In the office, Li Ming casually opened a Portal about the size of a computer screen and manipulated it to drift around.
Soon, Fury's face stiffened as one Portal hovered directly above him while another encased the computer monitor.
His lips twitching, Fury glanced at the Portal on the desk, then looked up at the computer screen floating mid-air—still playing Aladdin. Watching Li Ming show off his spatial spells, Fury gritted his teeth and asked, "What's your bottom line regarding the Genie Lamp?"
"You're still talking about bottom lines with me now?" Li Ming widened his eyes and sneered. "I've told you before—the Tesseract's primary function is spatial. Do you think anyone you know understands space better than I do? Without my involvement, how much progress do you think your research project would make?"
Li Ming pointed proudly at himself. "At this point, you should be begging me to join the research team. Why should I have to trade the Genie Lamp for it?"
Fury glanced at Li Ming, the corner of his mouth curling in disdain. "You're a sorcerer. Your research is probably leaning toward the mystical side. What I want is technology—do you even understand technology? Of course, if you could gather a group of sorcerers, I wouldn't mind letting you lead another research team to study the Tesseract. For example, that 'Ancient One' you and Mephisto mentioned."
"Hah," Li Ming laughed coldly. "You want me to bring the Ancient One to study the Space Stone? Should I also introduce you to the location of Kamar-Taj and the three Sanctums while I'm at it? Do you honestly think the Ancient One wouldn't turn around and beat the both of us into bloated fools—the kind where your face swells bigger than your belly?"
Li Ming rubbed his temples and sighed. "Can you please stop meddling in things you don't understand? Asking the Ancient One to join your research—what kind of absurd idea is that? It's only because she's busy maintaining dimensional peace and can't be bothered with small fries like you. Otherwise, just the fact that you dared to consider her would be enough for her disciples to beat you unrecognizable—to the point where even your parents wouldn't know you. And afterward, you'd still have to go apologize."
"I don't mind apologizing," Fury said, narrowing his eyes while silently adding in his heart, 'As long as I get to meet the Ancient One.' "But I get the feeling her disciples are quite domineering?"
Li Ming had no desire to discuss the Ancient One further with Fury. As he casually opened and closed a Portal, he said, "One question: are you letting me join the research team or not?"
Fury shook his head, refusing Li Ming, and waved impatiently for him to leave and stop disrupting his work.
From the very beginning, Fury had never intended to let Li Ming join the research team. He wasn't trying to use the Tesseract to develop Portals and overthrow major transportation industries like cars or airplanes.
His goal, from the start, had been to extract energy from the Tesseract to create powerful yet environmentally friendly weapons—tools to deter any evil forces that dared reach for Earth.
So why would he need a sorcerer on the research team? Besides, Li Ming knew hypnosis. Who knew how many researchers he'd come into contact with would end up as his subordinates afterward?
The security risks were far too high—not worth the trouble.
As for the Genie Lamp, he'd learned from Peggy Carter that it could only grant three wishes to its summoner. Asking for it now was merely to test how many wishes Li Ming had already used. If Li Ming hadn't used all three wishes, he would undoubtedly value the Genie Lamp greatly. But if he had already used them, the lamp would merely be a collectible to him—perhaps something he'd lend to S.H.I.E.L.D., just like the Night God Mask.
Yet now, Li Ming was also using the lamp to test his attitude, leaving him momentarily puzzled.
Had Austin used the Genie Lamp or not?
Seeing Fury firmly reject him, Li Ming curled his lips and waved his hand to open a Portal. "Fine, if you won't involve me, then I'll just observe the Space Stone up close when Loki activates the Portal."
But why was Fury suddenly so interested in the magical world when he knew Li Ming never spoke of sorcery? Could it be that recent Devil-related incidents had made him anxious?
And what about Shavig? Had he made a major breakthrough in researching the Tesseract? Was that why Fury didn't need Li Ming's help? But that didn't make sense—Shavig was brilliant, but was the Tesseract really so easy to decipher?
Returning to his lakeside home, Li Ming scratched his head, still unable to figure things out. He pushed the questions to the back of his mind, cradled the Spellbook, and reclined on a lakeside lounge chair. Sipping beer leisurely while studying Genie magic, he knew he needed to quickly convert knowledge into power—because the Mind Stone was coming.
Time flew by as Li Ming busied himself crafting a fake Infinity Stone. Finally taking a rare break from the Spellbook, he lay alone on the grass, beer in hand, watching a distant "documentary" about mythological tales.
This counted as homework for Li Ming. After all, he had no idea when he might find himself transported into a mythological story. If he ended up in one completely blind, how could he seize any benefits?
Not far away, a child-sized figure bustled around a bonfire, occasionally sprinkling spices onto food roasting over the flames. It was Kreacher, preparing a late-night snack for Li Ming—a tantalizingly fragrant roasted lamb leg.
Just as Kreacher lifted the lamb leg from the fire, the phone inside the RV suddenly rang.
Li Ming glanced curiously at the RV, then beckoned with his fingers, causing the lamb leg to float toward him. "Kreacher, see who's calling," he said.
Moments later, Kreacher approached with the phone. "Boss, it's Mr. Fury," he said hesitantly, his voice timid. "Mr. Fury sounds... very anxious."
Fury? What does that guy want with me? Li Ming paused, casually suspending the lamb leg midair as he took the phone and chuckled, "Hey, jerk, heard you're in a panic? Tell me what's going on—I could use a laugh."
On the other end, Fury wasn't in the mood for banter. "Loki's on Earth," he said bluntly. "He stole the Tesseract and took control of my agents." After a beat, realizing Li Ming might not care about his subordinates, he added, "And your friend Shavig—Loki took him too."
So it's finally happening? Perfect timing—my fake Infinity Stone is ready. Li Ming narrowed his eyes. "What do you need me to do?"
Before he could finish, Fury's urgent voice crackled through the phone: "Get to my office now. Someone will give you a phone with a photo. Once you portal there, you'll be briefed."
Hanging up, Li Ming stretched and twisted his waist, loosening up. Then, beer in one hand and lamb leg in the other, he waved open a Portal straight to Fury's office.
The moment he stepped inside, the office door swung open. A sunglasses-wearing agent—even at night—marched up and, seeing Li Ming's hands full, discreetly twitched his lips before placing the phone on the desk and leaving without a word.Li Ming glanced at the phone on his desk displaying a photo, chugged the beer in his hand, and then waved to open a Portal.
As Li Ming gnawed on a lamb leg and arrived at an underground base that resembled ruins, he heard a woman's voice behind him.
"Hello, Master Mage,"
Hearing the voice, Li Ming turned to look at the speaker.
Seeing her clad in a S.H.I.E.L.D. combat suit—one that was slightly torn, revealing fair thighs—Li Ming ogled with lecherous eyes and said, "Ha, found a wild beauty. Tonight, I've got booze, meat, and a babe. Looks like my luck's holding up."
"Maria Hill. You can call me Agent Hill,"
As Fury's right-hand woman, Hill had not only heard of Li Ming but also knew he'd been single for years.
Though confident in her own looks and figure, she wasn't so naive as to think she could captivate Li Ming at first sight.
Ignoring his crude joke, Hill briskly said, "Since you're here, Fury must've told you what to do."
Li Ming shook his head, took another bite of the lamb leg, and mumbled, "Fury just said someone here would tell me what to do. Is that 'someone' you?"
Hill narrowed her eyes and nodded. "That'd be me." She gestured to the surrounding ruins. "Find all the injured, especially the researchers here, and get them to a hospital ASAP."
Prioritizing the researchers? Maybe that's the real reason Fury sent me. Seems he's made significant progress with the Tesseract. Li Ming glanced at the ruins, then passed his right hand over his eyes, activating his magic eye to scan the area. "Fury didn't bring me here just to open Portals and ferry the injured to hospitals."
As he spoke, Li Ming cast a spell, turning a pile of rubble and concrete into fine sand. Then, he corrected the dislocated bones of several injured people hidden beneath before healing them. Turning back to Hill, he said, "Your Fury's a shrewd one. I can locate and rescue these folks in time while also healing them on the spot—saving him a ton on medical bills."
Though Hill had known Li Ming was unconventional, meeting him in person made her realize it wasn't just quirkiness—the man was downright insane. Who the hell prioritizes medical bills over researchers' lives?
Under Hill's twitching gaze, the previously immobile injured emerged from the sand, dazed, their eyes wide with curiosity and awe as they stared at Li Ming. It wasn't entirely fair to blame these researchers for their greedy gazes. After all, one moment they thought they were about to die, and the next, the concrete slabs pinning them down—along with the steel reinforcements inside—instantly turned into fine sand. Such a miraculous sight would make any research enthusiast want to slice Li Ming open for study.
Li Ming merely met their gazes with disdain before turning away to search for the next injured person: Don't think I don't know what you're all scheming. Too bad, none of you stand a chance.