Seeing that Su Ye mentioned the Frost Giants, Thor also dropped his fighting stance and asked with great interest.
"They have been in that region for more than half a year, right? How are they doing? I really don't know much about it!"
As former enemies who fought for thousands of years, the protagonists of every Asgardian child's childhood horror stories, and the race to which his half-brother Loki belongs, Thor was still very concerned about the development of the Frost Giants.
Hearing Thor's question, Su Ye did not answer directly but instead reached into his pocket and took out a phone.
As someone who often roamed the streets of Earth, Thor was quite familiar with mobile phones. He immediately leaned in, craning his neck to look at the screen.
"Before I came, the Jotunheim Frost Giants working in the China's labor office sent me some videos. You can check them out."
Saying this, Su Ye played a video, and then a man's voice came through.
"Have you heard of the 'Blue Friends'?"
Accompanied by narration, the screen showed countless firefighters in uniforms moving against the flow in smoke-filled streets, buildings, and forests.
"There are no such thing as peaceful times, only people carrying the burden for us!"
The video showed explosions, collapses, raging fires, and various other dangers.
"How many times have we hoped that the land remains unscathed, so that our Blue Friends can play ball, eat, and take a break in peace…"
In the video, an alarm suddenly rang. Those who were eating, playing ball, or even about to leave for vacation immediately dropped everything and ran toward the fire trucks.
The background music, dramatic as if from Muspelheim, instantly intensified the atmosphere.
Even Thor, an alien who had never experienced Earth's fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, felt his blood boil while watching.
"Wait, aren't you showing me the Frost Giants? What is this?"
"Hold on!"
Su Ye gave him a "be patient" look.
Then, the screen changed.
After the firefighters boarded the trucks, a few tall, hideous blue-faced giants sat in the obviously modified cabins.
They wore uniforms similar to the firefighters', with helmets on their heads. Though ugly, their faces were solemn.
"The Blue Friends have protected us countless times. We hope that, someday, someone will protect them too!"
As these words were spoken, the scene switched to a fire site. Some Blue Friends were connecting hoses, while others, along with the blue-faced giants, walked toward the flames.
"There's someone here! Control the fire!"
As a Blue Friend gave the order, a blue-faced giant raised his right hand, releasing a stream of freezing energy. Not only did it contain the flames, but it also froze the burning building instantly.
Then, the Blue Friends and the blue-faced giants rushed into the fire and rescued several trapped people.
On the other side, a warehouse suddenly exploded. However, at that moment, several blue-faced giants stepped forward instantly, spraying freezing energy from their hands. A massive ice shield formed in front of them, completely shielding the Blue Friends behind them.
In another scene, a forest fire had broken out for unknown reasons. Under the precise guidance of the Blue Friends, hundreds of blue-faced giants quickly applied low-temperature treatment to the flames, and the fire line visibly retreated at a rapid pace.
At the end of the video, the Blue Friends and the blue-faced giants gathered together for a group photo.
"Ever since these blue-faced friends arrived, our Blue Friends might be out of a job!"
"Dear folks, what do you think about this? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section..."
"Hiss!"
Thor took a deep breath of hot air from Muspelheim. "They're doing seemingly trivial things, yet why does it feel so stirring and even a bit overwhelming?"
Su Ye rolled his eyes at him. "You call this trivial? Your garlic must be huge, and your arrogance even bigger."
"If you call this trivial, then should I say Ragnarok was also a trivial matter? You guys only lost less than ten thousand people."
(A scene from the TV series Loki: Loki, in the Time Variance Authority, sees the Ragnarok casualty report, which clearly states 9,719 dead.)
"A civilization—a mythological civilization spanning tens of thousands of years—was destroyed, and yet fewer than ten thousand people died. Even fewer remained."
"At best, the entire population of Asgard wouldn't have exceeded twenty thousand—perhaps just a little over ten thousand."
"Do you know how many people die from the flu in America?"
"Over 1.1 million. Now tell me, does that scare you?"
"In short, the Frost Giants are doing very well in the China. Not only have they successfully found new jobs and secured a worry-free life, but they've also achieved a sense of personal fulfillment."
"You have no idea—they even have fan clubs in the China now. Every time they go out on a mission, countless people gather with their phones to take pictures, and it's impossible to shoo them away."
"Next, I plan to pick a few of the better-looking Frost Giants and see if they can enter the entertainment industry. These blue-faced heroes, who have been deeply influenced by the Blue Friends' righteousness, might be just what the entertainment circle needs for a good shake-up!"
"But you know, most Frost Giants are pretty ugly—finding one that meets the general public's aesthetic standards is difficult. After looking through them all, honestly, your brother Loki is probably the only decent-looking one…"
As he spoke, Su Ye suddenly paused. Thor, across from him, also turned to look at him.
"Loki! Right, where is Loki?"
"Given Thor's bond with Loki, no matter how busy he was, he wouldn't forget his brother."
"It had been fine before, but now that Su Ye had mentioned him, Thor had to bring it up—Loki was still locked in the Mirror Dimension by the Ancient One."
"He had been locked up for over half a year."
"Ye, Uncle Su!" Thor's expression turned serious.
"Can you talk to that Supreme Sorcerer or whatever, and ask her to release Loki? Mother Frigga misses her son."
"That's true," Su Ye nodded. Although Loki wasn't Frigga's biological son, she had raised him, and over a thousand years of love couldn't be cut off just like that.
And Su Ye now had the ability to open the Mirror Dimension, find Loki, and release him.
Just as he was about to try, a deep roar interrupted.
"You bastards, are you done messing around!?"
The two turned their heads and saw Surtur, his face full of fury, shouting in anger. Summoning all his strength, he finally broke free from the force that had been restraining him. Then, raising his massive flaming sword, he prepared to cleave the two in half with a single strike.
"What are you yelling about? Can't you see we're busy here?!"
Su Ye rolled his eyes at Surtur. Immediately, Surtur felt the force he had just broken free from reappear and restrain his body once again. This time, it was even stronger—so strong that he couldn't even attempt to struggle.
"I…"
"You sit tight for a moment! And the rest of you too!"
Su Ye shot a glare at them. The thousands of Fire Giants who had gathered in multiple layers around them immediately froze in place, their expressions stiff as they looked toward him.
"Alright, let's try and see if we can find Loki!"
Su Ye said to Thor with a smile.
On the other hand, Thor had long lost his initial nervousness. In fact, ever since Su Ye arrived, he hadn't been nervous at all.
"Alright, go ahead and look. No pressure—if you can find him, great; if not, it's fine. It's already been half a year, a few more moments won't matter."
"Don't worry. Since I promised to reunite you two loveb— ahem—brothers, I won't go back on my word."
Su Ye raised an eyebrow as he smiled, making Thor feel a little uncomfortable.
"I have a good relationship with Jane! Don't talk nonsense!"
"Heh."
Su Ye chuckled but said nothing.
Zzzt!
Instead of directly opening the Mirror Dimension, Su Ye first opened a portal.
Since Loki had been imprisoned on Earth by the Ancient One, even if Su Ye opened the Mirror Dimension from Muspelheim, he wouldn't be able to locate Loki.
So, Su Ye first opened a portal—an enormous one, tens of meters high, big enough to easily fit all of Surtur inside.
On the other side of the portal lay the ruins of a New York street, directly facing the Sanctum Sanctorum.
"Hmm, searching from here should make things easier!"
Su Ye nodded, then waved his hand toward the portal, opening the Mirror Dimension directly.
Thor widened his eyes and carefully scanned the Mirror Dimension, trying to find any trace of Loki. At the same time, Surtur and his Fire Giants also turned their gazes toward the portal.
"So, this is the world outside Muspelheim? Why is it so cold and lifeless, with no smoke or fire? This place is totally unfit for living—bad review!"
However, Surtur was more knowledgeable and well-traveled. He already knew that among the Nine Realms, Midgard had vast lands and a large population.
'If I take over this place and transform it into a realm like Muspelheim, I could lead my people here. Then, we would finally break free from Odin's oppression and imprisonment.'
'At that point, we wouldn't be confined to Muspelheim anymore. We could venture beyond the Nine Realms, into the universe, and start a new era!'
Surtur was ecstatic. The larger his territory and the more followers he had, the stronger his power would grow. At that point, not just Asgard—no, even the entire universe would be within his grasp!
While Surtur was daydreaming about his glorious future, Su Ye and Thor had already found a living being inside the Mirror Dimension.
The Mirror Dimension was a projection of the real world. Its size and structure could change at will, depending on the caster's intentions.
Time and gravity could shift unpredictably within it. However, one constant remained—there were no living creatures and no food.
Anyone locked inside the Mirror Dimension without external sustenance would ultimately face only one fate—starvation.
Loki had been trapped inside for more than half a year. Even as an Asgardian and an Aesir, he couldn't resist the effects of prolonged hunger.
It was only due to the Ancient One's periodic feeding that he had survived this long.
However, a little over a week ago, the Ancient One had left for the Soul Society with Ranju.
She assumed that Su Ye was aware of this and that once he mastered the sorcerer's skills, he would eventually attempt to open the Mirror Dimension, find Loki, and feed him.
What she didn't anticipate was that, in Su Ye's eyes, magic was just "meh"—nothing particularly worth exploring. As a result, he had never bothered to try accessing the Mirror Dimension.
Thus, for the past week or so, Loki had received no food at all.
And the last time the Ancient One had fed him was more than two weeks ago.
As soon as the Mirror Dimension opened, Su Ye and Thor saw a tattered figure, looking like a beggar, rushing toward them at full speed.
"Danger!"
Thor raised Mjolnir, ready to smash this "loot crate monster" into oblivion.
However, to their surprise, the figure collapsed to his knees midway and then slid forward, coming to a stop at their feet.
"Give me food—anything! I beg you, just give me something to eat!"
"Lo... Loki?!"
Thor's heart ached instantly. He looked both sad and furious as he cupped Loki's face in his hands. "Brother, my dear brother, you've suffered so much!"
Su Ye, standing nearby, merely scoffed. "You still have the energy to use magic? Seems like you're not quite starving yet."
"In that case, we might as well leave."
"Ye! Loki, he—!" Thor turned to Su Ye in confusion.
But Su Ye simply waved his hand, acting as if he was about to close the Mirror Dimension.
At that moment, a weak voice came from within.
"Cough—Wait, don't close it! I'm really about to starve to death!"
Then, under Thor's puzzled gaze, the beggar-like Loki in front of them suddenly vanished. Inside the Mirror Dimension, a severely emaciated young man—nothing more than skin and bones—weakly looked toward them.
"Hey… long time no see!"
"Loki!"
Thor, tears streaming down his face once again, rushed forward and picked up the frail, barely-there Loki.
"Mother thinks about you every day. Come, I'm taking you home!"
Saying this, Thor was about to carry Loki out.
But Su Ye raised a hand to stop him.
"First, the environment of Muspelheim will destroy him instantly."
"Second, until he truly reforms, he cannot have his freedom. That's my bottom line."
"But he's about to die!" Thor roared.
Su Ye raised his hand and took out a collar. "Put this on him. It will strip him of all magic. Then I'll send him somewhere for labor reform."
"Trust me—give him ten years, and you'll have a well-behaved, humble, and respectful little brother."
"Wait… hold on."
As he said this, Su Ye suddenly started to smile.
"Rather than a brother, wouldn't you like to have… a sister instead?"