The group returned to the quinjet. On the way back, the atmosphere in the cabin was completely different from when they arrived, tense and strained.
Tony took off his armor, but he didn't go to the bar for a drink like he usually did. Instead, he crossed his arms, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Huai, who was sitting by the window with his eyes closed. His brows were knitted into a knot, and his expression was like a scientist who had encountered data he couldn't understand at all—both confused and eager to investigate.
"Hey, Lin," Tony finally couldn't hold it in anymore and spoke up, "let's talk."
Lin Huai opened his eyes and looked at him.
"That Robot just now—I analyzed its design, and it was full of a retro Steampunk feel." Tony's speech was fast, as if he were conducting an academic inquiry. "Those three questions involve a complete system of faith and history that has never been recorded. I can't find any entries about the Church of Machinery or Roselle Gustav in my database, and I guarantee S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have them either."
He leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "So, how do you know? Some kind of telepathy, or... is The Fool a super-database, and you have direct access to retrieve information?"
Before Lin Huai could reply, Dr. Banner nearby also adjusted his glasses. His tone was gentler, but his curiosity was no less as he added, "Lin Huai, I'm more concerned about your state. Before answering the second question, you clearly went into a daze for a moment, just like... just like you had personally experienced that scene. That way of obtaining knowledge doesn't seem like simply 'knowing'; it's more like a segment of sealed 'memory' being awakened."
Natasha didn't say anything, but she stopped cleaning her weapon and listened intently. This pertained to the risk assessment of Lin Huai as an unstable factor.
Facing the trio's questions, Lin Huai remained silent for a moment. He didn't show that mysterious smile of having everything under control; instead, he was somewhat frank, with a touch of confusion that even he didn't quite understand.
"I don't know," he shook his head gently.
"What?" This answer was completely unexpected for Tony.
"I can't explain the process to you." Lin Huai leaned back in his seat, his voice very soft. "When that Robot asked the questions, the answers... they just naturally popped into my head with clear logic and full details. It was as if... I was supposed to know them all along, like common knowledge that I had forgotten and then remembered."
He looked at his palm, his gaze somewhat drifting. "I don't even know where this 'common knowledge' comes from. It's just there; when I need it, it comes out on its own."
As soon as he said this, the cabin became even quieter. Compared to an explainable database, this kind of Apocalypse-style knowledge, whose source even the person himself couldn't explain, was clearly more eerie and unpredictable.
Tony opened his mouth but ultimately didn't press further. He just gave Lin Huai a deep look, then shifted his gaze to the black metal box at his feet, his expression becoming extremely complex.
---
Back in New York. The top-floor laboratory of Stark Tower.
Tony was like he'd been injected with adrenaline, dragging Dr. Banner along as they stayed in the lab for over a dozen hours straight. Those two Beyonder items from the Church of Machinery gave him a startling, almost instinctive sense of compatibility.
"Bruce, do you see this? Do you see this!!!" Tony held up that primitive iron hammer, excited like a child who had just received a new toy. "It doesn't rely on energy or physical formulas; it speaks of a kind of... 'Rule'!"
He showed his research results to Banner: "This hammer can easily shatter the stable structures of those Beyonder characteristics Lin told us about, decomposing them into the most primitive materials! It even works on many Beyonder materials; it's a hammer-style matter decomposer."
"What about the price Lin mentioned?" Dr. Banner keenly pointed out the issue.
Tony's excitement stalled, and his expression turned a bit strange. "The side effects... are also quite interesting. For about three hours after every use, my brain completely fails to comprehend anything non-mechanical. Just now... I spent ten minutes and still couldn't figure out how to put this T-shirt on."
Dr. Banner pushed up his glasses, imagined the scene, and wisely didn't laugh out loud.
Tony then pointed to the head-mounted microscope: "This one is even more incredible; I call it the 'Rule Analyzer.' It can directly identify things, allowing me to see the 'Rules' deep within matter. The greater my knowledge reserve, the faster the identification. But its side effect is... it consumes a massive amount of energy, my own bio-energy, I suspect. I just used it to glance at that potted plant on your desk, and now I feel like I haven't eaten for days."
"It's simply the perfect tool!" Tony concluded, his eyes fanatical. "I want to use this hammer right now to create a true, perfect Beyonder item! But I need an experimental material, one that's stable enough and filled with mysterious power..."
Before he could finish, the lab door was pushed open, and Lin Huai walked in.
"Looking for this?"
Lin Huai took out a lead box and retrieved the dark grey crystal from inside.
It was precisely the Sequence 7 Werewolf Beyonder characteristic.
"A gift for you, my Master Artificer." Lin Huai winked at Tony. "Use that clever brain of yours to have some fun with this gift from an unknown high-Sequence powerhouse."
Tony's breathing quickened instantly. He stared at that Beyonder characteristic as if he were seeing a new Universe.
Before he could get his hands on it, the encrypted phone from Fury in Lin Huai's pocket rang.
Lin Huai answered the phone. Before he could speak, Fury's complex voice, suppressed with anger yet tinged with a bit of schadenfreude, came through:
"Lin Huai, your 'waste utilization' plan is getting a bit out of hand."
"How so?" Lin Huai raised an eyebrow.
"During the time you were 'treasure hunting' at the North Pole," Fury's voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth, "that out-of-control 'ghost' has turned Texas upside down. Several lines within S.H.I.E.L.D. have reported that the team Pierce sent to capture the Ghost Rider... suffered heavy losses and is nearly wiped out. For the first time, HYDRA has experienced what 'powerlessness' feels like in the face of a supernatural creature."
"Doesn't that suit your heart's desire?" Lin Huai chuckled.
"Yes! But now Pierce is completely infuriated!!!" Fury's voice suddenly rose. "He's now certain that the 'Ghost Rider' was brought here by you, or is some out-of-control trump card in your hand. Just now, he pressured me through the Council, demanding that I—S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury—must have you, the 'heroic consultant who is recuperating from heavy injuries after confronting Mephisto,' get out there immediately and clean up this mess!"
On the other end of the phone, Fury paused, his voice becoming very playful:
"So, Consultant Lin, when does this'severely injured person'... plan to 'recover'?"