In a desert, blue ripples spread—and a person appeared without warning.
"It's the desert again. I'm almost sick of seeing this scenery. I must have a great relationship with deserts," Lin Yu muttered, expressionless as he looked at the endless golden expanse around him.
Having trained with Ye Xin in the desert for nearly a year back on the original Earth, Lin Yu was more than familiar with this kind of landscape. If he hadn't asked Xiao Shu about the transition rate just now, he would've thought he hadn't left Earth at all.
"Xiao Ai, have you detected a satellite signal?" Lin Yu raised his head to the sky, which was just as painfully blue as he remembered.
Nearly invincible across countless worlds, Lin Yu never feared danger. To keep things exciting, he didn't select the worlds he traveled to. He left it to the system's randomness—diving into unknown universes purely for the thrill of exploration. He'd even disabled Xiao Shu's location hints, because spoilers ruined the fun.
"The satellite signal has been detected. Internet access is active. Would you like to retrieve world data?" Xiao Ai's voice resonated calmly in Lin Yu's mind, transmitted directly through the neural link implanted in his arm.
"Boom—!"
Just as Lin Yu considered checking if this was a parallel Earth or a tech-based plane, a thunderous explosion tore through the air.
"What the hell?" Lin Yu looked up.
A plume of flame erupted over a nearby dune, smoke spiraling like a signal flare. From the epicenter of the blast, a burning meteor emerged—no, rose—slowly from the explosion.
For a moment, it looked like it would shoot into the heavens, shoulder to shoulder with the sun. But then... it faltered.
Like a sky monkey whose fuse had burned out prematurely, it curved downward in a failing arc—straight toward Lin Yu.
His enhanced vision locked on immediately. That meteor... was humanoid.
No, not just humanoid—metallic.
A Tin Woodman?
As Lin Yu's brain spun through visual comparisons, the burning figure crashed into the sand nearby. Impact. Dust. Debris.
The Tin Woodman's white armor shell shattered across the dunes, splintering into gleaming fragments.
From within the smoking wreckage, a torso half-buried in sand began to move. The upper half of the armored figure stirred, pushing free of metallic debris. Covered in thick combat gear and leather gloves, the figure removed his helmet with a groan—revealing a bloodied yet unmistakably familiar face.
"...Not bad," the man muttered, tossing the helmet aside.
Lin Yu blinked, then stepped forward, his expression a complex blend of recognition and disbelief. "Do you need help… Mr. Tony Stark?"
His English wasn't originally this good—but he'd already used his reality manipulation powers to instantly master the language. A minor adjustment.
There was no mistaking it now. That iconic white Iron Man suit, that recognizable face—Robert Downey Jr.'s likeness.
Iron Man.
This was the Marvel Universe.
Whether comic or cinematic, he wasn't sure yet—but it was definitely Marvel.
"Mind giving me a hand?" Tony asked, raising an arm. His tone was light, but the pain was visible on his face.
Lin Yu smiled. "Sure."
He raised a hand—and with an invisible ripple, Tony was gently lifted out of the crater by Lin Yu's telekinesis. The desert dust rolled away from his suit as if cleansed by invisible currents.
Tony's eyes widened. "You… Are you a mutant? X-Men?"
"Mutant? No," Lin Yu replied casually. "No one sent me, either. I just happened to be here."
Tony tilted his head, wincing slightly as he adjusted his fractured wrist. "...Right. Well, either way, I'm grateful. Let's get out of here before someone tracks that fireball down."
Lin Yu nodded. "Agreed."
He floated upward effortlessly. With a flick of his finger, Tony followed—suspended in midair like a marionette.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Tony asked, the dread creeping in fast.
"I found the rescue chopper—twelve o'clock direction," Lin Yu said. His mind was already syncing with the location of Colonel Rhodes and the inbound military convoy.
And then—boom.
Two streaks of light tore through the desert sky like missiles. One golden. One white.
"AaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—" Tony's scream echoed through the air, higher pitched than a Stark-designed siren.
It was a scream more dramatic than anything in Endgame.
After a brief but blisteringly fast flight, the two figures descended on a military helicopter stationed just beyond the ridge.
Lin Yu hovered beside the chopper, his robes unruffled. Soldiers pointed rifles instinctively, tense.
Lin Yu raised a hand politely.
"Hello. Do you have anything to eat? The guy next to me might need a little… nutritional support. Some jerky? Rations?"
He glanced at Tony, who was still suspended midair beside him.
"You're hungry too, right?" Lin Yu said lightly.
No response.
He turned.
Tony Stark, the Iron Man, was unconscious. Eyes rolled up. Foaming at the mouth.
"...Uh."
Lin Yu scratched the back of his head. It was his first time bringing someone along during high-speed flight. He should've thrown up a protective shield. Rookie mistake.
They hadn't even hit sonic speed—just a few hundred kilometers per hour. But that was more than enough to knock out a recently tortured and injured billionaire genius in a half-busted suit.
"TONY!!!" Colonel Rhodes shouted from the chopper, panic breaking through his military composure.