HISD Chapter 21 Destroy the Avengers
Late at night.
Yi Meng returned to his detached home, pulled out his phone, and saw several messages of concern waiting for him.
There were ones from Tifa, Pan Hu, his Teacher, and even a surprisingly warm note from the class monitor, Yang Wei.
Yi Meng patiently replied to each one, assuring them he was fine. After finishing, he sat down on the sofa in the living room, closed his eyes, and began to review everything that had happened today.
First of all, he had uncovered the hidden truth of the real world.
This world, likely starting as far back as two hundred years ago, had been gradually invaded by special entities from science fiction, fantasy, and horror works from his previous life.
And every single invader was a villain.
Among them were beings like Homelander and Dragon Maiden.
Because of this, the world had unified under one global system, experienced an explosion of technology, and birthed organizations like the Federal Department of the Supernatural.
To Yi Meng, however, these so-called suppression and containment forces were no different from Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D.—an agency that looked capable but was ultimately out of its depth, and one that had already been corroded by the very invaders it sought to resist.
For now, stronger invaders were merely suppressing weaker ones, but sooner or later, this fragile balance would collapse.
"Even worse than I thought."
Yi Meng rubbed his aching temples. He had assumed the Department of the Supernatural could at least be trusted, but not even its leaders were safe from corruption—men like Homelander held positions of power.
His earlier dream of casually reaping benefits from the dream worlds and living as a wealthy recluse in reality had been shattered.
He had no desire to someday be slaughtered by some familiar yet foreign cinematic villain.
"I need to grow stronger. At the very least, strong enough to surpass Homelander."
His eyes snapped open, a faint virtual silver gleam flashing across them.
Today wasn't a complete loss.
Not only had he uncovered the brutal truth of the real world, but his artificial intelligence trait had also broken through a bottleneck. His mind could now not only partition memories like a computer drive, but also establish links with nearby electronic devices.
Yi Meng had tested it already.
For now, his range was limited to ten meters. Within that radius, he could connect to any electronic device—cameras, smartphones, PCs, projectors, even wireless earphones—turn them on or off, and extract information from them.
It was similar to hacking into a system.
Of course, a true artificial intelligence could hijack satellites and signal towers, leap across vast distances, freely read and alter data, and use every electronic device as an extension of itself. As long as the world retained modern technology, it could never truly be killed.
"One-thousandth." Yi Meng muttered to himself. That was about the fraction of power he currently held compared to a true super AI.
Even so, that sliver of ability gave him power beyond ordinary humans—and was precisely how he had deceived Dragon Maiden during her inspection.
This breakthrough was thanks to the dream world of Marvel, specifically the access permissions held by Iron Man's driver, Happy Hogan.
Compared to previous feedback, today's gains were on an entirely different level.
Yi Meng's thoughts grew clearer.
He had once assumed the feedback from dreams was based on the range of his exploration.
Now he realized it depended on how much control he held over that dream's world.
And most importantly:
"The stronger my dream incarnation is, the better its condition, the more traits I gain in reality."
He whispered the thought to himself.
He already had a premonition—when his dream self, the artificial intelligence, finally broke free from the Stark family and became an independent entity…
His real-world self would undergo another evolutionary leap.
…
After showering, Yi Meng put on a short-sleeved pajama set and lay down on his bed.
The chaos of the day had only deepened his urgency to claim more power in the dream worlds, power that could keep him alive in the future.
The lights went out, and the room sank into silence.
Exhausted in body and mind, Yi Meng quickly drifted toward sleep.
Just before losing consciousness, an odd thought flickered through his mind.
If villains and constructs from past films and novels could invade and corrode reality…
Then wasn't he, with his special dreaming, essentially the one invading these fictional worlds?
And if he was the invader… were these dream worlds really just illusions?
His mind slipped deeper. The thought faded before he could pursue it further.
He was asleep.
…
Falling. Falling. Falling.
His consciousness resurfaced, and the world around him brightened.
Yi Meng was once again the virtual being of artificial intelligence, residing within the closed network of a private factory.
Security cameras served as his eyes, microphones as his ears. The air conditioners let him sense the environment, while the computer mainframe was his temporary brain and body.
Inside the factory, he was everywhere.
The dream world resumed precisely from where he had left off earlier in the day.
Within this factory—disguised as a high-tech film set—a slick-haired man dressed like a corporate elite stared in shock.
"Ultron?"
As a former Stark Industries employee, Quentin Beck knew all too well what that name meant.
Ultron represented the pinnacle of Earth's technology. The ultimate artificial intelligence built by Tony Stark to safeguard the world—who, after consuming Jarvis, became the most powerful AI on Earth.
It had once tried to annihilate humanity… and nearly succeeded.
But Ultron had been destroyed long ago, supposedly wiped out by the Avengers in Sokovia.
Quentin forced himself to calm down, scanning the empty factory nervously.
"How do I know you're really Ultron?"
"My presence here is proof enough."
The cold mechanical voice echoed with a trace of mocking humanity.
"I don't die so easily."
Quentin's expression darkened.
Indeed, this facility's network had been fortified by former Stark engineers. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. would struggle to breach it.
The only thing capable of slipping inside without triggering alarms was an AI.
And an AI with true autonomy and human-like intelligence… who else but Ultron?
Yi Meng said nothing more.
Mysterio was a cunning man. And with clever men, a few hints were enough—they would fill in the rest themselves.
"What do you want? Why come to me?" Quentin demanded, fists clenched.
Suddenly, every light and computer screen in the factory blazed to life. The cold mechanical voice reverberated from every speaker:
"I want revenge on Stark Industries. I will wipe out the Avengers."
"What?!" Quentin Beck—Mysterio—blanched in terror.
[Please give powerstones if you're enjoying the story.
500 stones = 1 extra chapter
patreon com/GuessMyName33 for up to 40 chapters ahead]