Chapter 012: Return

In Wang Bo's view, the replica Power Stone was a failure.

But he wasn't worried; Wang Bo had better things.

Over the years in the Pirates of the Caribbean world, he had accumulated a large number of Enhancement Stones, which could strengthen this replica. So Wang Bo spent several hours enhancing the Power Stone more than a dozen times.

After that, the replica finally possessed one percent of the original's power.

The Collector watched in astonishment, looking at the Replication Mirror and the Enhancement Stones, and said, "What are these things? Why didn't you bring them out earlier?"

Wang Bo smiled and returned the original Infinity Stone to the Collector. "These are my trump cards; of course I can't reveal them easily. If I hadn't lacked the money to buy this Infinity Stone, I would never have brought them out."

The Collector gazed greedily at the Replication Mirror. "If you're willing to give this to me, you can pick anything from my collection."

Wang Bo shook his head. The Replication Mirror was his lifeline; he couldn't possibly hand it over to the Collector.

Seeing Wang Bo's refusal, the Collector looked regretful.

Wang Bo said, "If I remember correctly, you should have another Infinity Stone."

He recalled that after the first Avengers movie, the Space Stone fell into Asgard's hands.

Later, after the events of Thor: The Dark World, the Reality Stone also fell into Asgard's hands, but Sif and Volstagg thought it unwise to keep a second Infinity Stone in Asgard, so they entrusted this Infinity Stone to the Elder of the Universe, the Collector.

All of this had already happened.

And in the near future, during the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos would come here and force the Collector to hand over the Reality Stone.

The Collector's eyes flickered a few times, then he nodded. "You're right. I do have another Infinity Stone here—the Reality Stone."

Wang Bo said, "May I study it?"

"Study? I think you mean copy," said the Collector.

"I can pay a fee, and you won't lose anything, will you?"

"I want it," the Collector said, pointing at the Replication Mirror. "If you're willing to give this to me, I could even give you an Infinity Stone—whether you want the Reality Stone or the Power Stone, I can give you either."

Wang Bo said, "If you were in my shoes, would you be willing to give this to someone else?"

The Collector shook his head as a matter of course. He certainly wouldn't want to give away a treasure that could replicate other treasures.

"Alright, then I need some stones."

Wang Bo knew he was referring to the Enhancement Stones he had used, so he nodded readily. "No problem."

After paying a thousand Enhancement Stones, Wang Bo copied the Reality Stone and used a large number of Enhancement Stones to elevate the replica's power to one percent of the original.

Then, Wang Bo left Knowhere with the two replicas, swaggering out.

But before leaving, Wang Bo specifically warned the Collector, "Thanos is determined to get the Infinity Stones. You have two in your possession; he will definitely come for you. Be careful."

The Collector smiled and said, "I'll put the Infinity Stones in a safe place."

"Good."

Wang Bo nodded and left Knowhere. His next stop was none other than Earth.

Because there were still two Infinity Stones on Earth.

One was the Time Stone, in the possession of the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme.

The other was the Mind Stone, originally in S.H.I.E.L.D., but during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Hydra hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. was exposed, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed along with it.

The remaining Hydra agents, led by Baron Strucker, successfully recovered the scepter embedded with the Mind Stone.

So Wang Bo had to return to Earth to obtain replicas of these two stones.

He might even get the original Mind Stone.

A day later, Wang Bo returned to Earth, went back to his own company, Hammer Industries, and quickly figured out the current situation on Earth.

At present, the events of Guardians of the Galaxy were unfolding.

On Earth, the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier had just ended. Hydra, hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D., was exposed, and Nick Fury, the Spy Master, had to disband the entire organization.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had not yet been reestablished.

More importantly, the Avengers had not yet attacked Sokovia, meaning they had not yet discovered Baron Strucker's lair.

Ultron had not yet been born.

Baron Strucker should still be using the power of the Mind Stone to create superhumans.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver should still be in Baron Strucker's hands.

But Wang Bo believed it wouldn't be long before Iron Man created Ultron.

The events of Age of Ultron would officially begin.

Unfortunately, Wang Bo himself didn't care about the plot. His purpose in coming to Earth was simple: to collect Infinity Stones to deal with Thanos.

So the first thing Wang Bo did upon returning to Earth was to go to Kamar-Taj.

"Master Ancient One, I'm back again." Wang Bo opened a portal and entered Kamar-Taj, soon meeting the great figure who guarded Earth.

The Ancient One naturally knew that Wang Bo had once left this universe. Seeing him return now, she realized that something had gone wrong in her universe again. So she put down her teacup and asked, "So, what is your purpose this time?"

Wang Bo said without hesitation, "To kill Thanos."

The Ancient One understood and asked, "Has Thanos changed?"

Wang Bo nodded and recounted how Ultimate Thanos had affected the Thanos of this world.

The Ancient One said thoughtfully, "No wonder I noticed the future changing several times not long ago. So that's it. Thanos wants to destroy the universe; he should indeed be stopped."

Wang Bo said, "Not long ago, I almost killed Thanos, but he escaped. He will definitely collect the Infinity Stones to fight me, so I plan to get there first."

The Ancient One said, "The Eye of Agamotto can only be passed to the next Sorcerer Supreme. If you are willing to replace Stephen Strange, I can give you the Eye of Agamotto."

In her view, Wang Bo, who had returned this time, was already capable enough to hold the position of Sorcerer Supreme.

She was now eager to step down immediately, hand over the position of Sorcerer Supreme to Wang Bo, and then travel the universe.

After all, she had held the position of Sorcerer Supreme for far too long. Now that she finally had a chance to step down, she naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.

Wang Bo shook his head decisively. "No need, Master Ancient One. Keep the Eye of Agamotto for Doctor Strange. I only want to copy the Eye of Agamotto."