Marvel Universe, desert.
How long is two years? Just look at Li Ming effortlessly cradling a black flame in his palm to know. Through the 'Darkhold' and God occasionally dropping by for a chat, he had successfully fused Hellfire and Fierce Fire. For this, Li Ming specifically named the spell 'Soulfire Spell,' signifying a flame spell that burns the soul.
Similarly, two years later, Li Ming's first reaction upon eating a plain steamed bun was to lean against a tree and complain bitterly.
This was the price he paid for power—eating plain buns at every meal.
Of course, the benefits of enduring those meals were substantial. For instance, Li Ming's first instinct upon returning from the 'Bruce Almighty' world wasn't to restore quantum energy or contact Pym's wife but to sit cross-legged on the sandy ground and begin advancing to the Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness realm.
There was no helping it—the magical properties of God-brand Wheat were too extraordinary. His mana purity had long met the requirements for advancement.
If not for Li Ming's cautious nature and his desire to make the next step toward demigodhood easier by repeatedly refining his mana purity, he would have already been a Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness mage long ago.
After most of the day, Li Ming, having completed his advancement, suddenly opened his bright, piercing eyes.
Nearby, Klee Che stared blankly at him, nervously twisting the hem of his clothes as he stammered, "Boss, your... your eyes..."
"My eyes?" Li Ming blinked in confusion before grinning in realization. "You mean they're shining with vigor? Heh, that's just my spiritual power surging beyond my ability to perfectly control. Don't worry, they'll return to normal in a few days."
With that, Li Ming waved his hand and opened a Portal. Returning to his lakeside home, Li Ming took out a large bag of God-brand Wheat seeds from his shoulder bag and handed them to Klee Che. As he walked toward the lakeside lounge chair, he said, "Keep half the seeds for our 'travels,' and plant the rest in the herb garden." Pausing, he turned to Klee Che and subtly pointed at the RV, whispering, "This is divine stuff—you take care of it personally."
Understanding Li Ming's concern that the Abominations might cause trouble, Klee Che patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, boss. Klee Che will take good care of the wheat."
Li Ming smiled and nodded, signaling his trust in Klee Che's promise. Leaving a request for "a beer," he turned and headed toward the lake.
On the lounge chair, Li Ming stared blankly at the lake, sipping his beer absentmindedly. I'm kinda bored… what should I do?
After a long while, itching for something to do, Li Ming suddenly called out, "Klee Che, bring me the phone!"
No sooner had he spoken than Klee Che, covered in mud, appeared instantly before Li Ming with a satellite phone. He respectfully handed it over before vanishing back to the RV to continue his personal wheat-planting mission.
But now that he had the phone, Li Ming scratched his head for a long time, unable to recall Fury's number.
Staring at the phone in his hand, Li Ming covered his face in frustration. What's the point of you if I don't know the number?
With no way to dial, Li Ming waved his hand and opened a Portal straight to Fury's office.
Seeing Fury in his black trench coat, black eyepatch, and shiny bald head resting on the couch, Li Ming silently maneuvered the Portal into the office. He then opened the office door while pressing a finger to his throat, activating the Sound Amplification spell, and shouted, "Oh no! Director Fury's kicked the bucket from overwork! Someone call the funeral home's finance department—quick, buy two strings of firecrackers to celebrate!"
The moment he finished shouting, Li Ming shut the Portal. Counting down silently in his head, he held the phone, waiting for Fury's call.
Before he even reached five, the phone rang as expected.
See? Getting someone to do something for me while making them call me first—how clever. I'm really starting to admire myself. Grinning, Li Ming deliberately held the phone away from his ear, pressed answer, and feigned ignorance with a leisurely tone. "Hello, this is—"
On the other end, Fury, gripping a pistol in one hand, roared with his bulging lone eye, "You bastard! Do you have any idea how deafening that was?!"
"Oh, it's you, you old egg," Li Ming replied, refusing to admit any wrongdoing and feigning confusion. "Your ears are deaf? No problem—my healing spell has improved a lot lately. One spell, and you'll be good as new."
Listening to Li Ming's stubborn denial, Fury sighed helplessly as he surveyed the shattered glass littering his office floor. In fact, not only did he understand, but every agent in the building who heard the noise knew—the one who cursed the director into the crematorium earlier was definitely this mage. Who else could waltz in and out of Fury's office so casually, and who else could shout loud enough to shatter a few windows?
But they had no proof.
Fury rubbed his throbbing forehead and asked weakly, "What do you want?" After a pause, he added, "There's still time before the handover."
"I've been a bit bored lately and want to personally build a full-wooden 'Galleon' warship," Li Ming said bluntly. "Get me the lumber and some muzzle-loading cannons."
Fury's face stiffened, and he snapped, "Does S.H.I.E.L.D. owe you something? Buy them yourself."
Just as Fury was about to hang up in irritation, Li Ming's voice drifted eerily through the receiver: "Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Alexander Pierce."
Fury's hand froze mid-air. He didn't understand why Li Ming suddenly brought up Alexander—was it because he knew Alexander was the one who ordered the nuclear strike, or was Li Ming hinting that Fury was secretly investigating him?
A few seconds later, after countless thoughts raced through his mind, Fury narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Figure it out yourself," Li Ming replied with a silent laugh. "I just want the lumber and cannons."
This is blackmail. Fury gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. I'll have Coulson deliver them later."
"Coulson? Aren't you giving him a long vacation? The guy literally died for S.H.I.E.L.D., and you're just exploiting him—" Before Li Ming could finish, Fury hung up, clearly unwilling to waste any more words on him.
Listening to the dial tone, Li Ming rolled his eyes and tossed the phone aside. Stroking his chin, he mused, "Sending Coulson with the lumber? Now that's interesting."
What kind of man was Fury? The type who'd suspect a vomiting man of being pregnant. And yet, he was sending the freshly resurrected Coulson to Li Ming.
Wasn't he afraid Coulson might be controlled and turned into a spy planted beside him?
Or had Fury deduced Li Ming's stance toward S.H.I.E.L.D.? Rubbing his aching head, Li Ming dismissed the speculation. Shaking his empty glass, he called out, "Klee Che, bring me a beer. And tidy up the cabin—I think we'll have a guest staying for a few days."
The next day, a truck slowly made its way to Li Ming's home.
The truck parked steadily beside the RV. Coulson, dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, hopped out of the driver's seat and knocked on the RV door. "Austin, you home?"
Li Ming, freshly awake and holding a beer with a fried dough stick in his mouth, stepped out of the RV. Glancing at the lumber on the truck, he smirked. "Efficient. Ordered yesterday, delivered today. Are you guys trying to put the courier industry out of business?"
Coulson raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Fury called in a lot of favors for this lumber."
Li Ming scoffed. "You think I'd believe that? As the saying goes, 'Uninvited kindness is either deceit or theft.' Showing up first thing in the morning with lumber—spit it out. What's Fury really sending you here for?
"Coulson gave a slightly awkward smile as he walked toward the truck, saying, "Fury thinks I just got resurrected and need a professional 'doctor' to take care of me. He hoped I could stay with you for a few days."
Seeing Coulson retrieve his suitcase from the truck, Li Ming rolled his eyes and pointed at the wooden cabin. "I already guessed you were here to lay low after faking your death. I had Klee Che clean up the cabin yesterday."
Holding his suitcase with both hands, Coulson smiled warmly. "Fury is arranging an airborne bus for me, so I won't be bothering you for long."
"Whatever," Li Ming said nonchalantly, waving his hand as he continued casting spells on the logs loaded on the trailer, neatly stacking them to one side. "Feel like doing some arts and crafts?"
Coulson, who was about to carry his luggage into the cabin, paused and turned to look at the logs. "Building a sailing warship with you?" After a moment's hesitation, he asked curiously, "Aren't you going to use spells to construct the ship?"
"No spells. I plan to build a sailing warship with my own hands," Li Ming said, pointing at the lake with a dreamy smile. "Once it's done, I'll shrink it and float it on the lake—get a taste of naval battles from the Age of Sail."
Coulson glanced speechlessly at the lake, then at the pile of logs that would become the sailing ship. In his mind, he pictured Li Ming wearing an eyepatch and a hook hand, steering the wooden vessel while using antique cannons to chase fish around the lake.
After a long pause, Coulson twitched his lips and said, "You really know how to have fun."
"What I'm doing is nothing. Back when God commanded Noah to build the ark—now that was fun. Steering that thing was a real thrill," Li Ming said, stuffing a fried dough stick into his mouth before slapping Coulson's shoulder with his greasy hand. "So? Want in? I'll make you first mate when it's done."
Coulson gave his greasy shoulder a helpless look and rolled his eyes. "I can help occasionally, but forget about being first mate. I don't have time to blow up fish in a lake with you—I still need to assemble my own team."
"Your loss," Li Ming shrugged, levitating his luggage with one hand while keeping the other on Coulson's shoulder, a wine glass in hand as they walked toward the cabin. Lowering his voice, he asked, "What's this team for, anyway? Got any members yet? I've been pretty bored lately—mind if I join your squad for a few days?"
Coulson thought for a moment.
Back when Fury had ordered Coulson to fake his death and assigned his post-"death" mission, Li Ming had been present.
Moreover, aside from two fresh graduates from S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, everyone else on Coulson's preliminary team roster already knew Li Ming.
Finally, Li Ming was, after all, a fairly capable mage—skilled in combat, healing, and even intelligence gathering.
Having someone like him temporarily join the team wouldn't be a bad idea.
With that in mind, Coulson said bluntly, "Recently, Fury discovered that an organization hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. and stole classified files to sell. My current mission is to track them down."
Li Ming blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Coulson to actually share this with him. "Wait, you're seriously letting me join your team for a bit?"
Coulson smiled warmly. "Why not? At the very least, I'll know your whereabouts firsthand."
Li Ming: Oh great, so you're keeping tabs on me too?