Bai Jing's eyes had much in common with black holes, but there were differences as well.
For example, a black hole's gravity grew stronger the closer one got and weaker the farther away one was, but Bai Jing's did not.
He could control the gravity within a spherical area centered on his eyes with a radius of 0.93 meters.
Within that range, he could command gravity as easily as moving his own arm, with no attenuation whatsoever. But outside that range, he could not sense anything at all.
It was somewhat like a black hole's event horizon. Light absolutely could not escape from within it, yet outside it, light remained free.
Moreover, Bai Jing's devouring did not require matter to enter the event horizon. As long as it was within his gravitational range, he could devour it directly with a thought!
"Wait!" The moment he realized this, Bai Jing suddenly discovered that the gravitational range he could control was no longer 0.93 meters, but 0.9312!
Was it an illusion?
Bai Jing was somewhat shocked, but his Gravity Detection was accurate down to the nanometer. There was no possibility of an error.
Forget 0.0012 meters—even 0.0001 meters would have stood out in his vision like a mosquito on a monk's bald head!
"My Gravity Field really got a little bigger!" Bai Jing thought back over the past two days. What had he eaten?
The only way for a black hole to grow was by continuously absorbing matter or energy. Over the past two days, apart from breathing air and absorbing the impurities in his body, he had only absorbed a clump of the transformation energy inside the Hulk!
Everything else had been insignificant. He absorbed those things every day without seeing any change, so the only variable was that clump of energy!
"This is a bit outrageous, isn't it? It was just a clump of energy, yet it increased by this much?" The efficiency of converting energy into matter was extremely low. Everyone knew the mass-energy equation.
The terrifying energy released by a nuclear bomb had only amounted to such a tiny quantity while it was still matter.
Yet Bai Jing had merely swallowed a tiny bit of energy from inside the Hulk, an amount that had not even felt significant, and his gravitational range had increased by 0.0012 meters!
That could only mean the nature of that energy was extraordinarily high-level!
"That Pocket Universe was actually filled with that kind of energy. What sort of place was that, a fairyland?" Bai Jing wondered.
"May I sit here?" A female voice came from beside him.
"Sorry, someone's sitting here!" Bai Jing replied casually, then suddenly sensed something was wrong. This person was speaking Mandarin?
He quickly turned his head and, sure enough, saw an Asian girl with black hair and black eyes, long straight hair, a plain white top, and jeans looking at him curiously.
"Chinese??" Bai Jing asked.
"Yes, my name is Liu Na. I'm from Sichuan, China." The girl extended her hand, intending to shake Bai Jing's.
But Bai Jing did not reach out. Instead, he asked curiously, "How did you do it? Your skin is so smooth, the coloring looks natural, and your Mandarin is surprisingly good too?"
"Hm?" Liu Na shook her head. "I... don't think I understand what you're saying!"
"Natasha, stop messing around!" Bai Jing turned his head. "Are you really that free? Do you have nothing better to do than keep watching me?"
The girl fell silent for a moment, her expression gradually turning cold. A short while later, she sat down beside Bai Jing.
Bai Jing silently shut off 99 percent of his sense of smell. He had no idea what perfume Natasha was using, but it was far too strong!
"How did you recognize me?" Natasha asked.
"If we were both from China, would you need to include the word 'China' when introducing yourself? You could have just said you were from Sichuan!" Bai Jing said.
In truth, he had scanned Natasha before, and he had just scanned her again.
Natasha frowned. She truly had not noticed that.
"What is it?" Bai Jing asked again.
"Someone asked me to ask you what you intend to do!" Natasha said. "Your people are looking into news from south of you?"
"Oh, so force didn't work and now you're trying diplomacy?" Bai Jing was surprised.
Kingpin had actually managed to call in S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Though perhaps it was not S.H.I.E.L.D. he had called in, but Hydra.
"Don't go too far. This is America. Besides, we couldn't find any information about you in Immigration, which means you're here illegally! If we wanted to, you could be deported at any time!" Natasha spread open a book and pretended to read it while speaking in a low voice.
After all, this was a library.
"Then why don't you deport me?" Bai Jing asked. "You know my personality, what I do every day, what I eat for breakfast, even the color of my underwear. You could do it!"
"We welcome everyone who longs for freedom to come to America!"
But we don't know what you're capable of, Natasha thought.
There were superpowered individuals in this world, aliens, and superhumans powerful enough to destroy a spaceship with one punch. Hard-boiled Egg had known about such things ten years ago.
And according to their intelligence, Bai Jing was one such superhuman.
Hard-boiled Egg had seen plenty of people like him.
Naturally, Hard-boiled Egg assumed Bai Jing was the same. If so, he could completely recruit Bai Jing under his command!
He understood these yellow-skinned people very well. He believed that as long as they were given a little benefit, they would become the most loyal thugs. When facing their motherland, they could be even more ruthless than Americans.
Of course, there were also those who could not be won over no matter what, people whose hearts were set on returning home.
The solution for such people was simple. The most famous example was being shot twenty-one times in the back and dying by suicide.
Bai Jing pretended not to understand Natasha's implication and continued reading.
To be fair, Kip Thorne was truly skilled. He had made an obscure and profound popular science article fascinating and entertaining, so much so that even Bai Jing, who could normally only get through trashy webnovels like Crooked Mouth Dragon King, found himself engrossed.
It was far more interesting than the Russian aunt next to him with huge pores and a body reeking of strange odors.
Natasha had no idea what Bai Jing was thinking. Otherwise, she would not have sat here chatting with him so calmly.
"The Order Society may continue to exist, but it can only remain at its current scale and must not expand further!" Natasha continued. "Our organization can recruit you, give you a US Green Card, and grant you starting treatment as a Level 6 agent. This is the kind of treatment many of your compatriots can only dream of!"
"Is that how Hard-boiled Egg recruited you?" Bai Jing turned to look at Natasha.
Natasha could not make anything out, because Bai Jing's gaze was too deep, as if it could devour everything.
But she felt his mockery.
"When pear blossoms bloom across the ends of the earth, soft gauze drifts over the river; Katyusha stands upon the steep bank, her song as bright as spring sunshine.
Katyusha stands upon the steep bank, her song as bright as spring sunshine.
The maiden sings a beautiful song, singing of the steppe's eagles; singing of the one she loves, while hiding her lover's letters.
Singing of the one she loves, while hiding her lover's letters."
Bai Jing closed his book, leaned back in his chair, and softly hummed a song.
He hummed it in Mandarin, but she knew that melody all too well.
The song had been written in 1938. Two years later, during the Soviet Great Patriotic War, its rich emotions and the pure voice of a young girl had warmed soldiers clutching cold weapons in freezing trenches.
Amid unbearable gunpowder smoke and loneliness, their hearts found the tenderness and solace of affection and love. Like On the Songhua River, the song greatly boosted the morale of people and soldiers wounded by war.
In 1942, amid the war-torn ruins of Stalingrad, fourteen-year-old Natasha had been dug out from the wreckage of her bombed-out home by her adoptive father. From then on, the two had depended on each other, living together, fighting together, and listening to this warm song together, filled with hope for the future and tomorrow.
Back then, smoke filled the air and artillery fire thundered without end, yet her heart had something to rely on.
But the war had ended. The people were gone, and so was the country.
"Everyone has their own choices. You chose America, and I have no right to say anything about that. But I have my own principles too..." Bai Jing smiled. "The Order Society will endure forever, and my expansion will not stop. If you want to stop me, you can try!"
"You mean to make an enemy of America!" Natasha shook her head. "You won't succeed! You have no idea how powerful they are!"
Surprisingly, Natasha did not get angry immediately.
Perhaps that song, that face, and those eyes had played some small part.
"Things with difficulty are the only things worth doing!" Bai Jing shook his head. He knew the future, and his cheat ability was powerful. If he still went and joined S.H.I.E.L.D., what difference would that be from playing a game with cheats enabled?
Besides, he had spent an entire lifetime as a dog. In this life, he wanted to live differently.
Natasha sighed, then suddenly leaned close to his ear.
"Kingpin hired the Brotherhood. If the Brotherhood fails, the council, Police Department, and Tax Bureau will all intervene!"
She rose, brushed back her long hair, and added, "If you want to learn makeup, I can teach you!"
Without waiting for Bai Jing's answer, Natasha turned and left cleanly.
Before you continue