"Don't say you missed me—I won't accept it!" Xu Dan said with a smile as he summoned the cube.
"Well then, what are you planning to do?" Banner asked curiously.
By now, Banner had gained considerable understanding of the Infinity Stones. There were six in total across the universe. The Sorcerer had brought one before, and the last time Xu Dan visited, he had taken two back with him.
Only six in the entire universe.
And now, half of them were here.
The universe was vast beyond measure. Against its macroscopic backdrop, Earth was not even a grain of sand. Humanity was smaller still.
Yet this tiny race possessed three of the six rare Infinity Stones.
A species that created miracles.
Seeing Xu Dan summon the cube again, Banner almost suspected he had acquired yet another Infinity Stone.
That would have been absurd.
"I'm going to open up new territory," Xu Dan explained. "I want to create a new world. Ideally, its time ratio can be adjusted according to need. Right now, everyone's using three times acceleration. I want to see if I can push it to ten times."
He paused.
"By the way, aren't you researching something lately? If you enter the virtual world to study, you'd have far more time. It's popular worldwide now."
Banner scratched his head awkwardly and gave a shy smile.
"I'm studying a strange illness. Ah—it's the little princess of Country Y. In short… it's about saving a life."
"That serious?" Xu Dan asked as he glanced at the Time Gem embedded in the cube.
Truthfully, he felt no emotional attachment to some distant princess. Compared to global matters, an individual was negligible.
If she died, she died.
He would feel nothing.
But Banner cared deeply, and out of consideration for his friend, Xu Dan asked further.
"They say it's a physical illness, but her body shows nothing abnormal. They say it's psychological, but the child is completely normal," Banner explained, still sounding perplexed.
"Could it be a mutant awakening? I've seen similar symptoms before—someone appeared ill, then 'died,' only to awaken superpowers afterward."
"No. I've tested that possibility. The chance of her being a mutant is very low."
"That's troublesome," Xu Dan said. "If it can wait until I finish building the new world, I'll give you ten times acceleration inside. That should speed up your research."
"That would be incredible!"
Xu Dan did not reply again. He closed his eyes, clearing his thoughts.
Gu Yi had once warned him: when cultivating, discard distractions; when using the Infinity Stones, maintain purity of mind.
That power was too immense.
One careless thought—and he might destroy himself.
Or the world.
Neither outcome was acceptable.
Magic swirled at Xu Dan's fingertips, forming green rings engraved with arcane seals. He pressed his right hand, wrapped in a Time Charm, against the Time Gem.
In that instant—
A world manifested.
It resembled the world of "Jedi." Vast. Empty. It appeared to be the new copy the Red Queen had just generated.
But this virtual world normally required a gaming helmet to enter.
How had he arrived here directly?
"Strange…"
He attempted to summon the system panel to log out.
Nothing happened.
A flicker of unease surfaced.
He looked down at his body. It appeared identical to his in-game avatar—but he was absolutely certain now:
This was not a string of data.
This was a physical body.
If he died here, he would die for real.
"Something's wrong. How did I even get here?"
That was the real question.
Moments ago, he had stood in Banner's clean laboratory.
Now he stood in a desolate wasteland.
Why hadn't he reacted more strongly?
Why did he instead feel a subtle urge to adapt… to accept this world… even to stay here forever?
"Strange…"
Then realization struck.
"This is the Mind Gem's influence!"
The creation of a new world had unconsciously connected to the Mind Stone.
This was not a true virtual world.
It was an illusion.
No wonder summoning the game panel had failed.
Xu Dan raised his left hand. Golden light gathered, forming a Mind Spell.
As the spell manifested, the surrounding world trembled—and collapsed.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the white laboratory.
He exhaled slowly.
"No wonder Gu Yi kept repeating: be careful. Be careful. Be careful."
If he had not reacted in time, he might have been trapped within that illusion forever.
It had been a powerful psychological suggestion.
He had never liked the world of "Jedi" enough to stay permanently.
Yet under the Mind Gem's influence, he had nearly accepted the idea of remaining there forever.
That was the terrifying part.
It killed without bloodshed.
Had he truly succumbed, he might have forgotten reality entirely—forgotten the Mind Spell—while his physical body outside slipped into a vegetative state.
Fortunately, his natural aversion to that world allowed him to break free quickly.
He silently resolved to heed Gu Yi's warnings in the future.
The Infinity Stones were not toys.
Keeping the Mind Spell active in his left hand, Xu Dan focused once more on the Time Gem with his right.
Only now did he truly appreciate how formidable Gu Yi had been. She had adjusted a threefold acceleration effortlessly.
That required not just sensitivity to time—
But precision.
Xu Dan admitted he could not yet match that level.
So instead of leaping straight to tenfold acceleration, he began with something simpler.
Double speed.
Twice the time.
Not as impressive as "Jedi."
But this was practice.
-----------------------
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