offered a wry smile.
"Sorcerer…"
He didn't know if the Ancient One could recognize him, but judging by her reaction, it was highly unlikely she would.
As expected, the Ancient One examined Lin Feng with surprise, then frowned.
She conjured magical arrays with both hands, which began to spin.
The Ancient One closed her eyes, and the Eye of Agamotto appeared within the magical array, emitting a green light as the array rotated.
"What is she doing?" Bruce asked, bewildered, turning to Lin Feng for an explanation.
"She's likely looking into the future, or the past…" Lin Feng replied.
After a long pause, the Ancient One opened her eyes and looked at Lin Feng with a solemn expression.
"You shouldn't be here!"
The Ancient One spoke slowly, "There is no trace of you in the future, nor in the past!"
"Even in this universe, you do not exist!"
She had found no sign of Lin Feng in countless futures and pasts.
This evidence pointed to the most probable conclusion: Lin Feng was from a parallel universe.
But strangely, even if Lin Feng was from another parallel universe, he shouldn't have been able to escape the future seen by the Eye of Agamotto.
Yet, Lin Feng moved like a ghost, his existence eluding even the Eye of Agamotto.
After some hesitation, the Ancient One revealed this answer.
"Young man, can you tell me your purpose for coming here?"
Lin Feng's appearance had made her start to worry about the future's trajectory.
This was an unprecedented phenomenon, one that even the Ancient One found puzzling.
Hearing the Ancient One's question, Lin Feng shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I don't know why I appeared here."
"Sorcerer, since you know I'm from another universe, can you send me back?"
The Ancient One pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
"I cannot send you back. I cannot see which universe you exist in!"