Lin Huai waved his hand, letting Thor go say goodbye to those still-dazed astrophysicists first.
"Coulson, go handle the compensation," he instructed without looking back. "As for the standard... follow Tony's style of throwing money around. Let them have enough to research something practical in the future, instead of staring at the Cosmos and dreaming every day."
Coulson complied and went to handle it. While processing the transfers, he scanned the people saying goodbye with an Agent's sharp eyes. He quickly noticed something was off; the atmosphere between Thor and that female doctor named Jane was incredibly strange, with eyes lingering on each other.
Like he'd discovered a new continent, Coulson's eyes lit up. He scurried back to Lin Huai's side and reported in a hushed voice.
"Consultant Lin, I seem to have discovered a special situation..."
Lin Huai didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, cutting him off directly.
"Put away your unrealistic thoughts."
"Between mortals and Asgardians, lifespan is a natural chasm. Not to mention Thor is the future King; his marriage has never been his to choose. This is the price of being a King."
Lin Huai paused, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
"Unless, he can become Asgard's pioneer, rather than just a successor."
Coulson was stunned for a moment, then understood the implication. The gossipy look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a long sigh: "Then that's truly a pity."
On the other side, Thor struggled internally before finally saying a clumsy goodbye to Jane Foster and the others, offering no pleas to stay nor any promises. He walked up to Steve Rogers with an unprecedentedly solemn expression.
"I want to stay and learn from you."
This Asgardian prince had, for the first time, truly set aside his Pride. Like a new recruit, his eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge; he just wanted to quickly figure out how to make that hammer acknowledge him again.
Steve nodded solemnly and led this special student toward the rest area.
The noisy temporary Base slowly quieted down.
Lin Huai, however, frowned.
Everything was going too smoothly. So smoothly that it felt wrong.
From the moment Thor arrived until now, despite such a major event, there wasn't the slightest sign of the mysterious aura's Erosion on this World intensifying.
It was a bit too normal—so normal that it was abnormal.
Lin Huai's heart sank. He couldn't keep waiting passively; he had to take the initiative.
Returning to his lounge, he took out the tarot cards with silver patterns, preparing for a Dream Divination. Recalling that cross-dimensional gaze when he drew the Chariot card last time, his courage had grown considerably.
This time, the divination target was very clear.
"The arrangements of the King of Asgard, Odin Borson."
He wanted to see with his own eyes what this all-father was actually plotting.
The divination began.
The vision before him quickly became clear. He saw scenes identical to the original story: the metal armor known as the Destroyer descending to Earth, wreaking havoc in a small town in New Mexico under Loki's remote control, with no one able to stop it.
Just then, Lin Huai seemed to discover something, but the image before him vanished instantly with a'shredding' sound, like a torn painting.
When the image reformed, the scene was no longer a town in the human World.
He found himself standing under a starry sky, facing a magnificent throne. On the throne, a one-eyed old man clad in golden armor and a war helmet was quietly watching him.
Odin!
"Unknown existence, welcome to the Nine Realms?"
Odin's voice wasn't loud.
"I can feel that your state is very unstable. Even just meeting like this, I can sense a strong feeling of contradiction from you."
Without waiting for Lin Huai's response, Odin continued.
"A lady once suddenly appeared in Asgard and gave me something. She said that when the time was right, I could rely on this item to fulfill a wish."
"Before I fell into sleep, I sensed your presence. I knew the time had come."
In the God-King's single eye, the gaze was as deep as a sea of stars.
"My wish is for you to guide Thor, to let him learn how to care for others, and learn how to be a true King."
"Help me guide Thor and Loki. You should know that I love them both. But he who becomes King must have the responsibility of a King. Thor is too impulsive, and Loki lacks responsibility. I hope you can guide them both."
"As for the reward, the item that lady asked me to pass to you is in the vault of Asgard. Once Thor regains his divine power, you can come with him to take it. Furthermore, as the Lord of the Nine Realms, I have a great gift to bestow."
"If everything goes smoothly, I also wish to make a deal with you."
Odin finished explaining his plan in one breath, leaving only his voice echoing in the dream space.
After listening, Lin Huai instead showed a puzzled expression.
He asked back, "You would trust a person of unknown origin just like that? Aren't you afraid it's a trap? Is the judgment of the all-father so reckless?"
Hearing this, Odin smiled and pointed to his empty eye socket.
"First, this eye of mine wasn't lost for nothing. I have my own judgment."
"Second..."
The God-King paused, the look in his single eye becoming somewhat complex.
"That lady also told me a story. A story... that proves both you and she are worthy of trust."
"What story?" Lin Huai pressed.
"The lady said that when you ought to know, you naturally will." Odin's tone was very gentle; he seemed to have said everything he wanted to say. "My two children, I leave them to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire scene of the starry throne shattered.
Lin Huai's consciousness snapped back to the small lounge in the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary Base.
"Damn it..." He rubbed his throbbing temples, "It's that feeling of everything being pre-arranged again!"
Meanwhile, in the Golden Palace of Asgard, Odin on the throne slowly opened his one eye, his gaze seemingly piercing through the entire divine realm to look at the roots of the World Tree.
"The God of Wishes..." he whispered to himself, his voice containing both expectation and resolve. "If this truly succeeds, then Hela... my child..."
After speaking, exhaustion reappeared on his face. His eyelids slowly closed as he sank once more into the deep Odinsleep.
Simultaneously, on Earth, inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary Base.
As one of the senior coordinators for this incident, Agent Jasper Sitwell was in his temporary office cubicle, processing intelligence gathered from various points on-site. Everything was in perfect order, the very image of a S.H.I.E.L.D. senior Agent loyal to his duties.
Suddenly, a faint signal that only he could detect flashed on the miniature receiver at the corner of his desk—this was a HYDRA internal emergency intelligence trigger. The signal came from a low-level logistics personnel, meaning the other party had encountered an 'anomaly' they couldn't handle.
Sitwell calmly closed the public files in front of him, stood up, and walked toward the Base's archive storage area. This was one of the few surveillance blind spots in the Base and their pre-designated internal temporary safe house.
All of this was clearly reflected in a gaze that others could not perceive.
Loki was sitting leisurely atop an archive shelf, his figure merging with the Shadow. He hadn't read Sitwell's memory; instead, much earlier, he had found this ingenious internal contact method in the mind of that unlucky low-level HYDRA Agent. He didn't alert anyone, merely waiting patiently to see what kind of fish this secret line would eventually pull up.
Sitwell walked deep into the archive area, stopping before a discarded filing cabinet labeled '1970-1980 Procurement Reports,' and skillfully entered a string of passcodes.
"Report the situation," he said in a low voice toward a miniature communication hole on the cabinet.
There was no response.
Sitwell frowned and repeated it.
An ominous premonition surged in his heart. Just as he was about to give up contact and evacuate immediately, an elegant yet cold voice drifted up from behind him.
"Are you looking for him?"
The blood in Sitwell's entire body seemed to freeze instantly. He turned around stiffly and saw the man in ornate clothing holding a golden scepter, a playful smile on his face. Lying at the man's feet was precisely the logistics Agent he was trying to contact, eyes wide open, long since dead.
The tip of Loki's scepter emitted a faint light, illuminating Sitwell's face, which was distorted by extreme fear.
"Now, it's your turn. Tell me, what do you and the snake behind you want to know?"
Loki leaned down, his smile becoming amused.
"I think we can make a... deal."