Mephisto's Hidden Piece (Testing the Waters, Please Keep Reading)

"Master Ancient One, they discovered our deal with Mephisto. Should we silence them?"

Russell looked gravely at the Bald Ancient One and asked.

Bang!

The White-Bearded Ancient One shouted and casually slapped the table, knocking over everyone's mahjong tiles.

Starting with a six-way wait every round—how was anyone supposed to play?

"We have to silence them. Absolutely!"

The Avengers: "!!!"

The four already-tense Avengers immediately went on guard. Driven by stress, Hulk directly took over from Dr. Banner.

"Roar! Hulk fears nothing!"

Hulk charged at the White-Bearded Ancient One, about to sweep him aside with a palm strike.

The White-Bearded Ancient One did not stand. He remained seated on his stool.

As Hulk drew near, he flashed a toothy grin.

Bang!

The White-Bearded Ancient One's body turned into an afterimage and dodged. Banner's palm landed squarely on Russell's head before he could react.

White-Bearded Ancient One: That's what you get for winning at mahjong the whole time and bragging about being some Mahjong Saint.

With a dull thud, Russell did not move an inch. Only his stool shifted slightly.

Confusion flashed through Hulk's eyes. It was the first time he had encountered someone who could take his attack head-on without suffering the slightest injury.

His fingers clenched, ready to seize Russell by the shoulder and throw him over it.

Russell shot the White-Bearded Ancient One a look.

At your age, you still act like an old child who can't stand losing.

"Calm down, Hulk. Try to control yourself, Dr. Banner."

Russell's voice carried Mental Power, soothing Hulk.

Russell raised a hand, intending to fix the hairstyle Hulk had messed up.

With his hand suspended in midair, he remembered that he had a crew cut. He pretended to smooth his hair anyway.

The next second, his hair grew wildly, forming a middle-part hairstyle.

Hawkeye and Blade: So this is Master Russell? He took Hulk's punch head-on without even budging, as though nothing had happened.

Natasha: So this is what a sorcerer can do? Customize his hairstyle whenever he wants.

Ignoring the two fools messing around, Tony asked directly, "What happened?"

The White-Bearded Ancient One swept a hand over the table and collected the mahjong tiles. Then he calmly sat off to the side.

The Bald Ancient One swept his hand as well, and a tea set appeared. Then he quietly began brewing tea by himself.

Seeing that neither Ancient One wanted to explain, Russell could only do it himself.

He paused for a moment, considering how to phrase it in a more noble and righteous way.

"After a friendly exchange, Mephisto recognized his impropriety and voluntarily offered to compensate me for Medical Expenses, workplace injury compensation, Emotional Distress Compensation, and conscience damage compensation."

Tony could not help but complain, "Conscience damage compensation? What the hell is that?"

"It's because I ambushed—" Realizing halfway through that he had misspoken, Russell hastily changed the subject. "Your compensation has arrived too. Look!"

With a flip of his hand, the souls of Tony's parents and butler floated above his palm.

Tony's pupils contracted sharply. He slowly reached out, took the three souls, and shielded them with Spiritual Energy.

"They can be reviv—"

"They need Magical Energy to sustain them constantly before their souls can be awakened. Tony, you should know what happens when an ordinary person's soul remains exposed to Magical Energy for too long."

Russell interrupted Tony and reminded him.

"Even sorcerers who have cultivated for years must be extremely careful when drawing energy from the Multiverse. One careless mistake, and they will be corrupted by magic, their minds twisted."

"I can use the power of Vishanti."

Tony refuted Russell, but his voice grew quieter and quieter.

Vishanti allowed Kamar-Taj's sorcerers to draw upon Their energy for cultivation and battle almost without cost because They hoped the sorcerers would use that power to protect the Real Universe from the erosion of the Magic Dimension, not to forcibly preserve the lives of their loved ones.

They helped in emergencies, not in endless need. Even gods followed this principle.

"Tony, you can send their souls to the dimension where Vishanti resides. That does not violate the rules."

Unable to bear seeing his disciple troubled, the Bald Ancient One offered a suggestion.

"Under the nourishment of White Magic Power, they will gradually recover. When you die, you can reunite with them as well."

Well, it sounded much the same as Mephisto's terms. The difference was that White Magic Power would not twist the mind, while the magic of the Hell Dimension would.

Tony remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding.

At that moment, Natasha asked, "Are the souls of everyone who died in our world in Hell?"

"Barring any surprises, yes." Russell nodded in confirmation.

After hesitating for a moment, Natasha asked, "Master Russell, could you help us retrieve Hope's soul? Doctor Pym's daughter, Hope van Dyne."

"Hm? Why?" Russell asked directly.

He knew about Doctor Pym's deal with Mephisto, but what did that have to do with him? He was not the one who had tempted Doctor Pym into signing the contract.

Natasha explained, "Doctor Pym suspects that S.H.I.E.L.D. deliberately set his daughter up. During our investigation, we discovered that there was indeed something suspicious about Hope's mission back then. We suspect there is a mysterious force hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D., and we hope to speak with Hope."

Russell rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.

He had no interest in the conflict between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., but the Avengers had taken enormous risks to enter the Quantum Realm and support him. He could not offer nothing in return.

Though the Avengers had truly been completely useless this time.

Russell looked at Mephisto.

Mephisto's mouth twitched.

He had figured it out. He had been trapped in a scheme by these three sorcerers.

And he had made a fatal mistake—the Skylight Effect.

First, they had deliberately acted as if they would attack the Hell Dimension unless he compromised, raising his sense of crisis.

Then, one of them deliberately played the good cop, making both sides take a step back and planting the idea that he could avert disaster by paying a price.

Finally, they had generously waived the compensation for redeeming his avatar.

In truth, from beginning to end, they had only possessed one bargaining chip—this avatar.

Unfortunately, by the time he realized it, he had already incurred far too many sunk costs.

But did they really think he did not understand that sunk costs should not factor into decision-making?

Mephisto put on a conflicted expression and took out Hope's soul.

First, plant a Hidden Piece!

After handing Hope's soul to Natasha, Russell reminded her, "Does your S.H.I.E.L.D. have a way to Nourish the Soul? If not, it would be better to let her soul return to Hell and sleep."

Natasha merely looked at Russell with pleading eyes.

Russell: I just made a huge profit, so I won't hold it against you.

Russell drew out a wisp of energy from the Attribute Points panel and poured it into Hope's soul.

Attribute Points -0.1

"If she remains only in Spirit Form, it can last for a month. Once she enters a physical body, it is hard to say."

"Thank you, Master Russell."

Natasha thanked him, carefully put away Hope's soul, and stepped back.

"Oh, right, Tony. How did you get in here? How much time has passed outside?"

Master Ancient One had deliberately chosen this place so that its flow of time was not much different from the outside world.

Neither Russell nor the Ancient One wanted to encounter that kind of miserable situation—

Five hours in the Quantum Realm, five years outside.

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