"Luke, you said before… is there really a way to save my universe?"
While Luke was deep in thought, Gwen suddenly spoke.
Her expression was conflicted, yet filled with hope.
"Even if our world is destroyed by that God of Annihilation, can it really be restored to how it was?"
Luke hadn't expected her to bring this up so suddenly. He paused for a moment before answering, "I have an idea. In theory, it should be possible."
Gwen pressed on, "What idea?"
Luke no longer hid it. "We can try reversing time, sending your universe back to before its destruction."
Hearing this, the light in Gwen's eyes dimmed instantly.
"It's useless. The Spider-Alliance controls interdimensional travel. While crossing dozens, even hundreds of universes, they already discovered something terrifying within the River of Time in our universe."
"Trying to alter the past through time travel could easily trigger a backlash."
Luke did not deny it. He nodded. "I know. Eternity, the one who governs time, has already fallen into darkness… or rather, it is no longer itself."
"We need to find a way to kill or seal Eternity, or at least hide from it. Only then can we save your world."
"I can do it, but not now. I need time to grow stronger. After all, our enemies are most likely the two unknown evil gods at the very peak of this multiverse."
Gwen pursed her lips, suddenly regretting asking.
Luke had nothing to do with her. How could she ask him to risk his life fighting those two terrifying gods of destruction, the very ones who had driven the Spider-Alliance into despair?
It was far too selfish.
Gwen felt as though countless ants were gnawing at her heart. The thought of the possible cost only made it worse.
"What are you worried about?"
Luke noticed the change in her mood. He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaned in slightly, and teased, "Are you worried about me?"
Gwen lowered her head, staring at the ground, forcing her expression to remain calm as she spoke in the steadiest voice she could manage.
"I'm sorry. Just pretend I never said anything. This has nothing to do with you."
Luke smiled and shook his head. "No, you got one thing wrong."
"I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing it for myself too."
"The moment I came to this world, I was already pulled into the game. Sooner or later, I'll have to face Eternity… and Annihilation."
"Don't feel too burdened. Whether you showed up or not, I would still do this."
"Right now, it's just a matter of saving a universe from the River of Time while I'm at it."
Gwen slowly lifted her head and met Luke's intense gaze.
Under that burning look, her cheeks flushed slightly. "Is that so? In that case… I'll face those bastards with you."
Gwen knew very well that things were not as simple as Luke made them sound.
With Luke's strength and mysterious abilities, even if he couldn't win, he could still escape this universe. There was no reason for him to stay and die alongside them.
In fact, after learning this desperate truth, part of the Spider-Alliance had already tried to find a way out.
But after traveling across universe after universe, they encountered a despair-inducing barrier at the edge of those worlds.
A Wall.
A World Wall of unimaginable scale, stretching across countless universes, its height impossible to measure.
None of their methods could break through it, as if something had deliberately placed it there to prevent everything inside from escaping.
The Wall severed all communication between the inside and the outside, cutting off their hope completely.
The Spider-Alliance could only continue recruiting members, advancing their technology, gathering information, and attempting to break the Wall or reach the outside world through the Web of Life and Destiny.
Gwen believed that the Wall might be able to trap the Spider-Alliance, but it wouldn't be able to trap Luke.
She didn't know why, but an inexplicable intuition made her believe it firmly.
At the same time, her Spider-Sense kept urging her forward.
It was telling her to follow Luke.
She didn't understand the reason behind this feeling, but she chose to trust it.
Because she had no better option.
Lost in her thoughts, Gwen didn't even notice when their hands had intertwined, their fingers tightly clasped together.
"Alright, stop overthinking. Just enjoy the moment. No matter what happens in the future, at least right now, we can still chat and go shopping freely, can't we?"
Luke led Gwen away just like that.
She didn't resist, allowing him to guide her forward.
"Wait… wait!"
"Mr. Luke… I finally found you."
A hurried female voice came from behind, and soon Sharon Carter arrived nearby, panting lightly.
Luke glanced at her heaving chest, a faint smile on his lips. "Sharon Carter, as my liaison, is Nick Fury unwilling to pay for you to rent a villa?"
Sharon rolled her eyes and answered honestly, "Mr. Tony Stark is unwilling."
They had wanted to, but the only villa next to Luke's belonged to Tony Stark.
More importantly, Tony was even richer than S.H.I.E.L.D.
They simply couldn't afford it.
Luke had already expected this and said casually, "It's fine, you can stay at my place. But you're not allowed to bring any surveillance or recording devices, and you're not allowed to take photos without my permission."
"Ah? Is that… okay?"
Sharon instinctively agreed, but immediately felt something was off.
Luke's house had either his woman or his daughter living in it. What would it mean for her to move in?
Her face instantly flushed red. A series of dramatic scenarios flashed through her mind, like The Overbearing God Falls for Me.
If Luke tried to force himself on her, what should she do? It seemed… she wouldn't be able to resist at all. If that really happened, maybe she could only grit her teeth and endure it.
After who knew how long, Sharon finally snapped back to reality and saw Luke and Gwen looking at her as if she were a fool. She immediately wished she could disappear on the spot.
This is too embarrassing. What was I even thinking?
"Stop standing there in a daze. Let's go."
Luke shook his head, speechless. She really was an inexperienced rookie. With this level of professionalism, no wonder Nick Fury had sent her as a liaison. She would probably thank someone even after being sold out.
The three of them took a shortcut in the Hell Bumblebee, driving straight onto the sea and speeding toward the seaside villa district after leaving the city.
Tony Stark was in his underground workshop, tinkering with an Iron Man suit. When he saw the Hell Bumblebee driving across the sea, wrapped in flames, he couldn't help but blurt out, "What the hell?"
"Jarvis, is that Luke's Bumblebee?"
Although its appearance had changed drastically, Tony, who had admired Bumblebee countless times, could still vaguely recognize some similarities.
"Cross-referencing indicates a sixty percent probability of a match with Bumblebee, sir."
Tony's eyes turned red with envy. "Sob.. Transformers can actually do this? Driving across the sea, wrapped in flames like it's nothing? And that speed… at least Mach 3, right?"
"Damn it, why do I feel insanely jealous? Sob.."
"Sir, perhaps you require a tissue."
"No, I need that car!"
Tony imagined himself sitting in the driver's seat, piloting that domineering flame war machine, dominating every racetrack… It was irresistible.
He quickly walked out. Just as he stepped outside, he saw the Hell Bumblebee parked nearby.
"Luke, are you selling this Bumblebee? I'll offer one hundred billion dollars!"
No man could refuse a car like this. It could transform, breathe fire, act as a bodyguard, show off, and more. In one word: perfect.
Even the Iron Man suit suddenly felt less appealing.
Luke had just stepped out of the car. Hearing this, he replied without turning his head, "Not for sale."
"Don't be like that. I think you should sell it. How about one hundred twenty billion? You've got plenty of other cars anyway, you don't need this one."
Tony pressed on enthusiastically.
"It's not even night yet. Go get some sleep. You can have whatever you want in your dreams."
Luke's meaning was clear. Keep dreaming.
Tony sighed regretfully, already wondering if he could build something similar with his own intelligence.
Luke suddenly turned around and took out a small white bottle marked with a skull.
"Oh, right. I think you might need this."
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