"Knock, knock, knock!"
The familiar knocking sound.
From the rhythm of the knock and the scent in the air, James Nixxon could confirm that the person was Mrs. Samantha.
Besides that, there was also an unfamiliar scent in the air.
It was a male scent. From the smell, James could tell that the person was very healthy, even robust, and he carried a strong smell of gasoline.
This was James's ability after transforming into a Basilisk. Although this ability would be greatly reduced after transforming back into a human, it was undeniably terrifying.
He only needed to smell a person once to determine their identity, and even their physical condition, based on the scent.
However, Mrs. Samantha's scent carried a hint of decay, age, and fatigue to James's nose.
But considering Mrs. Samantha was already seventy-five this year, and the average lifespan in America had just surpassed seventy, Mrs. Samantha was already doing much better than most people.
So he didn't think too much about it.
Sure enough, the moment James opened the door, the kind-faced Mrs. Samantha stood at the room's entrance with a tall, strong man.
"James, this is Owen. Owen, this is James Nixxon."
"Don't let his intimidating appearance fool you; he actually has a very good heart."
"Hello, my name is James Nixxon, and I am six years old."
"Hello, my name is Owen, Owen Toledo."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, under Mrs. Samantha's guidance, the two parties exchanged information about each other.
From James, Owen learned that he was a smart child. Although he was young, perhaps because he had been an orphan since childhood, he was very sensible, and his orphan status had not defeated this six-year-old boy; instead, it had become nourishment for his growth.
Owen was very satisfied with James.
He had originally planned to adopt a child. Ever since his wife passed away, he had been raising a son and a daughter by himself. Unlike other struggling and exhausted single men, Owen loved taking care of children and cherished the feeling of a family being together.
However, as his eldest son, Dominic Toledo, entered his rebellious high school phase, the feeling of "family" gradually diminished in the home. He had originally only intended to pick a child he liked to raise, but he never expected Mrs. Samantha to leave him such a big surprise.
And James also gained a concrete understanding of the man in front of him through Owen's narration.
This surprised Owen.
You know, the other party was just a six-year-old child. What was he doing when he was six?
Playing games, chasing a big yellow dog all day long?
Yet, James, at six years old, had already learned to think. Regardless of what he was thinking, the act of thinking alone made him infinitely stronger than Owen.
During the conversation, Mrs. Samantha left three times.
The first time was to pour water, and the remaining two times were intentional. James knew very well that Mrs. Samantha hadn't left; she was hiding in the shadows, observing whether their conversation was happy and if Owen had anything that displeased her.
And during her two observations, Mrs. Samantha found seven or eight unsatisfactory points about Owen.
Of course, they were all minor flaws, like nitpicking.
For example, Owen looked too fierce, had a dark background, the two didn't resemble father and son, and so on.
In short, Mrs. Samantha believed that James should have a better choice.
Of course, James was also observing, but more than observing, he was thinking. His memory couldn't be wrong, so why did this man in front of him feel so familiar?
Mrs. Samantha, who had left for the fourth time, finally returned. Overall, although she wasn't very optimistic about Owen, through her observation, James and Owen got along very well during their conversation.
This made her hesitate. Although she wasn't very optimistic about Owen, James's feelings were equally important.
Gazing at the two people sitting on the edge of the bed, Mrs. Samantha's eyes flashed with a question: "Owen, what do you think of James?"
Owen had a hearty smile on his face, and his rough hand stroked his strong short hair:
"James is a genius. He is simply too excellent. I promise you, I will treat him like my own child and let him feel the warmth of home."
Home?
Family?
A bright light suddenly flashed in James's eyes. He seemed to have thought of something.
Hearing Owen's praise, a hint of pride flashed in Mrs. Samantha's eyes. She knew how excellent James was. In fact, if not for their good interaction, she would definitely have driven Owen out.
She didn't want a man with a dark background to take her James away.
And just as Mrs. Samantha was about to ask James's opinion of Owen, he lifted his slightly tender face: "Mrs. Samantha, I think Uncle Owen is very good."
Mrs. Samantha was stunned for a moment, and a hint of hesitation flashed in her eyes: "James, are you sure?"
James nodded: "Of course!"
Just now, the moment Owen uttered the English word "home," James finally realized why he felt this man in front of him was familiar.
Because he bore more than 70% resemblance to an actor he really liked, and this actor was Vin Diesel, who starred in the Fast and Furious series.
And if he remembered correctly, the street boss played by Vin Diesel was Dominic Toledo.
Although the father of Dominic Toledo, who died in the entire series, never appeared, and his name never even showed up, James knew that Vin Diesel's adoptive father was named Owen!
Besides that, the iconic Dodge Challenger in front of the Orphanage was also one of the important pieces of evidence.
Owen Toledo was not outstanding, but compared to forming a family with unfamiliar strangers, the Toledo family's personality and way of doing things were truly reassuring.
And so, with Mrs. Samantha's slightly regretful but also somewhat relieved smile, Owen took James's hand and left.
Inside the Dodge Challenger, Owen presented James with a gift he had prepared earlier.
It was a classic Captain America action figure, very finely crafted.
In 1989, it was definitely the most popular toy.
James took the Captain America toy, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Captain America?"
Owen didn't see the surprise in James's eyes. He had a triumphant smile on his face:
"Of course, he's America's hero! I'm telling you, when I was a kid, the person I admired most was Captain America. He was a World War II hero, a true leader!"
Owen chattered endlessly about Captain America, which made him very excited. He even offered to show James his cherished set of Captain America cards.
But he didn't see James's rapidly paling face.
Damn it!
Now I understand what that super dangerous Universe means.
James's expression wasn't very good, but Owen didn't pay much attention.
He subconsciously assumed that James was feeling a bit down because he was separating from Mrs. Samantha.
He was a confident man; he believed in his charm, and he believed that James would quickly integrate into this family. But James wasn't thinking about that at all.
After realizing that Captain America truly existed in this World, James instantly knew what Universe this was.
Marvel, a superhero Universe composed of dozens, or even hundreds, of movies.
James couldn't possibly not know about it, after all, it was a series that dominated an era, raking in over 10 billion U.S. dollars at the global box office.
Honestly, Marvel movies really had their own style, with plenty of commercial elements. Although they were criticized for lacking depth, with the release of Avengers 3 and the appearance of Thanos, the "Director of Family Planning," everyone shut their mouths.
But the problem is, while the movies are fun to watch, what if you actually appeared in this World? Appeared in the Marvel Universe?
This was simply the worst thing imaginable.
Destroy New York?
Don't be silly, what kind of place is New York? Can it just be destroyed so easily?
Not to mention how abnormal the Black technology in this World is, just the superheroes alone are an unsolvable existence.
Although it's currently a superhero vacuum period, don't forget that New York has always been protected by Sorcerer Ancient One.
Even if Sorcerer Ancient One dies and Doctor Strange becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme, the Avengers will have been formed by then.
Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America—these superheroes wouldn't allow New York to be destroyed.
And besides superheroes, New York also has countless super villains.
Even in the later stages, when Thanos descended upon Earth and led his army in a decisive battle against the Avengers, New York was only 90% destroyed, and it's possible it wasn't even that.
They all say the Infinity Stones are hard to collect, even Odin, the God King, never managed to collect them all, but no matter what, Thanos successfully collected the Infinity Stones; he at least succeeded once.
But what about New York?
Has it ever been truly destroyed even once?
To be honest, after realizing that the Universe he was in was the Marvel World, James, at one point, felt not only despair but also the deep malice of fate!