*Chapter 165: It's in the Bag? (Third Update)*

Atreus will never forget the fate of the three big shots who snapped their fingers while wearing the *Infinity Gauntlet*:

As powerful as Thanos was, after two snaps, half of his body was burned and he was barely alive.

Hulk, who had the strongest physical body in a single universe, snapped his fingers, and his right arm was burned, severely injuring his body.

And Tony, for the sake of the world, put on the Infinity Gauntlet and snapped that world-changing snap, taking out Thanos and his army at the cost of his own life...

Travelers from other worlds have long summed up a rule: the result of the snap depends on the user's intent, but snapping requires a strong body and endurance to withstand the gamma radiation backlash of the Infinity Stones.

Normally, everyone who uses the Infinity Stones should suffer its backlash.

Atreus absolutely glitched the system.

Strictly speaking, he didn’t actually use the *Reality Stone*—he canceled a command the Reality Stone had already started executing. plan to turn the Nine Realms into a dark world was something Malekith had enacted using the Reality Stone.

Atreus killed Malekith, took his soul, and in doing so, gained experience in using the Reality Stone without paying any price.

This is incredibly valuable adaptability!

It means that if Atreus uses the Infinity Stones in the future, he can wield them with much less cost.

This was the real key.

In comparison, killing the dark-skinned pilot and gaining control of this mothership was no longer the main focus.

Naturally, Gwen and the others were curious about how Atreus would handle this ship.

Without missing a beat, Atreus began issuing orders one after another, keeping the women busy.

Not long after, right in front of Thor and Jane Foster, the enormous Dark Elf mothership turned invisible once again, and then, amid a whirlwind of dust, it quickly ascended into the sky.

In less than a minute, it completely disappeared from Thor's perception.

"Let's go back."

"Okay."

What happened next in Asgard was quite a melodrama.

Not only did Loki survive, but he also tricked Odin, disguising himself as the Allfather using illusions, and took the throne as the King of Gods.

Sitting on the newly restored throne, the figure of Odin seemed as dignified as ever. After taking care of the troublemaker Malekith, he once again appeared to be the undisputed ruler of the Nine Realms.

At that moment, Thor truly couldn’t see that this dignified father was actually his overly clever brother, Loki, in disguise.

Thor solemnly informed "Odin" of Loki's death and stated that he couldn't be the King of Asgard, but he was willing to continue working for the order of the Nine Realms.

When Thor chose to abandon the throne and leave, he received his "father's" blessing.

"Thank you, Father!" Thor turned and left, content.

It wasn't until Thor stepped out of the palace that the figure on the throne revealed his true form.

Smirking triumphantly, Loki chuckled evilly, "No, it's me who should thank you."

The result was that Thor and Jane were once again separated in two different worlds.

Back on Earth, Jane Foster didn't know how to face her good friend Erik, her assistant Darcy, or Darcy’s assistant Ian.

"I...I don't know what to say. He had to go back to Asgard, but he committed treason. I have no idea what’s going on with him, whether his father is angry with him, or how he’s being punished. I don’t know anything." Jane was both frustrated and at a loss.

Rationally, she told herself it was best to move on to another man.

But after dating a literal god, it was hard for her to readjust to the mortal world.

This whole situation was a mess.

Just then, Jane suddenly had a realization: "Wait! Did Wayne say anything? I’ve been gone for over a month, I haven’t done anything, and I haven’t even given a proper report to our benefactor. This doesn’t seem right."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "So you realize you’ve been acting like a scammer trying to milk research funds?"

Ian chimed in, "Uh, the basic research funding for this month did get deposited into your account. $500,000, not a cent short."

Despite Atreus’s massive sponsorship contract with Jane, it was divided into categories: $500,000 per month for basic expenses, and then additional research funds for special projects, which required Jane to submit reports for approval.

"Come on! I got hit by some *Aether particles*, I almost died." Jane was exasperated. "Ugh! I need to say something."

In front of her friends, she dialed Atreus’s number. "Mr. Wayne, I’m really sorry for being away for so long. I went missing because something major happened..."

On the other end of the video call, Atreus, dressed in a suit and seemingly serious, had what looked like some high-tech helmet or mask barely visible in the frame around his waist, but it was too small for the camera to capture clearly.

"No worries, I heard from Kratos about what happened. You did well. Now, it’s up to you to decide your research direction. I’m busy, we’ll talk later." With that, Atreus hung up without waiting for her response.

"Uh... did I...pass?" Jane asked uncertainly, looking at her friends.

"Looks like it...maybe," Darcy replied just as unsure.

Atreus, meanwhile, was genuinely busy. After acquiring the Dark Elves’ interstellar mothership, he had become engrossed in a new research topic: *"Maintenance and Care of Alien Spaceship Engines."*

After months of continuous testing, he had basically confirmed that alien engines were truly remarkable.

The alien ship wasn’t picky about its fuel, able to draw energy from sunlight or run on Earth’s native fuels via direct injection.

Any Earth engine, if not properly maintained, would quickly accumulate carbon buildup and could even cause carbon-based engine splits from using impure fuel.

Alien ships, on the other hand, could rev to the max, accelerating instantly without a hitch, and still remain pristine and durable.

Atreus was somewhat in love with the ship.

One day, while running another routine test on the alien engine, Atreus suddenly received a signal from Asgard.

In a remote wilderness in Ohio, wearing a brand-new Kratos suit, Atreus waited for the beam of the *Bifrost*.

Two figures—one a fit woman and the other a burly man—stepped out of the seven-colored rainbow light.

"Hey, it's been a while, Kratos."

Seeing Sif, Atreus was both surprised and not. After all, in the original timeline, with Thor running off across the realms and Loki ruling, only Sif and the Warriors Three were left to clean up the mess.

"Yeah!" Atreus casually replied, then watched as Sif walked over, pried open his right hand, and placed a box in his palm. "Wait! This is..."

"The *Aether particles*!"

At that moment, Atreus suddenly felt like the goddess of fate was toying with him.

(End of chapter)