Chapter 46.
After hearing Felix's words, Annie looked at him in astonishment before suddenly realizing—it must have been the ability he used yesterday. Traveling abroad but returning to China just for bringing breakfast… only Felix's enviable power could accomplish such a thing.
"This tastes amazing!" Annie exclaimed, clearly enjoying the combination of fried dough sticks and soy milk.
"As long as you like –it," Felix said with a relieved smile. He was glad he didn't have to go out again for food.
"Annie," Felix continued, "what if there's a world where superheroes exist, but they're different from the ones we know? In that world, superheroes rarely show their true faces. They don't fight for fame or wealth. Most of them have regular jobs—being a superhero is just a hobby. Some even –live very difficult lives, but they all share one goal, to protect innocent people from evil."
"Despite their powers, they aren't always respected. Some are insulted or even abused. But whenever danger threatens the world, they are the first to stand up."
"That world has more villains than heroes. Some are so powerful that a mere finger snap could wipe out half the universe. Global catastrophes are common—one day, you could be sitting at home, and the next… gone."
Felix looked at Annie and asked, "If you had the chance to go to that world, to become a superhero and protect it with a partner who shares your ideals… would you go?"
Annie paused mid-bite, thinking carefully. "Maybe I would. I don't have any family left in this world, and it doesn't feel like I'm really needed here."
"Gaining superpowers wasn't my choice—it was a decision my parents made for me. But choosing to use those powers to protect others... that's my decision."
She fell silent again, deep in thought.
"If you went to that world, I'd follow you," she said with a soft laugh. "But seriously… would such a world really exist?"
She realized how ridiculous she sounded—answering such a strange question with complete seriousness.
A week passed quickly. During that time, Felix remained at home, not doing much. Annie had also moved in and stopped going to work at Vought Company. After everything that happened, she vowed never to return.
The company did try to call her once, urging her to come back. But soon after, it was jointly investigated by the CIA and FBI. They had acquired samples of Compound V.
With the company now overwhelmed, no one cared whether Annie showed up or not.
Superhuman terrorists had conveniently appeared and caused chaos, allowing Vought Company to dodge the worst for the time being. However, those terrorists had already been defeated by Felix's powers. Whether Vought Company had any more tricks up its sleeve no longer concerned him.
Felix suspected that Billy had found Compound V for him. It wouldn't be long before Billy reached out.
"Mr. Billy is calling?" a voice called out.
"Answer," Felix responded.
Just as Felix had expected, the familiar voice of David rang in his ears. He immediately accepted the call.
"I've got what you asked for. Come and get it. But remember our deal," Billy said.
"Understood. I'll be there soon."
Turning to Annie, Felix said, "I need to step out for something."
Then he gave a command to David.
"Sir, the target's location has been projected."
"Damn, you're understanding me better and better," Felix muttered in amazement, seeing the satellite image appear. David had grown impressively intelligent.
Without further hesitation, Felix vanished from the room.
Billy sat on a park bench, holding a black suitcase. Just as he hung up the phone, he noticed a figure appear beside him out of nowhere.
"You're here," Billy said, surprised. "The item's in the box. But you need to take me to see my wife first. And don't even think about stealing it—there's a bomb in the box. If you try anything, it'll explode, and you'll get nothing."
Though Billy's face remained calm, his eyes betrayed his shock at Felix's sudden appearance.
"I said I'd do it. No need for all these precautions," Felix replied. "Let's go. I'll take you to her."
"But just to be clear, I'm only taking you to see her. What happens after that is none of my business."
"Oh, and the weather's chilly. Want to buy a hat? Green would look good on you—it might suit you," Felix joked.
"What? I don't need a hat! I just want to see my wife! Let's go. I'll drive, you give directions."
(E/N : Green hat in Chinese culture symbolizes being a cuckold or something like that.)
"No need. I'll handle it. Just hold still."
Felix placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. A breeze picked up a fallen leaf near the bench, and in the next instant, both of them were gone.
They reappeared on a grassy field.
Billy looked around in disbelief, then suddenly froze when he spotted a familiar figure in the distance—his wife.
"I brought you here. Now hand me the box," Felix said.
Billy passed over the suitcase without a word, his eyes locked on his wife.
Felix opened the case and saw eight vials of blue liquid inside. He nodded in satisfaction, pocketed the vials, and tossed the case aside.
Without waiting to witness the emotional reunion, Felix vanished.
There, on the green lawn, stood a man finally reunited with the woman he loved—yet a faint green hue seemed to hover metaphorically over his head.
"Annie, are you sure you want to come with me? I can't guarantee we'll arrive safely. This is my first time doing something like this—I'm not completely certain it'll work," Felix said seriously, looking straight into her eyes.
"Of course," Annie replied with confidence, meeting his gaze without hesitation. "There's nothing and no one left in this world that I care about. And I want to see it for myself—the world you spoke of. I want to know if real superheroes are truly like the ones I dream of."
Felix nodded. "Alright. Take my hand—and don't let go, no matter what. Close your eyes. When you open them again, you'll be in a different world."
With those words, Felix grasped Annie's hand with his right hand, while holding a box containing Compound V in his left. He began to reach out with his mind, connecting to the space in his consciousness he had cultivated within.
As the first star's brilliance flared, a glowing blue wormhole formed behind them. In an instant, the space vortex pulled them both in.
"Marvel, I, Felix, have returned!" he declared.
The familiar sensation of his soul being pulled across dimensions struck him again. But this time, Felix was not the same as before. Through relentless cultivation, his soul had nearly solidified into physical form. The turbulent forces of dimensional travel no longer frightened him.
That mysterious force couldn't even cause the slightest tremor in his soul.
Even so, Felix couldn't tell how much time had passed. It could've been a brief moment—or a thousand years. Time felt meaningless during the crossing. Eventually, his soul anchored back into his body.
He opened his eyes.
Just like the last time, he had returned to an ordinary street. The lighting was dim—it seemed to be nighttime. Not a single pedestrian could be seen. The street was eerily silent, so still it felt unnatural. Not even the wind made a sound.
Felix immediately sensed that something about this world had changed since his last visit. But he couldn't quite place what it was.
"David, connect to the internet. I need to know the current time and how long I've been gone," he ordered calmly.
The box in his left hand remained intact, and Annie's hand was still tightly held in his right. Neither seemed affected by the transition. There were no signs of abnormality.
"Felix… are we really in another world?" Annie asked softly, her voice filled with awe and curiosity. "Is this the place you told me about? Why is it so quiet here?"
She was finally beginning to relax. It was her first time crossing into another world—and unlike Felix's first time, she hadn't passed out. That, in itself, was impressive.
But the feeling of having one's soul forcibly pulled from the body wasn't something easy to endure. Even now, Annie felt like her head was spinning—like she had been thrown into a drum washing machine and spun around countless times.
After hearing Felix's voice, Annie slowly opened her eyes. At first glance, this new world didn't seem much different from the one she had left behind—except for one eerie thing: it was far too quiet.
"Yes, Annie, we made it back safely," Felix confirmed, giving her a reassuring smile. "Let me take you to meet a friend of mine. He's a superhero here… and a bit of a rich guy. Let's go meet him."
The friend Felix was referring to, of course, was none other than Tony Stark.
Without hesitation, Felix activated his powers and took Annie straight to Tony's villa.
"Annie, go ahead and sit on the sofa. Want something to drink?" he asked casually, placing the box containing the Compound V sample onto the table.
"Jarvis? Where's Tony right now? Let him know I'm back—and that I brought him something nice," Felix said aloud as he walked toward the refrigerator, grabbing two cans of soda. He handed one to Annie and sat down beside her, but didn't open his drink just yet.
However, after several seconds passed, something felt wrong. Jarvis hadn't responded.
"...What's going on?"
"Sir," David's voice finally replied, "I sense an indescribable change in this world."
Felix frowned. "What? You still haven't figured it out? What's taking so long—are you slacking off?"
But then he paused.
Wait. David was an AI. It couldn't slack off.
So if laziness wasn't the problem, then why was it taking this long to diagnose the issue?
"Sir, I don't know what's wrong. I can detect nearby network signals, but I can't fully connect to any of them. The signals vanish as soon as I pick them up," David replied in a confused, almost childlike voice.
Felix fell into silence. He stretched out his mental senses, trying to detect what exactly had changed—but couldn't identify it immediately.
"Hey, Felix… are drinks in your world supposed to be like this?" Annie's voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Huh? Yeah, they're the same. Why?"
Felix didn't pay it much attention. He had tasted soda in both worlds—there wasn't any difference. After brushing off the question, he returned to focusing on the strangeness around them.
"No, Felix—look at this. Are you sure drinks here are supposed to do this?"
Annie's voice suddenly rose in alarm.
"What's so strange? It's just a—wait, what the hell?"
Felix turned his head and immediately froze.
Annie was holding her soda can upside down in the air—yet not a single drop had fallen out.
When she shook the can, a stream of liquid finally emerged, but it was just hanging there—completely suspended in midair. Bubbles were frozen within it. The entire stream defied gravity, as though time itself had stopped.
The sight was surreal.
Was Annie using magic?
But… how could this be magic?
"...No. Wait, it's Time? Is it being suspended?"
Suddenly, a terrible thought struck Felix.
He extended his mental perception once more—this time with greater focus—and finally realized what was wrong.
The air itself wasn't moving.
Time had stopped.
"If time really is frozen… there's only one place that might hold the answer—Kamar-Taj."
Felix felt a sudden sense of urgency. If time was truly at a standstill, only the Ancient One might have the knowledge or power to explain or fix it.
"Annie, wait here. I'm going to investigate."
"No. I'm coming with you," Annie said firmly.
Felix hesitated, then nodded. Given the bizarre state of the world, it wasn't safe to leave her alone. Plus, he needed to inform the Ancient One that he had brought someone from another universe to Earth. He felt a twinge of guilt about that.
Kamar-Taj — a sacred place of ancient architecture and the home of the world's greatest sorcerers.
But when Felix arrived with Annie, something was wrong.
It was silent. Far too silent.
There were people here—he could sense their presence—but every single one of them stood frozen like statues, motionless.
"Master Ancient One? Are you here?" Felix called out, concern rising in his voice.
He and Annie had searched the entire complex, but there was no sign of her. And that scared him more than anything.
"Annie, wait here. I'll be right back."
Before she could even reply, Felix vanished.
In the next instant, he was floating in space, gazing down at the Earth.
The planet looked as beautiful as ever—mysterious, blue, and full of life.
But it wasn't rotating.
The Earth had stopped.
Felix's gaze locked onto a strange –black spot—something unnatural—blotting the surface of the planet right where sunlight should be shining.
It was New York.
"...Just as I feared."
With a grim expression, Felix vanished again.
........
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