The image on the big screen froze on Loki's triumphant smile, but the audience remained stunned.
They were completely bewildered, utterly confused.
Loki faking his death to seize the throne was the least expected outcome, especially considering how illogical it seemed from every angle.
Yet, no one anticipated that this would be the correct answer, the one everyone considered impossible.
To make matters worse...
Loki not only did it, but he also succeeded.
This was outrageous.
"This is truly unexpected! Odin was actually Loki in disguise!"
Tony Stark couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Loki didn't just fake his death to seize the throne, he succeeded! He actually succeeded!"
This was something that no one present had anticipated.
"That's the problem, Loki actually succeeded." Captain America also looked incredulous. "What about Odin? Since Loki impersonated Odin and became the king of Asgard, where is Odin? Where did he go?"
Yes, where did Odin go? This was a question that everyone in front of the screen wanted to understand.
It was also a question that everyone couldn't figure out.
With Odin's strength, no matter what tricks Loki tried to pull, it shouldn't have been possible for him to succeed.
How could this happen?
Whether it was killing Odin, imprisoning Odin, or some other way to make Odin disappear from Asgard, Loki shouldn't have been able to succeed.
After all, it was Odin they were talking about.
"Could it be... that everything Loki has done was tacitly approved by Odin?" Doctor Strange asked weakly from the side.
He didn't know much about Odin's family, so he offered a possible hypothesis from his perspective.
"No way." Thor shook his head resolutely. "My father is the ruler of the Nine Realms. The position of the throne concerns the entire Nine Realms. My father wouldn't do something like that."
Everyone else also thought it was unlikely.
But after a long discussion, they still couldn't figure out how Loki had actually ascended to the throne.
It still felt so unbelievable.
"It seems we all underestimated Loki."
Black Widow finally shrugged and sighed to everyone.
Everyone had subconsciously underestimated Loki. After all, Loki's strength wasn't that great; his illusions, which he was skilled at, weren't that terrifying once you were prepared for them.
Loki's tricks and cunning were the same.
For the participants, those who knew Loki, it wouldn't be easy to be fooled.
It was understandable that everyone had underestimated him.
But now it seemed that Black Widow was right; they had indeed underestimated Loki.
Loki, as a prisoner of Asgard, had actually managed to ascend to the throne after a series of schemes. This was already an incredible feat.
This was simply not something an ordinary person could do.
"Indeed, it seems we need to re-evaluate our perception of Loki," Captain America agreed, nodding firmly.
As for how to avoid such incidents, everyone present discussed it for a while longer. Apart from having Thor keep a close eye on Loki after returning to Asgard, they couldn't come up with any other good solutions.
Because they had been discussing this for so long, no one knew how Loki had managed to do what he did.
Naturally, they had no way of knowing how to deal with it.
They could only resort to crude prevention measures.
[Question: Kaecilius attacked the London Sanctum, and Doctor Strange was severely wounded in the ensuing battle, nearly dying. Fortunately, Christine Palmer's quick actions saved his life. Who assisted Christine in providing first aid at the time?]
[A. The Ancient One]
[B. Baron Mordo]
[C, Doctor Strange]
[D, Doctor Nicodemus West]
[Friendly Reminder: Those who answer correctly will receive a reward of one Blood Bodhi; Those who answer incorrectly will have one of their attributes randomly deducted, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, and possessions, etc…]
Amidst the discussions of the crowd, the system's prompt sounded again. The corresponding text on the big screen began to fade, and at the same time, new text reappeared, covering the old.
A new question appeared.
This question, however, was about Doctor Strange.
But this question seemed somewhat "unfamiliar" to everyone.
Kaecilius, Christine, Ancient One, Baron Mordo, Doctor Nicodemus…
The names in the question and the options were completely unfamiliar to everyone, and they didn't even know where the London Sanctum was.
Upon closer inspection, only Doctor Strange from option C was someone they knew. Other than that, they were completely clueless about the question.
"Christine?"
Doctor Strange stared at the big screen, surprised.
It was clear he knew who Christine Palmer was.
"Doctor Strange, do you know who this person is?" Captain America couldn't help but turn to Doctor Strange and ask.
"She's a colleague of mine at the hospital." Doctor Strange replied, hesitating slightly before adding, "And, uh... the person I mentioned before, the one I had a bit of a… thing with."
"Just a 'thing'?"
Tony Stark transformed into Sherlock Holmes in a second, his eyes fixed on Doctor Strange. "Your behavior tells me that your relationship has already gone beyond that step. Believe me, I have unparalleled experience in this area."
"I believe you absolutely do, Stark." Black Widow couldn't help but say with a hint of teasing.
As the most famous playboy in all of America, Tony Stark was truly an authority in this matter.
"Stark, I don't need your experience. I know you're a playboy, but I'm also very popular with girls, okay?" Doctor Strange retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
Although he couldn't compare to Tony Stark, in his own field, he was undoubtedly a super genius in the style of Iron Man.
He was famous in his circle, young, rich, and not bad-looking. There were really many women who threw themselves at him.
A top doctor like Doctor Strange, in America, was absolutely an elite class and very popular.
"Speaking of which, we finally have a common language." Star-Lord, this guy, also joined in enthusiastically, his eyes shining.
"I bet the women you two have dated combined don't even come close to how many I've dated, and the women I date all come from different galaxies!"
"Actually, right before I ended up here, answering these bizarre questions, I was just dancing with a woman from Xandar…"
"Different species? I have to say, Star-Lord, you've got some interesting tastes, going across species like that," Doctor Strange said, slightly taken aback. He certainly couldn't boast of that kind of boldness.
I can't afford to be offended.
"Oh really?" Tony Stark retorted, unconvinced. "I've dated more women in a year than you can count on one hand. You sure you've got more than me?"
"Being a playboy isn't something to brag about!"
Thor chimed in, "As the prince of Asgard, countless women across the Nine Realms secretly yearn for me, but I have higher pursuits. I won't waste time on these useless romantic entanglements."
Captain America: "…"
Black Widow: "…"
"Hey, what are you guys doing?"
"Sharing dating tips?"
"Could you at least pay attention to the situation, for crying out loud!"
"Ahem!" Black Widow couldn't help but interrupt the men, who had veered off-topic. "Gentlemen, can we save the girl talk for after the quiz? And, by the way, consider Rogers' feelings!"
"I have dated, Natasha!" Captain America first shrugged, correcting Black Widow, before saying to everyone, "Alright, let's focus on the quiz."
Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, and Star-Lord, finally composed themselves and turned their attention to the big screen.
"And Nicodemus West," Doctor Strange added, introducing him. "He and Christine are colleagues of mine."
"So, Christine and Nicodemus West are both doctors," Black Widow summarized. "And the other options are mysterious sorcerers."
Although they couldn't see the use of this classification yet, they liked it. It was distinct, and helpful for answering the questions.
Once they figured out certain elements, they could eliminate a category, which meant eliminating multiple options at once.
"Doctor Strange," Thor pointed out, singling out a specific individual, "He's both a doctor and a sorcerer."
"Strange," Captain America turned his gaze towards Strange again, "Besides these two doctors, do you recognize anyone else?"
Strange just shook his head, "Aside from my two colleagues, I'm seeing everyone else in the options for the first time as well."
The others present also exchanged glances, discussing among themselves and found that no one else recognized anyone in the options.
"Ancient One, Baron Mordo, could they be the two sorcerers who fought Dormammu with Doctor Strange last time?"
Star-Lord offered this guess.
"Possibly."
Tony Stark nodded, "Perhaps the black sorcerer is Baron Mordo, and the plump Asian sorcerer is the Ancient One."
"Why is the Black mage Baron Mordo?" Star-Lord asked, sounding a bit puzzled.
"Because there aren't any titles like that in Asia," Black Widow answered Star-Lord's question, speaking for Tony Stark.
Of course, the only thing they could confirm at the moment was that the chubby Asian mage wasn't Baron Mordo, nothing more. They couldn't reach any further conclusions.
"Besides that, there's the London Sanctum. Is that a base for the mysterious magic organization?"
Captain America spoke up, making a logical guess.
No one disagreed with this.
"Regardless of what the London Sanctum is, since it's called 'London Sanctum,' that means it's in London."
"And Doctor Strange's colleague, if I'm not mistaken, shouldn't be working at any London branch? I really don't know of any hospitals that would open a branch in London."
Tony Stark immediately pointed out a crucial issue.
"Of course not!"
Doctor Strange immediately shook his head, looking puzzled. "But why? I was injured and dying in London, yet Christine saved me?"
"Perhaps Christine was just visiting London, or had some other reason to be there. In short, she just happened to be in London."
"And then she just happened to find a dying Doctor Strange, so she saved him?"
Thor spoke up, offering a reasonable hypothesis.
"Isn't that a bit too coincidental?" Star-Lord thought this hypothesis was a bit far-fetched. "I don't know what London is, but someone not from London just happened to go there, and just happened to find Doctor Strange in trouble? That's a bit too convenient, isn't it?"
"No, it's not like that." Doctor Strange shook his head decisively, firmly rejecting this idea.
"That's right!"
Black Widow nodded in agreement, supporting Doctor Strange's assessment. "The question says Doctor Strange is critically injured and on the verge of death!"
"And it's the kind of near-death experience from a fight with someone. It can't be fixed with just CPR or chest compressions."
"It would require specialized equipment in a hospital for emergency treatment, right Doctor Strange?"
"Ms. Natasha is right. Although I don't know the nature of the injury, if it nearly killed me, it would definitely require a hospital for emergency treatment," Doctor Strange affirmed, nodding seriously.
"So, Doctor Strange was seriously injured in London, then taken to a hospital, and Christine saved his life, right?"
"Then, what do you think the likelihood is that Christine will transfer to London to work as a doctor in the future?"
"Even if Christine does end up working as a doctor in London, what do you think the probability is that Doctor Strange would be sent to the same hospital? "
Tony Stark's string of questions hit the nail on the head. The scenario sounded a bit far-fetched.
It was just too convenient.
Reality wasn't a movie, where ridiculously coincidental, melodramatic events always played out.
"From what I know of Christine, she wouldn't move to London," Doctor Strange immediately chimed in to explain.
This further diminished the likelihood of what Tony Stark had described.
"So, rather than Doctor Strange accidentally ending up with Christine, I'm more inclined to believe Strange went to his old hospital on purpose!"
"We all know Doctor Strange can open portals in the future. That's entirely possible!"
....
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