My family runs an adventurer's guild.

As you can imagine, facing a seemingly menacing enemy, the highly skilled and daring Tony was not flustered at all; on the contrary, he was full of excitement and joy!

"...This is...a real space battleship? Amazing! It even has cloaking capabilities! Thank God! I just had this thought, and you granted my wish! How generous! This is exactly what I've wanted most, it deserves a thumbs up and a good review!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

What happened next was, in general, unremarkable; it could hardly be called a battle anymore, but rather a series of real-life flashbacks.

—In fact, to onlookers, the Sorcerer Supreme & Iron Man Tony Stark simply waved his hand, and all the Dark Elves and their spaceships on the banks of the Thames were dragged into a mirror space.

Neither the Dark Elves' razor-sharp fighters nor the futuristic black hole bombs ever got a chance to appear.

Then, Tony casually entered the Mirror Dimension and used the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone, to reverse time for the Dark Elves. As a result, the Dark Elves shut down the engines of their spaceship and automatically retreated into their hibernation pods, returning to a state of hibernation…

Thor, who had been poised to make his move, had just picked up his warhammer when he realized that he might not even have a chance to appear this time.

Ding dong! Congratulations to the Sorcerer Supreme, Mr. Tony Stark, on acquiring a spaceship! Along with a group of dark elf slaves awaiting taming!

Although it is an old version from 5,000 years ago, it is still far more advanced than any spacecraft that mankind currently has.

At least, this is a true spaceship capable of traversing the stars, rather than a "small boat" that can barely climb to planetary orbit.

In short, after successfully capturing the Dark Elf's spaceship, Tony Stark was only focused on his space fleet and interstellar colonization plan, and no longer cared about the mess in London. He simply opened a portal, and irresponsibly left.

Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do, Thor dusted himself off and went to find his girlfriend on Earth, Jane Foster.

Only a group of bystanders remained, staring blankly at the once again collapsed Tower Bridge on the banks of the Thames.

Ultimately, at Nick Fury's prompting, the more responsible first headmaster of Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Captain America Steve Rogers, had no choice but to reluctantly accept the task of surveying a site for the then-established London School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, relying on Phil's friendly assistance.

After careful selection, comparison, and on-site inspection, they ultimately chose Greenwich—not far from London, within the influence of underground spiritual veins, and with relatively convenient transportation. However, it was also quite a distance from the bustling heart of London and the most dangerous and crime-ridden districts. Even during the recent riots and unrest that affected much of Britain, Greenwich remained untouched by the fighting.

The area already boasts numerous historically significant schools, libraries, and research institutions. Furthermore, the zero meridian of the Earth passes through the town, giving it considerable fame and historical significance. Ultimately, both the EU and the UK approved the establishment of a magic school in Greenwich.

Meanwhile, under intense pressure from the EU, the assistance of African countries, the instigation of Middle Eastern countries, and the deliberate inaction of the US, the British government, bewildered to find itself in a vulnerable position, was forced to sign a series of treaties that, in the eyes of British gentlemen, were absolutely humiliating and detrimental to the nation's sovereignty—abolishing the pound sterling, adopting the euro, reducing military spending, and accelerating integration into the EU, among other things.

Another important point is that the Greenwich School of Magic and Wizardry was to be shared by the whole of Europe and Africa, and no longer a British exclusive property!

Next, for reasons of political correctness, the need to suppress the British, and the fact that it was inconvenient to choose a non-magical person as the headmaster of the magic school, or at least its first headmaster, after some screening and discussion, the various factions finally decided on a very distinctive person:

Last time, he participated in the United Nations investigation team to investigate the Golden Dragon Kingdom in another world, and fought alongside Ferry and Tony in the western wilderness until he died in battle. He is the future "Black Panther" T'Challa, the crown prince of the Wakanda Kingdom!

—Because Xavier's School of Magic only accepts students from the Americas, and Lantau Island School of Magic only accepts students from Asia, and among the expert group that went to the fantasy world to investigate the Golden Dragon Kingdom last time, the European liberals were only busy complaining and condemning, while the African representatives seemed to be sleepwalking.

As a result, apart from Asians and Americans, only Prince T'Challa, who was diligent and hardworking, did quite well in learning magic.

Thus, the prince of Wakanda, one of the poorest and most backward black countries in the world, was unanimously elected by the European Union and the African Union as the first principal of the Greenwich Magic School because he was politically correct and had mastered magic.

Upon hearing this, T'Challa, the future Black Panther prince, was completely baffled.

I'm an uncle from sub-Saharan Africa. Although I'll probably inherit the throne someday, I don't even have any work experience. How did I suddenly get sent to be the headmaster of a magic school in foggy London?

But the EU unanimously stated: You have been designated; from Europe to Africa, you are now the only one who can use magic above level zero!

T'Challa's father, the current King of Wakanda, also suggested that T'Challa accept this very prestigious position—after all, the headmaster position couldn't be held forever. In fact, according to the old king's estimation, his son would be lucky to serve as the headmaster of Greenwich Magic School for a year or two!

That way, when he returns from his post at Greenwich School of Magic in London, he can teach the Wakandas to use magic... What? Wakanda probably doesn't have any ley lines underground? No problem, just buy a magical version of the Arc Reactor from Iron Man, or if that doesn't work, you can always trade it for vibranium!

And so, the future Black Panther Prince T'Challa was repeatedly misled, yet he reluctantly went to London to take up his post.

On the other hand, Tony Stark, back on his own American soil, also began his big moves...

Chapter 292, A Worldline That's Unrecognizable (Part 1)

Summer 2013, Xavier's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, suburbs of New York, the common room of the Shrine of Hypnos.

The sky is cloudless and the weather is clear.

Only a blazing sun hangs high in the sky, relentlessly radiating light and heat.

The blinding sunlight scorched the earth, while the treetops echoed with the tireless chirping of cicadas.

Under the bright and dazzling summer sun, looking out from the spacious floor-to-ceiling windows of the lounge, one can see that the moisture rising from the soil distorts the view, making everything appear as if veiled in mist.

A gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of grass and trees quietly drifted into the room, making people drowsy and sleepy without them even realizing it.

"...Meow, this weather is so hot and humid..."

Despite the cool air conditioning, under the scorching sun that made people drowsy and lethargic, Feli, the cat, still couldn't help but lie listlessly on the floor and yawn lazily. As a cat that should sleep sixteen hours a day, Feli, who was already very sleepy, couldn't muster any energy at all during this season that made people especially drowsy.

So, after breakfast, he would lie down immediately—when he was sleepy, he would take a nap; when he woke up, he would play on his tablet, watch soap operas, listen to new songs, play games, or chat with people on forums, and occasionally browse news websites.

Then, Phil was drawn to one of the news stories.

"...Negotiations between the United Nations World Security Council and the lunar city-state of Attiland, inhabited by Inhumans, are nearing completion. At a press conference held at the Stark Industries lunar base, His Majesty King Blackcard Burt of Attiland told reporters that the moon is an integral part of human civilization, and the Inhumans, who only migrated to the moon at the end of the last century, are also part of the Earth's inhabitants. He is pleased to see Attiland join the United Nations and work with friendly nations to develop lunar resources, making greater contributions to the common prosperity and progress of all humankind."

Because the city-state of Attiland has fully accepted the UN representatives' division of its lunar territory, and after resolving some related legal issues, it is expected that Attiland will become a new UN member state at the next UN General Assembly meeting… At that time, Attiland, with only 1400 legal residents, will become the second smallest member state of the UN by population, just over 1000, compared to Vatican City…

The U.S. government has formally established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Attiland, and countries such as China, Russia, the UK, France, and Japan are also discussing establishing diplomatic relations with Attiland...

Stark Industries has launched the second phase of its lunar city development plan and invited Attiland to participate...

"...Meow, it seems the S.H.I.E.L.D. civil war in Captain America 2 isn't going to happen, and the plot of Marvel's flop TV series Inhumans is also completely off track, having been shelved from the start, meow!" Phil muttered to himself while munching on dried fish.

Having acquired the Mind Stone, Time Stone, and Reality Stone, and using the Dark Elves' space landing craft as a direct copy, Tony Stark no longer cared about cleaning up the mess left by the British (not to mention the ungrateful British and the European Union that instigated them, who even attempted to attack his benefactor with their military). Instead, he rushed back to the United States to implement his space development plan.

However, while the Reality Stone can defy all laws of physics and chemistry, creating something from nothing—even replicating the Dark Elf's spaceship out of thin air—this ultimately consumes a tremendous amount of magic, and may even temporarily drain the underground ley lines…

To conserve magic power and prevent excessive extraction of New York's underground spiritual veins, Tony felt it would be more appropriate to find a physical object to modify.

—Just like a Japanese person in a parallel universe who had a wild idea and transformed the sunken Yamato battleship into the space battleship Yamato.

So, after obtaining the consent of the World Security Council, or rather, forcing the World Security Council to nod in approval, Iron Man Tony Stark went to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground dock and used the Reality Stone to transform the three unfinished floating motherships intended for "Project Insight" into dark elf-style spaceships. And the so-called "Project Insight," naturally, could only come to an abrupt end…

The Hydra agents infiltrated within S.H.I.E.L.D. whose grand plan was ruined, from top executives to low-level henchmen, could only cry themselves to sleep in the bathroom.

—The airships that were supposed to carry out Project Insight have all been diverted. How can Project Insight, which is smuggled in its own agenda, continue?

While the Hydra members were devastated, the political bigwigs who were unaware of the situation were quite excited.

Seeing the impressive progress in the construction of the space battleships, the Earthlings' space fleet will soon be soaring through the universe. A group of terrifying upright apes will soon be arriving in the universe. The heads of state of various countries decided to let Tony take a group to the moon for a spin, just to practice.

As a result, trouble ensued as soon as they landed on the moon: it wasn't until the first space fleet and the urgently trained space crews landed on the moon that people on Earth were shocked to discover that a huge illegal building had been constructed on the lunar surface without the approval of the United Nations!

That is Attilan, the mysterious lunar city-state of the Inhumans with a futuristic feel!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where mutants had to be removed due to copyright issues, the Inhumans are a special human race similar to them.

However, compared to them, the Inhumans are far fewer in number and have a much longer history.

Just like the origin of Hydra described earlier, the Inhumans were originally Kree recruiters who came to Egypt on Earth in dire need of cannon fodder. They transformed the local primitive humans and created biological weapons, or "soldiers": these were the ancestors of the Inhumans.

However, due to the abrupt end of the cosmic war in which the Kree Empire participated more than seven thousand years ago, the Kree's recruitment efforts on Earth were also abandoned halfway. With the hasty withdrawal of the Kree recruiters, these Inhumans they created were left unattended on Earth.

Initially, these Inhumans lived on Earth alongside ordinary humans, and some powerful ancient Inhumans even ruled over ordinary people at one time.

However, on the one hand, due to the Kree's modifications, the Inhumans' physiques were not very well adapted to Earth's environment, making life on Earth quite uncomfortable—the Kree never intended for the Inhumans to fight on Earth, but rather to use them as cannon fodder on alien battlefields, so naturally they needed to adapt to alien environments rather than Earth's; on the other hand, as time went on, due to their instinctive aversion to other species, the contradictions and conflicts between ordinary humans and the Inhumans increased day by day, causing the Inhuman settlements to be constantly harassed.

Although the Inhumans possess powerful superhuman abilities, these abilities are unstable. Moreover, the Inhumans' inherent weakness of having a small population and difficulty in reproduction remains unresolved, making them unable to wage a war of attrition against ordinary people—this is one of the aftereffects of their modification by Kree scientists.

Ultimately, weary of these disputes and conflicts, the faction advocating seclusion prevailed. They decided to distance themselves from humanity and build a city of their own, a secret city undiscovered by ordinary humans, as the Inhumans' eternal home!

Under the leadership of the Inhuman king, Merlan, they first chose a small island in the North Atlantic as the location for their future city-state. This island, located 200 miles south of Iceland, was far from the inhabited European mainland and was an ideal place for seclusion at the time.

After decades of arduous construction, the Inhuman city was finally completed and named Attila. It gradually became the largest Inhuman settlement on Earth—a name clearly inextricably linked to the legend of Atlantis.

In the Marvel universe, it is actually the Atlantis civilization, which was once incredibly prosperous and advanced, but then vanished in vain!

For thousands of years, the Inhumans have lived in Attiland in the Atlantic Ocean, with virtually no contact with ordinary human society.

Only by very chance might some lost sailing ships have had the opportunity to witness its magnificent, mirage-like appearance.

Of course, to avoid becoming deaf and blind, the Inhumans did not forget to gather intelligence about the civilized world while living in seclusion.

However, in modern times, with the discovery of the New World by European navigators, the Atlantic shipping lanes quickly became busy, and more and more ships traveled to and fro. These hermits living in Attila began to worry that their beautiful city-state would be discovered by ordinary humans.

—Given the appalling acts committed by Spanish explorers in the Aztec and Inca empires of the Americas, it is hard to believe that the city-state of Attila, or the legendary kingdom of Atlantis, would have been treated kindly by Europeans once it was discovered.

So when an unfortunate Inhuman was accidentally captured by human sailors, the Inhumans of Attilan finally made a difficult decision: to leave the North Atlantic and migrate as a whole to a more remote place so that humans would no longer disturb their peaceful lives!

Next, through powerful anti-gravity machinery, and with the tacit approval and cover-up of the Kamar-Taj Presbyterian Order (this was in the early 19th century, and the Ancient One had already established the Kamar-Taj Sanctuary in Nepal), the city-state of Attilan and its foundations were excavated from the seabed, becoming a floating city, and then completely relocated to a secluded place in the Himalayas. In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's referred to as the Inhumans' "Great Sanctuary."

In some legends circulating among ordinary people at the time, it was another mysterious and wonderful country called "Shangri-La".

However, the superhumans clearly underestimated the speed of technological development of ordinary human civilization after the Industrial Revolution. Before long, even the desolate roof of the world became less of a secret—many human nations vaguely learned of the existence of the superhumans and sent expedition after expedition to the Himalayas to search for "Shangri-La." Among them, Hitler of Nazi Germany was the most enthusiastic and zealous in this regard...

Even more critically, as the climate evolves, the Earth's environment gradually becomes more susceptible to disease, which is difficult to treat.

Finally, the Inhumans, fed up with the constant trouble, had no choice but to migrate once again. After a long and arduous journey, they simply left Earth altogether, moving the entire city-state of Attilan to the moon—this was during the final stages of the Cold War, many years after the last Apollo moon landing!

In other words, even in the Marvel universe, when the Apollo spacecraft landed on the moon, there was truly no one living there.

This time, the Inhumans used the advanced technology left behind by the Kree to move the entire Attiland to the Blue Zone on the moon.

This is a space base and laboratory built on the moon by the ancient Kree recruiters. Now the Inhumans are making good use of it. First, they built a large greenhouse on the moon to grow crops and fruits to achieve self-sufficiency. Then, they built a large energy shield that can make the entire city-state of Attilan invisible, ensuring that their city cannot be observed by human optical equipment on Earth or in orbit.

The problem is that no matter how advanced the stealth energy shield is, it can only make people "invisible".

The Inhumans were able to secretly sabotage those lunar rovers that were launched by rockets and accidentally wandered into the vicinity of Attilan, while also disguising them as accidents, thus managing to deceive the space agencies on Earth.

Once Tony Stark's replica of the Dark Elf spaceship landed on the moon, and construction began on Stark Industries' lunar mining base, with astronauts entering the Blue Zone in various lunar engineering vehicles, the Inhuman city-state of Attilan could no longer conceal its true nature and was immediately exposed!

Countries around the world were immediately taken aback, and at the same time secretly felt a chill: all these years, no one had discovered that there was such a group of illegal immigrants on the moon!

Then, the major world powers and the World Security Council, realizing what was happening, immediately made diplomatic contact with Attiland.

In any case, the two sides have no enmity or grudges. If they can talk things out first, that would be the best outcome. There is absolutely no need to beat each other to death as soon as they meet.

Unfortunately, this was hardly a friendly negotiation process.

—Years of seclusion and a series of conflicts with ordinary humans on Earth have caused the Inhumans on the Moon to suffer from paranoia. Their first reaction is to demand that "all Earthlings go back to Earth, the Moon belongs to Attilan!"

Earthlings obviously cannot agree with this view: First, according to the most authoritative official statement, the moon is the common property of all mankind, and no country, organization, or individual has the right to monopolize it, not even the Inhumans; second, the Inhumans are not the original inhabitants of the moon, and even according to the principle of first come, first served, Mr. Armstrong's planting of his flag on the moon was long before the city-state of Attiland moved to the moon.

Even if we consider "since ancient times", the Inhumans are in the wrong!

Therefore, according to Earth diplomats, the fact that the United Nations did not pursue the issue of the Inhumans immigrating to the moon without approval and "stealing the common property of all mankind" is already quite lenient. How could they possibly allow the Inhumans to unilaterally include the entire moon in their territory?

We can't just agree to let the Inhumans claim territory and rule over it simply because they built an illegal structure here, can we?

If that's acceptable, then there are plenty of uninhabited areas on Earth, such as Antarctica, Siberia, and the depths of the Sahara Desert... If someone were to follow suit and build a house in the middle of nowhere, and then declare that they want to establish a country, how could that be allowed?

Because of their drastically conflicting views, some arrogant Inhumans immediately roared that they would use force to "conquer humanity"... Then, the Sorcerer Supreme Stark casually slapped them, sending their souls flying out. They drifted in the Mirror Dimension for a while before barely regaining their senses.

Twelve newly manufactured replicas of the Dark Elf Razor fighters were also poised above Attilan, ready to unleash a concentrated attack.

—Only then did the superhumans finally realize that, despite their abilities, they were nothing more than pitiful little rabbits. The human forces on Earth, on the other hand, were like a monstrous bear with its jaws wide open, ready to devour their small city-state in one gulp.

The reason they are still willing to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor and negotiate politely with the weak Attilan Inhumans, rather than resorting to force, is primarily out of consideration for manners and dignity; secondly, it is similar to the consideration of protecting rare animals, wanting to prevent this minority group from being wiped out due to excessive recklessness... But if things really fall apart, it would be a matter of minutes for Earthlings to exterminate the Inhumans!

Upon discovering the harsh reality, the Inhumans were filled with utter despair. They only held on at the negotiating table for a while, clinging to their pride.

When an impatient Tony used the Reality Stone to transform the Inhumans' strategic biological weapon—a large dog named "Tetanus" capable of teleporting between Earth and the Moon—into a chubby orange Garfield cat, the Inhumans, who had been trembling with fear, finally cowered in terror. They declared, "You're the boss! You, the Sorcerer Supreme, are truly invincible! Whatever you say goes! We'll all listen to you!"

Thus, with the surrender of 1400 Inhumans, the entire moon was reclassified as a UN-managed territory, with no further objections. A portion of the lunar surface was "commissioned" by the World Security Council to Stark Industries for development and infrastructure work. Of course, the various technological devices left behind by the ancient Kree on the moon must also be handed over to the UN for shared use, temporarily managed by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Then, since this negotiation was being watched by the whole world, and the Inhumans were relatively cooperative, the relevant parties couldn't make things too ugly.

Therefore, the Inhuman city-state of Attilan, after conceding defeat, was finally recognized as a nation, qualified to join the United Nations and receive basic protections. It was no longer seen as a "stateless illegal immigrant group" or "illegal buildings without proper approval," completely lacking legal protection.

Of course, the only legitimate territory belonging to the Inhumans, as confirmed by the treaty, is a small circle with a radius of five kilometers centered on the Attilan Palace—however, this already exceeds the area of ​​Monaco, Vatican City, and Nauru, and considering that the Inhumans only number 1400, it should be enough for them.

Even if the resources on this small piece of land are not enough, they can still work at Stark Industries or other organizations' lunar bases!

However, while the troubles on the moon had largely ended with the Inhumans' surrender, the troubles on Earth were just beginning—when the United Nations was established, humanity had not yet ventured beyond Earth. Even in the years that followed, no stable extraterrestrial colonies were established; therefore, the United Nations' legal documents never considered recognizing any country outside of Earth.

As a result, in order to accept the Inhuman city-state of Attilan on the moon into the UN and to prepare for the possible emergence of extraterrestrial human nations in the future, the United Nations has had to amend its charter, changing the scope of member states from "all of Earth" to "all of humanity"... and then immediately gets bogged down in the tedious and perplexing legal question of "whether the Inhumans modified by the Kree should be considered human or extraterrestrials"...

Unfortunately, political activities, in most cases, involve using the strictest rules to select the smartest people in the world and making the most foolish decisions in the most serious way!

But in any case, the problem of the alien races on the moon has finally been solved, and the first stumbling block to human space colonization has been removed...

Chapter 293, A World Line That's Unrecognizable (Part 2)

P.S.: Thank you for your monthly tickets and virtual gifts. I'll be releasing a huge update tonight, at least three chapters, and possibly four.

In fact, even for the Inhumans on the moon, this act of backing down, though seemingly humiliating, actually had many benefits.

It's important to understand that daily life in Attilan, a lunar city with a population of only 1400 and a self-sufficient micro-economy, is very difficult.

Because they need to live in seclusion and cannot engage in large-scale trade with Earth, the Inhumans rely on a few large greenhouses to grow most of their daily necessities, which are then distributed according to extremely strict standards.

In Attila, ordinary citizens have difficulty getting enough to eat and taking a bath whenever they want. They can't even get a decent meal or a bottle of soda. Entertainment and other forms of enjoyment are severely lacking.

Can you imagine a country where food and daily necessities are strictly rationed according to World War II standards for decades, with no end in sight?

This naturally drew criticism from the lower-ranking members of the Inhumans: although the Himalayas on Earth were also difficult to access, trade routes could still be established, and daily necessities produced by human civilization were relatively easy to obtain, with water and air readily available.