Sokovia

Early morning.

"Venom, the rest is up to you."

Don't worry.

Once he receives payment, he has to work; he's a demon king with very principles.

Kino flew into the air and used his super hearing for the first time.

In an instant, a massive amount of information flooded into his brain, was received by Venom, processed, and then transmitted to Kino.

[Found it, located near Sokovia.]

A sonic boom echoed in the air, Kino vanished instantly.

Sokovia is a small, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, mountainous and impoverished, and a turbulent nation.

In the slums, a decaying atmosphere permeated the narrow, dilapidated streets.

A group of gangsters blocked their way.

One was a silver-haired boy, and the other was a dark blonde girl.

"Pietro, when are you going to pay me back?!"

"I'm going to work today in a few days, and I'll pay you back once I've earned the money."

Pietro tucked his sister Wanda behind his back.

"Haha, 500 dollars worth of medicine, I only gave it to you out of pity for you two siblings, and the deadline for repayment is coming soon."

A burly white man with a mohawk stared greedily at Pietro's sister through his sunglasses.

Wanda's face was smeared with black engine oil, making it unrecognizable.

"Cassie, $500! Wasn't it $50 last time?"

Pietro's face was extremely grim. $500—he wouldn't be worth that much even if he were sold.

"Medicines are a rare commodity here. The price from last time is the same as last time, and you didn't pay last time, so of course you have to pay the same price this time."

Cassie spread his hands, indicating that he couldn't do anything about it either.

Pietro was furious. He had only borrowed three cold pills from them when Wanda had a fever, and he didn't even know if the pills had expired.

But there's nothing he can do; he only has his older sister now.

"I understand, I will return it to you, now move aside."

Pietro, barely suppressing his anger, said...

"You can't come up with that much money, can you? No problem, I have a way to make big money."

Cassie spoke while grinning maliciously.

I recall that night when the rain was pouring down.

Cassie brushed past Wanda on the street by chance. In that instant, he saw Wanda's stunning face under the brim of her hat. However, Wanda noticed his gaze, hurried away, and quickly disappeared into the vast rainy night.

Later, through his connections and methods, Cassie made inquiries and finally learned Wanda's location.

This unassuming girl, hidden in the crowd, exuded a unique charm, more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen before.

At that moment, Cassie licked his lips, his gaze passing over the person in front of him to Wanda, who was hiding behind him like a frightened deer. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Immediately, he forced a smile that appeared kind but was actually hypocritical.

"We're planning to open a karaoke bar and need a top hostess to keep things going. I think your sister is a good fit. Not only will all your previous debts be wiped clean, but we'll also give her a large sum of money every day, so you can live a comfortable life."

He began to calculate in his mind that whether he kept the girl for himself or handed her over to those above him in exchange for status and money, this deal was a sure win no matter how he looked at it.

Wanda's body trembled.

Pietro's face turned ashen. Most people in this country were dirt poor; how could anyone possibly go to a karaoke bar to spend money?

You don't even need to think to know what kind of place that is.

[Looking for an opportunity to escape.]

Pietro grasped Wanda's hand, his little finger bearing a secret code they used to play with as children.

"Pete..."

Wanda watched Pete's retreating figure with concern.

[You know I've always been a fast runner, you go first.]

Pietro quickly finished writing and let go of his sister's hand, pretending to be delighted.

"Cassie, I didn't expect you to be willing to help me with this, but I'd like to know how much my sister will get."

Cassie chuckled.

"Lots of money. As long as your sister is diligent, all of us brothers will give her money."

"That's right, that's right, we can also patronize her business."

"We're all on the same side, so a free meal the first time shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Hahaha..."

The surrounding gangsters burst into laughter, the sound particularly jarring in the oppressive atmosphere. Passersby lowered their heads and hurried away.

"If my sister joins, can I join too?"

Pietro pretended to be ignorant.

Cassie sized up Pietro's face. He was handsome and bore a resemblance to his sister. He was also slim. If he dressed up, he could attract customers. Being with his sister would also add to the appeal.

"Of course, since you're so sensible."

"Cassie, Boss Cassie... Die!"

Pietro, seeing that they were very close, unexpectedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Cassie in the chest.

"Puff-"

Pietro was punched in the side of the face, and he staggered back a few steps before falling to the ground.

"Pete!"

Wanda panicked and rushed to Pietro's side to help him up.

"You brat, countless people have tried to kill me over the years. Do you think I don't know your little tricks?"

Cassie disdainfully took off his coat, revealing a black bulletproof vest underneath, covered in various patches and seams.

"Take them all away!"

Pietro struggled to get up. He hadn't eaten, and the punch had left him dizzy and his head buzzing.

Wanda looked at the crowd that had gathered around her, and fear overwhelmed her like a cold tide. Her eyes glowed red, and she thought, "Someone, please save us."

A sharp whooshing sound rang out, and everyone instinctively looked up at the sky.

A dark shadow crashed heavily to the ground, the immense impact kicking up a cloud of dust that momentarily obscured the view.

"Stop it all, I'll pay them back... I miscalculated..."

Kino had been watching from the sky for a while, and to make a stronger first impression, she deliberately didn't use her Bio-field to buffer the attack, which resulted in a dust bomb going off.

A gust of wind blew away the dust in front of us.

A group of dusty, dirty-looking Minions stared at him in shock.

[Despite some mistakes, the effect was the same; they'll remember your appearance for a lifetime.]

Venom's mocking voice echoed in my mind.

"Pfft, you..."

Cassie spat out a mouthful of yellow sand, about to unleash a torrent of curses.

"Boss, he looks like the Demon King!"

One of the henchmen pulled a newspaper out of his crotch, and Kino's eye twitched.

Cassie checked and found it was news from the Artificial Sun press conference; the person in the photo looked exactly like the person in front of her.

"You—no, you mean you're going to pay their debts for them?"

"That's right, take this and get out of here."

Kino pulled out a gold nugget and tossed it over; he wasn't in a very good mood.

Cassie caught the gold nugget and took a bite. It was real; such a large piece was worth at least tens of thousands of dollars.

Scarlet Witch joined Hydra between the movies Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron.