"Well done!" You laughed and gave your other self a thumbs-up. You never expected your counterpart in this world to be so strong, that even your signature poison gas and firearms couldn't harm him. But you didn't care about Death; if you died by the hand of your other self, that would be quite interesting.
However, this battle ultimately ended without a clear victor. Bruce Banner transformed into Hulk and confronted your other self. Although you caused severe damage to S.H.I.E.L.D., once the Mad Clown's poison gas wore off, it was clear you couldn't eliminate everyone. Afterward, Bruce Banner told you that he recognized that person: he was Zhou Ning, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a legendary scientist, a war hero, and the owner of Starry Sky Company. Hearing this, you couldn't help but burst into laughter. This world was truly ridiculous; the most dangerous criminal and the greatest hero were the same person.
In August 2007, you received news: former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Zhou Ning returned to S.H.I.E.L.D., replacing Steve Rogers as the new director. Tony Stark, with Zhou Ning's funding, reopened a biomedical company, snatching many orders from your Stark Industries. However, you were completely indifferent to this. You were merely the behind-the-scenes owner of Stark Industries; your subordinates controlled Stark Industries, which was entirely legitimate on the surface. Moreover, you had no interest in money; you only enjoyed the process of acquiring it.
Additionally, you noticed that even without Hulk and Thor, your other self still formed an Avengers. Its members included himself, Winston, Black Widow, Lizard-man Hawkeye, Captain America, Peggy Carter, and Tony Stark—one more person than the original version. You, on the other hand, were considered the most dangerous criminal, wanted by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the police.
From September 2007 to February 2008, you and your other self clashed several times, with varying results. However, he was the one who won, and you were the one who lost. Although he fell into your traps several times, and you almost succeeded in murder several times—even once, you personally put a bullet into his heart—you were still unable to kill him. You felt that to truly kill him, you would either need an Infinity Stones or to blow him to smithereens with a bomb.
From March 2008 to June 2008, you began trying to search for the Infinity Stones. You initially wanted to cooperate with HYDRA to see if you could use them, but perhaps due to a butterfly effect caused by your other self, you couldn't find a single HYDRA, whether in Europe or the United States. So, you planned another evil scheme.
You sent people to contact Kingpin, luring him with the promise of publicly releasing the Super Serum formula, inviting him to meet in Hell's Kitchen to discuss an alliance. Then, you managed to let the Avengers know about this news. Under your design, both sides believed the information implicitly. So, you had Henrietta take your place at the meeting, while you, along with Hulk and other capable subordinates like Electro, infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. As expected, when Henrietta appeared, all the Avengers rushed to the scene, where they were met with pre-installed bombs! At the same time, you successfully located the Tesseract in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground base and all your forces retreated safely. (You obtained an epic item: the Tesseract.)
The first half of the plan was very successful, but the second half was quite a failure. The bomb killed Kingpin, and your capable subordinate Henrietta also died, but it only killed a few elite agents, not even a single Avenger member was left. You only heard that they all suffered serious injuries, and Hawkeye almost died as a result. But they didn't know that you had mixed your special ultimate poison gas into the bomb. If all went well, this poison gas would slowly alter their minds. (You gained 1 point of legendary status)
From July 2008 to August 2008, you tried to get Bruce Banner to start researching the Tesseract. Since even HYDRA could use 1940s technology to create super weapons with the Tesseract, there was no reason you couldn't. Bruce Banner's research was still ongoing, but you found that the strength of your opponents had significantly improved. In just two short months, not only Winston and Tony Stark, but also Black Widow, Captain America, and others were wearing Iron Man Suits. Suddenly, there were seven Iron Mans. Even you were a bit stunned at this point.
From September 2008 to December 2008, for these three months, Bruce Banner did not appear. Your forces were attacked jointly by the Avengers and the U.S. military. To defend against you, Tony Stark even collaborated with your other self to design an Anti-Clown Armor, which not only completely isolated nerve gas but also had thickened armor to provide some explosion protection.
Their attacks were very effective. Your criminal kingdom crumbled in less than two months. Your loyal subordinates Electro and Sandman died in battle one after another, while Hydro-Man and Dr. Connors escaped early. You considered yourself a person with courage, and what is courage? It is to remain graceful under pressure.
You did not flee when you reached the end of your rope, but quietly gazed at your other self. In his eyes, you saw a trace of familiar madness, and then you understood that you had lost, but also won. You would not die, because you were not just a person, but also an idea, and you would continue to exist in the shadows.
You raised your pistol at your other self, flashed a big smile, and pulled the trigger. Bang! A small flag shot out of the barrel. At the same time, the Iron Man Suits surrounding you were startled and simultaneously opened fire on you.
Rewind ended.
Summary: Congratulations, this rewind was quite good. You became the most notorious criminal in the entire Endless War world. You disregarded laws, ignored order, were skilled at manipulating people, and truly enjoyed Death. You caused countless casualties, and your evil deeds are too numerous to recount. But to your subordinates, you were a person full of evil charm; they were willing to die for you. In addition, your other self, as you wished, also became truly evil, causing destruction far exceeding yours with a mad smile, even extending its destructive power throughout the entire universe. And Bruce Banner still developed a super weapon based on the Tesseract and inherited your evil kingdom, becoming the new supervillain. Of course, these are other stories. Perhaps you will encounter them in a future rewind.
Rating: B+, World Exploration 96.7 (+1.5%). Due to the extremely profound impact you had on the Endless War world, you received a reward of 12 traversal coins. When your rating in a rewind world reaches A, you will receive a temporary template card of that random template. You will not receive one this time.
It wasn't until the simulation ended that Zhou Ning came back to his senses, unable to help but sigh. In his opinion, the Crazy Clown Zhou Ning's performance was actually very good, and he basically displayed his strength. Anyone else's ashes would have long been scattered by him, but the immortality of the legendary Vampire Zhou Ning was simply too overpowered. Coupled with fighting on enemy territory, there was no way to confront him head-on. Perhaps if he had held out until Bruce Banner returned with the Tesseract, there would have been a chance to fight.
Below the rewind interface was an option to claim rewards. After clicking it, a prompt immediately appeared:
You chose to claim the rewards.
You obtained an epic item: Tony Stark's Super Serum.
You obtained an epic item: the Tesseract.
You obtained a purple talent: Explosive Genius!