After working tirelessly for over half an hour with his magic eye wide open, Li Ming rubbed his dry, unblinking eyes and turned to Hill behind him. "Everyone in this underground base who was still breathing has already been sent to Fury's office. As for those who didn't make it..."
At this point, he scratched his head helplessly. "Their souls have already left their bodies. My magic eye can't detect them—you'll have to take the time to recover their remains yourselves."
Seeing Hill's somber expression, Li Ming sighed and added with a hint of apology, "Sorry, there's nothing more I can do to help."
"No, you've already done more than enough. Thank you, Master Li," Hill forced a grateful smile and gestured toward the Portal. "Let's get out of here too. We'll leave the rest to the cleanup crew."
Li Ming nodded, scanning the area one last time with his magic eye to ensure no lingering spirits remained before stepping back through the Portal to Fury's office.
Inside the office, aside from Fury sitting on the couch icing his wounds, none of the previously transported injured personnel were in sight.
But that made sense—these "injured" evacuees were all fakes. They had already received medical treatment before leaving the underground base.
Knowing Fury's temperament, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't a place for slackers. Since everyone was fine, of course they'd be sent straight back to work. Getting paid without lifting a finger? Impossible at S.H.I.E.L.D.
While Hill briefed Fury on the damage assessment, Li Ming casually strolled to the liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle that looked expensive, unscrewed the cap, and took a couple of swigs.
Just as he settled at the desk to fire up the computer for some gaming, Fury—now done with Hill's report—approached with his usual poker face. "I need you to pick someone up."
Li Ming looked up at him, blinking in confusion. What, just because I helped with the rescue, you think I'm your errand boy now? I'm a damn mage—my services don't come cheap.
Before he could refuse, Fury pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and added, "It's your friend—Dr. Banner."After speaking, Fury put the phone to his ear and asked, "Have you set off yet?"
On the other end of the line, Natasha's voice came through: "No, I'm still waiting for the tactical team. You know as well as I do—I might be able to persuade Banner, but when it comes to the big guy, communication isn't an option. Without the tactical team's support, I wouldn't dare face the big guy alone."
Fury nodded in agreement with Natasha's words. Glancing at Li Ming, he said to Natasha, "No need to wait for the tactical team. I have a more suitable candidate here."
After instructing Natasha to send a photo of her location, Fury hung up and handed the phone to Li Ming, commanding, "I need Banner's expertise on gamma radiation to locate the Tesseract. Bring him back as soon as possible." Pausing, Fury seemed to reconsider and added, "Take him to your place first. I'll send you the photo before you head over."
My place? Does he also want Natasha to check out my collection, see how many artifacts from fairy tales I have, and probe into the magical world while she's at it?
Though irritated by Fury's commanding tone, Li Ming decided he could tolerate it—after all, it was all for the sake of the soon-to-be-acquired gemstone, one Fury was practically delivering to his doorstep.
With that thought, Li Ming took the phone, glanced at the photo, and waved his hand to open a Portal.
On the other side, Natasha was initially puzzled about who Fury meant by the "more suitable candidate"—until a Portal suddenly appeared before her. Only then did she realize that Fury's choice was indeed better suited for the mission.
First, intelligence indicated that Li Ming and Banner were friends.
Given that the Hulk never harmed his ex-girlfriend Betty even when transformed, it suggested the big guy still retained Banner's thoughts—or at least that Banner could briefly restrain the Hulk.
Faced with friendship, even if Banner turned into the Hulk, he would likely do everything to prevent the Hulk from harming Li Ming.
Second, there was the matter of strength. Natasha knew that during Li Ming and the Hulk's first encounter on the streets of New York, Li Ming had slapped the Hulk back into Banner with a single strike.
Though it was unclear whether the Hulk had any lingering psychological trauma from that, it didn't change the fact that the Hulk was practically powerless against Li Ming.
So, even if Banner lost control and unleashed the Hulk, what did it matter? If the Hulk couldn't defeat Li Ming, it would only add to his psychological scars.
The only thing that annoyed Natasha was that Li Ming had repeatedly flirted with her verbally. For the sake of the mission and Barton, I'll let it slide for now.
But don't expect me to greet you with a smile.
Expression cold, Natasha glanced at Li Ming, who was holding a bottle of liquor in one hand, and simply said, "Get on the Quinjet," before turning and walking into the aircraft.
Completely unaware that his name had already been noted in Natasha's little black book, Li Ming scratched his head and called out, "Hey, beautiful, do you have a photo of Banner's location?" Pointing at the Quinjet, he scoffed, "This pile of scrap metal flies way too slow."
Natasha's lips twitched. The most advanced aircraft on the entire planet, and you call it scrap metal?Natasha, suddenly realizing something, covered her face as she walked off the aircraft: "Alright, you're a mage, you have a Portal. The Quinjet is indeed a bit slow."
At that moment, a phone suddenly rang from Li Ming's pocket. Having not used a mobile phone for years, Li Ming froze for a few seconds before remembering that S.H.I.E.L.D. had given him a phone which he still hadn't returned. It was now lying in his pocket, emitting a piercing ringtone.
Seeing Li Ming hesitate for several seconds before pulling out the phone, Natasha initially found it baffling. But then, guessing the reason for his hesitation, she silently shot him a look of disdain. Li Ming, unable to argue, glanced at the phone belatedly and said, "Your boss sent a photo. Want to guess if it's Banner's location?"
Natasha rolled her eyes—was there even a need to guess?
If possible, she'd love to crack open Li Ming's skull to see what was inside. Forget everything else—what kind of person brings a bottle of alcohol on a mission?
"You should be glad you're not an agent," Natasha said with a mix of disdain and resignation, not giving Li Ming a chance to retort. "Otherwise, just the fact that you're drinking on a mission would give me every right to beat you up properly." She then added impatiently, "Hurry up and open the Portal already."
"Yes, ma'am," Li Ming replied, taking a swig from his bottle before giving a sloppy salute. He opened the Portal and gestured politely. "Ladies first."
Natasha shot him an unimpressed look before stepping through the Portal. "Where is this?" she asked.
Li Ming scratched his head, glancing around at the slum-like buildings. After listening to the nearby passersby, he said, "They're speaking Portuguese. I also caught a few phrases in Spanish."
Natasha gave him a surprised look. According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, Li Ming had no history of learning foreign languages. How was he now not only recognizing Portuguese but also understanding Spanish?
Just as Natasha was about to probe how many languages Li Ming knew, his phone chimed with another message alert.
Li Ming glanced at the screen before tossing the phone to Natasha and heading toward a dilapidated three-story building nearby. "We're in Brazil," he said. "Banner's in that building up ahead."
Natasha checked the message on the phone and quickly caught up to Li Ming. "The message says Banner is treating a group of contagious patients—"
Before she could finish, Li Ming snapped his fingers and cast a protective spell on her. "Relax," he said. "I know magic."
With that, Li Ming strode into the building, raising his bottle and calling out, "Banner! I brought some good booze. Come out and have a drink with me!"
On the third floor, Banner—who had been busy treating patients—paused in surprise at the sound of Li Ming's voice. Leaning over the stair railing, he called out in disbelief, "Austin?""It's me," Li Ming glanced up at Banner while climbing the stairs, shaking a half-empty bottle of alcohol in his hand. "Long time no see, buddy. Brought you some gifts from a certain dark-faced big shot."
Seeing Li Ming ascend without any precautions, Banner hastily warned, "Austin, there are infectious patients here. Don't come up."
Li Ming shrugged nonchalantly. "You think I care about that?"
By the time he finished speaking, Li Ming had already reached the third floor with Natasha in tow.
Banner glanced at Natasha behind Li Ming and asked curiously, "Your girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend?" Li Ming turned to size up Natasha before scoffing, "No thanks."
Nearby, Natasha's lips twitched involuntarily as her hands clenched into fists, veins visibly pulsing on her knuckles: Damn it, what's with that disgusted look? You perpetually single monk...
With visible irritation, Natasha stepped past Li Ming and shook hands with Banner. "Hello, Dr. Banner. I'm Natasha Romanoff, from S.H.I.E.L.D."
While Natasha pulled Banner aside to brief him on the current situation, Li Ming crouched beside several patients, effortlessly conversing with them in Portuguese.
Just as Li Ming was engrossed in the conversation, Banner—now persuaded to join the search for the Tesseract—approached him. After greeting the patients, he quietly asked in English, "Austin, can you help treat them?"
Li Ming shook his head helplessly and whispered back, "My spells heal wounds, not illnesses. But..." He paused, extending a hand toward the patients while casting a spell. "I can extract most of the pathogens from their bodies."
As wisps of gray mist drifted out from the patients, Li Ming explained softly, "They'll still have trace amounts of pathogens left. They'll need medication to fully recover."
Banner patted Li Ming's shoulder with a smile. "That's already a huge help. Fewer pathogens mean less suffering—and most importantly, lower medical costs. They can't afford much medicine anyway."
Li Ming shrugged and stood up, glancing at Natasha. "When are we heading back to New York? I miss my bed."
Natasha raised an eyebrow and looked at Banner, deferring to his decision on departure time.
After a moment's thought, Banner turned to the patients—who were still staring at Li Ming as if he were divine—and gave them some instructions. Then he faced Li Ming and said, "We'll leave now." Rubbing his stomach sheepishly, he added, "To be honest, I miss Kreacher's cooking too."