Shadow of the Beautiful World

In the surveillance room in San Francisco, Merlin dropped the Ant Knight on the ground.

The guy lightly pressed the button on the red combat uniform, and under Merlin's slightly surprised gaze, the guy's body swelled rapidly.

It was like some kind of weird magical effect, turning an ant-sized creature into a 1.8-meter-tall person in an instant.

He wears a silver, quirky helmet with the design of a gas mask.

The eyes are red glass, and the combat uniform is very old, just like the uniforms of motorcycle riders in the previous era.

click

The silver visor popped open, revealing the face of a young man.

Black hair, brown eyes, beard stubble, panicked face...

This is obviously not Hank Pym.

Unless that mad scientist mastered the technology of rejuvenation, and also gave himself a facelift by the way.

Listen, guys.

As soon as this guy appeared, he raised his hands cowardly, and explained to Merlin who was looking at him indifferently:

I've known for a long time that that cranky old madman must have messed up a lot of people when he was young. His bad temper would make someone grab a hammer and give him a hammer. Believe me, I really want to do that...

But I really have nothing to do with him. You all look like people of status. I mean, don't involve me in the grievances between you, ok?

Logically speaking, a man who dared to try to become an ant knight should not be so cowardly.

But the problem is that this guy saw with his own eyes just now that a hand protruded from the suddenly appearing light circle and grabbed him and his beloved mount, Anton Flying Ant.

The scene was almost like magic.

There was no way to avoid those sudden lights and when the big hands grabbed it, it was like being imprisoned.

All this shows that these few people in front of them are weird.

Well, they might be legendary superheroes...

Or worse, a bunch of supervillains who come to get old Hank in trouble.

Icarus.

Merlin ignored the rambling talk of the man in front of him, and he winked at the glasses lady.

The latter raised his finger, and blue light burst out from the fingertips, sweeping across the young man's face like a scan.

A few seconds later, Icarus folded his arms and said in a nonchalant voice:

Scott Lang was born on a rural farm in Texas in 1982. He lost his father when he was 7 years old and lived with his mother. But he lost his mother 4 years later. After graduating, he became an electrical engineer.

Two years ago, he was sued in court for exposing the important defects of the company's products and hypocritical charitable money laundering operations, but mysteriously disappeared from prison due to the intervention of special forces.

I met a group of good friends in prison, and made an appointment with them to start a security company together after I got out of prison.

Under Scott Lang's gaze as if he had seen a ghost, Icarus sneered and said the last message:

Oh, by the way, Mr. Lang, who was mixed up with Dr. Hank, was abandoned by his wife when the disaster happened 2 years ago, but he has a lovely daughter named Casey, who is 3 years old this year...

The glasses girl projected a photo of a cute little girl in front of everyone, which made Lang, who was wearing an Ant-Man combat uniform, feel chills all over his body.

In particular, Icarus commented maliciously:

What a sweet little angel, looking at her smile makes my heart melt.

Stay away from my daughter!

Scott clenched his fist and swung towards Icarus like he was going crazy.

But his fist finally stopped in the air in front of Icarus, and the glasses girl didn't move, her blue eyes were full of disdain and sarcasm.

Scott lost control of his body.

His mind seemed to be imprisoned in a body that did not belong to him.

The worst thing was that when he turned his head stiffly and met Merlin's blue eyes, he could feel that the secrets in his heart were being rummaged quickly.

Let me hear it.

Merlin turned his ear and said softly:

About your past, about your heart, about your secret...about Pym...well, I found it!

Merlin raised his head and said to Icarus:

West side of San Francisco, in the basement of the warehouse at the end of 13th Avenue, Hank Pym is there... Hurry up, he may have noticed the disappearance of Ant-Man, that alert old bastard is about to run away.

Also, please 'invite' Miss Hope Van Dyne over, be gentle, Icarus, don't frighten our guests.

———————————

Dr. Hank is indeed ready to run away.

The moment Scott's signal disappeared, the doctor who had been hiding for more than 20 years realized that something was wrong.

He changed into a suit, clutched a storage box for a Hot Wheels toy car, and rushed out of the basement wearing a hat, as if he didn't even want his own research materials.

But after rushing out of the basement and leaving the warehouse, Dr. Hank, wearing a hat, stood on the lawn. He took out a weird remote control from his waist, pointed it at the huge warehouse in front of him, and pressed it lightly.

puff

Accompanied by strange sounds, the warehouse in front of him, which is big enough to accommodate a dozen trucks, shrank rapidly as if it had been enchanted.

In the blink of an eye, the vast warehouse disappeared.

Instead, a palm-sized warehouse model built like children's building blocks still stands in a large pit on the ground.

Even the basement of the warehouse has shrunk together.

It was a miracle.

But Dr. Hanke seemed to be used to it. He rushed over quickly, picked up the model of the warehouse, put it in his pocket, and then took out a silver Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle from the toy box in his hand, and put it under his feet.

He pointed the remote control at the car and pressed the button again.

puff

There was another soft sound, and the toy car expanded rapidly, becoming the size of a normal car.

Hank Pym is an excellent scientist.

But now, he has done something that even the Great Wizard couldn't do.

No wonder people always say that any sufficiently advanced technology is similar to magic in the eyes of those who cannot understand the principle.

call...

Dr. Hank is old after all. He opened the car door panting, and sat on the driver's seat. While starting the engine, he took out his mobile phone and dialed the number that had been stored in the mobile phone for more than ten years. .

At this moment, the old doctor was a little nervous and a little guilty.

When he was young, he was indeed a selfish bastard, relying on his own wisdom to act recklessly, offended many, many people, and drove away his friends one by one.

But after the disappearance of beloved Jennifer, Dr. Pym is like a different person.

It's a pity that it didn't get better, but it became more and more like a crazy, lonely old bastard.

Even the only daughter eventually left him.

But under the increasingly insane appearance, the old heart is hotter than before.

He longs to find his lover back.

If she is already dead, then go to the world where she was buried to collect her remains, then stay there with her, die there, and die with his wife.

It's only when you lose something that you realize how much that thing meant to you.

Without Jennifer, in this damned, cold world, besides his daughter, what else is there to miss?

beep, beep

The silver Mercedes-Benz was running wildly on the road, and the phone was also anxiously waiting to be connected.

Hello?

Hope's gentle, slightly hoarse voice sounded on the phone, with a hint of doubt:

May I ask who you are?

Hope, it's me!

Dr. Hank gritted his teeth and said:

Get out of your house immediately and wait for me in front of the supermarket two blocks away, I installed a phone booth there, stay inside, don't come out! I'll pick you up right away!

dad?

Miss Hope didn't pay attention to Dr. Hank's advice at all. Amidst the noise, she asked in surprise:

Why are you... wait, who are you? Why are you in my house, don't touch me! Oh, don't touch me!

There was a murmur on the phone that made Dr. Hank's heart sink, his daughter let out a scream, and then fell silent.

A few seconds later, an indifferent woman's voice rang through the phone.

Hello, Dr. Pym... look up and look forward!

Hank Pym, who was driving, looked up and saw a strange omnic in a robe standing at the intersection in front of him, as if he was waiting for someone.

Follow it...and you will meet your daughter.

We won't hurt Miss Hope. In fact, if you are so difficult to find, we don't need Miss Hope to get involved in this troublesome matter. In short, we don't want to use unnecessary force...

Doctor, be decent...

beep

The phone hangs up.

Pim gritted his teeth and stepped on the brake.

boom

The door was opened the next moment, and the robed omnic sat in the rear compartment, and it whispered:

Go forward 3 intersections, then turn left.

Who are you?

Dr. Pym looked in the rearview mirror at the omnic with the cog-skull emblem on his robes, and said:

I have many enemies, but I don't remember, I have provoked omnics.

The omnic didn't answer the question, it just whispered:

The raven is welcome!

————————

Ten minutes later, under the escort of that omnic, Dr. Pim stepped into the monitoring room on the edge of the city.

When he walked into the room, he saw his daughter Hope sitting on a chair drinking tea, and that damned stupid Scott Lang who exposed his position.

his only collaborator.

The second-generation Ant-Man he handpicked, specially replaced his bodyguard to protect his precious daughter.

dad!

Seeing her father whom she hadn't seen for more than ten years, Hope stood up with a hint of anger and a little excitement.

But the next moment, Icarus pushed him back into the chair behind him.

Further behind the table, by the screened window, a mysterious man with black hair and shawl was hovering there with his hands behind his back, and the unclear sunlight shone on him.

The doctor noticed that the guy's toes were always 3 inches from the ground.

Completely violates the laws of physics.

In this room, besides the mysterious man, the blue-haired woman, his own daughter, and the underachievered second-generation Ant-Man, there was also an old acquaintance of Dr. Pym.

Bill Foster.

The collaborator more than 20 years ago, among the many assistants who were driven away by him, is still a bit talented.

He is old too...

And he seemed, very, very sad.

Let's cut the long story short, Dr. Pym.

Merlin looked back at Dr. Pym standing at the entrance of the room, clenched his fist like an angry old man, and said:

We want to ask you to help save someone.

Is this how you 'invite' people?

Dr. Pym laughed angrily:

Same as the shameless kidnappers, but also involved my innocent daughter, again! Bill, you are really crazy! I warned you last time!

I guess, it's about your adopted daughter again? I said, if you keep disturbing me, there's nothing I can do...

Ava is gone.

Dr. Bill stood up, looked at Pym, and said:

Just 3 hours ago, Ava was swallowed by the Quantum Sea and we lost her.

!!!

Dr. Pym's eyes widened. The sad news made it impossible for a man with such a bad temper to breathe.

Human emotions are not universal though.

But as a human being, the necessary empathy exists in the soul of every life.

I see.

Dr. Pym took a deep breath, he was wise enough to deal with the situation before him.

He said:

You want me to create a tunnel to the quantum world so you can get Ava back... Sorry, I can't do it, I'm stuck.

The old doctor looked at his daughter, he took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said to the silent Merlin:

Let my daughter go, I will stay here and let Bill assist me...I will try my best to speed up the research, but I can't guarantee it.

I do not believe you.

Merlin was levitating forward, and he landed in front of Dr. Pym. He looked at this doctor who was old but still indifferent.

He said:

Maybe you just want us to release your daughter, an expedient measure, maybe you don't want to help us at all, after all, what does Ava's life and death have to do with you?

And as the person who has the most profound research on quantum science in the world, you also know that without you, we would not be able to develop a tunnel to the quantum world.

Merlin turned his ear, and he spoke out Dr. Pym's inner thoughts completely, word for word.

We need you. The initiative is still in your hands. As long as Miss Hope leaves safely, you will have enough leverage to negotiate with us, or even hold us hostage.

You hate us... hate us for wasting your precious time, hate us for involving Hope in this matter.

But you hate yourself more, you hate yourself for being incompetent.

It has been more than 20 years, and the most important logical problem of building a quantum tunnel has not been solved. You hate yourself for not being able to save your wife, and you hate yourself for making Hope lose his mother.

Every night, you miss Jennifer...in every dream, you long for Jennifer to come back and start life with you and Hope.

You hate yourself for being such a bastard back then. You forced every friend away. You couldn't find anyone to help you when you needed it most.

Every time Merlin said something, Dr. Pim's face turned paler.

He didn't know how the man in front of him did it, but in front of him, he had no secrets at all.

Snapped

Merlin put his left hand on Dr. Pym's shoulder, and he said:

You're going to save Jennifer, my wife, and I'm going to save Ava, my sister, or daughter... We all have important people lost in that world, Hank Pym, we have cooperating Base.

Lord Raven leaned down and whispered in the ear of the trembling Dr. Pym:

I can hear your spirit, Doctor.

So, get to work, and, I'm in a bad mood right now...

Don't play tricks...