41 Mysterious Invitation
"..." Looking at the warship in front of him, Duke was speechless.
He had originally expected the tickets Samir bought to be for an ocean liner, a merchant ship, or something similar, but he hadn't expected him to manage to get tickets for a warship directly.
Well, right, in this era, you didn't need any kind of identification to buy tickets.
Never mind the current year of 1919; even 90 years from now, you wouldn't need an ID card to take a train.
However, if you wanted to board a warship, you still needed documentation.
Fortunately, all three of them had officer IDs, even if they were bought with money.
Of course, the sailors on the warship didn't dare to ask, because it was currently the default assumption that when on special missions abroad, this kind of 'miscellaneous' identity cover was required.
Don't look down on these IDs for not being official; who knows, the person might actually be a Colonel or something.
So that was the reason why Steve was able to get them processed with money.
"Boss, there really aren't any ships heading to Hong Kong Island recently." Samir wiped away some sweat.
"This one is just temporarily heading over there for a change of garrison."
Duke waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
Samir was still very useful; at the very least, he was a know-it-all when it came to running errands.
Otherwise, if you asked him to buy tickets himself, he wouldn't even know where to go or how to buy them.
After all, it was the world of a hundred years ago.
After boarding the ship, he discovered that the passengers on the warship weren't all sailors; there were also quite a few wealthy people, merchants, socialites, and the like.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
Hong Kong Island was still considered 'peaceful' right now, and the only things they had to deal with were pirates.
Moreover, Britain had always been the country that knew how to enjoy itself the most; when their army went on an expedition, they even had drummers and musicians following them.
Beating gongs and drums!
Naturally, this kind of ship could take on 'jobs' escorting wealthy people, which counted as a bit of extra income.
After staying in his room for about an hour, the warship 'woo~' set sail.
Duke, however, was thinking about one thing: "hms tamar, why does it sound so familiar?"
"What is it?" Diana walked over and asked curiously.
"It's nothing, just that the name is very familiar," Duke said casually.
Going to Hong Kong Island... Hmm?
He suddenly remembered the origin of this hms tamar; no wonder it looked so familiar before boarding the ship.
In 1897, Victoria Harbour was stationed with a warship named 'hms tamar'.
This ship was the British vessel stationed in Hong Kong Island, and it remained there until December 18, 1941.
Later, fearing that the Japanese army would seize the ship when they captured Hong Kong Island, they scuttled it in the waters near Wan Chai.
I have to say, the British are truly cowardly.
Don't be afraid, just roll up your sleeves and get to work.
On November 21, 1946, after the war, the British Hong Kong government named several areas after the 'hms tamar', which later became Tamar Street in Admiralty, the Tamar Government Headquarters, and Tamar Park.
Don't ask why Duke remembers this so clearly; he once had to write a paper, and he specifically searched for "Hong Kong Island a Century Ago", and this ship was mentioned in it.
Come to think of it, this was the first time Duke had taken such an ocean-going liner; he had only ever ridden in fishing boats, and had even fallen out of one once.
Although the ships of the 20s were still quite luxurious, they still felt a bit like they were from a different generation.
The British really know how to enjoy themselves; they even made a warship feel like a 'luxury cruise ship'. Sigh!
Samir walked over quickly: "Boss, a wealthy man has sent you an invitation, inviting you to a cocktail party on the deck."
"Inviting me? Who?" Duke took a look; it was just an admission ticket without a name written on it.
He was immediately confused, as no one here knew him.
So he asked Diana, who was to the side, "There's a wealthy person's cocktail party on the deck, want to go?"
"Wealthy people? I don't have any party attire!" Dianashook her head, indicating she didn't want to go.
"My wife is the most beautiful; what kind of party attire do you need? You look good in anything," Duke said with a smile, while adding a sentence in his heart: You look even better when you aren't wearing anything.
Come to think of it, Diana's buns weren't as small as the fans mocked; they still had quite a bit of substance.
Although they didn't reach the level of the comics, Dukehad tested them, and they were probably close to a C-cup.
Although he loved the surging feeling that he couldn't control, this kind that he could control was also quite nice.
"Alright then." Diana nodded, "Doutzen Kroes, do you want to go?"
"Me...? I won't go, you guys go ahead. Remember to bring me back some dinner." Doutzen Kroes didn't even lift her head, continuing to write and draw on the paper.
Diana felt puzzled; she had wanted to see what Doutzen Kroes was up to several times, but she had always hidden it away.
Later, she didn't really pay much attention to it anymore.
"What on earth are you and Doutzen Kroes up to?" After leaving, Diana still couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing.
Last time I accompanied her for training, didn't she meet the standard?
According to the bet, I have to give her a small gift, but the prerequisite is that she has to first crack the 'magicprogram' I gave her," Duke said.
"magic program?"
"Yeah, just consider it basic magic theory.
If she can't understand it, even if I give her a small gift, she won't be able to use it," Duke said with a shrug and a smile.
In reality, Doutzen Kroes hadn't met the standard; her meeting the standard was entirely based on being clever, so, well, he could be a little clever too.
Diana shook her head with a wry smile; Doutzen Kroeswould have plenty to study then.
On Themyscira, they were all warriors and didn't know anything about magic at all.
Samir, who was nearby, looked envious; any item that required a 'magic program' as a foundation must be a good thing.
Like his ring, it didn't require anything at all, so the level was quite different.
However, he was confident that his future achievements would not be inferior to Doutzen Kroes.
"By the way, how are those partners of yours doing?" Duketurned to look at Samir.
"They still refused, but I had long expected this result.
The Chief,..., he doesn't like Americans.
As for Charlie, he doesn't want to go anywhere; he has long been accustomed to life in London," Samir shrugged.
He didn't like Americans either; arrogant, rude, full of hooliganism and a rogue feeling.
Of course, he only said this because neither of those two was American; once they arrived in the United States, he would surely change his tune immediately.
He was the type of person who could survive anywhere, saying what people wanted to hear when meeting people, and what demons wanted to hear when meeting demons.
"Oh, I see." Duke nodded; he was just making conversation.
The Chief and Charlie had already faded out of his life circle.
The value of both of them was almost zero!
"It's just a pity, Boss, that we couldn't keep Logan and Victor; I believe they could definitely have become the Boss's right-hand men in the future," Samir shrugged regretfully.
"We will meet again." Duke smiled mysteriously.
After killing Ares and returning to London, he had once invited Logan, but the two brothers refused.
He wasn't angry about it, because he himself didn't know how he should live his life next.
Even if he had invited them, what could he have done?
It was just a little regrettable, that's all.
042. Mr. Stark
hms tamar was a warship, so naturally, it didn't have an open-air deck like a cruise ship.
It was essentially a shuttle-shaped lump of white iron, though there were retractable shutters at the bow that allowed one to see the surroundings, but not the sky.
Let's call it a semi-open deck.
The deck was filled with tables, chairs, drinks, and food; reveling men and women could be seen everywhere. Socialites were dancing to their hearts' content; this was their arena.
At the front of the deck stood a group of cool-looking bodyguards in black. Seeing Duke and his companions approaching, they immediately reached out to block the way. Samir handed over the entrance ticket, and the man in black glanced at it before clearing the path.
"Who is this? Such a grand display," Diana asked curiously.
She could clearly feel the impressive 'fleshly power' on these ten burly men in black. Back on Themyscira, Doutzen Kroes could have taken them all down by herself, but out here, each of these ten men was capable of taking on ten opponents at once.
The tycoon hosting this party must be quite influential.
After entering, Duke found a corner and sat down. He didn't know how to dance, so he had no intention of entering the dance floor. Besides, he was also very curious about who had invited him.
Diana didn't want to dance either; she didn't have a gown.
Samir accompanied them on the side.
In the center of the dance floor, a man in his forties wearing a suspender suit was dancing passionately. His steps were wild, reminiscent of street dance from later generations, but in this era, he was undoubtedly a 'madman'.
The free-spirited, self-assured kind.
Walking his own path and letting others talk!
When the song ended, the middle-aged man gave a greeting and left the dance floor, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Just then, a bodyguard walked up to him and pointed toward Duke's location.
The middle-aged man glanced over and slowly walked over.
"Hello, Robert Stark," the middle-aged man said with a smile.
For some reason, this slightly... cynical smile reminded Duke of someone from the future.
Could it be?
( ￣ — ￣ )
"Duke," he reached out to shake his hand. "This is my wife, Diana."
Being called 'wife' was fine; Diana had read quite a few books these days and understood a bit about Eastern thinking.
"I really envy you for having such a beautiful wife." Robert Stark reached out to shake Diana's hand, then immediately pulled away.
This casual gesture instantly earned Duke's favor.
You have to understand that in this day and age, where aristocratic spirit hadn't yet faded, most people in such settings would perform a 'hand-kissing ceremony'. Moreover, from his wild dancing on the floor earlier, it was clear that Robert Stark was a cynical person who lived as he pleased and didn't care at all about the opinions of others.
He should have kissed Diana's hand at this moment, but he didn't.
It was obvious the other party noticed he was Eastern, so he didn't perform the 'hand-kissing ceremony', and the handshake was over in an instant.
Although this was just a small detail, it showcased Robert Stark's keen intuition.
"Please, sit."
"Please!"
After they sat down, Duke voiced his inner confusion: "Mr. Stark, if I may ask, why...?"
"Why invite a stranger?" Robert Stark smiled and poured two glasses of Martell. "Actually, it's nothing, just pure curiosity. I was very curious how, among a group of white-skinned British people, a yellow-skinned Easterner could appear, and one who was... from the 3rd Brigade, 6th Division, 35th Army of the border..."
Before he could finish, Duke interrupted him.
That was indeed Duke's cover identity at the moment.
"Mr. Stark, are you investigating me?" Duke smiled slightly; he didn't mind.
"Just a little curiosity." Robert Stark shrugged and smiled. "It doesn't matter if you don't say!"
This was truly a free-spirited person.
Duke didn't speak but pointed at the bodyguards in black around the deck, asking: "I am curious about Mr. Stark's identity. You are... American, right?"
He couldn't tell before, but now, he could hear the difference between British and American English.
Robert Stark nodded. "New Yorker. During the war... Britain... a government project participant... consultant."
"Since you are so sincere, I shouldn't hide it either. Me? The person who defeated Ares and ended the war." Dukesmiled and took a sip of Martell. Damn, he really wasn't used to this taste.
"Haha—" Robert Stark laughed. "Your Eastern palate must not be accustomed to this sour taste."
"I prefer sweet. By the way, you aren't questioning whether I'm lying? Or is it... disdain..." Duke was curious; after hearing the name Ares, this guy didn't show even a hint of disdain, or... sarcasm, or sneering.
"There is a saying—[The end of myth is science, and the destination of science is myth]." Robert Stark took a delightful sip of Martell wine; he seemed to enjoy the slightly sour taste in his mouth. "I have never doubted this statement."
Who said that?
Rumor has it... maybe that old geezer Einstein?
But there doesn't seem to be evidence that he said it.
Even if there was, has he said it yet?
Duke didn't bother to investigate who said it, but gave a thumbs up: "You will find the 'truth'!"
"Tell me, is Ares eight feet tall?"
"That would truly be a myth." Duke was speechless.
"Does he have three eyes?"
"Where did the three eyes rumor come from?"
"It is said... Zeus likes to be with his daughters... you know? I heard 'Zeus' had a relationship with his second sister 'Demeter' and gave birth to 'Persephone'! Then he had a relationship with his daughter 'Persephone' and gave birth to 'Zagreus' and 'Melinoe'. Is this true?"
"How would I know? This should be mythology, right?"
Duke smiled bitterly. Robert Stark's desire to investigate was too intense, right? He quietly squeezed Wonder Woman's hand; after all, she already knew she was Zeus's daughter. Duke was very worried she would slash Robert Stark with her sword. After all, they were both 'daughters', and this statement also had implications regarding her.
As expected, Diana's expression darkened.
He quickly patted her hand to soothe her.
But Robert Stark seemed not to notice and kept questioning, and as two hours passed, it was gradually getting dark.
"Chatting with you is very pleasant, Mr. Duke."
"Likewise."
"Then, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Robert Stark politely nodded at Diana and turned to leave.
Just then, Duke suddenly asked: "Mr. Stark, do you have a son named Howard Stark?"
043. Your son will become an amazing person
I really didn't expect that guy to actually be Howard Stark's father.
Howard has a weakness, which is severe alcoholism. This was already hinted at in "Captain America" and became even more apparent in "Agent Carter."
Now it seems that guy inherited it from his old man; Robert Stark can really drink.
He just finished a bottle of Martell and half a bottle of rum.
Interesting!
Interesting!
Duke really isn't sure exactly how old Howard Stark was when he died.
However, he was killed in a car accident on December 16, 1991, by the Winter Soldier, Bucky, who was under the control of Hydra.
Judging from "Captain America," back in 1943, he was roughly in the 30 to 40 age range.
And Howard Stark did indeed work with his father from a very young age. When he was young, he was involved in various government projects during both "World War I" and "World War II."
It is currently 1919.
Preliminary estimates suggest Howard Stark should be in his early teens now.
Furthermore, Duke also received some news.
———— "New York"
Because he had already met DC's Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, and had also seen Marvel's "Wolverine" Logan and "Sabretooth" Victor, the issue of [New York] was quite serious.
One must know that in DC, New York is Gotham City.
(PS: Don't consider New Jersey; go by this monk's settings.)
Batman's earliest base of operations was New York, later changed to the fictional Gotham City.
One of the creators stated that using a fictional city name allows readers from any city to identify with it.
In reality, the main body of Gotham City is styled after Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with later additions of styles from London's West End, Hong Kong Island, and other cities.
And the nickname for New York is actually "Gotham City."
He had once been curious whether this place was Gotham City or New York.
However, as it stands now, "Gotham" probably doesn't exist; it has been replaced by New York.
It's just that he doesn't know if Batman is still around...
He should be, right?
"How do you know about Howard Stark?" Diana asked curiously, finding that Duke had too many secrets. "Don't lie to me, I can sense it."
"Want to know?" Duke smirked.
"What are you trying to do?" Diana was slightly stunned, then immediately smiled playfully.
"Beat me, and I'll tell you."
"Tch—"
...
Half an hour later, Duke lay on the floor playing dead: "Whew... I can't do it, I can't do it. It seems I need to exercise some restraint; if I keep going like this, I'm going to suffer from kidney yin deficiency."
After a while, he rubbed his lower back and sat up with a wry smile.
He had overdone it; he had been too wild these past few days, resulting in... ahem, losing face for a man.
Diana smiled playfully: "Want to go again?"
"No! No! No! Isn't it just an 'answer'? Is it worth taking my life over?" Duke rubbed his waist and ushered Diana in for a shower.
Don't get the wrong idea; even if he wanted to right now, he couldn't. They were just washing off the sweat. "In the field of mysticism, one can, to some extent... glimpse a person's future."
"Just like that?" Diana asked while washing her hair, sounding unconvinced.
"Of course. You'll know later; that Howard Stark will grow up to be a very remarkable figure."
One of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., how could he not be awesome?
"Oh!"
Meanwhile, in a luxury suite on the other side, Robert Starkwas frowning, full of worry. That sentence from Dukemade him very anxious.
———— "Your son will become an amazing person."
Although this was a compliment, how did Duke know he had a son named Howard? It was strange. Given Duke's age of 20, his appearance in Britain was already bizarre. Being an officer made it even stranger. Although it might have been bought with money, he... he always felt something was off.
"Boss, that person... do you need me to investigate him?" Robert Stark's head of security asked in a low voice.
As the head of security, he was always by Robert's side, so naturally, he heard their conversation.
He always felt that the boss had been swindled again.
"Adams, what do you think of him?"
"A con man!" Adams said mercilessly.
"Heh, a con man?" Robert Stark took a slightly irritated sip of brandy and pursed his lips. "No! You are wrong, Adams."
"Huh? Where am I wrong?" Adams was very confused.
"Would a con man have such a beautiful wife?"
"Perhaps... she is also a con artist?"
"Heh, if Miss Diana were also a con artist, then undoubtedly, the quality of these con artists... is too high. I have never seen such an elegant, noble, and mysterious smile. Her temperament is nobler than that of Britain's oldest aristocrats. This isn't something a con artist can just learn to fake." Saying this, Robert Stark took another sip of brandy.
She's a member of the god race; how could her temperament not be noble?
"This..."
Adams recalled; indeed, upon closer thought, that woman was truly extraordinary.
"And that attendant named 'Samir', at a glance, you can tell he is a shrewd person, good at flattering. Yet he is exceptionally respectful toward Duke; it is definitely not a normal master-servant relationship."
"Analyzing from these points, that Duke is by no means an ordinary person, which is why I invited them to the cocktail party."
It must be said that Robert Stark's judgment was quite sharp. From the moment Duke boarded the ship until he disappeared from his sight, a distance of no more than thirty meters, he was actually able to discern so much.
Extraordinary, truly extraordinary!
"Boss is brilliant!" Saying this, Adams became confused again. "But boss, do you believe those myths he told?"
"Heh, fifty-fifty, I suppose." Robert Stark smiled and shook his head, downing the brandy in his glass. "Since it has survived, it must have some value."
He was not the Führer, so obsessed with myths and relics.
He just uses myths to explain science...
"Then he... knowing about the boss's son, could he be an enemy?" Adams was suspicious again.
"That is also what I am worried about, but... I don't recall having any enemies here?" Robert Stark frowned; he really couldn't think of any.
His mission was to be invited to participate in a research project for the British government. Honestly, he hadn't offered any pertinent suggestions, so logically, he shouldn't have offended anyone here. Even if there were enemies, they would be from the United States, and if they wanted to find someone to kill his son, they wouldn't come all this way to hire someone, would they?
"Tomorrow... I'll go test him again."
"It seems that's the only option."
Unfortunately, starting from the next day, Duke refused to see him anymore. It wasn't until half a month later, when the hms tamar arrived at Hong Kong Island, that he finally saw Duke again.
044. A Century of Contrast
Half a month later, the hms tamar finally arrived at Hong Kong Island.
Robert Stark walked up with a smile: "Mr. Duke, it is truly difficult to get a chance to see you!"
"Oh? Is there something you need, Mr. Stark?"
"No, it is just that we had such a pleasant conversation last time, and I felt a bit of regret not seeing you these past few days," Robert Stark said with a smile.
Duke smiled. It was hardly a pleasant conversation or a sense of regret; it was clearly panic.
"Is that so? Rest assured, we will meet again. After staying on Hong Kong Island for a while, I will be heading to the United States." He smiled.
This sentence once again made Robert Stark feel puzzled.
"Well then, goodbye, Mr. Stark." Waving goodbye, Dukeled Diana and the other two off the ship.
That's right.
Since he had run into the Stark Family, how could he let such an opportunity slip by?
It was not because he wanted to cling to some powerful figure!
He was thinking of something amusing. If he became close friends with Robert Stark, wouldn't he become of the same generation as Howard Stark's uncle? Hmm, that would mean... the same generation as Tony Stark's grandfather.
Just imagining the future Battle of New York, where Tonywould have to call him grandfather, was incredibly satisfying.
An old geezer calling a 20-year-old youth 'grandfather', wahahahaha—
That image was hilarious.
He laughed happily in his heart, while Robert Stark, who had disembarked, was feeling miserable. This person was too mysterious, so mysterious that he couldn't get a read on him.
"Send a telegram to General Wilson in Britain and ask him to help investigate the detailed background of this Duke."
"Understood, Boss."
The hms tamar was not going to the United States; it was only changing guard at Hong Kong Island. Robert Starkneeded to transfer to the Victoria here to get to New York.
It would take another 10 days or so, which was super exhausting.
"Boss, this is the key card for the Repulse Bay Hotel." Samir had finished the procedures and walked over quickly.
"Hmm, let's rest for a bit first."
All the money spent during this time was Samir's, but Duke didn't feel there was anything wrong with that; anyway, he, Diana, and Doutzen Kroes had no money.
However, he couldn't keep spending his apprentice's money. Once he reached the United States, he would need to find a way to make money.
After taking a bath and washing away the fatigue from his body, Duke began to look at this city, which was both familiar and strange, feeling quite emotional. In his past life... no, in the future, he had only been to Hong Kong Island once, so he didn't know this city well.
But that didn't stop him from getting familiar with the city through those scenes that frequently appeared in movies and television.
At least it looked familiar.
Hong Kong Island 100 years ago, it was completely... unrecognizable.
There wasn't a shred of familiarity.
Although this was his motherland, and it even had the same atmosphere and feeling as his past life, it was, after all, the world 100 years ago... He felt no sense of intimacy or familiarity.
He would go out and sweep through this strange city from 100 years ago, and while he was at it, see if there were any good candidates for magic apprentices.
"This place... should be Central, right?"
On the Central waterfront of Hong Kong Island in 1919, the old HSBC Building, Queen's Building, St. George's Building, King's Building, and so on... all came into view one by one.
The piers in front were Queen's Pier, Star Ferry Pier, and Blake Pier, respectively. And the Central of the future had already become the political and commercial center of Hong Kong Island; it was completely different from his memories.
"This street... it's very familiar?" As he walked, he arrived at a street that seemed very familiar.
He didn't know its name, but it was an old street that had appeared in countless Hong Kong Island films. Especially in the old movies of the 70s and 80s, one could still find glimpses of it.
— — Pottinger Street in Central!
"This typhoon shelter has always been a safe haven for Hong Kong Island fishermen." Duke smiled. This, at least, felt a little familiar.
Countless modern Hong Kong Island films also featured this typhoon shelter; of course, its appearance then was very different from what it looked like now.
Before the British occupation, Hong Kong Island was actually not just a small fishing village, although most people did indeed make a living by fishing. Strictly speaking, it should have been a distribution port for transshipping spices from Nanyue.
As they walked, Diana suddenly pointed at a man in the distance and said: "Is that... a braid? Do all you Chinese people wear braids?"
"Huh?"
Following the Wonder Woman's gesture, Duke was a bit stunned; he saw a braid!
It really gave him a vague, surreal feeling.
When did Hong Kong Island start cutting off braids? Dukedidn't know that.
He only remembered that in "Project A", there were still quite a few pirates with braided hair; that should have been a story from the early 20th century, and now it was also the early 20th century.
It was not strange that some people hadn't cut off their braids!
"What did you say —"
The man who was pointed at had originally intended to curse, but when he turned around and realized it was a foreigner speaking, he immediately lowered his head, bowed, apologized with a smile, and scurried away.
During this period, foreigners were first-class citizens; the locals dared not provoke them.
The two were speaking Chinese, so he could understand.
"Why did he run away?"
"Never mind him, let's go." Duke grabbed Diana's hand and walked towards the hotel.
He was a bit annoyed!
The people of this country in this period still hadn't straightened their backs yet. That young man just now had a magic aptitude of D; after walking all this way and seeing thousands of people, he was the only one he had seen.
But naturally, he wouldn't waste a'seed' on this person, not because he had cursed at Diana, but because this person's character was too poor.
His backbone wasn't straight!
His temperament was also terrible.
Once he obtained powerful strength, he would probably lose control of himself instantly; doing evil would be the least of it!
Furthermore, his D-grade aptitude was indeed not very good. To impart a magic seed, it had to be at least C-grade. C-grade was barely passing, B-grade was best, and A-grade was a no-go.
Although Duke wasn't worried about the inheritor getting out of control, but... A-grade had too much ambition; they probably wouldn't be satisfied, wanting more and thinking more.
After wandering around Hong Kong Island for two days, Duke realized he was wrong; he shouldn't have placed his hopes here.
Britain had just occupied Hong Kong Island, and these past 20 years were precisely the time when they were exploiting the locals; the backbones of countless countrymen had been broken, and they simply couldn't stand straight.
Moreover, they had no hope for the future. Just living one day at a time.
To inherit magic, he had to go to the mainland, especially to that group of people who were striving and struggling.
But... At this time, Stone City was still gripped in the hands of the Zhili warlords.
Although it wouldn't be difficult for Duke to go over, he wasn't obsessed with going to Stone City.
magic aptitude was one aspect, character was another, and whether one dared to sacrifice oneself for a risk was yet another. They had to be someone willing to die for the common people; otherwise, if he imparted the inheritance, the other party wouldn't follow through.
After another week passed, since he hadn't found a good candidate on Hong Kong Island to pass on the magicinheritance to, he regretfully headed to the United States.
045. Drawing Cards Again: 'Medivh' (Part 1)
(PS: My stomach hurts today; I ate something bad and really couldn't manage to write a 3,000-word chapter. My sincerest apologies...)
Duke was traveling on the 'Queen Anne', with an estimated voyage time of ten days!
Why not sail directly across the Atlantic Ocean, from London to New York?
Because he had to go to Hong Kong Island!
Besides, there were no ocean liners sailing from London to New York at this time; otherwise, Robert Stark wouldn't have been on the same ship as Duke.
Robert Stark was traveling on the 'Victoria', which also required ten days, and both their destinations were Los Angeles. After that, they would have to take a train and travel for another week to return to New York. However, Robert Stark had a house in Los Angeles, so he didn't need to rush. Of course, Duke wasn't in a hurry either.
Traveling by ship was very boring.
After setting sail on the hms tamar, he didn't come out on the second day because he was seasick, and he didn't recover until the third day. Sigh, even a mage couldn't handle'seasickness'.
However, he wouldn't get seasick again, because his magical flow had already adapted to this change in bodily function.
On the second day after the 'Princess Anne' left port, Dukekicked Diana out of his room because he was going to draw cards again. Although Diana couldn't see the existence of the system, he... still didn't want Wonder Woman hanging around.
It was too distracting.
While wandering around Hong Kong Island, he noticed the Sanctum Sanctorum of future generations, but he didn't make contact with them. How should he put it? The current Sanctum Sanctorum was still somewhat different from how it looked in 'Doctor Strange'.
While wandering, he also noticed that someone was 'watching' him.
The other party didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it either.
As for whether it was the Ancient One, he didn't know.
In short, he didn't want to have any contact with the Ancient One right now. The consistent duty of Kamar-Tajwas to defend against external magical invasions and handle magical incidents around the world. The Ancient One didn't want her disciples to get involved in wars like World War I and become tools for various factions to fight for power.
In fact, in her eyes, the current war was nothing; compared to the duties they had to uphold, the current events... could only be said to be within the 'normal limits' of what was acceptable.
Once a magical accident occurred, they would intervene.
She didn't know that Ares was manipulating World War I, and even if she did, she wouldn't intervene.
How to put it, strictly speaking, that didn't count as magic; Ares's power was 'divine power'.
Although by now, the boundary between 'divine power' and 'magic' had become very blurred... she had sensed it when Ares and Diana erupted into their earth-shattering battle. However, there was no need to participate, because Ares was quickly wiped out.
In fact, as early as when they were in London, the Ancient One had already noticed Duke.
———— The night Duke defeated Logan and Victor.
Despite the limitations of the 'Spell Formula', how could it withstand the gaze of the Ancient One?
However, after confirming that Duke wasn't a bad person, she temporarily put aside the idea of appearing.
After she returned to Hong Kong Island, she unexpectedly sensed Duke's presence again, but she didn't come out to make contact.
Similarly, Duke had no intention of making contact with the people from Kamar-Taj.
Their magical heritage was completely different from his. Although those accepted by the Ancient One certainly had good magical aptitude, but... because of the nature of Kamar-Taj, there was no point in looking for disciples to pass on his knowledge. Furthermore, Duke didn't really want to compete with the Ancient One for magicapprentices.
Subconsciously, he was still somewhat wary of this powerful being.
He had to increase his strength!
So, after kicking Diana out, Duke started drawing cards, using the excuse that he wanted to perform 'magical meditation' and didn't want to be disturbed.
"System!"
The long-absent system popped up again: 'Host!'
"Continue drawing cards!"
'Host, considering you currently have 82,962 Talent Points, this system suggests that you upgrade the magic card draw.'
He had gained 326 points after killing the German Armysoldiers in Feld town, then spent 300 points in the shop to buy the 'Eye of Truth', and after buying a magic ring, he had 16 points left.
After killing Ares, he had received over 360,000 Talent Points, but after various deductions by the black-hearted system, the remaining points were 82,946.
Therefore, he now had 82,962 points.
"Up... upgrade? It can be upgraded?"
'Of course, the host has enough Talent Points now! The first card draw was just a prepared beginner's gift pack, and the draw tiers were random! Now you can specify any tier!'
When drawing cards on Themyscira, the ones shown were all characters from 'Fairy Tail', with character avatar cards ranging from D-Rank all the way to SS-Rank.
"In other words, I can directly specify an SS-Rank character talent card?"
'Yes, Host.'
Duke didn't nod immediately but was deep in thought.
It was very obvious that this kind of upgraded, specified card draw would definitely cost a lot, a lot of Talent Points. Judging by the system's tone, after drawing cards with these eighty thousand points, there probably wouldn't be much left.
But if it were random like the first time, damn, if he drew a D-Rank card, wouldn't that be a waste?
But if his luck was good, it wasn't impossible to draw...
Emmmm!
( ￣. ￣ )
Luck is an ethereal thing; drawing an S-Rank card the first time was just good luck, but it didn't mean he would be able to draw one every single time after that.
Gritting his teeth, Duke asked: "If I specify the SS-Rank tier, how many Talent Points does it require?"
'100,000!'
"Na—nani?" Duke's eyes practically popped out. Screw you, "System, you're kidding me, right? You must be kidding me, right? I only have a little over eighty thousand in total; where am I supposed to get one hundred thousand Talent Points?"
'Host, this system offers loans!'
"Holy crap, loans?" Duke was stunned once again.
This was going to wipe out all his Talent Points at once; not just wipe them out, but make him owe even more. Not only owe, but pay interest too!
Damn it!
That's too much of a rip-off!
Aside from saying "damn it," he didn't know what else to say!
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
...
"Then just... let's do it like the first time."
He wasn't in a rush to draw powerful magic talents right now; he had to save Talent Points wherever he could! After all, opportunities like taking advantage of the situation to kill Ares during World War I wouldn't come around often.
Owing nearly twenty thousand Talent Points all at once—this... the pressure to pay it back would be too great.
And there was interest too.
'Is the Host sure?'
"Hmm..." Just as he was about to agree, Duke suddenly sensed something not quite right. "Wait... wait a second, is there... is there going to be some kind of twist in this?"
'Host, the first time was your 'Beginner's Gift Pack', which was a reward. The chance of drawing an S-Rank card was 10%, and the chance of an SS-Rank card was 1%. If you draw cards like before from now on, the probabilities will be adjusted downwards. Your chance of drawing an SS-Rank card is 0.1%, and the chance of drawing an S-Rankcard is 1%.'
"Damn it, it went down ten times? Is it really that black-hearted?" Duke was very hurt.
This is just too unfair, isn't it?
Ten times, ten times!
This is ridiculous.
'Host, if you want to draw an SS-Rank card, you need to choose the 10,000-point-per-draw machine. Also, the probability remains unchanged at 0.1%.'
"What?" Duke was stunned again. 10,000 per draw, are you kidding me?
Lowering the probability was one thing, but setting the Talent Point cost for the draw so high—this... was just killing him. 10,000 versus a 0.1% probability, damn. No matter how you looked at it... it was a losing result. If he drew eight times, could he get an SS-Rank card? If he was lucky, getting an S-Rank card would be a blessing. If he was unlucky, he'd probably get... 8 D-Rank talent cards.
If that really happened, he might as well cry himself to death.
And there would be nowhere to cry.
Duke was wondering whether he should just buy them in the system shop and upgrade them with Talent Points later.
As a result, he took a look.
What... what the hell???
The points required for upgrading were even higher; upgrading from Hero to Legendary level required 10,000, and... different magic talents required different amounts of points. The most powerful ones actually required 100,000 Talent Points.
And that was just to upgrade to the Legendary level; if one were to upgrade from the Legendary level to the Demigod level, that would take 1,000,000 Talent Points.
Holy crap!
Where the hell is he supposed to earn that much? Should he just kill the Ancient One?
Duke scratched his head in frustration.
He calculated it; it probably wouldn't work. Even if he killed the Ancient One... he probably wouldn't be able to scrape together 1,000,000.
"Then... what about drawing an S-Rank card?" Duke asked again.
'If the Host only wants to draw an S-Rank card, it requires an 8,000-point-per-draw machine.'
"Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!" Duke was so angry he could jump out of his skin; he was on the verge of slamming the table and swearing!
The machine that could draw an SS-Rank card was 10,000 per draw, and the S-Rank machine, which was one tier lower, was 8,000—that's only a 2,000-point reduction, are you kidding me?
As for A-Rank talent cards, he didn't even consider them.
A-Rank or whatever, that was another tier lower.
Although as long as the rank was high enough, a single fireball could destroy a mountain, but... he always felt it would be much lower quality. Besides, since he had drawn an S-Rank card the first time, if he drew an A-Rank card next... wouldn't that be—regressing instead of progressing?
He just couldn't get over that mental hurdle.
"This is unfair! Unfair, I want to protest, this is unfair." This time, Duke pounded the table and started cursing.
In his heart, he was already leaning towards spending 100,000 Talent Points to take a gamble.
After all, it was a gamble; at 10,000 per draw, the chance of drawing an SS-Rank card was 0.1%, and eight draws would only be 0.8%.
Drawing an S-Rank card, at 8,000 per draw, would only be ten draws, a 10% probability!
Slap—a big slap in the face!
Is that how probability is calculated?
And the 100,000-point bet could guarantee a 100% chance of drawing an SS-Rank card. Although there might be some character cards among them that you wouldn't like, regardless of how you put it, those were still SS-Rank magic talents.
And it was 100%!
0.8% → 10% → 100%.
It seemed like this probability issue didn't need to be considered anymore, right?
Which one to choose was obvious!
'Alright! Given that it is indeed a bit harsh, this system can grant the host a little preferential treatment.'
"Wha... what kind of preferential treatment?" Dukeimmediately grinned.
'I can let the host see in advance which characters are in the SS-Rank cards!'
"Just this?" Duke's expression immediately collapsed.
I'm about to start cursing again; what the hell is the practical significance of this? It's nothing more than making him crave it!
'Otherwise?'
"This is still unfair, then I'm not drawing, I'll just keep saving them." Duke started acting unreasonable.
He instinctively felt that although the system had a cold, mechanical voice, it seemed that it could be bargained with, but this 'price' certainly wouldn't have much room for change.
'Alright, I can remove the interest for the host.'
046. Drawing Cards Again: 'Medivh' (Part 2)
Is it just erasing the interest? That still leaves a debt... Mmm, 17,038 Talent Points. That's a huge loss.
Duke thought to himself, is the system in urgent need of Talent Points? Let's test it!
"Just erasing the interest isn't enough. I can do the draw, but you have to wipe out those seventeen thousand plus points I owe."
'Host, please retract this boring idea. That is impossible!'
"Absolutely impossible?"
'Absolutely!'
"Then never mind, I won't draw. I'll just save them."
'...'
Little guy, don't think I can't handle you.
'Erasing the owed Talent Points is absolutely impossible, so please stop fantasizing, Host. However...'
I knew there would be a twist.
'This system can make an executive decision to grant the Host one weapon or piece of equipment from the character card drawn. Of course, this will also be random.'
Duke pondered. This was likely the system's absolute limit of tolerance; it would be hard to haggle any further.
However...
"I can accept a random weapon or piece of equipment, but... you can't just fob me off with some trinket, right? I need the character card's personal equipment."
'I can only guarantee that it will be a weapon or piece of equipment the character card has used before. As for what the Host gets, that depends on the Host's luck.'
It seemed this was the biggest concession.
Hmm?
"Fine, I'll take the bet!"
The magic items in the system shop ranged from 10 points to 1,000,000 points—the worst cost 10, while the best required 1,000,000. Weapons and equipment used by SS-rank characters—even if they were used during their time as magic apprentices, they would surely be extraordinary. If lucky, randomly getting a high-tier piece of equipment would be a huge profit.
In any case, it was worth a shot.
After all, this was extra earnings, a windfall.
As for how much this windfall was worth, well... that really depended on the heavens.
'Then let's begin...'
"Wait."
'What is it?'
"Didn't you say you'd let me see which SS cards are available first? System, you can't go back on your word. If you're so untrustworthy, how am I supposed to believe you?"
'...'
The system was very angry; it might have actually been irritated by Duke, so it stopped stalling and directly manifested a large red slot machine. On the slot machine's screen, there were only red SS cards.
Duke curled his lip. He had thought the SS-rank slot machine would be something high-end, but it turned out to just be a color change. The first one had also been red, but it wasn't as pure as this—it was completely red, with no other colors to be found.
When he saw the red SS cards on the screen, he jumped straight up from his bed.
Holy crap, this time he was really going to make a fortune.
"'Dragon Aspect''Spell-Weaver' 'Blue Dragon Aspect' Malygos!"
In "world of warcraft," although his end was tragic, and although he wasn't the origin of magic, as the 'Aspect of magic,' Malygos possessed the power to command magic.
In other words, he was an ancestor and a big shot in the magic world.
Besides him, the other Dragon Aspects also existed; it seemed they were all defined by the system as having 'magic traits.' For example, the Red Dragon Queen, who mastered the power of life, could be called 'Life magic.' The Bronze Dragon Aspect had 'Time Magic,' the Black DragonAspect had 'Earth magic,' and the 'Green Dragon Queen' had Dream magic.
You have to realize, in Marvel, there was already a 'Master of Dreams'—Nightmare.
"Natsu Dragneel (END Mode). END, huh?"
"Zeref (Pure Version). Pure Version? Does that mean... he won't just walk around and kill people anymore?" Dukewas suddenly excited.
You have to know that Zeref was one of the most powerful big bosses in "Fairy Tail," and the only one on the same level as him was the 'Black Dragon' Acnologia.
Suddenly, Duke became even more excited.
If he randomly got a piece of equipment and pulled out "The Book of Zeref," wouldn't that mean—he'd be set?
If Kyouka, Seilah, Tempester, Ezel, Jackal, Keith, Grim Reaper Bloodman, and the other demons from that book all appeared, wouldn't that be... insanely powerful?
Holy crap, all he could think was: Damn! Damn! Damn!
"As expected, Acnologia is here too."
"'Astral Traveler' 'Guardian of Tirisfal' 'Astral Mage' Medivh—this is also a big shot."
One of the most powerful mages in "world of warcraft," he inherited the vast majority of the 'Guardian's power' from his mother, the strongest Guardian. His Mage Tower, Karazhan, located south of the Redridge Mountains... in Deadwind Pass, contained a massive collection of magicbooks, enough to crush the magic sanctuary of the mage kingdom, Dalaran.
This was an incredibly powerful existence.
Medivh himself was an Arcane mage, but he also knew Frost, Fire, and other unclassified magic.
"The Book of Medivh" recorded all sorts of magic and secrets; if he randomly got this, it would be equivalent to learning a ton of magic backups instantly.
The artifact 'Atiesh' was also a weapon that mages like him dreamed of.
Then—
"Hmm? 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate???"
Duke's eyes widened. What the hell... Whitebeard is considered a mage too?
Oh, this probably refers to the 'Tremor-Tremor Fruit.'
At first glance, it didn't seem related to magic, but upon closer inspection, it made sense. Gildarts' [Super-Advanced Destruction magic] — Crash from "Fairy Tail" actually had some similarities to the 'Tremor-Tremor Fruit.'
And in Marvel, Quake (Skye), her ability was to create powerful shockwaves, similar to earthquake effects. Additionally, she could trigger massive earthquakes by generating vibrational energy.
Although her abilities were considered superpowers, but... nowadays, looking at the effects roughly, the difference between divine power, magic, and superpowers wasn't that obvious.
Besides these, there were also...
'Host!'
'Host—!'
"Ah, oh... got a bit too excited. Let's begin." Duke wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Come to think of it, even if he drew Natsu, he could randomly get Natsu's scarf; that magic scarf was also quite good.
The drawing method hadn't changed.
The palm print was still on the bottom right of the slot machine screen, flashing, so he pressed his hand onto it immediately. Then, the cursor began to move rapidly over the character cards.
"Zeref!"
"Zeref!"
"I want 'The Book of Zeref,' there are so many girls... No, *ahem*... so many demon subordinates."
However—
"..."
'Congratulations, Host, you have drawn one of the most powerful mages in Azeroth, 'Astral Traveler' Medivh.'
"..."
Why do I feel so sad?
Sigh, maybe it's because it didn't match expectations!
Although Medivh might be stronger than Zeref, at least he could travel through any astral realm!
047. The Chicken Leg Staff
At the very same moment Duke was feeling annoyed, countless amounts of magic knowledge flooded into his mind all at once.
"Ahhhhhh—"
A scream rang out.
That feeling, it was indescribably intense.
It was like turning on a faucet to let Water flow, instantly expanding a balloon until it was stretched to the point of bursting.
Duke wasn't burst, but under the control of the magic flow, his brain chose to enter a dormant state.
You have to understand, Medivh possessed the vast majority of the Guardian powers of his mother, the strongest Guardian, Aegwynn.
Aegwynn was a super badass who took down the demon king Sargeras back in the day. Setting that aside, Medivh's raw magic level was something the current Duke couldn't possibly withstand.
You should know that Medivh was known as the 'Astral Traveler', and his strength was definitely above that of a demigod. As a Guardian... he was even on par with the five Dragon Aspects.
As a top dog in the magic world, Medivh was absolutely not afraid of the Blue Dragon Aspect, Malygos.
In world of warcraft, that's how people referred to the top-tier experts—'Astral Mage' Medivh, 'Demigod Warlock' Gul'dan, 'Legendary Mage' Khadgar, 'Hero' Lothar...
The disparity in strength is evident.
How could the magic level of a demigod be something that Duke, who was still at 'Hero Level', could withstand?
Not to mention all those super powerful and numerous spells that Medivh knew.
Just the massive amount of magic books inside Karazhanwould be enough to keep Duke busy digesting for a while.
You have to know that when Medivh wasn't wandering around the astral plane, he was reading books in Karazhan.
He had basically read through all those massive amounts of magic books, and the number of books in his collection couldn't simply be described in the 'tens of thousands'.
Can you call tens of thousands a massive amount?
It was probably at least in the [hundreds of thousands] level...
Although most of them were low-level magic with little lethality, that still counts as magic +1.
How much magic do you think Medivh knew?
Duke crashed magnificently... ￣ ω ￣ =
While he crashed, the system was still dutifully carrying out its 'task'.
'Congratulations to the host, you have randomly drawn the 'Artifact' Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian!'
If Duke were awake right now, he would definitely be excited enough to jump up.
This was the Legendary 'Chicken Leg Staff', he hit the jackpot, he hit the jackpot, he hit a massive jackpot.
If this magic item were in the system store, it would cost at least 500,000 talent points.
On the other side of the bed where Duke had fainted, a brownish wooden staff slowly materialized.
The top of the wooden staff was a raven's head, uh... no, it was a standing raven with its wings folded.
Although the scientific name for that thing should be 'Raven', Duke always felt it looked like a turtledove because it was chubby.
Hanging under the raven's claws were three... unknown blue gems, and anyone familiar with magic would be able to feel the surging magic power within them.
This wasn't a 'Mana Sapphire', but 'Essence of the Blue Dragon'.
Further down there wasn't much else, just a bare brown wooden stick, followed by a 'Mithril staff end' engraved with runes.
But if you looked closely, you would find that the'staff body' was also covered in runes, just not very clearly.
It was different from the runes on the Mithril staff end; it was a different kind of script.
Although human magic was taught by the elves, and most magic weapons had elvish script engraved on them, this one did not.
Engraved on the Mithril staff end was 'Dragon Language'.
On the staff body was 'Titan Script'.
Compared to the long-lived elves, the even more ancient dragon race were the true ancestors of magic, and the magic of the dragons was taught by the Titans.
'The system is about to enter a dormant state.'
'The host may open the store on their own, but cannot perform any more draws.'
Although Duke was asleep, these words had already been recorded in his mind, and he would know them once he woke up.
Of course, if he were awake right now, he would definitely curse: "Damn you, system! What the hell is the point of opening the store, and why the hell are you drawing!"
He already owed the system so damn much, and now he was at -17,038 talent points!
What the hell is there to draw!
Not only could he not draw now, but he wouldn't be able to draw for a while in the future either. It would probably... take at least a few years, right?
"Duke!"
The earlier scream had startled Diana, who was guarding outside, and she kicked open the door and rushed in.
Seeing Duke lying face up on the bed, she immediately panicked.
"Duke... Duke... what's wrong, Duke, don't scare me, Duke—"
She shook him vigorously, but unfortunately, Dukeremained completely motionless.
Doutzen Kroes, who had still been writing and drawing on paper, was also alarmed and ran in right behind her: "What's wrong, what happened?"
"I don't know! Duke said he wanted to meditate and told me to go out, then... not long after, a scream came, and then..." Diana was in a panic.
"Hey, Duke—" Doutzen Kroes was more direct and went up, wanting to slap him a few times.
"What are you doing?" Diana glared.
"Ahem, nothing... nothing, I was just trying to wake him up." Doutzen Kroes muttered in a low voice: As expected, she's already siding with him.
Diana had no time to mess around with Doutzen Kroes and gently called out to Duke: "Duke, wake up, wake up."
"You call that slapping? You're giving him a massage, aren't you?" Doutzen Kroes rolled her eyes, feeling speechless inside.
This light tapping was basically massaging his face to improve circulation!
Just then, Samir also heard the noise and ran over: "What happened...?"
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Duke lying motionless, with his 'Mistress' nearby showing all sorts of worried expressions.
"Duke might have had an accident while meditating on magic." Doutzen Kroes shook her head, "We all have only a superficial understanding of magic, and we don't know what to do. Hey, you're his registered apprentice, has he taught you anything?"
"Not yet." Samir looked distressed. Why did the boss have an accident again? Practicing magic was so hard. Then, his eyes darted to the words on the wall nearby, "Hey—everyone look, a message was left on it... [I'm fine, wait for me to wake up naturally, it might take a few days]."
Seeing this sentence, Diana breathed a sigh of relief.
The text gradually disappeared.
This naturally wasn't left by Duke; it was left by the system before it went dormant.
"So that's how it is, he didn't even say a word, scared me to death." Doutzen Kroes patted her chest lightly, "Hey, what is this, what a strange wooden staff!"
She felt very curious and reached out to grab it.
"Don't touch it!"
Diana hurriedly warned her, but unfortunately, it was too late; Doutzen Kroes had grabbed the Chicken Leg Staff.
The next moment, magic power exploded, 'Boom—', and she spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.
"This... what... thing... cough, cough, no, I'm injured..."
Diana rolled her eyes and quickly took out some medicine from Paradise Island and fed it to Doutzen Kroes: "You, you're so reckless... you'll die sooner or later!"
She had sensed the surging power on the wooden staff the moment she walked in, but she hadn't gone to check it out because she was worried about Duke, never expecting...
048. The Disappearing Duke
Diana didn't bother with the "Chicken Leg Staff," even though she realized that Duke's coma was directly related to this thing.
Hmm?
It should probably be considered an indirect relationship.
The power of this wooden staff was quite formidable; it felt far more powerful than her "Guardian Silver Bracelets," "Lasso of Truth," or "Shield of Godly Power."
She became increasingly curious about Duke; being able to casually create such heaven-defying artifacts was not something an ordinary person could do. It was fortunate that they were currently on the vast ocean; if someone had discovered it, they would have already come to snatch it. No, this ship wasn't very safe anymore, either; she had to be careful, as she couldn't guarantee if anyone else had noticed the commotion just now.
In reality, Diana was being overly nervous; unless there was close-range contact, it was impossible to sense it.
Moreover, it required a certain level of strength; someone like Doutzen Kroes couldn't feel its danger.
"You two go out; I need to stay here."
Doutzen Kroes left while rubbing her chest; she needed to recuperate. Even with Paradise Island's medicine, it wouldn't heal in a single day. The magic explosion just now had shaken her so much... she felt like her bones were about to break!
"Oh." Samir also turned to leave. "I will have your meals delivered on time."
"Samir!"
"Hmm?"
"Keep an eye on the activity outside; what just happened might have been noticed by others," Diana warned.
"I understand. Don't worry, I will keep an eye on any movement outside."
After saying that, Samir left.
The sudden burst of magic just now had made even him, standing at the door, feel an intense pressure, as if his sternum was about to be crushed. If there really were such evildoers...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Doutzen Kroes had mostly recovered.
Samir had been keeping a close watch on everything outside, and for the time being, there was no sign that they were being targeted by anyone.
On the morning of the fourth day...
"Duke—!"
Diana let out a cry of surprise, waking the sleeping Doutzen Kroes and Samir.
"What's wrong... what's wrong?" Doutzen Kroes rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked in.
"Duke is gone," Diana said urgently.
The latter took one look, and her eyes widened instantly. Duke's shadow was indeed missing from the bed. She then shook her head indifferently: "Did he wake up?"
"Impossible, I've already searched the room; there's no one here," Diana shook her head.
"Then could he have gone out to eat?" Doutzen Kroesasked.
One had to know that this was already the fourth day; Duke hadn't eaten a single meal, and he couldn't even open his mouth. If it weren't for seeing his rosy complexion and his stomach not growling from hunger, Diana would have gone to find the ship's doctor to hook him up to a glucose drip long ago. After four days without food, he must be very hungry; maybe he went out to find something to eat.
"Uh..." Diana paused; that was also a possibility.
No, that wasn't right. Once Duke woke up, it would be impossible for her not to sense it.
Just then, Samir walked in: "What happened again?"
Both women shouted in unison: "Duke is gone!"
"Huh?" Samir was stunned, then scratched the back of his head and said confusedly, "What are you two talking about? Isn't the Boss lying right there?"
"?!"
Both women instinctively'swished' their heads around. The scene that appeared left them completely bewildered: Duke was indeed lying peacefully on the bed. This, how could this be? Maybe they had seen wrong... No, he was definitely not there before.
The two women looked at each other, their eyes full of: confusion, doubt, puzzlement, and surprise!
Looking at Duke again.
Diana instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
Earlier, Duke had indeed disappeared, not just turned invisible, so the quilt covering him had fallen down and stuck to the bed. But now, Duke had 'returned,' yet he wasn't lying on top of the quilt, but had crawled back underneath it, propping it up.
This...
Why did it feel so strange?
"No! No! Duke had indeed disappeared earlier," Diana said, waving her hand.
"I can testify, he really..." Doutzen Kroes also vouched for Diana, pointing at Duke. However, before she could finish speaking, Duke disappeared again.
This time, Samir also widened his eyes. Holy crap!
The three were surprised to find that the quilt had fallen down and stuck to the bed once more.
"This..."
"What is happening?"
Doutzen Kroes was completely baffled; seeing Dukedisappear with her own eyes, this was truly seeing a ghost. Likewise, this was the first time Diana had seen it with her own eyes.
Samir gulped. This...
"How long was he gone?" Doutzen Kroes suddenly remembered something.
"I don't know," Diana shook her head. "I noticed he was gone when I woke up, and then I searched around; it had been at least two minutes."
"Then should we... wait here for a while?" Doutzen Kroessaid softly.
"Yeah." Diana had no other choice but to wait; this was the first time she had encountered such a thing too.
"I'll go get breakfast for you all." Samir walked out quickly, scratching his head as he went. Could this be considered a mysterious disappearance case for the Boss?
According to reports he had seen before, some people traveled to the future and stayed for an hour. It was just a pity that the time he stayed was too short to learn anything, and he only remembered some things he saw. Of course, the veracity of this was unclear, and it wouldn't be confirmed until 1943, because that person said the future he traveled to was 1943.
After the three of them finished breakfast, they kept staring at the bed.
Their eyes were almost tired from staring when the scene 'flickered,' and Duke returned from his disappearance, appearing once again under the quilt, with only his head and shoulders poking out.
"This..." The three continued to be dumbfounded.
They still couldn't figure out what was happening to Duke, and they didn't dare to rashly tie him up.
However, in the following days, they got used to it. Dukefrequently disappeared and reappeared, disappeared and reappeared... then disappeared and reappeared again! The time he disappeared and the time he stayed were indefinite, ranging from a few minutes to several hours.
And not only that, sometimes the room would suddenly freeze over, sometimes it would abruptly catch fire, and other times there would be 'bang, bang' explosion sounds.
It even attracted the ship's police, and fortunately, Doutzen Kroes managed to fob them off.
Of course, they didn't know that Duke wasn't just simply disappearing; this was what was called "Astral Travel." The flow of magic was controlling his brain, rapidly learning Medivh's magic. This learning was synchronized while he was in a deep sleep; it could be understood as "sleepwalking." When he disappeared and entered the "Astral Realm," he was learning those large-scale destructive spells, or... in any case, those that couldn't be cast on the ship.
Once cast, the whole ship would explode!
Only some minor spells that posed little threat would be cast in the room, such as freezing a certain bed or burning a certain cup.
Sometimes, while "Astral Traveling," he would suddenly appear in someone else's home, making the male host think he was being cheated on!
Well, there were still many such things.
For example, a certain beautiful woman wanted to take a bath, but when she pushed open the door, she found a man lying next to her boyfriend and thought her boyfriend liked men.
Emmmm...
049. Eyes Radiating Purple Light
Duke woke up!
It was roughly the seventh day, with one more day of travel remaining until they reached Los Angeles.
The Hollywood of his dreams; he wondered if the goddess Hepburn was there.
Uh... Hepburn didn't seem to have been born yet!
Inside the restaurant, the diners were dumbfounded; could this yellow-skinned Oriental really eat that much?
Blah, blah, blah—
Super hungry, starving to death... Duke felt like he could eat a cow, no, an elephant.
The large round table was packed full, but the speed at which food was served couldn't keep up with the speed at which it was being devoured.
Pasta, burgers, pizza... it wasn't nearly enough to eat. In the end, Duke simply told them to bring out roasted lamb legs, roasted beef legs, roasted suckling pigs, and the like.
After a rough count at the end, Duke had consumed at least a hundred servings of food all by himself.
The most crucial part was that after eating it all, his stomach hadn't even bulged. Where did it all go?
Duke finally understood how Luffy felt.
The restaurant chefs collectively breathed a sigh of relief. If he kept eating like this, they probably wouldn't make it to Los Angeles.
Looking at the backup freezer, the chefs broke out in cold sweats; if they let him keep eating, they wouldn't be able to prepare tomorrow's meals!
Ocean liners usually calculate the necessary amount of food before departure, replenishing it during layovers, and most have a backup food storage hold.
However, Duke had almost eaten all the backup food!
"Hmm... finally full." Duke patted his stomach and let out a long breath.
"My wallet is about to go flat too!" Samir said with a wry smile; his boss had eaten nearly half of his money this time.
His assets in London weren't actually much; aside from some liquid capital, there was only that small Villa.
It was really hard to sell at this time; the war had just ended, the market was depressed, and the economy was in a slump.
People couldn't even afford to eat, let alone have the spare energy to buy houses?
Being in a rush to sell and move to the United States, the selling price would naturally be driven down!
"Don't worry, it will bulge up again soon." Duke smiled and comforted him.
Just then, a handsome blonde guy walked up with an arrogant smile on his face: "Buddy, if you went to participate in a 'Gluttony Contest,' you would definitely win first place."
"..." Duke frowned. What did this overly familiar person want?
"Buddy, are you here in the United States, preparing to conquer us?" The arrogant blonde man continued to chatter on.
Duke was a bit surprised. How did he know?
As a future Law God, was it that strange to conquer the United States?
However... he keenly understood!
This blonde man wasn't seeing through him, but was secretly calling him a 'yellow-skinned monkey.'
The Yellow Peril theory, it was that damn thing again.
During this period, Europe and America were extremely unfriendly towards yellow-skinned people, and the cause was that bastard emperor of Germany, 'Wilhelm II,' the very same German emperor who led World War I.
This guy painted a 'Yellow Peril' picture, pointing out that yellow-skinned people had the potential to overthrow the hegemony of white-skinned people, calling on all European nations to unite to defend their faith and homeland!
Bullshit!
Who was bullying whom, and who was invading whom?!
Suddenly remembering this frustrating matter, Duke felt some regret that he hadn't gone to Germany to slaughter that bullshit emperor.
If it weren't for him, 'Yellow Peril' wouldn't have appeared.
As for the United States side, they had signed the 'Chinese Exclusion Act' as early as 1882.
What was ridiculous was that just over a decade ago, the great railway artery spanning the east and west of the United States was completed 7 years early precisely because of the active participation of diligent and tenacious Chinese workers.
The reason this railway could be built early was largely due to those impoverished and despised Chinese workers.
About 14,000 Chinese workers participated, and their mortality rate was as high as over 10%.
The Americans squeezed them dry, then turned around and refused to acknowledge them. In just over ten years, they came up with a 'Chinese Exclusion Act.' Screw you!
Thinking of this, Duke was filled with anger.
If I don't squeeze the United States dry when I go there, I won't be surnamed 'Du'!
"This beautiful lady, I haven't asked for your name yet. Why bother being with such a vulgar yellow-skinned person? I..." The blonde man continued to chatter on.
Diana was very angry.
Doutzen Kroes wanted to draw her sword, but unfortunately, after reaching out, she realized the sword was left in the room.
"Get lost—" Duke's eyes flashed with purple light as he roared.
"Ah, this... I'll get lost right now."
The blonde man's heart skipped a beat, as if it had been tightly gripped by a pair of hands. He replied submissively and actually fell to the ground and rolled away.
Most of the people in the restaurant were white, and they had been happily watching the scene.
White people naturally considered themselves superior, but now... they were getting slapped in the face!
They wanted to stand up and rebuke him, but... the scene with the blonde man was too bizarre. It was better to hold off on acting until they figured things out.
Just some low-class, entry-level mental magic.
"Boring!" Duke wiped his mouth and stood up. "Let's go, wife."
This group of mortals; he couldn't be bothered to get angry at them.
This scene was like a mouse questioning if an elephant was taller than it. Tsk!
When they reached the restaurant entrance, Duke looked back and glared: "Alright, no need to roll anymore! Bring all your money to my room in a while!"
"Yes, yes." The blonde man nodded repeatedly and stood up.
Samir had a wry smile on his face. Was this the reason the boss said his wallet would soon bulge up?
This was too...
Doutzen Kroes clapped and laughed, saying this was good, this was good.
Only Diana frowned slightly. She felt this wasn't right, but she didn't make Duke lose face in public.
Back in the room, Duke smiled: "What's wrong? Do you think what I did was wrong?"
"He only said a few bad things about you, it wasn't necessary to..." Diana didn't deny her viewpoint.
"The problem isn't just a few words, it's..."
Duke briefly explained the matter of the 'Yellow Peril' picture and the 'Chinese Exclusion Act.'
These things did indeed exist, and Duke had known about them back in London.
Only then did Diana feel a bit relieved, saying angrily: "How could they do that?"
Not to mention anything else, when she was in Hong Kong Island, she saw with her own eyes how the British oppressed the locals.
And that 'Yellow Peril' picture; how could people be so shameless?
It was equivalent to a man sleeping with a prostitute and not paying. Not paying was one thing, but not only not paying, he also claimed the prostitute wasn't a virgin.
Could people be so shameless?
After squeezing out a person's value, they had to kick them hard on top of that?
"It's nothing more than profit!" Duke shook his head. "Forget it, let's not talk about these frustrating things."
He expected to face a fair amount of inhumane treatment in the United States!
"What's going on with your eyes?" Diana asked curiously.
After Duke woke up, she had noticed the problem; Duke's eyes were radiating a high concentration of pure purple light.
When he cast spells, this light would become even more intense.
Although he could suppress it, he couldn't suppress it completely; Duke's pupils seemed to be coated with a layer of eerie purple.
Although it looked better and was more handsome, it... was a bit hard to get used to.
"This is the power of 'Arcane'." Duke pointed to his eyes, which began to radiate purple light again.
When the light lit up, his pupils couldn't be seen clearly at all.
The center was white, and the edges were purple!
050. Wayne, Kane, Stark, Osborn
After arriving in Los Angeles, Duke was in no rush to continue his journey; anyway, there was nothing fun in New York at this time.
Looking at the barren "Hollywood," he felt quite emotional; it was a feeling of witnessing history in the making.
The large white "HOLLYWOOD" sign, which would become one of the symbols of Hollywood in later generations, was not yet to be seen. He estimated it would probably take a few more years before it was erected.
Hollywood at this time was nothing more than a town with a permanent population of a few tens of thousands.
Although he could see barn-like studios, the major studio system had only just begun to take shape, and the world-famous Walk of Fame of later generations was nowhere to be found.
"Are you very interested in this town?" Diana asked curiously.
"Uh... no, I just think this place is very vibrant." Duke smiled and laughed it off.
He didn't care about the city itself, but rather the glamorous, brilliant actresses who would emerge from here. Of course, Duke didn't remember many actresses from this era, just... Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor... only a limited few like these.
The first two seemed to have already been born, while the others were still a long way off; even the closest one, Monroe, was still a few years away.
There was nothing left to see here.
After wandering around for a while without finding a shred of familiarity, the group set off again for New York.
This time, they took the train.
This trip could be considered a journey across three-quarters of the Earth.
After a week, they finally arrived in New York, and the time had entered 1920.
"First, find a hotel to rest, and afterwards... Samir!" Dukeinstructed.
"Boss."
"Establish good relations with the local thugs here; I need intelligence, especially regarding the most powerful families here, and... the most evil place."
"Rest assured, Boss!"
Although he didn't understand what his boss wanted to do, Samir patted his chest and guaranteed it.
The temporary hotel didn't need to be luxurious. In fact, Duke had already thought of a 'residence' for his time in New York, but he wasn't sure yet, which was why he asked Samir to verify it.
"What are you going to do?" Diana was becoming increasingly curious.
"It's a secret. I'll tell you after Samir finds out."
"..."
Along the way, Duke had robbed quite a bit of money. Although those guys brought it on themselves, Diana still felt that doing so was wrong.
You have to understand that during the entire train ride, Duke had robbed many thugs.
How to put it? Diana was fine; although she was beautiful, her temperament was relatively reserved. Her noble aura made some people with ulterior motives feel inferior and afraid to approach. But Doutzen Kroes was completely the opposite; she was like a deadly, seductive fragrance. Whenever she left the soft sleeper, there would inevitably be a swarm of admirers following behind her, many of whom were evildoers.
For this type of person, Duke would rather kill the innocent than let a guilty one go.
Thanks to Doutzen Kroes, in this past week, he had robbed millions of dollars in treasure. He would go and exchange some of it for cash in a moment.
Also thanks to this wealth, Samir acted very quickly, and in less than three days, he had scouted out most of New York.
...
"Boss, I'm back." Samir pushed open the door and gulped down some water.
"Tell me about it."
"New York currently has four major families; they control almost everything. Today, the industries of the four major families are spread throughout the city, controlling every field in the entire city. Speaking of which, one of them has some connection to us: it's that 'Robert Stark' from the hms tamar," Samir said quickly.
"Oh?"
Duke was slightly stunned. Tony's grandfather?
What the hell!
"However, the Stark Family is not the earliest family in New York. This city was also originally founded by four major families: the Wayne Family..."
Samir's mouth was dry from talking, and Duke finally understood.
Gotham City in DC was originally founded by four major families. They were the Wayne Family where Batman's paternal line was, the Elliot Family where Hush was, the Kane Family where Batman's maternal line was, and the Cobblepot Family where the Penguin was.
The history of the four major families could be said to be as old as the city itself.
In the past, Duke was very confused about the place called 'Gotham.' This place had the urban style of New York's Manhattan, Chicago's architectural style, Washington, London, Hong Kong Island, etc. It could be said to be a fictional city that merged several metropolises together.
But now it seemed that in the world he had transmigrated into, 'Gotham' had disappeared, and it had been replaced by New York. The miscellaneous, merged urban styles within Gotham City were also gone; this place was the New York of the future Marvel universe.
It basically matched Duke's understanding of New York in his mind. Although it was New York from a hundred years ago, one could still tell from its foundation.
Even though he had never been abroad to visit New York.
However, what surprised Duke was that the Elliot Familywhere Hush was, and the Cobblepot Family where the Penguin was, had disappeared. This city was still founded by four major families, but in the rolling tides of history, the other two had already disappeared, leaving only these two.
They disappeared around the 1950s.
No one could explain the specific reason.
Some said the Wayne Family and the Kane Family joined forces and wiped out the other two families; some said it was a natural disaster; others said it was caused by some disease; and even more bizarre theories claimed they were kidnapped by aliens.
In short, there were countless versions.
The disappearance of those two families didn't matter to Duke, because he wasn't familiar with them at all. He didn't know much about the Wayne Family either; the only thing he knew was Batman. As for the Kane Family, he only knew it was Batman's maternal family, and that was it.
With those two families gone, the Stark Family and the Osborn Family were rising bravely. After 50 years of struggle and fighting, and squeezing out who knows how many other families, they had barely managed to fill this void.
The Stark Family was the future 'Iron Man' Tony, and the Osborn Family was the 'Green Goblins' (Big and Small).
However, the Green Goblin hadn't been born yet, and as for Iron Man Tony... *ahem*, his father Howard was still just a little kid in his early teens, but Howard had already revealed an extraordinary scientific genius mind.
Well, to be precise, it wasn't four major families, but two big and two small families.
The current Stark Family and Osborn Family were still far from being comparable to the Wayne and Kane families; they could only be considered as having the strength of a top-tier second-rate or bottom-tier first-rate family.
Duke gently stroked his chin and thought to himself: The changes are huge.
It really is Marvel plus DC.
You have to know that in Marvel, the Stark Family rose through the hands of Howard Stark; he single-handedly founded Stark Industries, and from then on stood at the top of New York. Not just New York, he ranked in the top five in the entire United States.
But now, his father, Robert Stark, had already started enjoying the playboy life of the family???
"What about the most evil place?"
"Hells Kitchen!"