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“Did you see the black cat on the deck just now? It’s quite pretty, a good cat to keep as a pet,” Scarlett said softly.

"A black cat?" Corey blinked. He had been watching Scarlett from the deck and had never seen a cat before. But this was the first time Scarlett had made a request, so he had to fulfill it. "Don't worry, we'll contact them now and find the most noble and docile black cat."

Scarlett could tell from Corey's expression that he was just going along with what she was saying, so she ignored him and walked away.

"Did you see when it disappeared?" Scarlett asked after returning to the shadows.

“No, I didn’t notice at all…” Natasha said gravely.

They are all top-notch agents. Let alone a cat, even a cockroach would not be able to lose its tracks if they were consciously observing. So there is only one possibility: they have all been influenced.

"What's the next step? How about we try catching a fish to lure the cat out?" Black Widow said.

“We can give it a try, but I personally think we shouldn’t have too high hopes. That cat is no ordinary creature, and the fish that makes it drool must also be something special. But it’s never wrong to give it a try,” Natasha said, pressing her temples.

In the following period, a large group of top agents began to focus their efforts on the Blue Sac Fish, but just as Natasha had guessed.

All the bait that was put in disappeared, but not a single fish was caught. The fishing rod, net, and other fishing tools used all ended up in the fish's stomachs.

Towards the end, some fish even raised their heads, waiting for Natasha and the others to feed them.

The fish seemed to have a hint of mockery in its eyes, as if it were treating this fishing trip like a buffet.

Having taken down countless terrorist organizations and killed countless elite soldiers, Natasha was defeated by a group of fish—this is utterly ridiculous.

Another bell rang, the cruise ship was refreshed once again, and Natasha gained another member.

This time, however, they didn't need to search for clues anymore, because when the bell rang, Ann appeared in the restaurant.

Natasha disregarded her initial assumptions, and five or six Natashas worked together to take control of the entire restaurant. They then stood five meters away, watching Ann.

Act III: The Strange Clock

An looked up at the swaying clock in front of her. From her perspective, the space around the clock rippled with each oscillation.

Following Yang Qiu's instructions, An extended its claws and slapped at the clock, but each time it struck, it hit nothing but air. The clock seemed to become a phantom in front of the claws, completely unaffected.

Natasha also noticed this situation. Guided by this action, she also discovered the clues left by Yang Qiu. Recalling the past, she heard a bell every time the cruise ship refreshed.

However, it now seems that the clock's sound wasn't that loud at all, and it couldn't possibly reach her ears consistently! This is the biggest anomaly!

“It’s gone again!” Scarlett nudged Natasha and gestured toward the clock.

Natasha came to her senses. Indeed, Anne was gone, but the clock was still in the same spot.

"What's the next step? Shall we go check on the clock or wait for the cat to reappear?" Scarlett continued.

"Let's decide by voting," Natasha said, looking at the circle of "herself" around her. She was also very annoyed. What kind of thing was this? All these actions of having to vote on their own decisions looked like something a person with multiple personality disorder would do. It was completely absurd!

Chapter Twenty-One: The Ouroboros

During the vote, Yang Qiu was even more nervous than Natasha. What was wrong with these people? Originally, this script was supposed to be a very short one, but now, a portion of the energy was being used to replicate Natasha. If this continued, the effectiveness of the evolved product would be greatly reduced.

Fortunately, the final result was not unexpected for Yang Qiu. Seeing people exactly like herself around her every day was unbearable for most of the Natashas, ​​so they chose to contact the anomaly point directly.

Natasha, being the first to appear, naturally walked straight to the clock and reached out to touch it.

Click! The moment her hand touched the clock, a clicking sound reached Natasha's ears. Then she found her perspective stretching and stretching until she could see the back of her head and the clock in her hand.

In the eyes of the other Natashas, ​​"themselves" disappeared from their sight after grasping the clock. As they looked at each other in bewilderment, they realized that the distance between themselves and the clock was constantly getting closer and closer.

In the next instant, everyone stood in front of the clock and slowly merged into one.

In Natasha's eyes, the cycles of time connected, and then the image began to flatten and lengthen, turning into a snake, a snake that kept chasing its own tail.

Epilogue: Ouroboros

“Miss Scarlett? What’s wrong?” Corey’s voice brought Natasha back to reality.

"Ah, I'm fine." Natasha came to her senses and found that her surroundings had returned to normal. The movements of everyone around her were unlike anything she had ever seen before. It seemed that she had escaped the time loop.

The touch from her palm made Natasha look down. In her palm lay a small stopwatch, which looked similar to an ordinary old-fashioned stopwatch, only more ornately decorated. The stopwatch's hands were stopped at eight o'clock in the evening.

Is this what has been holding me back for so long?

Natasha was thinking about putting the stopwatch away. This thing was obviously more important than the task Nick Fury had given her before, as it was a tool that could affect time.

With a whoosh, a dark shadow flashed past Natasha's eyes, the stopwatch disappeared instantly, and Natasha drew her gun, aiming it at her left.

There, Ann held the stopwatch handle in her mouth, and the stopwatch swayed back and forth.

"Put the things down!" Natasha gripped her pistol, ready to fire at any moment.

Corey, who was next to her, was terrified. In his mind, this was an unbelievable turn of events—the young lady had pulled a gun out of her skirt and pointed it at a cat?!

Anne raised her right paw and gently patted Natasha. During this process, Natasha's whole body stiffened, and she couldn't pull the trigger at all. At the same time, she felt a burning sensation in her right arm, as if something had burned it.

The next moment, the sound of helicopters came from above the cruise ship, and team after team of agents rappelled down onto the ship and took control of the entire area.

Natasha looked down at her arm, on which was a faint black pattern—the same ouroboros she had seen when she held the stopwatch.

At Yang Qiu's house, An returned with a stopwatch, placed it in Yang Qiu's hand, and then with a flash, jumped directly to the side of the fish tank, his eyes shining as he stared at the blue sac fish inside, his mouth practically watering.

Yang Qiu shook his head. An had done a good job this time, so let it be. Even if it wanted to pounce on the fish and bite it, Yang Qiu had no objection.

Script 5: Cruise Ship

Synopsis: The clock ticks away, yet time seems to thwart its own rhythm. A bizarre scene unfolds aboard an ordinary cruise ship: agents being replicated, a black cat suddenly appearing, and strange fish lurking around the vessel. What is the origin of all this...?

Script evolution result: Pass

Script evolution product: Kieran's stopwatch

The powerful time mage Kieran's research has caused his consciousness to separate from time itself due to side effects. He travels through any point in time, from the present to the future, but he cannot affect reality. The most painful thing in life is knowing that something is going to be lost, but it has not yet happened. In order to solve this problem, Kieran began to try to use time loops to free himself from the sea of ​​time and return to reality. The stopwatch is his creation after his research was completed. Unfortunately, even though the loop is complete, he still cannot escape from the sea of ​​time.

The moment the stopwatch switch is pressed, the user will construct an inner loop based on the current timeline, thereby affecting others' ability to peek at the timeline.

After reading the introduction, Yang Qiu turned on the stopwatch and pressed the start button with his thumb.

A golden clock spun continuously in Yang Qiu's eyes before penetrating his consciousness, completing the construction of the time loop.

In the Marvel universe's Sea of ​​Time, a person suddenly disappears from Earth's timeline. Among countless intertwined and advancing personal timelines, the disappearance of one person is like a drop of water missing from the ocean, going unnoticed.

Huff~ Yang Qiu exhaled and opened his eyes. The whole world seemed to have changed. Although he still couldn't perceive the passage of time, it was as if Yang Qiu had gained an extra sense, making it easier for him to sense the passage of time than others.

To give a simple example, an ordinary person would not perceive the passage of time as it is constantly repeated under the influence of the Time Stone; each time would be the first time for them. Only when one reaches Dormammu's level or has studied and comprehended the rules of time can one perceive the changes in time.

Therefore, the method of using time loops to drag Dormammu away, like Doctor Strange did in the future, is useless against ordinary people. However, there is no need to rely on time loops to win or force a draw against ordinary people.

"Now I'm safe." Yang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to check if her fish and cat were still getting along harmoniously.

Knock knock knock, just then a gentle knocking sound came from the door.

Yang Qiu looked over there and felt something was off, but he couldn't quite figure out what that strange feeling was.

Yang Qiu subconsciously walked to the door and turned the doorknob before realizing it was time!

Just now, time seemed to have become entangled. If we compare time to iron filings evenly distributed throughout the world, then there is now a giant magnet at the doorway.

With a click, the stopwatch made a sound in Yang Qiu's pocket, the spinning hour hand stopped, and the entire stopwatch returned to its original state before it started.

Yang Qiu swallowed hard. On Earth, there should only be one person who could do this!

The door slowly opened, and a bald man appeared in Yang Qiu's eyes. The bald man had a smile on his face, but in Yang Qiu's eyes, that smile seemed to hide endless danger.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Ancient One's Visit

"Young friend, won't you invite me in for a seat?" Gu Yi took her hood off her head, and the evening sunlight shone on her head, reflecting a bright light.

Since the Ancient One had no intention of making a move and had shown her goodwill by openly placing the Time Stone in front of Yang Qiu, Yang Qiu, in accordance with the etiquette of hospitality, invited the Ancient One in.

Speaking of which, the ancestral home of the Ancient One is still China, but it is unknown which dynasty China was 500 years ago.

After pouring himself a cup of tea, Yang Qiu sat down opposite the Ancient One. Looking at the strongest sorcerer on Earth, Yang Qiu felt a complex mix of emotions.

I used to always hide and be afraid of being discovered, but now it seems like I have a bit of a persecution complex.

“Um, Ancient One, may I ask you something? Did you discover me a long time ago? Why did you only come now?” Yang Qiu asked after a moment of silence.

"You're overthinking it. A lot has changed over time. I've seen your assassin named Pike and that monster hunter, but I haven't found you."

Gu Yi took a small sip of tea and said, "However, your actions just now have shown me a way."

"What you just did? You mean this stopwatch?"

“That’s right, there was a sudden fluctuation in the timeline, and based on that fluctuation, I found your current location.”

Yang Qiu's expression turned sour. Good heavens, was this a case of reaping what he sowed?

"Don't be nervous, I'm just here to see who will be the guardians of Earth in the future," the Ancient One reassured her.

"Guardian? Me?" Yang Qiu asked back, he had no such thoughts at the moment.

“Yes, I have seen you and your subordinates make undeniable contributions to protecting the Earth across countless timelines.” Gu Yi said with a faint smile, looking at Yang Qiu with a sense that he had found a worthy successor.

"I don't deserve it, I was probably just trying to protect myself at the time," Yang Qiu said, a little embarrassed.

"Judging by actions, not intentions, for if we judge by intentions, there have been no saints throughout history." Gu Yi's attitude was quite good. "You are Chinese, you should have heard this saying before."

"I'm here to give you some advice and also to talk about the current situation. In the future, you often avoid those heroes when you act, so I suppose you've seen the mainstream timeline, right?"

Yang Qiu nodded; he really didn't want to get involved with Stark and his gang.

“My child, what I want to tell you is that your perspective is too narrow. When facing a crisis from outside Earth, you are on the same side as them. You should unite all forces that can be united.”

Gu Yi said earnestly, "As for differences in their styles of doing things and personalities, I think you have already seen the future of their division, so none of that matters."

Yang Qiu smiled but didn't say anything more.

Seeing Yang Qiu's expression, Gu Yi didn't continue. She changed the subject and started talking about herself, "I don't have much time left. Originally, I planned to proceed according to the original plan in the remaining time. After all, no matter what happens in the end, the Earth cannot completely defend against the void after I'm gone. But your appearance has given me another option."

Yang Qiu touched his nose. Was he really that important? Or was Gu Yi just using a different method to fool him?

"By the way, Ancient One, since you can see into time, why don't you resist the predetermined fact of death?" Yang Qiu asked.

"It's no use for me to resist alone, because Odin is nearing his end. He won't let me live longer than him, and I won't die much sooner than him either," the Ancient One said calmly, stating a cruel reality.

Both she and Odin are among the top deterrents in the universe. On Earth, they would be like nuclear weapons for various factions. Odin could not accept that Asgard would not have nuclear weapons while Earth still did. If the Ancient One did not face death at that time, a battle between the two would be almost inevitable.

"This..." Yang Qiu was speechless for a moment. In the story he knew, Odin was a positive character, but after hearing what the Ancient One said, Odin was not a good person to Earth either.

“Don’t worry too much about this. If the situation were reversed, I would probably make the same choice as him,” the Ancient One said. Since the Ancient One became the Sorcerer Supreme five hundred years ago and Earth was no longer in a de facto vassal state but had become independent from Asgard, she would not allow Earth to return to that vassal state.

"Then what should I do?" Yang Qiu sighed inwardly and said. Facing a true hero like Gu Yi who had dedicated her entire life and time to Earth, he would not refuse if he could do something to help her.