Chapter 461: Two Silas Parkers?
"What? A one-million-dollar reward?" Qiu Yu knit her brows and said, "Seriously, stop joking. I know my brother better than anyone."
"He was a total slacker. Even after getting into university, he barely scraped by with passing grades. There's no way he could help someone fix high-end computer vulnerabilities."
As Qiu Feng's biological sister, Qiu Yu knew him inside out. With his skill level, finding loopholes for a foreign company was simply unbelievable.
"..." Silas's mouth twitched. This sister of his still had a sharp tongue. I'm already dead in this world, can't you give me a little bit of face?
"I'm leaving." Qiu Yu waved at Silas, no longer wanting to be entangled in this strange conversation.
Silas had to block her path once more, saying helplessly, "Qiu Yu, take this million-dollar check. Don't worry, the source is legitimate. No one will give your family any trouble."
"You're really not joking with me?" Qiu Yu looked into Silas's eyes and saw a look of absolute seriousness and rigor—not the look of someone pulling a prank.
"Of course not. I haven't been joking from the start. Even if Qiu Feng just happened to stumble upon the solution like a blind cat finding a dead rat, it's still what he earned."
Silas grabbed Qiu Yu's fair but slightly rough right hand and pressed the check into her palm.
Qiu Yu hurriedly pulled her hand back. She found this foreigner to be a bit too intense. If it weren't for the fact that he claimed to be her brother's friend, she would have slapped him by now. Who grabs a girl's hand when they barely know each other?
Looking at the check in her hand, Qiu Yu quickly tried to look it up on her phone, but it looked a bit different from the checks she saw online.
"It's a Swiss bank check. There is one million US dollars inside. I've already made arrangements with the bank; anyone holding this check can withdraw the funds." Silas noticed her confusion.
Qiu Yu shook her head quickly. "No, this is too—"
But when she looked up, the spot where Silas had been standing was empty. He had vanished without a trace.
"Silas!" Qiu Yu shouted into the surrounding area.
But there was no response.
The Africa Base
"This is truly incredible," Silas muttered to himself, sitting at a desk and staring at a small metal fragment in shock.
He had already left Qiu Yu and returned to a small, secluded corner of Africa where a temporary base had been established. As for how Qiu Yu would use the money, Silas didn't plan to intervene; that was her choice.
"Indeed, Master. Rationally speaking, Vibranium should not exist on this version of Earth," Blacklight said.
The metal fragment in Silas's hand was the small silver object Qiu Yu had given him. Initially, Silas hadn't taken it to heart, assuming it was just some trinket he had given her in his past life. Since he had no memory of it, he figured it wasn't important.
However, once he brought it to the base, Blacklight analyzed it and confirmed the metal was nano-Vibranium. This was Vibranium from Marvel's Wakanda. How could it appear in the real world?
"Analyze it thoroughly." Silas couldn't sit still. He integrated the metal fragment into his nano-suit, allowing Blacklight to scan and read it.
"Reading... Encrypted data detected. Do you wish to open it?" Blacklight asked.
"Information?!" Silas was completely stunned. This was nano-level technology—something impossible for the real world to achieve.
Silas thought for a moment and said, "Open it. It shouldn't be a threat to me."
"Opening..."
Click!
A blue virtual projection materialized in front of Silas.
"Phew~ You finally made it back, Silas." A young man sitting cross-legged materialized in mid-air, speaking with a relaxed expression.
"Master?!" Blacklight was the first to react in disbelief. The projection was Silas.
Silas's eyes were wide. Ever since he arrived in the real world, he had been in a constant state of shock.
"As you can see, I am indeed Silas Parker. However, I am from the future. Or rather—the future of a different timeline," the Projection Silas said with a smile.
"Another timeline?" Silas asked, confused.
The Projection Silas continued, "In my timeline, I won. Thanos's head is mounted permanently on a pike on Titan."
"Won? How did you win?" Silas couldn't fathom it. With the Infinity Stones in Thanos's hand, victory was practically impossible.
"I intervened in the Infinity Stone timeline. I obtained the Mind Stone, Reality Stone, Soul Stone, and Space Stone before Thanos could."
"The Mind Stone was taken from Ultron, the Reality Stone was the Aether I seized from the Collector, and I took the Space Stone during the Battle of New York."
"Finally, the Soul Stone..." The Projection Silas paused, his tone becoming heavy. "I sacrificed Misty. I obtained the Soul Stone from Red Skull."
"You sacrificed Misty?!" Silas couldn't believe it. Would another version of himself really do that?
"Yes. To win, I had no choice. Misty was willing." The Projection Silas met Silas's gaze.
Silas looked away. He didn't know what to say. That was another Silas and another Misty; in his timeline, he would never sacrifice her.
"Even with four Stones, you can't beat Thanos before he collects the rest," Silas said, looking back up.
"True. So I made a major decision: to fuse with the Stones. To make their power my own," the Virtual Silas said, clenching his fist.
"Fuse with them?" Silas shook his head. "Our physical bodies can't withstand that much power."
"Correct. But what if you have the Dog Talisman?" Virtual Silas smiled.
Silas's eyes lit up. With the Dog Talisman's immortality, he could indeed endure the raw power of the Infinity Stones.
"After absorbing four stones, I faced a hurdle: compatibility. Their powers were chaotic and conflicting. Each stone wanted to dominate my body as a vessel. However, the Tiger Talisman played a massive role—it balanced the conflict between the stones within me."
"Just as it balances the twelve Talismans, I no longer needed an Infinity Gauntlet. I could use the power of the stones directly."
"When Thanos arrived, to avoid collateral damage to Earth, I used the Space Stone to teleport everyone to Titan. With the added power of the Ox Talisman, I ripped the Gauntlet from Thanos's hand, took the Power Stone, and fused it into myself."
"Finally, I took the Time Stone from Strange. With the power of all six stones, I literally tore Thanos's head off and put it on a stick."
The Virtual Silas recounted the history of his world. While his girlfriend Misty had died, no one else was lost.
"I understand what happened to you, but why leave this message and this material for me?" Silas asked.
"To help you. You need to build a 'Wall-Breaker' to return to Marvel. But if the people over there don't snap their fingers, you can never go back. In the Marvel world, you are technically dead."
"However! There is a way back. You can return to a point in time before Thanos snapped his fingers. At that point, the Marvel world hasn't registered your death yet. This is your chance!" Virtual Silas answered.
"I understand all that. I only have one question! Why help me?" Silas didn't believe another version of himself would be so selfless and calculating just for his benefit.
He knew himself best. If he had gone through what the Virtual Silas had—losing his wife to get the win—he wouldn't be in a hurry to help a version of himself that still had a living wife.
"Don't be too guarded. I am here to help you. Your future self will understand everything," the Virtual Silas said, refusing to reveal the full truth.
"What if I want you to tell me now?"
Full Story Finished in Patreon
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!