Soon, Coulson arrived at the scene with a team of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He spotted the smoking Thor at a glance and asked, puzzled, "What happened to him?"
Du Mu shrugged. "He said he was the God of Thunder, so I gave him a little shock. Who knew he couldn't handle electricity?"
"The God of Thunder?"
Coulson's eyebrows rose. He clearly didn't believe Thor, either.
He crouched down and checked Thor's breathing, confirming that he was still alive, just unconscious from the shock.
"Take him away and keep him under close watch. Notify me as soon as he wakes up."
Coulson gave his agents their orders, then turned to Du Mu. "Your assignment hasn't changed. Keep an eye on the hammer."
"Okay."
Du Mu returned to his lounge chair and picked up his comic book again.
The other agents got busy securing the scene, lifting the unconscious Thor and carrying him away.
The next day.
Du Mu received a message from Coulson saying Thor had woken up and that he needed Du Mu's help.
When Du Mu arrived outside the temporary Confinement Room, he saw Coulson interrogating Thor.
But Thor wasn't listening to a word. He shouted, "Mortals, give Mjolnir back to me! If you return it, I'll be king of Asgard again, and I'll make sure you're handsomely rewarded!"
That sounded an awful lot like Qin Shi Huang asking people to send him money.
Coulson's eardrums were aching from the racket. Seeing that he couldn't get through to Thor at all, he had no choice but to leave.
When he came out and saw Du Mu, Coulson rubbed his temples and sighed. "The guy won't tell me anything. He keeps demanding Mjolnir. I looked it up. Mjolnir is the hammer of the Norse God of Thunder—in other words, the weapon of Thor, the God of Thunder."
"Looks like this guy's really getting into character."
Du Mu chuckled. Curious, he peered through the observation window at Thor, who was still shouting inside.
[NPC: Thor Odinson] [Code Name: Thor] [Affinity: -10] [Evaluation: God of Hammers, a Marvel Uchiha who grows stronger with every family member sacrificed for the glory of the Norse gods] [Status: Divine power sealed]
Damn, this guy really is Thor!
Du Mu was astonished.
Vampires were one thing, but now even gods from Norse mythology were showing up.
So that hammer outside really is Thor's Hammer.
Du Mu considered it for a moment, then said to Coulson, "Let me go in and talk to him."
Without waiting for Coulson to respond, he pushed open the door and entered the Confinement Room.
At the sight of Du Mu, Thor immediately stopped shouting.
"It's you!"
Recognizing Du Mu, Thor snapped angrily, "You despicable mortal! How dare you ambush the great God of Thunder!"
Du Mu raised an eyebrow. "Can the God of Thunder really be shocked unconscious?"
Thor was at a loss for words. A trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, but he stubbornly retorted, "That's because my divine power has been sealed! Once I get Mjolnir back, I'll regain my power!"
[NPC Thor Odinson has issued you a new quest] [Quest: Mortal Thor] [Objective: Help Thor, who has lost his divine power, retrieve Mjolnir] [Reward: Experience +500, Thor Affinity +30, Item *1]
Looking at the quest prompt before him, Du Mu grinned. "I can help you get your hammer, but first, you have to tell me how you ended up here."
"Really? You're willing to help me?"
Thor's eyes lit up, as though he'd just found a lifeline.
Desperate to get his hammer back, he didn't bother to hide anything and immediately told Du Mu his whole story.
In short, on the day of his coronation, Thor had been provoked by the Frost Giants. Enraged, he led a group to attack their stronghold in Jotunheim, sparking a war between the two realms. His father was furious, stripped him of his divine power, and banished him to Earth along with his hammer.
Du Mu was speechless.
Thor had lived for thousands of years and fought in countless battles. He should have been a warrior with plenty of experience.
Yet all those thousands of years of experience had led him to charge straight into the enemy's stronghold!
Was his brain made of muscle?
Du Mu shook his head. "No wonder your father was so angry. You stormed the enemy's headquarters with just a handful of people."
"Do you think I shouldn't have done that?"
Thor was very much opposed to the idea.
The Frost Giants of Jotunheim had provoked them first. He'd simply retaliated in kind, but his father had exiled him just to preserve the peace.
Du Mu shook his head. "No. I just think your approach was terribly inefficient. Doesn't your Bifrost let you teleport people? Why not teleport the leader of Jotunheim right into your territory, then give him a good, righteous beating? Wouldn't that be better?"
Thor: "..."
Oh, right. Why didn't I think of that?
Du Mu continued, "And if that doesn't work, you could always teleport tens of thousands of nuclear bombs to their territory. I guarantee they wouldn't dare breathe too loudly after that."
They probably wouldn't be able to breathe at all!
Thor hesitated. "Uh, wouldn't that be a bit much?"
Asgard was a highly advanced civilization, so of course he knew what nuclear bombs were.
"Foolish! Didn't your father practically spell it out for you? What he wants is nuclear peace!"
Du Mu looked exasperated. "As the saying goes, truth is only found within the range of your cannons. You have to hit them hard before they'll fear you!"
If we actually did that, Jotunheim would be wiped off the map. There'd be no one left!
As one of the hardliners, Thor thought Du Mu was being a little too extreme.
"I don't think that's what my father meant." Thor scratched his head.
Du Mu scoffed. "You say Asgard is the strongest of the Nine Realms. Do you really think you became the strongest through peace?"
Thor fell silent, unable to refute him.
Could that really be what Father meant?
Du Mu waved a hand. "Never mind. Think it over. I'll take you to get your hammer."
"Good!"
At the mention of the hammer, Thor immediately forgot his doubts. Energized, he followed Du Mu out of the Confinement Room.
Coulson didn't stop them. With Du Mu there, Thor posed no threat.
He looked at Du Mu and asked, "Do you really think he's some kind of God of Thunder?"
"Let's see him try."
Du Mu shrugged and led Thor back to the area where the hammer was.
"Mjolnir! My old friend!"
At the sight of the hammer, Thor's eyes blazed with joy. He strode over to it.
"Watch closely, mortals!"
Thor shouted confidently. Yearning to regain his power, he reached out with his right hand and gripped the hammer's leather-wrapped handle.
He took a deep breath and began to pull.
But...
The hammer didn't budge.
The joy on Thor's face instantly froze, replaced by disbelief.
Unwilling to give up, he tried again. The veins bulged on his forehead as he summoned all his strength and pulled upward.
But no matter how hard he strained, the hammer remained firmly where it was, not lifting even an inch.
After several futile attempts, Thor finally let go in despair.
He stumbled back a step, his knees buckled, and he fell to his knees in the mud with a thud, roaring up at the sky!
"No!"