Ten miles from the outskirts of Puente Antiguo,
In the desert sky, the early morning stars formed a nebula that resembled an aurora, shining with dazzling, multicolored light, as if something were about to descend from it.
The travel van suddenly came to a screeching halt, leaving two skid marks on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, and finally coming to a stop directly beneath the center of the colorful Nebula.
"We're here. Hurry up and record the data!" Jane, who was still holding the brake, reached for her notebook on the side and decisively directed her friends Darcy and Erik to the back of the van.
Kyle was inwardly amazed. This girl seemed pretty cute, but when she worked, she was as tough and direct as a workaholic.
However, his thoughts were not on the three people inside the vehicle, but rather on the surroundings. He keenly sensed the disordered and agitated air, along with the disrupted and distorted space.
As far as Kyle knew, there were only two things that could create this sense of disoriented layers of interconnected spaces. One was the activation of the Space Stone, and the other was the opening of the Bifrost.
Kyle lowered his eyelids, glanced at the three people in the car, and shrugged, issuing a cautionary reminder. "Be careful. There might be something falling from the sky."
Darcy grumbled, "What could possibly fall..."
Before she could finish, she looked up at the van's sunroof, her eyes widening, her mouth hanging open, causing even her lollipop to fall.
In the center of the Nebula, something resembling a meteor plummeted from the sky. As it friction-burned through the atmosphere, it transformed into a massive fireball, rapidly melting away the darkness of the night sky.
"Oh my God!" Darcy was still in shock. But Erik, who was experienced, slapped the car seat and shouted, "Jane, drive away from here!"
"I know!" Jane, aside from Kyle, was one of the calmest people in the van. She put down her notebook, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas, causing the van to shoot forward.
The travel van had just left the area when the meteor, engulfed in searing flames, crashed on the desert ground about thirty feet behind the vehicle.
"Boom!"
It exploded like a powerful bomb, sending countless rocks and dust flying in all directions, creating a dust storm that swept past the van.
After surviving the ordeal, Darcy patted her heaving chest. "Jane, I'm not coming out with you next time."
"To think that a meteor just happened to fall. I've never encountered anything so coincidental before," Erik said, still shaken.
"At least everyone's safe."
Jane let out a sigh of relief, manipulated the steering wheel, and glanced back at the passengers.
Kyle remained composed, reclining in his seat as if the recent event was no big deal, and he playfully reminded them in a low voice, "Pay attention to your driving."
This warning came just a little too late. Jane was looking at the windshield when the front of the van collided with something, creating a loud, dull sound.
Jane immediately slammed the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop. In the bright headlights' glow, they could dimly see a burly man in black lying on the ground in front of the van.
"I think... I hit someone," Jane said, realizing it was more accurate to say she had hit a god. Yes, you drove and hit a god.
Kyle facepalmed inwardly, but he didn't say anything. Only Vis and Venom were communicating in a unique sonic frequency, enjoying themselves.
"Ahahaha, Thor, it's your day too."
That's right. What had fallen from the Bifrost was none other than Thor himself. Thor, the God of Thunder.
Three days ago, Kyle received a message from the Gatekeeper about preparing to return to the realm of the gods through the Bifrost to observe the king's inheritance ceremony of Thor, Odin's son.
However, earlier this morning, the inheritance ceremony was unexpectedly canceled, and Thor was sent to Earth to be secretly observed and tested as a mortal by his father, Odin.
As for why Thor had to resort to such a troublesome way to come to Earth, even if Kyle hadn't received the gatekeeper's message in advance, he could have guessed that the mess in Asgard was unavoidable.
It all started because Thor had already taken hold of Mjölnir, the symbol of authority, as Odin's designated heir to the throne. Naturally, Loki, the god of tricks, was not pleased and couldn't resist playing some tricks before the inheritance ceremony.
In simpler terms, it was a large family drama caused by two brothers vying for their father's favor.
Jane and the other two had already exited the van and gathered beside the unconscious man in black, anxiously examining his condition.
Kyle sat calmly in the front passenger seat, his mind undisturbed, casting a somewhat sympathetic glance ahead. He could sense that Thor's divine powers were currently sealed.
This was Odin's doing.
"Please, don't die, don't die!" Jane knelt on the ground, repeatedly pushing Thor's body. Stimulated by these movements, Thor's eyes suddenly widened, his long blond hair in disarray, and he let out a powerful roar, arching his back.
This scene shocked Jane and Erik. They reached out to restrain Thor, but even without his divine powers, Thor's strength was still beyond their control.
Just as Thor was about to break free, Darcy exclaimed, pulled something out of her coat pocket, activated a switch, and thrust it into Thor's powerful body.
A faint blue electric current entered Thor's body, causing him to twitch slightly before rolling his eyes back and falling limp to the ground.
Thor had been stunned by the electric shock... and that seemed to be the least of their problems.
"Vis, did you capture that?" Kyle in the van spoke while snapping his fingers. This was going to be a black mark in the history of the future god-king!
"Of course, I even made a backup and then I made a backup of that backup." Vis chuckled like a gentleman.
"Make a copy for me," Venom chimed in with an attitude of wanting to share the good stuff.
The night was long.
Tonight, there was more than just Thor as an unexpected visitor from beyond the stars.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of New York,
A corner of the night sky turned a deep red as an escape pod descended through the atmosphere. With its fiery hull, it looked like a meteor crashing into the forest and wilderness, raising clouds of dust and smoke.
After a while, a convoy bearing the logo of the "Life Foundation" company surrounded the escape pod inside and out.
The armed personnel in protective suits quickly disembarked from the vehicles and used tools to open the escape pod. They transferred the unconscious female astronaut and all the objects inside to a large vehicle.
When it came to the silver briefcase, several researchers looked excited. They carefully took the briefcase and placed it on a specific transport vehicle.
Once everything, including the escape pod, had been transferred to a large transport truck, the convoy started up and headed slowly back toward the New York city center.
No one noticed that inside one of the vehicles in the middle of the convoy, the silver briefcase contained a glass vial with four mysterious liquid lifeforms, one of which had developed cracks that were about to shatter.
"There's a foul odor in the air..."
"And another thing, a similar presence..."
(End of this chapter)
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