"What did you do?" Su Quan wanted to know the pruned branch events connected to her.
Dotty Underwood shrugged. "I killed Peggy."
No wonder she had been pruned.
The death of Agent Peggy directly disrupted the script arranged by the Sacred Timeline for Steve Rogers.
As the original Black Widow, Dotty Underwood had not been injected with any Super Soldier Serum, but she still possessed plenty of strength and capability. Otherwise, she would never have become Agent Peggy's lifelong nemesis and ultimately killed her.
At the same time, she was also the first person other than Loki that Su Quan had seen in the Void.
"From now on, you belong to me. Any problem?"
The Time Variance Authority, the Void, Elios—
Dotty Underwood knew very well what kind of situation she faced. If not for Elderly Loki saving her, she would already be dead.
Given a chance to live, no one wanted to die.
As a spy trained from childhood to have no self, only missions, everything from her past had vanished with the TVA's judgment and pruning.
Yet the beliefs and habits cultivated over a long time had not disappeared, and the inner emptiness and confusion about the future left her in need of a new emotional anchor.
She needed a goal, someone to tell her what to do!
"It is my honor, Your Majesty." Dotty Underwood showed not a shred of hesitation.
To survive in such a precarious place, become the Lord of the Void, and rule as king—even if there was some exaggeration to the title, his might was beyond doubt!
Furthermore, he had saved her, and he was taking her in.
No one was more suited than him to be her new goal, new anchor, and new object of allegiance!
Su Quan was not surprised by Dotty Underwood's allegiance.
The Red Room's methods of training spies and agents produced Black Widows who were, without exception, empty, lonely machines.
No orders meant no value, and no value meant the denial of their very existence.
That was why Natasha Romanoff had left the Red Room only to join S.H.I.E.L.D., working for Nick Fury and performing spy work almost identical to her days in the Red Room.
Ultimately, she joined the Avengers, treating them as a family and an emotional anchor, regaining a sense of self-worth within!
Her "sister," Yelena Belova, had experienced a similar void when the Red Room was destroyed and Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone, leaving her so lost and empty that she blindly believed Madame Hydra.
Specifically, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's lies, setting her up to hunt down Hawkeye!
Simply put, every Black Widow had psychological issues. They could not be true leaders because they could not lead themselves.
Yet they were excellent obedient subordinates and executors. If they had a master, they obeyed him; if they didn't, they found themselves a master.
Obedience and execution were their survival habits and methods.
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Su Quan patted Dotty Underwood on the shoulder. Her demeanor was extremely submissive, without the slightest dodge or resistance.
This was the truest manifestation of her inner surrender.
"Want to leave this place and see what the world is like fifty or sixty years from now?"
Dotty Underwood, who had just attained peace of mind, stood dumbfounded. Her brain lost the ability to command her actions, and she remained frozen like a wooden post, staring blankly at Su Quan with wide eyes.
What did that mean? Could he—could he leave the Void???
Incredulous, Dotty Underwood turned her head to look at Elderly Loki.
"Yes, he can!" Elderly Loki confirmed her guess with a normal expression.
Wasn't the Void supposed to be the ultimate end?
Didn't they say no one could leave the Void?
I haven't read many books, so don't lie to me!
"To us, the Void is a cage we can never escape. We either die or wait to die."
"But to her—to him, the Void is a backyard he can enter and leave as he pleases. Now do you know why I was collecting that useless junk you mentioned?"
The useless junk referred to US dollars, gold, and jewelry.
Dotty Underwood took a deep breath, suppressed her shocked and restless emotions, and calmly gave her answer.
"I obey arrangements."
Su Quan wrapped one arm around Dotty Underwood and summoned Thor's Hammer back with the other.
"You only get one chance to betray me."
Su Quan's voice rang out.
Just as Dotty Underwood wanted to express her stance, she abruptly discovered that they had appeared on the roof of a tall building.
Looking out into the distance, she saw buildings stacked densely like fish scales, with vehicles weaving through a crisscrossing web of streets and an endless stream of pedestrians coming and going.
Everything in sight was bustling and lively, beautiful and charming.
"You gave me a new life, and I will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely never betray you!"
Dotty Underwood might not have known the meme about repeating important things three times, but she knew how to better express her meaning.
"Ever heard of the Leap of Faith?" Su Quan walked to the edge of the roof and suddenly asked.
Dotty Underwood shook her head.
"Jump."
"Okay."
Dotty Underwood asked nothing, her face showing no hesitation as she took a long stride in her run and jumped straight off the edge beside Su Quan.
This building was over a dozen stories high; jumping off meant certain death!
Yet Dotty Underwood jumped, without hesitation, plunging without a backward glance.
Even though she must have known this was a test and that he wouldn't actually let her fall to her death, this kind of decisiveness and obedience was truly astonishing!
The wind howled in her ears. As Dotty Underwood watched the ground rush closer, her face remained free of fear or worry.
Just as she was about to meet her doom, a pair of strong, powerful arms caught her from below.
The abrupt halt to her descent caused her to let out a soft, painful grunt, but the corners of her mouth curled into a triumphant smile.
She had guessed correctly!
Even from a skyscraper a thousand feet tall, as long as you spoke the word, I would jump without a second thought!
This single jump had won her trust and proven her value.
"This is Manhattan in New York, one of the frontiers of this era. Walk around by yourself, buy a few decent clothes, and come back here to find me when you're done. I have a mission for you."
Su Quan took out a bank card and told her the PIN.
Cash from the Void didn't necessarily belong to any particular timeline or universe; even real bills ran the risk of being unspendable.
"Okay."
Dotty Underwood smiled as she took the bank card, chose a direction, and left full of anticipation.
When Su Quan asked her in the Void if she wanted to leave and see what the world was like fifty or sixty years later, how had she answered?
I obey arrangements!
Just now, when Su Quan told her to walk around by herself, buy some decent clothes, and come back to find him when she was done, how had she answered?
Okay!
This was the manifestation of a relationship progressing further.
The establishment of any relationship went from unfamiliar to familiar, from reserved to relaxed.
She had gained initial trust, proven her value, and formally established a solid superior-subordinate relationship.
This "familiar" pattern would naturally cause her mindset and behavior to gradually grow relaxed and at ease.
When she returned, Su Quan planned to inject her with the Super Soldier Serum, letting her expand his territory and train personnel.
The Red Room's training methods still had some merit to them.
As Su Quan prepared to fly up and wait for her, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a foot sticking out from behind a trash can not far away.
Someone was hiding behind the trash can?
Curious, Su Quan walked over to investigate, but the person behind the trash can seemed to hear him approaching, let out a panicked scream, turned tail, and ran.
"I didn't see anything, don't chase me!"
Su Quan laughed dumbfoundedly, unsure whether to praise this person for being smart or stupid.
If you're going to run, just run—why yell? He hadn't even planned to chase you, but with a shout like that, it sounded as if you really had seen something unspeakable, leaving him no choice but to chase you!
Wasn't this like putting up a sign that read "the buried silver is not kept here"?
Figures intersecting and positions shifting, Su Quan appeared directly in front of her the instant the shout faded, blocking her path.
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