Chapter 1176 Reality at My Fingertips: A Simple Mode Game of Levels

A place of nothingness.

This once-renowned industrial area in the universe was turned into a sea of ​​fire, with buildings and equipment of all types collapsing and burning, transforming into ruins.

The owner of the place, collector Tanlia Tivan, was disheveled, with obvious wounds on his face, and his chest was trampled by a large foot.

“You know what I want, Tivan.”

Give it to me, and you won't have to suffer anymore.

Tivan stared at the Power Stone radiating purple light on Thanos's left Infinity Gauntlet, his pupils trembling slightly, but he still mustered his courage and said, "I told you, it's not with me."

Thanos was clearly not satisfied with the answer. He pressed down slightly on Tivan's sternum, causing Tivan to howl in pain.

“Really, I sold it,” Tivan said with difficulty. “Why would I lie to you?”

"It's in your nature to lie," Thanos said dismissively.

That was suicide.

"It seems you understand!"

Even you wouldn't hand over something so valuable.

"I said that..."

“Found it, Master.” Ebony Maw walked over carrying a box, interrupting Tivan. “That Elder of the Universe is really stupid. This treasure was in his office drawer. He found it without much effort.”

Tivan: ......

"I might be remembering it wrong."

Thanos ignored him, instead taking the box that glowed red and crushing it.

The fragments slipped from his palm, leaving only the red raw stone of reality.

“The second one.” Thanos picked up the Reality Stone and slowly embedded it into the groove on the ring finger of the Infinity Gauntlet.

Zizizi~

Red energy emanated from the Reality Stone and rapidly surged towards Thanos's body.

Thanos clenched his fist, grunted as he accepted the power, and it took him a few seconds to calm down.

“That’s incredible,” Ebony Maw exclaimed. “No one in the entire universe could withstand the energy of two Infinity Stones so easily.”

"Four remain," Thanos said calmly.

“Corvus Glaive and the others are already in Asgard. I believe the Space Stone will soon be in Master’s possession as well. And…” Ebony Maw paused, turning his head to look to his side and behind him, “Gamora has been found.”

Thanos followed the footsteps and saw his daughter Gamora, her hands cuffed, being escorted by Black Dwarf.

Besides her, there's the entire Guardians of the Galaxy.

Peter Quill and his men were also brought over by a group of soldiers, but they were treated much more rudely.

"Long time no see, daughter." Thanos smiled gently and then stepped forward to unlock her handcuffs.

“Don’t discriminate.” Peter Quill held up his handcuffed hands. “It’s still tiring to wear these.”

"This isn't fair," Rocket grumbled. "A giant ship captured our spaceship. Let's have a one-on-one fight!"

"Thanos!" Drax roared as he charged at the culprit who had caused the deaths of his wife and daughters.

boom!

Black Dwarf swung his hammer and smashed him into a wall.

"Drax!" the mantis exclaimed instinctively, but the next moment several pieces of metal flew over and sealed her mouth shut.

"Shh!"

Ebony Maw made a shushing gesture, indicating that they should not disturb Thanos and Gamora's precious time together.

"Ahem!" Peter Quill coughed. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Peter Quill, I'm..."

Before he could finish speaking, Thanos clenched his left fist, and the Reality Stone on his ring finger emitted a red glow.

A red energy wave swept over Peter Quill and the others, turning their bodies into puddles of mud, causing them to collapse to the ground without warning.

On the surface of the mud were blurred facial features. Their vision and hearing were still functioning normally, but they could do nothing.

A sense of powerlessness spread through everyone's hearts. This power was not just an ordinary foul, and the hope of escaping was instantly shattered.

"Reality is at my mercy." Thanos looked at the red Infinity Stone in his left hand and revealed a mocking smile. "We need to talk, kid."

“Let them go,” Gamora said.

"Fine, it's rare for you to make a request of me." Thanos altered reality again, restoring Peter Quill and the others' bodies as if it were a trivial matter.

Thanos ignored the Guardians of the Galaxy's resentful glares and led Gamora toward the spaceship not far away.

Peter Quill tried to stop him, but he was thrown away by Ebony Maw's telekinesis after only a few steps. "You should be grateful for your master's mercy, not give up this precious life."

“That makes sense, but at least leave the spaceship with us!” Rocket argued. “Thanos has already agreed to let us go, but without the spaceship, we’re just going to fend for ourselves in this ruin.”

Ebony Maw pondered for a moment, then gave Black Dwarf a wink.

Before long, the Milan spaceship was thrown over by the black dwarf; the spaceship was as light as a sandbag in his hands.

"Seize the time and enjoy the beauty of life!"

Ebony Maw left behind this intriguing remark, then he and Black Dwarf stepped into a beam of light, flew into the Temple ship, and left the Void.

"I narrowly escaped death," Rocket said, still shaken.

“Yes! I thought I was going to die!” Collector Tanlia Tivan was filled with relief. He then forced himself to stand up, picked up a wine glass from the ruins of his office, and took a big gulp before he felt a little better.

"Finding his daughter improved Thanos's mood considerably, otherwise we would all be dead."

“He kidnapped Gamora,” Peter Quill said indignantly.

"Take it easy, Quill," Rocket comforted him. "Judging from Thanos's attitude towards Gamora, he won't do anything to her."

At least... there's no danger to their lives.

"But she lost her freedom and returned to the hellish place she had desperately wanted to escape."

“Just say it, Quill.”

There's no need for all that buildup; you just want to save her, right?

"Shouldn't we save her?" Peter Quill countered. "She did it to save us..."

"Stop, stop." Rocket waved his hand speechlessly. "I didn't say I wouldn't save them, but how?"

"We are no match for an army."

"Would I be out of my mind to go and fight his army head-on?"

“Bypass the army,” Mantis said. “We are few in number, and our ships are small. Making this possible…”

"It's difficult.

Also, your blunt honesty is so harsh; it hasn't been encouraging at all.

“Even if we can bypass the army, Thanos’s henchmen are no pushovers,” Drax said.

"Thank God, you finally have a clear enough understanding."

Not to mention that big guy with the warhammer, he could probably crush Drax with one hand.

That guy who looks like an octopus, his telekinetic powers are outrageous. He can send us flying with just a glance.

If we let him gain the upper hand, we won't even have a chance to fight back.

Besides them, there was another couple, both ruthless killers who wouldn't blink an eye.

“Quill, you need to understand that Thanos is not Ronan. He is more powerful than any enemy we have ever encountered before.”

“Really?” Peter Quill asked, unconvinced. “Stronger than Igor?”

"Who knows? You saw his gloves too; they have two Infinity Stones on them."

"He can alter reality, he has unlimited energy; even if your dad hadn't died, you might not be able to beat him."

"We can't beat them," Tivan said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"I heard that, even your dad can't beat him."

No, no, no, don't misunderstand.

"I mean Thanos can't beat Ego." Tivan poured himself another glass of wine, took a small sip, and leaned back in his chair. "The Infinity Stones only allow him to rival the Father in some aspects, but that doesn't mean they can make him the true Father."

“What do you mean?” Peter Quill asked.

"When he uses the Power Stone, he possesses the power of a Godfather; when he uses the Reality Stone, he possesses the power of a Godfather to change and create."

But when he's not using the Infinity Stones, he's just Thanos.

"You mean as long as we prevent him from using the Infinity Stones, we might be able to beat him?" Mantis asked optimistically.

Tivan scrutinized her for a few seconds, then chuckled, "Whether you'd like to become one of my collectibles or not, I doubt you'd find a more naive creature in the entire universe."

“Is that not allowed?” Peter Quill asked, frowning.

"Of course not. Even without the Infinity Stones, Thanos still has the physique of a near-Celestial Father."

You've all seen how powerful Black Dwarf is, but compared to Thanos, he's as naive as a child.

“Hmm…” Rocket stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, “Quill, I don’t want to say this, but it seems that the difficulty for us to rescue Gamora is extraordinary.”

"Assuming we manage to bypass Thanos's army and get lucky enough to avoid his generals, we'll still have to face the final boss."

This isn't a level-based game; our characters can't level up or evolve by accumulating experience. We can't beat him.

“It’s not without a chance,” Tivan interjected. “This Mantis woman has considerable mental power; perhaps she can control him for a few seconds.”

"A few seconds? What good are a few seconds?" Rocket was speechless. "With her build, she'd probably get punched flat by Thanos as soon as she got close."

"Can't we be blessed by Lady Luck just once more? Like, Thanos just happens to be away from home?"

"Huh?" Rocket scratched his head, a sudden thought flashing through his mind. "You reminded me, Gamora isn't Thanos's mistress, how could she possibly be with him all the time?"

Watch your words, she's my girlfriend.

Rocket rolled his eyes speechlessly. "What I mean is to find out where Thanos and his generals are. As long as they're not around, we'll have a chance to rescue Gamora."

“I am Groot!” said the tree-like Groot.

“Groot said that we don’t need to face the final boss and the elite monsters on the way; we can rescue the person as long as we avoid the patrolling minions.” Rocket crossed his arms. “It turns out that his gaming skills were not wasted; he even knew to choose an easy mode.”

"So here's the question: where did Thanos and his crew go?" Drax said. "We don't even know where they are."

“Asgard, or Earth,” Tivan said meaningfully.

“How did you know?” Peter Quill asked.

“I’m a renowned collector throughout the universe. Although Thanos destroyed all my collection, he didn’t have time to destroy the things I’ve collected here.” Tivan tapped his temple.

"Did you see the glove Thanos was wearing on his left hand?"

That's called the Infinity Gauntlet. Only a very few highly skilled craftsmen in the universe can create it, and its function is to hold the Infinity Stones.

“That glove has six grooves…” Rocket raised an eyebrow. “Thanos wants to collect all six Infinity Stones.”

"I didn't realize you raccoon were so intelligent!"

Would you like to become part of my collection?

"I don't want to be locked in a display case by you."

Tivan shrugged. "Food and lodging included, you'll have no worries about life, but after you die, I'll make you into a specimen."

Haha! You don't find this appealing, do you?

"You're a talking raccoon. I used to have a talking duck too."

"Did you raise them before? And now?"

Tivan paused, looking at his ruined territory with a touch of melancholy. "What do you think?"

"I don't think...no one would willingly be locked in a display case."

"Ahem!" Peter Quill coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but haven't we gone off-topic?"

Where were we?

"Thanos wants to collect all six Infinity Stones," Rocket reminded him irritably.

Yes, time, space, power, reality, mind, and soul.

These six different Infinity Stones are crystals created by the Big Bang. Each one represents a cosmic law corresponding to its name, and also represents the power of a Godfather.

Since the birth of the universe, countless people have pursued the Infinity Stones, because these crystals can maximize the realization of their ambitions.

This led to numerous wars, and many civilizations vanished into the annals of time. Thanos was perhaps one of the few who went the furthest down this path.

"Are you getting goosebumps, Quill?"

“You’re the one who’s like Thanos!” Peter Quill said irritably. “Is there anyone else like Thanos?”

"The last person to collect the Infinity Stones was Odin."

But for some reason, he gave up. "Thanos's attitude and will are much stronger than his; he has already collected both the Power Stone and the Reality Stone," Tivan said with a complicated expression.

"Heh! Even if he's a Titan with unparalleled physical strength, using the power of the Infinity Stones will still come at a considerable price."

"You mean Thanos will do something stupid?" Drax asked hopefully.

"This is no easy feat. Using the Power Stone will result in an energy backlash, altering reality will consume a certain amount of life force, manipulating time will inevitably lead to being manipulated by time, and deceiving the mind will gradually cause one to lose their true self..."

However, Thanos was well aware of these principles, and he wouldn't use the Infinity Stones lightly.