Chapter 61: Tonight's Moon in New York is Round, Big, and White
When it came to balancing her acting career and her studies, Mary Jane was a bit hesitant.
Empire State University was not an art school, so its help to her career was limited.
But it was a prestigious school after all; it would be a waste not to go and get that degree.
Mary Jane's eyes darted around. Remembering that Eroshad helped her get this admission opportunity, she decided to just throw the problem back to him.
"Eros, give me some advice."
Eros glanced at Mary Jane, roughly guessing what she was thinking.
"Don't you know that you need to show sincerity when asking for a favor?"
With that, Eros slowed down the car...
Mary Jane understood instantly.
She rolled her eyes, unbuckled her seatbelt, and leaned down.
Eros let out a long breath.
"I'll have someone pull some strings at the school. You don't have to go normally; just take the final exams."
As for what would happen if she failed the exams?
Then Eros would have to investigate whether the task he ordered had been subcontracted out level by level by his subordinates.
Mary Jane's apartment was only two kilometers away from the theater where she worked.
Eros passed by her door three times without entering, turning a one-minute drive into a hard half-hour.
Finally, the car stopped. Mary Jane gave Eros a shy and angry glare, then quickly walked upstairs straight to the bathroom.
Eros followed her.
He had always despised those heartless, wealthy elites—especially a certain Kardashian who never turned off the faucet, which was a sheer waste of water resources.
Eros was different; he had always saved water.
It had to be said, tonight's moon in New York was very round, very big, and very white.
As the saying goes, under the flowers and beneath the moon.
Eros suggested appreciating the flowers together, and after some hesitation, Mary Jane gladly agreed.
Mary Jane was the most accommodating of Eros's many lovers.
Perhaps because, besides lust, she also felt gratitude toward Eros.
Mary Jane's family situation wasn't great—a gambling addict father, a weak mother, and she was only missing a brother in school.
It was Eros's appearance that changed her life, pulling her family out of the mire and allowing them to live a dignified and decent life.
The whole day's work depends on a good start in the morning.
Eros was in the middle of exercising when he was interrupted by a phone call.
He looked at the caller ID, feeling a bit puzzled. He shouldn't have any business dealings with this annoying little brother, right?
"Harry, is something the matter?"
"It's like this... come over as soon as possible."
"Okay, I got it."
Eros hung up the phone and slapped his forehead.
Peter Parker—how could he have forgotten about him?
With the start of the semester at Empire State Universityapproaching, Peter Parker was still in his Lizard Man form and hadn't been home for two months.
No matter how slow Peter Parker's guardian, Aunt May, was, she realized something was wrong.
If his phone hadn't still been getting through, Aunt May would have called the police.
Yesterday, Aunt May went to the Daily Bugle, where Peter Parker worked part-time, and learned that Parker had resigned two months ago.
Knowing she had been lied to, Aunt May called Peter Parker and, through indirect questioning, managed to trick him into revealing that he was conducting a secret research project with an Osborn researcher.
But what kind of research required a high school graduate and soon-to-be college student to participate, and didn't allow him to go home for over two months?
There was clearly something fishy going on here!
Aunt May then found Harry. Peter Parker couldn't withstand Aunt May's interrogation, and Harry couldn't either.
Harry confessed the whole story and brought Aunt May outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Branch Base.
Then, because Aunt May didn't have clearance, they were stopped.
Outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Branch.
Not long after Harry hung up the phone, the Agent who had previously stopped them seemed to receive some notification and issued Aunt May a temporary pass.
Harry led Aunt May toward the research lab.
Inside the research institute.
Having received the news, Lizard Parker was pacing around anxiously.
"What should I do? What should I do? If Aunt May sees me like this, she'll definitely be extremely worried."
Dr. Lizard put down his work and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let me explain. It's all my fault."
"If it weren't for me back then, you wouldn't have ended up like this, Parker."
"Dr. Connors, don't say that. It wasn't your intention either; it was just a side effect of the experiment."
An hour later, Eros arrived fashionably late.
He saw Aunt May from afar.
She wore a deep blue V-neck top, her ample bosom faintly visible, while her lower body was clad in black trousers that tightly wrapped around her round buttocks and plump, slender legs.
Coming closer, he took a look.
Dr. Lizard was crying as helplessly as a child: "Parker, I ruined you. You had such a bright future ahead of you, and I ruined it all!"
Aunt May and Lizard Parker stood by his side, comforting Dr. Lizard.
Withdrawing his gaze from her round rear, Eros nudged Harry and asked, "What's going on here?"
"Dr. Connors knows that school is starting soon. If Parker doesn't report, his admission will be canceled. He feels really guilty toward Parker," Harry explained in a low voice.
Eros rolled his eyes at Harry. This problem was a huge deal for Peter Parker, but for privileged elites like Eros and Harry, it was a trivial matter.
"Couldn't you just pull some strings for Parker and have the school reserve his enrollment?"
Harry clapped his hands, suddenly enlightened. "Oh right, why didn't I think of that?"
Looking at Harry's reaction, Eros couldn't even be bothered to complain.
Was Norman Osborn too strict with Harry? It made Harryso naive that he didn't even know what resources he could mobilize or what power he possessed.
He didn't look like a privileged elite at all.
Realizing this, Harry stepped forward and explained the situation to Dr. Lizard, Lizard Parker, and Aunt May.
Only then did Dr. Lizard's emotions stabilize, and Lizard Parker and Aunt May also breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Eros asked, "Dr. Connors, how is the progress on the reverse serum experiment?"
The lizard serum was Osborn's project. Originally, Eros had no intention of interfering.
It was just that the speed at which Dr. Lizard and Lizard Parker were developing this reverse serum was not Marvel-like at all, which made him unable to resist asking.
"Not going very smoothly. Right now, we're stuck at the human trials stage."
When it came to professional matters, Dr. Lizard turned serious, finally looking like an outstanding researcher who had graduated with a doctorate.
He explained, "Currently, the only Lizard Men are Parker and me. All experiments must be approached with extreme caution and can only be carried out after multi-faceted verification, so..."
"So, the lack of subjects is dragging down the research progress," Eros summarized.
"Exactly," Dr. Lizard nodded.
Eros rubbed his temples.
He finally understood why Dr. Lizard's project had been canceled.
Dr. Lizard's moral compass was too high.
If there weren't enough experimental materials, then just manufacture them.
If volunteers willing to turn into Lizard Men were hard to find, then use death row inmates.
There must be some heinous, utterly depraved scumbags in prison, right?
Why talk to them about human rights?
As long as one doesn't lose their edge, there are always more solutions than problems.
Chapter 62: Used to Call Me Eros, Now It's Mr. Pierce
After listening to Eros's complaints, Dr. Lizard and Lizard Parker looked at each other.
It seemed like that was indeed the case.
After giving Lizard Parker and Dr. Lizard a pep talk, Erosreminded them once again.
Since they were experimenting on criminals, they had to ensure strict safety measures.
"Don't end up releasing super lizard criminals injected with the lizard serum and causing trouble for yourselves."
In response, Dr. Lizard patted his chest and guaranteed that such a thing would absolutely never happen.
He would carefully control the dosage of the lizard serumto ensure that the strength of the created Lizard Men would be far inferior to his and Lizard Parker's.
That way, even if an accident occurred, he and Lizard Parker could easily suppress the lizard criminals.
With the problem solved, Eros didn't linger at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base. He took Aunt May to apply for a long-term pass.
Of course, her clearance was restricted, and there were many places she couldn't go.
Upon receiving the pass, Aunt May thanked Harry and Eros, "Thank you, Harry, Eros."
Harry waved his hand dismissively, acting as if it were a trivial matter. "You're welcome. Parker is my good brother."
Eros nodded. He used to think he had a narrow sense of aesthetics, only liking young and beautiful girls.
Now he realized he was wrong; he simply liked beautiful women.
"Yeah, Parker is also my good friend." He had upgraded from a friend to a good friend.
Aunt May smiled, "It's almost noon. Let me treat you to lunch. Sorry for all the trouble regarding Parker."
"The food at the Base cafeteria is pretty good, why don't we just eat at the Base?" Eros suggested.
Harry, this foolish younger brother, was so thoughtless. How could he bring Aunt May to see Peter Parker during the day?
If she had come at night, Eros would have dared to ask Aunt May to treat him to drinks.
After lunch, Eros didn't stay long at the Base.
No matter how good Aunt May was, he couldn't have her right now. It was better to go find his pretty secretary first.
Driving to the Vought International Building, Eros intended to take the elevator straight back to his office, but he didn't expect to be called out to.
"Mr. Pierce, wait a moment!"
Outside the elevator, a woman holding a coffee cup walked toward him.
She looked to be in her twenties, with long, dark brown hair that was simple and natural. Combined with her delicate features, she possessed a gentle and elegant temperament.
She wore office lady attire: a very form-fitting white shirt and a hip-hugging skirt that clung to her skin, outlining the seductive curves of her lovely body.
The hem of her skirt reached her knees, revealing calves adorned in flesh-colored stockings, with her fair skin faintly visible. Her white high heels added a touch of purity.
Eros's gaze froze slightly as his thoughts drifted back to a night over a decade ago.
Back then, he was still a young child, and she was still a teenage girl.
She had held him while riding a carousel.
Seeing that the elevator doors hadn't closed, Betty Rossquickly walked up to Eros, a sweet smile blooming on her face.
"Mr. Pierce, I have something very important to discuss with you. Could you give me a chance?"
Sigh, she used to call me Eros, but now she calls me Mr. Pierce.
"Sure," Eros smiled slightly.
Eros felt a bit of regret that he hadn't been born ten years earlier, but one had to look forward. It wasn't as if he didn't have a chance to make up for that regret now.
"I know a newly opened restaurant nearby. The food there is quite good. Perhaps we could talk over lunch?"
Betty Ross asked tentatively.
"Sure."
Eros had no objections.
The two got into Eros's car and set off. With Betty Rossdirecting the way, they quickly arrived at a restaurant in Manhattan.
Although he had just eaten at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base, with Eros's constitution, having an extra meal was a common occurrence.
Soon, the lunch was served, and they chatted while eating.
Hearing Betty Ross mention it, Eros finally learned that she had joined Vought Medical.
Originally, she had applied for the position of lead researcher for compound v.
Unfortunately, Eros had already internally selected Samuel Sterns, who was competent and easy to control, as the lead researcher.
Moreover, by the time she applied, Samuel Sterns had already assembled the experimental team.
But Betty Ross's resume was excellent.
She graduated from Harvard University, had served as a Professor of cellular biology at Culver University, and had participated in the Military's human enhancement experiments as a core researcher.
Ultimately, Betty Ross still passed the interview, but her position was changed from lead researcher to core researcher.
However, just as she was preparing to start, she found that the official offer had never been sent.
Looking at Betty Ross, who was full of indignation and wanted an explanation, Eros felt a bit of a headache.
When the compound v experimental team was first assembled, he kept a very close eye on it, reviewing the profiles of all the core researchers.
In Eros's memory, he had never seen Betty Ross's file at all.
This matched Betty Ross's account; she had only come for an interview after the team was already formed.
Having passed the interview, normally a background check would be conducted before sending her an offer. Only after passing the background check would her file be sent to Eros.
Betty Ross had most likely run into issues during the background check step.
As for other factions planting people in Vought Medical, Eros turned a blind eye because he knew that once compound v was successfully improved, it would be impossible to keep it only for his own people.
No one could resist the temptation of eternal life.
Once others learned of the effects of compound v, they would either become allies, exchanging benefits to obtain the serum, or become enemies, resorting to any means to steal the formula.
Instead of clutching compound v tightly and making enemies of the entire world, it was better to proactively share it with allies.
Then, win over a new batch of allies to form a community of shared interests, growing bigger and stronger.
But sharing the results was one thing, while project leadership was another.
Betty Ross's father was General Ross, a powerful lieutenant general in the U.S. Military who was obsessed with the Super Soldier Program.
If she entered the core experimental team of compound v, would compound v belong to the Pierce family or the Ross family in the future?
Eros looked at Betty Ross, feeling a bit of a headache.
Coveting her body was one thing, but letting her join the core R&D team at the risk of leaking the formula was absolutely impossible.
Even if Betty Ross wanted to 'persuade' him with her lips, it wouldn't work, let alone the fact that she hadn't even tried yet.
"How about this, I'll go back and ask the person in charge," Eros prevaricated for now.
He had to first confirm whether this was Betty Ross's idea or General Ross's.
After lunch, the two returned to the Vought International Building together. Eros first settled Betty Ross in the lounge before returning to his office.
In the office, Eros found Felicia.
"Felicia, bring me Betty Ross's resume."
"I filtered this woman out for a reason. There's a problem with her. Her father is Thaddeus Ross, a lieutenant general in the U.S. Military."
Looking at Felicia, who was staring at him with a worried face, black lines appeared on Eros's forehead. "Felicia, in your heart, am I really the kind of person who lets his little head rule his big head?"
Chapter 63: You Can't Have Prejudices Against Me Just Because I Have a Lieutenant General for a Father
Seeing Felicia's face full of disbelief, Eros felt very helpless. Just who had ruined his reputation?
Eros gave Felicia a flick on her forehead and emphasized once again, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"Oh!" Acting like a drama queen, Felicia clutched her forehead and said pitifully, "Eros, you've changed. You actually hit me for another woman."
Eros:...
"If you still don't go, I won't just hit you, I'll teach you a lesson with my rod."
"Hmph, who's going to teach whom is still up in the air."
Felicia let out a soft hmph, swaying her plump hips as she slowly made her way toward the bookshelf where the documents were stored, her back view incredibly seductive.
Eros walked over and hugged her from behind, feeling a wave of warmth.
"Stop messing around, I'm looking for something," Feliciastruggled gently in his arms, though her curves only pressed closer against him.
Eros understood implicitly. Holding her tight and refusing to let go, his hand slid downward as he said, "It's fine. You do your thing, I'll do mine. We'll each do our own work."
As it turned out, documents must be properly categorized and organized in daily life, otherwise searching for them would be extremely troublesome.
It took Felicia over half an hour, her hair disheveled and dripping with sweet sweat, before she finally found Betty Ross's file.
Eros opened the file.
Betty Ross had submitted her resume at the end of last month.
End of July... Eros recalled, but nothing major seemed to have happened at the end of July.
"Has General Ross made any moves lately?" Eros asked.
"Not recently."
Felicia checked the records and replied:
"Initially, General Ross was quite enthusiastic. After learning that the research direction of the v1 compoundwas to retain the longevity effect, he wanted to cooperate with us to set up a separate research group, focusing on physical enhancement."
"He believed that the longevity effect was meaningless for the super soldier serum and would instead weaken the soldiers' will to fight."
"After we rejected him on the grounds of worrying about formula leaks, he didn't bring it up again."
Eros nodded.
General Ross's thinking was highly in line with a military mindset.
However, in this case, Betty Ross applying to be a researcher for the V Compound project was highly likely her own idea.
If it were General Ross's doing, he would have definitely put direct pressure on Vought to cooperate with Betty Ross.
Otherwise, it would have been better to send a researcher who had no apparent connection to him to steal the formula.
"Right," Felicia took the file from Eros's hands and pulled out the background check conclusion.
"Betty Ross and her father have barely contacted each other since four years ago. It seems their relationship ruptured due to something."
"But the background check department still believes she poses a high risk. After all, you never know when a father and daughter might reconcile."
So, was Betty Ross applying to be a V Compoundresearcher a coincidence, or was it her own deliberate act?
He would find out with a little test.
Taking the background check results, Eros went downstairs to the lounge to find Betty Ross.
"*Knock, knock, knock!*"
"Come in."
As Eros pushed the door open and entered, Betty Rossalso looked over. The moment their eyes met, Eros caught a fleeting roll of her eyes.
Since you like rolling your eyes so much, I'll make sure you roll them to your heart's content sooner or later.
As soon as Eros entered, Betty Ross asked impatiently, "What did the person in charge say? Is there an issue with my offer?"
Clearly, she had waited in the lounge for too long and had grown somewhat impatient.
Though this older sister was already a ripe honey peach, it seemed she had yet to experience the wonders of 'too long.'
Eros smiled slightly and handed over the background check results.
"Miss Ross, these are the background check results and conclusion from Vought International. You'll understand once you take a look."
Hearing this, Betty Ross's face darkened, as if she had already guessed what the background check results would be.
She opened it, and indeed, just as she thought, it was due to family reasons.
"You can't have prejudices against me just because I have a lieutenant general for a father."
Straightening her expression, Betty Ross continued to argue her case, "I am an excellent researcher with my own professional ethics. I will not leak any laboratory information."
Eros put on a difficult expression.
If it were a coincidence, Betty Ross should have backed down in the face of difficulties at this point.
If not...
Betty Ross shifted the conversation: "If the V Compoundproject is too sensitive, I can accept other positions as well."
There's a problem!
There is indeed a problem!
Looking at the solemn Betty Ross in front of him, an alarm went off in Eros's heart.
Vought International was not short on money, and neither was Vought Medical.
Eros knew very well that for employees, the main focus was always a guilt-free salary.
Thus, the compensation he offered for various positions at Vought International far exceeded the industry average.
Regardless of nationality or race!
Ordinary people scrambled to join Vought International, but Betty Ross was no ordinary person.
Consider the sheer weight of 'I have a lieutenant general for a father.'
Regardless of their relationship, as long as General Rossdidn't fall from power, Betty Ross would never have to experience hard times.
No matter how bad Betty Ross's relationship with General Ross was, it couldn't be worse than that of the World's richest father and his son... daughter, right?
Betty Ross also had her own unspeakable grievances.
A while ago, the organization received a tip-off about human enhancement experiments, and Betty Rossinvestigated it through her own channels.
Although she couldn't find which capital backing was controlling the human enhancement experiments in West Africa, she confirmed that the tip-off was true.
So, another core member who was skilled in hacking organized the information and submitted it to various newspapers.
Although the exposé was eventually suppressed, Betty Ross was not discouraged; she was prepared for a long-term struggle.
However, over a month ago, the core member who leaked the information went missing!
And in their line of work, losing contact often meant...
This threw Betty Ross into a panic.
She had other members of the organization hack into the missing Skye's account and saw the last document received in it.
The capital backing behind the West African human enhancement experiments was Vought International!
The person in charge of Vought International was Eros Pierce!
It matched. Everything matched.
Among America's elite class, it was no secret that Vought International was running an immortality serum project.
Betty Ross, however, had a deeper understanding of it, knowing that this immortality serum was originally also a super soldier serum project.
To investigate the truth and seek justice for the sacrificed organization member, Betty Ross planned to put herself in the game.
However, she was defeated before she could even start. She wanted to enter the V Compound project group, but was rejected because of her background.
Out of options, she planned to take a roundabout route, entering Vought Medical first.
"Alright, welcome aboard, Miss Ross."
After pondering for a moment, Eros still agreed to Betty Ross's hiring.
He also wanted to know what Betty Ross was up to.
Chapter 64: Is This the Afterlife?
So, what is the out-of-contact organization member, who is presumed dead in Betty Ross's eyes, doing right now?
Let's rewind the clock a little.
Skye was a good person, but her moral compass was flexible, and she wasn't one to needlessly suffer.
Therefore,
after deciding to set off for the Eastern Himalayas, Skyetook the black card Eros had given her along the way.
After landing, she hired a local translator and contacted an international security company to hire a team of bodyguards, officially beginning her journey to find her family.
However, Skye had vastly underestimated the difficulty of finding the Afterlife.
For certain reasons, the West had always intentionally blocked news from the East. Combined with the West's "happy education" philosophy, many Westerners had no concept of the East's sheer size.
Skye was one of them.
She had heard from Eros that her mother, Jiaying, was at the foot of the Himalayas, in a place called the Afterlifewithin the borders of the East.
So she assumed that as long as she went to the Himalayas, she could easily find it just by asking around.
If all else failed, she could even hack into the local government's database.
But...
What did they mean by "the foot of the Himalayas is mostly uninhabited mountain forests"?
What did they mean by "there is no place called the Afterlife here at all"?
Skye was completely dumbfounded.
Unwilling to give up, she still led her team straight into the mountains.
The signal in the mountains was terrible... Skye lost contact.
Skye didn't understand what "looking for a needle in a haystack" meant before, but now she felt she finally did.
After searching the mountains with her team for over half a month, let alone the Afterlife, they hadn't even found a single soul.
Helpless, and with most of their supplies depleted, Skyehad no choice but to lead the team out first and think of another way.
Early morning.
However, on the morning of their departure, a thick fog rolled into the mountain forest, and Skye accidentally got separated from the main group.
Needless to say what getting separated from the main group in these mountain forests meant.
Just when she thought she was at a dead end, a new path revealed itself.
Just as Skye was in despair, she spotted rows of ancient, simple buildings nestled deep within the distant mountains.
After trekking all the way, Skye arrived outside the complex. She pushed the door open and went inside, where she saw a bald woman dressed like a monk.
At this moment, Skye seemed to understand why Eroscalled the gathering place of the Inhumans the "Afterlife."
It turned out they were all monks and nuns here.
Skye spoke up and asked, "Excuse me, is this the Afterlife?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Skye suddenly realized something, and repeated her question in terrible Chinese:
"Qingwen, Zeli shi Lakesi ma?"
The bald woman smiled. "First of all, I am not Qingwen. Secondly, Zeri is Zeri, and Lux is Lux. They are two completely different champions."
"And finally, you can speak English."
"Ah, you speak English! That's wonderful." Hearing that the other party spoke English, Skye breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she felt a bit puzzled. Zeri and Lux were different champions?
Those two names were clearly female names. Were there really two such female champions?
Seemingly sensing Skye's confusion, the bald woman explained, "Lux will be born in a little over two months, while Zeri won't arrive for another eleven years."
"Wait a minute," Skye realized something was off. "Are you saying these two haven't even been born yet? Then how do you know they will become heroes?"
"No, wait, how do you know things about the future?"
Skye looked at the bald woman in front of her, a Strangeexpression on her face.
She hadn't run into a crazy person, had she?
Could this place in the middle of nowhere be a mental asylum?
At that thought, Skye shuddered.
The smile on the bald woman's face didn't change, and even grew a bit brighter. She smiled and said, "Skye, your thoughts are quite impolite."
"How do you know if my thoughts are polite or not?" Skyeretorted subconsciously, before suddenly realizing, "Wait, how do you know my name?"
The bald woman turned and walked toward the ancient courtyard. "If you want to know, follow me."
Skye hesitated. It seemed she didn't have any other choice but to follow this Strange woman.
She couldn't possibly get out of these desolate mountains on her own.
Walking through the antique-style buildings, Skye was surprised to find quite a few people inside, including men, women, young, and old.
Moreover, everyone here seemed to be in high spirits. They had gotten up early in the morning and were performing some unknown form of calisthenics under the guidance of a Black man.
And the bald woman leading her in seemed to hold a very high status among these people. Almost everyone they passed along the way bowed to her in greeting.
"Sorcerer Ancient One."
"Sorcerer Ancient One."
Walking all the way, the Ancient One led Skye to her tea room.
After completing the steps of boiling the water, rinsing the cups, placing the tea leaves, and pouring the water, a cup of steaming Gongfu tea with a faint aroma was placed in front of Skye.
The tea was clear and bright, with a tender green and slightly yellow hue.
"Thank you," Skye said, taking the tea and taking a sip. "It's very sweet. I like it."
"I added honey." Sorcerer Ancient One smiled and poured another cup for Skye.
Skye drank it again, quenching the thirst brought on by her arduous trek.
"Sorcerer... Ancient One," Skye hesitated, addressing her the way she had seen the others do. "You still haven't told me, is this the Afterlife?"
"Kamar-Taj has many names, and indeed, some have referred to it as the Afterlife in the past."
Seeing the young girl's eyes light up, the Ancient Oneshifted her tone. "But I believe it is not the Afterlife you are looking for."
The Ancient One casually pointed in a direction. "The place you are looking for is currently about 170 kilometers away in this direction."
Skye's emotions were like a roller coaster.
First came the pleasant surprise of hearing that this place was once called the Afterlife, followed by disappointment when she was corrected, and finally, another wave of joy when she was given the actual direction.
But there was one thing Skye found very puzzling.
The other party kept speaking in riddles, and her title was "Sorcerer Ancient One."
Was she a real sorcerer, or just a charlatan?
Or perhaps she was delusional?
Just as Skye was wondering, a circular portal suddenly appeared in the air beside her, sparks flying everywhere, and a man stepped out from it.
Through the circle, a classically decorated library could be seen on the other side.
"Sorcerer Ancient One, Dormammu has retreated. This time seems to have been merely a probe."
"Thank you for your hard work, Sorcerer Kaecilius."
The newcomer greeted Sorcerer Ancient One, reported his findings, and then hurriedly departed.
"Holy crap!"
"A real-life teleportation!"
Skye's mouth fell wide open.
She believed it now; this was a real sorcerer!
"Sorcerer, is my mother really in this direction, 170 kilometers away?"
The Ancient One nodded gently. "If you wish to go, I can send you there."
"But child, things may not turn out exactly as you expect."
Failing to notice Sorcerer Ancient One's warning, Skye just nodded vigorously upon hearing that she could be sent to find her mother.
Seeing this, the Ancient One smiled. She chanted an incantation, and a ring of fire materialized in front of Skye.
On the other side of the fiery ring was a secluded town.
"Thank you, Sorcerer." Skye thanked her once more, then stepped through the ring of fire into the town on the other side.
Watching Skye's figure disappear, the Ancient Onemurmured softly.
"Eros..."
"Strange..."
"When the future was shrouded in mist, even this Sorcerer Supreme, who had protected the World for hundreds of years, would become hesitant."
Chapter 65: Samuel Sterns: Loyalty!
Afterlife.
After asking for directions several more times, Skye finally met her mother, Jiaying.
"Daisy, my daughter."
Perhaps due to a blood connection, Jiaying accepted that Skye was her long-lost daughter the moment they met, even before any DNA test was done.
As Jiaying spoke, she stepped forward slowly and pulled Skye into a warm embrace.
"Child, how did you find this place?"
Feeling the warm embrace of her mother, Skye didn't hold back and recounted everything about how she discovered her origin and how she found Afterlife.
'Has Afterlife been exposed?'
'Sorcerer Ancient One... so the legends are true.'
...
Time returns to the present.
Although Eros still hadn't figured out Betty Ross's intentions, they were most likely related to the compound vproject.
This also served as a reminder to Eros.
Even though the results of the improved version of compound v hadn't come out yet, quite a few people were already eyeing it.
With this in mind, Eros returned to his office and opened a mysterious software program on his computer.
"Dr., how has the compound v lab been lately?"
Since Dr. Zola provided the coordinates of Whitehall, the supercomputer cluster that Eros promised Dr. Zola had already begun construction.
Although it wasn't fully set up yet, it could already provide a significant amount of computing power support for Dr.Zola.
As a result, Dr. Zola's capabilities were greatly enhanced.
In exchange, Dr. Zola allocated a portion of the computing power specifically to serve Eros.
Even if it was only a portion of the computing power, it was still more useful than any weak artificial intelligence currently available besides Jarvis, capable of executing multiple tasks simultaneously.
One of these tasks was to monitor the data of the compound v laboratory.
Anyone who has used a sandbox knows that transferring office data from a sandbox system to a personal device requires authorization and leaves a record.
Dr. Zola's job was to monitor whether anyone bypassed authorization to illegally download data and take it out of the research institute.
"No abnormal data downloads detected."
"Mm, continue monitoring."
Eros nodded; it seemed the core researchers of compound v had not been infiltrated yet.
Of course, it could also be that no results had been produced yet, so the moles hadn't made their move.
It was still better to pay a personal visit.
"Felicia, prepare a gift for the compound v researchers. You'll accompany me to inspect the research institute in a bit."
"Alright."
Felicia agreed and arranged for someone to prepare the gifts.
A moment later, the gifts were ready, and Eros drove off with Felicia.
The Compound V Research Institute operated independently. It was not located in the Vought International Building but in the suburbs of New York, with security personnel patrolling 24/7.
The researchers inside had all signed non-disclosure agreements; until the experiments succeeded, they lived and ate at the research institute.
Of course, while the requirements were strict, the compensation was also generous.
In addition to top-of-the-industry salaries, there was also the lucrative promise of stock options.
As long as the improvement of compound v succeeded, all researchers would share the glory and achieve financial freedom.
Furthermore, based on their contributions, everyone would have a certain quota of low-price purchase rights to buy the improved compound v for themselves or their families.
Eros arrived outside the Base, swiping his card to pass through three lines of defense before entering the research area.
Upon seeing Samuel Sterns, Eros was instantly startled.
Wait, who was this balding, white-haired, somewhat chubby man?
Where did my forty-something, thin Dr. Samuel Sternswith a full head of black hair go?
"Dr. Stern, what happened to you?"
Samuel Sterns smiled sheepishly. "I haven't been exercising much lately, plus I've been drinking too much coffee."
"Dr. Stern, your health is important," Eros said earnestly, patting Samuel Sterns on the shoulder.
Fortunately, he had prepared gifts.
Otherwise, if he had come empty-handed, Samuel Sternsmight have thought he was here to pressure him, working even harder as a result, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to suddenly drop dead.
"Mr. Pierce," Samuel Sterns said, his expression turning solemn and righteous.
"We are working on a great undertaking that is enough to change the World and the destiny of humanity. Compared to this great cause, my health is of no importance."
He had wasted decades, with barely any opportunities to even touch billion-dollar projects, yet this time he was directly at the helm.
Samuel Sterns was under a lot of pressure.
He had to be worthy of Eros's appreciation and worthy of this salary.
Most importantly, he had to be worthy of those stock options.
As the lead researcher, Samuel Sterns was subject to the strictest control, but as long as the project succeeded, his reward would also be the greatest.
Samuel Sterns had to consider that this might be his only opportunity in life to become a billionaire!
"Dr. Stern, keep up the good work. If you have any trouble, you can tell me, and I will solve it for you. You just need to focus on your research."
"I promise you, as long as you can improve compound v, even ten thousand years from now, the World will still sing praises of your deeds."
Eros didn't care whether Samuel Sterns truly felt that way or was just in it for the profits of the experimental results; either way, it didn't stop him from painting a grand picture.
Boss Ma once said that employees resign for only two reasons: either they are underpaid, or they feel unappreciated.
Therefore, if you want to win over talent and make them willing to work for you long-term, both the salary and the emotional value must be fully provided.
Sure enough, hearing Eros say this, Samuel Sterns's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to run a few more sets of experiments and pull an all-nighter for observation tonight.
Naturally, Eros couldn't just let Samuel Sterns continue working like this.
Taking Samuel Sterns and Felicia with him, he visited each researcher in the institute one by one, presented them with gifts, and announced that this quarter's bonuses would be doubled.
Well, even though there were no results yet, it didn't stop Eros from throwing money around.
Naturally, Eros had his reasons for doing this.
Upon leaving the research institute, Eros asked for the roster and checked off a few names.
"Keep a close eye on these few people."
While giving out gifts and money, Eros had quietly used his super hearing and super vision to observe the researchers.
If they were normal people, they should feel happy and relaxed upon hearing such good news.
Only those with ill intentions, and a few with social anxiety, would feel nervous.
...
Betty Ross realized she had been careless.
She had completely underestimated the situation; she never expected the Compound V Project Team to operate independently. Although it was nominally under Vought Medical, Vought Medical had absolutely no power to interfere with the Compound V Project Team.
They only had a general idea of what the project group was doing and how far it had progressed.
This was only because the expenditures of the Compound V Project Team had to be reviewed by Vought Medical.
But the problem was, what did they mean by "approved expenditures are filed directly, while unapproved ones require a review"?
Did the reviewers even have any real power this way? How could they keep the researchers in check?
Damn it, this guy had always been guarding against people using Vought Medical to infiltrate the Compound V Project Team.
Despite this, Betty Ross still uncovered a piece of information that left her puzzled.
Chapter 66: Betty Ross: Want to have dinner together?
The compound v project team has not yet applied for human trials.
This shows that they haven't reached the stage of human trials yet!
This piece of information alone is nothing, but when combined with the tip-off received by the Rising Tide, there is a problem.
Did the compound v project team conduct human trials in West Africa without authorization, despite not applying for them?
Or was it not the compound v project team conducting human trials in West Africa, but someone else?
Betty Ross secretly checked the accounts and felt that the latter possibility was more likely.
Vought International is innocent, and the Rising Tide was used.
But now there is a question: where did Vought International take the members of the organization?
Although Vought International was wrongly accused regarding the West African human trials incident, Betty Ross would never consider Vought International to be some innocent white lotus.
Just looking at the capital behind it, one could tell it was a monster that ate people without spitting out the bones.
After some thought, Betty Ross decided to look for a breakthrough from Eros.
Vought International is an asset of the Pierce Family and is directly managed by Eros. As long as he wanted to, there was nothing about Vought International he couldn't find out.
Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, Betty Rosstook out her makeup to touch up her look, then took the elevator to the top floor and knocked on the door of Eros's office.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in."
Seeing Betty Ross push open the door and walk in, Eros's eyes lit up.
Today, she wore a light-colored V-neck top made of a soft, form-fitting fabric. As she walked, her ample assets were faintly visible.
A mature woman's temptation washed over him, forming a stark contrast with the image of Betty Ross as a young girl in Eros's memory.
"Is there something I can help you with, Betty?" Eros asked with a smile.
Beside him, Felicia looked at Betty Ross warily.
Good grief.
Her own big wild boar didn't even go out to root up the cabbages, but the cabbage delivered itself right to his door.
Betty Ross seemed to notice Felicia's gaze. She gave Felicia a sweet smile and casually tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"There are some things I don't understand, and I wanted to ask Mr. Pierce about them."
"For work-related matters, you should look for Sharon Carter." Feeling provoked, Felicia bristled slightly.
Betty Ross ignored her and just stared straight at Eros.
Obviously, she knew who was in charge.
Under Betty Ross's expectant gaze, Eros coughed lightly and spoke slowly, "Felicia is right. Sharon Carter knows more about Vought Medical than I do."
Hearing this, Felicia felt as if she had won a battle and raised her eyebrows at Betty Ross.
Betty Ross frowned slightly.
There is no one in the World who is beautiful and unaware of it. Betty Ross was not narcissistic; she just knew very well that she was a great beauty.
She had thought that seducing a playboy like Eros would be a piece of cake, but she didn't expect to be rejected.
Of course, she wouldn't sell herself out either; she was just leveraging her beauty to her advantage.
"Alright then, I'll go ask Director Sharon Carter tomorrow." Having said that, Betty Ross turned and left.
Her high heels made a crisp clicking sound on the floor, and the full contours beneath her light-grey pencil skirt swayed rhythmically from side to side.
Smack!
"Satisfied now?"
After her perky butt took a slap from Eros, Felicia's eyes turned sultry. She sat on Eros's lap, not forgetting to complain about Betty Ross.
"Hmph, a general's daughter and a PhD graduate? I think she's just a bitch."
With that, Felicia's eyes darted around, wondering if she should use her identity as Black Cat tonight to teach this bitch, who dared to steal her man right in front of her, a lesson.
Eros didn't know what she was planning; he only knew that he was feeling very hot and bothered right now.
Coincidentally, he knew a secret recipe to cool things down.
And that was exercise.
Although exercise would raise body temperature, it would also accelerate heat loss.
After a good workout, the fire would naturally die down.
But it was hard to persist in exercising alone; one needed a partner.
Fortunately, Eros had a very good workout partner right beside him.
Great figure, excellent endurance.
Perhaps as a reward for Eros choosing her over Betty Ross, Felicia was exceptionally excited today.
She challenged her limits, exercising longer than usual, and only stopped after draining her very last ounce of energy.
After the workout and a quick wash, the sky had completely darkened.
Seeing that Felicia was still resting, Eros left first.
When he took the elevator down to the parking lot, he found that Betty Ross hadn't left yet.
She was leaning gracefully against Eros's car, idly playing with her hair. Seeing Eros, she stood up straight and stretched lazily, showing off the proud curves of her upper body.
"Would you like to have dinner together, Mr. Pierce?"
"Just call me Eros, Betty." Eros Jr. stirred slightly, and he readily agreed.
"Alright, Eros," Betty Ross suggested. "Should we go to that restaurant from last time?"
Eros declined, "I know a very good restaurant. Why don't we try that one?"
"Sure." Betty Ross didn't mind; to her, anywhere was the same.
Upon arriving, Betty Ross realized something was off.
This place seemed to be where she had her 16th birthday party.
Entering the luxurious private room on the top floor, the dishes were quickly served.
In the meantime, Betty Ross confirmed that this was indeed the hotel where she had held her 16th birthday party.
"Eros, did you already know me?" Betty Ross asked after downing two glasses of red wine.
The Pierce Family was originally a Military family before gradually moving into politics, and they had plenty of interactions with the Ross Family.
Although she and Eros had an age gap of about ten years and weren't peers, it was normal for them to have met at some gatherings.
Sure enough, Eros nodded just as she had expected.
"When I was little, you even held me."
"Uh..." Betty Ross was speechless. Shouldn't it normally be the other way around, like 'I held you when you were little'?
"Now that you mention it, I do have some recollection." After thinking back, a blush suddenly crept onto Betty Ross's pretty face. "You're that little pervert!"
"What 'little pervert'? I'll sue you for slander." Eros flatly denied Betty Ross's accusation.
He wasn't small at all!
Betty Ross also realized she had misspoken.
Eros was only three or four years old back then. If one really wanted to argue, it would count as her molesting a child.
"Wait a minute, does that mean you're not even 21 yet?" Betty Ross suddenly realized something else.
The legal drinking age in America is 21.
To make it easier to get information out of him, she had just ordered two bottles of red wine, intending to get Erosdrunk.
But seeing how tall and well-built he was, only to find out he wasn't even 21 yet—at most eighteen or nineteen?
"That's not important." Eros clinked glasses with Betty Ross.
"Don't you think this regulation is ridiculous? You can legally own a gun at 18, but you can't legally drink?"
"Of course, I don't usually drink, but I'll make an exception for you tonight."
Chapter 67 Felicia: Watch Me Raid Her House
"That's true."
Hearing that Eros usually didn't drink, Betty Ross's eyes lit up, reinforcing her determination to get him drunk and extract information.
As they ate and drank, Betty Ross steered the conversation toward their childhood to get closer to him.
Sharing common experiences from their youth, the two quickly grew familiar with each other, clinking glasses more and more frequently.
After finishing two bottles of red wine, another two were served.
Betty Ross's cheeks were flushed red and her eyes were watery, unconsciously exuding the allure of a mature woman.
Of course, she didn't forget her goal of extracting information.
However, she couldn't find an opportunity. Every time she tried to pry, Eros would dodge the topic and steer it back to their childhood.
Listening to him made her feel a strong sense of nostalgia for her childhood.
"Do you still remember the carousel?"
"The carousel?" Betty Ross's eyes were a bit hazy, but bringing this up made her smile involuntarily.
"Of course I remember. I even remember you crying and throwing a fit to ride it, but you were too little back then, so I ended up holding you in my arms..."
"How about we go relive our childhood?" Eros suggested.
"Sure." Betty Ross's eyes lit up.
Leaving the restaurant, they went to the nearest Disneyland. With the power of money, they were soon riding the carousel.
Eros suggested that if they were going to relive their childhood, they should go all the way, only to be ruthlessly rejected by Betty Ross.
How old was he now? He still wanted her to hold him.
Not riding the carousel together felt somewhat different from their childhood.
When she got off, Betty Ross felt a bit lacking in enthusiasm.
She had just wanted to extract information, but the surrounding environment was too noisy.
So, Eros suggested going horseback riding together.
"My family has a ranch nearby. Why don't we go horseback riding?"
The ranch environment must be very quiet, right?
Betty Ross thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Thus, the two moved to their second location of the night.
During the drive, Betty Ross tried to get information out of him, but Eros shifted the topic by introducing the ranch.
Arriving at the ranch, Eros specially picked a gentle mare for Betty Ross.
If they couldn't ride a wooden horse together, riding a real mare together was fine too.
On the car ride, Eros had pried information out of Betty Ross.
Betty Ross was basically all talk—she liked carousel horses, but she had rarely ridden a bareback horse without a saddle or stirrups.
As a result, Betty Ross soon began losing control of the mare. She cried out in alarm, gripping the reins tightly and leaning low.
Eros spurred his horse to catch up, and as the two horses ran side by side, he flipped twice and leapt onto her mare.
The fabric of Betty Ross's clothes was very soft, almost like a second layer of skin clinging to her.
Eros wrapped his arms around her from behind, feeling the subtle curves of her delicate body in his embrace.
When they were young, Betty Ross had held him while riding the carousel horse; now it was his turn to hold Betty Ross while riding the mare.
Sensing that the mare's gallop had stabilized into a rhythm, Betty Ross let out a long breath, relaxed, and sat up straight.
However, the firm and warm chest behind her soon made her tender body tense up again.
"Relax, Betty. Enjoy the thrill of galloping wild," Eroscomforted her softly.
Betty Ross's body slowly relaxed, but she grew increasingly flushed and warm, especially as something behind her seemed to press against her.
Betty Ross shifted her body to adjust her position and immediately felt much better.
Noticing Betty Ross moving closer, Eros held her tighter to prevent her from falling off the horse.
"Betty, I've had a dream since I was little: to hold you while riding a carousel horse?"
"Why hold me while riding a carousel horse?"
"Yeah."
Soon, Betty Ross's body went stiff. She gasped, shuddering all over, and cried out in alarm, "Are you crazy?!"
She struggled, trying to push Eros away from her.
After all, doing this kind of thing in the wild was far too dangerous.
"Don't worry, it's so dark out and it's just the two of us on the ranch. No one will see," Eros said.
"But... it hurts."
Betty Ross's voice trembled, not seeming fake at all.
Eros observed Betty Ross's face and saw her pretty face pale with pain. He quickly pulled the reins to slow the mare down.
No way...
Is Bruce Banner a saint?
Eros was a traditional man who greatly admired the pioneering spirit of his ancestors, who blazed trails through thorns and briars.
Now, he intended to inherit and carry forward this spirit.
The ranch at night fell into total silence. The entire grassland was submerged in tranquility, with only the trickling sound of the stream invoking reveries of nature.
...
Downstairs from Betty Ross's apartment building.
A graceful black shadow darted past, leaping and dodging like a big black cat.
"This should be the place."
Black Cat Felicia pulled out her phone and double-checked the address.
After regaining her strength, she pulled up Betty Ross's information, found the home address she had listed upon joining the company, changed into her favorite skintight suit, and tracked her down all the way here.
Felicia was always one to act boldly.
Since that woman dared to snatch her man right in front of her face, she couldn't blame her for playing dirty.
Climbing up along the wall, Felicia reached the balcony outside Betty Ross's apartment.
What puzzled Felicia was that the apartment was completely pitch-black, without a single light on in any room.
Felicia listened intently for a moment; hearing no breathing, she confirmed that no one was home.
"That bitch... It's so late and she's not home. Who knows who she's fooling around with."
In her heart, Felicia had already secretly labeled Betty Rossas a woman who liked to seduce men.
Since Betty Ross hadn't returned, Felicia decided to look around her home and revert to her old trade.
"This clothing feels nice. Taken."
"These pieces of jewelry look like the latest design. Taken."
After ransacking Betty Ross's home of all its valuables, Felicia sauntered off.
Daring to snatch a man right in front of her face? Watch her strip her house clean.
...
In the early morning, all living things vibrated with vitality.
Herds of cattle, sheep, and horses were let out, grazing on the ranch. Their cries echoed from afar, shattering Betty Ross's sweet dream.
Betty Ross woke up from her slumber, feeling a heavy tightness on her chest. She raised her hand to move the arm resting on her chest.
As soon as she raised her hand, however, she felt sore all over.
"What did I... do yesterday?"
Betty Ross sat up and rubbed her temples. Her hangover combined with exhaustion left her still somewhat dazed.
But very quickly...
She realized something was wrong.
The clothes on the bed were her clothes, but the bed wasn't her bed!
And why wasn't she wearing her clothes?!
"Oh god!"
Betty Ross covered her face with her hands; she finally remembered everything she had done yesterday.
"I've truly gone mad."
Chapter 68: Yesterday Was an Accident, We Both Drank Too Much
"You're awake."
Eros felt the movement beside him and opened his eyes as well.
He remembered a poem he had learned before.
"Written on the Wall at Xilin Temple" by Su Shi (Song Dynasty).
"It looks like a ridge from the front and a peak from the side, with different views from far, near, high, and low."
"I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, simply because I am inside the mountain myself."
Unfortunately, heaven did not cooperate, and the next second, the view was obscured by clouds and mist.
Betty Ross subconsciously pulled the blanket over herself, wrapping herself up.
"Yesterday... was an accident. We both had too much to drink."
"Go out first, I need to get dressed."
"Alright."
Eros regretfully withdrew his gaze, got up, and casually put on his clothes.
He was nothing like Betty Ross—his main feature was being generous and well-endowed!
Gulp~
Hearing the faint sound of her swallowing saliva, Erosleaned close to Betty Ross's face. "Like what you see?"
Betty Ross felt a wave of male hormones washing over her.
Sex is a primal human instinct; at this moment, in Betty Ross's eyes, Eros transformed from a person into a symbol—a symbol of love and lust.
Betty Ross couldn't help nodding, but then vigorously shook her head.
Although her ex-boyfriend, Bruce Banner, had been missing for over four years, she still loved him.
But even though she still loved Bruce Banner, she also loved handsome men—especially masculine, bright, tall, and muscular ones.
'Bruce, I'm sorry, I've fallen.'
Seeing Betty Ross's eyes gradually grow hazy as her hands wrapped around his neck, Eros knew that the older sister in front of him needed help.
...
"Ahem, it's getting late. If you go to work now, you'll definitely be late. Do you want me to ask for leave from Sharon Carter for you?" Eros asked afterward.
"I'll do it myself," Betty Ross shook her head and refused. If she let Eros request leave for her, wouldn't everyone find out about their relationship?
"How about I drive you home?"
"Okay." This time, Betty Ross didn't refuse.
The car drove out of the ranch and stopped in front of Betty Ross's apartment building more than half an hour later.
Betty Ross got out of the car and limped toward the elevator.
Seeing this, Eros asked with a smile, "Betty, do you want me to help you up?"
"No need."
By now, Betty Ross's rationality had regained the upper hand; she had thought a lot while in the car.
Someone like Eros was clearly a playboy. Although he was great in bed, he didn't fit her criteria for a partner.
She preferred honest, talented men.
"What happened this morning was an accident too. Just pretend nothing happened. When we meet in the future, we'll act just as we normally do."
"Okay, I understand what you mean. I won't let anyone else find out about our relationship."
"Thank you."
Betty Ross nodded in thanks. Just then, the elevator arrived, and she turned around, swaying her plump hips as she walked into the elevator step by step.
There were few people in the apartment building at this time, so the elevator quickly reached Betty Ross's floor.
Taking out her keys to open the door, Betty Ross relaxed once she was home. She walked straight to the bedroom and lay down on the bed.
As a total novice who was matched against a top-tier grandmaster right on her first battlefield, after two rounds of fierce combat she was utterly exhausted and only wanted to fall asleep right now.
However...
Looking around the bedroom from her bed, Betty Rossrealized something was wrong.
A thief had entered her bedroom last night!
Betty Ross's mind went blank for a moment.
She didn't dare to imagine what would have happened if she had gone home last night.
But the urgent priority right now was to figure out if the thief had left.
Trembling, Betty Ross took out her phone and called Eros, telling him to come back quickly.
Then she shut the bedroom door and squatted at the doorway with her back against the door.
This position allowed her to advance or retreat as needed.
If the thief hadn't left yet and was outside the bedroom, she could buy time using the bedroom door.
If the person was inside the bedroom, she could quickly run out.
As for what to do if there were multiple intruders?
Time was too tight, so Betty Ross hadn't considered that.
...
Downstairs, Eros had just left Betty Ross's building when his phone rang.
He picked it up and saw it was from Betty Ross.
"What's wrong? Missing me already right after we parted?" Eros teased after answering.
On the other end of the line, Betty Ross ignored his teasing and lowered her voice to say, "Come to my place quickly, I think a thief broke into my apartment."
Eros slammed on the brakes, and the next instant, he vanished from inside the car.
In the blink of an eye, Eros arrived outside Betty Ross's door. Just standing at the doorway without going in, he already knew it was a false alarm.
He smelled mint.
This was the perfume scent Felicia frequently used.
Confirming that Betty Ross was safe, Eros relaxed and comforted her, "Don't be scared, I'll be right there."
"Be careful, I don't know if the thief has left yet," Betty Ross instructed softly, leaning against the bedroom door.
He waited a while longer.
Eros went back, drove his car downstairs, and then came back upstairs: "I'm at your door."
Soon, the door opened, and Betty Ross threw herself into his arms.
Feeling the soft, warm beauty sobbing and trembling in his arms, Eros felt no ripples of lust in his heart; instead, he had a slight headache.
Sigh, what trouble did that young lady cause to frighten someone like this?
But there was no choice—he could only help her cover this up.
At most, he'd sacrifice himself to help her atone for her sin by comforting Betty Ross.
After softly comforting Betty Ross for a while until her emotions stabilized, Eros suggested, "This place isn't safe, let me take you to my place first."
"Mm," Betty Ross softly agreed.
Eros guided her down in the elevator.
It was only when they got into Eros's car that Betty Rossleft his embrace, though a lingering trace of fear remained in her eyes.
Eros comforted her, "Don't worry, you're safe now. My place has 24/7 security patrols by retired special forces soldiers or Agents."
In fact, the neighborhood Betty Ross lived in was an upscale one, and its security was quite good.
Ordinary street dudes, homeless people, or thieves couldn't get in at all.
However, standard security for ordinary people was hardly any different from having none at all against an enhanced human like Black Cat Felicia, who could scale walls and traverse rooftops as if walking on flat ground.
The vehicle drove smoothly on the road.
Already exhausted and then frightened, Betty Ross was drained both physically and mentally.
Before long, she fell asleep in the passenger seat.
Eros drove even more smoothly.
But every road has an end.
By the time Eros arrived at his Villa complex in Long Island, Betty Ross was still asleep, sleeping even more deeply.
Having no choice, he carried her inside and placed her on the bed.
Then, worried that she might feel anxious waking up in an unfamiliar environment, Eros could only offer his companionship service again.
All of this was just to help that young lady atone for her sins.
Chapter 69: Knowing It Was an Accident, Do You Still Want to Come?
Betty Ross felt like she had fallen into the warm embrace of the Sun. She had slept deeply and peacefully.
It was just that her chest felt a bit stuffy, as if something was pressing down on it.
Gradually, Betty Ross woke up, her mind clearing.
Only then did she realize that it wasn't something pressing on her chest—she was lying on top of Eros, her chest pressed against his.
"You're awake?"
A familiar greeting sounded, except the time had shifted from early morning to evening.
Betty Ross hummed in response as she sat up. "Thank you for this morning. I was just so tired that I didn't expect to fall asleep in the car."
"Where are we?"
"My place, Betty. You can stay here for now; the security here is top-notch."
"Well, okay then." Betty Ross hesitated before nodding in agreement.
She had been terrified and didn't dare return to her previous apartment alone.
"You must be hungry. I'll have someone bring food over."
"Okay."
Betty Ross rubbed her belly. She had gotten quite a bit of exercise today, and while she hadn't noticed before Erosmentioned it, she now felt ravenous.
After letting Betty Ross order a few dishes herself, the meal arrived shortly after.
As they ate, Betty Ross remarked, "Is this made by your personal chef? It tastes amazing, not inferior to a star-rated restaurant at all."
"Eat more if you like it. You've been through a lot these past couple of days."
Eros smiled. Naturally, it tasted good.
He maintained a culinary team at his Villa estate, capable of catering to almost any cuisine in the World.
This culinary team didn't just serve him, but also catered to his girlfriends who moved in here, serving multiple purposes at once.
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After dinner, Betty Ross washed up in the bathroom, changed into her nightgown, and walked out onto the balcony alone, staring blankly at the moonlit night over Long Island.
Having calmed down, she finally had time to remember her original objective.
To inquire about the missing member of her organization.
To be honest, Betty Ross felt somewhat guilty towards that missing member.
She believed it was because she had verified and handed the files over to that person, leading them to expose Vought International and subsequently fall victim to corporate retaliation.
However, she had never intended to get herself dragged into it, either.
Yet looking back now, if she hadn't accidentally entangled herself in this, she might have suffered an even more terrifying fate.
Although she didn't love Eros, making love with him was a pleasant experience after all—at least far more pleasant than confronting home invaders.
Little did Betty Ross know that if she hadn't flirted with Eros right in front of Felicia, Felicia wouldn't have paid a late-night visit to her home in the first place.
Back to the matter at hand—since she was already involved, she needed to uncover the truth all the more.
Whether that missing member was alive or dead.
While Betty Ross was gazing at the moonlight, Eros was watching her.
She wore a beige strap nightdress. The thin fabric clung to her body like a second skin, and as her hands rested on the railing, her full hips curved into a luscious arc.
This posture made Eros want to tear off her clothes three times before proceeding.
"The moon is beautiful tonight," Eros said, stepping behind Betty Ross.
Unfortunately, Betty Ross didn't catch the deeper meaning in Eros's words.
In Western cultural contexts, the moon was often associated with foreboding, so she merely echoed casually.
"Yeah, it is."
Eros embraced her from behind, whispering in her ear, "But you put the moon to shame."
"You are so beautiful today. I really want to pick you up."
The older woman's hip-to-waist ratio was practically perfect; if she rode him, it would undoubtedly be a captivating sight.
"Pick me up for what?" Betty Ross asked shyly.
She could naturally understand such a relatively direct expression.
Eros nodded and answered, "Exactly!"
Betty Ross froze for a moment before suddenly realizing the double meaning. Pictures flashed in her mind, and her pretty face instantly flushed red. Biting her red lips, she spat, "Go to hell!"
"To die beneath a peony flower is to die happy."
Seeing Eros make his move, she struggled slightly to carve out a bit of space, turning to face him.
"I have a very important question to ask you," she said seriously, holding Eros's cheeks.
"What question?" Seeing her serious tone, Erosstraightened up too.
Betty Ross took a few deep breaths. "The member of Rising Tide... what did you do to her?"
Eros was taken aback before realizing she meant Skye. "I didn't do anything to her. She left two months ago."
"Really?" Betty Ross was skeptical. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
*Smack!*
Eros slapped her plump buttocks. "I, Eros, have always been open and aboveboard in everything I do. When have I ever lied to you?"
Suddenly struck, Betty Ross let out a soft gasp before explaining, "But she went missing over a month ago. No one can reach her."
'Skye went missing?'
Eros frowned.
After Skye left, she had never contacted him again.
He had assumed this was her way of wanting to end a relationship that had started by accident.
Regarding this, Eros saw no reason to try and hold her back.
If Skye was willing, he could leave a Villa for her at the Long Island estate; if not, so be it.
After all, they had only been together for a few days... a dozen days or so. Even Eros wouldn't believe it if someone said they had deep feelings for each other.
As long as she didn't cuckold him while they were together, everyone had their own aspirations about staying or leaving, and he wouldn't force anyone.
But looking at it now, that didn't seem to be the case.
"I probably know why she lost contact, but it wasn't my doing."
'I wonder if Skye ran into trouble on her way to the Himalayas to find her family, or if she was placed under house arrest after finding her mother.'
Gazing at Eros's somewhat worried expression, Betty Rosssuddenly had a flash of insight. "Don't tell me... you had something going on with that missing member?"
Although members of Rising Tide didn't use real names when communicating, their conversations inevitably revealed their gender and approximate age.
However, true beauties in this World were rare after all, so Betty Ross hadn't thought in that direction initially.
However...
Feeling his hands misbehaving on her body from time to time, she couldn't help but harbor suspicions in that direction.
"Don't overthink it. You are my girlfriend now."
"When did I become your girlfriend?" Betty Ross kicked Eros lightly. "Before was just an accident."
Eros's reaction confirmed her suspicion.
In that case, the missing member's disappearance had nothing to do with Vought International, and thus nothing to do with her.
At this thought, Betty Ross felt relieved all over.
"Knowing it's an accident, do you still want to come?"
Betty Ross was a classic beauty, her skin as porcelain White as a doll's. Even the patch of skin behind her ear, revealed when the night breeze parted her hair, shone brighter than the moon.
Eros felt that describing her as someone who could eclipse the moon and outshine the flowers was perfectly fitting.
It was just that mentioning flowers reminded Eros of an ancient poem: "Dazzling flowers gradually enchant the eyes; short grass barely buries the horse's hooves."
Chapter 70: You Have Arrived; I Have Been Waiting for You for a Long Time
While Betty Ross was drenched in delicate sweat, Skye, the Rising Tide member she cared about, was not faring much better.
A gathering place for the Inhumans.
Afterlife.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Skye watched the group running ahead of her as her pace gradually slowed down. She was only slightly behind, anyway; she would finish the entire run in the end regardless.
As a teenage hacker girl, Skye really had no interest in physical exercise.
However, in the two months since arriving in Afterlife, physical training had become her daily routine.
The residents of Afterlife consisted of two types of people: awakened Inhumans and unawakened Inhumans.
Those who had awakened trained on how to control their powers.
Those who had not yet awakened underwent physical training to compete for a spot to awaken.
Skye did not actually yearn for special abilities, but every time she slacked off during training, Jiaying would look at her with a disappointed gaze.
At the thought of her mother's disappointed eyes, Skyegritted her teeth and picked up her pace again to catch up with the group.
Two months ago, after reuniting with her mother, Jiaying, Skye had indeed enjoyed a warm, comforting stretch of family life that she had longed for.
However, good times did not last long.
Afterlife's location was exposed, necessitating a relocation. As the leader of Afterlife, her mother, Jiaying, grew busy and had little time to spend with her.
After finishing her day's training, Skye dragged her heavy body back to her living quarters.
Just as Skye had expected, her mother, Jiaying, had not finished her work for the day; she was busy.
After washing up, Skye prepared dinner for herself, then went back to her room, picked up a book, and began to read.
It wasn't that she didn't want to use her phone; Afterlifeenforced strict communication controls, and only the leader, Jiaying, and her assistant Gordon, who possessed teleportation powers, were allowed to communicate freely with the outside world.
Skye was quickly immersed in her reading, though her face flushed a slight shade of red.
Looking closely at the book in her hands, the title was "Fifty Shades of Grey".
The book was about a domineering CEO and a Cinderella story, and Skye found herself deeply engrossed in it.
Without her realizing how much time had passed, there was a knock at her door.
Knock, knock, knock!
Skye snapped out of her immersive reading. She patted her face first to cool herself down before getting up to open the door.
"Mom, you're back..."
Skye's eyes fell upon the middle-aged man standing beside Jiaying.
The middle-aged man was dressed with evident care, wearing a suit and leather shoes.
Yet the moment he saw Skye, he became flustered, looking like a helpless father.
"Who is he?" Skye asked, looking at her mother, Jiaying.
Jiaying smiled slightly and did not answer Skye's question directly, merely saying, "I think you two must have a lot to talk about."
Skye looked at the middle-aged man, tilting her head in confusion.
The man adjusted his collar and forced a smile. "I'm Karl. I'm your father."
...
From her father, Karl, Skye felt once again the warmth Jiaying had shown her during the first few days they met.
No, Karl was more reserved, but he was also more sincere.
Skye had been lying to herself, believing Jiaying was just too busy to come home so late every day; until her father appeared, Skye could no longer deceive herself.
Eros had warned her long ago that her mother did not love her.
...
"Boss, we have gathered news about Miss Skye."
"Speak."
"Miss Skye arrived at County XX on the southern side of the Himalayas on July 3rd. On July 12th, she organized a team to enter the Himalayas. On July 28th, the team emerged from the Himalayas, but Miss Skye... was not among them."
"Rumor has it that Miss Skye got separated from the main group during a heavy fog."
Crack!
Eros crushed the walkie-talkie in his hand, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.
He had assumed at most Skye found Jiaying and was taken to Afterlife, forbidden from communicating with the outside world, never expecting...
Although his feelings for Skye were not particularly deep, he still didn't want anything bad to happen to her.
Eros let out a long breath, pulled out a spare walkie-talkie, and contacted the investigator from before.
"Gather the roster of everyone in that team. I will go over and interrogate them personally."
Skye got lost in a fog?
The probability of such an event was too low. Eros did not believe in coincidences; he was more inclined to believe it was human intervention.
Murder for money—such things were all too common in isolated environments like the open sea or deep mountains.
Once the flight path was approved, Eros's private jet took off, flying directly to the southern region of the Himalayas.
However, after tracking down the people involved and questioning them one by one, Eros was surprised to find that while their statements had minor discrepancies, they were roughly consistent.
A dense fog had suddenly rolled in while the team was retreating. They chose to stop where they were and had Skye and the interpreter stay in the middle.
However, the fog gradually thickened until one couldn't even see their own hand stretched out.
When the fog cleared, they discovered that Skye had mysteriously vanished.
Afterward, they split up and searched the surrounding area several times, but found no trace of Skye.
Eros monitored them with super hearing and confirmed that no one was lying.
Furthermore, the team's composition was complex, consisting of local guides, interpreters, an international security firm, and an Eastern country security firm.
With such a complex team structure, reaching a tacit agreement to murder someone while getting everyone else to help cover it up would be extremely difficult.
The only possibility was that someone harbored ill intent during the fog and acted secretly behind the others' backs.
Yet Eros had screened them all, and no one was lying.
Eros rubbed his temples.
Was it really just bad luck on Skye's part, combined with her own carelessness, wandering off on her own while everyone else stayed put, getting lost deep in the mountains?
Instructing his subordinates to offer compensation to those involved, Eros decided to personally head to the site of Skye's disappearance to search.
If she was alive, he needed to see her in person; if dead, he needed her body.
Though chances were her remains had long been wiped out.
The Himalayas, the location where Skye vanished.
Floating high in the sky, Eros looked down at the dense forest below, feeling a headache coming on.
As expected, coming here himself was also a futile effort.
Over a month had passed. Even if Skye had been alive when she got lost, by now she might have ended up in some animal's belly, returning to the earth as fertilizer.
That woman hadn't even thought to bring a satellite phone. If she had called him as soon as she got lost, he would still have had time to rescue her.
Muttering a complaint, Eros was about to leave when out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a row of ancient, quaint buildings.
!!!
There had clearly been nothing there moments before!
Something was wrong; there was clearly something suspicious!
For such a supernatural phenomenon to appear where Skye had disappeared meant her vanishing might not have been an accident after all.
Without hesitating any longer, Eros flew toward those ancient buildings immediately.
Getting closer and taking a careful look, Eros recognized what this place was.
Kamar-Taj!
Landing outside Kamar-Taj, he found someone already waiting for him.
"Greetings, guest from afar. I am Mage Wong. Please follow me; Sorcerer Ancient One is waiting for you."
"Hello, Mage Wong. I am Eros, Eros Pierce." Eros nodded and followed Wong into Kamar-Taj.
Wong stumbled slightly in his steps. He hadn't expected the other party to actually understand the Chinese wordplay: "It's Mage Wong (wang), not Mage King (King)."
Mage Wong meant a sorcerer whose name was Wong, not the King of Mages.
Just like Pirate Wang Luffy: he was a pirate named Wang Luffy, not Luffy, the King of the Pirates.
Passing through the corridor, Eros finally met the Master of Kamar-Taj.
"You have arrived; I have been waiting for you for a long time."