"To be honest, waiting like this is not a solution."
A group of women had been sneaking around, watching Artoria's room for several days. The first among them to lose patience was Raven. Although she was a Mutant, she wasn't a pervert; this behavior looked like something a stalker would do. Raven really couldn't stand this method, but she politely expressed to the women in front of her that this approach was very unreliable and had no effect at all, trying to hide her own shame and anger. After hearing Raven's words, Hope, the organizer of this operation, glanced at Raven, then looked at the eyes of Susan and the others. Their gazes kept wandering between Raven and Hope. But Hope felt they looked at her more often; it seemed she had indeed caused everyone's dissatisfaction.
"Then do you have any solution?"
After a moment of silence, Susan walked in front of Raven. To tell the truth, she also hated this way of operating. If they could gain something, it would be a worthwhile effort, but now, let alone gains, they had even broken some bottom lines. Susan was a bit helpless. Now, no one had a good idea. To see those two mysterious women and make contact with them, they could only squat in front of Artoria's door, because they really couldn't find any information about those two women.
"How about we just go and ask Artoria directly? I think she shouldn't keep it from us."
At this moment, Gwen suddenly said this, causing all the women present to fall silent collectively. Indeed, this method was not bad, but who wanted to be the first to 'eat the crab'? If they said such things, would it make Artoria resent them? Imagine in their minds, Artoria looking at them with disappointment and saying, 'You actually stalked me? We're done.' Thinking of this, the women's hearts felt as if they were torn apart.
"Whoever wants to say it, go ahead. Anyway, I won't go."
Maya awkwardly expressed everyone's thoughts. No one dared to go and ask Artoria about this personally. After all, this involved the issue of personal privacy. Once it caused Artoria's resentment, no one would have a chance to get close to Artoria in the future. This was a major life matter; every woman was very cautious and very concerned about the impact this would have on them. Gwen was too young and didn't fully understand this principle, which was why she asked such a question. But the best thing about Gwen was that she knew how to read the room. Since the seniors weren't doing it, if she did it, who knows what would happen? After Gwen pondered it herself, she decided to do nothing for the time being. Following behind the seniors was the most correct decision.
"But waiting like this is really not a solution."
Facing this stalemate, Helen Cho frowned and said something. She was also very ashamed and angry at such behavior, but having been around Maya, her skin had thickened a bit; otherwise, she wouldn't have followed Hope and the others in their nonsense, engaging in such seemingly absurd actions.
"Gaea, what are Artoria's friends doing at the door?"
Galacta, who was eating snacks in the room, stared curiously at the doorway. She knew exactly what this group of women was doing, including their conversations, but she couldn't understand it at all. If they wanted to come in, they should just come in! Hiding at the door for so long—it had been several days already. Galacta actually admired their perseverance and courage. If it were her, she would have just teleported inside long ago; why all these convoluted actions? But let them watch if they wanted; Galacta didn't care at all. Since they didn't have her abilities, if they came in, she would just teleport away for a little while. However, their actions made Galacta very curious: what exactly were they planning? Were they preparing a big'surprise' for Artoria?
"Leave them be."
Gaea, who had been called by Galacta, was studying a cookbook. This Taiwanese cookbook was truly baffling. Even she, the Earth, couldn't figure out what it meant. 'A little salt,' 'a little starch'—how much was actually needed to qualify for the word 'a little'? Gaea didn't understand. Even after watching cooking livestreams, she couldn't grasp how long'simmer for a while' actually was. So, Gaea was very confused right now. She didn't have time to manage other things; she needed to figure out exactly how much salt and starch to add, and how long'simmer for a while' really meant.
"Uh... (⊙o⊙)... Alright!"
Seeing Gaea studying Chinese cuisine, Galacta felt a chill run down her spine. Ever since she had witnessed that Loki-like cooking last time, Galacta felt that if she ate that stuff, she might just vanish from the world. Just kidding—she was a being immune to all poisons and had never been afraid of being poisoned. But after seeing Gaea's cooking, she had to admit that such things could truly take the life of a Planet Devourer like her; it was just too terrifying.
"Where did Artoria run off to?"
Since no one could stop Gaea's passion for learning to cook, Galacta wanted to drag someone down with her before she died, so she wouldn't be lonely on the road. But after scanning the room, she couldn't find Artoria. Facing the empty room, Galacta began to miss Artoria.
"Finally found you, Kaecilius."
Artoria, whom Galacta was 'yearning for,' was currently in the lab, her eyes fixed tightly on the video in front of her. Three guys had suddenly appeared from the empty space nearby; they were the traitors led by Kaecilius. They seemed to have had a fight with Steve. Artoria didn't know who had won or lost, but looking at how these three were walking, it seemed they had suffered significant injuries. Now that she knew their location, Artoria began investigating the surveillance of the entire district to determine their route.
"Is the target in Asia?"
Based on the video data and Saturday's analysis, their direction of travel was calculated to be toward Taiwanese. This made Artoria frown. These three guys were actually running in that direction; they were truly courting Death. Last time she went to save Tony, she took a bullet. Although it didn't hurt her, there was no doubt the other party was warning her. Such behavior made Artoria realize that Taiwanese in the Marvel universe was a very complicated existence. As one of the superpowers, how could Taiwanese not have its own super-powered individuals? She remembered there seemed to be a Captain Taiwanese and the existence of the Divine Spear Bureau. Artoria hadn't had the chance to verify it, as Taiwanese's security measures were truly too strict.
"Should I go or not?"
After thinking for a long time, Artoria had Saturday arrange her passport. She decided to go abroad for a few days to travel and see the magnificent landscape of her motherland in this world. After all, the guys coming to Earth were getting stronger and stronger, and she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't lose. It was time to make contact and see if the 'Divine Spear Bureau' was real or fake.
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