After navigating through the bustling city streets with several twists and turns, Fury soon drove the car into the parking lot of a large building and led Li Ming upstairs via the elevator.
Stepping out of the elevator, Li Ming curiously surveyed his surroundings. Fury didn't stop him; instead, he explained, "This is one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rehabilitation centers for the injured."
With a sigh, Fury shook his head slightly, feigning distress as he said, "I don't like coming here, but I have no choice—especially after every major mission. I always come personally to check on the recovery of the wounded. Every time I see agents forced to retire due to injuries, my heart—" At this point, Fury shrugged and gave Li Ming a look that said, "You can imagine."
Li Ming glanced at Fury. If Fury claimed he disliked this place, Li Ming believed it—after all, watching his hard-trained agents walk away with hefty compensation packages was undoubtedly painful. But as for him frequently visiting the wounded? Yeah, right. Li Ming wasn't buying that.
Before long, Fury led Li Ming into an operating room.
Inside, two doctors in insulated protective suits were carefully removing ice blocks from the unconscious Captain, each wielding a laser pointer as they worked around the operating table. They didn't even glance at Li Ming and Fury barging in, seemingly focused solely on freeing the Captain from the ice. As long as no one disrupted their work, it didn't matter who came to see him.
Li Ming silently approached the operating table. Most of the ice covering the Captain's upper body had already been removed, leaving only a thin layer clinging to his skin.
However, even this thin ice was 70-year-old vintage ice. Though not as hard as steel, its close contact with the Captain's skin made removing it without causing harm a time-consuming task.
Feeling the chill in the operating room, Fury instinctively tightened his trench coat and stood behind Li Ming, watching the Captain. "Do you have any suitable spells—"
Before Fury could finish, Li Ming, without a word, placed his glowing magical hand on the Captain's chest. As his magic surged forth, the ice on the Captain's body instantly transformed into mist, dispersing into the air.
This was only possible because Li Ming had studied the Magic Lamp Genie's spells. While he couldn't outright erase the ice, turning it into mist was well within his capabilities.
Under Li Ming's control, the mist slowly drifted to a corner, forming a miniature iceberg.
Li Ming's decisiveness took Fury by surprise. The man lying on the operating table wasn't just any hero—he was the Captain, the embodiment of American spirit. Fury doubted Li Ming was unaware of his significance.
For the sake of the Captain's safety—and to avoid being torn apart by the Security Council—Fury had even prepared himself for a hefty negotiation.
Yet, Li Ming had thawed the Captain without even demanding compensation first. This left Fury baffled: What's your angle? Taken a liking to America's ass? Let me tell you, that's never happening.
Fortunately, Li Ming's attention was entirely focused on the injuries on the Captain's legs. Had he turned around now and seen—Behind Fury's constipated expression, Li Ming was determined to turn the frost on the ground into ice inside Fury's skull.
From the outside, the injuries on the captain's legs didn't seem severe—just slightly pale with some red patches. But Li Ming knew that if he didn't intervene, the captain would truly retire as an ordinary man upon waking up.
If not for the captain's enhanced physique, the alternating cycles of freezing and high temperatures would have left his legs either crippled or severely damaged. Moreover, residual energy from the high-temperature beams remained in his legs—energy infused with divine power. Given S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current technology, removing it would likely take a considerable amount of time.
By the time Thanos kicked the bucket, the captain might just be hobbling around on crutches.
But for Li Ming, who had already extracted divine power, this wasn't a big issue. He estimated it would only take a few days.
Under Fury's wide-eyed astonishment, Li Ming confirmed the extent of the captain's injuries. As he extracted the energy with one hand, he simultaneously cast healing spells on the captain, ensuring he would recover immediately even if injured.
Faced with Li Ming's unusual behavior, Fury rubbed his chin, contemplating whether to take advantage of Li Ming's rare generosity and ask him to use his spells to heal all the agents in the rehabilitation center.
Before Fury could finish his thoughts, Li Ming took out a vial of Eternal Spring Water from his shoulder bag and carefully dripped a drop into the captain's mouth.
Fury rubbed his single eye, still unsure whether he was hallucinating, when he saw Li Ming take out two more drops of Eternal Spring Water and apply them to the captain's legs.
At this point, Fury was certain—Li Ming was sick, and seriously so. Three drops of Eternal Spring Water! If he could get his hands on them for research, who knew what kind of miracle drugs could be developed?
"Austin," Fury squinted and whispered, "Could you leave a few drops of Eternal Spring Water here? It'd be convenient for me to use on the captain tomorrow."
Li Ming responded with a single middle finger and snapped, "Piss off!"
Nearby, two doctors in thermal protective suits recoiled in shock when the ice block suddenly turned into mist. If not for Fury's calm demeanor as he followed Li Ming, they would have screamed and bolted from the operating room.
Now, seeing Li Ming completely disregard the director's authority—while Fury not only didn't lose his temper but obediently stepped aside—the two doctors regarded Li Ming with awe: What a thick thigh to cling to! If they held on tight, maybe even Fury wouldn't dare boss them around.
After finishing his spells, Li Ming signaled for the captain to be moved to a regular room.
Shortly after, Li Ming quietly stepped back, arms crossed, watching with a complicated expression as the captain, now on a ventilator, was about to wake up.
In the Marvel world, among the people Li Ming admired most, the captain undoubtedly held the top spot. When it comes to ranking the combat abilities of various heroes, the Captain wouldn't even make the top ten. But if we're talking about moral character and integrity—who would dare challenge him? Odin once placed an enchantment on Mjolnir, and the way to break it had nothing to do with strength—only those with a truly pure heart could lift the hammer.
And the Captain was precisely that kind of person—righteous, pure-hearted, and nearly flawless in conduct. That's why he could lift Mjolnir.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Wanda manipulated the Avengers, even Thor couldn't avoid seeing illusions—though, given his divine power, Wanda couldn't do much to him anyway.
The Captain, however? He didn't have any fancy divine power. He resisted the illusions purely through the strength of his own will. Later, Stark even asked him, "How can someone have no darkness inside them?"
Clearly, the Captain's reputation as "God's righteous man" wasn't just empty praise.
As for Li Ming? In his past life, he was just an ordinary nobody. He might have helped an old lady cross the street or tossed some food to a stray dog out of kindness.
Back then, whether due to upbringing or fear of authority, he couldn't exactly be called good, but he certainly wasn't evil either.
But after arriving in the Marvel world—especially after gaining supernatural powers and becoming untouchable by any regulatory body—what hadn't he done? Murder, arson, robbery, plunder...
As his power grew, his heart changed. If he saw an old lady finally making it across the street to her doorstep, he'd be more likely to drag her back to the other side than help her.
And when he saw a stray dog? Sure, food might cross his mind first—but he'd be more concerned with whether the pot at home was big enough before considering anything else.
Hell, just to make his own life easier and to aid his collection of the Infinity Stones, he'd even used the souls of innocents to create wraiths and unleashed them on S.H.I.E.L.D.
In short, Li Ming had long discarded his conscience in his quest to return home and gain power. He didn't care what methods he used.
He had become the very kind of villain he once avoided.
Faced with the saintly Captain, Li Ming didn't know how to describe his own feelings—there was admiration, envy, but no regret.
Seeing someone as rare as a panda like the Captain, Li Ming figured that if he could help within his means, he would. Call it a lingering sentiment.
As time passed, the Captain's fingers twitched slightly on the hospital bed. One sharp-eyed doctor noticed and shouted excitedly, "Sir! The Captain moved!"
"I saw," Fury replied, keeping his voice stern to maintain his cool demeanor in front of his subordinates, even though he was inwardly just as thrilled. "Keep it down. Don't disturb him."
Li Ming gave the doctor a deadpan look, then glanced at Fury's poker face. Which one of you is actually being louder here?
A little later, the Captain's eyelashes fluttered weakly before he finally opened his eyes under the expectant gazes of everyone present. The captain who had slept for 70 years remained alert like a soldier should be upon waking, though his body was too weak to rise.
Glancing at Fury and the others, the captain cautiously surveyed his surroundings and asked, "Where is this?"
"New York," Fury replied calmly, recognizing the captain's guarded state. "The war is over, soldier."
The captain licked his slightly chapped lips, thinking hard as he struggled to ask, "And who are you? Why am I here?"
Fury said, "You've been asleep for 70 years. I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the successor to—"
Nearby, Li Ming, who had been silent, suddenly conjured an 'apple' out of thin air and handed it to the captain. "You need this," he said.
The two doctors examining the captain were startled when Li Ming casually produced the apple. As the captain took it, they hurriedly interjected, "The captain just woke up—his digestive system hasn't started working yet. He should start with liquid food."
Li Ming shook his head slightly and conjured a few more apples, handing them to Fury and the doctors, gesturing for them to try. "It's just ordinary water."
The doctors and Fury took the bright red 'apples' skeptically: Is this really water? Are we blind or have we lost our sense of touch?
Only after Fury took a bite—and his taste buds confirmed it was just water shaped like an apple—did he continue explaining S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history to the captain.
Seeing Fury finish the apple in a few bites, the captain hesitantly took a bite himself. Aside from the moisture, there was no fruit flavor at all. Curious, he looked at Li Ming and asked, "Has technology advanced enough to disguise water as fruit now?"
Li Ming shrugged, his tone indifferent. "It's magic."
The captain assumed Li Ming was joking and smiled politely before frowning at Fury. "So you're saying I was frozen for nearly 70 years?"
Fury shrugged. "No point in telling a flimsy lie." He pointed at the window. "Maybe you should see the outside world for yourself and compare it to what you remember."
The captain studied Fury carefully before mustering the strength to rise from the hospital bed, determined to see the world outside.
The two doctors quickly stepped forward to support him, helping him to the window.
After a moment, Li Ming noticed the captain staring wistfully at the drastically changed world outside. He thought for a moment before asking, "Are you thinking about that dance you owe someone?"
"Peggy Carter..." The captain, lost in sweet memories, allowed the doctors to guide him back to bed before hesitantly asking, "Is she... doing well?" Clearly, despite the Captain's weakened state, his smooth and youthful skin showed that his appearance was far from that of an old man. Peggy Carter, however, likely hadn't received the same treatment. By now, she had either already passed away or was lying on a sickbed waiting for death—the best-case scenario being confined to a wheelchair.
No matter what condition Peggy Carter was in, fulfilling their old promise to dance wouldn't be easy. After all, age had taken its toll—whether she could even stand was uncertain. Who knew if dancing with Peggy Carter might result in a broken bone or if his clumsy footwork would send her straight to the afterlife?
And what if Peggy Carter had gotten married? Would that make him the other man? A guy with the actual age of nearly a century but the appearance of a young man, competing with some old geezer for a nearly centenarian woman?
That was something he just couldn't bring himself to do.
Fury: "Not bad. Peggy Carter is enjoying her twilight years like any normal elderly person."
After saying this, Fury thoughtfully walked over to Li Ming and asked quietly, "You want to restore Peggy Carter's youth?" After a pause, he half-guessed, half-declared, "Does the Water of Eternal Life replenish lost lifespan and restore youth? Or do you have a spell that can rejuvenate humans?"
Li Ming shrugged, signaling that he had no such rejuvenation spell, and casually explained, "The reason it's called the Water of Eternal Life is because it's the main ingredient for the Elixir of Immortality."
Fury froze at the word "immortality," his lone eye widening in disbelief, only to see Li Ming smack his lips regretfully. "Too bad—environmental destruction has long since wiped out the supplementary ingredients."
"Wiped out?" Fury narrowed his eyes, intrigued. "So, does that mean someone once collected the materials, or that someone achieved immortality with them?"
Li Ming guessed what Fury was thinking and smirked dismissively. "What, you want to track down those two immortal women and chat about history? Save your energy. Immortality doesn't equate to power. They hid for 2,000 years before getting killed—that's already a good run. Besides, immortality?" He patted Fury's shoulder mockingly. "The allure of that is a bit too strong. A small-time faction like yours wouldn't even make the waiting list."
Fury's eyes gleamed as he asked with a smile, "I'd say S.H.I.E.L.D. is quite a significant force. Care to tell me where we rank?"
Li Ming wasn't stupid—he knew Fury was fishing for information about Earth's major factions. Rolling his eyes, he ignored Fury and turned to the Captain. "Captain—"
"Steve," Steve replied politely with a smile. "Just call me Steve. The war's over, and I'm at retirement age. The title 'Captain' doesn't suit me anymore."
Thinking of retiring? You've got a long wait ahead. Li Ming scratched his head and said, "Alright, Steve. Ever heard the story of Aladdin?"
Steve didn't understand why Li Ming was asking him about Aladdin. He nodded blankly, indicating he'd heard of the name.
Fury, standing nearby, reacted quite differently. His expression instantly turned constipated as he glared resentfully at Li Ming.
Not long ago, Mephisto had come to Earth and even had a friendly chat with one of his subordinates. Then there were the Asgardians from mythology who also visited Earth. These were all supposed to be characters from bedtime fairy tales. Now, Li Ming was bringing up another fairy tale character—no doubt Aladdin wasn't just a simple fairy tale either. Fury felt like pointing at Li Ming's nose and demanding: "Damn it, are there any pure fairy tales left in this world? How many bedtime stories do you people plan to ruin?"
Rubbing his temples in frustration, Fury signaled for Li Ming to stop talking. He waited until the two doctors left the room at his gesture and personally locked the door before letting out a long sigh. "Austin," he asked, "what do you think about me contacting the Triskelion headquarters right now and ordering agents to collect and analyze all fairy tales to determine which are just stories and which are historical facts?"
Li Ming curled his lip and shrugged. "From the tone of your voice, you want me to help analyze what's a fairy tale and what's history?"
Before Fury could nod, Li Ming gave him a 'get lost' look and turned to Steve. "Since you know about Aladdin, the Genie Lamp shouldn't be unfamiliar to you."
The super-soldier serum hadn't just given Steve a muscular physique—it also sharpened his mind and observational skills. Seeing Fury's unusual expression and considering their conversation, Steve quickly realized something was off. Facing Li Ming's question, he thought carefully before nodding cautiously. "Is there something wrong with that fairy tale now?"
"The fairy tale isn't the problem. The problem is the lamp in the story," Li Ming said, pointing at himself before dropping a bombshell: "I have it."
With his arms crossed, Li Ming looked mockingly at Fury, who was massaging his forehead with twitching lips. His tone was clearly saying, 'You know I have this treasure, but there's nothing you can do about it.' "Just rub the lamp and command the Magic Lamp Genie in Arabic," he continued with a grin, "and it'll grant you three wishes."
After a moment's thought, Li Ming added, "There are three types of wishes the lamp can't fulfill. One of them involves life—it can't resurrect the dead. In fact, restoring youth falls under life magic, so the Genie can't do that either. But it can temporarily restore someone to their youthful stamina—at least enough for Peggy Carter to dance with you."
Steve lowered his head in thought before asking, "Does magic really exist in this world?"
Li Ming shrugged. "The magical world has always existed—it's just not known to ordinary people."
"Why do mages choose to live in seclusion?" Steve asked curiously.
This was something Fury had always wondered about too. Mages seemed like lofty beings—why would they...38. If a mage were to reveal themselves to the public, no celebrity could possibly compete with their ability to attract followers. And how much wealth and connections would those yearning for supernatural power be willing to spend to become an exalted mage?
Wouldn't these things hold any appeal for mages who haven't been doing well?
In the past, Fury would have been nothing but curious—he knew all too well how tight-lipped Li Ming could be. Getting any information out of Li Ming was clearly impossible.
But now things were different. Judging by Li Ming's attitude toward Steve, there might actually be a chance of getting an answer.
Unfortunately...
Li Ming shook his head and said, "If you're curious, I can find time to explain it to you. But you must swear not to reveal the reason to anyone—not even by writing it in a diary."
Steve gave Li Ming a serious look, then raised an eyebrow at Fury. Clearly, Steve understood why Li Ming had chosen to share the secret with him alone.
After nodding to indicate he understood, Steve asked in puzzlement, "Judging by Fury's expression, I'm guessing he doesn't know you have the Genie Lamp. Why are you telling me the secret of the lamp? What do you want from me?"
"Just took a liking to you," Li Ming replied, leaving Steve momentarily stunned. Then, scratching his head slightly embarrassed, he added, "Back then, I tricked the Magic Lamp Genie pretty badly. So when you use the lamp, it's best not to mention my name, or he'll only grant your wish at a discount. Also, the Genie isn't as innocent as in fairy tales—you might as well think of him as a Devil."
"A Devil?" Nowadays, Fury knew Devils were real. Hearing Li Ming compare the Genie to a Devil, he instinctively asked, "Making a wish from a Devil comes at a price, and the outcome is usually far from pleasant. What's the cost of wishing from the Genie Lamp? Or are there any precautions?"
Li Ming shook his head. "There's no cost—at least not one you'll pay. As for precautions..." He thought for a moment, then looked at Steve. "Arabic is the Genie's official wishing language. Only wishes made in Arabic can command him. Also, phrase your wish like the strictest contract—the more detailed, the better. Detailed enough that even the Genie can't weasel out of it in court. Otherwise, he'll screw you over."
Steve chuckled wryly and shook his head. "I don't speak Arabic. Maybe I should just forget about wishing."
Unsure whether Steve still didn't believe in magic or was worried about something else, Li Ming waved his hand and opened a Portal, calling out, "Kreacher, prepare a guest room. We have a distinguished visitor."
Without waiting for Steve's consent, Li Ming helped him up and led him through the Portal. Just before it closed, he turned back and said, "Fury, Steve's leg injury will take a few days to treat. He'll stay with me during that time. It'll also give the Captain some space to think about whether to use the lamp."
Steve, bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Portal in the hospital room, only snapped out of it after the Portal closed. He asked in amazement, "So this is magic?"
As soon as Steve spoke, Kreacher appeared before Li Ming, blinking his large eyes in greeting before locking gazes with the equally curious Steve. "Hello, honored guest. I am Kreacher. It is my pleasure to serve you."
Steve glanced at Li Ming, who had essentially "kidnapped" him, then greeted Kreacher with a "Hello, I'm Steve" before whispering to Li Ming, "What kind of creature is this?"
"A type of Genie," Li Ming replied, helping Steve to a lakeside lounge chair to rest. As he settled Steve in, he explained about Kreacher and reminded him of the taboos concerning House Elves. After a long while, Steve was savoring the medicinal cuisine infused with magical power while gazing at the Genie Lamp in his hand. He smiled bitterly and said, "It seems I've been away from the world for too long. Fairy tales have become history, and the changes are so drastic that I can't comprehend them anymore."