Chapter 1086: Father and Son (Fifteen) (Patreon)

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After Lavona left, Mobius was still in shock. It took him a while to look at Loki with a complex gaze. However, Loki's expression remained calm, as if he wasn't the one who made the solemn vow just now.

After a moment, Mobius finally spoke, asking, "What did you mean by our way out?"

"I said, the key lies in the little girl you let go. Your Director believes she is very important, which means she has value, at least more value than all of you."

"You're not suggesting using her as a hostage, are you? We just went through so much trouble to let her go, and if anything happens to her..."

Loki transformed back into a female form and sighed. She looked at Mobius and said, "I guess your Director must have told you to reset her timeline after using interrogation methods on her, to make sure she doesn't go insane or die, right?"

Mobius widened his eyes, looking at Lady Loki. After a while, he stuttered, "Correct. How did you know? And he specifically instructed us to be careful in preserving her memories during the time rewind, to avoid any memory loss or mental damage..."

"That means there's something on her that your Director is highly concerned about. Perhaps it's the method he believes can break the barrier. As long as you can find her and stay with her, the Director will be wary of taking drastic actions, fearing it might harm her."

Mobius was briefly stunned, but quickly understood the reasoning behind it. He then somewhat absurdly said, "If we hadn't let her go in the first place, we wouldn't have to go looking for her now, would we?"

"At that time, you didn't know that the Director would disappear indefinitely. So, it was the right choice to let her go to ensure her safety. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stayed here to help you," Lady Loki said as she walked forward, checking the office door numbers.

The two of them first went to Mobius' office, where they met up with Helen, and then continued forward.

"Archives...archives...it's here! I knew I saw it on the way here," Lady Loki said, and she was about to push the door open. However, Mobius stopped her and looked around before lowering his voice, saying:

"Although Lavona, B15, and I have reached an agreement, which means all the employees of the Time Management Bureau are on our side, we don't know if there are others in the agency who can directly contact the Director, you know..."

Lady Loki nodded, indicating that she understood. After all, Mobius had mentioned before that their Director could split into many. Perhaps there was a clone of the Director hidden in the Time Management Bureau, and if they happened to run into them, it would be game over.

Mobius cleared his throat, walked up to the door, and pressed the communication device. He said to the other side, "Hunter B15, please respond. I have some doubts about the crime details of Lady Loki, the most recently interrogated time criminal. I need to retrieve some evidence from the archives. Could you send someone to open the door, please?"

Mobius' words were cautious, and B15 didn't say much either. Both of them understood each other's meaning. After a while, a guard who looked somewhat familiar came over, saluted Mobius, and then opened the door for them.

Once inside the archives, Lady Loki put Helen down and whispered a few words in her ear, out of Mobius' sight. Helen immediately nodded and swiftly disappeared into the bookshelves.

"Wait! Little girl, you can't cause trouble here!" Mobius was about to chase after her but was stopped by Lady Loki. She said, "Don't worry, Helen knows her limits."

With that, she began to survey the archives. The overall style of the archives was similar to the previous room, with an antique and steampunk aesthetic.

But what caught Lady Loki's attention the most were the brightly shining colored gems on the nearby desk.

Noticing Lady Loki's gaze, Mobius turned his head to take a look and casually said, "Oh, those are Infinity Stones. They're actually...wait, you were convicted for using the Time Stone before, so you should know what these things are."

Lady Loki narrowed her eyes, walked over, and discovered that there were at least a dozen time stones on the table. They were piled up next to a desk lamp like random trinkets, with a few pieces of paper pressed beneath some of the stones.

Mobius had his hands in the pockets of his suit pants and walked over, saying, "These things are useless once they're taken out of their own space. They're just pretty stones. People here often use them as paperweights. They do look nice, don't they?"

"Can I take a few back with me, just for decoration?" Lady Loki asked with a smirk.

Mobius chuckled and replied, "Sure, as long as you promise not to use them for any mischievous purposes."

Lady Loki picked up a few time stones and put them in her pocket. Then, she turned her attention back to the task at hand and started searching through the archives.

Meanwhile, Helen had found what she was looking for. She came back to Mobius and Lady Loki with a file in her hands.

"I found it," Helen said, handing the file to Mobius.

He quickly flipped through the pages and his eyes widened as he read the contents. "This...this is the Director's plan. It's all here..." Mobius muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.

Lady Loki walked over and glanced at the file. "What's in there?"

"It's a detailed plan of the Director's ultimate goal," Mobius explained. "He wants to merge all the timelines into one, creating a singular timeline where he has complete control. He believes that by doing so, he can achieve true order and prevent any further chaos caused by the Time Variants. It's a dangerous and ambitious plan."

Lady Loki frowned. "And what happens to all the people in the other timelines? What about their free will?"

"According to the Director's plan, everyone's memories and identities will be merged and rewritten. They won't even know that their lives have been altered," Mobius explained, his voice filled with concern. "It's a complete violation of individuality and autonomy."

Lady Loki clenched her fists, her expression turning serious. "We can't let that happen. We have to stop him."

"I agree," Mobius said with determination. "But we need a plan. We can't confront the Director directly. We need to gather more evidence and allies. We need to expose his true intentions to the rest of the Time Management Bureau."

Lady Loki nodded. "I have contacts on the outside. I can reach out to them and gather support. We also need to find the little girl, the key to all of this."

Mobius looked at Lady Loki with a mix of gratitude and determination. "Thank you for helping us, Lady Loki. Together, we can bring down the Director and restore order to the timelines."

Lady Loki smiled mischievously. "Oh, don't thank me yet, Mobius. The real fun is just getting started."

And with that, the unlikely allies began their journey to uncover the truth and stop the Director's dangerous plan, their resolve stronger than ever.

"No, no, no!" Lady Loki immediately waved her hand, then stopped in front of Mobius, extending a finger towards him and said:

"This should be enough. As for the rest... Are you sure you want to blow this place up? If so, make sure it's completely obliterated, not a single gem left. It would be even better if we can capture it on video."

Mobius narrowed his eyes, feeling that Lady Loki wasn't up to anything good. But he hadn't quite caught on to Lady Loki's plan yet. By that time, Lady Loki had already started doing her thing.

She picked up the thick directory on the table and began flipping through it. Mobius stood beside her and asked, "What are you looking for? Lady Loki's file?"

"Sort of," Lady Loki nodded, turning a page and saying, "But in my ascended state, I've already seen her life story. What I really want to understand is Asgard, where she comes from, and why Frigga gave birth to a daughter."

"What's the big deal about that?" Mobius said, a bit puzzled. "If it's possible to have sons, it's also possible to have daughters..."

Lady Loki looked at him and said, "Then why are there so many male births in other Spaces? Why is she the only one who was born female?"

"If, as you said, the possibilities are equal, there should be an equal number of males and females. Even if the probabilities are unequal, there shouldn't be only one female. The fact that there's only one suggests that this Space must have something special about it."

"I ascended to a higher Space for a short time, and I could only see fates related to myself. I didn't have time to look into the rise and fall of every Asgard or the secrets hidden here... Let me see... Oh, found it!"

"Hillvi Laufeyson! Wait, why is she called Hillvi?" Lady Loki squinted her eyes and said, "Isn't she Lady Loki? If it weren't for this surname, I wouldn't have recognized her name..."

"She said she's Hillvi," Mobius recalled. "But at that time, my relationship with Lavona wasn't great, so I wasn't involved much in Hillvi's trial. I don't know what happened exactly."

"Let me see... This Space's Asgard and the Avengers... Thor... Here! Wait, 'she'? Why use the female pronoun? Female Thor?!" Lady Loki exclaimed in surprise. Then she flipped two more pages and said, "Iron Man 'she,' Captain America 'she,' Sorcerer Supreme 'she'... This is a female Space?? No, wait! How did Hela become male?... Gender-switching Space?!"

"In this world, everyone's gender has been reversed," Lady Loki widened her eyes, looking at the contents in the directory. "No wonder Lady Loki is female, because Odin and Thor are female, while Hela and Frigga are male..."

"Not surprising," Mobius nodded. "The Multiverse is vast, with all sorts of oddities. In some Spaces, all the superheroes have turned into different animals. In other Spaces, people's morality has been reversed, and gender reversal isn't too far-fetched."

"Since that's the case, what is the ability to 'break a wall' mentioned in the so-called prophecy?" Lady Loki rubbed her chin, standing in front of the directory, thinking. After a while, she shook her head and said, "We're just speculating here, and it's probably not going to be effective. Well, let's find this Miss Hillvi first and ask her what's going on."

After speaking, Lady Loki looked at Mobius and said, "Since you were the ones who sent her away in the first place, you should know where she is now, right?"

Mobius pursed his lips, coughed awkwardly, and then said, "Actually, we don't know either..."

"First of all, we didn't know that the Director wouldn't come back. Things were rushed, to put it simply. We gave her a time-travel device and let her go on her own. As for where she went, we have no idea."

"Secondly, we shouldn't know either because if we did, the Director's spies within the Time Management Bureau might find out too. So it's better to hand over the time-travel device directly to this girl."

"As an Asgardian, she's a long-lived species. Although she looks like a young girl, she's at least several decades old. She's smart enough to know how to hide."

Lady Loki covered her forehead, looking somewhat helpless. After thinking for a moment, she looked at Mobius and asked, "You've spent some time with her. Where do you think she might be hiding?"

As soon as Lady Loki finished asking, Mobius frowned, deep in thought."Based on what I know about Hillvi, she's resourceful and independent," Mobius replied, his gaze fixed on the directory. "She's not one to seek refuge in obvious places. She's likely found a concealed location, away from prying eyes."

Lady Loki nodded, considering Mobius' words. "If she's trying to stay hidden, she might choose a place that holds personal significance to her. Somewhere she feels safe or connected to her past. We need to think like she would."

Mobius tapped his finger on the directory, lost in thought. "There's one possibility that comes to mind. There's a hidden cave in the outskirts of Asgard, a place where Hillvi used to retreat to when she needed solitude. It's a remote location, and she once mentioned it to me in passing."

Lady Loki's eyes lit up with interest. "That sounds promising. Let's check it out. Lead the way, Mobius."

With a determined nod, Mobius led Lady Loki out of the Time Management Bureau headquarters. They made their way through the bustling streets of Asgard, attracting curious glances from the citizens. As they reached the outskirts of the city, the landscape transformed into a serene and untouched wilderness.

The two walked in silence, their footsteps muffled by the soft grass beneath their feet. They followed a narrow path that wound its way through the trees until they reached a hidden entrance concealed by overgrown vegetation.

"This is it," Mobius whispered, his voice barely audible. He pushed aside some branches, revealing a concealed cave entrance. "Hillvi used to come here to reflect and find solace. It's a place where she could be alone with her thoughts."

Lady Loki stepped forward, her eyes scanning the entrance. "It's well-hidden. She made a wise choice. Let's go in."

They entered the dimly lit cave, the air growing cooler as they ventured deeper. The sound of dripping water echoed through the cavern, creating an eerie ambiance. Lady Loki's keen senses picked up on a faint magical aura, indicating that someone had recently been there.

They followed the winding tunnels, careful not to disturb anything, until they reached a small chamber bathed in soft light. In the center of the room, they found Hillvi, sitting cross-legged on the ground, her eyes closed in deep concentration.

"Hillvi," Lady Loki called out softly, not wanting to startle her. "It's me, Lady Loki. We've been looking for you."

Hillvi's eyes fluttered open, and she looked up, surprise flickering across her face. "Lady Loki? And Mobius? What are you doing here?"

"We came to find you," Mobius replied, stepping forward. "We need your help."

Hillvi stood up, brushing off the dirt from her clothes. "Help with what?"

Lady Loki glanced at Mobius before speaking. "We've discovered something unusual about this Space, Asgard. It seems to be a gender-switching reality, where all the superheroes and villains have reversed genders. We believe you might hold the key to understanding why."

Hillvi's eyes widened with curiosity and confusion. "Gender-switching reality? That's... unexpected. But I don't understand how I could be connected to it."

"We believe that your presence here, as an alternate version of Loki, might hold the answers," Lady Loki explained. "We need your insight, your knowledge of Asgard and its history, to unravel this mystery."

Hillvi hesitated for a moment, her gaze shifting between Lady Loki and Mobius. Finally, she nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "If there's something I can do to help, I will. Let's find out what's really going on in this gender-switching reality."

Lady Loki smiled, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. "Excellent. Together, we will uncover the truth and bring balance to this realm."

And with that, the unlikely trio set out on their quest to unravel the secrets of the gender-switching reality, their paths intertwined in a web of fate and mystery.

"I will take care of the matter, you can rest assured. I will make sure the people are properly arranged. However, you don't have to pay for it. But, you see, when everyone is active in Space, there will inevitably be some troubles related to time..."

"Cough, cough, the Time Management Bureau has always been fair and impartial, adhering to both the standard and precise principles. There will never be any omissions or fraud during the judgment..."

"Of course! Such a responsible institution, operating for so many years, must be perfect in every aspect, right?"

"That's an exaggeration. In fact, we..." Mobius pretended to ponder for a moment and said, "You know, we civil servants have confidentiality guidelines. How could we possibly disclose the flaws in the system to outsiders?"

"Just like how I would never tell you that our Ragnarok staff can only be used three times a day, let alone tell you that the light of Ragnarok emitted by the staff can be reflected by any mirror-like object that can create intense reflection..."

"Of course, I would also never tell you that certain charges constantly oscillate between verbal warnings and innocence, such as the charge of improper time travel or non-temporal illegal gains."

"Similarly, I cannot tell you that some charges are difficult to define, such as the charge of gathering to disrupt the timeline or the charge of unethical time travel..."

"Yes, those charges are at the end of the second row on shelf number 12... Correct, it's the ones at the back, all the other charges are in the front half of shelf number 11... Yes, yes, the ones you are holding!"

"Ahem, as the most dedicated civil servant, I must complain a little about certain guards who are not diligent in their duties."

"For example, B9 and B11, who are under the command of B15, inexplicably have a great interest in some magical instruments."

"And of course, there's the lady in the U8 team who is fond of handsome men and never wants to harm them. And the search dogs in X6 team, they actually have no sense of smell..."

Lady Loki and Helen were searching through various books on the bookshelf while Mobius sat behind the desk, smoking a cigarette and chatting.

After about half an hour, Lady Loki fully understood the level of expertise of this dedicated and incorruptible civil servant.

At the same time, her love for reading and Helen's as well allowed them to fully immerse themselves in this vast ocean of knowledge, engaging in discussions on behavioral and ethical studies with Zhang San, but without any exchange on legal matters.

Lady Loki also utilized her God of Mischief talents and, through a spiritual connection, explored certain weaknesses of civilizations recorded in the files of major Space-time offenders. After assimilating this knowledge, she revitalized the industry of civilization resource transfer technology.

Seeing that the time was right, Mobius approached Lady Loki and said, "Alright, enough fooling around. Where are these helpers you mentioned? As far as I know, there aren't many people in the entire Space who have the ability to break through their own Space, let alone roam between so many Spaces..."

After speaking, he shook his head again, sounding hopeless, and said, "Even if such a person exists, one person alone cannot search through so many Spaces. One more person or one less person won't make much difference."

"Who said I planned to find just one person?"

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"Do you have a cross-Space communication device?"

"We do. Who do you plan to call?"

Lady Loki smiled mischievously and waved her hand, saying, "Just take me there. Oh, and prepare the reward. There are many of them."

As Mobius led Lady Loki forward, he looked at her with some suspicion, but Lady Loki maintained her mysterious smile and said nothing.

The two of them arrived in a room with a special machine. Mobius pressed a button and then said to Lady Loki, "Think in your mind about the person you want to find in a certain Space. This machine will connect you to them."

Lady Loki stepped forward and spoke into the communication device's speaker, "Hello, Peter? You and your Spider companions interested in earning some extra money?"

"Not feeling well, but will add two thousand words. Sorry for the delay."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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