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32 players never cared

Thanos!

Hulk roared and charged forward.

"You think I don't know about the Grandmaster's agreement with you?" Thanos dodged Hulk's punch. "I know all his little schemes. He uses me as a bigger threat, so you'll naturally find a way to help him win the match."

He reached out to block Hulk's sweeping left fist: "But the Grandmaster is dead. Today is the end for Earth!"

Thanos clenched his fist and punched Hulk in the chin.

The Mad Titan's power was even greater than Hulk's at this moment. This heavy blow sent Hulk flying off the ground, and he gave a contemptuous smile.

It took flight.

Thanos squinted at Hulk's airborne body.

"Bang!" A heavy punch landed on Hulk's back, creating a violent shockwave centered on the two of them.

"Banner!" Pym exclaimed instinctively as he watched all this.

However, Hulk had already disappeared from everyone's sight. After Thanos's all-out attack, he had turned into a shooting star and completely escaped Earth's gravity.

"Now, who's next?" Thanos looked at the Avengers in front of him and smiled contemptuously.

……

Colt stepped out of the teleportation portal and looked at the game room of the Cosmic Elders.

"Welcome." The Celestial Venerable sat on the other side of the table, smiling as he looked at the guests.

Colt walked over to him, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The virtual screen on the table is showing the battle between the Avengers and Thanos and the Black Order on Earth.

"I've been looking forward to this kind of duel," the Grandmaster said with a smile. "A unique opponent, a duel unlike any other."

"You knew I would come?" Colt scrutinized the other's pale blue face.

“Of course.” The Grandmaster stood up, his hands behind his back. “You’re unique, aren’t you?”

"Everyone is unique."

“Of course, but you should understand what I mean.” The Grandmaster turned to look at the screen on the table. “This is just a game, isn’t it?”

Colt frowned.

"No matter what you say to the Navigator, no matter how you convince yourself, you and I are the same. None of that matters." The Grandmaster raised the corners of his mouth. "I admit that, for example, Thanos, they may sometimes win some victories from me for certain reasons, but in fact, they have never been my real opponents. It's just entertainment."

"But you're different, aren't you?"

"A true, superior, extraordinary player, someone who can be like me!"

The battlefield displayed on the table has disappeared.

A fast-paced game of chess unfolds on the screen, with pieces constantly being captured and the two players fiercely exchanging pieces.

“A true player doesn’t do anything for the pieces or characters in the game.” The Grandmaster lowered his eyes. “Even your favorite, best pieces are only used to exchange for victory.”

“If chess pieces are not meant to be sacrificed, then they are worthless.”

Colt remained silent.

"You humans also enjoy games, don't you?"

A huge pile of various game consoles and game discs appeared in front of the two.

The Celestial Venerable waved his hand again, and they disappeared.

“Nobody really loves those virtual characters,” the Grandmaster said. “Whether they live or die, even for the most sentimental player, it’s just a matter of cursing the writers on the forums and then happily opening the next game.”

"No matter how much those characters in the story have given, no matter how much they have sacrificed for the player's character, or how much help they have provided, those background characters who don't even deserve to have names are just numbers."

"Oh, that's not right either."

The Celestial Venerable revealed a mocking smile.

"All of the above can be used by you players as reasons to attack and insult each other, and those 'lives' can be used as weapons to attack each other."

"Isn't this universe just a game?"

He shook his robe and sat back down in his chair: "They don't understand because they are just one of them. Even the cosmic gods are the same. Perhaps they understand, but they are just part of the rules of the universe. How pathetic."

"Only we can understand what a chess piece is and what a chess player is."

Colt remained silent.

The screen on the table transformed back into the brutal battlefield on Earth, where the Avengers, having lost many of their main forces, were utterly powerless to stop Thanos and his army.

“It seems I have a slight advantage.” The Grandmaster raised his eyebrows. “This universe is about to give way to its story.”

“Come on.” Colt sat up again, looking calmly at the Grandmaster. “If you want the game, then I’ll play one last round with you.”

After saying that, he threw a deck of cards onto the table.

"Deciding by playing cards?" The Grandmaster laughed. "You seem even more nonchalant than I am."

……

The Avengers lay dead in the ruins, watching helplessly as Thanos slowly destroyed the defenses they had built.

The once prosperous city has been destroyed by the fleet and turned into ruins.

"Any more plans?" Black Panther stood up with difficulty, looking at Pym, who had shrunk and was standing on his shoulder.

“I don’t know, we’ve done everything we can,” Pym replied, panting. “We’re missing too many people, everyone’s frozen…”

Black Panther fell silent. As the two most intelligent and experienced people present, if even they couldn't come up with a solution, then things were probably...

……

Valletta stood in the innermost safe room of the base, surrounded by countless frozen heroes.

She walked slowly through the eerie group of statues.

She didn't know how the Grandmaster and Thanos managed to freeze everyone, but even while frozen, she was still able to use her abilities to read their memories.

She laughed.

This is a ridiculous bunch of people.

Many of them lead ordinary tragic lives, but their extraordinary abilities are a result of chance encounters.

They have every reason to retaliate, hate, and do things that only benefit themselves, just like their opponents and enemies.

However, they chose a different path.

They did everything they could to help everyone they could.

When faced with a more powerful enemy that they could not fight alone, they formed the Avengers.

A simple dream led to a simple alliance.

Everything was so simple.

Valletta stopped and looked at everyone in front of her.

What makes the originally simple purpose complicated?

They had arguments, quarrels, divisions, and even wars, but time and again, that initial, simple, and beautiful wish always brought them back together.

……

When was the last time you had such a simple desire to do something?

Quicksilver couldn't remember anymore; he felt that sometimes he was too fast, to the point that he overlooked many things that could have made him happy.

The closer he got to that point of light, the more he felt a deep-seated fear.

Speed ​​was no longer an issue; with Wanda's magic, he had caught up with the point of light. However, his hand froze in place.

He clearly felt a deep-seated fear.

He dared not reach for that point of light.

If, if we manage to catch that glimmer of light, what price will we have to pay?

If you were to observe Earth from millions of light-years away, you could see the past of history.

Quicksilver thought that perhaps he was running too fast, so fast that he caught up with the lost time.

In a daze, he saw many memories that he had forgotten.

The initial joy of being invited by the captain to join the Avengers, the arguments within the team, and the battles fought together.

At that time, things seemed simple: catch the criminals and send them to prison.

For a time, no one pointed out his mistakes.

"I just want to do some good deeds with everyone."

He looked again at the almost still point of light in front of him, and then reached out and grasped it.

……

"Are you really not bothered at all?" the Grandmaster asked as he shuffled the cards. "You need to understand that even if you beat me, you can't win this game. I can help you put Earth back in its original place, but I can't help you get rid of Thanos."

“My only goal is for you to send Earth back,” Colt replied.

"Oh?" The Grandmaster looked thoughtful. "But, just that, you can't beat me."

“You’ve always been playing alone against others, haven’t you?” Colt replied calmly. “Even the navigator is just a pawn in your game.”

“Of course, a game only needs one player,” the Grandmaster replied matter-of-factly.

“But I am not,” Colt said. “The reason I’m here is simply to solve your problem, nothing more. To beat you and put Earth back in orbit. That’s my mission, nothing more.”

The Celestial Venerable narrowed his eyes.

"As for Thanos, whom you mentioned," Colt paused, "he is very strong and very threatening, but he is not the part I am responsible for."

"The reason I came here is that I believe they will handle everything that happens on Earth."

"Just like you said, if this is a story, if this is a game, then the battles on Earth right now are not my script."

The Celestial Venerable reached out and gently stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Suddenly, the game room flashed.