Chapter 82 – End of the Rewind
["Nice work!" You laughed and gave your other self a thumbs-up. You hadn't expected the version of yourself in this world to be so powerful—neither your signature poison gas nor your firearms could harm him. But death doesn't concern you; in fact, dying at the hands of another you sounds like fun.]
[Ultimately, the battle ended without a clear victor. Bruce Banner transformed into the Hulk and fought against your other self. Although you inflicted serious losses on S.H.I.E.L.D., once the Joker gas wore off, it was clear you couldn't finish off everyone. Afterwards, Bruce Banner told you he recognized that man—it was Zhou Ning, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, legendary scientist, war hero, and CEO of Starlight Corporation. Upon hearing this, you couldn't help but burst into laughter. This world is a joke—the most dangerous criminal and the greatest hero turned out to be the same person.]
[In August 2007, you received news: former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Zhou Ning had returned to lead S.H.I.E.L.D. again, replacing Steve Rogers. Tony Stark, with Zhou Ning's funding, founded a new biotech company that snatched quite a few contracts from your Stark Industries. But you couldn't care less—you're just the man behind the curtain at Stark Industries. It's run by your subordinates and is completely legal on the surface. Besides, you're not interested in money; you enjoy the process of acquisition.]
[You also noticed that despite lacking the Hulk and Thor, your other self still assembled an Avengers team. The members were: himself, Winston, Black Widow, the Lizard, Hawkeye, Captain America, Peggy Carter, and Tony Stark—actually one more than the original roster. Meanwhile, you became known as the most dangerous criminal, wanted by both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the police.]
[From September 2007 to February 2008, you and your other self clashed several times, each with wins and losses. But he had more victories. Even though he fell into your traps on multiple occasions, even though you nearly assassinated him, even though you once shot a bullet straight into his heart—he simply wouldn't die. You realized that killing him for good might require an Infinity Stone or blowing him into atoms with a bomb.]
[From March to June 2008, you began seeking the Infinity Stones. You intended to collaborate with Hydra, hoping to use them. But due to the butterfly effect caused by your other self, you couldn't find a single trace of Hydra anywhere in Europe or the U.S. So you devised another evil plan.]
[You had someone contact Kingpin, using the public release of the super soldier serum formula as bait, inviting him to meet in Hell's Kitchen for an alliance. You also leaked the news to the Avengers. With everything falling into place, both sides fully believed the trap. You then sent Henrietta in your place to attend the meeting, while you infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with the Hulk, Electro, and other trusted lieutenants. Sure enough, the moment Henrietta appeared, the entire Avengers team showed up—only to be greeted by pre-planted explosives! Meanwhile, you successfully located the Tesseract in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground base and escaped unscathed. (You acquired an Epic Item: Tesseract.)]
[The first half of the plan went well, but the second half was a disaster. The bomb killed Kingpin and your trusted subordinate Henrietta, and only took out a few elite agents—not a single Avenger. Word has it they were all seriously injured, with Hawkeye nearly dying. But what they didn't know was that the bomb had also dispersed your specially engineered ultimate toxin, which, if all went as planned, would slowly alter their minds. (You gained +1 Legendary Point.)]
[From July to August 2008, you had Bruce Banner begin researching the Tesseract. If even Hydra could use 1940s technology to create superweapons from it, there's no reason you couldn't. While his research continued, you discovered that your enemies had undergone a significant power boost in just two months. Not only Winston and Tony Stark, but even Black Widow and Captain America were now wearing Iron Man suits—suddenly, there were seven Iron Men. Even you were stunned.]
[From September to December 2008, Bruce Banner vanished, and your forces were attacked by a joint effort between the Avengers and the U.S. military. To deal with you, Tony Stark even teamed up with your other self to design an Anti-Joker Armor that could completely block neural toxins and was reinforced against explosions.]
[Their assault was devastating. Your criminal empire crumbled in less than two months. Loyal subordinates like Electro and Sandman were killed in battle; Hydro-Man and Dr. Connors fled early. You always considered yourself courageous, and to you, courage means maintaining elegance under pressure.]
[Even when cornered, you didn't run. You simply stared at your other self. In his eyes, you saw a familiar madness, and in that moment, you knew you'd lost—but also won. You couldn't die, because you were more than a man. You were an idea. You would live on in the shadows.]
[You raised your pistol at your other self, grinned widely, and pulled the trigger. Click! A small flag popped out of the barrel. The surrounding Iron Man suits, startled by the move, opened fire all at once.]
[Rewind complete.]
Summary: Congratulations. This rewind was quite a ride. You became the most infamous criminal in the entire Endless War world. You disregarded law and order, mastered the art of manipulation, and truly embraced death as a thrill. You caused massive casualties, committed innumerable atrocities, and yet, to your subordinates, you were a charismatic, magnetic leader they were willing to die for. Moreover, just as you hoped, your other self succumbed to the darkness and became a true version of you, wreaking havoc far beyond your own achievements—his destruction spread across the entire universe. Bruce Banner also succeeded in developing a superweapon using the Tesseract and inherited your criminal empire, becoming the new supervillain. But that's a story for another time—perhaps you'll encounter it in a future rewind.
Rating: B+
World Exploration: 96.7% (+1.5%)
Due to your significant impact on the Endless War world, you've earned 12 traversal coins. Once your rewind rating reaches A, you'll receive a temporary template card based on this world's random template. You did not receive one this time.
Only after the simulation ended did Zhou Ning come to his senses and let out a long sigh. In his opinion, this Mad Clown Zhou Ning had performed admirably, making full use of his own strengths. Anyone else would've been pulverized. But the problem was that Legendary Vampire Zhou Ning's immortality was just too overpowered. And with the added difficulty of fighting on enemy turf, a head-on confrontation was never realistic. Maybe, if he had lasted until Bruce Banner returned with the Tesseract, there would've been a fighting chance.
Below the rewind interface, a claim rewards button appeared. When clicked, a prompt instantly followed:
[You have chosen to claim your rewards.]
[You have acquired the Epic Item: Tony Stark's Super Soldier Serum]
[You have acquired the Epic Item: Tesseract]
[You have acquired a Purple Talent: Explosive Genius!]