Chapter 55: The Cicada Sheds Its Shell · The Taunt on the Deserted Isle

Aurora‌ September 28, 2025

Thanos's icy gaze felt like a tangible枷锁 (jiāsuǒ -枷锁) weighing on the heart of every hero. The purple light of the Power Stone and the orange glow of the Mind Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet shimmered together, emanating a威压 (wēiyā -威压) that made souls tremble. Life or death, freedom or奴役 (núyì -奴役)—the choice seemed imminent.

However, the heroes, having endured the绝望车轮战 (juéwàng chēlún zhàn -绝望车轮战) against Sun Wukong and a moment of reflection in the cell, were forced by this desperate situation to summon an unprecedented flash of cunning.

Steve Rogers, Captain America, was the first to lift his head. He didn't answer directly but spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse yet刻意维持着平静 (kèyì wéichí zhe píngjìng -刻意维持着平静). "The balance of the universe... is a grand proposition. We need... time."

Tony Stark, Iron Man, immediately grasped the intent. Suppressing a cough, he chimed in, his tone laced with a deliberately crafted "reasonableness" under exhaustion. "Exactly... Such a重大决定 (zhòngdà juédìng -重大决定), concerning billions of lives. You can't expect us... under the torment of these energy shackles and the threat of death... to make a清醒的 (qīngxǐng de -清醒的), truly 'willing' choice instantly. That doesn't align with... your so-called 'efficiency' and 'order,' does it?"

He cleverly threw Thanos's own words back at him.

Thor, though filled with rage, lowered his voice, appearing沉重而挣扎 (chénzhòng ér zhèngzhá -沉重而挣扎). "The submission of Asgard... requires ritual and dignity. Even... the dignity of the defeated." His words were half-truth, both a拖延 (tuōyán -拖延) tactic and laced with genuine屈辱 (qūrǔ -屈辱).

T'Challa, the Black Panther, Doctor Strange (if present), and others either remained silent or提出需要时间思考 (tíchū xūyào shíjiān sīkǎo -提出需要时间思考),需要内部商议 (xūyào nèibù shāngyì -需要内部商议).

They did not resist fiercely, nor did they屈服 (qūfú -屈服) immediately. Instead, they collectively, almost instinctively, adopted a strategy of拖延 (tuōyán -拖延)! They sought to利用 (lìyòng -利用) Thanos's自负 (zìfù -自负) regarding "order" and "efficiency," and his偏执 (piānzhí -偏执) for "willingness," to争取一线渺茫的生机 (zhēngqǔ yīxiàn miǎománg de shēngjī -争取一线渺茫的生机).

Thanos's深邃的目光 (shēnsuì de mùguāng -深邃的目光) swept over them,似乎看穿了 (sìhū kànchuānle -似乎看穿了) their intent, yet seemed不在意 (bù zàiyì -不在意). Before his absolute power, any delay was laughable. But perhaps he believed that giving these "hard bones" time to说服自己 (shuōfú zìjǐ -说服自己) might achieve "willingness" more effectively than brute force, aligning with his扭曲的仁慈 (niǔqū de réncí -扭曲的仁慈).

"Granted," Thanos slowly lowered the Infinity Gauntlet, its光芒稍敛 (guāngmáng shāo liǎn -光芒稍敛). "You have one galactic rotation cycle (approximately several Earth hours) to consider. Remember, this is mercy, not weakness." He waved his hand.

Members of the Black Order escorted the heroes back to their cells. The看守似乎略微松懈了一些 (kānshǒu sìhū lüèwèi sōngxièle yīxiē -看守似乎略微松懈了一些)—perhaps believing them powerless, perhaps due to Thanos's "mercy."

Inside the cell, the heroes breathed a momentary sigh of relief, but the危机远未解除 (wéijī yuǎn wèi jiěchú -危机远未解除).

"We must get someone out!" Tony whispered urgently to the others. "We need to find reinforcements! Or... find him!"

"Him? That monkey?" Clint Barton, Hawkeye, exclaimed softly. "What good would that do? And how could he possibly be a match for Thanos?"

"He's the only being we know whose raw power might potentially rival Thanos's head-on! It's our only hope!" Tony insisted. "Peter!" He looked towards Spider-Man, who was相对最轻 (xiāngduì zuì qīng -相对最轻) injured and whose "hidden injuries" seemed least severe. "Your agility is best... is there a chance..."

Peter Parker was pale. He looked at the fleeting weak point in the energy fluctuation of his shackles, then at the巡逻间隙 (xúnluó jiànxì -巡逻间隙) of the guards outside. His heart pounded.

"I... I can try..." he took a deep breath, pushing his Spider-Sense to the limit. "But we need to create a distraction..."

Moments later, a violent argument and the sound of energy clashes erupted from the cell (the Hulk attempting to break free, triggering shackle backlash), briefly吸引守卫的注意力 (xīyǐn shǒuwèi de zhùyìlì -吸引守卫的注意力).

In that split second!

Peter pushed his Spider-Sense and flexibility to the极限 (jíxiàn -极限). Like a true spider, he扭曲身体 (niǔqū shēntǐ -扭曲身体) at an impossible angle, slipping险之又险地 (xiǎn zhī yòu xiǎn de -险之又险地) through the fleeting漏洞 (lòudòng -漏洞) in the energy shackles'波动 (bōdòng -波动)!紧接着 (jǐn jiē zhe -紧接着), he used the ceiling shadows and conduits to避开守卫的视线 (bìkāi shǒuwèi de shìxiàn -避开守卫的视线), slipping out of the prison area like a ghost!

"Escapee!" The alarm sounded quickly, but Peter had already used the complex ship's structure to拉大距离 (lā dà jùlí -拉大距离). He pushed himself, found an emergency escape pod,启动 (qǐdòng -启动) it desperately, and ejected towards Earth!

Behind him, several Chitauri pursuit craft immediately detached from Sanctuary II, giving chase!

The escape pod, trailing black smoke, struggled through the atmosphere, plummeting towards the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Peter fought his way out of the disintegrating pod, using his remaining web-shooters and reflexes to滑行 (huáxíng -滑行)艰难地 (jiānnán de -艰难地) across the water's surface before finally exhausting his strength and being washed ashore onto a deserted island's beach by the waves.

He was soaked,伤痕累累 (shānghén lěilěi -伤痕累累), nearly虚脱 (xūtuō -虚脱). But the will to survive sustained him. He struggled to his feet,辨认方向 (biànrèn fāngxiàng -辨认方向)—according to his last memory before crashing and a模糊指引 (móhú zhǐyǐn -模糊指引) from his Spider-Sense, the residual energy signature of Sun Wukong's last disappearance seemed to be in this very海域 (hǎiyù -海域).

"Must... find him..." Peter gritted his teeth, stumbling deeper into the island.

Meanwhile, the Chitauri pursuit craft landed on the other end of the island. Elite Outrider squads poured out, beginning a地毯式搜索 (dìtǎn shì sōusuǒ -地毯式搜索) for the escaped "prisoner."

After what felt like an eternity, just as Peter was about to lose consciousness, he smelled something... the aroma of grilled fish?

His spirits lifted. He stumbled towards the scent, finally爬上一处缓坡 (pá shàng yī chù huǎnpō -爬上一处缓坡) and saw the scene below on the beach—

Sun Wukong was sitting leisurely by a篝火 (gōuhuǒ -篝火), fishing with his tail. Several large fish sizzled on a烤架 (kǎojià -烤架), dripping with oil. He held a coconut, humming an off-key tune, looking utterly惬意 (qièyì -惬意) and detached from the world.

This stood in stark contrast to the地球疮痍 (dìqiú chuāngyí -地球疮痍), captured comrades, and his own desperate flight that Peter had witnessed! A wave of uncontrollable anger and委屈 (wěiqū -委屈) surged within him.

He charged down the slope, stumbling to a halt before Sun Wukong, gasping for breath. Pointing at him, he shouted with his last ounce of strength:

"It's you! It really is you! Hiding here eating grilled fish! Do you have any idea what's happening out there?! Thanos is here! Everyone's been defeated! Captured! Earth is about to be destroyed!"

Sun Wukong was startled by this sudden "insect." Recognizing the "spider spirit" from before, he waved a hand不耐烦地 (bù nàifán de -不耐烦地). "Shoo! This old Sun thought it was someone important. So it's you, little bug. What purple fatso, green fatso? None of this old Sun's business! Can't beat him? That's your lack of skill! Don't bother me!"

Seeing his complete detachment, Peter remembered Mr. Stark's advice on激将法 (jījiàngfǎ -激将法). Steeling himself, he shouted loudly, "You... you must be afraid of that Thanos! That's why you're hiding here! All that talk about no worthy opponents is just an excuse! You're scared, aren't you?!"

"What?!" Sun Wukong sprang to his feet, his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils glaring. The air around him seemed to grow hotter. "This old Sun, afraid of a purple fatso?! Bullshit! Utter bullshit! This old Sun finds you lot too废物 (fèiwù -废物), not worth fighting!"

"Then why don't you go defeat him?!" Peter retorted毫不退缩地 (háo bù tuìsuō de -毫不退缩地). "You are scared! Thanos has the Infinity Gauntlet, the Infinity Stones! His power is immense! You must know you can't beat him, that's why you're hiding here pretending to be carefree!"

"Infinity Gauntlet? Infinity Stones?" Sun Wukong scratched his cheek, a flicker of interest appearing. "What玩意儿 (wányìr -玩意儿)? More powerful than Laozi's Diamond Cudgel? Hmph! Even if he has a thousand treasures and ten thousand神通 (shéntōng -神通), when has this old Sun ever been afraid?!"

He threw down the grilled fish, his competitive spirit thoroughly aroused by Peter's words. "Fine, fine, fine! You little bug sure have a sharp tongue! This old Sun will show you whether that purple fatso's stones are厉害 (lìhai -厉害), or if this old Sun's golden-hooped staff is more了得 (liǎodé -了得)! Lead the way! This old Sun will go meet him right now!"

Just then, several pursuing Outriders spotted Peter and charged onto the beach with roars.

Sun Wukong, itching to vent his newly stirred battle lust, snorted coldly. "聒噪 (Guōzào -聒噪)!"

Without even looking, he casually flicked his sleeve!

An无形巨力 (wúxíng jù lì -无形巨力) shot out. The elite Outriders didn't even have time to scream before they were sent flying like leaves in a hurricane, exploding into dust mid-air!

Peter stared,目瞪口呆 (mùdèngkǒudāi -目瞪口呆), his conviction strengthening. "Quick! Follow me!"

Sun Wukong grabbed Peter, mounted his Somersault Cloud, and commanded, "Point the way! Today, I'll let you all see what true skill really means!"

A streak of golden light shot into the sky, tearing through the clouds, heading straight for the massive Sanctuary II hovering beyond the atmosphere! The ultimate confrontation was imminent!