Chapter 253: Helen Cho Joins the Company
Helen Cho had just given her name when the receptionist cleared the way for her.
"Dr. Cho, sir is waiting for you on the top floor. Please take the exclusive elevator on the right."
Yuheng's voice rang out.
Her grip on the documents loosened slightly. On the way here, she had still been wondering how to discuss research funding for this meeting.
Now it seemed she had overthought it.
Over the past few days, Vought Company had appeared with unusual frequency in her circle of peers. Recruiting people, buying equipment, poaching teams—the conditions offered had made her doubt whether they were real.
It wasn't until she stood right here that she connected all these events to Lu Chen.
She had originally thought he was just a formidable lone wolf.
Who could have imagined that he would build a company of such scale.
The elevator went straight to the top floor, and several doors along the way opened sequentially.
Helen Cho walked in carrying her documents. Lu Chen was reclining in his executive chair, maintaining the illusion that everything was normal. Seeing her enter, he pointed to the seat opposite him.
"Sit. Did Shuri happen to have you bring a couple of curses for me?"
"...No."
She hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing not to relay the complaints the princess made after hanging up the phone. There was serious business today, and she certainly didn't want to pick another fight on Shuri's behalf.
Lu Chen didn't press further either.
It would be a miracle if that young girl could hold back. Still, since the person had already been sent back, let her curse a couple of times; as long as it didn't delay the delivery of Vibranium, it was fine.
He looked at the documents Helen Cho had brought.
"After researching nanotechnology with them, do you have any new progress on your Regeneration Cradle?"
"I have some analogous insights."
Mentioning research, Helen Cho sat up a bit straighter and placed the documents on the table.
"During tissue repair, the integration of materials and cells has always been a difficulty. The technology provided by Shuri has given me several new ideas."
"They are just ideas for now and still need experimental validation. I can't guarantee you results right now."
Lu Chen nodded; Wakanda's technology hadn't been studied in vain.
Making a battle suit for himself was just an immediate benefit. Once these researchers learned it, where it could be applied in the future would go far beyond just a single battle suit.
"Having a direction is enough. I brought you here also to discuss subsequent arrangements."
Helen Cho looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Following Lu Chen these past few days, she had seen those miraculous figures from the Avengers and had also been exposed to Wakanda technology she had never heard of before.
Difficult problems previously trapped in the laboratory could unexpectedly find a way out from another technology.
When he originally promised to support her research, perhaps he really wasn't just casually talking.
Lu Chen extended two fingers.
"Two choices."
"First, I provide funding and protection. You can research however you want, and once it's made, you can give it to whoever you want to use it."
Helen Cho's motion of turning the pages stopped.
This condition was even better than what she had prepared to fight for. Although Lu Chen had promised it before, hearing the news again after the battle suit research was completed finally gave her some peace of mind.
She had even thought that as long as the other party didn't interfere with the research direction, a little less funding would be fine. She never expected there wouldn't even be restrictions on who the technology was used on.
"Then what about the second?"
"Join Vought Company."
Lu Chen lowered one finger.
"After the Regeneration Cradle is made, I will set a uniform price for the outside world. Company employees can use it for free as an internal benefit."
"In return, you can make one request of me."
After saying that, he didn't urge her further, leaving her time to consider.
Of course, he wanted the second option more.
Just because he could heal injuries didn't mean he was willing to sit downstairs treating patients every day. The people in the company would only become more and more in the future; if everyone who bumped or scraped themselves came to him, would he still do anything else?
Having a set of equipment that could operate automatically was much less trouble.
And keeping the person here along the way. If an employee really got into trouble, the company being able to heal them was more useful than shouting how much they cared about employees dozens of times during a meeting.
Helen Cho didn't answer immediately.
Before she came, she only thought about the laboratory and funding, not expecting that she would also have to decide the future destination of the technology right here.
The Regeneration Cradle could repair damage. Once the technology was perfected, she also wanted to make people who had lost limbs stand up again.
War casualties, terminally ill patients, and those trapped in hospital beds due to disabilities.
Among these people, how many could afford exorbitant medical expenses?
She didn't want to research for so long only to finally create a machine used exclusively by the rich.
"Can I ask first, how do you plan to price it?"
Lu Chen looked at her without interrupting.
Sure enough, she was stuck right here.
She hadn't been this cautious when discussing funding just now; the moment external charging was brought up, she stopped looking at the documents entirely.
Helen Cho made her words clearer.
"My original intention in researching this was to create an affordable medical technology. Preferably one that everyone can afford."
"I don't oppose charging fees; equipment and materials both cost money. But if patients can only look at it yet can't afford the bill..."
She paused.
"Then I'd rather choose the first one. I don't want to go against my original intentions."
Lu Chen smiled.
This matter really wasn't difficult for him.
Expecting to rely on patients paying money to survive—that was other people's companies. He had plenty of good things in his hands; there was no need to fixate on a person with a broken leg and squeeze dry their family fortune.
However, making it free wasn't necessary either.
Research needed money, and the team needed to be supported. After giving things away for free for too long, some people would even complain that you were giving too slowly.
"This is simple, one-thousandth will do."
Helen Cho looked at him for two seconds.
"One-thousandth of what? Treatment cost?"
"Assets."
Lu Chen leaned back against the chair, speaking very naturally.
"No matter how much money he has, we only charge one-thousandth of his assets."
The words she had originally prepared got stuck.
Charging by treatment item—she had thought of that. Charging by material cost plus some fees—she had also calculated that.
Calculate based on the patient's assets?
Was this treating an illness, or was it doing an asset census on people first?
Seeing her expression, Lu Chen knew she hadn't wrapped her head around it yet.
"If you have ten thousand, we collect ten. If you have one million, we collect one thousand. When a truly wealthy person comes over, paying a bit more won't affect their ability to eat, right?"
"This doesn't conflict with your original intention. Patients can afford it, and your team gets fed."
He calculated this account very easily.
Ordinary people could cure illnesses, rich people could save their lives, and the company could support the team. As for wealthy tycoons finding it expensive, they could weigh it themselves: losing one-thousandth of their assets versus losing a leg, which one felt worse.
Helen Cho lowered her head and thought for quite a while.
According to this ratio, most ordinary people could indeed afford it.
What she worried about most was the exact same high-priced bill pressing down on everyone's heads. Some people could get treatment just by signing their name, while others had to sell their house and still fall short by half.
The method Lu Chen gave was very strange, but at least it didn't shut poor people out of the door.
"How assets are verified, what happens to people with completely no property—these still need to be discussed further."
"Sure, specific methods can be worked out in detail later."
Lu Chen didn't plan to hammer out the charging process right now.
The machine hadn't even been built yet, so arguing over a bill for an entire afternoon was truly unnecessary. Once the thing she cared about most was settled, the rest could be left for others to do.
Helen Cho closed the documents.
"If these conditions can be written into the agreement, I can join Vought Company."
"Deal."
He had originally prepared to waste a bit more breath, not expecting that changing the charging method would seal the deal. For idealists like this, throwing money at them wasn't necessarily useful; you had to make her feel that what she created wasn't being squandered.
"Then what about your request? Equipment, personnel, or something else?"
Helen Cho's gaze fell on his hands.
"I am very interested in your healing abilities."
This answer actually surprised Lu Chen a little.
He had thought she would ask for another batch of equipment, or simply want Wakanda's data. As a result, after coming full circle, it looped back to himself.
"Your method of making severed limbs grow back is faster and more complete than my Regeneration Cradle."
Saying this, her speech speed became a bit faster than before.
"My original conception was merely to repair the body. But after seeing you make a move, I feel that some restrictions perhaps don't need to be kept permanently."
She had originally thought she had gone very far, only to look up and discover that someone had already finished what she wanted to do long ago.
She wasn't resigned to just watching from the sidelines.
Even if they couldn't copy it outright, figuring out the body's changes during repair might allow the Regeneration Cradle to take another step forward.
Lu Chen didn't mind letting her look.
Whether ability could be converted into technology, he wasn't sure. Still, her being willing to research was better than him guessing blindly at a pile of data.
"So, you want me to demonstrate it again?"
"Yes, can you display it for me to see again?"
"I suppose I can."
Lu Chen glanced at the documents she had placed on the table.
"You're going to find a volunteer?"
"No."
Helen Cho rolled her cuffs upward.
"Right on me."
Lu Chen sat up straighter.
"Are you sure?"
She placed her arm on the table and looked at him.
"I want to experience it personally."
Chapter 254: Refining the Regeneration Cradle
"Are you sure?"
Lu Chen watched Helen Cho place her arm on the table and asked one last time to confirm.
"I'm sure."
Helen Cho didn't pull her hand back; her cuffs were already rolled up to her elbows.
She looked at Lu Chen with a calm tone, though her fingers paused on the desktop for a moment.
"I need to see the regeneration process clearly with my own eyes."
Lu Chen didn't try to persuade her further.
Since she dared to hand over her body, it meant she had already thought through the consequences.
Besides, it was just observation; there was no need to make her endure pain.
"Then let's begin."
Helen Cho nodded.
The next moment, Lu Chen raised a finger.
Helen Cho's entire arm shattered starting from the shoulder; there was no blood splashing, nor was there any pain transmitted.
Spiritual power had blocked her pain receptors a step ahead, and her flesh and blood dissolved into fine bloody dust, falling before the tabletop, leaving only a smooth, clean severed stump where her intact arm used to be.
Helen Cho lowered her head to look at it.
She didn't scream.
Without the interference of pain, it instead allowed her to focus all her attention on the changes.
At the stump, a bit of flesh grew out from the position of the bone; the white skeleton appeared first, followed by blood vessels, nerves, and muscles.
Those tissues did not grow chaotically; every part was rearranging itself according to her original bodily structure.
Lu Chen glanced at her.
This girl wasn't very bold, nor was her willpower on the same level as Wanda's, but once she entered a research state, she could indeed suppress her fear.
She wasn't unafraid; she just felt that what was before her eyes was more important.
This could also be considered a common occupational disease among certain researchers.
"The skeleton is complete." Helen Cho stared at her arm, her voice somewhat tight, "The blood vessels are connecting, the nerves... wait, no."
She reached out her other hand, picked up the recording pen on the table, but stopped midway in the air.
She wanted to record, but she was also afraid of missing something.
Lu Chen moved his finger, and the recording equipment nearby automatically turned on.
"Just watch first, no need to record."
"Mm."
Helen Cho's gaze never left the severed stump again.
Muscle wrapped around the bone, and skin covered upward along the wrist.
The five fingers appeared bit by bit, the nails grew out last, and the entire arm recovered with no difference from the original.
She tried moving her fingers.
They could move.
Her sense of touch had also returned.
"The whole process took less than a minute." Helen Cho looked at Lu Chen, "How did you determine the positions of the cells?"
"I didn't determine them."
"Was it copied directly via energy?"
"Pretty much."
Lu Chen withdrew his hand, and the bloody dust on the table was gathered into a ball by psychokinesis, sending it into the containment box nearby.
"I provide the energy, and your body knows what it should grow into by itself. Bones, blood vessels, nerves, and skin—none of them were pieced together piece by piece by me."
Helen Cho picked up her arm and looked it over back and forth several times.
"So, the essence of your ability is reading the body's original information and then regenerating it using energy."
"That should be an acceptable way to understand it."
Lu Chen leaned back into his chair.
He was only giving a rough idea himself with those words.
Abilities aren't experimental equipment; they can't be taken apart for her to see.
How energy identifies cells, how it preserves memories, and how it allows newly born tissues to maintain their original functions—it was all too complicated to explain.
However, Helen Cho had clearly grasped the main point.
She walked quickly over to the equipment nearby, dug out a document, and her fingers swiftly swiped across the paper pages.
"What if we don't use your energy?"
Lu Chen looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Replacing it with nanotechnology."
Helen Cho spoke faster and faster, and the hesitation on her face was suppressed.
"After nanomachines enter the human body, they first read the cell state and tissue structure, and then Copy according to the original information. They don't need to create directly; as long as they can deliver nutrients, oxygen, and bioelectric signals to the corresponding positions, they can assist the body in completing regeneration."
She raised her head, a bit more brightness appearing in her eyes.
"The biggest difficulty with the Regeneration Cradle in the past was the inability to make different tissues grow synchronously. If the bones grew too fast, the blood vessels couldn't connect. If the blood vessels grew too fast, the nerves wouldn't recover. But if we use the body itself as a template and let nanomachines work according to the template..."
Speaking up to this point, she stopped.
She had already seen the path ahead.
Lu Chen also understood.
This wasn't copying his ability, but rather wanting to break down the process of using his ability into individual steps, and then replacing them with equipment and nanomachines.
Success aside for now, this direction was indeed more reliable than purely studying cell repair.
"You want to do experiments immediately?"
"Yes."
Helen Cho closed the document and answered crisply.
"I need to transfer my original team entirely over. Genetic engineering, nanomaterials, neuro-medicine, and people in charge of equipment control. With just me alone, the progress will be too slow."
Lu Chen didn't refuse.
Since she had already found a direction, she wouldn't stay here contentedly doing ordinary research anymore.
Bringing her original crew over would save her from running back and forth.
"Sure."
Helen Cho was slightly stunned.
"You agreed just like that?"
"The company is mine, and the laboratory is mine too. If you can make the Regeneration Cradle, it's only beneficial to me."
Lu Chen glanced at her newly recovered arm.
"However, let's make one thing clear first: you are not allowed to recklessly test things on yourself during the research process."
Helen Cho opened her mouth.
"I was just..."
"You already tried it on yourself once just now."
"That was to confirm the regeneration process."
"Next time, let volunteers do it."
She was silent for two seconds and looked away.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Lu Chen could tell that this sentence didn't carry much of a guarantee.
As long as this person saw a new research direction, she would put her own safety behind it.
He still had to have Yuheng keep an eye on her, at least to prevent her from turning the lab into a self-mutilation scene.
"Yuheng."
"I'm here."
The smart system's voice sounded in his ear.
"Take Dr. Helen Cho to find Simone, and have her arrange personnel and a laboratory. Report whatever is needed directly to the company without waiting for approval."
"Alright."
Helen Cho tidied up the documents and looked at Lu Chen again.
"My agreement to join Vought Company should also be written in together."
"Sure. According to the conditions you just mentioned, write the treatment costs and the scope of technology usage clearly."
"And ordinary people."
"I know."
Lu Chen waved his hand.
"After the Regeneration Cradle is made, it won't be used exclusively for the rich. The one-in-a-thousand ratio I mentioned earlier is just a direction; you and Simone can discuss how to specifically review it, and just let Yuheng supervise."
Helen Cho finally relaxed.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet; the thing hasn't been made yet."
Lu Chen spoke very realistically.
Helen Cho, however, smiled slightly.
"At least there's a direction now."
She followed Yuheng's guidance and left the office.
After the door closed, Lu Chen looked at the containment box by the table.
Letting Helen Cho observe in person this time wasn't in vain.
If she could push the Regeneration Cradle to a truly usable level, Vought wouldn't need to come find him every time someone got injured in the future, which could also be considered a sustainable path.
He was the boss, not an all-weather emergency station.
This arrangement was not bad.
Chapter 255: Eternal Gift Package
Four and a half days later.
Inside the secret chamber, Lu Chen opened his eyes.
The Copy of Ikaris's Super Physique LV8 was complete.
A new power blended into his body, and his bones, muscles, and internal organs were reinforced once again.
Lu Chen raised his hand to move his limbs. There was no sluggishness in the flow of his tendons and bones; he only felt an added sense of heavy solidity within his body, and his flesh and blood were completing a transformation bit by bit toward a tougher state.
Lu Chen clenched his fist.
He was still adapting to the power, but he could feel the difference.
Choosing this ability was not a loss.
The remaining abilities were much simpler.
Druig's [Mental Blast LV6], Phastos's [Energy Converter LV6], and Makkari's [Super Speed LV6] only required contact to complete the Copy.
After the three abilities were added, Lu Chen immediately sensed something was wrong.
The fusion energy that originally belonged to him did not mix with the Cosmic Energy brought by Copying multiple Eternal bodies.
The two forces each occupied a portion of space, like two unconvinced teams, neither suppressing the other.
He tried to mobilize them.
They were usable.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment; could it be that the two energies were not much different?
However, as long as it did not affect execution, he couldn't be bothered to care for now.
Now, only the last gift package from the Eternal remained.
[Matter Transmutation LV9 (God Energy)]
It would still take a few days to complete the Copy.
Taking advantage of this time, Lu Chen brought Sersi and Sprite, whom Tony was protecting, as well as Ajak, who was locked up separately, all to Vought Tower.
Including the Eternal members captured previously, everyone was temporarily detained separately for future use.
He walked out of the secret chamber, his spiritual power sweeping across the entire building.
In the R&D area, the nanotechnology team was still arguing over the material proportions.
The sound of metal colliding came from the training ground. Pietro had just finished running a lap and was standing by the wall drinking water.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window on another floor, Wanda was holding a tablet, staring at the decoration plan.
She raised her head.
Lu Chen's spiritual power had already been withdrawn, but she still sensed that familiar aura.
Lu Chen's phone vibrated. He took it out and saw a message from Wanda.
"Boss, are you free right now?"
Seeing the message, Lu Chen replied, "Something up?"
The other party quickly sent an image.
Inside the picture was a furniture store brochure, with a few spots circled around the sofa, dining table, and bed, and dimensions written next to them.
"I want to decorate my own floor."
"Have someone send it over."
"I want to choose it myself."
"You can have Simone accompany you."
The other side was silent for more than ten seconds.
"She is very busy."
"What about Pietro?"
"He will choose everything to be the most tacky."
Looking at this sentence, Lu Chen could imagine the scene of Pietro holding the list and rushing all the way to the furniture store.
Wanda sent another one.
"Boss, accompany me, okay?"
This time she didn't use voice message; the text stayed on the screen, as if it had been edited and revised several times.
Lu Chen walked to the elevator and pressed the down button.
"Wait for me in the lobby."
The message was sent, and a reply quickly appeared on the other end of the screen.
"Okay."
Followed by a small smiling face.
In the lobby, Wanda was already waiting there.
She had changed into a coat, her chestnut curly hair draped over her shoulders, holding a folded list in her hand.
Seeing Lu Chen, she first raised her hand as if wanting to greet him, then gently lowered it again.
"Boss."
"Let's go."
The two walked side by side out of the building.
Wanda's steps were a bit faster than usual, but when she reached the door, she deliberately slowed down, maintaining the same speed as Lu Chen.
She didn't lower her head to look at the list as soon as she got into the car like usual; instead, she sat quietly beside him, turning her head to glance at him from time to time.
Lu Chen noticed it, but didn't point it out.
After the vehicle drove out of the block, Wanda finally spoke: "Can I ask you a question?"
"You can."
"Why do you always make others call you Boss?"
Lu Chen turned to look at her.
Wanda's fingers rubbed the edge of the list, seeming not to have figured out how to say it.
Silent for a moment, she then spoke in a low voice:
"Because they are all your subordinates?"
"You are too."
"I know."
She looked out the window, the glass reflecting her somewhat complicated expression.
After coming to Vought, she had always addressed Lu Chen as "Boss".
This title was safe, clear, and wouldn't make her seem too dependent on anyone.
But during this period, Lu Chen arranged a place for her to live, helped her deal with her past enemies, gave her the power to protect herself, and even when she was uneasy, always quietly paid attention to her state.
These things, she had never seriously responded to.
It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that she didn't know what identity to use to speak.
If they were just boss and employee, she shouldn't seem to care whether Lu Chen accompanied her out, nor should she be happy for so long because he agreed to accompany her to pick out furniture.
But if she was just a subordinate saved by him, she felt this title was too distant.
Wanda lowered her head to look at the list in her palm, her voice becoming a bit softer.
"You saved me, and also helped me find the person who killed my parents."
Lu Chen did not interrupt her.
"You gave me a place to live, gave me power, and also made me feel... I can start over."
She paused for a moment, as if deliberating her next words, "So sometimes, I feel that just calling you Boss doesn't seem quite appropriate."
"Then what do you want to call me?"
Wanda raised her eyes, made eye contact with him for a few seconds, and quickly looked away.
"I haven't thought it through yet."
She spoke earnestly, but the tips of her ears slowly turned red.
Lu Chen didn't press further, only saying, "Tell me when you've figured it out."
Wanda was slightly stunned, then gently nodded.
"Okay, Boss."
After finishing, as if realizing something, she turned back to glance at Lu Chen.
In that "Boss", the deliberately maintained sense of distance from before was already gone, replaced by a bit of natural reliance.
Chapter 256: Wanda's Interior Decoration
After picking out the furniture and returning to the building, the following days could be considered the most leisurely since Lu Chen's transmigration.
Most of the time, he spent it immersed in the oversized, fully enclosed training ground on the top floor.
After getting several abilities from the Eternal, taking them out individually wasn't particularly heaven-defying, but there were simply too many types.
Lu Chen stood in the exact center of the training ground and raised his right hand.
Golden light flashed in the air, and a golden longsword directly condensed into shape, floating beside him.
"Add Fire."
Flames burned along the sword body.
"Plasma Lightning."
Blue-white electric arcs wrapped around the sword tip.
"Magnetic Field Manipulation, adjust the trajectory."
Spiritual power and magnetic fields spread out simultaneously.
Dense thousands of longswords floated in mid-air.
The sword tips uniformly aimed forward.
Go.
With a casual wave of his right hand,
thousands of flying swords shot out like supersonic cruise missiles, circling within the room. Even without actually striking, the immense energy caused the walls to struggle to bear it.
Energy Weaponization was responsible for creating weapons, Energy Armoring was responsible for defense and load-bearing, Energy Alteration could further change the properties of weapons, Energy Blast was responsible for compression and release, and Magnetic Field Manipulation was responsible for controlling the trajectory.
As for Fire, light energy, radiation, and Plasma Lightning, they were additional attacks with different attributes.
Outside the training ground, Simone held a folder and watched for a long time.
"Boss, you've already broken the third wall of the training ground."
Lu Chen turned back to look at her.
"Charge it to the maintenance budget."
"The maintenance budget is already overdrawn."
"Then increase the budget."
Simone looked at him, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness.
"This is the third time you've increased the budget."
"That shows the company is developing well."
"This is the first time I've learned that destroying buildings can also count as development."
Lu Chen walked up to her, reached out to take the folder, and casually flipped through a few pages.
"Did you come here just to tell me these?"
"No." Simone pulled the folder back, "Miss Wanda is waiting for you upstairs."
Lu Chen paused for a moment.
"What problem has she run into this time?"
"She said the living room sofa color is wrong, the dining table position is wrong, and the curtains are wrong too."
"Didn't she just say yesterday that everything was right?"
"Yesterday is yesterday."
Lu Chen rubbed his glabella.
These days, the Copy of Matter Transmutation wasn't finished yet, and he happened not to have too many things to do.
Wanda came to find him every three days or so, sometimes asking him to look at furniture, sometimes asking him to decide on wall colors, and once just because Pietro moved a table to a position she wasn't satisfied with.
According to Pietro's words, as long as the table could be used, it was fine.
Wanda drove him out on the spot.
Lu Chen walked into the elevator, with Simone following beside him.
"Why do you think she always looks for me?"
"Does the boss want to hear the truth?"
"Speak."
"Because she likes having you accompany her."
As soon as the elevator door closed, Lu Chen turned to look at her.
Simone's expression was calm, but the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
"What, the boss doesn't allow employees to tell the truth?"
"You've been getting bolder lately."
"I learned it from you."
Lu Chen looked at her for a few seconds.
"This month's bonus is canceled."
"I'm merely stating a fact."
"Next month's is canceled too."
The smile on Simone's face disappeared.
"Boss, jokes shouldn't be taken seriously."
"I'm not joking."
"Then I take back what I just said."
Lu Chen then turned his head back with satisfaction.
Simone behind him breathed a sigh of relief.
She used to think this boss was calm, dangerous, and never brought extra emotions into his actions.
After getting along for a long time, she realized that Lu Chen wasn't always serious, he just couldn't be bothered to show it most of the time.
This discovery made her much more relaxed.
Before reaching Wanda's floor, Simone had already stepped out of the elevator a step ahead, and even gave him an encouraging gesture, making Lu Chen feel even more helpless.
Seeing Lu Chen, Wanda walked over quickly, handing the tablet in front of his eyes. The chestnut curly hair by her ears swayed with the movement.
"I chose old-style Sokovian stone for the living room fireplace, but Pietro kept insisting on changing it to cyberpunk-style neon strips—it looks so ugly. Which one do you think is better?"
Lu Chen lowered his head to take a look at the design drawing.
The drawings were very detailed, even marking the drape of the curtains and the wood grain of the coffee table.
It could be seen that she really wanted to turn that entire floor into a home truly belonging to her.
This sense of worldly warmth was completely invisible on Wanda before, when her mind was filled only with revenge.
"Choose the stone." Lu Chen reached out and swiped on the screen, "What does Pietro know about aesthetics? He'd love to fill the whole room with acceleration tracks."
Wanda couldn't help pursing her lips and smiling, her eyes curving into a pretty arc: "I thought so too! Then I'll change the rug to warm gray, what do you think?"
When she spoke, she leaned a little close, carrying a faint scent of black tea on her body.
"Where you live, as long as you like it is fine." Lu Chen glanced at her, "My opinion doesn't matter much."
"But I want to hear your opinion."
"Then my opinion is off-white."
"But I think warm gray looks good."
"Then why did you ask?"
Wanda picked up the tablet and turned to walk to the other side.
"Boss, you're very annoying."
Lu Chen looked at her back, but his heart didn't feel impatient.
The past Wanda wouldn't speak like this.
She always carefully probed, and even if dissatisfied, she would first observe other people's expressions.
Now she could directly express her thoughts, and even argue with him a few words over colors.
This was a good thing.
Only when a person feels safe will they reveal their true emotions.
Over the next few days, Lu Chen spent most of his time studying ability combinations, and the remaining time was taken up by Wanda.
She chose the rug, then felt the living room was too empty.
After choosing the dining table, she felt the wall color didn't match.
Lu Chen suggested changing the walls to metal material, and Wanda immediately refused.
"This is a home, not a laboratory."
"Metal walls are safer."
"I don't need full walls to protect me."
"Are you sure?"
Wanda stopped.
Of course she knew what Lu Chen was talking about.
After coming to Vought, she gained her own house and a new life, as well as the power to protect herself.
But she had experienced too much loss; a sense of security could never be made up for with just a sentence.
Lu Chen didn't press further, only saying: "Then use ordinary walls, and strengthen the doors and windows."
"Alright."
Wanda lowered her head to look at the list in her hand, and after a moment asked: "Will you come often in the future?"
"It depends."
"Depends on what?"
"If you move the furniture to the wrong position again, I probably won't come."
Wanda couldn't help smiling a little.
She looked up at Lu Chen, her gaze lingering for a moment before quickly looking away.
"Boss."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Lu Chen didn't say you're welcome.
He knew what Wanda wanted to say wasn't about the furniture.
"If living here isn't comfortable, change it," he said, "If the money isn't enough, look for Simone again."
"I have a lot of money."
"Alright, you can come to me if you have other matters."
Wanda's hand holding the list tightened slightly.
This sentence sounded very ordinary, but she happened to remember it.
Chapter 257: Are you interested in learning some magic?
A few more days passed.
Early in the morning, Lu Chen woke up in the top-floor bedroom.
Before he could even sit up from the bed, a crisp system notification suddenly rang out in his mind:
[Matter Transmutation LV9 (Celestial Energy) Copy complete, solidified.]
It was finally done.
Lu Chen perked up, and his sleepiness completely vanished.
This was the most core, and arguably the most heaven-defying rule-tier ability in the hands of the Eternal.
Lu Chen raised his hand and pressed his palm directly onto the soft silk quilt beneath him.
With a slight movement of his mind.
That unique Cosmic Energy originating from the Celestials inside his body instantly circulated, seeping into the quilt along his fingertips.
Visible changes took place.
The soft fabric lost its original feel and turned into unadulterated high-carbon steel in the blink of an eye, yet the folds remained unchanged, and even the corners of the quilt were in the exact same positions as before.
Lu Chen reached out and knocked on it.
Clang, clang, clang.
The sound was dull and hard, just like striking bulletproof steel plate.
Then, he used his ability again.
The steel quilt cover softened in an instant, turning back into delicate and soft silk.
The arrangement order of atoms and molecules was completely shattered and reassembled according to his own will.
Turning stone into gold, or air into quicksand, was all within a single thought.
Lu Chen stood up from the bed, walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, and overlooked the bustling New York City below. Something felt off; although the energy obtained after the Copy was also immense, it wasn't as colossal as he had imagined.
He thought of the God embryo slumbering deep within the Earth's core—Tiamut the Communicator.
Tiamut was an extremely rare anomaly among the entire Celestials.
Deeply buried in the Earth's core for many years and growing along with Earth, after perceiving human history and emotions, it turned its back on the Celestials' cold cycle of creating life in the Universe. At the very last moment, it even actively connected to the Eternal's Uni-Mind, infusing its massive divine power into Sersi, and used Sersi's hands to completely petrify itself in the ocean, though only its physical body was petrified, its consciousness had never perished.
It could be said that this God, which had not yet fully hatched, held immense goodwill toward Earthlings.
But that was only the original storyline.
Now, due to his intervention, Ikaris and the entire Eternal team had been wiped out by him in one fell swoop. What attitude Tiamut at the Earth's core held was anyone's guess.
Moreover, Lu Chen was not an Eternal android created by the Celestials. Whether Tiamut would give him any face was a huge question mark.
"I need to go test the waters first."
A trace of determination flashed in the depths of Lu Chen's eyes.
The next second, Lu Chen's figure directly materialized into a phantom inside the room, and he smashed straight out through the window, turning into a golden stream of light that could not be captured by the naked eye. Tearing through the clouds, he sped straight toward the Indian Ocean.
A few minutes later.
The Indian Ocean waters.
The sky was cloudless, and beneath his feet was the magnificent blue sea, its bottomless water shimmering with ripples under the sunlight.
This was the place where Tiamut ultimately broke out of its shell and stood tall in the plot.
Lu Chen hovered steadily dozens of meters above the sea surface, concealing his aura entirely.
He slowly lowered his altitude, the tips of his shoes stepping on the surface of the water, creating ripples in circles.
Afterwards, Lu Chen squatted down and pressed his right hand directly into the icy seawater.
"Matter Transmutation, activate."
He attempted to use his newly acquired Matter Transmutation ability to spread his consciousness and energy downward along the seawater, to touch and probe the behemoth hidden deep within the Earth's core.
Hum!
Golden light patterns spread wildly outward within the seawater, centered on his palm.
The molecular structure of the surrounding seawater was instantly incorporated into his perception. With the fluctuation of his mind, he could even casually turn the perceived ocean into a solid piece of hard granite.
But soon, Lu Chen's brow furrowed.
The diffusion of energy stopped.
He wanted to continue probing further down, but this power of Matter Transmutation reached the end of its tether after spreading outward for nearly a hundred kilometers.
A range of over a hundred kilometers was truly terrifying enough to cover two New York Cities in one go.
Yet Earth's radius was over six thousand kilometers!
The God embryo deep within the Earth's core was comparable in size to a continental plate. A detection depth of over a hundred kilometers was not even enough to scratch off a layer of skin for Tiamut, and it hadn't even penetrated the bottom layer of the crust.
"Something is wrong."
Lu Chen withdrew his hand, shook off the water droplets, and stood on the sea surface in deep thought.
"The range is too small... Why is this happening?"
Lu Chen caught a fish from the sea, activated Matter Transmutation, and the fish turned into a golden fish—it could be activated.
In the plot, Sersi's ability had undergone three changes. From initially only being able to change the form of inorganic matter, such as turning cars into flower petals, to after Ajak's death when she became the new leader of the Eternal and gained authority to transform living organisms, such as turning living things into large trees.
And the third time was opening the Uni-Mind, obtaining partial Celestial Energy, causing the transmutation range to expand rapidly, even capable of covering the entire Celestial body.
Yet he was already able to transform living organisms, but the range was just too small. Was it because of energy?
After multiple attempts, Lu Chen confirmed that he had currently only copied the upper limit of Sersi's skill, along with Sersi's own energy by the way.
"It's a problem with the energy level..."
Lu Chen stood on the surface of the sea and muttered to himself.
Just like when he first copied Kingo's Energy Blast before.
Although he was limited by the rules at the time and could only use the original skill with halved power before the Copying was finished, he stubbornly relied on the surging fused energy within his body to use the halved-power Energy Blast even more powerfully than Kingo's original one-hundred-percent strength.
The situation now was quite the opposite.
Matter Transmutation was a LV9 rule-tier ability. What it required to consume was extremely high-level Celestial-tier energy that could even create and destroy a Planet at will.
Although the total amount of energy inside his body was astonishing, in terms of texture, it hadn't reached the transcendental level of creating objects from the void like the Celestials.
High-level skills, restricted by low-dimensional energy supply, had their power forcefully stuck right here.
"Where can I get higher-level energy to improve?"
Lu Chen rubbed his brow, calculating rapidly in his mind.
Go look for the Infinity Stones?
But he couldn't absorb the energy of the stones. Suddenly, he thought of someone—Captain Marvel, who seemed to be able to absorb the stray energy of the stones to strengthen herself.
Just at the moment when he stood in the sea breeze and fell into deep thought.
Behind him, within the previously empty void, a slight orange-yellow spark suddenly rippled.
Immediately following, a calm voice rang out behind him without any warning:
"Are you interested in learning some magic?"
Chapter 258: Sorcerer Supreme
Lu Chen turned his head.
Less than three meters behind him, a circular portal woven from golden sparks was slowly spinning.
Sparks danced wildly around the edge of the portal, reflecting a completely different scene on the opposite side—a bluestone courtyard where the snow had not yet melted.
And on this side of the portal stood a bald woman wearing a plain, coarse-cloth robe.
She was tall and slender, her hands resting casually in her wide cuffs, and a gentle smile hung on her face. The whole person did not look dangerous at all, yet she exuded a sense of detachment as if she had seen through the ways of the World.
Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One.
Lu Chen's pupils contracted slightly, and his footsteps stopped steadily above the sea water.
He never expected that he had just run over to the Indian Ocean to test his newly acquired skills, only to provoke this big shot out.
This was a solid dimensional Guardian, and no one knew how many dimensional deities she had borrowed power from under her command.
Lu Chen suppressed the ripples in his heart, not rushing to put up a defensive posture.
Since the other party appeared in such a casual chatting tone, it meant that things had not yet reached the point of drawing swords and pulling bows.
Lu Chen tentatively asked, "I wonder what Ancient One meant by learning magic?"
Ancient One did not answer directly.
She looked at Lu Chen, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.
"Standing in this sea breeze to chat is hardly a hospitable way to treat a guest."
Ancient One turned sideways and pointed at the sparkling mystic arts portal behind her, "Follow me."
As her voice fell, without even waiting for Lu Chen's response, she took a step and walked directly into the halo of light.
The portal left on the sea surface did not close immediately; the golden sparks still crackled in the air, as if quietly waiting for the guest's decision.
Lu Chen stood in place, raising his hand to stroke his chin.
This Sorcerer Supreme's style of action was indeed as casual as in the movies.
Go, or not go?
If it were back when he had just time-traveled, encountering a monster that could casually play with time like this, Lu Chen would definitely run as far away as possible at the very first moment.
But things were different now.
Since she tacitly approved of some of his actions and didn't stop him, there was probably room for discussion.
More importantly, he had just been worrying about the problem of insufficient energy levels and being unable to fully unleash the power of Matter Transmutation.
What were the mystic arts masters of Kamar-Taj best at?
Wasn't it signing contracts with various high-dimensional deities and directly borrowing energy from multiple dimensions!
Thinking of this, Lu Chen hesitated no longer.
He lifted his foot and took a step forward, passing directly through the spark-splattered golden halo.
The damp and sultry sea breeze all around disappeared, and a breath of fresh air carrying the chill of ice and snow rushed towards his face.
Kamar-Taj.
Looking into the distance, there were snow-capped peaks soaring into the clouds, and nearby were neatly arranged ancient wooden buildings.
Apprentices wearing various colored wizard robes waved their arms in the distant square practicing spell seals, the golden-red light flickering in and out of view in the air.
Ancient One walked in front, the hem of her plain robe swaying gently with her footsteps.
She led Lu Chen to an open-air stone table by the edge of the courtyard and motioned for Lu Chen to sit down with a wave of her hand.
Lu Chen pulled out the stone stool and generously sat down.
Before he could speak, Ancient One's hand somehow produced an antiquated clay teapot.
With skilled movements, she turned over two white porcelain teacups, and the steaming light-green tea soup poured out smoothly from the spout, landing into the cups and splashing a few tiny droplets of water.
"Have a taste."
Ancient One pushed one of the cups in front of Lu Chen.
Lu Chen lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over the cup of hot tea.
The tea fragrance was very light, smelling just like ordinary mountain tea.
He didn't put on airs, picking up the teacup and taking a small sip.
It tasted slightly bitter at first, followed by a hint of sweetness. It was indeed just ordinary tea leaves, containing neither hidden dimensional deadly poison nor any miraculous elixir that could increase one's cultivation by a hundred years with a single gulp.
Lu Chen put down the teacup, just in time to meet Ancient One's smiling gaze.
The two looked at each other, neither speaking first.
Lu Chen was as clear as a mirror in his heart.
The Sorcerer Supreme before him had the Time Stone hanging on her chest; once the Eye of Agamotto opened, millions of futures could be thoroughly flipped through by her.
Since she came looking for him at this time, she must have already prepared a draft in her stomach.
Dealing with such a Riddler who could read the script, the best way was to stay quiet and wait for the other party to speak first.
In the end, Ancient One broke the silence.
She picked up her own teacup and took a sip, then calmly said, "You haven't answered my question just now."
Ancient One put down the cup, her gaze falling on Lu Chen's face: "How about it, want to learn some magic?"
Lu Chen leaned against the back of the chair, calculating rapidly in his mind.
Were Marvel's mystic arts magic strong or not?
If it came to direct energy bombardment and pure destructive power, most of the magic used by the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj wasn't actually that great, at least not in his opinion.
But those special spell mechanisms were terrifyingly practical.
Mirror Dimension could forcibly isolate the battlefield, making it a top-tier method for trapping enemies or escaping.
Sling Ring portals were even more of an unsolvable strategic-level mobility tool; opening a door to flood or cut off someone's head was entirely within a single thought.
There were also certain spells targeting the soul level.
These things completely broke away from the laws of physics and belonged to the level of rules.
If his Copy system could solidify these spell mechanisms and even push them to a higher level with the massive energy within his body...
Lu Chen nodded, "I certainly don't mind learning more useful methods."
Speaking of this, his tone shifted slightly, and he looked at Ancient One, asking: "However, I am very curious, why did Ancient One pick today to come find me?"
Hearing this, the corners of Ancient One's mouth lifted slightly, revealing an unfathomable expression.
"After all, for some time before, you seemed very busy."
Hearing this, Lu Chen was certain that she had been paying attention to him, even from the day he descended into this World.
And he had indeed been a bit busy recently.
Busy wiping out the Eternals who descended to Earth, busy helping Vought Company take over the territory of Hells Kitchen, busy getting the Regeneration Cradle from Helen Cho, and even accompanying Wanda to pick out furniture for a whole day two days ago.
Lu Chen simply laid his words out in the open.
Leaning forward slightly, he looked at Ancient One and asked: "Since it has come to this, Ancient One, what is your view on that big guy hidden underground?"
The big guy mentioned here was naturally the Celestial embryo Tiamut sleeping deep in the Indian Ocean.
Facing Lu Chen's straightforward inquiry, Ancient One answered even more directly.
"I watch it sitting down."
Lu Chen was slightly stunned, the corners of his mouth twitching twice.
This answer was simply impeccable.
Watching Lu Chen's deflated expression, Ancient One couldn't help laughing out loud.
But soon, the smile on her face converged, and her expression turned serious and earnest.
"I am not perfunctory with you."
Ancient One turned her head to look at the vast snow-capped mountains outside the courtyard, her tone calm: "I spent countless years spying on the river of time, but everything I can see comes to an abrupt halt at the moment I welcome my Death."
She withdrew her gaze and looked at Lu Chen again: "What happens after Death, I do not know, nor can I see."
"When the God deep in the Earth's core will awaken, and where Earth will ultimately head, that is not the responsibility my era should bear."
Ancient One said calmly, "I think my successor will handle this matter well."
Lu Chen inwardly muttered a complaint to himself.
When all is said and done, isn't it just trusting in the wisdom of future generations.
Doctor Strange Strange was probably still holding a scalpel in a New York hospital to perform craniotomies, how could he ever expect to carry such a huge scapegoat in the future.
Before Lu Chen's internal complaining was finished, Ancient One's voice sounded again, directly interrupting his train of thought.
"Actually, there is another reason why I stepped forward to find you today."
Ancient One sat up slightly straight, her eyes fixed tightly on Lu Chen's face.
"Just as I said just now, I cannot see the future after my Death."
"But in this long timeline before my Death, the past and present, I originally saw clearly."
Ancient One paused for a moment, a Strange luster welling up in her eyes.
"But you are an anomaly."
"When I use the Eye of Agamotto, I can neither see your past nor your future; I can only see the present where you reside."
"According to common sense, the multiverse is vast and boundless, and the number of parallel dimensions is also infinite. Suddenly popping out a special individual with a mysterious origin shouldn't be worth making a big fuss over."
Ancient One's voice lowered a bit, her tone resolute like never before.
"But I can feel that you do not belong to this Universe at all."
"Lu Chen, you should understand what I mean."
Ancient One's tone didn't change much, but Lu Chen had already abandoned his initial relaxed mindset.
This was not good news.
His secret—he had never thought it could escape the Time Stone.
But according to her statement, this World had no past of his, and naturally no traces that could be traced back by time.
As for the future, he would go to other Universes. Viewed this way, the multiverse perceived by people of this World was completely different from the multiverse he knew, as if he had been dug out of this river and thrown alone into the water.
On the surface, Lu Chen remained as steady as Mount Tai, but the massive energy within his body was already quietly operating, with virtualization and traversal ready to activate at any time.
Just as he was rapidly calculating in his mind how to deal with this showdown situation, Ancient One opposite him suddenly waved her hand.
The solemnity on her face quickly melted like ice and snow, returning to that light and breezy demeanor.
"Relax, young man."
Ancient One leisurely added half a cup of tea for herself: "Even if you come from outside the multiverse, this simply made me pay a little more attention to you for a while. As long as you don't have the idea to destroy the World, the duty of guarding the reality dimension does not include expelling outsiders."
Lu Chen frowned: "Then what is the real reason you came looking for me?"
Ancient One put down the teapot, raised her eyes to look at him, her gaze as deep as the sea.
"What truly made me decide to appear before you now is the sentence you said on the sea today."
"At the very moment you wanted to look for higher-level energy, the river of time suddenly split into thousands of brand-new tributaries."
Ancient One stared at Lu Chen, calmly dropping a blockbuster:
"In those futures, there is a high probability that you will take over my mantle and become the next Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj."
Since everything was on the table, Lu Chen also made his words clear: "The next Sorcerer Supreme you favor should be Doctor Strange Strange, right."
Ancient One glanced at Lu Chen, her originally calm and deep eyes rippling with vicissitudes of life,
"Yeah, it should have been him originally, but I've waited too long."
Chapter 259: Trusting the Wisdom of Future Generations
"It originally should have been his, but I've waited too long."
After speaking, the Ancient One picked up her teacup again, as if she were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with her.
Lu Chen looked at her and remained silent for a long time.
The amount of information in this sentence was certainly not small.
Waiting too long meant she no longer intended to keep waiting. As for Strange, he was still working as a Doctor in New York; there was still a long time before he would become that unfortunate fellow whose hands were crushed in a car accident.
The title of Sorcerer Supreme sounded majestic, but in Lu Chen's eyes, this thing was by no means a medal of honor, but rather an indentured servitude contract.
Ward off the invasion of demon Gods from various dimensions, act as a free security guard for Earth, be on call 24/7, and have to constantly guard against those out-of-the-ordinary interdimensional Loki.
Whoever loved doing this kind of dirty and tiring work could do it.
Holding his teacup, Lu Chen didn't move, his mind rapidly calculating the gains and losses.
His greatest advantage lay in Superpower replication and cross-border abilities. His future path would definitely be jumping across countless Universe to plunder higher-level power, rather than tying himself tightly to Earth in this World to act as a babysitter.
What's more, troubles in the Marvel Universe had never stopped.
Today Dormammu comes, tomorrow Thanos comes, and there is still a God embryo stuffed underground ready to hatch at any time; the day after tomorrow the multiverse is going to be destroyed, and Doom is going to refine all realms.
If he really took over this mess, he would be exhausted to death just running around putting out fires every day.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen simply laid his cards on the table, looked at the bald woman opposite him, and directly stated his concerns:
"Master Ancient One, since you know I don't belong to this World, you should have guessed that I might not always stay on Earth in the future."
Lu Chen pointed at the ground beneath his feet and said bluntly, "If you expect me to sit in Kamar-Taj for hundreds of years like you, guarding the Three Sanctums without stepping away, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
After hearing this, the Ancient One not only didn't get angry, but instead picked up her teacup, took a sip, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"This is not a big problem."
"You don't mind?"
"I've already said it before," the Ancient One said in a calm tone, "I'll sit and watch."
Lu Chen's eyebrows raised slightly.
Good grief.
Here it comes again.
"Trusting the wisdom of future generations?"
"Correct."
"And then you decided to trust it onto my head?"
The Ancient One put down her teacup: "One must always try to trust the younger generation."
"Damn it."
Lu Chen couldn't help rolling his eyes fiercely in his heart.
Earlier when mentioning the core God, this old lady dropped the line "Trust the wisdom of future generations." After all this fuss, the "future generations" in her mouth directly applied to him!
To make being a hands-off boss sound so fresh and refined, she was probably the only one in the entire Universe.
"Then do I still have to thank you for giving me this opportunity?"
"You're welcome."
The Ancient One answered so naturally that Lu Chen didn't know what to say instead.
He stared at the Ancient One for a moment, twitched the corner of his mouth, and replied in a weird tone: "It seems the Master really wants to retire."
The Ancient One smiled without answering, tucking her hands into her wide sleeves, and didn't pick up on this banter.
This silence explained everything.
She really wanted to retire.
Not only did she want to leave the position of Sorcerer Supreme, but she was probably also tired of the days when her body continued to bear the erosion of the Dark Dimension.
Lu Chen's gaze lingered on the Ancient One for a few seconds.
The other party still looked calm, but the exhaustion hidden behind that calmness could not escape his perception. Having lived for nearly seven hundred years, guarding Earth alone, watching batch after batch of people around her age, yet she could only continue to stay in this position.
Anyone would be tired in her place.
Lu Chen had originally been calculating the gains and losses, but at this moment he suddenly felt that this deal wasn't so hard to accept after all.
The Ancient One was willing to teach him magic, and he could use this to access the power of multiple dimensions. If he really left Earth, the position of Sorcerer Supreme could naturally be handed over to someone else, and he would also learn to trust the wisdom of future generations.
As for ordinary crises encountered by Earth, it seemed he didn't even need to make a move; there was Wong, the Avengers, Vought Company, and various heroes who would appear in the future.
Lu Chen thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be all benefits.
"So, what is your decision?" the Ancient One asked.
Lu Chen stood up.
Since the decision had already been made, there was no need to drag it out any longer.
"Then I accept your kind offer with respect."
Lu Chen straightened his collar and asked directly: "However, where do we start learning?"
Seeing him agree, a trace of a smile flashed in the depths of the Ancient One's eyes.
She fished out a vintage-styled two-finger ring from her wide sleeves. The metal surface shimmered with a brass-colored matte finish, and two parallel grooves were carved on it.
Sling Ring.
"Take it."
The Ancient One handed over the Sling Ring.
Lu Chen reached out and took it. The metallic touch was cold and solid, and tiny rune traces could be vaguely felt on the inside.
The Ancient One stood up, walked with her hands behind her back on the bluestone slabs of the courtyard, and slowly began to explain:
"The magic system of Kamar-Taj is completely different in essence from the Superpowers you have contacted in the past."
"The language of the Mystic Arts is as ancient as human civilization. The ancients of the past called it incantations, but in your view, you can perhaps understand it as a piece of code used to shape reality."
The Ancient One stopped her steps, turned her head to look at Lu Chen.
"We don't produce this power; we are just porters of nature. Mages use spirit and consciousness to harness the massive energy drawn from other dimensions of the multiverse, thereby casting various spells and conjuring shields and weapons out of thin air. This is so-called magic."
"Using different spells means communicating with and switching between energy sources of different dimensions."
"Mind is the core of all this. We rely on pure spirit to activate spell seals, guiding those violent or peaceful dimensional powers. The physical body is nothing more than a vessel responsible for carrying energy."
As soon as her voice fell, the Ancient One raised her right hand.
Her fingers casually traced a few peculiar trajectories in mid-air.
Without chanting any lengthy and complicated syllables, circles of dark red flowing light suddenly rippled through the air.
Several dark red ribbons carrying a heavy sense of oppression materialized out of thin air, like chains endowed with life, dexterously circling around the Ancient One's wrist.
Immediately following that, the Ancient One flicked her wrist.
Those crimson ribbons dissipated and disintegrated in an instant, and replaced them was a touch of pure and dazzling orange-gold light.
Accompanied by the splashing of gold-red sparks, a long sword completely composed of pure mystic energy appeared in her palm, with high-density energy sparks dancing around the blade.
Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.
Sword of the Vishanti.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, instantly recognizing these two signature spells in his heart.
The former borrows the power of Cyttorak, the Crimson Cosmos master and great demon God—overbearing, heavy, and extremely binding; the latter communicates with the triune order dimension of the Vishanti—pure and stable.
These two completely different interdimensional powers were switched as smooth as flowing water in the Ancient One's hands, without even a trace of energy conflict visible.
This was the foundation of a veteran Sorcerer Supreme.
Chapter 260: Boss, What Are You Doing?
The Ancient One dissipated the Sword of the Vishanti in her hand and looked at Lu Chen: "You can try the most basic spell first."
Lu Chen didn't waste any words, slipping the brass Sling Ring directly onto the index and middle fingers of his left hand.
The ring fit snugly against the base of his finger, carrying a faint, peculiar sense of guidance.
The Ancient One stood to the side, her voice slowing down as she began to guide him:
"Mastering the Sling Ring is the cornerstone of all mystic arts cultivation in Kamar-Taj. It is an auxiliary key that allows us to travel freely between reality and the multiverse."
"Clear your mind of distractions and focus your concentration."
"You don't need to forcefully control space; you just need to focus and imagine. Clearly outline your destination deep within your mind, look past the snowy mountains and courtyard before your eyes, and imagine every detail of that place."
The Ancient One's voice carried a peculiar rhythm: "The clearer the image in your mind, the more stable the reality coordinates, and the faster the portal will form."
This process sounded mystical, but to Lu Chen, the principle was actually quite simple.
It was nothing more than using a powerful consciousness as a navigational positioning system, using the Sling Ring as a signal amplifier, and borrowing space-natured energy from a different dimension to forcefully rip open a passage.
For ordinary apprentices, just achieving the step of "single-mindedness and clear visualization" might take months or even years of meditation and rigorous practice.
But this mental threshold did not exist at all for Lu Chen.
The psychic power within him was already terrifyingly strong. After fusing multiple top-tier abilities and even using the Mind Stone multiple times, he could achieve precise guidance within hundreds or thousands of kilometers without even needing the Sling Ring as an amplifier.
Lu Chen raised his right hand and began drawing circles in mid-air.
Subconsciously, his mind began searching for a location that was sufficiently distant and clear.
However, when he tried to recall the memory image, the first scene that popped into his mind was neither the top-floor office of Vought Company nor Stark Tower.
It turned out to be Wanda's new home.
A few days ago, to pick out furniture for that floor, he had been dragged by Wanda to wander around various home furnishing malls for a whole day.
From the customized flannel sofa in the living room to the bronze carvings on the vintage fireplace, and even the pattern and edge wear of the pure wool rug on the floor, he remembered every single detail clearly.
After all, the placement of every single item had been discussed and finalized with him enthusiastically by Wanda holding the blueprints.
Amplified by the Sling Ring, every detail of that room was vividly clear in Lu Chen's mind at this moment.
"Wait, let's change places; opening it to the office is safer..."
Just as this thought flashed through Lu Chen's mind, his hand movements were slightly half a beat faster.
Boom!
Without warning, a dazzling ball of golden light burst open in the air.
Dense sparks exploded in mid-air, spinning and stretching crazily at an astonishing speed.
Without even half a second of lag, a mystic portal over two meters in diameter, with golden sparks leaping wildly at its edges, stood abruptly beside the stone table in Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One standing to the side slightly froze her gaze.
Even for her, it was extremely rare to see someone who, upon touching the Sling Ring for the very first time and without needing any meditation preparation, could directly raise their hand and tear open a portal of this size.
This required not only massive psychic power, but also an almost instinctive sensitivity to space.
At this moment, however, all of Lu Chen's attention was completely immersed in another kind of wondrous feedback.
The very instant the portal formed, his massive and acute psychic power spread out along the Sling Ring, clearly capturing the energy pipeline hidden within the void.
That was not his own energy.
A massive force that was gentle, stable, and carried a supreme sense of order was being continuously extracted from the depths of the multiverse, guided by the Sling Ring, and transformed into fuel to maintain the spatial passage.
The entire borrowing process was incomparably smooth, without any obscure obstacles, feeling as natural as turning on a tap.
Was this the underlying logic of Kamar-Taj sorcerers borrowing from the dimension of the Vishanti?
As Lu Chen was carefully experiencing this novel feeling of mobilizing dimensional energy, the scenery on the opposite side of the portal had completely stabilized.
A warm and bright living room, a vintage fireplace, a dark green sofa.
Right in front of the sofa, a young woman wearing a dark-colored home hoodie suddenly whipped around.
Wanda had apparently been tidying up the tea set on the coffee table. The moment space was violently torn apart, her early warning instinct was triggered.
Crackle!
Scarlet Chaos Magic energy suddenly lit up between her hands. The crimson light turned into substantial energy, leaping frantically at her fingertips and bathing the entire living room in a dark red glow.
With vigilant eyes, she stared at the suddenly appearing spatial aperture, looking like a startled female panther.
However, when she peered through that layer of leaping golden sparks and clearly saw the figure in a black trench coat standing on the opposite side, Wanda completely froze.
The crimson light surging in her palms froze in the air, turning into an expression of utter astonishment and bewilderment.
Wanda blinked her eyes, looking at Lu Chen, who was standing against a backdrop of snowy mountains and still wearing the brass ring on his hand, and stammered:
"Bo... Boss?"
Lu Chen's thoughts were pulled back.
It was over.
For his first portal practice, he had opened it right into Wanda's home.
The Ancient One stood behind, shifting her gaze from the portal to Lu Chen's face.
"It seems you have already found the place you are most familiar with."
Lu Chen: "..."
On the other side, Wanda looked at the bald woman beside Lu Chen, and the red light in her hands actually brightened a fraction.
"Boss, where did you go? What is this door about?"
Lu Chen looked at her, a few explanations flashing rapidly through his mind.
Went to see the Ancient One?
Learning magic?
Just wanted to see what you were doing just now?
Better not say the last answer.
Otherwise, opening this portal would be way too coincidental.
"I am in Kamar-Taj."
Lu Chen could only tell the truth.
Wanda's gaze crossed past him, looking at the Ancient One behind him.
The Ancient One nodded to her.
Noticing the Ancient One's gaze, Wanda's guard finally dissipated a bit, though she still didn't put away the magic in her hands.
"Kamar-Taj? What kind of place is that? When did you go there?"
"Just now."
"Is this a portal? Why did you open the door to my place? Do you have something to do with me?"
This question was asked very bluntly.
Lu Chen hadn't expected that as soon as he learned portals, he would have to face this kind of soul-searching interrogation.
He fell silent for two seconds and replied: "Because I'm more familiar with that place?"
Wanda was stunned.
The red light in her hands slowly dimmed, while a slight blush rose on her face.
The Ancient One picked up her teacup, took a gentle sip, and acted as if she had suddenly lost interest in this lesson.
Lu Chen's temple twitched. Looking at the Ancient One next to him with a look of eager spectatorship, he had to find something for her to do.
"Master, since you've seen it all, why not teach her along the way?"