Chapter 248: Zhao Zheng, the Cosmic Tyrant's Nightmare

Chapter 248: Zhao Zheng, the Cosmic Tyrant's Nightmare

"In the beginning, the universe was in a state of chaos."

"Then, the cosmic explosion occurred, forming six Elemental Gems, each representing a fundamental power of the universe."

"These are the Infinity Gems!"

In the New York Sanctuary.

Wong was explaining the significance of the Infinity Gems to the group.

The audience included Iron Man, Bruce Banner, and Zhao Zheng.

As for Spider-Man, he had already been sent away by Stark...

"Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, and... Time!"

When Wong mentioned the Time Gem, Doctor Strange took the initiative to cast a spell, showing the Time Gem in his hand to everyone.

"This is the Time Gem."

Doctor Strange slowly explained, "Once Thanos obtains all six Infinity Gems, he can do anything, even reshape the universe!"

Stark immediately asked, "Then why don't we just destroy the Time Gem? That way, Thanos won't be able to get all six gems."

"No!" Doctor Strange firmly replied, "Guarding the Time Gem is our mission!"

From his expression, it was clear that this was non-negotiable! Stark was a bit displeased, but he didn't dwell on it. Pointing to Umber Throat and Black Dwarf on the ground beside him, he said, "So, these two guys suddenly appeared in New York to take the Time Gem from you?"

Doctor Strange nodded.

Umber Throat suddenly shouted, "You pathetic humans, you can never imagine the power of our master! He will make you pay dearly!"

"Can you shut him up, Doctor?" Stark asked.

Doctor Strange performed a spell, and Umber Throat instantly became unable to make a sound.

As for Black Dwarf, he was playing dead.

"Banner, according to you, the Power Gem is already in Thanos' possession, and the Space Gem is about to fall into his hands as well, right?" Stark asked again.

Banner nodded, his expression grave. "He also killed Thor!"

Upon hearing this, Stark fell silent for a moment.

That big guy was also a member of the Avengers!

"So, Thanos already has two gems in his possession." Stark turned to Doctor Strange and asked, "What kind of power does Thanos have with these two gems?"

Doctor Strange thought for a moment and replied solemnly, "The Space Gem allows him to appear anywhere in the universe at any time, and the Power Gem grants him infinite strength. With these two gems, no one can stop him."

Upon hearing this, Stark immediately spoke up, "We can't let the battlefield be on Earth! Doctor, you're good at drawing circles, right? Take the gem and find a hidden corner in the universe to hide!"

"It's useless." Doctor Strange shook his head. "There's a connection between the gems. No matter where I hide, Thanos will find me."

As soon as he said this, Stark and Banner frowned deeply.

With the Space Gem, Thanos could teleport anywhere, and the connection between the gems made it an unsolvable situation.

Seeing everyone's furrowed brows, Zhao Zheng felt that his opportunity had arrived.

"I have an idea!"

As everyone's gaze turned towards him, Zhao Zheng continued, "I'm quite confident in my abilities. Doctor, perhaps you can try giving the gem in your hand to me for safekeeping?"

Everyone was a bit surprised by Zhao Zheng's suggestion.

Before Doctor Strange could object, Zhao Zheng spoke again, "Doctor, the Time Gem should have the power to control time, right? Can you use it to glimpse into the future? If so, you can observe what the future holds with the gem in my hands..."

"If I fail, then forget I ever made this suggestion."

Stark was astonished and turned to Doctor Strange, "You can see the future?"

Doctor Strange paused before replying, "I'll give it a try."

Without hesitation, he cast a spell, using the power of the Time Gem to peer into the future.

During this process, Doctor Strange's entire body trembled and shook, as if he were having a seizure!

Zhao Zheng was also curious about what future Doctor Strange would see.

...

This seizure-like state lasted only a few dozen seconds before Doctor Strange stopped.

Everyone immediately perked up, knowing that a result had been reached.

When Doctor Strange opened his eyes, he didn't hesitate and directly handed the Time Gem to Zhao Zheng with great solemnity.

Stark was shocked and asked curiously, "Doctor, won't you tell us what future you saw?"

Wong was even more surprised.

However, he knew that the choices of the Sorcerer Supreme always had a deeper meaning, and he wouldn't interfere.

Doctor Strange didn't answer Stark. Instead, he looked at Zhao Zheng with deep meaning in his eyes and said, "Please take good care of it..."

It was clear.

He had seen a brand new future.

Seeing this, Zhao Zheng dropped his pretense and revealed a confident smile. He took the Time Gem from Doctor Strange.

The moment the gem touched his hand, he felt an indescribable special energy spreading throughout his body.

However, he couldn't use this energy just yet.

The Time Stone was not as straightforward as the Power Stone; it required a special vessel or magical means to activate it.

As soon as the stone was in his possession, Zhao Zheng heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

He no longer had to worry about Thanos snapping his fingers without him knowing.

For Thanos to snap his fingers, he would have to obtain the Time Stone from Zhao Zheng first.

"After stopping Thanos, I'll return the stone to its rightful owner!" Zhao Zheng declared.

"I believe you," Doctor Strange replied with a meaningful smile.

"Can you two not whisper?" Stark interjected, "What did you see, Sorcerer? Can you share it with us as well?"

"We'll talk about it later!" Doctor Strange said as he quickly drew a teleportation circle. "Time is of the essence. We need to split up. Tony, Banner, follow me."

"Where are we going?" Banner asked, bewildered.

"To gather everyone, find Vision, and take him to Wakanda. We'll perform surgery to remove the Mind Stone from his forehead," Doctor Strange explained swiftly. "Tony, you'll need to create a gauntlet capable of harnessing the stones based on their properties!"

"Wakanda? Where is that?"

Banner was even more confused.

He hadn't been on Earth when Black Panther was active.

Doctor Strange didn't elaborate further, simply saying, "You'll find out when you get there."

Stark was astonished. "That stone has already merged with Vision. How can Black Panther's technology separate them?"

"Yes," Doctor Strange nodded.

Stark turned his gaze to Zhao Zheng. "What about him?"

"He's going to sunbathe in outer space!" Doctor Strange replied.

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng smiled.

He understood everything.

Doctor Strange must have asked Tony to create the Infinity Gauntlet for him...

He had been worried about the possibility of heavy casualties among the superheroes during their resistance against Thanos.

Now, with Doctor Strange's plan and assistance, he didn't have to worry anymore.

Zhao Zheng was eager to see the future that Doctor Strange had foreseen.

But he didn't ask further.

"Okay, then we'll meet again later!"

As his words fell, Zhao Zheng suddenly soared into the sky.

"Boom!"

The deafening sonic boom startled both Stark and Banner.

"Is this guy... really human?" Banner couldn't help but ask.

No one answered him.

...

In just a moment, Zhao Zheng had flown into outer space.

Instantly, the prompt in his left eye changed.

【You absorb sunlight: Physique +0.2, Spirit +0.1, Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2...】

【You absorb sunlight: Physique +0.2, Spirit +0.1, Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2...】

【You absorb sunlight: Physique +0.2, Spirit +0.1, Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2...】

Without the atmosphere's obstruction, his sunlight absorption efficiency doubled!

Zhao Zheng didn't fly closer to the sun but hovered in Earth's outer space.

He was afraid of flying too far, fearing that if Qin Muyin encountered danger, he wouldn't be able to rescue her in time.

As long as he was in outer space without the atmosphere's obstruction, the distance from the sun didn't matter; the absorption effect would be the same.

Watching the numbers constantly flickering in his left eye, Zhao Zheng couldn't contain his excitement.

Then, he began silently calculating...

"One minute is 60 seconds, one hour is 3600 seconds, and one day is 24 hours, which is 86,400 seconds!"

"On average, every second, my physique increases by +0.2, spirit by +0.1, strength by +0.2, and agility by +0.2..."

"In one day, my physique, strength, and agility attributes will increase by 17,280 points? Even my spirit attribute will increase by 8,640 points?"

"And Qin Muyin's mission this time lasts for three whole days!"

"At this rate, if I stay in outer space sunbathing for the next three days, my physique, strength, and agility attributes will increase by over 50,000 points, and with my original attributes, I'll be close to 60,000 points!"

Wow.

He hadn't realized the potential until he did the math.

The numbers shocked him.

Zhao Zheng's current strength attribute was not even 8,000 points, yet he could already punch through the abyss and bring immense catastrophe to an entire province.

If his strength attribute reached 60,000 points, he couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful he would become!

It wouldn't be as simple as being seven or eight times stronger than he was now.

As his attributes increased, his Kryptonian bloodline would also grow stronger, and he might even unlock new talent abilities...

Perhaps.

By then, he might become a true god-level powerhouse, capable of destroying planets with a single punch!

At this thought, Zhao Zheng was thrilled.

He guessed that Doctor Strange must have foreseen his potential and was willing to entrust the Time Stone to him for safekeeping.

As for whether he could stay in outer space for three consecutive days, the answer is a resounding yes!

With his Bio-Force Field, he can survive in the vacuum of space for an extended period.

If he were near the Sun, he could survive even longer.

The sunlight alone could provide the energy his body needs, allowing him to go without food or water.

...

In the blink of an eye, more than two days had passed.

Suddenly, a multi-colored light descended from the distant reaches of space, landing on Earth.

Zhao Zheng, who was meditating in space, seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, Zhao Zheng exuded an aura that was awe-inspiring.

As he opened his eyes, he appeared godlike, with an aura of divine might.

The satellites monitoring him seemed unable to withstand his divine aura, malfunctioning and causing chaos at a ground control center...

Looking at the multi-colored light that had landed on Earth, Zhao Zheng recognized it as Asgard's Rainbow Bridge.

Surely, it was Thor, having acquired Storm's Axe, who had arrived.

Zhao Zheng didn't rush to catch up.

Instead, he first opened his Attribute Panel...

Race: Human.

Physical Constitution: 50,176

Spirit: 23,945

Strength: 50,176

Agility: 50,176

Talent: Rumble Fruit Ability, Kryptonian Bloodline [Steel Skin MAX, Super Strength MAX, Super Speed MAX, Super Flight MAX, Heat Ray MAX, Cold Breath MAX, Super Hearing MAX]



Skills: Bone Fist Impact, Armored Color Domination, Extraordinary Sense, Tyrant Color Aura (Master)



Support Ability: Dimensional Space

Spirit Points: 2,445

...

These were Zhao Zheng's current attributes.

The word 'explosive' couldn't even begin to describe them...

Calling Zhao Zheng a god wouldn't be an exaggeration!

Not only had his four basic attributes skyrocketed to over seventeen thousand, but his Kryptonian Bloodline talents were also almost fully maxed out.

Each ability now had a 'MAX' label instead of a level.

'MAX' translates to the highest or maximum level.

Yes, Zhao Zheng's Kryptonian Bloodline was almost entirely maxed out.

Abilities like 'Steel Skin, Super Strength, Super Speed, and Super Flight' had reached a maximum of ten times their original power!

In other words, Zhao Zheng's strength attribute wasn't just 50,000 points, but a whopping 500,000!

This was an incredible feat!

Although Zhao Zheng hadn't tested it yet, he knew his full-power punch would be devastating.

Destroying the heavens and earth would be the bare minimum.

And this was without even utilizing his Armored Color Domination or Immortal Demon Body.

With these additional powers, even Zhao Zheng himself didn't know the extent of his strength!

Furthermore, among his Kryptonian Bloodline abilities, he had also unlocked the talents of 'Super Hearing' and 'Cold Breath'.

These abilities were quite impressive, especially 'Cold Breath', which allowed Zhao Zheng to exhale air at temperatures below minus two hundred degrees, freezing everything in its path.

It was similar to the power of the Natural Devil Fruit, the 'Ice-Ice Fruit'.

These abilities, bestowed upon any Extraordinary Being, would create a formidable warrior.

However, in Zhao Zheng's case, they seemed a bit underwhelming...

His other abilities were simply too powerful!

And there was also the 'Heat Ray'!

Although it had reached MAX status, its maximum temperature likely didn't exceed five thousand degrees. While it was a formidable attack for others, it was somewhat lackluster for Zhao Zheng.

The destruction caused by a single punch from Zhao Zheng far surpassed that of the Heat Ray.

Among the many talent abilities, the most useful was undoubtedly the 'Bio-Force Field'!

A Level 5 Bio-Force Field enabled Zhao Zheng to adapt perfectly to the space environment.

With sufficient strength, he could even propel planets at rapid speeds!

Previously, when Zhao Zheng flew with others, he had to slow down to prevent them from disintegrating due to air resistance, as his Bio-Force Field wasn't strong enough to protect them.

Now, he could effortlessly fly with others at a hundred times the speed of sound, unaffected by air resistance!

Without exaggeration, Zhao Zheng had become a true monster!

...

Zhao Zheng was extremely satisfied with his gains over the past two days.

Clenching his fist, the surging sense of infinite power within his body further boosted his confidence.

Then, his gaze turned towards Earth.

With his maxed-out Super Vision, he could effortlessly see through the atmosphere, observing everything on the ground.

His vision surpassed even the mythical 'Thousand-Mile Eye'!

---

(PS: The big climax is coming, so please continue to support with monthly votes. Today is the last day of the month, and we're almost at 1900 votes. I wonder if the generous readers can help push the monthly votes past 2000, so this little author can earn an extra 100 yuan in royalties... If we reach 2000 votes before 24:00 on the 31st, there will be an extra chapter tomorrow!)



(End of Chapter)

Chapter end