Shiller stood beside the shelf, concealing his presence. He didn't make a move immediately because he was deep in thought.
The essence of Greed should involve both sides vying for the Infinity Gems, but would he really allow one side to gather all the Infinity Gems?
If he allows it, then Shiller rushing to Doctor Strange to seize them shouldn't cause any variables; yet, if he doesn't, he will inevitably reveal himself, borrowing power from Morpheus for Doctor Strange, and at that time, Shiller won't be able to defeat him and might even have his Infinity Gem stolen.
The key to understanding this problem is: can acquiring the Infinity Gems end the war?
Judging by the description of the Infinity Gems, it probably can, since it doesn't just snap away half the people. It's about eliminating all the Superheroes with such Cosmic Origin Power treasures, which shouldn't be hard to achieve.
But the issue is, the Infinity Gems of the Central Universe cannot be used individually. It's uncertain if it's a blockade or something else, but having only one or two is completely useless, so who can guarantee they are usable when fully gathered?
If gathering them still proves ineffective, it would be a colossal joke, but Greed loves to make jokes.
If gathering them proves ineffective, then it would be fine for Shiller to seize them now; but if gathering them ensures a side's victory, Greed will not let him win so easily.
But Shiller didn't hesitate long. He circled around the shelf and came up behind the man in the black robe, pressing a laser dagger to his lower back: "Don't move, give me the Infinity Gems, and I'll help you leave."
The other man froze suddenly, his voice hoarse, "Who are you?"
"That's not important, I just want the Infinity Gems."
"Are you with Batman?"
"Don't ask too many questions."
"Though the police are chasing me now, we're on the same side. If I shout, you won't get away easily either."
Shiller displayed his credentials in front of him.
"You've infiltrated the police?! You... damn, how are these people so careless?!" Doctor Strange sounded very frustrated, but it was clear he was visibly weakened, likely struggling just to stand.
"I told you, give me the gem, and at least you'll be able to continue fighting; otherwise, you can go back and rest."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You have no other choice."
Doctor Strange paused for a moment in silence, but he still took out a box from his chest. Shiller brought the dagger closer and said, "Open it."
Doctor Strange opened the box, and indeed the Infinity Gems were inside. But the problem was, Shiller wasn't a magician, and even if he touched the Infinity Gems, he couldn't tell the real from the fake, and Doctor Strange was likely to have counterfeits.
Constantine had been sent away and wouldn't be back anytime soon. If he just handed them over and couldn't verify their authenticity, it was very likely Doctor Strange would escape with them.
But Shiller still reached out and took the gems. He compared them to another gem he had encountered and, finding no issues, put the gems in his pocket.
The next second, he pressed the switch on the dagger.
The laser dagger sliced through flesh like butter, and the Main Universe Doctor Strange's eyes widened, turning into a flash of white light and disappearing completely.
And as he turned into white light, another box dropped. Shiller picked it up and saw inside was another Infinity Gem identical to the previous one—indeed, the guy had a fake prepared.
But it didn't matter; Shiller never intended to let him go anyway. Killing him would naturally yield the real gem.
He placed both gems in his pocket and headed toward the market exit. The flash of white light had been too conspicuous, and if those pursuing him had already landed on this planet, they would undoubtedly notice and come to investigate. He had to leave the crime scene quickly.
Just as Shiller made his way through the crowd and entered a dimly lit alley, he turned back and saw several figures jump into the windows of the Magic Market.
"Spider-Man..."
Shiller raised an eyebrow in surprise; he hadn't expected Marvel to send Spider-Man after him. But upon reflection, it made sense—this was a rare ground battle, naturally Spider-Man's domain.
Shiller returned to the small inn. Constantine returned around the same time, and they met in the room. Shiller handed both gems to Constantine, who identified the genuine one, indeed the one that had fallen after the Main Universe Doctor Strange died.
"You took him out?" Constantine asked.
Shiller nodded and said, "I couldn't tell the fake from the real, so I had to kill first and check. The ones pursuing us are Spider-Men."
"Spider-Men?" Constantine squinted his eyes. He seemed to have heard of them but wasn't entirely clear, so he asked, "Are they formidable?"
"Most are young with no investigative experience, making it hard for them to find us. But they definitely know this, so the ones coming must not be of the common kind, certainly not easy to deal with."
While the two conversed in the inn, at the Magic Market stall, a person dressed entirely in black, wearing a hat and goggles, with a revolver strapped to their waist, crouched down and used their fingers to pick up some powder from the ground.
"He should have been picking out goods here," the figure said, "then someone came from behind, held a knife to his back, and stabbed him to death."
"Who could it be?" said another figure, glowing faintly with blue light all over, "Constantine, or Doctor Strange?"
Another figure, dressed in a uniform with a spider pattern but with a flaming skull head, saw a nearby container filled with green glowing liquid.
"It should be Doctor Strange," his voice was particularly deep, tinged with a peculiar evil, "this potion is used for healing wounds. Doctor Strange was previously besieged by the Interstellar Security Committee's fleet and was seriously injured; he might have come to buy medicine."
"Does he not even have the ability to escape?"
"The opponent struck decisively, he probably didn't even realize what happened. Captain Universe, didn't you say they were both likely severely injured?"
The one referred to as Captain Universe shook his head and said, "My judgment was wrong. From the crash trajectory, the two of them didn't land directly on the main planet, but possibly hit a satellite, which greatly shortened their fall distance and gave them time to rest, so the injuries might not be as serious as imagined."
"Shadow Spider-Man, can you find their hiding place?" the flaming skull head turned back to ask.
"Hard to say. You know, if this guy wasn't formidable, we wouldn't be needed." Clad in black, Shadow Spider-Man gently shook his head, but hesitated for a moment and still said, "I'll try to find them; they shouldn't have run far."
At this moment, a figure in a red bodysuit, with only the shoulders and hood in black, suddenly staggered a bit, pressing his hand to his head. The three figures in front all turned to look at him.
"What's wrong, Cain? Did you foresee something again?"
The other nodded, pointed in a direction, and they rushed over there quickly.
"We probably have to leave here," Shiller said, "if the ones coming are Spider-Men, then those who shot down our spaceship might be Captain Universe; only he has such powerful long-range combat ability, and we can't fight them head-on."
"Where are we going now?"
"Let's find Main Universe Constantine, hopefully, he can help us until reinforcements arrive."
Shiller and Constantine quickly packed up their things and rushed towards the Central Tower. The Central Tower stood in the middle of the marketplace, a tall spire reaching to the clouds, very conspicuous and easy to find. They found a spaceship by the roadside and headed towards the Central Tower.
Less than two minutes after they left, the Spider-Men arrived at their hotel, but it was already empty.
Shadow Spider-Man directly drew his gun and pointed it at the hotel owner's head. The owner shouted loudly in alien language, seemingly not understanding what they were saying. Captain Universe, who had a built-in translation system, walked over to ask, but the owner also claimed they hadn't seen the people they were looking for.
The others then looked at Scarlet Spider-Man Cain. Cain hesitated for a second or two and then pointed in another direction.
They continued pursuing in that direction and soon got close to the Central Tower. Meanwhile, Shiller had already seen their figures from the spaceship, and the Spider-Men had also noticed the spaceship ahead traveling faster than any other and with a strong sense of purpose - perhaps it was their target.
Captain Universe flew over first, directly blocking the spaceship. Shiller didn't bother with pleasantries, activated the shield to its maximum, and floored the accelerator — goodbye, speed bumps!
Although this wouldn't kill Captain Universe, he certainly wouldn't take it head-on, quickly dodging aside, and then reaching out with a beam of light hitting the spaceship's engine position.
The spaceship tilted and tumbled downward, still a distance from the Central Tower. As Shiller and Constantine crawled out of the spaceship, they found that Spider-Men had already surrounded them on the ground.
Shadow Spider-Man was just about to speak when a laser shot straight at his chest. He cursed under his breath, rolled to dodge it, and the other Spider-Men quickly looked for cover as well.
In those few seconds' gap, Shiller and Constantine broke through the encirclement and began running toward the Central Tower.
The Spider-Men chased closely behind, with Captain Universe flying fast, directly getting in front of Shiller and Constantine. Shiller shot a laser at him again, but Captain Universe took it head-on, unharmed.
"Constantine!" Shiller shouted.
Constantine also knew this was a critical moment; it was not the time to conserve energy, life or death hung in the balance.
He directly took out a previous crossbow and shot an arrow with a dense blood-red tip towards Captain Universe.
The object carried astonishing malice, and Captain Universe, not knowing what it was, chose to dodge. Taking advantage of his sidestep, Constantine threw a flaming bottle, instantly setting ablaze an area within ten meters.
While Captain Universe was momentarily distracted, the two of them ran past him again, and he immediately flew up again, trying to continue the chase.
However, the fire blocked his entire team. Shadow Spider-Man braked hard and turned to shout: "Evil Spirit Spider-Man!"
The Spider-Man with the skull head burst into blue flames: "Spirit of Vengeance grants me strength!!!"
The blue fire overwhelmed the red flames, spreading down the street. Shiller and Constantine, running ahead, turned back to see this scene and dashed into a side alley to the left, narrowly avoiding the flames.
When they looked up, they realized it was a dead end; the Spider-Men behind had all caught up. Shadow Spider-Man was at the forefront, with the others walking steadily behind him.
"Spider-Men probably don't kill people?" Constantine turned and asked softly.
His answer was a bullet shot from Shadow Spider-Man's revolver.