Chinatown.
Lanterns hung everywhere, and a festive atmosphere permeated the air.
Accompanied by the sound of drums and music, a lion dance team appeared, surrounded mostly by Chinese people, but also various foreigners of different skin colors.
Seeing familiar faces and hearing accents he hadn't heard in a long time, Rimuru felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart.
Like Rimuru, the Avengers also felt a deep sense of emotion.
Humans are social animals, and in this atmosphere, it was impossible not to be affected.
Natasha smiled, "Oh, it's really lively. It seems we came at the right time!"
Hawkeye also smiled. As an agent, he had some understanding of Chinese customs.
Such extensive lantern displays usually only appeared during major festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, and Lantern Festival.
Especially during the Spring Festival, the White House would even light up in celebration.
Dr. Banner looked around, quite nervous.
Ever since he became Hulk, he hadn't dared to appear in such a lively area for a very long time.
The noisy lion dance made his nerves tight, fearing something might happen.
As for Captain Rogers, he was purely curious and fascinated.
Before he fell into slumber, the Eastern powerhouse was still very weak, with limited influence in the world, so he had never experienced the charm of Eastern festivals.
After waking up, he was either in the base or busy adapting, and recently, he had been directly pulled into Asgard to fight against legendary gods and demons.
This was something he couldn't have imagined seventy years ago.
Led by Rimuru, the "old horse," everyone finally chose a hot pot restaurant.
This hot pot restaurant advertised itself as "authentic," but it had actually undergone some modifications.
Soon after they sat down, they were drawn to the large television in the hall.
Perhaps because it was Chinatown, the TV was broadcasting a program from the Eastern powerhouse's international channel.
The program began with a world perspective.
Northern Hemisphere, scorching summer.
The ground steamed with heat, and cicadas chirped incessantly.
Pedestrians sweated profusely; in offices, the air conditioning was set to the lowest temperature, yet it still felt insufficient; asphalt roads melted from the heat.
Beaches with bikinis, mountains for summer retreats, traveling to the Southern Hemisphere to experience the starkly opposite icy cold of home.
Through the TV, seeing the scorching bits and pieces, the impression given was—this was a scorching summer!
As the perspective constantly switched between various countries, different skin colors, and different languages across the world, a sense of grand internationalism suddenly emerged.
This summer was not only hot, but the entire world was very hot.
New York, London, Paris, Berlin, * * *
Then, there was a sudden drop in world temperature.
People who had just been cheering at the cooling, enjoying the cool breeze, were suddenly shivering from the cold.
Especially the lightly dressed beautiful women—they were even more "pitifully frozen"!
Light snow, goose feather snow, blizzards—a world of ice and snow!
On the thermometer, the temperature plummeted.
In Shenzhen, a southern city, splashed water turned to ice.
In the northern country, it truly entered a world of ice and snow, rivers froze, and large numbers of fish were frozen in the ice.
Migratory birds flew south, and large numbers of animals began to move in groups towards the southern country, constantly seeing animals frozen to death in the wild due to the cold.
In the ice and snow, everyone looked up at the sky, their eyes filled with worry and fear.
Accompanied by a low, oppressive BGM, the camera switched back and forth between countries around the world.
Politicians rushed around, armies were constantly deployed, and climate experts from various countries were all competing to declare one fact—
Great cooling = world's end!
As the temperature dropped to extremes, the atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.
"No way," "Prepare for the worst," "For the hope of civilization," "For the continuation of the race."
One death sentence after another plunged the world into panic and despair!
Especially when leaders of various countries successively delivered televised speeches, informing their citizens to increase reserves or seek refuge in low latitudes, the atmosphere became extremely oppressive.
World's end!
The Avengers were all silent.
Intelligent individuals like Tony, Banner, and Rimuru had long known through scientific calculations that the great cooling would inevitably have a significant impact on Earth.
But in Asgard, they truly didn't know that during those few hours of Earth's great cooling, Earthlings had endured such terrifying torment.
Supermarkets experienced massive panic buying, people in thick winter clothes breathed out white mist, tearfully began packing their bags, and countries around the world were scrambling to buy "lifesaving tickets" to lower latitudes.
But more common were despair, numbness, and helplessness!
When the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme, it was then released to the fullest!
First were the weather stations around the world, then the thermometers, then the constantly rushing crowds.
The only message they conveyed was, "The cooling has stopped!"
But this was worth more than a thousand words!
Inside the weather stations, countless staff members excitedly stood up, cheering loudly.
Desperate citizens with nowhere to go cried tears of joy.
Homeless people, dragging their families and carrying heavy bags, were moved to tears by the single phrase, "Go home!"
Then came interviews with people from all walks of life in various countries around the world. Most expressed fear but also gratitude, stating that they would protect Mother Earth better in the future and live more fully.
However, an interview with a young girl among them deeply touched the Avengers.
"At that time, everyone said it was the end of the world, and our family couldn't buy enough tickets to go south. Then my parents fought over who would stay. My younger brother is still small and hasn't been weaned yet, so Mom had to go; without Dad, she might not even find a job after reaching the equator, so Dad had to follow. Therefore, me staying was the best option!"
Reporter: "Were you scared then?"
Girl: "Of course I was scared. Watching my parents pack their luggage, I kept holding back tears, but once I returned to my room, I hid under the covers and cried secretly."
The reporter choked up, "What happened later?"
Girl: "Then the weather turned warm, and the panic seemed to disappear all at once. I don't know why the weather turned warm, but I just want to express my gratitude. Thank Him for saving me, for saving my parents and my younger brother!"
Gratitude?
Even without knowing the object of their gratitude, they just wanted to express it!
The Avengers were deeply moved, and even Rimuru felt an inexplicable emotion.
At this moment, Rimuru even gained a whole new understanding of what it means to be a hero!
A hero may face criticism, may be misunderstood, but as long as they do the right thing, they will surely gain genuine appreciation!
Then, there were one hundred thousand smiling faces collected from nearly seven billion people worldwide.
They included children, the elderly, those with stunning beauty, those with ordinary looks, and even many ugly faces, but at this moment, they were all smiling—smiling exceptionally brightly and beautifully.
"Honored guests, your dishes have been served. Please enjoy!"
Tony Stark, "Wait, there's something with rice and meatballs in this. I don't think we ordered that, did we? And this white wine, or whatever it is? Did any of you order it?"
The waitress smiled sweetly, "Hello, this glutinous rice wine and white wine are complimentary from our small establishment. The manager said that those who can drink alcohol should have the white wine, and those who can't should have the sweet wine. One cup for the past, one cup for tomorrow; one cup for the morning sun, one cup for death!"
Upon hearing this explanation, everyone immediately gave a thumbs up.
After a round of clinking glasses, the Avengers were all slightly tipsy and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
For Tony Stark, the complimentary wine here wasn't particularly good.
But it was definitely the most exhilarating drink he had ever had!
The wine didn't intoxicate them; they were intoxicated by the atmosphere. Towards the end, even Rimuru was a little tipsy.
Especially when he saw on TV, at a certain university in Hainan, students happily singing "Has the Broken Bridge Ever Snowed?" on a stone arch bridge, Rimuru felt an inexpressible emotion.
In the northern country, snow is common; but in the southern country, not snowing for over a decade is common.
This time, the weather was abnormal, with even Hainan experiencing snow accumulation, which was simply unimaginable.
The students could still happily sing "Has the Broken Bridge Ever Snowed?" instead of developing a phobia of snow. This was the greatest encouragement to the Avengers after their battle in Asgard!
The Avengers after their battle in Asgard!
...
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