However, as much as Lintra wanted to complain, survival was the priority.
Looking at Lux's eyes, which still held a lingering desire as if she were calculating whether she could pull off a "forced buy or sell."
Lintra was terrified that this cattle dealer would sneak into the dormitory in the middle of the night, kidnap him, and tie him up.
"Ahem! That Little Ancestor... ah no... Junior Sister Lux!"
Lintra wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes darting quickly as he hurriedly changed the subject: "Even though I'm not... cough, I mean, although I'm not suitable to be a pet, I know where you can get a truly suitable, especially cute pet!"
"Oh?"
Lux's eyes, which had dimmed, suddenly lit up again: "Really? Where?"
"Really!"
Lintra lowered his voice mysteriously, his two giant bull ears twitching alertly.
"Shh—! Keep it down! You absolutely cannot let the Ancient One know about this... follow me."
One person and one bull slipped toward the back mountain like thieves.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Earth.
Washington, United States.
Inside a high-level ward at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the air was filled with a faint scent of disinfectant.
Makima leaned against the hospital bed, boredly stirring a bowl of oatmeal that had long since gone cold with a spoon.
Even without transferring her injuries to Fisk's subordinates, her wounds were actually mostly healed—after all, a demon's recovery speed was right there—but to avoid suspicion, she still dutifully played the role of a "severely injured patient."
At this moment, she had one arm in a heavy cast hanging in front of her chest, one eye covered by a black medical eyepatch, and her other light green contact lens reflected the falling snow outside the window.
This one-eyed look reminded her of three old acquaintances.
Coincidentally, one was a former subordinate, one was her current boss, and the other... was Quanxi.
Although she could feel the liveliness from Su Modie and the other avatars, lying alone in the hospital room at this moment did indeed make her seem a bit... lonely.
"It really is quiet."
The lonely Makima sighed softly, just about to push the bowl of unpleasant porridge away.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was knocked, then pushed open.
"Yo, although I know it's very impolite to interrupt a lady's meal at a time like this, I feel my presence should add quite a bit of brilliance to this pale room."
A familiar and magnetic voice rang out.
Makima looked up, and then her single eye widened slightly, stunned for a rare moment.
The person who entered was none other than Tony Stark.
Still that flashy little mustache.
But no longer in a high-end tailored suit; instead, he wore a red velvet Santa Claus outfit.
A crooked Santa hat sat on his head, and his face was even covered with a thick white fake beard, leaving only those large, helpless eyes visible.
So flashy...
And... quite unique.
Su Modie evaluated it as such.
"..."
Makima blinked and said nothing.
Tony felt a bit uncomfortable under that gaze; he reached out to adjust the hat and coughed awkwardly twice:
"Ahem, I know what you're thinking."
He spread his hands, pointing at the festive red outfit with a look of utter resignation: "This is Pepper... she insisted on dragging me to the Stark Foundation's Christmas Charity Gala."
"She said that to make those kids happy, I had to dress like this to give out gifts... Heaven knows what I just went through..."
As he spoke, he forced a wink at Makima: "But... it actually looks pretty good, doesn't it?"
"..."
Makima remained silent.
Seeing her still-skeptical gaze, Tony finally couldn't keep up the act anymore and quickly changed the subject to explain his purpose:
"Alright, back to business. I'm here to wish you a Merry Christmas and, as Santa... handsome... to give you a condolence gift."
He pulled two exquisite small boxes from his pocket and handed one to Makima.
"Thank you."
Makima politely took it and opened it with one hand.
Lying quietly in the box was neither jewelry nor some high-tech gadget, but a... card printed with Tony Stark's headshot and an autograph?
Makima held the card, looking a bit lost.
Su Modie was even more frantically complaining:
Big brother, just how narcissistic are you?
Giving an autographed photo of yourself as a gift?
If Makima had this kind of mysterious self-confidence, wouldn't she just Control whoever she caught?
"Don't look at me like that; this isn't just an ordinary autographed photo."
Tony seemed to see through her thoughts and pointed at the card with a proud look: "This is a pass with the highest level of clearance an ordinary person can have at Stark Industries—of course, it's a limited edition with my face as the cover. With it, you can visit Stark Tower whenever you want; this is an honor many people couldn't get if they begged."
Well, it seemed Su Modie had indeed misunderstood Tony... he wasn't giving an autographed photo as a gift, but a pass with his autographed photo on it.
Even though the Welcoming Committee was short-lived, it seemed Tony valued the experience quite a bit.
But then again... making your own photo into a pass is also quite ridiculous... "Then I'll accept it, Mr. Stark," Makima nodded with a smile of thanks.
At this moment, Tony was still holding the other box.
But he didn't hand it over immediately; instead, he scratched his cheek awkwardly, adjusted his tie again, and his gaze drifted uncertainly.
A thousand little movements... could hardly hide his unnaturalness.
"Um... this one is..."
He pretended to casually place the box on the table and pushed it toward Makima: "Cough, this is for that... Bomb Girl, Reze."
The air instantly froze.
Makima was stunned.
Su Modie was dazed.
Even Reze, who was far away in her New York home playing games with Perona, almost dropped her controller when she heard this.
Is this guy... suffering from Stockholm Syndrome?
Did he develop feelings after being blown up by Reze?
Seeing Makima's gaze as if she were looking at an alien, Tony leaned in a bit guiltily.
He looked left and right, and after ensuring there were no bugs, he lowered his voice mysteriously:
"Listen, two days ago I really couldn't resist my curiosity, so I... casually hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted intelligence database."
"It actually said... Reze was born from people's fear of Bombs; no wonder she calls herself the bomb demon."
Hearing this, Makima's single eye blinked, and a subtle expression appeared on her face.
Even Su Modie couldn't help but facepalm.
Makima gently set down her spoon and sighed softly: "Mr. Stark, allow me to remind you... although I am currently an injured person, I am still an Agent on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s payroll. Is it really appropriate for you to admit to hacking our intelligence database right in front of me?"
"Uh..."
Tony, who had originally wanted to show off his hacking skills, instantly froze upon hearing this.
"Cough! Right! Dammit, I forgot about that."
Makima blinked in confusion; so what exactly did this have to do with Tony wanting to give Reze a gift?
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