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Chapter 355: Funeral
Humans are truly fragile creatures. One moment they're here, the next they're gone.
Because they are weak, they seize every opportunity to become stronger, leading to the emergence of a group of remarkable individuals.
But there are always some anomalies who willingly give up precious opportunities, content with an ordinary life, lying on their deathbeds, quietly awaiting the end.
A gentle breeze brushed by, softly drifting over the land, creating ripples. The gentle sunlight was unusually somber, blocked by layers of clouds, yet it stubbornly gazed down upon the earth, silently observing the ways of the world.
In the cemetery, rows of tombstones, like steadfast souls, silently watched everyone who arrived. They watched as people silently placed a flower before them and then quietly departed.
This world steeped in white gained one more today.
After standing for a while, people left one after another, but more arrived in succession, always bringing a touch of life to this silent world.
Tony Stark got out of his sports car, gently took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He stood before the tombstone with a frown, in silence.
"I brought a bottle of brandy, your favorite." Tony said in a low voice, then took out a bottle of liquor and placed it before the tombstone. On the photograph, the aged face was expressionless.
Beside him, Tony stood like a mountain, not uttering a word, his eyes filled with peace.
There were no tears streaming down his face as one might expect. He was never one to fully reveal his emotions. He just watched quietly, as if communicating with the old fellow who had passed.
Beside him, Wanda was already sobbing uncontrollably. She still remembered how this old man, whom she had mistaken for an ordinary employee, had welcomed tony into the manor. But years had passed, and things were no longer the same.
This old guy... he was truly like family...
Max, Betty, Crane... Many people had come in silence, and now stood silently behind Tony.
Crane pushed up his glasses, hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in Tony's ear, "We could resurrect him with technology and delete some of his memories..."
Tony shook his head, his voice a bit hoarse. "There's no need. Would the person we resurrect still be the same old guy? He would hate us for the rest of his life."
Crane nodded and quietly stepped back.
Tony patted Wanda's shoulder, then put down the cloth bag in his hand, opened it, and took out... a head. A ridiculous, beetle-like head.
Those who didn't understand looked at this artifact in surprise. Did it have some special meaning?
They thought the thing was handmade.
"This is the head of the Vampire Progenitor, Dracula. I killed him and brought his head to see you off. I promised I'd help you kill all the vampires, and now I have."
Tony murmured in a low voice. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he took Wanda's hand, turned, and left without looking back.
The Old Bartender... he would be smiling right now, wouldn't he?
The face in the photograph must be smiling at his retreating back, right? A wide grin, revealing gums with almost no teeth left. Utterly unsightly, yet still smiling at him unconsciously.
The breeze against his skin felt like a slight itch, as if some mischievous fellow was playing a prank.
That old guy could be considered to have passed away in peace. This lifetime, he was on the run, hiding out in the east and in Tibet, living in constant fear. Yet in his old age, he got to see the destruction of his mortal enemy, the vampire kingdom, and even witnessed the death of the very last vampire.
In his later years, the old fellow lived with great peace of mind, even if it was only for a few short years.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, seemingly reflecting the heavy hearts of the people here, and also symbolizing the arrival of something terrible. A black cloud loomed over the city.
The darkness that blotted out the sunlight, the endless corruption and wails, painted the earth in a layer of pitch-black.
Wanda was wiping her tears at his side, her eyes red and swollen. She didn't notice anything unusual about Tony at all. She asked miserably, "He'll be okay in the other world, right? Other lost souls won't bully him, will they? He's so old..."
Tony forced a smile. "That old rogue is as cunning as they come. How many lost souls do you think could outsmart him?"
There was something else he didn't tell Wanda. To exist as lost souls after death, one must have had something special about their soul in life. But the Old Bartender... didn't.
He was just an ordinary human.
Tony sighed softly. After comforting Wanda for a while and coaxing her to get some rest, he suppressed the grief in his heart. His expression turned solemn as he quietly went to a secret location.
Here, numerous tall figures were busy researching something.
"Shockwave, Soundwave, how's the research on the Tesseract coming along? I might need to take it," Tony asked in a heavy voice.
The twelve-meter-tall Shockwave was burly and strong, with a build even more formidable than Megatron's. He had no complete facial features, only a single round hole that glowed with red light, making him look very distinct.
"It's going very smoothly. We don't need to fully replicate this Tesseract's power; we just need to analyze its energy structure. Give me a month, and I can produce qualified super-energy crystals."
Shockwave said in a booming, muffled voice.
Soundwave stood to the side without a word, his personality taciturn. His appearance was also strange; his face was an electronic plate resembling a computer monitor, on which waveforms similar to an electrocardiogram often pulsed.
Tony nodded, walked over, and picked up the Tesseract from the precision instrument. Its blue glow was very alluring, captivating one's heart.
Tony slowly extended his hand, revealing his index finger and thumb, and then fiercely stabbed them into one of its sides. The powerful Tesseract flared, erupting with a burst of energy, but Tony suppressed it, directly shattering its exterior to reach the core.
He pulled out the Space Stone from within, holding it in his palm. His focused gaze was like that of someone observing a crucial item.
Tony casually tossed the broken Tesseract onto the floor. The thing could perhaps serve as a super-large energy crystal in the future, outputting massive amounts of energy, but to Tony, it was completely useless.
Soundwave silently picked up the Tesseract, held it in his hand, and quietly watched the somewhat downcast Tony. The perceptive being had sensed something.
"What on earth happened? We can help," said Shockwave in his booming voice. His intelligence was very high. For Tony to hastily take away the Space Stone, the matter must be serious.
"It's just a guess for now. You don't need to worry. Let's hope I'm just being paranoid." Tony stared at the Space Stone for a moment, then slowly put it away, opened a Portal, and walked through.
Shockwave and Soundwave exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes, but they tacitly remained silent.
"Hey, hey, hey, you two! How's the research coming along? Stop dilly-dallying!" From outside the door came Starscream's bossy voice.
(end of chapter)
Humans are truly fragile creatures. One moment they're here, the next they're gone.
Because they are weak, they seize every opportunity to become stronger, leading to the emergence of a group of remarkable individuals.
But there are always some anomalies who willingly give up precious opportunities, content with an ordinary life, lying on their deathbeds, quietly awaiting the end.
A gentle breeze brushed by, softly drifting over the land, creating ripples. The gentle sunlight was unusually somber, blocked by layers of clouds, yet it stubbornly gazed down upon the earth, silently observing the ways of the world.
In the cemetery, rows of tombstones, like steadfast souls, silently watched everyone who arrived. They watched as people silently placed a flower before them and then quietly departed.
This world steeped in white gained one more today.
After standing for a while, people left one after another, but more arrived in succession, always bringing a touch of life to this silent world.
Tony Stark got out of his sports car, gently took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He stood before the tombstone with a frown, in silence.
"I brought a bottle of brandy, your favorite." Tony said in a low voice, then took out a bottle of liquor and placed it before the tombstone. On the photograph, the aged face was expressionless.
Beside him, Tony stood like a mountain, not uttering a word, his eyes filled with peace.
There were no tears streaming down his face as one might expect. He was never one to fully reveal his emotions. He just watched quietly, as if communicating with the old fellow who had passed.
Beside him, Wanda was already sobbing uncontrollably. She still remembered how this old man, whom she had mistaken for an ordinary employee, had welcomed tony into the manor. But years had passed, and things were no longer the same.
This old guy... he was truly like family...
Max, Betty, Crane... Many people had come in silence, and now stood silently behind Tony.
Crane pushed up his glasses, hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in Tony's ear, "We could resurrect him with technology and delete some of his memories..."
Tony shook his head, his voice a bit hoarse. "There's no need. Would the person we resurrect still be the same old guy? He would hate us for the rest of his life."
Crane nodded and quietly stepped back.
Tony patted Wanda's shoulder, then put down the cloth bag in his hand, opened it, and took out... a head. A ridiculous, beetle-like head.
Those who didn't understand looked at this artifact in surprise. Did it have some special meaning?
They thought the thing was handmade.
"This is the head of the Vampire Progenitor, Dracula. I killed him and brought his head to see you off. I promised I'd help you kill all the vampires, and now I have."
Tony murmured in a low voice. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he took Wanda's hand, turned, and left without looking back.
The Old Bartender... he would be smiling right now, wouldn't he?
The face in the photograph must be smiling at his retreating back, right? A wide grin, revealing gums with almost no teeth left. Utterly unsightly, yet still smiling at him unconsciously.
The breeze against his skin felt like a slight itch, as if some mischievous fellow was playing a prank.
That old guy could be considered to have passed away in peace. This lifetime, he was on the run, hiding out in the east and in Tibet, living in constant fear. Yet in his old age, he got to see the destruction of his mortal enemy, the vampire kingdom, and even witnessed the death of the very last vampire.
In his later years, the old fellow lived with great peace of mind, even if it was only for a few short years.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, seemingly reflecting the heavy hearts of the people here, and also symbolizing the arrival of something terrible. A black cloud loomed over the city.
The darkness that blotted out the sunlight, the endless corruption and wails, painted the earth in a layer of pitch-black.
Wanda was wiping her tears at his side, her eyes red and swollen. She didn't notice anything unusual about Tony at all. She asked miserably, "He'll be okay in the other world, right? Other lost souls won't bully him, will they? He's so old..."
Tony forced a smile. "That old rogue is as cunning as they come. How many lost souls do you think could outsmart him?"
There was something else he didn't tell Wanda. To exist as lost souls after death, one must have had something special about their soul in life. But the Old Bartender... didn't.
He was just an ordinary human.
Tony sighed softly. After comforting Wanda for a while and coaxing her to get some rest, he suppressed the grief in his heart. His expression turned solemn as he quietly went to a secret location.
Here, numerous tall figures were busy researching something.
"Shockwave, Soundwave, how's the research on the Tesseract coming along? I might need to take it," Tony asked in a heavy voice.
The twelve-meter-tall Shockwave was burly and strong, with a build even more formidable than Megatron's. He had no complete facial features, only a single round hole that glowed with red light, making him look very distinct.
"It's going very smoothly. We don't need to fully replicate this Tesseract's power; we just need to analyze its energy structure. Give me a month, and I can produce qualified super-energy crystals."
Shockwave said in a booming, muffled voice.
Soundwave stood to the side without a word, his personality taciturn. His appearance was also strange; his face was an electronic plate resembling a computer monitor, on which waveforms similar to an electrocardiogram often pulsed.
Tony nodded, walked over, and picked up the Tesseract from the precision instrument. Its blue glow was very alluring, captivating one's heart.
Tony slowly extended his hand, revealing his index finger and thumb, and then fiercely stabbed them into one of its sides. The powerful Tesseract flared, erupting with a burst of energy, but Tony suppressed it, directly shattering its exterior to reach the core.
He pulled out the Space Stone from within, holding it in his palm. His focused gaze was like that of someone observing a crucial item.
Tony casually tossed the broken Tesseract onto the floor. The thing could perhaps serve as a super-large energy crystal in the future, outputting massive amounts of energy, but to Tony, it was completely useless.
Soundwave silently picked up the Tesseract, held it in his hand, and quietly watched the somewhat downcast Tony. The perceptive being had sensed something.
"What on earth happened? We can help," said Shockwave in his booming voice. His intelligence was very high. For Tony to hastily take away the Space Stone, the matter must be serious.
"It's just a guess for now. You don't need to worry. Let's hope I'm just being paranoid." Tony stared at the Space Stone for a moment, then slowly put it away, opened a Portal, and walked through.
Shockwave and Soundwave exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes, but they tacitly remained silent.
"Hey, hey, hey, you two! How's the research coming along? Stop dilly-dallying!" From outside the door came Starscream's bossy voice.
(end of chapter)
