Chapter 141: Forgiving You Is God's Business
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Faora's speed was so fast that the vampires couldn't see her at all.
In fact, speed was the vampires' advantage; they were naturally agile, and their physical fitness was greatly enhanced.
However, in front of a Kryptonian, that bit of speed was completely laughable.
It was as if Faora could teleport—with just a single punch, she sent a vampire flying, and in the next instant she appeared before the next one without the slightest pause.
She didn't even need any combat techniques, relying purely on extreme speed and immense power.
In just an instant, the entire circle of vampires surrounding them was knocked flying by her.
Some were directly blasted into a blood mist by her punches.
"Disgusting."
Instead, Faora looked on in disgust.
She had used too much force!
The martial might Faora displayed terrified Deacon Frost.
"Raman, the ordinary clansmen are no match for her. You two attack, quickly!"
He immediately shouted, trying to mask his cowardice with a fierce facade.
Raman and Ian, the two vampire Dukes, also hesitated at this moment.
They couldn't see through Faora; this woman was ridiculously strong.
Was this even human?
Not even Mutants were this powerful!
If they had known humans were this strong, wouldn't they have just behaved themselves?
But right now, Deacon Frost was urging them on, leaving them no time to think further.
Seeing the two pounce forward, Deacon Frost turned around and fled.
He had grand ambitions; he couldn't fall in a place like this!
On the other side, seeing Faora start slaughtering in all directions, Bayonetta and Jeanne grew excited as well.
"Let's move! We can't let her take them all."
"Hiss, she's so strong. We're no match for her."
Jeanne remarked in shock.
She knew Faora was strong, but she hadn't expected her to be this strong.
How many days had she even been absorbing the sun?
If she absorbed it for a bit longer, wouldn't she become completely unstoppable!
"Don't let her steal them all!"
Bayonetta didn't care about any of that and had already begun unleashing frantic attacks.
And because she was dealing with vampires, the bullets she fired using magic were ultraviolet bullets.
The lethality was immense, and ordinary cannon fodder was killed by a single shot from her.
There was no longer any need to chop them all into mincemeat like before.
Jeanne also composed herself and immediately began snatching kills.
It had been a long time since she felt so invigorated.
Seeing this, Arcee couldn't hold back either and transformed on the spot, which frightened the vampires out of their wits.
Because they had been detached from the mortal world for so long, they couldn't even recognize what it was at first.
"Monster, there's a monster!"
"Shit, what is this?"
"This looks like... Transformers?"
An outcast vampire recognized it; he had once snuck out late at night to watch a movie, while the other vampires partied all night.
This was also why the vampires were detached from the mortal world: they slept during the day, and as soon as they woke up at night, they threw parties filled with alcohol and sex.
Nothing changed for centuries; living day after day like this, they had long lost all sensitivity to changes in the outside world.
Only the outcast members of the Vampire race would leave the parties and the crowd to do what they actually wanted.
"What the hell are Transformers?"
Even though he recognized it, he couldn't explain it.
Because these people had no concept of it whatsoever.
They didn't even know what Transformers were; even mentioning Optimus Prime or Bumblebee to them would be like playing a lute to a cow.
Therefore, this outcast vampire turned on his heels and ran.
However, Arcee had already locked her sights on him.
"You recognized me, didn't you? Then you must die!"
Although Arcee was slender and sleek among the Autobotss, she was still far larger than a human.
With a flip, she caught up and blew this member of the Vampire race apart with a single blast.
Bayonetta and Jeanne also began their slaughter.
Two witches, each wielding four guns.
Two in their hands, two on their high heels, moving as if dancing a ballet.
This was the first time Li Chen had watched them fight up close, and they were indeed even more dashing and cool than in the game.
He rarely used "handsome" to describe women, but right now, that was the only fitting word.
As for the fleeing Deacon Frost? Li Chen had already caught him and dragged him back.
The powerful member of the Vampire race was now held in Li Chen's hand like a little chick.
Before long, the scent of blood permeated the area.
Because Faora grew bored of fighting, she simply swept across the area with Heat Vision.
Although she hadn't been absorbing the sun's Light Mediarays for long, so the temperature of her Heat Vision wasn't that high, it was still the natural nemesis of vampires, and they were melted in an instant.
Deacon Frost watched helplessly as Raman and Ian, the two vampire Dukes, were directly 'glared to death' by this woman's eyes.
When the powerful Heat Vision swept past, they simply vanished from the face of the earth.
They had indeed evaporated, leaving behind only a wisp of bloody mist.
Meanwhile, that woman floated in midair like a demon, her gaze as cold and indifferent as if she had merely stepped on an ant.
The Vampire race members that Deacon Frost had painstakingly gathered were completely wiped out in less than ten minutes.
Not a single lucky soul managed to escape.
Even though they exhausted every method, petty tricks like turning into Bats were entirely useless before Faora.
Her overwhelming strength simply crushed them.
This couldn't even be called a battle; this was merely a slaughter.
"Not satisfying enough."
Even Bayonetta remarked as much.
Helpless, Bayonetta could only take out a lollipop and start eating it.
Faora, however, said, "We are warriors. A warrior's duty is to eliminate the enemy, not to seek thrills."
"Fine, you're right."
Bayonetta lazily stretched her body and walked over to Li Chen.
"Dear, how should we deal with this idiot?"
Li Chen was used to Bayonetta's teasing; despite how warmly she called him "Dear," Li Chen at most got to indulge his hands a bit.
Whenever he tried to take things further, Bayonetta would always slip away.
She was like a cunning prey, constantly playing tug-of-war with the hunter.
Yet she was clearly as pure as a sheet of White paper.
Without a doubt, this was a woman's natural talent.
They were born knowing how to do it.
"Please forgive me."
Deacon Frost was already frightened out of his wits. "I didn't know your identities. I must have been possessed by a demon."
"I have money! I know all the Vampire race's bank accounts and companies! I can transfer all that money out!"
He kowtowed frantically toward Li Chen.
He knew Li Chen was even more powerful; he had tried every trick earlier, only to find escape utterly impossible.
"Realizing you're scared only now? Too late."
Bayonetta said, holding her lollipop.
Li Chen, however, shook his head. "He hasn't learned fear; he just knows he's about to die."
Then, Li Chen grabbed Deacon Frost by the head, forcing the guy—whose face was as pale as a corpse—to look him in the eye.
vampires really looked more terrifying than dead people.
"Please forgive me."
Deacon Frost dared not do anything else, merely repeating the phrase over and over.
This annoyed Li Chen a bit. "Forgiving you is God's business. My job is only to send you to meet Him."
"Oh, right—you vampires probably won't even get to see God!"
Then, Heat Vision erupted from his eyes, beginning to melt Deacon Frost from head to toe.
Chapter 142: Thor: Seen from Earth's Animations
Faora, Bayonetta, and Jeanne stood aside and watched, a hint of admiration flashing through the eyes of the three powerful women.
The reason they didn't make a move was simply because they wanted to see what Li Chen would do.
No matter what Li Chen did, they would accept it, but whether they would agree with it was another matter.
If Li Chen let this vampire go, they certainly wouldn't agree, because they were all decisive in killing and would never spare an enemy.
Fortunately, Li Chen's approach suited their tastes very well.
This made them appreciate Li Chen all the more, and also filled them with heartfelt admiration.
"Forgiving you is God's business, and I am only responsible for sending you to meet Him. That line is really cool."
Jeanne walked over and kissed Li Chen directly on the cheek.
After kissing him, she looked at Bayonetta: "Bayonetta, you don't mind, do you?"
Bayonetta rolled her eyes at her, walked over as well, and kissed the corner of Li Chen's mouth.
"Not bad performance, my... big boy."
This made Li Chen's blood rush.
However, seeing Faora standing nearby with a half-smile, he forcefully kept his composure.
Confirmed by a glance, she was someone he couldn't beat.
"Alright, let's go home."
Li Chen didn't like the place being full of blood mist, and the few women naturally weren't happy with it either.
Although Li Chen and Faora protected them with a Bio-Force Field, this heavy odor was simply unacceptable.
Therefore, they took nothing with them, and instead set a fire before leaving.
Otherwise, if it were discovered and spread, the impact would bound to be sensational.
But once the fire dragon came out, it would be different; everything would be burned completely clean.
Li Chen heated it up with Heat Vision, and only hurried away after confirming it had stabilized.
Not long after they left, a black guy wearing a black trench coat rushed over.
He rushed into the raging flames, looking shocked at the severed limbs and blood all over the ground.
"Who is so ruthless?"
The next thought was, had his enemy died?
Blade didn't dare stay long, otherwise he would also be burned to death.
Ten minutes later, the fire spread, and the police officers and firefighters of Los Angeles also rushed to the scene.
Since this place was relatively remote, they weren't in a hurry when facing the big fire.
Los Angeles firefighters had rich experience, because wildfires broke out in California almost every year.
This was because California's water resources were all private...
Ever since 9/11, American firefighters had fought hard to save people, leaving themselves with chronic illnesses, but America simply didn't care at all. Ever since then, firefighters nationwide in the US saw through it.
How much money do they make a month? Is it worth risking their lives for?
Save people? Save what people, better to save cats and dogs, at least that could make the headlines!
Therefore, they simply waited for the fire to burn, only controlling it so it wouldn't spread, and couldn't even be bothered to put it out.
Such a big fire naturally burned everything to nothing.
Asgard was located at the top of the Nine Realms.
Asgard was not very large; the entire Asgard was equivalent to the area of one American continent on Earth.
However, it was not a planet, but a floating continent.
And the Golden Palace built by the God King Odin was located in the center of the Idaevalr Plains.
Back then, Odin swept across the Nine Realms, plundered the wealth of the Nine Realms, and built the extremely luxurious Golden Palace.
Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall at least to defend against foreign enemies, while the Golden Palace was purely for enjoyment.
At that time, the people of the Nine Realms were living in misery, and Hela, the Goddess of Death, still wanted to continue expanding and march toward the universe.
For some unknown reason, Odin suddenly cowered, abandoning even the few Infinity Stones he had already collected, and chose to shrink back into the Nine Realms.
The reason it was called the Golden Palace was because it was magnificent and resplendent, basically being the color of gold from inside out.
At this moment in the Golden Palace, Thor was kneeling on one knee before the slightly fatigued Odin.
Odin seemed so tired that his only remaining eye could barely stay open.
But facing his own son, there was nothing he could do.
Not long ago, a drastic change took place in Asgard.
Loki put on a good show; he lured King Laufey of the Frost Giants over and killed him, also severing his own connection with the Frost Giants.
However, afterwards, because Loki out of extremism still wanted to destroy Jotunheim, the territory of the Frost Giants, a helpless Thor had no choice but to smash the Bifrost.
The Bifrost was forged with countless wealth, and Odinfelt somewhat angry thinking about it now.
What a prodigal son!
"Father King!"
Thor said with a serious face at this moment: "I want to go to the universe to temper myself."
Ever since watching rick and morty, Thor's desire to go to the universe had deepened considerably.
He also wanted to be like Grandpa Rick, taking Morty to roam in the universe and experience different worlds and races.
So at that time he was prepared to suffer a little loss, let Loki be his grandson while he played the grandpa, and set off together.
Who could have expected that so many things would happen in Asgard, and Loki would also fall straight off the Bifrost and disappear.
With his grandson gone, Thor prepared to set off by himself.
God King Odin had originally thought of words to refute Thor, when he suddenly discovered that Thor seemed to have grown up overnight.
"Oh? Why would you think like that?"
Odin and his wife, Queen of Gods Frigga, exchanged a glance.
"Because I want to experience the colorful races of the universe, understand their habits, and most importantly, go through some adventures and have epic battles with them..."
As Thor spoke, he couldn't help waving his fist.
Looking at the gradually restless Thor, Odin asked questioningly: "Where did you get this idea from? Don't tell me you thought of it yourself."
"I saw it from the animation in Midgard..."
Thor blurted out, and then realized.
This time Odin's face turned completely dark.
"I told you to go to Midgard to reflect, and you just went to watch animations?"
Thor immediately replied: "I didn't want to either, but it was too good. Father King, you would think it's pretty good if you watched it too."
"I got the true meaning of life from that animation!"
Grandpa Rick's sassy remarks would still appear in his mind from time to time.
What a pity, before he returned to Asgard, he had made an appointment with Jane Foster and others that after he finished handling Asgard's affairs, he would return to Midgard to finish watching the rest of rick and mortyanimations.
Now look what happened, that turtle-grandson Loki forced him to smash the Bifrost, making it impossible to quickly go to Midgard.
It wasn't that he couldn't go, it's just that Asgard still needed him right now, and taking a spaceship back and forth consumed too much time.
"Scram!"
Odin was furious and directly told Thor to get lost.
Is he still some hundreds-years-old child? To think he still watches animations!
Afterwards, Odin coughed violently like an old human man.
Queen of Gods Frigga quickly patted him on the back and healed him slightly with magic.
"You should feel happy, at least he isn't full of killing and fighting anymore."
Frigga was quite satisfied with Thor's transformation.
After all, he was born by herself.
Although still somewhat simple-minded, at least he wasn't truly stupid.
If Thor were truly stupid, he would have long been played to death by Loki.
Chapter 143: Sif, Go to Midgard
After leaving the palace, Thor was still unwilling to give up.
Although he couldn't leave Asgard, others could.
He had plenty of companions!
Especially the famous Warriors Three, who were all Thor's close buddies.
Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogan had fought alongside Thorfor many years.
If he needed anything done, asking them was definitely the right choice.
But on second thought, while they were great for fighting, they were a bit lacking when it came to other matters.
So, Thor went to find the Goddess of War, Sif.
"Sif!"
Thor found her at her home, looking delighted.
But Sif had a calm face, though she was deeply hurt inside.
She had liked Thor for so long, yet Thor had remained indifferent to her. Instead, after spending just a few days in Midgard, he had actually fallen in love with a human woman.
This hurt Sif deeply, and her feelings were written all over her face.
However, Thor didn't notice and simply asked, "Sif, are you in a bad mood?"
"No. If you have something to say, spit it out."
Sif said with a cold face.
Thor immediately brushed it aside and said, "In that case, why don't you go take a break and clear your head?"
"Go where?"
Sif looked at Thor in surprise. Was he really being this thoughtful?
"Midgard."
Thor cleared his throat and said seriously.
Sif: "..."
"You're not asking me to deliver a love letter or something, are you?"
Sif asked, suppressing her anger.
After all, that little bitch Jane Foster was in Midgard.
Wasn't this trampling on her dignity repeatedly?
"No, no, you've misunderstood."
Foolish as Thor could be, he wouldn't be dumb enough to make Sif deliver messages.
"Of course, if you want to..."
"Get lost!"
"I just want something."
Thor explained, "I fell in love with an animated show from Midgard called rick and morty. I don't know how many episodes have aired so far, but could you bring back the complete series for me when you get there?"
Hearing that it wasn't about finding Jane Foster, Sif's expression softened slightly.
She still wanted to refuse, but seeing Thor's pleading face, she eventually nodded.
"Alright then, seeing as you're being so sincere."
Sif had no choice but to nod.
"That's great! Hurry up and pack your things, get ready to leave."
Thor said impatiently.
"..."
Sif felt an urge to punch him.
...
[rick and morty is currently wildly popular in serialization, Reputation +1500]
[bayonetta has sold 500,000 copies, popularity continues to soar...]
[rick and morty...]
How popular was Grandpa Rick? One could tell just from the system Li Chen occasionally opened.
Almost all of the reputation points came from it.
To the point where bayonetta's popularity paled in comparison.
As expected of a national-level animated show in America.
The jokes and memes in it perfectly hit the soft spot of the American audience.
Leaving them overjoyed.
And as it became a smash hit in America, TV stations in Europe came flocking over as well.
As the beacon of the world, whatever became popular in America would basically blow up in Europe as well.
Thus, rick and morty was eagerly sought after.
Even in many war-torn regions, there was a group of'spiritual' Americans.
They yearned deeply for America, believing the moon was rounder there, the air was sweeter, and the donuts were delicious...
They also longed to consume American entertainment works.
One had to admit that this kind of cultural victory could be quite useful at times.
At least Li Chen really enjoyed it right now.
Large sums of US dollars were delivered to his doorstep just to beg for a few years of exclusive broadcasting rights.
Most importantly, rick and morty didn't just have one season.
This kind of animation was like a sitcom; you could make as many seasons as you wanted.
For example, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and so on—as long as it made money, it could go on forever.
Furthermore, live-action sitcoms had another issue: actors get old.
But animations didn't have this problem, at most requiring some concern over voice actors.
And worst-case scenario, they could just replace them, as long as the voices sounded similar.
The most distinctive voice, of course, belonged to Grandpa Rick.
But even then, nobody was truly irreplaceable.
So as one could imagine, rick and morty would become a cash cow.
"Boss, we've finally reached an agreement with Stark Industries. Tony Stark asked us when filming starts. I think he's already fallen in love with Los Angeles."
Polaris Lorna came to the office and reported the news she had just received to Li Chen.
Dressed like an urban beauty, her black stockings and high heels accentuated her straight legs, while her green hair added a touch of mystery.
Li Chen scanned her from top to bottom—not bad at all.
"Of course, Los Angeles is the City of Angels."
Li Chen said, "New York is too depressing."
"Call Harry Sloan over, let's discuss it."
"Okay."
Lorna nodded.
Before long, Harry Sloan walked in, and Li Chen asked, "How are the preparations for the Iron Man crew coming along?"
"The script has been written according to your requirements, Boss."
Harry Sloan immediately replied, "The crew is also recruiting, but we still don't know who to get for director."
"How about letting Zack Snyder direct it?"
His suggestion was rejected by Li Chen.
"No."
Li Chen shook his head. "His style isn't suitable. Keep looking for someone else."
"However, Tony Stark said... his driver is very talented."
At this point, Harry Sloan said with an amused expression.
"His driver?"
Li Chen thought of Happy, the driver beside Tony.
"Let him give it a try."
Suddenly, Li Chen got interested as well.
This caused Harry Sloan's smile to freeze—were they serious?
But since two billionaires both thought so, there was no room for him, a professional manager, to object.
It wasn't that Li Chen hadn't considered people like James Gunn.
But recalling the style of James Gunn's movies, he was most famous for Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy had a great ensemble cast, but the problem was also obvious: the plot was too thin, and the final boss villain always lacked grand presence.
For example, Ronan the Destroyer actually got dance-offed to death...
At first glance, it might seem funny, but on second thought, you'd realize there weren't even grand battle visual effects; it just ended abruptly. What was that even about?
This was actually disastrous for a movie.
It meant the climax's satisfaction never truly delivered.
Furthermore, Gunn's movies loved using toilet humor throughout, which also left Li Chen cold.
His style was too fixed; he could only direct comedy-heavy, joke-dense films.
But Iron Man was actually a relatively serious film.
There might be some banter, but it wasn't filled with that from start to finish.
Thus, the matter of Iron Man was settled for now: whether Tony's driver Happy had real skill or not, they would let him try first.
At worst, they could just replace him.
In any case, Stark Industries invested in this movie and held the majority stake.
Chapter 144: Mary Jane's female lead
Los Angeles International Airport.
Li Chen drove Bumblebee over and waited.
He was already regretting it, as traffic had been congested on his way here, and it would definitely be worse heading back.
But that was Los Angeles—three hundred and sixty-five days a year, not a single day went by without traffic jams.
In an America where everyone owned a car, it would be strange if a major city like this wasn't jammed.
Before long, two vibrant and lively young women emerged from the airport.
It was Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane.
"Hey, Dear."
The two rushed straight over and threw themselves into Li Chen's embrace.
This drew envious and jealous looks from everyone else at the airport.
The men wished they could take his place, and the women felt the same way.
Only, the women wished they could become Gwen and Mary Jane.
Because it was obvious that only wealthy men received this kind of treatment.
Li Chen kissed each of them on the forehead. "Tired?"
"Not tired at all."
Both Gwen and Mary Jane shook their heads.
"Get in the car."
Li Chen led them into Bumblebee.
Then Gwen said, "I originally suggested coming after Christmas, but MJ couldn't wait to become a big celebrity."
Mary Jane blushed and retorted, "Clearly it was you who was worried your man would run off."
"How could I possibly run off?"
Li Chen chimed in.
As the three bantered back and forth, Mary Jane breathed a sigh of relief.
Before coming to Los Angeles, she had worried that with so many women around Li Chen, he might forget about them, which was why she urged Gwen to come.
After all, long-distance relationships rarely ended well, so coming to Los Angeles was definitely the right choice.
It was just a pity for the people of New York, whose friendly neighborhood Ghost Spider had skipped town.
Li Chen's prediction proved right; not long after leaving the airport, they hit a traffic jam.
He had no choice but to chat while waiting.
"MJ, your role is already prepared."
"Really?"
Mary Jane's eyes lit up, but she quickly grew anxious. "I've only ever acted in stage plays. What if I mess it up?"
People were just like that—when a dream was about to come true, a bit of fear and a sense of unreality always crept in.
Li Chen turned his head to look at her. "Don't worry. You have striking looks; with just a bit of coaching, you'll be fine."
"You have such great potential, and as my woman, you will definitely make it big."
He spoke with immense confidence; after all, who knew how many people he had already propelled to fame by now.
This prompted Mary Jane to cast him an alluring glance, having secretly resolved to serve him thoroughly later.
"What kind of role is it? Are there lines?"
Gwen asked curiously.
Even among roles, the disparity was quite pronounced.
For instance, with some filler roles, whether you even got to show your face in the movie depended on sheer luck.
Sometimes you were filmed, but post-production editing might not leave a single frame of you...
Hence, there was a stark contrast between roles with lines and non-speaking roles.
Speaking roles had a much lower chance of being cut out.
"It's the female lead."
Li Chen said, "We're preparing to film Iron Man, and I reserved the role of Iron Man's secretary for MJ."
That was naturally Pepper.
Pepper was a key character at Stark Industries. Tony Starkcould mess around, but Pepper couldn't, so someone had to play her.
Thus, Li Chen had handpicked Mary Jane directly.
The original Gwyneth Paltrow was regarded as Hollywood's most undeserving Best Actress.
In Li Chen's eyes, she wasn't particularly pretty and had a face full of freckles, so he naturally wouldn't look for her.
By comparison, wasn't a young and hot Mary Jane vastly superior?
"Iron Man? Isn't that Tony Stark?"
Both Gwen and Mary Jane were surprised.
"That's right, he will be playing himself."
Li Chen shrugged.
This was also a massive publicity gimmick; once the news broke, it would draw attention from the entire world.
For Stark Industries, this was an absolute win.
"Oh my god, does that mean I'll be acting opposite Tony Stark?"
Mary Jane was astonished.
"That's right, but you'd better watch out for that playboy."
Li Chen remarked.
Mary Jane immediately gave his cheek a kiss. "I'll tell him I'm your woman. He definitely won't dare make a move."
"That's true."
Li Chen nodded. Although Tony Stark went through women rapidly, at least he wasn't scum.
Besides, a popcorn movie like Iron Man didn't even have any steamy scenes; it was solidly PG-13, meaning suitable for audiences thirteen and up.
When the time came, Li Chen would even cut out the kiss scene in Iron Man 2.
Completely superfluous!
Mary Jane was thrilled; she had assumed coming to Hollywood meant starting out with minor roles.
She hadn't expected Li Chen to make her the female leadright away.
This made Mary Jane feel like she was dreaming.
If they hadn't been in the car, she would have given herself to him right then and there.
Gwen teased in exasperation, "MJ, stop smiling, your face is about to split!"
"You little troublemaker, Gwen, I'm going to tickle you to death!"
Mary Jane wasn't backing down either, immediately reaching over to tickle Gwen.
The two girls had long shared a bed together, and at Li Chen's request, they had even pleasured each other.
So there was nothing to be shy about.
Li Chen couldn't wait either. After finally reaching downtown Los Angeles, he didn't head home; instead, he took them out to eat.
"What will Gwen be doing?"
Only then did Mary Jane think of Gwen's arrangements.
"Gwen will naturally be my personal assistant."
Li Chen chuckled. "When there's work, Gwen does it."
"And when there's nothing to do?"
Mary Jane joked along.
The three exchanged glances and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
When it came to dirty jokes, girls were far better at them than men.
When guys gathered, they would sometimes talk about other things, like video games or world affairs.
But when women gathered together, it quickly boiled down to a single topic.
And that was men.
So never underestimate their talent for dirty jokes!
Gwen was still relatively a good girl, albeit a little rebellious, but Mary Jane was a complete degenerate when it came to dirty humor.
Li Chen was used to it anyway; no matter how bold she sounded, she would still end up begging for mercy when push came to shove.
Li Chen thought about it and decided not to tell Gwen in advance.
He would simply take her to meet Lorna tomorrow.
Initially, Li Chen had only wanted Black Widow to fill in temporarily and replace her once Gwen arrived.
Who would have thought that Black Widow would leave early, and Li Chen had already grown accustomed to having an assistant around.
To put it bluntly, it was just like a feudal emperor getting used to being attended by palace maids...
If he suddenly didn't have one, he really wouldn't be used to it.
So Li Chen had pulled Lorna over, and Lorna was already hitting her stride, looking more and more like a modern career woman, so it wasn't right to just replace her either.
Therefore, Li Chen decided to simply keep two assistants—having Gwen and Lorna work for him together was as sweet as could be.
It wasn't like anyone had decreed that there could only be one assistant!
Lorna could handle the serious work, while Gwen would be responsible for serving tea, pouring water, and massaging his shoulders when they were free.
Uh, though it seemed a bit backwards.
Gwen was the actual college student, after all.
After finishing their meal, Li Chen didn't take them home, but headed straight to a hotel instead.
Mary Jane had long been unable to hold back, nearly reenacting Scarlett's famous 'elevator gate.'
Li Chen managed to keep his composure and tossed her directly into the room.
With a loud bang, the door shut, locking out the outside world.
Chapter 145: How Have I Never Played This Game Before?
Crystal was facing a very serious problem.
After returning to Earth from the Moon, she had been indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun, but she didn't have much money.
Mainly because the Inhumans were isolated from humans, so naturally they hadn't given her much human currency.
Thus, she discovered that after having fun for just a short while, she was actually completely broke!
Her wallet was completely empty.
Overcome with hunger, she almost punched the roadside ATM machine.
Fortunately, at this time, she made a good sisterly friend.
The other party was an online hacker with no fixed address, living mostly in an RV, named Skye.
Crystal was surprised to discover that Skye actually had Inhuman genes, she just hadn't been exposed to the Terrigen Mists yet.
So, she immediately forgot her original mission.
"I'll help Skye awaken first, then character out the rest."
Crystal muttered to herself, then asked, "Skye, do you know about Mutants?"
"Of course."
Skye nodded. "A lot of people don't know about them anymore, but I can search for info online. As long as something existed, it leaves traces."
"Then... would you like to have special abilities?"
Crystal asked while eating the sandwich Skye had made.
Skye wasn't poor, but due to the special nature of her work, she had to stay on the move to avoid getting caught.
So feeding one Crystal wasn't much of a problem for her.
The two of them were squeezed together on the bed in the RV. Skye sat cross-legged and answered, "Of course I do. How cool would that be?"
She was different from ordinary girls.
Instead of being afraid of special abilities, she actually yearned for them.
Of course, it could also be a case of professing love for what one fears; since she didn't have them, naturally she longed for them, but might regret it if she actually got them.
But Crystal didn't care about that; she just smiled mysteriously. "That's good then."
She was planning to find time to tell her sister Medusa the good news.
But as soon as she turned her head, she saw Skye engaged in an intense battle on her computer screen.
A white-haired girl wearing something like a black court dress was fighting monsters in high-heeled boots.
Skye held the controller, absorbed in playing the game while offhandedly brushing her off with a couple of words.
Crystal wasn't angry either, because she was instantly captivated by the game as well.
She already loved playing games, and seeing that the protagonist was a female lead, her sense of immersion instantly maxed out.
Others couldn't appreciate this level of immersion, but she actually had real superpowers.
"What game is this? How come I've never played it before?"
Crystal opened her eyes wide.
Lately she had spent all her funds on games, buying second-, third-, or fourth-hand game discs for many games on the market.
Now there was actually a game she hadn't played?
Unforgivable!
"nier: automata, because it just came out."
Skye said, "I saw high reviews online, so I gave it a try."
"I feel... the music is indeed great."
If nier had various flaws in other aspects, its music was truly impeccable.
It was precisely because of the excellent BGM that the player's immersion was pushed to the limit, as if they had truly traveled to a ruined world where Earth was precariously in peril.
Other aspects were actually not that perfect.
But without a doubt, its IP was insanely popular.
Rather than saying the nier series was popular, it would be more accurate to say 2B was wildly popular.
Because later on, any game capable of doing a crossover... who wouldn't want to crossover with Miss 2B?
For instance, in Naraka: Bladepoint that Li Chen played in his past life, Ning Hongye had a 2B outfit crossover, but since Li Chen preferred playing Gu Qinghan, he used A2 the most.
Li Chen had a quirk when playing games: he only liked playing female characters, and they had to have good character models.
"I see."
Crystal stared intently at the screen. The gameplay of the nier series was quite complex, featuring quite a few mini-games.
This deeply attracted her—she was a hardcore gamer who cared about mechanics!
Seeing her staring at the screen so intently, Skye smiled and asked, "Want to give it a try?"
"Sure!"
Crystal coughed twice. "You play first."
Skye cracked her neck. "I'm a bit tired."
"Then I won't hold back!"
Crystal snatched the controller and began familiarizing herself with the controls.
"Holy crap, you can break her clothes!"
She quickly discovered a hidden mechanic that Skye hadn't noticed.
Namely, once 2B self-destructed, she would be low on health, and in this state, her skirt would be 'blown off', leaving only her leotard bottoms.
Without a doubt, PlatinumGames understood players.
They knew what players wanted, so they gave it to them.
Unlike some games that obviously knew what players wanted but still insisted on disgusting them and going against their wishes.
For example, turning the female lead into an ugly middle-aged woman—despite hiring a beautiful face model, they just insisted on making her look ugly in the game.
Crystal quickly got immersed and completely forgot about Skye's matter.
As for her original mission, she had long thrown that out the window.
That wasn't her fault; it was just that Earth's games were way too addictive.
...
Li Chen didn't have Gwen report for work right away.
Instead, he took them around Los Angeles to have fun for two days before starting to handle Mary Jane's situation.
America has many unions, and the one related to Mary Jane was the Actors Guild.
However, for Mary Jane, joining would actually be useless and might even become a hindrance.
So Li Chen bypassed it and simply arranged an agent for her.
With the rise of Starlight Pictures, many agents naturally came to curry favor with Li Chen.
To Hollywood, agents were somewhat like mosquitoes, clinging onto Hollywood to suck blood.
But that wasn't entirely objective either, because agents were indeed useful.
For example, helping actors find roles, and also handling public relations for stars.
The 1990s was perhaps the period when these agents were most active and had the most power.
At that time, CAA, under the leadership of Michael Ovitz, introduced something called packaging services.
The so-called packaging service meant that from regular crew members to key characters in every department, everyone was from CAA. They packaged them together, attempting to offer a one-stop service to production teams.
But obviously, neither directors nor producers would like this model.
If there wasn't a single person on the crew who was loyal to him, how suffocated would the director feel?
But Hollywood back then had no choice, so as times progressed, the packaging model was quickly abandoned, and CAA was no longer what it used to be.
Still, a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and CAA remained one of the largest talent agencies.
However, Li Chen had a specific collaborator.
A female agent named Renee, who had founded her own talent agency that was still quite small.
The reason he knew her was because she had offered her services voluntarily and wanted to pledge her loyalty to Li Chen.
For Renee, knowing a big shot like Li Chen was the greatest stroke of luck in her life.
Therefore, she even wanted to become one of Li Chen's inner circle.
However, she was already in her thirties and a white woman, so Li Chen politely declined her, though he did give her an opportunity.
Chapter 146: How Could They Possibly Get Along in Peace?
Renee was actually not bad-looking; had she been about ten years younger, she would likely have been a stunning beauty.
However, she was already in her early thirties, and white people women aged rapidly at this stage, with smile lines beginning to creep across her face.
Although she was still exquisitely made up, she exuded the full aura of a mature woman.
"Your Majesty."
Upon seeing Li Chen arrive, she looked as though she wanted nothing more than to kiss his shoes, appearing utterly fanatical.
This made both Gwen and Mary Jane somewhat uncomfortable.
Yet they also felt Li Chen's status; in the eyes of some people, Li Chen was their king.
"Renee, this is Mary Jane."
Li Chen nodded and said, "This is Renee."
"Hello."
Both women exchanged greetings, and Renee looked Mary Jane up and down.
A head of fiery red hair and a rather sultry look, but most importantly, her youth—with a financial backer, she was certain to make it big in Hollywood.
This made Renee envious, and what she envied most was Mary Jane's youth.
If she were still young, His Majesty definitely wouldn't have refused to make her one of his own.
She had already prepared herself to dedicate everything.
"MJ has great potential. Does Your Majesty have any plans for her?"
Renee inquired.
"Of course. She is the female lead of Iron Man."
Li Chen nodded.
Renee nodded. "Then I will take good care of her."
Nowadays, she served as the agent for many of Starlight Pictures's actors, such as Kitty Pryde and the others.
This had also led her talent agency to steadily expand in scale.
"I trust you, which is why I'm leaving MJ in your hands,"
Li Chen said with a nod.
"Then MJ, please follow me,"
Renee said to Mary Jane.
Mary Jane glanced at Li Chen, and seeing him nod, she promptly followed.
Renee then asked, "Do you have any Acting experience? I'll sign you up for an Acting class first..."
The two walked farther away and grew busy inside the agency.
Watching Mary Jane's receding figure, Gwen realized this was the starting point of Mary Jane's celebrity dream.
Mary Jane was certainly fortunate to enjoy the protection of a powerhouse like Li Chen right upon entering the industry.
With that thought, Gwen looked up expectantly at Li Chen.
Li Chen took her hand. "Let's go. We're heading to the office to introduce you to a sister."
"Huh?"
Gwen's heart stirred, and she gripped Li Chen's hand tightly.
"Don't worry, Lorna is very easy to get along with."
Li Chen said calmly, "By the way, she is also my assistant."
Only then did Gwen nod; it was only natural for a magnate like Li Chen to have more than one assistant.
Renee's talent agency wasn't far from Starlight Pictures.
The two of them soon arrived at the company.
Lorna had already arrived and was seated at her desk long ago.
Dressed in professional attire, she looked every bit the quintessential urban career woman.
Just then, she saw Li Chen lead over a stunning blonde beauty.
"Lorna, come into the office,"
Li Chen said to Lorna.
Lorna felt quite relieved; after all, with an outsider present, Li Chen definitely wouldn't pin her down on the spot.
Sure enough, Li Chen merely sauntered over to sit in the boss's chair: "Let me introduce you to each other. This is Gwen Stacy, my new assistant, and this is Lorna Dane, who has been with me for some time."
"Lorna, you've been here longer, so show Gwen the ropes. Go ahead."
Gwen noticed that Li Chen seemed to carry an extraordinary aura of authority within the company.
This left her all the more captivated.
So much so that her voice turned meek when speaking to Li Chen, completely projecting the look of someone conquered.
"Have you ever worked as an assistant before?"
Once they stepped out, Lorna asked Gwen.
"No."
"Then I'll teach you. You wouldn't happen to be Li's girlfriend, would you?"
Lorna ambushed her with the question.
She was eager to know the relationship between Li Chenand Gwen, feeling a bit jealous inside.
After all, she was human too; even knowing how elevated Li Chen's status was, she inevitably indulged in a few fantasies.
For instance... what if Li Chen genuinely liked her and insisted on marrying her?
What if Li Chen were willing to give up everyone else for her?
It could only be said that domineering CEO tropes found an audience anywhere.
Yet that was plainly nothing more than Lorna's daydream.
"No."
Gwen didn't fall into the trap and shook her head straightforwardly.
She had also keenly sensed that Lorna harbored uncommon feelings for Li Chen.
What a total flirt.
Gwen wasn't sure why, but had any of her classmates dared to behave like Li Chen, she would have slapped them across the face without hesitation.
Yet her tolerance for Li Chen was remarkably high.
Perhaps it was because even Mary Jane was with him alongside her...
In any case, human moral boundaries were constantly being dismantled.
"Alright, what we need to do is very simple,"
Lorna promptly shifted the topic. "There's a lot to handle every day, so we need to categorize everything. Urgent matters must be reported to Li immediately."
"Then there are the phone calls. Every call intended for him comes to us first, and important ones are patched through to him."
Gwen immediately asked, "How do I determine what counts as important?"
"That comes with experience."
Lorna smiled slightly. "You ought to know him quite well yourself."
"Naturally. I've known him since last year."
This time, Gwen refused to back down and traded barbs in response.
Lorna's expression shifted slightly, though she quickly reasoned that this kind of matter wasn't first-come, first-served anyway.
It all came down to real capability.
Afterward, Gwen took her seat and prepared to begin working.
As an honor student, she decided to familiarize herself with the internal operations of the company first.
She had actually researched it thoroughly before coming.
She already knew Starlight Pictures's product lines like the back of her hand.
From films beginning with Superman to subsequent comic books, animated projects, and even video games and music.
As a Hollywood powerhouse, Starlight Pictures spanned an undeniably massive footprint.
Of course, compared to Disney, it was still modest.
Disney owned Disneyland, operating on a far more astronomical scale.
Gwen turned on her computer and opened a file, immediately coming across the latest update.
The new game from PlatinumGames, which the company had co-invested in, was also officially on sale.
Publishing two games in a single year had worked Japanhalf to death.
Yet that was their standard reality; capitalists never treated workers as human beings.
"Sales of nier: automata surpassed one million copies in three days, performing even better than bayonetta."
Gwen skimmed the document and figured this qualified as major news.
So she immediately headed into the office to inform Li Chen.
Li Chen was also playing a game at that very moment.
It was none other than nier: automata.
The gameplay of nier was far more intricate than bayonetta, offering multiple endings that spurred endless exploration, along with subtle variations on subsequent playthroughs.
Precisely because of this, its sales outpaced those of bayonetta.
Li Chen had long anticipated this outcome.
"Not bad at all,"
Li Chen encouraged Gwen. "How are you getting along with Lorna?"
Gwen immediately flashed a smile. "Lorna is very nice."
Even though she disliked Lorna, she was not about to badmouth her right now.
That would be far too petty.
Li Chen certainly wouldn't approve.
"That's good. You two should get along lovingly like family."
That earned a roll of the eyes from Gwen.
A college dorm room of four girls would easily have seven or eight separate group chats—why do men always assume several women could ever live together in peace?
Chapter 147: Now I Am Your King
Li Chen decided to visit the crew of "game of thrones".
Although they were only preparing to test the waters with one or two episodes, the crew's expenses were still massive.
Basically, the first season would cost six million dollars per episode.
Looking across this era, that was also extremely exaggerated.
You must know that many low-budget movies couldn't even spend that much money.
For example, some horror movies could be filmed with a budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Six million dollars would be at least enough to shoot ten low-budget horror movies.
That was why Paramount and Lionsgate had some doubts and felt overwhelmed...
Arriving outside the set, Li Chen spotted the figure of Cyclops.
Obviously, he couldn't rest easy about Jean, so he had followed them over.
Anyway, there wasn't much going on at the X-Men Academy right now.
Li Chen immediately smiled, rolled down the car window, and said to the security guard: "You cannot let outsiders in."
"Yes!"
The security guard obviously recognized Li Chen and immediately performed his duties faithfully.
Only Jubilee, acting as the driver, felt something was wrong.
After getting out of the car, she acted as a bodyguard, staying by Li Chen's side and looking around.
There were quite a few acquaintances in the crew, including Kitty Pryde and several other Harbingers, as well as Rogue, who had also come in with Jean Grey.
It's just that her signature white hair had to be covered with a wig; after all, every character had a persona.
If it was supposed to be red hair in the book, but she ended up with a tuft of white hair on screen, it would be impossible for people not to blast it.
"Mr. Li."
"Your Majesty."
Their forms of address were different, but they were clearly very respectful toward Li Chen.
Li Chen stroked their heads: "How is the filming going? Is it hard work?"
"It's not hard work."
Shadowcat Kitty was truly like a cat, even rubbing her head against Li Chen's palm.
If Li Chen really wanted to devour them like an Emperor, they wouldn't refuse either.
This feeling of having everything under control made Li Chen somewhat intoxicated.
No wonder after Qin Shi Huang died, everyone wanted to be an Emperor.
Li Chen chatted with them a bit more.
Until Jean Grey's filming ended.
Jean Grey was wearing a Queen's outfit at this moment, dressed luxuriously and magnificently, which truly suited her temperament.
This made Li Chen a bit unable to handle it just looking at her.
The filming location for Winterfell was actually Ward Castle in Northern Ireland.
However, because the crew's prospects were unclear, they only went there to shoot footage for now, and then used computer special effects to synthesize it.
Once the project was finalized, they would move entirely over there to shoot.
When it came to saving money, Hollywood was still very smart.
Nowadays, crews rarely filmed in Los Angeles anymore; mainly because productions inside soundstages looked a bit fake, and everyone preferred on-location shooting.
Secondly, going to other places to shoot gave subsidies, which could save money.
Li Chen directly pulled Jean and walked into her trailer.
"Li, don't be like this, everyone is watching."
"That will just let them know whose woman you are."
Li Chen didn't care at all.
What was this in Hollywood?
By Li Chen's methods, he could even be considered a morally excellent good person in Hollywood.
In this macro environment of competing in corruption, everyone else was much more corrupt than him.
"Scott is still outside."
Jean reminded him at this moment.
"I saw him, so isn't this even more thrilling?"
Li Chen pinched Jean's chin and said: "Queen Cersei, now I am your king."
Jean indeed quickly fell.
She was inherently a person who liked thrills.
Therefore, ever since she started following Li Chen, she hadn't let Cyclops get close to her at all.
Mainly because she was afraid Li Chen would misunderstand.
When Cyclops finally waited until the crew's filming ended, he noticed that the eyes of everyone else in the crew looking at him were somewhat strange.
It was as if he was wearing a certain colored hat on top of his head.
But Cyclops looked straight ahead; wearing his glasses, it wasn't convenient for him to look around.
Finally, he waited until Jean came out with a glowing red face.
"Jean, you must be tired today, right?"
"I really am tired."
Jean perfunctorily fobbed him off. If it weren't for the fact that Li Chen liked it this way, she would have kicked Cyclops away long ago.
Watching Jean avoid him, Cyclops couldn't help but feel remorse.
He shouldn't have doubted Jean.
How could Jean possibly betray him? That day must have just been because running was too tiring.
Just at this moment, Cyclops saw several people coming out from inside.
Li Chen was holding Rogue, Shadowcat Kitty, and others. Several Mutant girls surrounded him like a cluster of flowers, flashing fawning smiles at him.
At this moment, Cyclops felt these Mutant girls were truly lowly.
"Shit."
He cursed in a low voice, hating that he wasn't Li Chen, and hurriedly left.
But in reality, Li Chen had just taken Kitty and the others out for a meal.
Even so, just the sparring between a few girls made him immensely thrilled.
Because no matter how much fuss they made, the ultimate beneficiary was always Li Chen.
They would rack their brains to please Li Chen.
It was simply an Emperor-like enjoyment.
On the second day, Li Chen continued visiting the set.
However, this time he brought Mary Jane and Gwen to visit the crew of "Iron Man".
The crew was still preparing; Li Chen mainly brought people over to get acquainted.
"Tony, how is Los Angeles?"
"As expected of the City of Angels."
Tony had already gone wild playing, and at this moment he was still wearing beach shorts.
He glanced at the two beauties by Li Chen's side; although both were very pretty, he didn't like ones who were already taken.
Of course, Tony was still very dedicated.
Although he played hard, he also took time to watch Starlight Pictures' two superhero movies.
He actually felt somewhat apathetic watching "Superman", and even felt a bit sleepy in the beginning. After all, the poor boy life on a Kansas farm gave him zero sense of immersion.
He had been a genius since childhood, and such a mediocre life had nothing to do with him.
On the contrary, "Batman" gave Tony a strong sense of immersion.
Bruce Wayne's style of being a tycoon by day and changing a bride every day made him greatly admire him, while at night he went out to be a superhero.
Therefore, at this moment, he said to Li Chen: "Li, 'Batman' was shot so well, it's practically identical to me."
"You?"
Li Chen suspected he had misheard.
"That's right, I must eat, drink, and make merry every day to make others think I am indulging in luxuries and losing my ambition. In reality, I have all along been carefully crafting the Iron Man Armor to be a superhero and save this world!"
Tony said shamelessly.
"Shoot 'Iron Man' according to this style."
"No, it must be shot according to the script."
Li Chen said expressionlessly. Even Tony couldn't mess around arbitrarily.
Otherwise, if they really filmed Iron Man to be upright and heroic, what would moviegoers watch?
Everyone knew he was a playboy.
In reality, Tony was also very satisfied with the script, after all, it featured his transformation.
It was just that certain adaptations made him dissatisfied. For instance, Yinsen died in the script, but he had clearly been rescued together with him and was now living the high life.
"Not talking about this anymore, this is Mary Jane, she is my girlfriend, and she plays Pepper in the movie."
Upon hearing this, Tony knew what it meant, and just smiled, saying: "Doesn't this count as abusing power for personal gain?"
"It doesn't count. We put up the money, and Stark Industries sent someone to play the male lead; it's only normal for me to have someone play the female lead."
Li Chen's reasoning was flawless.
"...If it bombs, you wait to be scolded."
Tony Stark cursed.
Chapter 148: The Goddess of War's Earth Tour
It actually wasn't far from Asgard to Earth.
For an Asgardian with a spaceship, it only took a very short time to get there.
Sif, the Goddess of War, piloted her spaceship into Earthwithout being detected by any faction.
With Earth's current technology, interstellar travel was simply impossible, let alone detecting a spaceship.
Afterward, Sif oriented herself.
The last time Thor came, it was to North America, so naturally, she had to search that area as well.
"Where are there more people?"
Her spaceship ran a scan for her and immediately marked several heavily populated areas.
Places with many people would make it easier to buy things.
Thus, she steered the ship straight toward Los Angeles.
This continent had heavily populated cities on both its east and west coasts, and Los Angeles was closer to her.
She found a secluded spot to park the ship and walked out alone.
The Los Angeles sunlight was glaring, and Sif felt a bit lost—where was she supposed to buy what Thor wanted?
Fortunately, she wasn't completely clueless, and soon spotted a newsstand.
Bower's newsstand had been around for a long time, having virtually witnessed the rise of Hollywood; he also loved this city, where there was an endless supply of juicy gossip and drama.
Whenever he saw an acquaintance, he would shout, "Got fresh gossip today! So-and-so cheated too."
Hollywood never lacked drama like this.
Just then, he saw a figure approaching.
As the woman walked, her armor clanked with each step.
She had black hair, blue eyes, and distinctly Nordic features.
She also carried a longsword and a shield on her back.
However, Bower wasn't overly shocked, only wondering, "Is there a cosplay convention nearby?"
"Hey, girl, your outfit is way too plain."
In Bower's eyes, Sif's getup wasn't even as realistic as those cosplayers'.
Sif walked over and asked aloofly, "Boss, do you sell rick and morty here?"
Bower looked speechless. "This is a newsstand; I only sell newspapers. I can't sell rick and morty."
"Then where can I buy it?"
Sif wasn't surprised, only wanting directions.
Bower leaned out and pointed in one direction. "Walk that way; there's a Blockbuster. You can check if they have it."
"Though rick and morty is so popular, it probably hasn't been released on disc yet."
This made Sif, the Goddess of War, frown; she was worried she wouldn't be able to buy it.
"Thank you."
Even so, she thanked him before heading toward Blockbuster.
Bower shouted after her, "You could buy a few newspapers to follow along!"
Yet Sif's receding figure grew farther and farther away.
"Shit, newspapers are getting harder and harder to sell."
Bower sighed; this industry was nearing its sunset.
With the internet becoming increasingly developed, who still read newspapers?
Just as written in Amusing Ourselves to Death, the development of television brought about changes in the way information was disseminated, and now it was the turn of the mobile phone and the internet.
And this was even more ferocious than television.
The emergence of television hadn't dealt a massive blow to traditional media; instead, it accelerated their growth, allowing them to voice their opinions without restraint and brainwash their audience.
Because the audience had no other channels to get news besides television and newspapers, they were easily brainwashed and incited.
The internet, however, was different, offering far more channels to speak out.
In the era of new media, who would be king?
Asking for directions along the way, Sif finally found Blockbuster.
By now, Blockbuster was in its twilight days, nearing bankruptcy.
Falling from a global giant with over 9,000 stores to the brink of bankruptcy was truly lamentable.
Yet this was the consequence of failing to keep up with the era; the internet had risen, and the emergence of streaming services like Netflix completely shattered the old model.
People no longer needed to go offline to rent discs to watch a movie; they could watch directly online.
Therefore, Blockbuster's decline was inevitable.
Holding massive offline inventory resources, they were naturally unwilling to embrace so-called "reforms."
Sif pushed the door open and walked in; the Los AngelesBlockbuster still had a few patrons.
She went straight to the front desk and said to the girl wearing glasses, "Hello."
Seeing how heroic and striking Sif looked, the glasses-wearing girl blushed slightly. "Hi."
She dreamed of looking like Sif!
Sif didn't understand why she was so excited, merely nodding. "I want to buy rick and morty."
"rick and morty?"
"Yes."
The glasses girl said regretfully, "We don't sell it."
"Why?"
"Because Starlight Pictures doesn't plan to release DVD discs anymore. They intend to go straight to streaming, and Hollywood movies probably won't have discs in the future either."
The glasses girl sounded a bit sorrowful as she spoke, because if Blockbuster went bankrupt, she would have to find another job.
Standing amid the changing of an era, whatever one did felt somewhat sorrowful.
Sif naturally couldn't empathize; she only felt that this technology was far too primitive.
"Then how can I watch it?"
"It's very simple. You just have to go home and subscribe to Starlight Pictures' channel. My family subscribed too, and game of thrones, which recently aired, is really great."
The glasses girl said excitedly, "If your internet at home is fast, you can also watch it online. There are lots of resources online right now, though they aren't very high-definition."
"Season one of rick and morty has already ended, and downloads are everywhere."
Sif frowned, then asked in confusion, "Can I watch it in Asgard?"
"Asgard?"
The glasses girl looked at Sif in bewilderment before realizing she was just way too deep in character.
Sif was obviously a cosplayer, though she had no idea which character she was playing.
The Goddess of War of Asgard?
"Maybe you'd have to go to Mount Olympus to watch it."
The glasses girl joked along.
Sif frowned, however. "But that's Zeus's territory."
"Uh... I was just kidding."
Realizing this girl was far too committed to the bit, the glasses girl didn't dare mess around anymore.
"You probably can't get Starlight Channel anywhere else."
She had no choice but to speak seriously.
"Really? That's too bad. Is there any other way?"
Sif was also well aware that with Earth's primitive technology, signals couldn't possibly transmit to Asgard.
Naturally, Asgard couldn't receive the channels here either.
Otherwise, Thor wouldn't have asked her to make the trip.
And the glasses girl had an idea, suggesting, "This was produced by Starlight Pictures. Why don't you go check out Starlight Pictures?"
Women always had whimsical ideas.
Yet it had to be said, this made Sif nod.
This was the best approach: find the producer directly!
That was how they did things in Asgard: if you can't solve the problem, solve the person who created it.
Now, of course, all she had to do was find the people who made rick and morty.
Sif immediately asked, "Which way should I go?"
"Over that way, toward Hollywood!"
The glasses girl pointed the way.
Chapter 149: Sif Comes Knocking
"Boss, someone is barging into the company from outside."
Li Chen was in his office when Lorna walked in and spoke.
"Barging in?"
Li Chen was a little puzzled upon hearing this. "Don't we have security guards?"
"Yes, but the guards couldn't stop her. She's very strong."
"Her?"
Li Chen's face was full of question marks.
Lorna teased, "Is one of your lovers coming after you?"
She glanced at Gwen outside.
Lately, she and Gwen had gotten along fairly well—at least they hadn't started fighting.
Li Chen said speechlessly, "I'll go take a look."
Lorna's comment actually made him a little nervous.
Could it really be some woman coming after him?
He truly hadn't mistreated anyone; everyone always praised him.
Taking the elevator down to the first floor, he saw a crowd already gathered to watch the drama.
A group of security guards were already lying on the ground, though fortunately, the intruder had exercised restraint.
Li Chen took a closer look and saw a valiant, black-haired beauty standing in the middle, wearing armor forged from an unknown metal and holding a longsword and shield.
Anyone seeing her would think she was a cosplayer, never expecting her to be so powerful.
Li Chen looked at her face and breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't know her.
Then it definitely wasn't a romantic debt.
Wait, he had been tricked by Lorna. What the hell was he afraid of?
Li Chen adjusted his suit jacket and walked toward her.
"Hello, is there some misunderstanding?"
"I'm the boss of Starlight Pictures. You can speak with me."
Li Chen offered a friendly smile, speculating on the woman's identity.
Sif looked at him, recognizing that Li Chen was the person in charge.
"You're the boss?"
"Yes."
"They stopped me and wouldn't let me go in to find you, so I had to take them down."
Sif said indifferently.
Li Chen nodded upon hearing this. "Very reasonable."
""
The onlookers were utterly speechless.
"Alright, everyone get back to work. This Miss just needs to come to my office with me."
"And as for you guys, you did your duty—everyone gets a bonus!"
Li Chen did not mistreat the security guards.
They simply couldn't beat this woman, but they had indeed performed their duties conscientiously.
Hearing Li Chen's words, the beaten guards suddenly felt no more pain; energized as if pumped with adrenaline, they scrambled up from the ground immediately.
Once Li Chen resolved the matter, the crowd of spectators dispersed.
He then led Sif toward the elevator.
"My name is Li Chen. May I know how to address you, beautiful lady?"
He had already guessed a few answers, but they still required confirmation.
"Sif."
Sif stated her name coldly.
"Goddess of War Sif?"
That name was indeed among Li Chen's guesses.
It was just that he had no connection to Asgard.
"It is good that you know of me."
Sif nodded. "I came specifically for you."
"Then it is truly my honor. Let's head to the office first before we talk."
...
S.H.I.E.L.D. soon learned of Sif visiting Starlight Pictures.
Li Chen was currently a primary target of attention for S.H.I.E.L.D.
What was more, Sif had been far too conspicuous.
She had moved through the crowd so openly. Other organizations might not recognize her, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had already met her.
Therefore, Coulson was summoned immediately.
Black Widow Natasha, having returned to New York to rest, was also called in since it was related to Starlight Pictures.
"Coulson, what do you think this Asgardian female warrior went to Starlight Pictures for?"
Nick Fury asked with a headache.
They were not yet prepared to make contact with other civilizations, let alone legendary Asgard, whose people considered themselves lofty gods.
Yet without question, Asgard had taken the initiative to contact them first.
It was just...
"Why Starlight Pictures?"
The group exchanged bewildered looks.
"Could Li Chen know an Asgardian?"
Maria Hill guessed.
They all turned to look at Natasha. Black Widow Natashashook her head. "I don't know. I've never heard him mention Asgard."
"Then what is it for? She couldn't possibly be there to watch their movie, right?"
Coulson tried to lighten the atmosphere.
Thereby instantly ruling out the correct answer.
Afterward, they began discussing possibilities, including speculations that Li Chen was an Asgardian himself...
Failing to reach an answer, Nick Fury said, "Keep monitoring for now. I hope it doesn't cause chaos."
"If possible, try to speak with this Goddess of War."
There were still many good people in Asgard.
For instance, S.H.I.E.L.D. had hauled back the Destroyer Armor that had been shattered not long ago for research.
Although they couldn't uncover anything, it was of immense value.
Rumor had it that this was the armor worn in battle by God-King Odin himself; it undeniably carried the weight of history.
Natasha waited around for a long time, but there were no tasks for her, and her hope was dashed.
She had originally thought she would be sent to Los Angeles, where she could see Li Chen again.
...
By this time, Li Chen had already escorted Goddess of War Sif into his office.
Lorna and Gwen curiously observed this woman wearing armor.
The armor looked rather ordinary, merely giving off an undeniable presence of authenticity without the radiant sheen of a divine artifact.
"This is Sif, the Goddess of War from Asgard."
Li Chen introduced her to them.
"Huh?"
Both women were totally dumbfounded.
Earlier, they had secretly wondered whether this was one of Li Chen's romantic debts.
They had never imagined she had such an extraordinary background.
"Asgard? Isn't that a myth and legend?"
Gwen asked curiously.
"Clearly, Asgard truly exists,"
Li Chen remarked.
Sif merely nodded.
In Norse mythology, Sif was relatively famous, so Gwenknew of her and smiled.
"What would you like to drink?"
After gesturing for Sif to sit down, Li Chen asked.
"Just a cup of Water will do."
Sif could hardly wait.
Li Chen noticed this, and once Lorna poured the Water, he signaled for both assistants to step out.
Although Gwen and Lorna were very curious, since Li Chenwas discussing matters, they naturally wouldn't stay, closing the door to block out the sound.
Afterward, Li Chen sat in his executive chair, hands clasped, looking calmly at Sif. "Sif, can you tell me your purpose for barging in now?"
Li Chen had already imagined numerous possibilities, such as Asgard falling into a crisis and being forced to send a Goddess of War to seek aid.
As for why she would look for him? Perhaps he had genuinely become that famous?
Just as Li Chen was imagining whom the crisis came from, Goddess of War Sif said nervously, "Li, I want something."
"What is it?"
Li Chen wondered what he could possibly possess that could save Asgard.
How come he had no clue?
"The complete series of rick and morty!"
Sif declared with complete seriousness.
Li Chen froze upon hearing that. "Huh?"
This situation was like the end of the world arriving, only for the guy next door to rush over asking to borrow moviefiles.
Gotta have one last round before dying!
At least the end of the world had only been Li Chen's imagination.
"Ahem, may I ask why?"
Li Chen struggled to keep a straight face.
Chapter 150: The Best Candidate
"Thor came to Earth before and saw rick and morty on TV, which left a deep impression on him."
Sif had no choice but to say, "However, he can't come right now, so he asked me to come buy it for him. But it's not being sold anywhere outside, so I had to come to you."
"I see. That makes sense."
Li Chen nodded upon hearing this.
It was only because it was Li Chen; anyone else probably would have been scared to death by Sif.
Who just rushes in and attacks right away...
Are Asgardian people this ill-mannered?
"Here's the thing: I'd love to sell it to you,"
Li Chen said. "However, we need time, because we haven't prepared to manufacture discs yet. By the way, does Asgard have a more efficient storage medium?"
"Of course."
Sif nodded.
"Then you can lend it to me, and I'll just have someone upload it directly."
Li Chen's eyes lit up, ready for a 'cultural invasion.'
It wasn't just rick and morty.
Superman, Batman, Transformers, and even One Pieceand one-punch man could all be shown to the Asgardianpeople.
It was just that game of thrones had only begun airing and wasn't finished filming yet; otherwise, he would have crammed that in too.
The response to game of thrones was very good. Such fine production quality was an absolute dimensional strike in this era.
The results achieved by piling up US dollars were truly something else.
Paramount and Lionsgate no longer had any doubts, dedicating all their efforts to developing the upcoming episodes.
The crew had already headed to Northern Ireland.
Just imagine, the entire Asgardian population watching Starlight Pictures' shows... Wouldn't his reputation points go through the roof?
Did an alien count toward reputation points too?
Li Chen didn't know, but he was prepared to give it a try.
Earth's pie was only so big, and in many impoverished places, frankly speaking, people couldn't even fill their stomachs, so how could they care about things like this?
As the saying goes, basic needs come before desires; only when people are well-fed, watered, and warm do they start thinking about other things.
For instance, Starlight Pictures' works had already entered Huaxia, but the response was modest.
The box office was decent, around several hundred million, but there wasn't much discussion.
There was nothing that could be done about it; development was still needed.
Someone like Li Chen needed the internet the most.
"No problem."
Sif was glad that Earthling folks were relatively friendly and that she had succeeded so easily.
"However, it will take a little time. Beautiful Sif, may I invite you to join me for dinner?"
Li Chen smiled immediately after.
Seeing how nice he was and that it was just a simple meal, Sif naturally agreed.
And just at that moment, her stomach let out a rumble.
She was indeed a bit hungry.
"It would be an honor."
Sif placed her hand in his palm.
"However, you'll need to change into a dress first."
Li Chen said with a smile.
No hidden intentions—a warrior goddess simply couldn't be let off the hook.
Ordinary people were boring, and he couldn't beat Faora...
He could only turn to an Asgardian to test his limits!
The Asgardian physique was only several times stronger than Earth humans, so it should be an easy conquest.
Besides, Sif was very much his type.
She was exceptionally heroic and spirited, stood around 1.8 meters tall, and had a taut, well-toned body that looked quite substantial.
Sif looked down at her attire, recalling how everyone had been staring at her along the way with an extraordinarily high rate of turned heads, and realized the reason.
"Alright then."
She reluctantly agreed.
Then, she handed the drive to Li Chen, who tossed it to wheelie, having wheelie pack in all of Starlight Pictures' works.
Projection devices and the like weren't needed; Asgard's were obviously far more advanced than Earth's.
Li Chen wished he could just have their technology instead.
So, he headed out with Sif, saying to Gwen and Lorna, "Getting off work early today."
"You two head back first."
He winked, and neither Lorna nor Gwen said anything.
Although they were also very interested in Sif—after all, she was a deity of Asgard—they knew how to read the room.
At worst, when an opportunity arose later, they could just ask Li Chen while lying in his arms.
Li Chen also gave Jubilee time off, driving Sif himself.
Sif's armor wasn't cumbersome; rather, it was form-fitting, somewhat resembling Wonder Woman's.
"Wait?"
Thinking of this, Li Chen couldn't help sizing Sif up.
This valiant face, these insanely long legs... wasn't she the best candidate for Wonder Woman?
What's more, Sif was far from small.
Gal Gadot had everything going for her, except she was flat-chested.
"What is it?"
Sif felt uncomfortable under his gaze, as if goosebumps had broken out all over her body.
Li Chen's gaze was far too direct, as if stripping her bare, leaving her entirely exposed under his watchful eyes.
Li Chen smiled. "Sif, have you ever watched a movie?"
"No."
Sif frowned and shook her head. "I only like fighting."
"Then we can go watch one later. You'll like it."
Li Chen didn't bring it up directly yet; it wasn't the right time.
Only once he made her one of his own would she be a bit more compliant.
And wouldn't conquering such an aloof warrior goddess bring a true sense of achievement?
Li Chen drove Sif to Rodeo Drive and took her into a luxury boutique.
Soon, Sif emerged in a red evening gown.
Tall and statuesque, with sleek, supple black hair, her back in particular was laced with muscle, exuding a powerful aesthetic beauty.
Of course, what Li Chen cared about was the slit in the long gown that inadvertently revealed a glimpse of those long legs.
At this moment, he had only one thought.
Her legs were longer than life itself!
The sales assistant was also very sharp: "Sir, your wife is truly beautiful."
"I think so too."
Li Chen nodded.
Only Sif reacted a beat late, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll take this one."
Li Chen really liked red; it had impact.
"Wait a moment, my battle armor."
Naturally, Sif couldn't leave her battle suit behind and hurried to carry it into the car.
Li Chen paid the bill and stepped out, casually taking Sif's hand.
This startled Sif a bit: "What are you doing?"
She had lived for many years, but no one had ever held her hand.
Because of her fierce temper, ordinary people dared not cross her; and since she was young, she had a bit of an unrequited crush on Thor, but Thor didn't like her at all, so it remained one-sided.
Frankly speaking, Thor was also afraid of her fiery personality, which was why he was drawn to the gentle Jane Foster.
Li Chen held her hand and said, "We're still missing something. Follow me."
Giving Sif no chance to object, he pulled her along as he walked forward.
Sif had no choice; in broad daylight with so many people around, she couldn't embarrass Li Chen.
It was just that she felt her palm growing warmer and warmer, breaking into a sweat in an instant.
"Your hand is so hot."
She said to Li Chen with dissatisfaction.
Li Chen looked dumbfounded. He had held hands with countless women—how could his be hot?
Talk about shifting the blame!
But he also realized—who would have thought the warrior goddess was so innocent?
Thus, Li Chen gripped even tighter: "That's right, it's mine that's hot. You'll get used to it."