Li Ming's admiration didn't make Loki proud—instead, it left him with a faint sense of melancholy: This damn Wizard who never plays by the rules! Weren't we supposed to discuss your use of dark energy? How did the conversation suddenly shift to scheming and sowing discord?
But it didn't matter. Even if the dark energy issue was brushed aside for now, someone would surely bring it up later.
Besides, you've got plenty of weaknesses to exploit. After some thought, Loki smiled as he looked at the scythe on Li Ming's shoulder and said, "If I'm not mistaken, your scythe-shaped staff is made of Uru metal, isn't it?"
Li Ming's eyes flickered as he roughly guessed what Loki was getting at—nothing more than bringing up the dark energy matter again. His intentions were too obvious, so he was probably trying to remind others through the weapon that 'this Wizard is dangerous, approach with caution.' But honestly, Li Ming couldn't care less. As long as the Ancient One didn't come after him, he could act as recklessly as he wanted.
Patting the scythe, Li Ming boasted, "You've got a good eye. This is indeed Uru metal, and it was forged from materials taken off your dear father's armor." Stroking the scythe, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you think of my craftsmanship? Much better than your staff, right?"
Loki gave the scythe a once-over and replied with a smirk, "I can't speak for the craftsmanship, but I do know someone of your strength couldn't possibly modify Uru metal. And I can't sense any divine power in this scythe." Shaking his head slightly, he chuckled, "So which idiot drained the divine power? Not only did it degrade the quality of the Uru metal, but it also permanently cost the Destroyer one of its mighty legs."
Glancing at the confused expressions of those around them, Loki cheerfully added, "By the way, the Destroyer was an armor Odin nearly bankrupted himself to create. It's one of Asgard's proudest treasures worth protecting. But now—" He shook his head regretfully. "You've crippled Asgard's finest armor, and it's a permanent disability at that. How do you think Asgardians will view you? And what measures do you think Odin will take against you and whoever dared to extract the divine power behind your back?"
Natasha, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at the scythe in Li Ming's hand and guessed with a slight headache, "March to Earth and reclaim the Uru metal from Austin?"
Li Ming rolled his eyes at Natasha and said dryly, "Only someone who knows nothing about Asgard would suggest Odin would march to Earth over this."
Turning back to Loki, Li Ming pointed at his own nose and said, "You think I don't know anything? Odin is a busy man maintaining the Nine Realms. He doesn't have time to bother with me. Besides, with Asgard's accumulated wealth over the years, forging a new leg for the Destroyer shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"As for whether Odin will send someone to deal with me—" Li Ming lowered his head, pretending to think, then stroked his chin and said to Loki, "I bet Odin will send someone to thank me for dismantling the Destroyer's leg, because I did it to save his precious son."
"And whether His Majesty's gratitude will make his little adopted son here feel heartbroken—" Li Ming shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, you're not my son, so I don't know how to comfort you. Maybe I should just say, 'My condolences'?"
Li Ming's repeated emphasis on "precious son" seemed to strike a nerve with Loki, making him wonder if this Wizard knew something he shouldn't.After some thought, Loki felt that discussing whether his son was affectionate in front of the public would be undignified, so he decisively changed the subject. "Alright, it seems Thor has already told you about Uru metal, which is why you're so confident," he said, pausing before pointing at the scythe's blade with a mocking smile. "That's Hellfire on your scythe, isn't it? As far as I know, only the Devil can wield such flames."
As soon as he finished speaking, Loki seemed to realize something and pretended to shrink his neck like a 'good kid afraid of the Devil,' though his face was full of sarcastic glee. "Did you ally with Hell and gain the Devil's backing to ignore Hellfire? Or have you already been corrupted by dark energy and turned yourself into one of the Devil's kin? Otherwise, how do you explain how you made Hellfire obey you?"
Before Li Ming could retort, Loki shook his head slightly. "I don't believe Earth's Wizards are strong enough to control Hellfire so effortlessly without switching sides. After all, even most gods can't freely manipulate Hellfire."
"Uh—" Li Ming scratched his head. "The way you phrased that is pretty ambiguous. It almost makes me think Earth's Wizards should be weak. Unfortunately," he spread his hands, his lips curling into a disdainful smirk, "you know far too little about Earth's Wizards. Take Dormammu, for example. Do you know how pitiful that guy is? Ever heard of the Ancient One? She's the top dog of Earth's Wizard community, a big shot who casually picks fights with Dormammu and beats him into all sorts of begging poses."
Loki, being a Wizard himself, was well aware of Dormammu's reputation. His face stiffened, and he instinctively retorted sharply, "Impossible! Dormammu is—"
Before Loki could finish, Li Ming waved him off. "The ruler of the Dark Dimension, I know. In fact, every Earth Wizard knows Dormammu can draw pure mystical energy from the Dark Dimension. He can create life and grant others immense power, and as long as he has followers, he'll never truly die."
At the end, Li Ming crouched curiously in front of Loki and asked, "Rumor has it Dormammu claims to be as strong as Odin. What do you think about that?"
Faced with Li Ming's sudden question, Loki felt his mind go blank, utterly unsure how to respond. His first instinct was to wonder if his plan to invade Earth was too foolish, given that the Ancient One existed.
Wait—Loki suddenly thought of something. "If even Dormammu isn't a match for the Ancient One, why have I never heard of Dormammu being killed? Even if he can't truly die, I haven't even heard rumors of his defeat."
"And," Loki added with a look of distrust, "if this 'Ancient One' you speak of is so powerful, why are there no whispers of her in the cosmos? Unless you can provide proof.""Who the hell do you think you are?" Li Ming sneered disdainfully. "A nobody like you isn't worthy of asking about Master Ancient One's whereabouts. As for evidence—" He stiffened his neck defiantly. "I don't have any, and even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you."
Loki's expression froze, his face twisting into the ugliest scowl imaginable. It wasn't Li Ming's lack of proof about Ancient One's existence on Earth that angered him—it was being called a nobody that stung.
Who was he? Though not a pure-blooded Aesir, he was still ostensibly the second prince of Asgard. Since when had he ever been treated as insignificant? Moreover, Li Ming's inability to provide evidence of Earth's powerful Wizards led Loki to instinctively assume Ancient One was just a boogeyman story made up to scare children.
Besides, some things had already reached a point of no return.
Perhaps he could test whether Ancient One truly existed through the Chitauri affair?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Loki suddenly heard thunder roaring inexplicably. Glancing at the lightning outside the window, he hunched his shoulders and retreated to his seat, his eyelid twitching involuntarily.
Noticing Loki's sudden docility, Steve looked at the lightning outside the quinjet and asked curiously, "You afraid of lightning?"
Loki forced a smile. "It's not the lightning I dislike—it's whoever comes with it."
No sooner had Loki spoken than something heavy crashed onto the quinjet's roof, shaking the entire aircraft.
"Thor's here too," Li Ming scratched his head. Before he could say more, Stark opened the hatch. Amid Li Ming's shouts of "Wait—!", Thor barged in, grabbed Loki by the neck like a chicken, and leaped out of the quinjet.
Li Ming smacked his lips and turned to Stark with an innocent look. "You did hear me yell 'wait,' right?"
Stark shrugged and patted Li Ming's shoulder. "I can confirm your voice wasn't ultrasonic or infrasonic—my ears caught it loud and clear. That's why I didn't intervene. By the way, do you know this bedsheet-clad guy who looks ready to camp anywhere?"
"Thor. Loki's brother," Li Ming replied with a shrug.
"Thor the God of Thunder? No wonder he moves like lightning. But we need Loki—only he knows where the Tesseract is." With that, Stark jumped out of the quinjet.
Seeing Stark leap, Steve grabbed a parachute and followed without hesitation.
Peering through the hatch at the pitch-black ground below, Li Ming closed it and sat beside Natasha, carefully stroking his Mind Stone-embedded staff. Grinning, he said, "It's freezing out there. I'll sit this one out. Anyone want an ice-cold beer to quench their thirst?"
Natasha shot him a sidelong glance from the co-pilot's seat. "First you say it's cold outside, then you offer iced beer? You really are a moronic Wizard—no, not moronic. More like a slippery Wizard."
Natasha narrowed her eyes as she maneuvered the aircraft to turn toward Stark and the others, saying, "You're quite cunning."
"Why do you say that?" Li Ming blinked, puzzled. "Where am I cunning? I'll have you know I'm famously honest and reliable. Just because we're familiar doesn't mean you can slander me without legal consequences."
"Honest and adorable little gentleman?" A dark line formed on Natasha's forehead as she felt an inexplicable anger rising in her chest. For some reason, the cockpit suddenly felt stifling—maybe she should press the ejection button on Austin's seat to let some air in?
Suppressing the urge to eject Li Ming from the aircraft, Natasha took a deep breath and sneered, "Coulson saw you cut off the Destroyer's thigh armor with your own eyes. So when Loki mentioned the material of your scythe, you admitted it outright because you knew you couldn't deny it. After all, the Destroyer is still being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D., and we could easily test your scythe's composition."
"But what about the dark energy?"
With a look that said 'I've seen through your act,' Natasha glanced at Li Ming and said, "You've been dodging and obfuscating, with no intention of explaining anything to Loki or us."
"You know full well that S.H.I.E.L.D. can't contact other Wizards, which means we have no way to understand the corrosive nature of dark energy or its consequences. We can't analyze you thoroughly."
"As for Hellfire, I suspect it's connected to Carter Slade or Johnny Blaze. But since Coulson didn't witness how you obtained it, it's just speculation. Without evidence, of course, you get to decide what's true."
Natasha concluded, "Apart from the scythe material, which S.H.I.E.L.D. can verify, everything Loki mentioned was derailed by you. And you call yourself an 'honest and adorable little gentleman'? Give me a break!"