"Has Ultron gone into hiding again?"
This was the third day after the disaster.
Inside the Avengers' base at Stark Tower, everyone had gathered to discuss Ultron.
Yue Tingfeng was also present. Steve had asked him whether he would be willing to join them, and Yue Tingfeng had agreed.
Steve's physical condition was excellent. His injury had only been a bone displacement, and enough time had passed that it barely affected him anymore.
"We can't find him. He's like a rat—hiding somewhere again."
Facing Steve's question, Tony could only shrug helplessly.
They were all certain that the Ultron who appeared the day before yesterday had not been destroyed. It must have hidden itself somewhere again.
Natasha looked around at everyone.
"Maybe we should start with San Francisco. Karl said there were many Ultrons there, and the one that appeared the day before yesterday came from that direction."
She carefully recalled the details of what had happened that day.
Vision nodded.
"I'll go too. I'll try to sense his presence."
"I'm coming as well," Wanda said. "I can protect Natasha."
Hearing this, Yue Tingfeng quickly added,
"I'll go too. As long as it's not another meteor storm like the one the other day, we should be fine."
Clint Barton wasn't there. Half a month ago, he had gone back to his hometown for vacation. However, his holiday probably wouldn't be very relaxing—after all, the meteor storm had been seen across the sky, and he must be worried.
Speaking of Barton, he had a unique ability. His eyesight was as sharp as an eagle's. He could notice details others would easily miss, and his experience made him invaluable.
"Contact Barton. We need him."
Steve said this to Natasha.
The sooner they found Ultron, the better. Ultron wasn't a normal enemy. No one knew what he might be planning behind the scenes. The longer they delayed, the worse the next disaster might be.
"Karl… we don't know where he is," Steve said hesitantly, unsure whether he should call Di Wan.
When everyone heard this, they fell silent.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
They all remembered Di Wan's behavior two days ago. She had been completely different from the person they knew—strange, cold, distant. No one even dared to raise their voice around her.
"He'll show up when I need him," Tony said. "Right now the most important thing is finding Ultron. I don't want to get beaten black and blue again—Pepper's chaotic thoughts would keep me from focusing."
Tony didn't dare go home right now. His body was injured, and his face had almost been smashed—Ultron's handiwork.
Natasha laughed.
"Pepper is amazing."
"Ms. Romanoff, please hurry. This is serious. I don't want that tin monster turning into a moth again."
Tony looked serious, but Natasha seemed amused.
"Tin monster. That actually suits you."
"I agree."
A voice suddenly joined in agreement.
Tony turned his head unhappily.
"Look at that—Quicksilver girl. What a name. Why does that sound like a girl's name? Are you sure she isn't called Quicksilver Girl?"
"Alright, enough. We need to act now," Steve interrupted before the argument continued.
Quicksilver still looked like he wanted to respond, but Steve disliked pointless noise and wasted time.
Natasha asked,
"Shouldn't we wait for Barton?"
Steve shook his head.
"You go first. Barton will meet us later. This can't wait."
Everyone stopped talking. Vision, Natasha, Yue Tingfeng, and Wanda stood up and walked toward the landing platform.
As Yue Tingfeng was about to board the aircraft, he glanced back at the hall behind him.
"Something wrong?" Steve asked curiously.
Yue Tingfeng shook his head.
"No. I'm just happy to be fighting alongside you."
Steve smiled.
"Thank you. We're glad to have you."
Yue Tingfeng returned the smile before boarding the plane.
After a day of rest, everyone had mostly recovered. They were not ordinary people after all. Except for Tony, none of them had suffered extremely serious injuries.
Soon the aircraft took off and disappeared into the skies above New York.
Sending only four people to San Francisco was obviously not the full plan. More preparations were needed.
Nick Fury had rebuilt S.H.I.E.L.D., retrieving the original helicarrier and gathering agents who had previously been scattered around the world.
Steve would contact Fury. They needed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assistance.
Tony would maintain the global network, preventing Ultron from rebuilding himself again.
As for Quicksilver, he originally wanted to follow Wanda to San Francisco, but Steve stopped him and assigned him another task.
"Pietro, go to Midtown," Steve said. "You heard what Yue Tingfeng said yesterday. Find the kid named Peter Parker and tell him Stark Industries wants him for an internship."
After carefully considering the situation, Steve continued speaking to Tony.
"I'm going to Wakanda. Yue Tingfeng gave us a lot of information—we need to verify it."
Under Steve's orders, Quicksilver left in an instant, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Now only Tony and Steve remained in Stark Tower.
In a way, they were the two leaders.
One served as the team's technological genius and intellectual support. The other was the commander responsible for battlefield leadership and tactical analysis.
"You staying here won't help me," Tony said as he walked toward the elevator, his back facing Steve."I still need to get some new suits. Next time I'm going to show up looking fabulous."
To Tony, Ultron was like a lingering nightmare.
Even though he never said it aloud, guilt weighed heavily on him. After all, Ultron was an enemy he had created himself.
Just thinking about it tightened his chest.
This time, he had recovered Ultron's remains. With so much data available, his research obsession had only grown stronger.
Soon the vast hall was empty, leaving Steve alone.
He picked up the phone and dialed Fury.
At this point, he had no choice but to use every resource available.
Meanwhile, Kamar-Taj was unusually lively.
The reason was simple.
To eliminate the lingering influence of Ao Shutu, Di Wu had requested a duel with Gu Yi.
As for why she didn't fight Karl—it would be pointless.
Fighting Karl was like hitting a sandbag. He would never fight back, and there would be no sense of real combat.
What she needed was a balanced battle, one that could exhaust her remaining spiritual power.
Inside the Mirror Dimension, many powerful figures of Kamar-Taj gathered to watch.
It was rare to witness a battle between top-tier sorcerers.
"Carl… is she really your girlfriend?"
Strange stood beside Karl, asking curiously.
Karl glanced at him.
"No."
Strange let out a breath of relief—but before he could finish exhaling, Karl added:
"She's my fiancée."
"Cough—cough—!"
Strange choked immediately.
Looking at Karl, he complained,
"Couldn't you just say that all at once?"
Karl raised an eyebrow.
He had done it on purpose.
It was easy to see what Strange was thinking. This was just a small revenge. Whether Strange would grow into a better person depended entirely on himself.
Strange finally calmed down and said,
"I didn't expect the Princess of Kamar-Taj, whom I've never even seen before, to be your girlfriend. That's really surprising."
"The more you know, the more painful it becomes."
Strange froze in confusion.
He turned his head toward Mordo, who had spoken.
Mordo simply shrugged.
"Maybe."
They stopped talking and looked into the distance.
The duel between Gu Yi and Di Wan was about to begin.
This match was destined to become a legendary battle, remembered for years as the Battle of Karma.
"Don't hold back," Gu Yi said with a smile, standing more than ten meters away from Di Wu."Treat it like a life-and-death battle."
Di Wan smiled back.
But this smile was no longer as pure and natural as before. There was a hint of coldness mixed within it—the very reason this duel was happening today.
"You don't need to hold back either," she replied."I need to experience the edge between life and death. Only then can I eliminate Ao Shutu's influence faster."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yi's hands glowed.
Two magical folding fans formed from spell arrays appeared in his hands and were thrown toward Di Wu.
Facing the incoming fans, Di Wu calmly raised her left hand and cast a spell.
The fans suddenly reversed direction and flew back as if time itself had been rewound.
Gu Yi's expression became serious.
"This is time magic—and she's using it without the Eye of Agamotto."
He pointed to the Eye of Agamotto hanging on his chest.
The artifact limited the influence of Di Wan's time magic.
At the same time, Di Wu raised her hand as if gripping an invisible handle.
A golden spear appeared in her hand.
With a casual throw, the spear shot toward Gu Yi with a thunderous sonic boom.
But it didn't end there.
Di Wan formed another spell with both hands.
More magical arrays appeared along the spear's shaft.
The originally sharp spear began to expand, growing larger and larger—until it resembled a towering pillar reaching toward the heavens.
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