Fiddling with the [Hextech Crystal] in his hand, Luca felt he understood a bit more about his cheat's synthesis rules.
It seemed that no matter how irrelevant the materials were, as long as they matched the "name" requirement on the panel, the synthesized item would be identical to the original version.
This applied to appearance, function, and even some highly unscientific conceptual abilities.
But since cheats weren't bound by science anyway, Luca accepted it easily.
It was just a pity that the [Hextech Core] was another item he wouldn't be synthesizing anytime soon.
For a "Stable Miniature Reactor," the only thing that came to mind was the Arc Reactor in Tony Stark's chest. Stark guarded that thing with his life; a normal person would never get near it.
The other material, "4 Different Magic Runes," was even more out of reach. He'd probably have to go to Kamar-Taj or Asgard to find those.
With both materials being pipe dreams for now, Luca carefully stored the glowing [Hextech Crystal].
As for the remaining [Monkey Bomb]...
These might be the only three Hextech crystals in this world. Using them just as a bomb feels like a waste.
Despite thinking this, Luca didn't remove the other two crystals.
When push came to shove, no item was more precious than his own life.
He carefully wrapped the bomb in cloth to prevent accidental activation.
After all, Hextech crystals were far more unstable than Chitauri energy cores. A simple bump could trigger an explosion.
Aside from the synthesis rules, Luca also noticed that the "1/5" next to "Arcane World" on the panel had changed to "2/5".
Maybe something different will happen once I collect five Core Components from the same world?
Putting those thoughts aside, Luca looked at the mess in the room. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to dispose of the two headless Chitauri corpses.
With his home in ruins and having been "invaded" by aliens, officials would definitely come to clean up after the battle.
Hiding two folding beam rifles and a purple crystal might go unnoticed, but two massive alien corpses were impossible to hide. The authorities would definitely confiscate them. It was better to dump them now to avoid trouble later.
Luca walked to the hole in the wall and peeked down.
Confirming no one was below, he dragged one Chitauri corpse over and shoved it out.
But as he threw the second corpse down, he immediately heard a scream from below. Even amidst the gunfire and explosions, the yelp was distinct.
Crap! Did I hit someone?!
Luca leaned out again to check, but his expression changed rapidly at the sight below.
Because standing in the alley below his building were four people he recognized all too well.
One was a huge, green-skinned giant, currently crouching down to check on his companion who had been hit by the falling body.
With a casual toss, the green giant threw the corpse—which Luca had struggled to move—over ten meters away.
The unfortunate victim, dressed in a dark red suit, was cursing as he tried to stand up, the corner of his mouth twitching.
The other two were a man in a blue suit holding a round metal shield, and another man wearing a plain jacket but sporting a face Luca had just seen a younger version of.
That's right. The four people who had suddenly appeared were Hulk (Bruce Banner), Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Captain America (Steve Rogers), and Iron Man (Tony Stark).
More importantly, Luca knew exactly who they were: time travelers from the future.
Sht! This is the plot of Avengers: Endgame?!
Without time to think, seeing the four of them look up at him, Luca quickly composed his face into a look of panic.
"S-Sorry! Aliens broke into my house... I checked, there wasn't anyone down there a second ago..."
"Oh my god! Are you guys Iron Man, Cap, and the Hulk? I've seen you on TV!"
Seeing Luca stammering incoherently, the four below relaxed slightly.
Tony Stark, quickest to react, pointed at Luca and spoke first.
"Hey, kid, it's not your fault. Go back inside and hide. Protect yourself!"
Hearing Tony, Steve Rogers also realized the situation. They had appeared out of nowhere; Scott getting hit was just bad luck.
Recalling how he looked ten years ago, Steve straightened up slightly and called out.
"Kid, get back inside. We're handling the aliens. It'll be over soon!"
Luca, who had no desire to interact with them further, wasn't planning to say more.
But before he could retreat—
ROAR~~~
Amidst a furious bellow, on the main road nearby, another Hulk—several times more muscular and savage than the Bruce Banner standing below—leaped into view, smashing a wrecked car down with a BOOM.
He proceeded to pummel an unlucky Chitauri soldier with the car, bang bang clang, until both the car and the alien were flattened into a pancake. Then, the enraged Hulk roared again and leaped away to parts unknown.
...
The silence was deafening.
Everyone, including Luca, looked at Bruce Banner, who had covered his face in embarrassment.
"Was that... the Hulk's brother?"
Seeing the four frozen in awkwardness instead of doing their job, Luca decided to play dumb and break the silence.
"Uh... right, right! Exactly! That's the Hulk's brother, um... Green Guy! That's him!"
Scott pointed at Bruce Banner beside him, gesturing wildly.
At the last second, for some reason, his brain short-circuited, and he added:
"Oh, and by the way, you can call me Ant-Man. You know, even if I haven't been on TV yet!"
The others stared at Scott, speechless.
Seeing the crisis averted, Luca took the hint to withdraw.
Leaving them with a "Good luck, guys," he ducked back into the room.
The group below exchanged glances and quickly moved out. However, Tony Stark whispered a warning to Scott.
"You shouldn't have blown your cover. That could affect the future of this timeline."
"Especially since the person you told was Luca Aurantius!"