When Zane walked into the company's gate with a gloomy face, his steps suddenly paused. Without leaving any traces, he glanced around. He had felt a sense of being watched just now. However, aside from the surveillance cameras in the company, it was already late at night, and there was no one else in the corridor except Zane.
Zane's expression remained unchanged, but his muscles were already tense, and he was highly focused, alert to his surroundings. His instincts wouldn't deceive him; someone was currently spying on him from the shadows. Though he didn't know the purpose, he was sure it wasn't something good.
When Zane rushed to the laboratory to check on Peter's situation, he found a wound on the back of Peter's neck. From the wound, Zane pulled out a strand of spider silk, the other end of which was connected to a dead spider.
Now Zane was completely certain – Peter had turned into Spider-Man, just like in the original storyline. Zane didn't say anything, turning his head to look at the glass cabinet where the super spider was stored. There was no damage whatsoever, so the spider couldn't have crawled out by itself.
Considering the sense of being watched when he entered the company, Zane already had a speculation in his mind.
"Sorcerer Supreme, no need to hide. Come out."
As the words fell, orange sparks formed a circular portal, and a person wearing a sorcerer's robe with a large hood and holding a small folding fan walked out of the portal.
Zane glanced at the other side of the portal, revealing a building with an ancient charm – most likely the Kamar-Taj on the Himalayas, known as the sanctuary for sorcerers.
"Hello, outsider," the Ancient One took off her hood, revealing a shiny bald head. Her seemingly comical appearance became natural due to her eyes that seemed to perceive everything, exuding the unique elegance of a sorcerer.
"Another baldy," Zane looked at the Ancient One, speaking through gritted teeth.
Facing Zane's mockery, the Ancient One seemed unaffected, just giving Zane a slight smile. Despite her seemingly ridiculous appearance, the Ancient One's eyes, filled with wisdom, made her look naturally graceful. Her long life and unique life experiences had brought her to a state of serene calmness. Zane's taunts didn't evoke even the slightest hint of unusual emotions from her.
Seeing that his sarcastic remarks had no effect, Zane put away his mocking expression. As for why Zane confronted the Ancient One right away, the reason was simple – to establish dominance in the conversation.
Since the fact that Peter had become Spider-Man was irreversible, Zane saw no point in holding onto it. Deep down, he still respected the bald woman; it was this seemingly frail woman who, with her own strength, had protected the Earth for thousands of years.
Controlling the Time Stone as a mortal, she kept countless interdimensional monsters at bay, including the Dark Dimension's ruler Dormammu. All of this was achieved quietly and without seeking fame or fortune – a saint-like existence.
Though Zane didn't want to become such a person, it didn't stop him from having respect for her.
As for Ancient One, as soon as she appeared, she pointed out the fact that Zane is a time traveler. Zane was not surprised at all. It would be strange if Ancient One hadn't noticed, considering her ability to use the Time Stone to peer into the future. Suddenly having Zane as a variable, not being discovered would be strange indeed.
Zane even had reasons to suspect that the early events and the birth of superheroes and supervillains in the Marvel Universe were manipulated by the Ancient One for a better future.
In reality, Zane didn't want to encounter the Ancient One at this early stage. Currently, he couldn't defeat the Ancient One honestly. You should know that the Ancient One can confront the existence of Dormammu from the Dark Dimension. This level of strength is probably much higher than Odin's, and the Ancient One can even resort to tricks.
With the powerful cheat of the Time Stone, Ancient One, if unable to defeat Zane, could restart the battle until discovering Zane's weakness and delivering a fatal blow. Zane didn't believe that the Ancient One, who had lived for thousands of years, had no ace up his sleeve in terms of magic.
"Sorcerer Supreme or should I say Ancient One, what is your purpose in doing this?" Zane thought about all this in his mind, but in reality, only a moment had passed. Facing the Ancient One's eyes full of wisdom, Zane felt immense pressure, like being stared at by a top student.
Suddenly, Zane seemed to realize that most of the big shots in the Marvel Universe were almost all top students. Tony Stark was a cursed man of knowledge, Bruce Banner had seven doctoral degrees, Captain America was proficient in various combat strategies, and even Thor, the muscular God of Thunder, was known to be skilled in several alien languages.
As Zane's thoughts drifted, the Ancient One spoke, "To let Peter Parker return to his own path."
Zane, upon hearing this, disdainfully smiled. Facing the Ancient One, who slowly adjusted the future to the most correct behavior, Zane thought this was inherently wrong. If people always choose the most correct path, what's the point of living?
"This is such a high-end approach. May I ask, did I force him? Did I entice him? Or did I hold a knife to his neck, forcing him to work at my company? None of that, it was entirely Peter's choice. What qualifications do you have to intervene?" Zane said, pointing to the still unconscious Peter on the ground.
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