"A lot of monsters under a normal wooden cabin?"
Logan looked around at the familiar streets, knowing this should be modern Earth.
"Sounds like a horror movie?"
"Pretty much."
The film The Cabin in the Woods was less a horror movie and more of a satire.
The plot was very simple. A few college students planned to spend a pleasant holiday at Curt's relative's cabin, unaware that they had been chosen as sacrifices by a mysterious organization. By following a fixed routine to kill them, the organization appeased the ancient evil gods sleeping deep underground. Put simply, a stage was set for unsuspecting young people to act out a horror story. If the ancient evil gods were entertained, they would remain asleep instead of rushing out to destroy the world.
Regardless of their real personalities, these students were forced into fixed templates arranged by the mysterious organization. They had to act according to the script and die one by one at the cabin in a predetermined order.
According to many interpretations, The Cabin in the Woods satirized the rigid formulas of horror films and lamented that if films did not follow this routine, the audience, represented by the ancient evil gods would reject them. But this mechanical approach also left the "evil gods" increasingly dissatisfied, creating a dilemma for countless filmmakers.
Ethan did not know whether the director truly had such thoughts. He only knew that the movie was interesting, and if he wanted a place to play, this world would be a good choice.
The most amusing part was that one of the protagonists of this film was an "acquaintance."
"An acquaintance?"
Standing on the roadside at an intersection, Ethan looked up at a tall young man in the distance.
The so-called acquaintance was by a window on the second floor. Seeing that familiar face, Ethan burst out laughing.
Logan followed his gaze and, when he saw the figure at the window, he laughed too.
"Thor?"
"No, this isn't the God of Thunder who adores his brother."
This young man, who looked exactly like Thor, was Curt. He was an unlucky guy chosen by the "World Preservation Organization," forced to play the role of the "athletic idiot" in the typical horror movie setup, even though he was actually a straight-A student.
That's right. Curt's real personality was that of a top student, but the organization's black technology had altered him into the stereotype. This was evident from Dana and Marty's conversation at the end of the film, where their personalities had inexplicably shifted.
"What should we do? Should we go say hello to these young people?"
Ada had already checked the surroundings and confirmed this was just an ordinary small town in North America. There was nothing unusual here. The large number of monsters Ethan mentioned must all be concentrated beneath the so-called cabin.
Seeing Ethan suddenly interested in these young people, Ada guessed they must be connected to that cabin. Considering this world followed a horror-movie-like structure, they were probably the typical protagonist group.
Remembering countless horror movie plots, Ada thought these young people's future looked grim.
Logan laughed again.
The mighty God of Thunder, now All-Father of Asgard, had a lookalike here who was just a strong college kid about to stumble into a nightmare.
This world really was amusing.
"Maria didn't come with us. She'll regret it."
Maria Hill had joined Ethan's team to learn and experience different worlds. If Ethan had said they were heading out to collect knowledge or artifacts, she would have joined.
But since this was just for fun, she had no interest.
She would never have guessed that this simple trip could turn into something so entertaining.
Thor should be thankful Logan and the others did not live in the Marvel world. If Hill saw someone identical to Thor suffering misfortune, it might affect his image as the mighty All-Father.
"Don't approach them yet."
Ethan gestured, confident that his companions had also noticed the person hiding on the rooftop.
"Is he monitoring them?"
"They carry the 'great mission' of protecting this world. Nothing unexpected can be allowed to happen. If we approach them now, we might end up surrounded by armed personnel."
The organization behind this had significant power. After all, their task was tied directly to the survival of the world. Armed protection was only natural.
"So what do we do?"
"Let's follow them for now and wait for the right moment."
These young people would take some time to set off, especially Marty, who was so addicted to smoking that he would waste plenty of time before leaving.
During this wait, Ada had already used Tony's gear to create fake identities for them. She even bought an old car from a dealership with the "universal credit card."
By the time they finished, the young people had already set out and disappeared.
But Ada and Logan were unbothered. Ada calmly changed her shoes in the back seat. High heels were fine in town, but not in the mountains. Even if she could walk easily on rugged terrain in heels, she had no desire to do so.
After they drove out of town, Logan did not bother asking what to do next. Ethan did not wait either. He snapped his fingers, summoning a ball of blue energy that formed into a translucent arrow above the dashboard.
The meaning was obvious: follow the arrow.
"Your spells are getting stranger. What do you call this one, a guiding spell?"
"It's not a spell. I just shaped the magic energy into an arrow." Ethan glanced at Logan. "If you don't like it, I can change it."
The arrow suddenly twisted into a miniature woman, who struck playful poses to point the way.
"It's interesting, but distracting. Change it back unless you want me to drive into a ditch."
As the arrow returned to normal, Logan realized Ethan wasn't being guided by magic at all, but was tracking something himself.
"You know the way?"
"No. I left a magical mark on the young man named Holden earlier."
"Got it."
Once Ethan marked someone or something, the mark remained unless he removed it himself. Most mages couldn't detect it, much less erase it. Only a master vastly stronger than Ethan could even notice it.
This was one of the strengths of Ethan's path: against spellcasters of the same level, he had overwhelming advantages in both magical power and control.
"Oh, right."
Not knowing how long the drive would take, Logan broke the silence.
"Earlier, you sent Laura and the others to another world. Why didn't they return to the Prinz Eugen right away?"
"Remember how I absorbed a lot of time energy before?" Ethan had already expected the question. Ada in the back had noticed too, but she was clever enough to let Logan ask it for her.
"I remember. Does it still affect you?"
"Of course. I can now adjust whether the time flow of a certain world matches my own."
Ethan explained that when he sent Laura and the others to the Left 4 Dead world, he chose to synchronize its time with his. That way, however long they stayed there, the same time passed for him as well.
"Why do that?"
Logan did not see the point. Wouldn't it be better if Laura could return instantly when she was done?
Ethan shrugged. "These kids are just killing time. If they came back in an instant, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"
More importantly, if they got bored and came back right away, he would have to find them another world. After a few rounds of that, Ethan would collapse from annoyance.
Binding their time to his own meant that only a few hours would pass on the Prinz Eugen from when they left until they returned. That way, he could avoid repeated harassment.
But since he also enjoyed exploring, he did not mind taking them out to play again later.
Logan realized Ethan was mainly trying to avoid being pestered. The mighty Wolverine almost laughed aloud like a husky. "I'm really looking forward to the day you have kids of your own."
While joking, he spotted a camper van parked ahead. The young people they were following stood by the roadside, desperately waving.
Logan did not think such a coincidence could be real. Just when Ethan wanted to catch up to them, their car had conveniently broken down.
On this remote mountain road, they had little chance of getting help from anyone else.
Seeing Logan glance at him questioningly, Ethan made a small gesture with his hand. "Just a little trick."
(To be continued.)