At 4:30 PM.
With a final farewell, Banner left with his cousin Jen.
Before leaving, Jen clenched her fist and said,
"Now that I'm a lawyer, if you ever need legal help, come find me, Lorien. I'll fight your case for free, giving it my all.
When I become a judge, if you still need legal help, come to me again. I'll turn a blind eye for you.
That's my way of thanking you. Bye!"
Hearing Jen's last words, Lorien's mouth twitched, but he still nodded with satisfaction. Helping her hadn't been for nothing.
Didn't you hear what she just said?
As a lawyer, she'll fight his case unconditionally.
As a judge, she'll outright cover for him!
That was exactly what she meant.
Whether Lorien ever needed to go to court or not, just this attitude alone was worth it.
Jen was a superhero with a strong sense of justice. For her to actually say she'd shield him like that showed that her gratitude toward Lorien even surpassed her sense of justice. That was enough.
It's like that saying: if two people owe you money, one only has ten bucks but gives you all ten, even scrambling to gather more, while the other has ten thousand but only gives you ten. Who's truly sincere about repaying you?
Obviously, the first one.
Right now, Jen didn't have much to offer. But she still wanted to show Lorien as much gratitude as she could, even promising that in the future it would be the same. That alone proved her sincerity. That's why Lorien felt satisfied.
After the two left, Lorien checked the clock, waiting for it to strike 5:00 PM. The moment it did, he closed up with the Ballerina Twins.
That also meant their shift was over, and they went upstairs to handle their own things.
"Ding~"
Just then, the elevator doors opened and Gwen bounced out.
"Yahoo~!"
Lorien opened his arms wide. Gwen leapt straight into his embrace.
"How many criminals did you take down today?"
Gwen raised six fingers.
"Six."
"That efficient? Are criminals really that easy to find?"
"I've got Spider-Sense."
Gwen placed both hands on her head like antennas.
"As long as I get close enough and focus on sensing threats, I can feel danger across an entire area. Then all I have to do is rush over and pull them out.
Besides, crime is everywhere in New York. Too many people are doing bad things.
If I only went after thieves, I'd be drowning in work."
Lorien thought for a moment.
"That's true."
When you're abroad and in a crowded place, what should you watch out for? Gunfire? No. Car horns? No.
What you really need to watch out for… is pickpockets.
Whether it's the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. Whether it's the once-great Britain or today's so-called "romantic nation." What you need to beware of isn't necessarily danger, but the pickpockets everywhere. They especially target foreigners.
Compared to some countries where things are handled quickly, where foreigners can even have someone report the theft for them, sometimes even guaranteeing recovery within days—sorry. That's impossible in Europe or North America.
Got robbed? That's on you for not being careful. Need help finding it? They'll try, but what if they can't?
So whether it's New York or the Eiffel Tower, there are plenty of thieves.
If Gwen tried to deal with all of them, she'd be completely overwhelmed. It's fine if she sees one and shoots a web. But actively going out to hunt them down? Forget it.
Even ten Gwens wouldn't be able to stop all the pickpockets. That's no joke—it's the truth.
So Gwen catching six in one outing really wasn't that many.
...
Lorien carried Gwen upstairs. Along the way, Gwen suddenly blushed, clearly having thought of something. Lorien immediately sensed the little spark in her heart.
He smiled and whispered in her ear.
"How about we do it like this next time?"
The moment she heard him, Gwen's body stiffened. She quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
Got it. Next time, no words. Just action.
When they reached the room, the door opened automatically. Gwen got down, and they both changed their shoes.
Once she was done, Gwen hopped onto the sofa, sat cross-legged, and pulled out her phone.
"Hmm…?"
Lorien glanced over. Turns out Gwen was compiling her crime-fighting footage, packaging it up, and posting it to her personal account.
Guess you could call that her daily share. Yeah, pretty much.
By the time Gwen finished uploading her videos, Lorien had already stepped into the Little Universe to check on Wanda.
The moment he entered, he saw Wanda carrying a flower pot and fiddling with something.
Lorien walked over and asked softly.
"What are you doing..."
He watched Wanda's movements. She sliced the stems of two roses, intending to graft them together.
And this looked like...
"Grafting?"
"Mm-hmm." Wanda carefully worked on the roses, even as the thorns dug into her palms and left deep marks. It looked painful, but she stayed focused.
Once the two differently colored roses were joined, Wanda used a tool to clamp them tightly, making sure the stems pressed firmly together. Then she finally released her grip.
Lorien watched with some confusion.
"You're grafting roses—what kind of flower are you hoping to create?"
Clap clap~~
Wanda dusted her hands. She was just about to rub the indentations left on her fingers when Lorien reached over, took her hand, and gently rubbed it in his own palm.
Wanda gave him a warm smile. Leaning into his arms, she explained,
"No matter what they look like, as long as they turn out beautiful, I'll try every kind."
Then she pointed toward the wall by the wooden floor.
"I'll stimulate their growth later. If it doesn't work, they'll wither, and I'll just have to add them to the flower graveyard over there."
Lorien turned to look. The corner was already piled high with wilted roses—red, purple, pale pink. It really was a rose graveyard.
But...
"So many died? Let me see you try again."
At his request, Wanda extended her hand and lightly moved her fingers. A wave of crimson energy wrapped around the fused roses.
She withdrew her hand, leaving the energy to release its growth-inducing power on its own.
Under both their watchful eyes, the grafted stems fused together, then started to grow as one. The plant shot upward, sprouting new thorns. Buds swelled larger and larger, until finally—
With a soft pop, the rose blossomed.
"Done?" Lorien saw the flower bloom. That should count as success, right?
But Wanda shook her head. Her wine-red hair brushed across his face, tickling him, as she explained,
"There's one last step—whether it can survive once I withdraw the energy."
She lifted her hand and tapped the air. Instantly, the crimson glow around the rose disappeared.
And just as quickly, before their eyes, the rose began to wither. Within seconds, it looked like a candle flickering out in the wind.
"Huh..."
Wanda sighed softly, her breath escaping with her frustration. She turned her head and gave Lorien a helpless pout.
"Still a failure."
Lorien stepped closer to examine the rose. Nothing seemed wrong. From a scientific perspective, the grafting was fine. The hardest part of grafting isn't the growth afterward, but the survival rate during the process. Yet with Wanda's magic, survival was guaranteed.
If the biggest hurdle was cleared, then why was it dying?
What did it think it was, a lab culture that could just die on a whim?
Lorien snapped his fingers. The rose rewound in time, letting him watch the entire withering process again.
After observing, he looked up at Wanda.
"Have you managed to succeed with even one?"
Wanda shook her head.
"Even with the two rose types that books say are the easiest to graft, I've never succeeded. I don't know what's going wrong."
Case closed.
Lorien examined the stem and sighed.
"Wanda, is it possible that when you used your magic to accelerate its growth, you unconsciously set it so the rose can only survive by absorbing your energy? And the moment you cut it off, it dies instantly."
Wanda froze. She blinked and stammered, embarrassed.
"No way..."
Lorien chuckled.
"Remember when I had you shut down the Quantum Realm entrance? When it comes to altering reality, a single stray thought can change everything. Sometimes even an unconscious thought can decide the outcome.
Try again.
This time, set the magic to growth. Don't think about healing or nourishment. Growth itself will take care of healing."
Wanda nodded and hurried off to prepare more flowers.
By then, Gwen had finished uploading her video and came over to watch.
A short while later, Wanda returned with two flowerpots. Using a craft knife, she cut and grafted the stems. Once they were secured, she eagerly tried her new approach.
Her fingers flicked, and crimson energy wrapped around the new "test subject."
She pulled her hand back, and everyone focused on the effect.
This time, Wanda kept it simple. She only accelerated the rose's growth, nothing more.
Before their eyes, the stems fused, leaving only a scar at the graft site. The plant grew upward, sprouting thorns, then a bud.
Finally—
With a sharp pop, it burst into bloom.
"Did it work?" Gwen asked the same question Lorien had just asked earlier.
Wanda shook her head slightly, then nervously withdrew her magic. The crimson glow faded instantly. She kept her eyes fixed on the rose.
One second... two seconds... three seconds...
The multicolored rose was still in bloom, releasing a faint fragrance.
Wanda quickly turned to Lorien.
"Did it work?"
Lorien nodded. "It worked."
Wanda's eyes lit up with joy. She glanced at Gwen, then suddenly threw her arms around her and cheered.
"I did it~~~!"
"...Huh?"
Gwen blinked, completely baffled at being hugged out of nowhere.
Lorien chuckled and gestured with his eyes toward the wall lined with dead roses.
When Gwen noticed, she immediately understood. So, Wanda had been a rose killer this whole time. No wonder so many had died.
After hugging Gwen, Wanda came over and embraced Lorien as well. She tackled him so hard it was like getting body-checked.
Lorien patted her back helplessly.
"Alright, alright. This is just the beginning. From now on, pay more attention—observe, study, and practice. You need all three."
"Mm-hm!"
Wanda was clearly overjoyed. She turned around, pulled out her phone, and started snapping photos of her very first successful grafted rose. The sound of clicks filled the room, her happiness plain to see.
But after a short while, she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, we should make dinner!"
She turned to go call Nora to prepare the meal.
But just as she spun around, Lorien tilted his head sharply toward the southeast.
"Hm?"
Gwen noticed his strange reaction. If he was suddenly looking that way, something must have happened.
"What is it?" she asked.
Hearing that, Wanda paused and came back.
Lorien released the Phoenix Force to sense more clearly.
Ah.
So that's what it was—gods were fighting.
He turned back to Gwen.
"Remember when I said you'd be killing another god?"
Gwen had already slain one true god, so she nodded.
"You did say that. But you never told me which god."
"This time it's an Egyptian deity," Lorien replied.
"An Egyptian god?" Gwen blinked. "Gods of Egypt are fighting?"
Lorien nodded. That was exactly it. He had just felt divine power being used.
Ordinary power he usually ignored, blocking it from his senses. But whenever a god-level force was unleashed, he immediately knew where it came from. Anything above All-Father level, and Lorien could pinpoint it instantly.
"Two Egyptian gods are fighting. One is the crocodile goddess Ammit—she's up to no good, even sending her avatar to New York to stir up trouble.
The other is Khonshu, the moon god. He's a good one. You don't need to kill him. Just slaughter the crocodile goddess."
"Got it." Gwen nodded, though she still asked curiously,
"If I kill Ammit, does that mean Egypt won't have that god anymore?"
"How could that be?" Lorien shook his head.
"Egyptian gods are only avatars. As long as the god-seat exists, killing one form doesn't erase them. Their true self still remains. After enough time, they'll reemerge—it's only a matter of how long it takes.
But destroying the god-seat itself... better not. It's easier to let them roam free and cut them down whenever they appear."
"Cut them down every time they appear? Isn't that just like raising pigs?"
Gwen laughed. "Lorien, you're terrible."
Men being a little bad... women actually like that. As cheesy as it sounded, it was true. Even villains with charm always had women drawn to them.
Boom~~~
At that moment, Lorien sensed another divine clash erupting in Egypt.
He raised his hand.
"Let's go. Tonight, we'll treat it as a trip to see the sights of Egypt. Gwen, you take down the god. Wanda and I will stroll the cities."
As soon as he said it, Wanda hugged Lorien tightly.
Gwen pouted.
"Fine. I'll finish the job quickly, then come find you."
"No problem."
Lorien snapped his fingers.
Pa~
In an instant, the three of them vanished.
The next moment, they reappeared in Egypt—on top of a pyramid.
Not far away, a giant crocodile was battling an enormous skeletal sorcerer.
Meanwhile, in the distant city marketplace, two men were locked in a brutal fight—one wielding a staff, the other dressed head-to-toe in white.
There was no mistaking it.
The crocodile goddess and Khonshu were clashing in the distance, while their avatars fought nearby.
A 2v2 battle, raging fiercely. But overall, Moon Knight and Khonshu were being pushed back. Ammit's power had been boosted by her avatar's strength.
Lorien glanced over, then patted Gwen's hip.
"Go on. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can go shopping in Egypt."
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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