Centaurus. In the narrow and dark inn on the back of an unknown satellite planet. Constantine lit a cigarette, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
He was holding a piece of paper, specifically a wanted poster. It was filled with alien text resembling earthworms. But this didn't affect reading, as the very center of the wanted poster had a close-up of Doctor Strange's face.
"Seems he succeeded. This works too, saves me a trip," Constantine mumbled with a cigarette in his mouth, "But this guy should look just like the Supreme Magician of this cosmos. Who dares to issue a wanted notice for the Supreme Magician?"
"Isn't it a coincidence? Important official of the Interstellar Security Committee, Thanos, just recently reclaimed his legitimate territory."
Constantine turned to look at the figure in the corner. The other dressed impeccably, resembling a typical human elite, but the goat hooves and horns on his head betrayed his identity.
"Thanos..." Constantine softly uttered the name. He sat by the table, using a finger to support his head, searching for something on his outdated terminal.
"I see," Constantine said looking at the displayed content, "This guy probably has never given up his thieving intentions toward Earth. Now there's finally a chance, to affect the Supreme Magician's reputation, he probably can't wait."
"What are you planning to do?"
"First, go to the crime scene to see."
Constantine stood up.
The Collector resides in the star system within Swan X-1 Star. And this star is a dense star, specifically a black hole. The particularity of this black hole is that it constantly spins at 95% the speed of light. This is also the fastest spinning black hole discovered by humans to date.
Nevertheless, X-1 is still a binary star system. Besides the dense star, there is also a blue giant star. The mass of the blue giant star is about 20 to 40 times that of the Sun, and the dense star is around 21 times. The Collector's museum is located on the blue giant star.
Though the blue giant star looks cold, it is actually a stage of stellar evolution. Its surface temperature is also very high, and due to its massive mass, its capture range is incredibly vast. Generally, people cannot approach it.
Furthermore, next to it is a lethal black hole. This is evidently the Collector's choice for a bodyguard for his museum. This celestial object, with its peculiar shape and high speed, is something that most fleet from civilizations dare not approach; they choose rather to go far around.
Add to that, this binary star system is a very strong X-ray source, which means a natural strong radiation field. Even carbon-based beings with relatively strong bodies cannot endure being exposed to such rays for long. Only the God Clan could possibly be completely immune to such powerful radiation.
In sum, the conditions here make perfect celestial harmony. The harsh natural environment makes no one even think of invading, additionally, the Collector himself is not to be trifled with. Cosmic Elders cannot die easily; hardly anyone chooses to mess with them.
But how coincidental is it? There's a Doctor Strange who can't take it and still possesses magical powers, completely immune to the threats of the natural environment and is not here to kill the Collector but is purely for robbery. The Collector found himself unable to call for help, his collection was half plundered. These were treasures he had amassed over tens of thousands of years.
Now, this affair has spread throughout the interstellar society. The Interstellar Security Committee already issued wanted notices and particularly emphasized that although the two look alike, the Supreme Magician of this universe is not the same person as the accused Doctor Strange.
This wanted poster appears to be a case of 'no silver here at all.' Most people upon seeing this would believe, even if they are not the same person, they are isotopes. The Supreme Magician couldn't control his isotope, allowing him to ravage this cosmos, wouldn't that be complicit theft?
Constantine floated at the boundary of the radiation zone, eyeing the dazzling blue giant star with furrowed brows. Even from this distance, he could sense the lingering magical energy at that spot. Violent, chaotic, highly aggressive.
"Doctor Strange, has he gone mad?" He couldn't help but mutter.
After observing outside for a while, he retrieved a kind of red powder from his box. As soon as it was poured out, it quickly floated towards one direction. Constantine flew in that direction too.
Approaching the blue giant star, it becomes evident that within lies a hidden world. An apparently supergiant star actually has a surface capable of landing. The planetary shield should have been intact but appears to have been broken. The traces of magic seemed to have been left during the shield's attack.
"Something's not right," Constantine said, "Can Doctor Strange really have the ability to break this planet's shield with a single strike? If not, why didn't the Collector take the chance to call upon his allies during the stalemate?"
Yet Constantine jumped inside and softly landed on the surface. The Collector's treasure trove was not on the surface, but underground. Losing his patience for finding the path, Constantine stored away the red powder, took a bit of soil and placed it underfoot. The originally dead soil suddenly surged, engulfing him.
Emerging from the earth once more, Constantine found himself in a majestic palace. He raised his head to look, noticing no signs of destruction, still grand and solemn, fresh as new.
Continuing inward, he found a pointed dome-style gate, inlaid with gemstones Constantine couldn't name. He couldn't help but snort, saying, "Putting expensive stuff on the door, who wouldn't want to rob you? To say it's been untouched for so long is truly a miracle."
"The way that Cosmic Elders are positioned is quite unique," Constantine noticed the horned figure standing atop the gate he pushed open, walking as if on a tightrope, calling out as he moved, "those who appreciate their treasures can't overpower them, those who can overpower them don't value this pile of junk. Furthermore, they're eternally immortal; to offend them means preparing for a lifetime of being hunted down."
"Eternally immortal?"
"Yes. Back then they made a bet with Death, and because of the wager, the Realm of Death wouldn't take them at all. Even if they died, they would immediately be revived. You could call them cosmic cockroaches."
Constantine showed a disgusted expression, then leaned in to look through the door crack. Just as he was about to take a closer look, he heard an earth-shattering scream.
"Ah!!!!"
Instead of a scream, it was more like a wail. Constantine squeezed through the narrow door crack and found that it looked like a study. The reason it looked like one was because most of it had already collapsed. The shelves lying on the ground looked like bookshelves, but they could also be display racks. However, the most noticeable thing was the old man with a white beard sitting on the ground, wailing as if he were at his deathbed.
Upon noticing someone had arrived, the old man's wailing abruptly stopped, and he jumped up directly, glaring at Constantine with round eyes, "Who are you? Are you here to steal my treasures too?!"
Constantine sized him up. He was wearing a long green robe, with a wide belt featuring mysterious patterns. He had almost no hair but a long white beard. Taller and stronger than Constantine, his appearance was indistinguishable from that of a human.
"Do you still have treasures worth stealing here?" Constantine cut straight to the point, leaving the old man stunned.
Seeing him about to start wailing again, Constantine quickly extended one hand to interrupt him and said, "To be honest, I'm here to track down the culprit. My employer is his nemesis. Let's talk about your situation first."
The white-bearded old man wiped his face, heaved a deep sigh, shrugged, and said, "What situation is there to talk about, just this situation. That guy who looks exactly like the Supreme Magician rushed in and stole everything here!"
"Wait a minute. You don't think he's the Supreme Magician, do you?"
"Of course not," the white-bearded old man shook his head, "The magic energy he uses is similar to the Supreme Magician's, but there's a slight difference. I can sense it. I thought he was disguised, so I specially strengthened the defense. Unexpectedly, the guy went crazy and directly broke the shield."
"You couldn't defeat him?"
"Of course not, I'm not good at fighting at all." He sighed again and sat down on the ground, "I couldn't even block him; I could only watch helplessly as he robbed me of my treasures."
"What did he steal?"
"Of course my most important treasures!" the white-bearded old man shouted, "This is my treasure trove! These are not normally on public display, yet he snatched them all away!!!"
Constantine looked around. In the corners of the room, there were still some items left behind. Some were emitting surprisingly strong energy fluctuations—indeed, they were good stuff.
Constantine weighed his options internally but still said, "Do you know about the Infinity Gem?"
"Infinity Gem? Of course, I know, I even had one, which was taken by that guy."
"You had an Infinity Gem, how could it be stolen by him?"
The white-bearded old man looked confused. It took him a while to react, then he said, "You can't be one of those who believe the myths about the Infinity Gem, are you? They're just rumors. I've had that gemstone for quite some time, I've already researched it thoroughly, and it can't be used at all."
Constantine furrowed his brow, unable to resist glancing at the corner of the room. The shadow in the corner nodded at him.
"You can't use the gemstone?"
"Yes, and I haven't found any special powers from it either. You can't be saying that the strange man who looks like the Supreme Magician came for the Infinity Gem, are you?"
"I'm afraid so." Constantine nodded.
The white-bearded old man let out another wail. While slapping his thigh, he shouted, "Why didn't he just say so, I would have given it to him!? That thing is useless to me! Did he really have to take everything?"
Constantine felt something was off. Logically speaking, Doctor Strange could have easily impersonated the Supreme Magician. They basically look alike, and although their powers have slight differences, without engaging in combat, most people wouldn't notice.
If he pretended to be the Supreme Magician and asked to borrow the Infinity Gem, the Collector would most likely lend it. Even if the Collector didn't lend it, it wouldn't be too late to take action then. Why start by violently breaking the shield and forcefully robbing?
One key issue here was that Doctor Strange came from another cosmos. The energy he carried was limited, and replenishing it in this cosmos was quite troublesome. Therefore, he should be inclined to conserve energy rather than waste it so extravagantly. Even if he completely lost his mind, the mage's instinct, impoverished as it might be, should be to conserve energy, why would he waste it like this?
Constantine couldn't quite understand. Just as he was pondering, the door behind him suddenly made a sound as if being pushed open. He quickly turned his head, and then saw a man in a blue jacket walking in. The man took off his hat, revealing a face identical to "Mephisto."
```