In the evening, Damian sat on the back of Peter Parker's bicycle, clutching a spare wheel.
"I'm not convinced! I want to appeal!" Peter muttered as he pedaled, his face oddly cheerful. "Why is it that in movies, TV shows, and comics, the people riding on the back of someone's bike are always beautiful girls—but the one on my bike is some dumb guy who won't stop cracking jokes about hell?!
"In my past life, I must've been a real jerk—ran over an old lady while blowing through a red light and dragged Stephen Hawking off to play football…"
Hearing this, Damian—perched on the rear seat—rolled his eyes and shot back in the same disgruntled tone:
"Haha! Blaming me now? If you've got a problem, just stop and let me hop on Gwen's bike instead! You selfish, stingy jerk!
You despise me? Well, I despise you too!"
"Well…" Peter retorted, "Harry invited you too! Why don't you ride in his passenger seat?"
"Bullshit! Do you really think Harry's Rolls-Royce matters more than the sheer joy of annoying you? You underestimate how much you mean to me!"
"…Thank you. You're so kind. Even if I turn into a ghost, I'll never let you go."
"You're welcome. That's the least you owe me."
"Bitch!"
"Bitch!"
...
The two bickered all the way until they reached the entrance of Damian's apartment building.
Peter slammed on the brakes, and Damian leapt off with a dramatic backflip.
"Little punk," Damian sneered, eyeing Peter with disdain, "with your pathetic skills, you still think you can fool me?"
Then he turned and strode upstairs without another word.
Peter flipped him off and rode away without looking back.
Back in his apartment, Damian didn't even take off his backpack before rushing to the cabinet. He pulled out three incense sticks and lit them before the black-and-white portrait of Dawei Qiu.
"Brother Dawei! Time to eat~"
After calling out, he carefully placed the incense in the burner before the portrait.
Once Dawei Qiu had been properly "fed," Damian finally dropped his backpack and collapsed onto the sofa.
With nothing else to do, he decided to check how many raw stones he'd accumulated lately.
Rough Diamond: 105
Damian shot upright.
"A demon is worth this much?! But he barely had a role in the movie!
Logically speaking, even if he got killed early, it shouldn't have messed with the plot that much. So why did he drop so many raw stones?
"Could it be… the Wind Demon? No, that doesn't make sense.
Not only is this guy's role only slightly bigger than the Demon King's, but just look at how sinister he was—he got straight-up shot by Xiao! It shouldn't have been that easy.
"Unless… he committed suicide?
"But then… where did all these raw stones come from?"
He paused, then shrugged.
"Whatever. Once it's in my pocket, it's mine!"
Grinning, he grabbed a change of clothes and dashed into the bathroom.
After freshening up, Damian returned to Dawei Qiu's portrait, clasped his hands together, and murmured with exaggerated piety:
"Brother Dawei, you know me well. I'm a humble, reserved man—rarely share my joys, not good with words, taciturn, and always content with what I have.
"So for this ten-hit combo, I'm not asking for much. Just a Morax, Barbatos, or Baalzebub will do. I'm easily satisfied.
But if you're feeling guilty, I wouldn't say no to a Silken Kirk or an Evil Knight… I'm very casual about it, really."
As he said that, Damian threw down a hundred raw stones.
Swish!
In an instant, a brilliant light flashed.
> Special Card ×1
> Character Card ×1
> Glass Bags ×7
> Item Card ×1
---
Character Card: [Noelle]
Vision: Geo
Constellation: Parma Cordis
Synopsis:
Noelle is a maid of the Knights of Favonius. Although she has not yet passed the knighthood exam, she has won the hearts of Mondstadt's residents through her diligence and enthusiasm.
Since childhood, she has admired chivalry—especially that of Captain Jean—and dreams of becoming an official Knight of Favonius. Despite failing the assessments many times, she persists in training, volunteers for the Knights' chores, and readily accepts citizens' requests for help, handling everything from cleaning to monster-slaying. Thus, she earned the nickname "the all-purpose maid."
She once single-handedly cleared a storm-blocked road, served as a temporary guard for a lost caravan, and even attempted to challenge the Wind Dragon alone—fortunately, Captain Jean intervened in time.
Noelle tends to be overly self-sacrificing, often pushing herself to exhaustion while helping others. However, under the Traveler's guidance, she gradually learns to act within her limits.
Gentle yet resilient, she adheres to the tenets of chivalry and holds "helping others" as her life's motto. Humble to a fault, she constantly doubts her own strength—even as she overlooks the courage and power she already possesses.
In daily life, she is attentive and considerate, excelling at housework (often carrying tea sets and cleaning tools with her). In battle, she wields a greatsword with astonishing strength.
Despite her formidable power, she frequently apologizes out of shyness. Though she may seem silly and cute, she is, in fact, highly observant of the people and happenings in Mondstadt.
Noelle loves sweets and cute things—but due to her "chivalrous reserve," she rarely admits it. When Barbara reveals this secret, she hastily denies it.
---
Item: [Glass Bag]
Description: A specialty of the Liyue region, this small flower possesses remarkable vitality. Legend says it blooms downward to protect its fragrance.
Effect: None.
---
Special Card: [Resonance Summon]
Description: Consume 200 raw stones to summon an existing character. The summoned character possesses independent consciousness and remains indefinitely. Only one instance of the same character may exist at a time.
If the summoned character falls in battle, a [Resurgence]-type food item is required to resummon them. The summoned character shares the current team's Elemental Resonance effects, but control cannot be switched to them.
---
Weapon: [White Iron Greatsword]
Rarity: ★★★
Type: Claymore
Base ATK: 401
Secondary Stat: DEF +43.9%
Passive Skill – Harvest: Restores 16% of Max HP upon defeating an enemy.
---
"Tsk~ That's all? Brother Dawei, are you really capable? With just this little, it's hard for me to do anything for you."
Damian spoke with disdain—but his right hand trembled like it had Parkinson's as he reached for the water glass on the table.
He didn't take a single sip. Instead, he poured the entire contents into his crotch.
But Damian didn't have time to worry about such a minor detail now. All his attention was fixed on the Special Card.
Just recently, he'd been torn over whether to join the Avengers—a chaotic, divisive, and widely distrusted ragtag group.
If I don't join, he thought, this world will only grow more chaotic. Without the ability to recruit allies, I might be crushed easily!
But if I do join… they've already fractured from civil war, and their history is stained by incidents like Sokovia!
Worse still, there's a high chance the Avengers will splinter again into open conflict.
Hence, Damian remained undecided.
But with this Special Card, he wouldn't need to form a team and risk being betrayed—nor would he have to go solo and sabotage himself!
As long as he gathered enough raw stones, he would be his own team!
Speaking of gathering raw stones, Damian suddenly wondered: What if I seized the San Venganza Contract and t
hen went fishing…? Would that cause even greater upheaval in the world?
"Hmm… It's worth a try!"
He stroked his chin and muttered to himself.
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