Chapter 994: Rumors about wormholes, facilities that can open portals

Randolph paused, looking at Fitz thoughtfully, "No wonder you are so anxious, I have experienced the pain of love, I understand your feelings very well.

But I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

"No, you can help. You are the only one who can help us." Fitz said eagerly, "Tell us everything you know about the boulder."

"I have no idea." Randolph shrugged. "I hate to say this, but based on my experience, your girlfriend might...

I mean, you'd better not have any hope."

"But the reality is, she's still alive." Aaron grinned a little embarrassedly, "and I just gave him some hope."

"What?"

"You should know that I know a little bit about divination, and I got some clues." Aaron winked at Fitz, "Please show Professor Randolph the revelation of fate."

Fitz reacted immediately and took the painting Aaron had drawn out of his bag, "Do you know where this place is?"

Randolph took the painting, looked at it and said in surprise: "I have to admit that you are a real fortune teller.

Even in Asgard, the only one who has such accurate divination ability is the God King Odin."

"He is our special consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson couldn't help but show off.

"Forget it! If I didn't need an official identity, I would never have anything to do with SHIELD."

Randolph smiled nonchalantly and held the painting towards the light, “You can tell she’s wandering on a very desolate planet.

But unfortunately, I don't know much about this planet.

What is certain is that its location is extremely remote, so remote that no one in the entire universe would even take a second look there.

This reminds me of the punishment of exiling prisoners in advanced civilizations, where the prisoners will fend for themselves, desperately trying to survive, and then even more desperately waiting for death. "

"That's why we need your help. Simmons has been missing for half a month. If we delay any further, she won't be able to hold on."

"Well, you won't give me any other choice anyway." Randolph approached the cell door. "First, you have to get me out. Then, let me see the stone with my own eyes."

"It should."

Randolph nodded slightly, then used both hands to pull the cell door down.

To the Asgardian, this prison door was completely useless. He didn't leave simply because he didn't want to escape from prison.

The alarm sounded, and Randolph leaned the cell door against the wall and picked up his coat from the bed.

Two prison guards rushed over and just saw Randolph walking out of the cell.

He pointed at Coulson naturally and said, "He did it."

"Heh!" Coulson smiled speechlessly. He didn't want to criticize Randolph, so he could only explain to the prison guard awkwardly and expressed his willingness to bear the cost of repairing the cell.

......

The Airbus took off again and stopped at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Coulson and others came to an empty warehouse where a huge black stone was locked in a glass cabinet with many square holes on the surface.

Randolph walked forward and walked around the glass case a few times, carefully observing the black boulder inside.

"I really hate to disappoint you, but it looks like an ordinary..."

Before he finished his words, the boulder instantly liquefied and turned into black liquid, but the glass cabinet was sealed and the liquid did not flow out.

In less than two seconds, the black liquid shrank back and turned back into the form of stone.

Randolph blinked and turned to look at Coulson, "How often does it change like this?"

"Random." Fitz said a little disappointed.

"No, it can't. It may seem random, but this...it's obvious what caused it."

"I compared tides, solar activity, rotation..."

"Wait." Aaron suddenly thought of something, put the painting on the glass cabinet, pointed to the wasteland under Simmons' feet and said, "No one told you about the tides, solar activity, and rotation of this planet.

By the way, this planet may not even have a sun."

"That's right. The law may refer to this unknown planet, so you can't find its changing law." Randolph agreed, "I don't know why you are looking for me. I have never studied gravitational lensing, zero-point energy field, or quantum harmonic oscillation theory.

As I said before, I know absolutely nothing about this stone.”

"This is destiny's guidance. You are the only one who is friendly to us and knows the clues about this stone." Aaron said in a charlatan tone, "Think carefully, have you heard any stories about the portal over the years?"

"This..." Randolph hesitated for a moment, then said in a tangled manner, "I have indeed investigated many rumors about wormholes, but none of them are true."

Snapped!

Aaron snapped his fingers. "Destiny's guidance may lie in these rumors."

"None of it is true, I repeat."

"Professor Randolph, your investigation was at least several hundred years ago. Who can tell what happened in the past few hundred years?"

"I admit that what you said makes some sense, but there is only one stone here, a stone I have never seen before."

"You mean you need other clues?"

"It's obvious."

"Yes, there are clues." Fitz said immediately, and then hurried out of the warehouse.

Randolph curled his lips. “It can be seen that he put a lot of effort into it.”

"We were all about to give up, but he didn't." Coulson said with emotion, "The two best researchers in my team, one is in another world, and the other has spent a lot of time on this stone, and even took the initiative to walk into the glass cabinet, hoping to be swallowed by the stone.

If this continues, he will collapse."

"True love, absolutely true love." Randolph raised his eyebrows in surprise, "How rare!"

"Coulson, I have a little advice for you.

If you can bring the people back, it is best to destroy this portal as soon as possible to prevent the people on the other side from passing through."

"I will do the same if I want to have a good dream at night." Coulson seemed to have thought of something, with a bitter look on his face. "The last person who escaped from the portal was the second prince of Asgard. He stabbed me in the chest."

"I'm not familiar with His Majesty Loki. I don't know him." Randolph said with a forced smile.

At this time, Fitz ran back, panting and slapping a piece of parchment on Randolph's hand. "I asked the intelligence department of SHIELD to find it. It's the only clue at the moment."

Aaron glanced at the parchment. "This seems to be Hebrew, meaning 'death'."

"Ouch!" Randolph's pupils shrank slightly. "I think I've seen this word before."

"Have you seen it?" Fitz asked immediately.

"I need to confirm, what else do you know about Mr. Fitz?"

“The Coen Stone changed hands several times, first in the hands of Germanic tribes, then in France during the Hundred Years’ War, but it was moved again before the Napoleonic era.

Before the clues were broken, it was..."

"England," Randolph interjected.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Because I saw it carved on the wall of a castle in Gloucestershire, England, in 1853," Randolph said. "Can I say that on the plane?"

"Then let's get on the plane!" Coulson said with a smile.

......

A few hours later, the plane stopped in front of a castle.

The castle seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. There was dust and fallen leaves everywhere, and spider webs in the corners.

Randolph led the way with a flashlight. Revisiting the old place made him feel a little happier. "I came here to attend a masquerade.

Of course that was just a cover-up, I heard rumors about Star Trek, which turned out to be all bullshit, but the dance was pretty good.”

"Where's the engraving?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, yes, that's right." Randolph walked to a wall. "I was admiring the exquisite stonework here. I was a stonemason before, so it's natural for me to be interested in these things. And then..."

Randolph turned around and shone the flashlight on the wall behind him. On a brick above the wall was engraved the Hebrew word "Death". "That should be it. It's exactly the same as on the parchment. One of the translations is 'Death Punishment'."

"It probably means 'No Trespassing,'" Coulson said.

"The stone should have been inside here at the time. The owner of this castle might have mastered its changing rules and used it to punish certain people." Aaron stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "Murder is against the law, but if the evidence and the body are thrown into another planet, no matter what the case is, it will be left unresolved.

After all, no one would have thought that a stone could be a portal, and normal people would just treat it as a collection."

"The story is well told, but using a portal to destroy the bodies is so cheap no matter how you look at it." Skye said.

"This is purely personal speculation, don't take it seriously." Aaron said indifferently.

“It’s strange to have a Hebrew warning inscribed in an English castle,” Randolph said. “It doesn’t fit. It looks like an ancient monument.”

"You didn't pursue it further?" Skye asked.

"There was a guy dressed as an owl, and I got him really drunk.

He admitted that there had been no time travel, just ritual killings, which made it sound like a half-baked Satan cult, a trick to lure new members in.

Then the fire dancers started performing and I lost focus.”

"There's another one here." Coulson shone his flashlight on a stone door with the same words engraved on it. "That's why I removed all the SHIELD logos from my cars. They're too conspicuous."

"But the ones on the plane didn't evacuate." Skye complained speechlessly, "That eagle emblem is extremely conspicuous."

"Sometimes I can't help but show off." Coulson laughed dryly, then slapped the switch of the stone door.

Click!Click!Click!

The door slowly retracted into the wall, revealing a deep passage.

"Coulson, next time before you do something like this, you'd better tell me first." Aaron said unhappily.

"Isn't this a surprise for everyone?"

"What if there's danger?

At least wait for me, no, wait until we run farther away before you open the door!"

"I agree." Randolph nodded in agreement. "It says 'Death Punishment' on it!"

Colson: ...

This is really heartbreaking!

"Fitz walked in with a flashlight without saying a word."

"You go in first." Randolph made a gesture of invitation, and Coulson and Skye followed him in.

“I still have the virtue of respecting the old and loving the young, so please go first.

If there is any danger behind, I will hold it.”

"Haha!" Randolph laughed speechlessly twice, "Mr. Gaius, you are the most cowardly person I have ever seen in the past few thousand years."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Okay! I'll go in first."

Passing through the deep tunnel, at the end is a huge room full of vintage instruments.

"I didn't see this room last time I came here," Randolph said, unable to hide his surprise. "The shape of the room is very strange considering the period. It must have been built after I came here."

"These machines..." Aaron smacked his lips, "Each one of them is several times older than me. What's intriguing is why the owner of the castle would tinker with so many machines in this room?"

"What did you think of?" Coulson asked.

"If the monolith was in this room, what were these instruments used for?"

"Control the portal." Fitz couldn't help swallowing, "They have mastered the method of opening the boulder and can open or close it at will.

These machines are the key.”

“Congratulations, Fitz.

The machines are still here, and you found a way to open the portal."

"If they still work." Randolph turned off the switch, and the light bulbs lit up one by one, illuminating the room. "They are from the late nineteenth century, more than a hundred years ago."

"It still has some vitality!" Coulson said half-jokingly.

"Here." Aaron walked to the center of the room and gently stepped on the round rock under his feet. "It's empty underneath. Judging from the size of the entrance, it should be used to place boulders."

"Move aside, this should be the switch." Randolph flipped the largest switch again, and the floor in the center slowly opened, revealing a cylindrical pit that was estimated to be several meters deep.

"Look at the wisdom of others. They put the stone in a deep enough hole. Even if it liquefies, it can't climb out."

"Place the boulder here, start these instruments to stimulate the boulder, and the portal will be able to open." Fitz could not hide his excitement as he muttered to himself. There was a hint of joy in his voice. His nerves, which had been tense for more than half a month, finally relaxed a little at this moment.

"Are you sure? Or are you just hoping so?" Coulson asked with a complicated expression.

"Just verify it and you'll know."

Coulson was silent for a few seconds, then took out his phone and said, "May, you and Mike go back and get the stone from the warehouse.

If we're lucky, we might be able to open the portal and get Simmons back."