Chapter 205: The Unexpected

"How could this be? How could he possess the energy of the Heart of the Universe?"

Han Yu murmured to himself. He had always known about the Heart of the Universe, an incredibly mysterious artifact, but he had no idea where to find it. If it weren't for the general store system granting it as a promotion reward, he might have never found it in his lifetime.

An item of this caliber wasn't something one could simply search for—it required an immense amount of luck. And not just any luck, but boundless, immeasurable fortune. Whether one could obtain it was purely a matter of fate.

"But how does Poseidon possess the energy of the Heart of the Universe? And it doesn't even seem like he originally had it?"

Han Yu was puzzled. When Poseidon used this energy for defense, he could feel its immense power—on par with that of an All-Father-level entity.

That left Han Yu deeply confused. If Poseidon truly had the power of an All-Father-level deity, he wouldn't even need an army. With that level of strength alone, he could single-handedly massacre Asgard.

After all, Odin had ruled as the King of Asgard for tens of thousands of years with his All-Father-tier power, suppressing the Vanir gods effortlessly. That alone was enough to demonstrate just how formidable an All-Father-level deity was—power beyond imagination.

Science could not explain the unexplainable, so humanity referred to it as theology. Asgardian technology, in this sense, was a form of science that Earth simply could not comprehend. That's why, to the people of Earth, Asgardians were widely regarded as gods.

Now, Han Yu had surpassed even the All-Father level, reaching the Single-Universe tier. And he had yet to hit his ceiling. The unique nature of his acquisition of the Heart of the Universe meant that the moment he stepped into the Single-Universe tier, he was already brushing against its limits.

Perhaps, in just a century, he could break through this limit and ascend to the even more powerful Multiversal tier.

For gods, a hundred years was nothing more than the time it took to play a game. But for humans, it was an entire lifetime—a period in which civilizations could rise and fall.

That was precisely why Han Yu found this situation so strange. If Poseidon truly possessed the Heart of the Universe, then even Hela's return would be utterly meaningless.

In the presence of a god wielding the Heart of the Universe, any being even slightly weaker than him would be powerless, no matter how many came forward.

"System, you said this is a fragment of the Heart of the Universe. So how do I make it whole?"

Han Yu turned to the general store system for answers. Perhaps the only way to figure out why Poseidon had the energy of the Heart of the Universe was to start from here.

"Because the [Heart of the Universe] is a unique storage-type artifact, the host cannot freely obtain it from the store. However, it can be purchased using upgrade points. The current price is 3,000 points for a single broken fragment of the Heart of the Universe," the system explained.

Good grief—Han Yu was utterly speechless.

Three thousand upgrade points. Out of the four thousand points he had earned, a single fragment would cost him three-quarters of his total! That was beyond ridiculous.

"How many fragments are there in total?" Han Yu asked.

"There are four in total. The host is the second person to possess a fragment of the Heart of the Universe," the system replied.

"The second person? Then who was the first? Do you know?"

Hearing this, Han Yu already had a strong hunch. But he still wanted confirmation—he needed to hear the system say it outright.

"The first person to possess the Heart of the Universe… is a Titan—Thanos," the system stated in its usual emotionless tone, dropping a revelation that left Han Yu stunned.

"It really is him!"

Han Yu's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within them. Thanos—known to most as the Mad Titan—was an infamous figure. Among all the cosmic powers and interstellar factions, he undoubtedly topped the list of beings labeled "absolutely not to be provoked."

This universe was filled with powerful entities, but the chances of ordinary beings ever encountering them were slim to none. Take Earth, for example—it still struggled to reach Mars, while countless other planets had already mastered interstellar travel and space warping.

Yet Earth, oblivious to its own insignificance, continued broadcasting signals filled with information about itself—almost as if it was afraid that stronger civilizations wouldn't be able to find it.

…

Han Yu furrowed his brows. If Thanos had obtained the Heart of the Universe—even if it was just a fragment—it wouldn't be an easy problem to solve.

"Damn it. I originally thought that with my involvement, dealing with Thanos would be a simple task. But I never expected that he would get his hands on it before me… Could the massacre of the Vanir gods be related to him as well?"

Han Yu's expression shifted. He focused his mind, trying to sense the Heart of the Universe embedded within his chest. No matter how he examined it, only one word came to mind: Powerful!

"No… No, this isn't what I need to see…"

With a thought, Han Yu's consciousness wrapped itself around the Heart of the Universe.

It felt almost like an energetic, playful dog. Though he had no intention of engaging with it, it continuously responded to him, making him feel as if he was playing along with a puppy.

"Am I too close to it?"

Suddenly, Han Yu realized the problem. The reason he couldn't fully perceive the Heart of the Universe was likely because he was too close—so close that he could only see a portion of it.

He wasn't viewing it with his physical eyes but rather with his spiritual awareness from within his own body.

Initially, Han Yu had assumed that the Heart of the Universe was merely an organ-like artifact, roughly the size of an actual heart. However, upon closer inspection, it felt more like an entire world of its own, brimming with unimaginable energy. Extracting just one-thousandth of its power could sustain hundreds of life-bearing planets.

And that was merely a fraction of its full potential—perhaps even less than that. The sheer magnitude of its power was terrifying.

If something like this fell into Thanos' hands… what kind of disaster would it bring?

It might be even more catastrophic than if he had the Infinity Stones.

"I need to find this guy as soon as possible. I can't just let him roam free—who knows what could happen!"

But before anything else, he had to strengthen himself. Reaching his current position as store manager had already consumed most of his upgrade points, leaving him with only five remaining.

And with just five points, what could he possibly do? He was still light-years away from affording another fragment of the Heart of the Universe.

As he hesitated, a familiar chime rang from the shop's entrance—the wind chime that only sounded when a strong individual entered with the intent to purchase something.

Han Yu turned his head and was momentarily stunned.

The visitor had long, wine-red hair and wore a fitted yellow combat outfit that exuded strength and confidence. She was strikingly bold, radiating an air of authority and charisma.

But most importantly, she was someone Han Yu knew well.

"Wanda… you're back?"

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