When Natasha heard Liu A'dou say he wanted to turn Elsa into a diva for the entire universe, she immediately thought Ada's husband has lost his mind. She genuinely felt bad for Agent Ada. What a good woman—how did she end up married to a lunatic like this?
But Liu A'dou wasn't just making wild claims. He'd actually been studying artistic knowledge from other worlds lately. Thanks to an auto-translation function, he could understand at least eighty to ninety percent of it. Unlike scientific knowledge, artistic concepts didn't require cumulative training to grasp—so Liu A'dou found it surprisingly accessible.
That's why he truly believed Elsa had the potential to become a universal diva.
Over the past few days, Liu A'dou had written several hundred thousand words of planning material, mapping out each step to bring Elsa to the peak of human artistic achievement.
Noticing the subtle, doubtful look Natasha let slip, Liu A'dou raised a brow. "You don't believe me?"
"It's not that I don't believe you… It's just hard to believe," Natasha replied.
"I don't think there's anything impossible about it. Sure, humanity's scientific and technological capabilities might fall short compared to many other civilizations in the universe, but when it comes to the arts, we don't need to sell ourselves short. We have the most beautiful music in the galaxy—music that can move the cosmos," Liu A'dou said with conviction.
Natasha thought, He's so confident he doesn't actually seem crazy. Still, pulling this off alone? That just didn't make sense. She was now more convinced that Liu A'dou really did have someone powerful backing him.
"In that case, Mr. Liu, since you already have a plan, why not partner with our All-Stars Agency? We don't just dominate Hollywood—we've got serious pull all over North America. If we combine forces, wouldn't that help Miss Elsa achieve her interstellar stardom even faster?"
"No need. Not at all. I can handle it on my own," Liu A'dou replied.
"Surely you have someone advising you behind the scenes?" Natasha asked casually, as if just making conversation.
Here it is, Liu A'dou thought. I knew they were here to investigate me. He was well aware that the success of Frozen didn't just bring in profits—it also raised political flags. Since the film had gained traction by touching on the topic of mutants, any backlash tied to the mutant issue would come knocking too.
Now with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent showing up at his door, it was obvious what was going on. They suspected his inspiration wasn't entirely his own—that someone had manipulated things from the shadows.
But Liu A'dou had long prepared for this.
He decided to push the blame upward—toward the gods of Mount Olympus. After all, it's not like S.H.I.E.L.D. had the power to go interrogate them face-to-face. So he might as well claim he'd been divinely inspired. That way, no one could prove whether it was true or not.
"Last year, I was just an ordinary reporter, running around chasing news stories. Then one day, I fell into the sea and had a strange encounter."
"?" Natasha leaned in slightly.
"I ended up on Mount Olympus and met Athena. The goddess of wisdom taught me a ton—beautiful songs, legendary stories. I wrote them all down, adapted them, and that's how Frozen came to be. And there's even more amazing material in my head right now." Liu A'dou tapped his temple. "With Athena watching over me, there's no doubt I'll make Elsa famous."
Athena? If this had been any other time, Natasha wouldn't have believed a word of it. But after seeing a literal Norse god in action, hearing someone claim they met Athena didn't seem all that far-fetched.
"You actually met Athena?"
"Of course. She had bright, intelligent eyes and an elegant face. When she spoke, it was gentle and graceful—definitely had the aura of a goddess."
"..."
"I've already told you the truth. What more do you want to hear? There's no way I'm going to partner with your agency. I've got a goddess backing me."
Assuming that was all true, Natasha still had one last question. "Why choose a story about mutants?"
Liu A'dou's eyes lit up. "Straight to the point. If a reporter were here, I'd tell them I sympathize with mutants. But since we're on the same page, I'll be honest with you—I sympathize with humanity."
"What do you mean by that?" Natasha was taken aback.
"Humans are terrified of mutants. A lot of us don't actually understand them. It's like standing in the middle of a pitch-black field at night. Everyone hides in a single house, and someone says, 'There are monsters out there called mutants. They'll tear apart anyone who steps outside.' And so, everyone just repeats that, convinced that mutants are monsters—even though they've never seen one. Isn't that kind of pathetic? Living your whole life scared of something you don't even understand?" Liu A'dou could spin a good tale. He'd tell people what they wanted to hear, even if his real reasons were far less noble. If you wanted to know the truth, the idea had just popped into his head—there was no deep motivation. "So, I want to use my movies to help people understand mutants, to help them realize there's nothing to fear."
"You really believe that?" Natasha had never met someone who talked like this. She didn't know how to wrap her head around it.
"I do. Everyone says mutants are dangerous, but there are fewer mutant-related attacks than there are mass shootings in the United States. The odds of being a mutant are also lower than the percentage of Americans who own guns. So why are people more afraid of mutants, who might be ten thousand miles away, than their own neighbors who keep guns in their closets? Statistically speaking, they're far more likely to get shot at their own front door."
Seeing the look of clarity dawn on Natasha's face, Liu A'dou thought smugly, A'dou, you're way too good at this. There goes another clueless human swayed by your sweet talk.
But in reality, Natasha wasn't shaken. She just thought Liu A'dou made some valid points. That said, none of this had anything to do with her personally. As an agent, she didn't need to think like a civilian or decide whether someone was friend or foe. Her job was to gather intel. The decisions were made by her superiors.
A great agent didn't overthink outside the mission. Thinking too much could lead to hesitation. So now, all she had to do was remember everything Liu A'dou said and report it to Director Fury. He would decide what came next.
"Mr. Liu, you make a compelling case. But I still hope you'll reconsider. Even with Athena's support, wouldn't you want to achieve your goals faster? We can give you more firepower."
"Miss Natasha, you don't seem to doubt my story at all. Most people wouldn't be so trusting."
Natasha didn't miss a beat. "Mr. Liu, don't you realize? To the public, you're a man blessed by the gods. Your goddess might not be God with a capital G, but she's still Athena. That won't stop your work from being loved."
"Thank you for the compliment," Liu A'dou said humbly. "Give me some time. I'll think it over. I'll also discuss it with Miss Elsa directly. Maybe there's still a chance we can collaborate."
Natasha rose from her seat. They'd said everything that needed to be said—it was time to leave. But before she walked out, she left behind a parting gift: she discreetly stuck a bug under the coffee table.
"Then I'll wait for your reply. My phone is on twenty-four hours a day," Natasha said.
"I will. I'll get in touch with Miss Elsa as soon as possible."
He politely saw Natasha to the door. Once she was gone, Liu A'dou returned to the living room, looked down at the bug, and smiled.
Trying to eavesdrop on Kaitou Kid?
Way too amateur.