In the distance, a few small black dots gradually grew larger. It was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who had been observing the battle from afar, coming in to clean up the aftermath. Those who needed to be sent to the hospital were sent, and the recovered items were taken back.
The situation with Dr. Banner would have to wait until he woke up, but the Director couldn't stop eyeing Liu A'dou. "I didn't expect this, didn't expect this at all. Hidden beneath the surface. Indeed, anyone chosen by the gods isn't ordinary. Liu, you're the first person I've seen who has defeated the Hulk."
"Don't waste your breath. I'm not joining S.H.I.E.L.D.," Liu A'dou said, fearing further harassment.
The Director, caught off guard, wasn't embarrassed. "You could consider it. Is that armor you were wearing some kind of divine artifact? Does it give mortals the power of gods? Like Thor's hammer—only the chosen can wield it?"
Liu A'dou glanced at the one-eyed Director. "You've figured it out. That's Odin's battle suit. It's the armor Odin created for the first Valkyrie, imbued with his divine power."
"You possess the ability to wield a divine artifact. You must have the kind of character recognized by Odin himself," the one-eyed Director mused, misunderstanding the source of Liu A'dou's power, thinking it came from the artifact.
Liu A'dou didn't respond, as he was absolutely not joining S.H.I.E.L.D. "If there's nothing else, I need to get home. There's a lot I need to take care of."
He indeed had a lot to do—concerts, bio-muscles, and so much more. Without hesitation, he climbed into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicopters. "Take me to the nearest airport."
"This isn't a taxi," the pilot couldn't help but mutter.
The Director also boarded, hoping to have a few more words with Liu A'dou. "To the nearest airport."
The pilot was mentally exhausted but had no choice but to follow orders. The two men put on their headsets, and the Director spoke again. "Liu, I must say I have a newfound respect for you. I used to think you were just all talk, but now I realize how much you've learned from the gods. The Cosmic Diva you mentioned? It wasn't just a wild fantasy after all." The Director's eyes were lit up, impressed by Liu A'dou's battle prowess. He still thought that Odin's battle suit was the source of Liu A'dou's power, not realizing that Liu A'dou's strength came from his own training. The Director couldn't imagine a cultivation technique that could make someone as strong as Liu A'dou. The Hulk was considered unbeatable, so he naturally assumed it was the Odin armor that made Liu A'dou so powerful, which didn't surprise him.
The Director could accept that the Hulk had been defeated by a divine artifact.
"I finally understand where your confidence comes from. It seems the gods really gave you some incredible gifts. I don't have the authority to demand you hand over those items to the state, but I think you'll need supervision," the Director continued. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is an organization dedicated to protecting national security. Any existence that could potentially harm the country must be under our watch. Liu, you may not join S.H.I.E.L.D., but you must accept our supervision."
Liu A'dou had no intention of staying in the U.S., but the Director didn't say that outright.
"Your attitude is shifting pretty fast," Liu A'dou said calmly. "Handing over the items to the state is clearly not an option. The artifact still belongs to Odin. But if you want to keep an eye on me, I won't oppose it. Send someone if you like; after all, I could use the extra help. If you can send someone to run errands for me, I'd appreciate it." Liu A'dou was willing to compromise, not wanting to strain his relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. too much.
Liu A'dou was becoming more and more unpredictable. Originally thought to be just the husband of one of their agents, it turned out he had ties to mutants. Now it seemed he wielded a powerful artifact. The Director had to be extra cautious. Though Liu A'dou didn't appear to have any malicious intentions, people could change, so they needed to keep him under careful surveillance. Liu A'dou wasn't trustworthy enough for the Director to fully believe in him yet.
"Thank you for understanding. An agent will be assigned to you soon," the Director said. Liu A'dou's cooperation had been expected, especially since his wife was already a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. The Director knew Liu A'dou wouldn't reject their supervision. It wasn't exactly "surveillance," but more like "observation" through contact, ensuring that Liu A'dou didn't undergo any unexpected changes.
Liu A'dou was unwilling to join S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Director didn't press him. As long as they kept in contact, that was enough.
On the way back to New York on a commercial flight, it was Liu A'dou's first time flying in a passenger plane, and the several-hour journey was incredibly boring. If it weren't for the X-Men being injured, they would have returned to the academy together. Now, Liu A'dou had traveled by plane and fought, using up a lot of energy to finally get back home. Luckily, the plane ticket was paid for by the Director.
What Liu A'dou didn't know was that the one-eyed Director had withheld his information. The Director knew that if the higher-ups found out about Liu A'dou's artifact, they wouldn't trust him. Who knew what measures they would take? But Liu A'dou's power was extraordinary. If they acted rashly, they could only anger him. Liu A'dou might end up becoming an enemy of the U.S., and at that point, there would be no turning back. After all, he was the one who had defeated the Hulk, and he also carried the status of being a divine emissary. For now, it was best to keep things quiet.
The real reason, however, was that the Director believed Liu A'dou's power, combined with the artifact, was far too destructive. Considering the Hulk couldn't be stopped by anyone, Liu A'dou, who had defeated him, was even more impressive. Therefore, Liu A'dou received the same treatment as Hulk—no pressure, just observation.
Since Iron Man wasn't around, Liu A'dou rushed back to the Antarctic to check on the progress of the bio-muscles. These bio-muscles were crucial to the success of the Mechanical Kid.
Luckily, the Antarctic base had plenty of energy and full equipment. The bio-muscles were finally completed. They weren't red but were instead made of transparent silicone. However, this was just the raw material, and they still needed further processing.
After refining them to resemble human muscles and adding electricity, they indeed functioned like real muscles. The Mechanical Kid was now nearly ready.
Liu A'dou immediately started working on the synthetic skin and began installing the muscles.
Once the bio-muscles were attached to the metal skeleton, a terrifying robot with grayish-white muscles was born. The second test run began, and the mechanical noise disappeared as expected.
Knowledge was truly power. Liu A'dou quickly went to work installing the external armor. The horror was gone, replaced by a sleek, sci-fi-looking prototype robot with a smooth, polished body. The final step was to add the skin, and once that was done, a robot that looked almost identical to a human appeared.
Perfect. Liu A'dou was more and more satisfied. Unknowingly, he had worked for two days straight. But the robot was finally finished—it could run, jump, and even make subtle facial expressions. Unfortunately, the operating system still wasn't perfect, and many things couldn't be done yet. However, it was more than enough to play the role of the Mechanical Kid. This was the most realistic fake Liu A'dou had ever made. It was much better than those old inflatable dummies.
"Haha, from now on, I can totally use the clone technique," Liu A'dou chuckled. Seeing two identical people standing together felt a bit strange, but there was more a sense of accomplishment. This wasn't a magic trick prop; this was a real robot—no mere imitation like Iron Man's suit, but a realistic robot capable of mimicking his own mechanical phantom thief.
With the Mechanical Kid ready, Liu A'dou immediately thought of testing it out. He decided to visit Tony Stark. Originally, he was going to go alone to talk to Tony, but now, he could bring 'Kid' along.
Liu A'dou had planned to go to Tony with a Phantom Thief card, saying he had helped Kid in Gotham City and now Kid was returning the favor. Back then, he would have had to convince Tony to believe him, but now he and Kid could go to Tony openly.
Going together would save him the trouble of explaining everything.
Tony had been abroad for two days but had finally returned. As the owner of a major corporation, he had delegated many things to Pepper Potts, but some matters still required his personal attention. He never expected that when he returned home, someone would already be waiting for him in his newly repaired mansion.