Li Ming led the two people back to his lakeside home. Licking his parched lips, he called out, "Kreacher, bring me three mugs of beer." After a pause, he turned to Natasha and asked, "Can you drink right now?"
Natasha shrugged, rolled her eyes, placed her hands on her hips, and proudly flaunted her figure as she laughed, "What, planning to get me drunk so you can act on those filthy thoughts of yours?"
Li Ming rolled his eyes. "What, scared? If you're scared, go home to your mom. Besides, what kind of girl stays overnight at a man's place?"
"A man?" Natasha looked Li Ming up and down with disdain. "But from what I know, it's been years since you've had a female companion. Are you sure you're still a man?"
The moment his manhood was questioned, Li Ming immediately rolled up his sleeves and retorted, "Oh, you want to know just how much of a man I am? Want to test it out later?"
Natasha gave him a scornful glance, her eyes saying it all without words: Try me if you dare, who's afraid of who?
On the side, Banner watched the two with speechless exasperation, shaking his head helplessly before quickly stepping forward to greet Kreacher with a warm smile. "Kreacher, sorry to trouble you again."
Holding a beer, Kreacher looked up at Banner standing before him. Facing this guest who had once helped Li Ming, Kreacher grinned cheerfully. "Ah, Mr. Banner! Kreacher welcomes Mr. Banner!"
As he spoke, Kreacher handed Banner a large mug of beer. After bowing slightly in apology, he carried the drinks over to Li Ming.
Natasha took the beer and crouched down curiously to meet Kreacher at eye level. "So you're the Genie—Kreacher?"
"What else? Did you think Kreacher was some mutated human child?" Li Ming took a sip of beer and said, "Kreacher, prepare some good food. Tonight I'm getting someone drunk, heh heh."
Kreacher glanced at Li Ming's lecherous grin. Compared to others, Kreacher understood Li Ming's character better—and knew exactly what he truly desired.
In Kreacher's eyes, women were probably the last thing Li Ming needed right now.
Guessing that his boss simply wanted to get this lady drunk to prevent her from boarding the RV, Kreacher shot Natasha a look of mild disgust before vanishing from her sight.
As an experienced spy, Natasha immediately noticed Kreacher's disdain, which puzzled her.
Unable to decipher Kreacher's thoughts, Natasha frowned and asked, "Austin, Kreacher doesn't seem to like me."
Li Ming understood Kreacher's behavior perfectly but had no intention of explaining it to Natasha. Casually, he replied, "Maybe he sees I'm interested in you and fears you'll steal his place in my heart. That's why he dislikes you."
With that, Li Ming ignored Natasha and beckoned Banner over to the lakeside lounge chairs to wait for Kreacher's food.
On the lounge chair, Banner gazed at the shimmering lake, his mood lifting considerably with Li Ming—who could subdue the Hulk—by his side.
After taking a small sip of beer, Banner spoke apologetically, "Austin, I'm sorry for leaving without a word back then."
Li Ming waved it off. "It's fine. I know you left because you were worried Ross would cause trouble for me." Pausing, he turned to Banner and added, "But you underestimated me. Ross doesn't have what it takes to deal with me."
Seeing Li Ming's complete disregard for Ross, Banner—who had spent months barely eating, barely clothed, and sleeping with one eye open—took a deep breath and said, "Maybe Ross can't touch you, but he can still make life difficult for you."When mentioning the 'little trouble,' Banner seemed to recall something. He glanced at Natasha, who was listening nearby, then turned to Li Ming and asked quietly, "I left before finishing the lessons. Did you run into any trouble?"
Li Ming couldn't help but chuckle a few times, rubbing his hands excitedly. "There was some trouble, but I managed to complete it in the end."
Banner's eyes widened as he swallowed hard in fear. "You succeeded?"
Damn, that was a nuclear reaction fireball.
Seeing Li Ming nod affirmatively, Banner felt that the trouble caused by the Hulk was nothing in comparison.
The Hulk had to swing his arms and struggle for half a day just to flatten half a street. But Li Ming? A single fireball could cause damage over ten times worse than the Hulk. How could the Hulk, who made a living as a professional demolisher, even compare? Especially considering Li Ming could zip around the globe with a Portal while casually tossing fireballs—his speed and efficiency left the Hulk in the dust.
Should the title of 'Demolition Team Leader' be handed over to Austin now?
Meanwhile, Natasha, who was still trying to gather some information, found herself completely lost in their conversation. Unable to hold back, she interjected, "Gentlemen, could you consider the female perspective here? Would someone kindly tell me what exactly was 'successful'?"
Banner glanced at Li Ming, unsure how to explain. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a licensed law enforcement agency—who knew what they might do to Li Ming? Li Ming himself, however, was unfazed. He also remembered how Hydra had caused him trouble before, so the battlefield in New York wasn't just about defending Earth—it was also his stage to showcase his strength and warn all factions: 'Don't mess with me.'
Maybe he'd even conjure a nuclear reaction fireball to intimidate everyone.
Shrugging, Li Ming looked at Natasha with a half-smile. "Back then, I asked Banner for advice on nuclear physics. Though there were a few hiccups along the way, I eventually learned to conjure nuclear reaction fireballs." Pausing, he added with a proud yet slightly bashful tone, "Though right now, the fireball is only equivalent to a tiny nuke. Once I put in more effort and manage to create one that can 'nuke the world flat,' you can admire me then."
"A nuke?" Natasha was visibly shaken, sitting bolt upright from her recliner, eyes wide in disbelief. "You can casually unleash nuclear weapons?"
Banner nodded bitterly. Honestly, he wasn't sure anymore if teaching Li Ming nuclear physics had been the right move. But what was done was done—what could he do? Besides, the world was vast, and he wasn't the only one who understood nuclear physics. If Li Ming was truly determined to learn how to conjure nukes, there were plenty of avenues.
If he didn't teach him, others would gladly offer their services to Li Ming—after all, the title of 'Sorcerer' carried weight.
Natasha rubbed her throbbing temples and stood up, pacing in circles. "Austin, this is illegal. No country allows private individuals to possess nuclear weapons."Li Ming curled his lips and turned to Banner, asking, "Do you know of any weapons convention that explicitly prohibits individuals from casually handcrafting nuclear bombs for fun?"
Banner rolled his eyes—was this even a human question? What country would be so bored as to legally ban people from handcrafting nukes, let alone doing it for fun? Only you could come up with something like this.
With a sigh, Banner shook his head helplessly and said, "There are laws against private ownership, but as for banning people from handcrafting nukes..." He spread his hands. "I've never heard of that."
As soon as Banner finished speaking, Li Ming grinned at Natasha and said, "You accused me of breaking the law. Care to tell me exactly which regulation or statute I violated?"
Natasha's expression stiffened. She truly couldn't answer that. If she claimed Li Ming possessed nuclear weapons, the problem was that even if they tore his house apart piece by piece, they wouldn't find a nuke—not even the materials for one.
But if she said he didn't have any, the bastard could just casually craft one on the spot to prove her wrong.
Feeling helpless, Natasha pulled out her phone from her pocket, walked toward the lakeside, and dialed a number. "Sir, did you know Austin can handcraft nuclear weapons?" She glanced at Li Ming and added, "In their mage terms, it's called casting a 'nuclear reaction fireball' spell."
On the other end of the line, Fury, who had just lain down on his office couch for a quick nap, sat up in stunned silence after hearing Natasha's report.
After a long pause, Fury, now wide awake from the shock, silently walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. For some reason, despite not being a smoker, he suddenly craved a cigarette to ease his worries.
When it came to the combination of Portals and nuclear reaction fireballs, Fury's thoughts went much further than Banner's.
Li Ming wouldn't even need to run around the world tossing fireballs. With a Portal, he could drop a nuclear reaction fireball anywhere he pleased. Hell, with just a photo, he could drop one hundreds of meters underground into a secret base—or even under someone's bed—without anyone noticing, since Portals didn't exactly announce their arrival with a fanfare.
Of all people, why did it have to be the cunning Austin who learned how to craft nuclear reaction fireballs? Was God asleep or something?
Rubbing his forehead, Fury sighed into the phone and said, "Natasha, keep a close eye on Austin. I'll send a plane to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning." He paused, then added, "Consider the previous mission scrapped."
With that, Fury set down the phone, walked silently to his desk, picked up a cigar, lit it with a match, and returned to the window, taking slow, absent-minded puffs.
Meanwhile, Natasha, having ended the call, returned to the lounge chair with an impassive expression. "Fury's sending someone to pick us up tomorrow morning. Don't drink too much and delay the trip."
With that, she closed her eyes, clearly signaling she was done talking and ready to sleep. As for the earlier...39 Thinking about the task of prying information from Li Ming over drinks, Natasha hadn't heard Fury say the mission was canceled. Who in their right mind would want to compete in drinking with someone who treats beer like water? Wouldn't it be better to go easy on one's stomach?
Li Ming scratched his head, not particularly bothered by Natasha's change of heart about the drinking contest. As long as she didn't probe into the magical world, he couldn't care less about what she thought.
"Looks like someone dodged a bullet," Banner, who had personally experienced Li Ming's drinking capacity, glanced at the feigning-sleep Natasha and said, "And also missed out on Kreacher's delicious food."
Li Ming raised his glass in a toast to Banner and said, "If someone gives up enjoying good food, you might as well enjoy a bit more."
"Makes sense," Banner replied, raising his glass in return before taking a sip.
Natasha thought: What delicacies haven't I tasted before? Besides, I'm still worried about Barton—how could I possibly be in the mood to enjoy food?
Ten minutes later, Natasha was skillfully using chopsticks to compete with Li Ming for the mouthwatering dishes in front of them, determined to stuff herself to death rather than let Li Ming have a single bite.