Marvel: Little Genius - Chapter: 402 (Patreon)

"For this day, I have already paid too great a price. However, Ebony Maw has still completed his mission, I can sense it, the remaining two Infinity Stones are nearby.

What—do you intend to continue hiding like this?"

As he spoke, Thanos clenched his left hand, adorned with the Infinity Gauntlet, and instantly a wave of energy swept across the entire planet Titan. The ambush locations, once ruins and hiding spots, were instantly leveled, and Mark and his team were all exposed.

Knowing that their plan had completely failed, the superheroes showed no signs of panic. The three members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, in particular, were never good at following plans.

As for the members of the Avengers, they had experienced too many such situations before, with no room for retreat. At times like these, apart from fighting to the death, all their emotions and thoughts had long been set aside.

Mark looked at Thanos, who was dozens of meters away. This was the first time he had truly seen the adversary's true face, and it was far from the movie image from his past life.

Although their plan had completely failed and their ambush was exposed, Mark couldn't let Thanos suppress him in terms of momentum, or the upcoming battle would be very passive. "I don't think it will be long before you regret this, because you've just provoked the most powerful superhero team on Earth, the Avengers, and the famous Guardians of the Galaxy. And we still have two Infinity Stones in our hands."

With that, Mark opened his palm and displayed the Mind Stone he held in front of Thanos. Since the plan to destroy the Infinity Stones couldn't be executed, Mark decided to keep the Mind Stone in his possession.

With the power of the Mind Stone, he not only received a constant supply of magical energy but also enhanced his illusion abilities. It could provide unexpected assistance in battle.

"Do you know where this is? — Titan! This used to be my home, and it used to be a very beautiful place.

But as time went on, like many other planets, it experienced a population explosion while resources dwindled. Finally, when everyone was desperate, I proposed a solution for them."

"Genocide," Mark said it first.

"Exactly!" Thanos said without a hint of remorse. "Completely random, no favoritism, absolutely fair, no distinction between high and low. They all said I was insane, but everything in the end went exactly as I had anticipated.

For the final resources, my fellow beings turned on each other, ruthlessly killing all competitors without mercy. This struggle, tainted with emotions and desires, eventually plunged the entire planet into extinction, and my fellow beings paid a painful price for it."

"If they had acted according to my proposed plan from the beginning, this tragedy would not have occurred in the end. At least half of the planet's population would have survived, and the survivors would not have to endure hunger and beg for food.

Children could have been born into a world where they could eat well and play happily under the blue sky and white clouds, as long as— they followed my plan to erase half of the lives on the planet.

But now you still have a chance to prevent the same tragedy from happening, just by handing over the Infinity Stones you have. Once I collect all six Infinity Stones, I only need to snap my fingers, and they will turn to dust without feeling any pain, and I will turn it into mercy."

Clap, clap, clap, "I must applaud you for that. You truly are a merciful saint, someone who wants to murder trillions of lives across the universe."

Doctor Strange said to Thanos with sarcasm in his words, not believing Thanos' justification, considering it a grand excuse for indulging his desire for slaughter.

But Mark, who had clear memories from his previous life, knew that Thanos was not lying. He was indeed acting on his own rationality and will. It's just that almost no one could agree to have such a fate imposed on them, especially when it required sacrificing their lives.

"Your story is quite compelling, and your ideals may seem very noble, but we have no intention of handing our destiny over to someone else.

Even if you succeed in your plan this time and erase half of life in the universe, life will continue to proliferate, and our universe will eventually fall into silence. What you've done is merely delaying an imminent problem. In essence, it has no practical significance whatsoever.

Moreover, Thanos, the long, agonizing memories of life and misery have trapped you in a thought trap that you can't escape from. You stubbornly believe that, with the power of the six Infinity Stones, all you need to do is randomly eliminate half of life, just like your plan on Titan, to restore balance in the universe.

But, Thanos, times have changed!

You've never considered that with the immense power of the six Infinity Stones, you can do much more than simply randomly erasing half of life. Attempting to wield such vast power but only wanting to use it for an unproductive purpose is simply absurd.

You could use the power of the Infinity Stones to make the resources of the entire universe more abundant, even endless, but your narrow-minded thinking has confined you. Rather than calling yourself a savior or a destiny, it's more accurate to say you're just a remnant of an old era."

Mark's words were like a dagger to the heart, fundamentally denying the meaning of Thanos' actions and the value he had pursued throughout his life.

Hearing Mark's denial, Thanos seemed to have opened the door to a new world, even doubting his own long-standing ideals.

Unfortunately, Mark's words came too late, and even Thanos himself shook his head and sighed, "It's too late..."