Chapter 145: This is Tonight's Third goddess of luck
"I will pray for you in my heart. Go, my child."
"Thank you, Father. Uh... what happened to your weapon?"
"I'm very angry because of what you did. Forget it, don't worry about it. I'll let you know when Friggawakes up. Go to Earth and pursue everything you want."
"Okay!"
Thor turned around, as if leaving all his burdens behind. He only wanted to go to Earth now, find Jane, and kiss her hard.
After he left, Loki gnashed his teeth, unable to retrieve the Eternal Spear even with all his strength.
"Damn! Forget it, Thor's gone, I don't need it. Guards!"
The guards walked in quickly.
"Thor and Loki have wiped out the Dark Elves and brought peace to Asgard. As the victors of the war, we must celebrate grandly. Go, prepare a banquet!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Loki kicked the throne in frustration. He didn't like holding banquets at all; if Sean hadn't said he wanted to see how fun a banquet could be before leaving, he wouldn't have bothered.
He had to send Sean away as soon as possible; otherwise, he wouldn't truly be the one in charge of Asgard.
Soon, the news that the Dark Elves were destroyed and the King was holding a banquet spread instantly. Everyone's long-suppressed emotions were finally released, and they all began to get busy.
The men were moving large quantities of fruit, meat, and fine wine into the banquet hall, because there was a very powerful Midgardian here who had to be well-entertained.
The women were all dressing up at home, using all the spices they usually couldn't bear to use, because there was a very handsome Midgardian tonight who had to be well-entertained.
For a while, all of Asgard became busy, preparing a grand banquet for tonight (Sean).
"I... for us to be like this in the treasury, it's... it's not good." Sif pulled at the few strips of cloth on her body, a rare hint of shyness appearing on her face.
Sean held her hand, strolling through the treasury.
"What's wrong with that? Don't forget, Odin gave the order for you to follow all my instructions. If you're disobedient... hehe."
"I know~"
Sif followed obediently, trying to stay dignified and keep as many cloth strips as possible.
A few days ago, Sif was stunned when she heard Odin's command. If the person he mentioned hadn't been Sean, Sif might have defected.
However, for the sake of friendly relations between Midgard and Asgard, Sif was willing to sacrifice herself. No matter how much Sean bullied her, she wouldn't have a single complaint.
If she hadn't woken up laughing in her dreams at night, Sean might have actually believed her.
Asgard's treasury was huge, but there were very few things worth keeping in it. There were only a few items in total, and Sean didn't think much of them.
He thought he could find some fun things, but they were either replicas or things he couldn't understand. There wasn't a single interesting toy.
"Forget it, it's boring. Let's go out. At the banquet tonight, you have to help me pick some people; you're familiar with them."
"Mhm, understood. I'll go put on my armor first."
Sif bent over to pick up the scattered cloth strips on the floor and rushed toward her armor.
Doing bad things in the important treasury, even for someone as generous as her, felt a bit shameful.
"Tsk, Sif is still cute like this."
Sean smiled slightly, preparing to leave.
Just then, he saw a very empty room underground, filled with corpses.
Especially not far away in the room, there was a huge wolf corpse that looked very majestic.
"What a pity," Sean lamented.
If this wolf were alive, it would definitely be very majestic to ride.
To be honest, after leaving Taro Village, Sean had wanted to find a good mount, but there had never been a suitable one.
Seeing this wolf, he was slightly tempted, but it was a dead thing. Even if it could move in the future, it would be of the undead race. Not good; riding it would lower his status.
Maybe next time, he'd look elsewhere. He probably wouldn't find a suitable one on Earth.
Night soon arrived. The banquet hall was filled with constant noise, and the sound of clinking wine glasses was even louder.
"Hahaha, Sean, I'll drink first as a toast!" Volstagg, one of the The Three Warriors, raised his glass and drained it in one gulp, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
A lady nearby immediately rolled her eyes at him and whispered, "How crude."
Sean was drinking enthusiastically and naturally wouldn't refuse.
He kicked his left foot onto the table and raised his glass. "Alright, drink!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he downed a glass. After drinking, he conveniently pulled a lady over to clean the wine from the corner of his mouth.
This action made the other girls swallow hard. They quickly called others over to toast while they quietly leaned in closer.
So bold—truly a man!
Asgardian banquets were hearty. They didn't care how strong Sean was; they just wanted to drink him under the table. Just like they did with Thor, they took turns, believing they could always outdrink him.
Sean's alcohol tolerance was actually not that high, but that was a good thing; it allowed him to gain pleasure from the alcohol.
If you can't get drunk from drinking, then what's the point?
Anyway, after getting drunk, the person who needed to be careful wasn't Sean.
Taking advantage of being drunk, many people did things they usually didn't dare to do, like comparing strength with Sean.
"Sean, I heard you're very strong. Let's have a competition!"
Soon, someone brought over a small round table, and the surrounding people started cheering.
"Arm wrestling! Arm wrestling!"
Sean gave a disdainful "tch," grabbed the edge of the table, and threw both the person and the table out.
Nanobots emerged, gathering on his hand and turning into a rope.
"All of you, come at me together!"
His arrogant tone instantly excited the men present.
"Ah! Everyone, let's go!"
"That's right, we absolutely can't let him walk out of here tonight!"
"Right! We can't let him leave Asgard standing up!"
Soon, the other end of the rope was crowded with people, each with red faces and thick necks, looking like they were struggling.
On the other side, Sean pulled the rope with one hand, ripped off his shirt with the other, and shouted with a laugh:
"Hahaha, have you guys started yet?"
By now, Sean was a bit tipsy. He hadn't let Daisy come tonight, fearing her ordinary human body wouldn't be able to handle it.
He reached out and casually pulled a woman into his arms, not even bothering to look at the little weaklings opposite him.
"What's your name?"
"Lei... Lilei."
"Oh? That name sounds familiar. Are you the goddess of luck?"
"Not the one you mean, I'm just..."
Before she could finish, Sean had already kissed her.
With a pull of his left hand, he won the Tug-of-war.
Sean looked at Lilei's slightly flushed cheeks and said with a smile, "See, I won. You are my goddess of luck tonight."
Sif, standing a bit further away, silently noted her appearance. This was the third goddess of luck; tonight, there would have to be a place for her at home.
After all, they were Goddesses of Luck.
That night, they indeed did not let Sean leave standing up, preserving the dignity of Asgard.
Congratulations, congratulations.
Chapter 146: Candidates for Project Nine-Tailed Fox
In America, Washington, S.H.I.E.L.D. built a new Base here, and it was full of HYDRA; it was quite lively.
Pierce sat in his office, his expression very serious.
Ever since the last presidential banquet, Pierce had taken Project Nine-Tailed Fox to heart. He knew that if HYDRA wanted to rise in the future, they would inevitably face an enemy: Homelander.
If they couldn't deal with Homelander, future plans would be difficult to carry out and might even face the risk of exposure.
This was especially true for the Insight Project, which was to be executed soon and was of the utmost importance; any potential accidents had to be considered, and there could be no room for error.
He had considered all possibilities and knew that once the Insight Project was exposed, the Superheroes or Fury and his group would immediately notify Homelander. Only he could fly from New York to Washington in three seconds to deal with the three helicarriers.
Therefore, the greatest obstacle to the Insight Project was Homelander; even if others knew about the plan, they probably wouldn't have time to react.
As long as the carriers reached their designated locations, everything would be set in stone. It wouldn't matter even if he died, because he would have already killed everyone who could possibly become an enemy of HYDRA.
As for how to stabilize Homelander, he had already found a lead at the last presidential banquet: the Nine-Tailed Fox.
As for how to implement this plan, he already had a general idea in mind.
Pierce immediately headed to New Jersey to find Dr. Zola, who was stored inside a computer; he had to seek his help for this plan.
Dr. Zola was quite happy to see him, even his bytes seemed to jump with joy.
Could it be that the Insight Project had already succeeded, and he had come to tell him?
Last time, he had written an algorithm that could calculate who would pose a threat to HYDRA in the future, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
Wasn't stuffing his brain into a computer meant for things like this?
To see how the future HYDRA would use his evil plans.
"The Insight Project hasn't started yet. I've come this time because I need you to write another similar algorithm."
"Oh? Tell me about it." Dr. Zola was very interested.
Oh, aged HYDRA leader, what evil ideas do you have this time?
"Help me calculate what kind of woman this man named Sean Brooke likes the most!"
At that moment, Dr. Zola, who had become a digital life-form, almost crashed.
Good grief, did I volunteer to become an artificial intelligence just to do this kind of thing?
Finding women? You're using the greatest technological pinnacle in human history to find women?
He was so angry that his computer case was about to smoke. Fortunately, Pierce explained quickly, telling him that Homelander was currently the most powerful person in the World and that controlling him was equivalent to controlling the World. Only then did Dr. Zola on the screen return to normal.
Without much hesitation, he quickly wrote the algorithm. It was very fast, taking less than ten minutes, because this man was truly too easy to understand.
Combining Sean's past data and the people he had dated...
The kind of woman Homelander likes most is... pretty ones.
That night, it wasn't that Pierce gained nothing, but rather that he made absolutely no progress!
However, fortunately for HYDRA, there was another piece of good news: the research on the Mind Stonehad made a breakthrough, and they could begin looking for "volunteers" for experiments.
Pierce had an idea and told the person in charge there to find more female volunteers—younger, prettier, with better figures, and so on.
Perhaps there would be unexpected gains.
Of course, he wouldn't pin all his hopes on the unstable scepter. Since he knew Homelander liked pretty women, it was simple.
Human wave tactics.
If he found hundreds of women, one of them would surely stay by his side. Then they could slowly filter them out until eventually, all the women around him were HYDRA. Then Homelander—hehe—what else could he be?
Additionally, he had one last strategy: leave professional matters to professional people.
Women... Hmph, he knew of an organization that was very good at training... women.
Having planned everything, Pierce relaxed a lot.
With a three-pronged approach, he didn't believe he couldn't conquer Homelander!
...
"Report, the woman brought by Baron Strucker is on her way. Please advise on the next steps."
"Connect the video." Pierce's tone was slightly excited.
"Yes!"
Not having been excited for a long time, his heart was beating a bit fast this time.
During this period, one of Pierce's three strategies had failed—the human wave tactics he had been most optimistic about.
However, he also summarized the reason for the failure: these women couldn't develop feelings over time; it always stayed purely physical and never became emotional, so the plan naturally failed.
There had to be a woman who could stay by his side long-term, like Natasha or Millis.
This was very elusive; even Zola's algorithm couldn't calculate who could stay by Homelander's side, only who he liked.
Fortunately, there was good news from Baron Strucker's side: they had successfully converted two superhumans, and one of them was very pretty.
Crucially, her superpower could actually control minds, which was terrifying. After Pierce learned about her background, he was even more convinced that she was the perfect candidate for Project Nine-Tailed Fox.
As long as she was used well, she would be like Daji leading King Zhou astray, making Homelanderindulge in a life of debauchery, unable to extricate himself.
Although Baron Strucker said she was still unstable, Pierce wanted exactly that instability.
Only an unstable Nine-Tailed Fox could stabilize the philandering Homelander.
Inside the black car, a long-haired woman was somewhat nervous, red energy surging in her hands as she constantly toyed with the building blocks in front of her to relieve her tension.
"Wanda Maximoff, hello."
Pierce's processed voice reached her ears.
"Hello, Officer." Wanda stopped her movements and answered seriously.
"Are you clear on the mission this time?"
"Clear. Approach Homelander, gain his trust, then use my superpowers to control him and eliminate the Avengers!"
Wanda's eyes were filled with hatred. In her heart, she had already equated the Avengers with that murderer Stark; they all had to be completely eliminated.
For an organization that could beautify Stark into a savior, Wanda had not a single shred of goodwill toward it, believing the people inside were all birds of a feather.
"Good girl, I wish you success."
Those eyes filled with hatred... good, Pierce was very satisfied.
"Wait, Officer, I have a question."
"Speak."
Wanda's expression was a bit conflicted. "I want to know, if I just swagger up to Homelander and say I want to live in his house, won't that cause suspicion?"
Wanda had looked into some data on Homelander. Although he was indeed very handsome, the sudden appearance of a woman of unknown origin saying she wanted to move into his house seemed improper no matter how she thought about it; she would definitely be suspected, right?
...Pierce was stunned for three seconds, thinking back to the human wave tactics.
"He won't. Rest assured. How should I put it... I can only tell you, he won't."
"Because he is Homelander."
Chapter 147: Wanda with Red Glowing Eyes
With Natasha away, Sif ruled the roost.
Especially since she brought a helper this time, Lilei, an Asgardian who could use healing magic; when stamina ran out, she could be a big help.
The only pity was that Natasha had gone on a mission; otherwise, Sif would have definitely let her experience what a "tearing sensation" felt like...
After returning from Asgard, Sean felt a bit out of place, as if he had grown accustomed to being among the clouds.
Suddenly returning to Earth with so few people around, he really did miss the days when it was crowded.
Should I go back for a bit?
Just as Sean thought of this, a sentence he hadn't heard in a long while suddenly popped into his mind.
[Detected suitable object of affection: Wanda Maximoff]
The corners of his mouth curled up wildly, and his gaze became dangerous.
Having experienced it before, Sif shuddered when she saw this smile.
Young Lilei didn't understand what was happening yet; seeing him smile, she thought she was performing well and increased the speed of her nodding.
"Ahem, Lilei, good job. Let Sif take you out for a stroll. By the way, buy some clothes; it's not good to wear Natasha's every day," Sean said, gently patting her head.
"Ah, I... I'm fine with anything," Lilei said shyly.
King Odin had also given her an order. As Sean was Asgard's most important guest, how could he not have a healer by his side? So, he let her come to Earth to help Sean deal with any physical ailments.
If there were any.
Sif didn't have any objections; she really did need to take Lilei out for a walk, otherwise, the girl would break.
Not long after the two left, the doorbell rang.
Outside the door, Wanda fidgeted with her hands, looking very nervous. Her mind raced, rehearsing the words she was about to say.
"My name is Wanda, I just awakened my superpowers. My name is Wanda, I just awakened my superpowers..."
She whispered her lines, determined to deliver them perfectly so Homelander wouldn't see through her.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened.
Sean was wearing a slightly loose T-shirt and asked with a bright smile, "Hi, is there something I can help you with?"
A wave of heat hit her, and it felt as if a Sun had appeared in Wanda's heart. For the first time, she realized there was such a huge difference between the person in photos and the person in reality, even if they looked the same.
Her superpowers were also constantly warning her that the man in front of her was like the Sun—don't get close, it's dangerous, you'll melt.
"Are you... okay?" Sean asked, seeing she wasn't responding and not knowing what was going on.
Wanda immediately averted her gaze and quickly blurted out her prepared lines.
"I... my name is Superpower, I just awakened Wanda. Because someone who awakened Wandaexploded before, I came to find you, hoping you could help me."
After speaking, she gave a smile. Although it was a bit fake, it was the best she could do.
Sean's expression turned a bit odd; he didn't quite understand what she was saying, but did it matter?
Seeing his suspicious expression, Wanda felt things were going south.
She didn't realize she had misspoken; instead, she thought Homelander wouldn't let a strange woman stay at his house, and her story had many holes.
For example, how did she awaken her powers? How did she get to New York? And how did she find Homelander?
There were many other questions she couldn't explain; the slightest inquiry would expose her.
Wanda didn't know who had come up with this plan; it was too stupid. How could Homelander let her move in without asking a few questions?
"Um... come in first."
Sean didn't care about anything else because it really wasn't important. As long as she was here, he didn't care what her intentions were.
"Okay." Wanda nodded apprehensively.
She felt like Homelander was probably getting ready to interrogate her.
After entering the living room, Wanda actually calmed down. Since she was already in, she might as well see the plan through to the end.
"Coffee or tea?"
"Just juice is fine."
Wanda sat on the sofa, focusing intently on Sean, prepared for his interrogation.
Sean stroked his chin, observing her carefully. After a long silence, he finally asked:
"Have you eaten? Do you want to grab a bite together?"
"Pfft—cough, cough cough." Wanda almost spat out the juice she had just sipped.
Waving her hand, she quickly said, "No... no thanks."
"Oh, alright then. You want to learn how to control your superpowers, right?"
"Yes!"
"The process might take a while, and it will be very painful. Can you accept that?"
"Of course!"
Sean nodded with satisfaction. He had thought she really came to seek refuge after seeing his heroic performance.
It turned out to be another piece of meat delivered right to his door.
How should he put it? Lately, even if Sean wasn't out shopping, even when he was flying in the sky, he would see many young girls in various kinds of danger.
If he went, it would be a classic "hero saves the beauty" scenario followed by a romantic evening.
If he didn't go... the criminal and the beauty would each return to their homes and notify others of Sean's location.
No matter how dense Sean was, he knew someone was plotting against him.
He was very angry at first, running out every day and patrolling at night. He had no other motive; he just wanted to see what tricks they could pull.
In the end, Sean discovered that the person behind the scenes had grand designs, because they were truly working too hard.
Day or night, as long as Sean wanted, there would always be a girl who met his aesthetic standards in danger, lost, or getting a divorce.
Several times Sean wanted to find the mastermind directly. If it was a man, he'd take him as a lackey; if it was a woman, he'd take her for himself.
For an outsider to be able to speculate on his preferences to such an extent, Sean was actually a little moved.
He probably wouldn't even be this good to his own children.
Sean's body jolted as a terrifying hypothesis appeared in his mind.
Could it be... I'm his father?
"Homelander? Homelander, what's wrong?" Wanda waved her hand in front of him, wondering why he had zoned out.
"It's nothing. You can just call me Sean from now on. Don't be a stranger; we're all family here." Sean took the opportunity to grab the small hand in front of him.
Wanda didn't pull away, but she was startled by the word "family."
"Um, okay, Sean. But, could you please let go of my hand?" The sensation from her palm made Wanda a bit flustered.
How could Sean let go? Not only did he not let go, but he also sat down beside her and asked:
"Are you feeling a bit nervous right now?"
Wanda nodded.
"When you're nervous, you can't control your superpowers, right?"
Wanda thought for a moment and continued to nod.
"That's right. Only by losing control more often can you learn to control it better. Besides, I'm here with you now, so don't be afraid of hurting anyone."
"Um, I... I understand."
Seeing she didn't object, Sean pulled her into his arms.
The sudden contact caused Wanda to lose control of her power, and scarlet energy instantly swept through the room.
"Sorry, I..."
"Shh, no need to apologize. See? With me here, you can release your superpowers as much as you want; nothing will happen."
Seeing her flustered look was quite beautiful, Sean leaned close to her ear and whispered:
"The way your eyes glowed red just now was really beautiful."
Boom—
These words seemed to stimulate Wanda, causing another burst of energy.
Just as she was about to apologize, Sean quickly pressed a finger against her lips.
"Let's test what things stimulate you. Don't be nervous, or we won't be able to continue."
"I suppose we could, but... Sean, your hand is on..." Wanda's eyes weren't the only thing red now; her face was even redder.
She knew what she would face after coming here, but she absolutely didn't expect it to happen so fast.
"Ahem, my hand can detect abnormal energy. It's more effective than any detector. This is a normal step."
"Then your eyes, could you turn..."
"Ahem, my eyes have X-ray vision. I can check if your bones are being damaged by the superpowers. It's more effective than any X-ray. This is a normal step."
"Then your mouth, um..."
...
Outside, Sif and Lilei returned from shopping and saw intense red light bursting from the house from time to time, making the roof jump a couple of times.
"Let's... go buy some more things."
"...Let's buy a house."
Chapter 148: Birthday Party, Battleground
"Hmm..."
Wanda let out a soft murmur as she slowly awoke, a warm blanket covering her body, but the warm person was not by her side.
Her ears twitched as she heard the voices of two unfamiliar girls nearby. Feeling puzzled, Wanda ignored the lingering aches all over her body and immediately lifted her head to check the situation.
"Strange, why is there only one woman? Where's the other? Oh... she's squatting down there."
Seeing her wake up, Sif gave a faint smile. "Awake? There are new clothes next to you."
Her tone was relaxed and natural, clearly acting like the lady of the house.
After witnessing Wanda's terrifying power, Sif had decided to pull her into her own camp to fight together against the big bad Natasha.
Wanda, at the other end of the sofa, felt somewhat embarrassed. It felt like being caught by the mistress as the third... or fourth party. Very awkward.
She quickly changed into the dress and stood there. Being young, she had no idea how to handle the current situation.
Sean removed his left hand from Lilei's head, opened his arms, and pulled Wanda into his embrace.
"Watch some TV, you rest a bit."
"Mm."
Wanda softly agreed, leaning her head against his arm, trying her best not to bump into Lilei, who was diligently working with her head down.
The corners of Sean's mouth lifted as his hand, resting on her shoulder, slid inward. Inside this dress was empty, save for Sean's hand; there was nothing else.
Wanda's eyes were soft as water, and she lightly bit her lip. Although the atmosphere was a bit strange, she felt she should already be integrated into this big family.
Otherwise, if it were like when she first arrived, with Sean's hand being so unrestrained, she definitely would have erupted.
Next, as long as she could gain his trust, she could meet the other Avengers and use her superpowers to incite division among them, completely destroying this hypocritical organization.
It's just... Wanda stole a glance at Sean. She just didn't know how long it would take to gain his trust. She was a bit afraid her body couldn't hold out.
Afterwards, she turned her gaze to the woman below.
No one had taught her this technique. She needed to learn a bit more to gain Sean's trust as soon as possible, and also... to make things easier on herself.
*Beep beep~*
Sif placed the phone by Sean's ear so his hands could continue their activities.
"Hello, Tony?"
"Huh? You actually answered the phone. Looks like you're in a good mood today," Tony said with a laugh.
Usually, his calls wouldn't go through; they'd be forwarded to voicemail.
"Get to the point."
"Those plans you gave me last time, I made one of them. Coincidentally, tomorrow's my birthday, there's a small party, just our own people. Will you come?"
"No problem. Then I'll have to start thinking about what gift to give you."
"Mhm, I'm looking forward to it. Preferably something not found on Earth."
After hanging up, Sean took his hand out and asked, "There's a small party tomorrow night. Are you all going?"
"Whatever you say," Sif said, leaning closer.
Lilei nodded, meaning she agreed with Sif.
"Then... should I go too?"
To be honest, Wanda felt her brain was overwhelmed.
How was she about to meet the Avengers already? Hadn't she just arrived yesterday, not even having learned to control her superpowers yet?
What's more, Sean hadn't even asked her any questions. Did he trust her already?
Was this the confidence of the strong, or was she just charming?
Sean smiled, reached out, and picked Lilei up. "Then let's all go... together."
His subsequent actions made Wanda nervous. She quickly set aside the dress she was wearing because Sif had said only this one suited her and couldn't be ruined.
What if, because she had no clothes, she couldn't go? That would be such a loss for her.
And she had to be careful too. What if, because her body broke down, she couldn't go? That would also be a huge loss.
...
The next evening, Stark Tower was bustling. Although Tony said it was just their own people, there were still quite a few attendees.
He even invited Thor, Daisy, and Jane, but they had some inspection to do and couldn't make it.
However, the place was huge. Even with over a dozen people standing around, it still felt quite spacious, even with a car parked inside.
"Tony, let me ask you, how's our relationship?" Rhodes asked, pulling him aside with reddened eyes.
"Very... average? Heh, alright, what do you want to say?"
Rhodes grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth, and pointed at the car. "Get me one of these too, please. This is the request of a lifetime."
"Hmph, you said the same thing last time you asked me to modify your Armor," Tony said, shaking off his hand and sitting back on the sofa to continue listening to Steve tell some old stories.
Outside the door, Sean, holding a gift box, walked in directly with the three women.
"It's been ten minutes since I last heard Steve tell a World War II story."
Steve gave a helpless smile and spread his hands. "For your next birthday, I'll give you a cassette tape."
"I won't accept it without your signature," Sean joked.
Just as he was about to go check out the toy Tony had made, he noticed...
"Millis, Hess, you're here too?"
Pepper quickly walked over, feeling like she might have caused trouble.
"Millis and Ms. Hess are both my friends. Sorry, I didn't know you'd bring three people."
Hess didn't react much, just smiled and nodded at Sean. Everything was understood without words.
But Millis couldn't handle it. She pouted, giving an unfriendly look at the three women beside him.
The others also noticed the interesting situation, all sneaking glances and smirking, wanting to see how Sean would handle it.
Even Steve looked at Sean, recalling the times in the past when he'd been caught by Carter.
Sean very naturally handed the gift to Wanda. "Introduce yourself, chat with them."
Then he reached out, pulled Millis up, and led her to the balcony.
"I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you," Millis said, burying herself in Sean's arms.
Gently stroking her hair, he smiled and said, "I know. I'm not blaming you."
"Huh?" Millis looked up and glared. She was naive, not stupid.
Sean chuckled softly and hugged her tighter. "Sif and the others are from Asgard. They won't be staying on Earth permanently; they might leave tomorrow."
"Hmph, then why are they clinging to you? Don't they have an alien embassy?"
"They do. My home."
After saying that, before Millis could ask more, Sean kissed her.
Only after she relaxed in his arms did Sean continue, "You don't like having an audience, so I didn't invite you to come live together."
"Hehe, so, do you feel a bit of a sense of crisis now?"
Millis shyly patted his chest. "Trying to trick me into living with you again."
Sean had made this suggestion many times, but Millis also knew his house could get quite lively sometimes. After thinking about it, she decided it was better not to.
She still preferred being alone with Sean.
However, she would make an exception on Sean's birthday.
"Let's go in. They're all waiting to see me make a fool of myself."
Hearing this, Millis tightened her grip on his arm and walked in with a loving expression. They hadn't actually been on the balcony for very long, only about ten minutes.
As soon as they came out and saw their state, everyone almost felt like applauding Sean.
Tony even raised his hands, but Pepper's glare made him lower them.
Even Steve silently admired him in his heart. If he'd had these skills back then, Carter wouldn't have scolded him.
As everyone was chatting, another man walked in with a gift, looking somewhat reserved.
"Am I not too late?"
"Not at all. Thank you for coming to Tony's birthday party, Sheriff George," Pepper said with a smile, leading him inside.
If inviting Millis and Hess was because Tony knew something and wanted to watch the show, then inviting George was purely because he was also a Superhero.
And Hess, who knew everything, had a change in her eyes. She glanced at the other women. She had to keep these few in check, not letting them get too intimate with Sean.
Otherwise, things wouldn't look good for little Gwen.
Chapter 149: He wouldn't have abandoned Gwen after toying with her, would he!
George hung his coat in the foyer and followed Pepper inside.
He didn't actually like this atmosphere, and from the beginning, George never thought of himself as being in the same circle as this group of people; even if they were all protecting Earth, there was still a huge difference.
However, thinking about how he would still need Stark's help to improve or repair his Armor in the future, he felt too embarrassed to refuse.
Glancing at the people in the room, he frowned, walked straight over to Steve, greeted him, and sat down beside him.
He was very confused. Was this a proper birthday party? Why were there so many women?
George looked for Sean's figure in the room; among everyone there, he was only somewhat familiar with him.
Soon, he saw him sitting inside a black sports car, smiling very happily.
Sean looked over everything in the car with some excitement, pressed a button, and the car's body instantly changed from black to a bright red.
"Cool~" The corner of Sean's mouth curled up, and he cleared his throat.
"Ahem, Mecha Warrior, transform!"
At Sean's command, parts of the car began to move, quickly transforming into a six-meter-tall robot.
Thor was nearby, looking quite helpless. "I told you, don't use the transformation function in the room."
Tony himself had thought about the idea of a car robot because it was indeed quite convenient, but he already had the Nano Suit, which was even more convenient, so he had abandoned the project.
It wasn't until Sean mentioned last time that he wanted one that Tony built it.
Because this was the simplest of all Sean's suggestions.
"Haha, sorry Tony, I really couldn't help myself."
Sean smiled brightly. As expected, there were benefits to letting Tony grow; perhaps in the future, he really could build all the toys Sean wanted.
Getting out of the car, Sean still looked at his ride with satisfaction.
"In the future, when you can make it the size of a keychain, it will be even more perfect."
"What?" Sean said this very quietly, and Tony didn't hear clearly.
"Nothing. Come on, let's see what I brought for you." Sean smiled and walked toward the sofa.
Seeing this, Rhodes immediately blocked Tony, looking extremely excited.
"Please! You must get me one, I'll trade War Machine for it."
"Hmph, War Machine is mine too."
"What's yours is mine; we're brothers, no need to distinguish!"
"Get lost!"
Thor ignored him, wanting to see what gift Sean had brought; it was bound to be something good.
Sean took the gift box back from Wanda's hands. He hadn't given it to Tony ahead of time because he wanted to see if the toy Tony built was any good first.
"Oh, Sheriff George, you're here too?"
"Uh, yeah."
Sheriff George had also seen the car and was still in shock.
"Wanda, have you introduced yourself?"
Wanda quickly stood up. "I've greeted everyone and explained my superpowers."
Even the ability to control minds, Wanda hadn't hidden it; after all, she had used it on Sean before, it just hadn't worked.
When she said this, Steve and Natasha glanced at each other, both feeling that this woman was a bit off, but since she was someone Sean brought along, they could only ask more in private.
"That's good." Sean patted her head encouragingly and turned to set the gift box aside.
"Ahem, Tony, be careful when you open it."
"What is it? Being so mysterious."
Tony laughed as he carefully unwrapped the packaging.
Everyone else also turned their gaze this way, wanting to know what Sean had brought.
The box opened, and three grenades lay quietly in the middle.
"Oh my god!" Sif exclaimed.
Just as Tony was about to pick one up, she shouted, "Don't touch them!"
Her expression made everyone else a bit nervous and confused. These looked like ordinary grenades; were they very powerful?
"Heavens, Sean, where... where did you get these?"
Sean directly picked one up and tossed it in his hand playfully.
"Hey, I snatched them from the Dark Elves during their last invasion."
Tony's brow twitched. "Sean, today is my birthday, can you stop speaking in riddles?"
"No problem. This is called a Black Hole Grenade. Simply put, it creates a small black hole after exploding, absorbing everything around it. Um... words might not give a clear picture; I'll set one off to demonstrate for you."
Saying that, Sean actually prepared to detonate one.
"No!" Everyone reached out, shouting to stop him.
An explosion creating a small black hole? They all looked at those three tiny grenades in shock.
No matter how small a black hole was, it was still a black hole. If it exploded, let alone them, would the Earth be sucked in too?
"Don't worry, the power isn't that great."
Saying so, Sean directly pressed the button and threw it toward an empty part of the room, then said to Steve with a smile:
"You can't dive onto this grenade, okay?"
The grenade erupted, and black and white energy waves intertwined, instantly expanding. A small black sphere appeared, hovering in mid-air, sucking in all objects within three meters.
Finally, with a slight flash of white light, it disappeared before everyone's eyes without leaving a trace.
*Gulp~*
Everyone stared wide-eyed and swallowed hard.
The power indeed wasn't that great, but the black hole that appeared after the explosion was truly terrifying.
If Steve had covered it with his shield and dived on it like before, there probably wouldn't even be any ashes left.
"Is this alien technology?" Tony muttered, somewhat dazed.
Sean patted his shoulder. "Be careful when you research it."
He couldn't die; if he did, there would be no one to make toys for him.
Beside them, Natasha's eyes gleamed. It seemed it was time to bring Sharon along and sacrifice for S.H.I.E.L.D. once more.
"The chaos in Britain recently was caused by the Dark Elves?" Steve asked.
"Yes." Sean sat on the sofa, taking Millis's hand without avoiding George, and looked at Sif.
"Why don't you tell them about the Dark Elves? I've mostly forgotten."
Sif gave a bitter smile and nodded. Everyone was very interested in the alien war and gathered around.
"A while ago, it was the Convergence that occurs every five thousand years among the Nine Realms. The Dark Elves possess a weapon that can plunge all matter in the Universe into darkness..."
When they learned that even Asgard had been silently invaded, a flicker of worry crossed their faces. They also wondered: if the Dark Elves launched a sneak attack, could they stop it?
The answer was naturally: no.
While everyone was listening intently, George was a bit distracted. He felt... were Sean and this female reporter a bit too close?
During the Battle of New York, any observant person could see that the relationship between Sean and Millis was unusual, but there was no evidence, so it was just small rumors that couldn't cause much of a stir.
But George paid close attention to this matter because he had clearly seen Sean in a room with Gwen...
In that situation, with his years of experience, it was impossible to be mistaken; Sean definitely had a relationship with Gwen.
Thinking of this, George got a little angry and stared at Sean with a dark expression.
He wouldn't have abandoned Gwen after toying with her, would he!
Chapter 150 Hess: Hail HYDRA
For George, family was the person he needed to protect most, followed by ordinary citizens.
And now, with his daughter potentially being played by Sean, he couldn't sit still; he wanted to stand up and confront Sean directly.
But this concerned Gwen's reputation, and Sean had always behaved well. What if, just what if he was wrong?
For a moment, George was conflicted, his face even slightly twisted.
Hess, sitting opposite him, naturally noticed the anomaly. She tapped on her phone a few times, then continued watching Sean, listening to Sif tell a story.
"The Cursed Warrior of the Dark Elves is terrifying; even Thor..."
Beep beep~
George felt his phone ringing, apologized, and walked towards the door.
Less than half a minute later, he walked back with a nervous expression.
"Sorry everyone, I have to leave first. Something came up at home."
Pepper stood up, her etiquette impeccable. "Is it urgent? Why not have a slice of cake before you go?"
"Thanks, but no. It's a bit urgent, I'll go first." After politely declining, George took a deep look at Sean. He thought about it and decided it was better to ask Gwen about this matter.
If she said she was in a relationship with Sean, he would drive the Brave Guardian back and charge in!
George left in a hurry. The others present didn't say anything and continued to listen to Sif talk about other things in the Nine Realms; this information was very important for them in the future.
Sean glanced at Hess out of the corner of his eye and saw the smile on her face. He knew she was behind it, so he casually pulled her a little closer.
No one present found this brazen act strange.
Hah, this woman named Hess controlled Homelander's image rights and handled all of Homelander's external affairs, just like Pepper did for Iron Man.
If you said there was nothing between the two, who would believe it?
The Avengers knew that Sean was a womanizer because he didn't try to hide it, so it was very obvious.
It's just that they didn't know there were so many!
There were six right here; it was unimaginable how many more were outside.
Thinking that he was only 22, it was normal not to be able to resist temptation at this age.
Who had saved Earth several times by the age of 22 and was also handsome? If he wasn't a womanizer, they would find it scary.
After Sif finished the story, Banner, Max, and his girlfriend Luna arrived one after another.
When Max saw Sean, he ran over excitedly to report on his recent situation.
In his heart, Sean was still the boss.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Pepper had someone bring out the cake.
"Everyone, let's cut the cake!"
As the music started, the party atmosphere began to liven up, washing away the slightly dull mood from just before.
The crowd dispersed a little; they weren't all surrounding Sean like before.
The men split into two groups: one surrounded Sean, listening to him talk about more details of Asgard, and the other surrounded the Human Torch—that is, the car.
The women were much more scattered. Millis pulled Pepper into a corner, wanting to hear about her love story with Tony and gain some experience. She felt a bit of pressure as the number of people around lately kept increasing.
Natasha was chatting with Wanda. While it was called chatting, she was actually planting many traps in her words to further test Wanda's background.
Hess gathered the others together to chat, controlling the atmosphere so that no one felt awkward.
For a time, everyone was having a great time, except for the group around Sean.
When Max learned that Sean had saved Earth once again, he felt very envious.
"Uh... Sean, next time there's a mission like this, can you bring me along? I want to save the World too."
How should he put it? His recent missions were either too important to talk about, or they were insignificant.
If he hadn't started dating recently, he might have developed anxiety.
Tony glanced at Pepper's location and whispered, "I can do it too."
Recently, he had upgraded his Nano Suit again and really wanted to find an enemy to test it out; only in actual combat could he discover shortcomings.
"Haha, I think you guys aren't ready yet," Sean said with a smile.
Then, he ignored them, quickly finished the drink in his hand, and walked to his beloved car. "Stop touching it. Watch me demonstrate a newly conceived stunt for you: Thunder Crescent Slash!"
Rhodes complained, "You shouldn't drive after drinking. How about you let me do it?"
"I can make you the target of the slash."
"Uh, never mind then. Let Steve do it."
Rhodes's fleeing figure made the people around laugh.
Banner was much more relaxed here, even having a few drinks. Anyway, even if Hulk came out, Homelander was there to help handle it; he could completely relax.
In the end, Sean didn't perform; the space was a bit small. He would wait until tomorrow when he took them for a drive to transform and play around.
On the other side, Natasha and Wanda were chatting quite intensely, leaving beads of sweat on Wanda's forehead.
Natasha was also strange. She didn't know if Wanda was truly stupid or pretending, but she couldn't answer even simple questions.
It was as if she had written "I have a mission" on her left cheek and "I am a bad guy" on her right cheek; she couldn't hide a secret at all.
She wondered which fool wanted to target Sean and sent such a woman over; it was basically handing over a free meal.
Could it be that they wanted her to use superpowers to control Sean?
Wanda, for her part, was gripping the hem of her dress so hard her hands were red; she was incredibly nervous.
She was thinking about whether to just unleash her superpowers and kill Stark. Never mind dismantling the entire Avengers; she could barely handle this woman who had no superpowers.
"Should I secretly control her?" A flash of red appeared in Wanda's eyes; she felt she couldn't let this woman leave.
If she went over to tell Sean something now, it would be too late.
Just as Wanda hesitated, Natasha had already stood up and left, walking towards Sean.
It's over!
These two words appeared in Wanda's heart, and she leaned back with a pale face. She shouldn't have come tonight; she was too impatient.
Hess reached out and put her arm around Wanda's shoulder, whispering in her ear.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Hail HYDRA."
...Hmm?
"Wha... what does that mean?" Wanda stared with wide eyes, her expression very confused.
Hess frowned, realizing her expression was indeed genuine. She patted her hand gently and explained, "Nothing, just trying to get you to relax. Sean is a good person."
"Yeah, okay."
Wanda gripped her hand tightly, as if she had found support.
Hess also quickly figured everything out.
This woman was definitely from HYDRA, but with her mental fortitude, HYDRA wouldn't let her know they existed; it was too easy to give the game away.
Hess only confirmed the existence of HYDRA today and hadn't had time to notify Sean yet.
Because many women had appeared around him inexplicably recently, so many that it was a bit eerie, Hess had carefully investigated to see who wanted to make a move on Sean.
After catching one person, she used Dice's ability to control him and make him confess everything.
That was how they learned that HYDRA, which had disappeared for many years, had been revived from the ashes.
Chapter 151 Wanda: It's Only the Second Day, and My Mission Is... Complete?
Natasha took Sean to a secluded spot, held down his wandering hands, and said seriously:
"There's something very wrong with that woman. I suspect she... be serious~"
Taking advantage of his tipsiness, Sean's hands were quite restless, making it hard for her to speak, especially with people outside.
"Hey, I know. Do you really think I'd get obsessed just because I see a beauty? *Hic!*"
"If you let go of your hands, I might believe you just a little bit," Natasha said through gritted teeth.
Sean chuckled, withdrew his hands, and pinched her cheeks a couple of times.
"Don't worry, her power isn't strong right now. At most, she can just give you a nightmare."
"Power itself isn't good or bad. As long as she can be guided onto the right path, there won't be a problem."
Natasha looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "That really doesn't sound like something you'd say. I suspect you've already been controlled by her."
"Then, do you want to give me a chance tonight to prove it?"
"Fine, I'll be waiting."
Standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss, Natasha left, feeling reassured.
As long as Sean wasn't controlled, things wouldn't descend into chaos.
The two returned to the living room to find everyone gathered around the sofa again, chatting.
"Wanda, right? To what extent can your superpowers go? Mind Reading?" Tony asked.
Earlier, his mind had been filled with those Dark Elves, so he hadn't paid much attention to this new superpowered individual.
Wanda didn't look at him, afraid she wouldn't be able to hide the hatred in her eyes.
"No, it's more like telekinesis. I can only sense emotions and stir them up a little bit."
She could read minds, of course, but only after controlling someone could she read their emotions and thoughts. However, she absolutely could not reveal that.
Everyone had secrets. If she spoke the truth, she would never be able to gain their trust.
As she spoke, she controlled the wine bottle and poured a glass for everyone.
"Cool!" Tony patted Banner with a smile and said, "Then can you use your powers to turn this fellow into a Little Sweetie? He's always angry."
Amidst his joking, Tony was also testing the upper limits of her abilities.
"I can feel it. He's very angry—a fire that cannot be extinguished." Wanda glanced at Bannermeaningfully; he would be a good helper.
Just as Tony was about to press further, Sean walked over. "You guys better be careful. Watch out, or she'll give you nightmares tonight."
"Really? I don't believe it. I haven't had a nightmare since 1980. Come on, try it," Tony said dismissively.
He really wanted to know what a superpowered person who could manipulate emotions was capable of.
"Alright, Wanda, show him what you've got!" Sean patted her.
"Ah!"
Wanda really hadn't reacted in time. How had things turned out like this? It was going so smoothly she could hardly believe it.
Before coming here, she had prepared for a long-term deep-cover mission. Who would have thought that on only the second day, the mission was about to be completed?
"Then... should I really do it?" Wanda asked softly.
"Bring it on!"
This was an opportunity not to be missed. Even if it was a trap, Wanda would jump right in. Scarlet energy appeared in her hands and quickly burrowed into Tony's mind.
A flash of red light appeared in Tony's eyes and then vanished instantly.
When he regained his senses, his surroundings were dark and gloomy. There wasn't a soul in sight. Hearing a noise outside the window, he walked over cautiously, and the scene before him was something he would never forget.
Countless Leviathans roamed the sky above the city. The streets were littered with corpses. Squads of Chitauri soldiers held guns, shooting anyone who could still move.
On the nearby rooftops lay the bodies of the Avengers. Right at his feet was Steve, his eyes wide in death.
Just as Tony was about to lean down and check, Steve suddenly grabbed his leg. "You could have saved us. You could have saved us!" With those words, he breathed his last.
"Where's Sean? Where is Sean!" Tony shouted helplessly.
With him around, such a situation should never have happened!
Just as he finished shouting, Sean's agonizing scream echoed from the sky.
A giant ship that blotted out the sun emerged from the clouds, firing a blast that pierced right through Sean's body and shattered the earth below.
Before dying, Sean let out a roar, "If only we could have discovered them sooner, just a little sooner, everything would be different!"
"Tony!" Pepper shook him hard, pulling him back to reality. She asked with concern, "Are you okay? You're covered in sweat."
"I'm... I'm fine." Tony panted, leaning back on the sofa and letting out a long sigh of relief as he looked at the people around him.
"What did you see?" Sean asked with interest.
Tony said crossly, "Hmph, why don't you try it and find out for yourself?"
"Heh, I'd like to, but her power doesn't work on people with strong wills." Sean rubbed Wanda's head and praised her, "Good job. Does anyone else want to try?"
"Uh, I want to ask, does everyone see the same thing?" Steve asked.
Wanda shook her head. "No, everyone's greatest fear is different."
At this moment, she was a bit nervous because this mission really seemed like it was about to be completed.
She also knew the fear Tony had just felt. She felt it wouldn't be long before he was dominated by fear, causing the Avengers to fall apart.
Their greatest fear.
The others were all wondering: what was their greatest fear?
For a moment, no one dared to step forward and try.
"How about I try?" Millis raised her hand timidly.
Sean squinted at her. "With your courage, you dare to try? I remember you getting a huge fright just seeing a bug."
At those words, Millis's slight fear vanished instantly. She looked at him indignantly and said:
"Hmph, I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm not even afraid of cockroaches under three centimeters anymore!"
Wanda looked at Sean, asking for his opinion.
"Go ahead, it's good to let her be a little scared."
"Come at me!" Millis closed her eyes, looking like she was ready for martyrdom.
Wanda hesitated for a moment. Since Millis was just an ordinary person and not an Avenger, she couldn't treat her the same way she had treated Stark.
"I'll be gentle." A wisp of red energy slowly burrowed into Millis's mind.
At that same moment, the ring on Millis's hand flashed. Sean reacted quickly and didn't let it activate.
If the Ten Rings emitted an Impact wave and sent Wanda flying, and then Wanda lost control and exploded, the chain reaction would likely be very troublesome.
This time, Millis woke up very quickly. She wasn't sweating, but the way she looked at Sean wasn't quite right.
"What did you see this time?" Sean was truly curious.
"I'm not telling you!" Millis closed her eyes and sat to the side, sulking.
Even though she had come to her senses and knew it was an illusion, she was still very angry.
What she had seen was a wedding. The groom at the wedding was Sean, but the bride wasn't her.
Instead... it was a whole string of people!!!
Sean even reached out and asked her if she wanted to join!!
How could she ever forgive him!
Despite her anger, Millis also thought about it—surely such a situation wouldn't actually happen, right?
Surely... not... right?
Chapter 152: Treat Sister Hess Better From Now On~
Afterward, Natasha also gave it a try, partly to test the extent of Wanda's abilities.
The result surprised her; past events she had almost forgotten were suddenly as clear as if they had happened yesterday.
With these three as test subjects, the others lost any desire to try. After all, few people can face their inner fears head-on.
After this little interlude, the party soon came to an end. Since the birthday girl had collapsed, the guests felt it was inappropriate to stay any longer.
Downstairs, everyone said their goodbyes and drove away, leaving only the women and Sean.
"Well, I'll be heading back then." Hess gave Sean a hug and whispered, "Come over tomorrow if you have time."
"Mm, stay safe."
After saying that, he cupped her face and gave her a deep kiss.
Standing behind them, Millis's heart suddenly fluttered; this scene felt very similar to what she had just seen.
Hess noticed her expression and smiled faintly. She pulled her toward the car, saying, "Millis, let me give you a ride back. Get in."
Without giving her a chance to refuse, Hess pushed her into the passenger seat and sped off.
Sean also sensed that the illusion Millis saw must have involved him. However, in such matters, it was better for him not to say too much; the more he said, the more likely he was to make a mistake.
It was better to let Hess, an "outsider," counsel her.
"It's just the four of us again. Let's go home."
Natasha was originally supposed to stay over tonight, but she claimed that the incident earlier had spooked her and decided to go out and do a few missions to clear her head.
Tsk, shot himself in the foot. Sigh.
However, Sean was very satisfied with the car tonight. A car that can transform—the romance of men.
Opening the car door, Sif naturally sat in the passenger seat, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.
With her years of combat intuition, she felt that the woman named Hess was definitely harder to deal with than Natasha.
An enemy who barks isn't scary; it's the enemy who can restrain themselves that is truly terrifying!
On the other side, Hess was driving down the road with a despondent Millis.
"How long have you known Sean?" Hess asked, opening the conversation.
"Over three years."
Millis felt inexplicably nervous, as if she were being interrogated by Mrs. Brooke.
She tried to puff out her chest to boost her confidence. That thing hadn't happened yet, so why should she back down!
"Oh, really? That's impressive. I've only known Sean for less than a year."
These words gave Millis some confidence; she had thought they had known each other for a long time.
But soon, she became discouraged again.
Considering that Sean entrusted the most important matters to Hess, didn't that mean she was the woman Sean trusted most?
Before today, Millis hadn't really thought about it. Only after coming here did she realize that the person helping Sean handle his affairs was such a beautiful woman.
Knowing Sean's character, Millis didn't even need to think to know what would happen between the two of them.
"Sean often mentions you to me."
"Ah, did he say bad things about me?"
"Hehe, how did you know? He said that although you're very pretty, you're very silly and naive. If you hadn't met him, you'd probably have been tricked into having three kids by now."
"Nonsense! I'm not silly, he's the fool! You don't know, he..."
At the mention of Sean, Millis shook off her melancholy and recounted many of his past embarrassments. The more she spoke, the more excited and happy she became, but also slightly sad.
If the things in that illusion really happened, what should she do?
Seeing her mood drop again, Hess said as if casually:
"Hehe, such sweet memories. I wish I had met Sean before I got married. I really envy you."
Millis was stunned, her eyes widening with a mix of disbelief and excitement.
"You... you're married?"
"Yes, oh, but my husband is dead."
"Ah, that's such a... pity!" The corners of Millis's mouth were practically curling up to the sky.
Hess smiled to herself; she really was a simple young girl.
"Sigh, although Sean treats me well and entrusts many things to me, I always feel like he doesn't love me. Sometimes... sometimes, he even calls out your name." Hess spoke in a complaining tone, as if confiding in Millis.
"He's too much! I... I'll give him a piece of my mind for you later!" Millis quickly comforted her. Inside, she was overjoyed; Sean had never called her the wrong name.
Millis turned around and began to counsel her like someone with experience.
"Sean definitely likes you. You're so beautiful and you help him handle things. Look, he never asks me to help with anything, except... cough, you know."
"That's because he cherishes you and doesn't want you to be tired, so you have time to be with him." Hess's tone became even more resentful, as if she were about to cry.
"Ah, is... that so?"
For a moment, Millis didn't know whether she should be happy first or keep a straight face to comfort Hess.
At a red light, Millis was simultaneously happy and trying to think of ways to comfort Hess.
"Then... well, hey, your necklace was a gift from Sean, right? Look, I have one too. This shows we both have the same weight in his heart!" Millis noticed that Hess was also wearing a Vibranium necklace, just in a different style.
Hess turned to look at her and pointed at her hand, tears sliding down at that moment.
"Sean proposed to you, didn't he? I see now. In the future... in the future, I will keep my distance from him!"
"No, no, no!" Millis quickly took off the ring to explain:
"This is an amulet Sean gave me. It seems to be some high-tech protective shield. Look closely, no ring looks like this."
Hess leaned in to look. "Hmm... it really doesn't look like a ring."
"Right? I remember he had several of them. You should have one... too."
Millis had just breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Hess didn't have this ring on her hand.
She clearly saw that Sean had many of them and thought he would prepare one for all the other women. Originally, did only she have one?
"Sigh, maybe in his heart, I'm not worthy." Hess's words were enough to make any listener sad and any witness weep, including Millis.
"He, he's really gone too far this time! Come on, let's go to his house, I'll help you get one!"
...
Just as Sean arrived at his doorstep, he saw Hess's car driving up. He was wondering if Hess had some urgent matter that brought her back immediately after dropping off Millis.
Then, he saw Millis pulling Hess along, walking over aggressively. The four people on this side were all bewildered, not knowing what was happening.
When Millis got close, she first checked the hands of the other three women. Seeing they didn't have rings, she was instantly overjoyed and forgot the reason she was angry.
"Sean, treat Sister Hess better from now on. Don't bully her, okay~" Millis used a coquettish tone she hadn't used in a long time, and it was for the sake of another woman.
Sean's eyes were blank with confusion, but seeing Hess's aggrieved face, looking as if she had just cried, he suddenly understood everything.
"Silly... cough, even Millis gets tricked? That's not very fair!"
"Hey, it's all to help you~"
The two of them exchanged these lines through their eyes.
Beside them, Millis puffed out her chest and shielded Hess behind her like an older sister, still lecturing Sean.
Sean listened and gave a cold laugh. He reached out, picked her up directly, and gave her a sharp smack.
"Hmph, since you're so concerned about Hess, then both of you can stay tonight!"
"Then... I'm only sleeping with Sister Hess. You go away!"
"Is that so? Then I'll bully Hess, and you can just watch from the side!"
Saying that, he wrapped his other arm around Hess and flew into the room carrying them both.
The three left outside looked at each other. Wanda asked a bit awkwardly, "Is it always this lively at home?"
Sif nodded and sighed. "Let's go in too. He should be coming over in the second half of the night."
"Is that so?"
"Mm. What comes in the deep of the night isn't just sleepiness, but also Sean."
Chapter 153 Gwen: I Want to Choose for Myself! Put It in Front!
The moon is bright and stars are few; the crows fly south.
Gwen tossed and turned in bed, looking at Sean's name in her contacts. She typed and deleted messages repeatedly, unable to bring herself to press the send button.
Recalling what her father said yesterday, Gwen knew he must have seen something; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked that.
But what they didn't know was that Gwen had long since noticed something was up.
Previously, on the night Millis was attacked, Gwen was the one leading the team to handle the aftermath.
While talking to Millis, she saw a ring exactly like her own. Realizing they had known each other for a long time, Gwen naturally understood much, though she didn't ask for details.
And now, after George's persuasion yesterday, Gwen began to seriously consider the relationship between them.
The wind blew in through the window. As always, she hadn't closed it because someone would come in.
Sean gently closed the window, walked to the bedside, pulled back the covers, and lay down with practiced ease.
Gwen naturally pulled his arm over to cushion her neck and snuggled into his chest. Sean held her with his right arm, and the two lay quietly for over ten minutes, each waiting for the other to speak first.
Sean took a breath, exhaled slowly, and whispered:
"I thought you'd have a gun or scissors under your pillow. Or at least throw the ring in my face and tell me to get lost."
Gwen smiled faintly, looked up at him, and said:
"I also thought you'd explain yourself, or tell some sweet lies to deceive me. Are you even too lazy to lie to me now?"
Sean looked down at her, smiled, reached out to stroke her face, and said gently, "I have never lied to you."
"Really?"
"Yes, no matter when."
Gwen propped herself up, looked into Sean's eyes, and asked seriously, "Then tell me about their stories. It shouldn't just be that Host, right? I see those two Super Heroines have a good relationship with you too?"
"Those two, huh? Well, Natasha is an official Agent assigned to me for daily tasks. She's always around me in skimpy clothes, constantly tempting me just to make me feel some connection to society so I don't do anything bad."
"Sif is an Asgardian, an alien. They value strength there. When she saw how powerful I am, she insisted on having children with me. Well, for the sake of inter-realm friendship, it's not like I can't make a sacrifice."
"Pfft—"
Gwen couldn't help but laugh and leaned down to kiss him. "Hmph, you make those two popular heroines sound like that? You make it sound like you're the one being wronged."
Sean moved her onto him, holding her waist. "The person beneath you right now is the most popular Superhero on this Planet. The two of them combined can't match me. I really am the one losing out."
"Is that how you calculate it?" Gwen asked again, "Then, what about Millis?"
At the mention of Millis, Sean's hand stopped moving.
"My relationship with her is just like mine with you, except she was a bit earlier."
Gwen narrowed her eyes. "Tell me, how many others are there in relationships like this?"
"Let me count..." Sean put his hand in front of her, counting his fingers one by one. Eventually, he looked at her and said, "I don't have enough fingers. Lend me yours."
"Be serious." Gwen wasn't in the mood to laugh; she was very nervous.
"Four. Including you, four."
"Only four?" Gwen's eyes showed doubt.
Sean smiled faintly and nodded. "The only ones who can truly make me relax are the four of you."
He reached out to pull her into his chest. "Sorry, I'm a bit selfish. Before, I didn't think I would really fall in love with you. I thought..."
"Thought I was like other women, only interested in your looks and body?" Gwen said resentfully.
"Cough, as you can see, my looks do attract many bad women. You have to admit that. Weren't you also attracted by my handsome entrance at first sight? Of course, I was also attracted by the charming you back then."
Recalling their first meeting, Gwen smiled knowingly, then felt a bit dejected.
"It seems impossible for me to make you give up the other three."
Sean sighed and didn't answer immediately. He wasn't hesitating but thinking about how to say it with the least amount of hurt.
He truly liked her; otherwise, he wouldn't have given her the Ten Rings.
"Sigh... Sorry, Gwen. We, we should still..."
Hearing this, Gwen's expression changed, and she immediately covered his mouth.
"Listen! No one can make choices for me, no one! This is my call. You don't get a say!"
Then, she immediately kissed him.
They kissed for a long time. Gwen didn't dare let go, fearing he would continue saying heartbreaking things.
Sean's feelings were complex. Naturally, it was best not to give up Gwen, but if she insisted on breaking up, he wouldn't pester her.
A clean break would be good for everyone.
Besides, even if they broke up, it wasn't like they couldn't get back together.
Like sand—if it scatters, just add some Water, and it will naturally clump back together.
After a long time, Gwen became wet—her eyes, that is.
Sean gently wiped away her tears and let out a long breath.
"Alright, from now on, you'll be the one to choose where we... where to enter from now on."
Gwen felt something, bit her lip, and said fiercely:
"I choose... the front!"
---
Sean didn't leave until the next morning.
Although Gwen hadn't explicitly rejected the relationship, she hadn't acknowledged it either.
She also told Sean not to take the initiative to find her; only she would choose when he could come over.
Sean naturally didn't object. This was fine; he could free up some time for the others.
He drove to the Hess Family Residence. She and Millis had been busy that night and hadn't said why they were looking for him.
The gorgeous car turned heads. Especially after seeing the handsome man inside, many "lost" young ladies appeared.
"Oh, it's quite lively today."
Five women were sitting on the sofa at the Hess Family Residence.
Seeing Sean enter, they all stood up. Feifei wanted to help Sean hang up his coat, but Sif was faster and immediately walked over.
She skillfully helped him off with his coat and sniffed it. "Shall I prepare hot water for you?"
"Hmm... sure, let's go up." He looked at Hess and the others. "You guys keep chatting; I'll come down later."
With that, he walked upstairs with Sif.
Downstairs, Feifei secretly regretted it. She should have gone over sooner and not hesitated.
Hesitation leads to defeat!
Hess and Dice looked at each other, feeling that the house needed a bigger bathroom—there were already too many people to fit.
Chapter 154: "My Beautiful Lady, May I Give You a Ride Home?"
"Mmm~"
Sean leaned back on the sofa, his expression one of extreme pleasure.
Hess and Dice sat on either side of him, while Sif was behind him, leaning in from time to time to feed him a sip of wine.
Feifei and Isa, having no seats, could only kneel on the floor below, acting as cushions.
"So, all the women who appeared around me before were arranged by HYDRA?"
"Yes."
"...Was there not a single one who approached me because of my face? Has my attractiveness declined?" Sean turned his head to ask Hess.
Hess laughed softly and kissed him, "How could that be? You're clearly even more handsome than before."
"That's good." Sean felt much more at ease and laughed:
"You don't need to worry about HYDRA; they won't be jumping around for much longer. Oh right, have those Tarot People been behaving themselves lately?"
Dice nodded, "They've been obedient enough. We've been having them deal with the hunters recently, and the results are quite significant. Furthermore, using their equipment, we've already taken over most of Kingpin's assets."
"Next, it's about unifying Hells Kitchen and slowly cleaning up those small gangs. The title of Underground Emperor will be yours."
Sean kissed her and laughed: "That doesn't sound good. You should be the Underground Empress instead; I feel that would be even better."
Dice blushed, looked at her sister, and said, "I... I'll listen to you."
Seeing that the two of them had a good relationship, Hess felt immensely gratified. A family should get along harmoniously, after all.
Hess took out her phone, pulled up a photo, and asked, "Do you recognize Eleanor Bishop?"
Sean glanced at the photo, remembered her, and nodded. "What's wrong?"
"She owns a security company that's very sensitive. Judging by your reaction, it seems you aren't very close, so should I make a move?" Hess raised an eyebrow.
"This... she was actually quite great that night."
"So...?"
"She deserves compensation!"
Sean stared straight at Hess, feeling like it had been a long time since he'd played with them—the last time was three days ago.
"Hmph, I was just waiting for you to say that. Look, these two little girls have been waiting anxiously~"
Feifei and Isa, who were kneeling to the side, exchanged glances. Their faces instantly turned even redder, and they stammered, unable to speak.
Dice also spoke up, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go get the maid outfits you brought."
"Yes!"
Hess also looked at Sif and laughed, "You hold on for a while; we're going to go change our clothes too."
Sif nodded, and the bell around her neck chimed along with the movement.
She was growing more and more fond of this little trinket. Next time, she wanted another one—no, two!
---
In the evening, Christine walked out of the hospital looking exhausted. Not having to work a shift today was very comfortable for her, and if Sean could come over tonight, it would be even more comfortable.
"Christine, let me take you home."
Hearing the voice behind her, Christine turned around with a helpless expression. Her tone was somewhat impatient, but since this was a hospital, she had to lower her voice.
"Dr. Stephen Strange, I've said it before, you don't need to take me home. This is the third time I've said it."
"But isn't your car broken and in the shop?" Stephen Strange persisted, asking, "Look, I've asked for three days now, and your boyfriend hasn't come to pick you up once. Did you guys have a fight?"
"NO! He only has time to come over at night. What do you mean by that?"
Of course, there was nothing wrong between Christine and Sean. Every week, Sean would go to see her several times—sometimes in the early morning, sometimes at night.
But this made Stephen Strange feel something was off. What kind of boyfriend doesn't pick up his girlfriend from work, especially when she is so beautiful?
After what happened last time, Stephen Strange was indeed quite devastated, but it was precisely this that made him realize he really liked Christine.
Proud as he was, he believed that he was the man most suited for her. Regardless of education, family background, or profession—even the heart that loved her—he was surely better than that guy.
Only in terms of appearance did he admit that, perhaps, maybe, he was indeed a little lacking.
However, Stephen Strange believed that she was definitely not the type of shallow woman who only looked at appearances and ignored substance.
Just as he was preparing to continue his invitation, a car horn honked in the distance.
Sean opened the passenger door and asked with a smile, "My beautiful lady, may I give you a ride home?"
"I'd be happy to..."
Before Christine could finish her sentence, screams came from behind.
"Oh my god~ He's so handsome~ Is that Christine's boyfriend? Ah~ He looked over here, what do I do!"
There were several Nurses standing at the hospital entrance, watching the drama. They had been following this for several days, wanting to know if Stephen Strange could get a date with Christine. They hadn't expected to have such an unexpected surprise today.
No wonder she had always treated Stephen Strange with cold indifference; it turned out she had such a handsome young boyfriend at home. Tsk tsk.
Christine turned her head sharply to see who was screaming at her boyfriend.
She quickly walked to Sean's side and kissed him passionately for over a minute. She wanted them all to come out and see how handsome her boyfriend was; she had to show him off properly.
"If you still want to stay here for a while, I can go in and get a checkup, Dr. Christine."
Christine smiled brightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, "I can go back and give you a checkup~"
"A full-body one? I won't accept anything less than a full-body one."
"As you wish."
The two shared one last sweet kiss, got into the car, and drove away dashingly.
As the car drove past Stephen Strange, and he saw Christine's happy expression through the car window, his heart tightened, feeling as if he had lost something.
In the car, Christine looked at him happily and asked, "Why did you come to pick me up from work today?"
"Well, Stark gave me a car, and I wanted you to be the first to see it."
"Iron Man? Does this car have something very special about it?" Christine looked around curiously.
"Hehe, wait until I drive to a place with no people, then you'll know." Sean said with a mischievous smile.
No people... Christine blushed and didn't say anything more.
She hurriedly used the mirror in the car to check if she needed to touch up her makeup, then checked if her clothes were okay today, wondering if she should go buy a short one on the fly.
While preparing, she was also looking forward to what functions this car actually had. She stared straight at Sean, and her body even started to heat up.
Twenty minutes later...
Boing, boing, boing!
The car shook violently, and several indentations even appeared on the ground.
Sean excitedly shook her shoulders and asked: "Christine, look! Isn't it amazing!"
"...Hehe, amazing, amazing." Christine applauded with vacant eyes, her mind completely blank.
She had thought of many functions for the car, but she never imagined it would come alive!
Not only did it come alive, it was bouncing around, doing backflips in front of her.
Was this the function she had been looking forward to for so long?
Christine shook her head. When she turned around and saw Sean's excited expression, she burst out laughing.
"You really are a boy who hasn't grown up, still liking toy cars."
The Human Torch was jumping around in front of them, and suddenly it raised its arms, and brilliant fireworks were launched into the sky, exploding into colorful displays that lit up the sky.
When the largest firework exploded, Christine's name appeared in the sky, followed by several smaller fireworks that erupted into a heart shape.
Meanwhile, Christine, standing to the side, had long since covered her mouth in surprise, tears of emotion streaming down her face, unable to say a word.
"Christine." Sean took her hand and wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Mmm... Mmm!"
"I really love you so much!"
"I, I do too! Really, I really love you so much!"
Beneath the fireworks, him and her.