The commotion immediately drew nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Coulson hurried over. Looking at the wrecked Confinement Room, he asked in bewilderment, "What happened here?"
Du Mu pointed to Loki, whose illusion had worn off and who was lying on the ground. "Look, we caught another intruder. He says he's Loki."
Coulson: "..."
Why were all these crazies who claimed to be gods from Norse mythology showing up here?
Yesterday, it was Thor, the God of Thunder. Today, it was Loki, the God of Mischief.
Would Odin, the King of Gods, be next?
When Coulson learned that Loki had used magic straight out of legend, his expression turned grave after he checked the security footage and confirmed it.
He said solemnly, "It looks like this is far more complicated than we thought. I'll have to ask the director for more support."
Coulson immediately ordered the agents to restrain the unconscious Loki securely and lock him up with Thor.
And so, Thor and Loki became cellmates in their own little brotherhood of misfortune.
Thor didn't mind. In fact, he thought it was pretty nice having Loki around.
The disturbance Loki had caused, along with the magical abilities he'd displayed, soon caught the attention of Nick Fury, who was back at headquarters.
He immediately raised the emergency response level and sent more personnel to the scene.
Among them was Clint Barton, a Level 7 Agent with the codename Hawkeye!
[NPC: Clint Barton]
[Codename: Hawkeye]
[Affection: 40]
[Evaluation: Avengers mascot, 100% hit rate, 100% team-battle win rate]
"So, can someone tell me what kind of emergency is worth making a poor guy who was just about to enjoy his vacation fly halfway around the world to come back?"
Clint stood there with his beloved compound bow on his back, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
He'd worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for ages, and this was the first time he'd ever gotten a vacation. Then Nick Fury suddenly called him back to work overtime.
You could imagine how much resentment Clint had built up!
That damned one-eyed slave driver!
Coulson explained, "We discovered an alien object and two aliens who may be gods."
Clint froze for a moment.
He'd only been on vacation for a few days, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s line of work had already expanded to include aliens?
"Clint, long time no see." Du Mu greeted him from nearby.
Clint looked a little surprised. "Oh, it's you, Du Mu."
He and Du Mu had gotten to know each other through a friendly rivalry.
Of course, it hadn't been a real fight, just a friendly competition.
They were both well-known marksmen in S.H.I.E.L.D.
The first time they met, Clint suggested they test their accuracy. Du Mu agreed without thinking much of it.
They decided to use the weapons they were best at. They set a tiny target several hundred meters away, then arranged to attack at the same time when a timer counted down, to see who could shoot faster and more accurately.
Clint naturally brought out his bow. The instant the countdown hit zero, he loosed an arrow and hit the target dead on.
And yet, he still lost.
The reason was simple.
Du Mu had suddenly pulled out a rocket launcher and blown the target area—and Clint's arrow—sky-high.
Afterward, the guy had the nerve to say it was his favorite sniper rifle, just with a slightly bigger caliber and slightly bigger bullets.
From then on, Clint had completely given up on competing with Du Mu.
With Hawkeye here to take charge, Du Mu could go back to slacking off and reading comics. Every so often, he'd also chat with Thor and ask him about what lay beyond Earth.
According to Thor, there were Nine Realms in the universe.
The realms were connected through Yggdrasil, yet maintained a delicate balance and generally stayed out of one another's affairs.
They included Midgard, also known as Earth, where Du Mu lived; Asgard, Thor's home; Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants; and Svartalfheim, home of the Dwarf Race, among others.
To travel freely between the Nine Realms, one needed a transcendent teleportation artifact like the Bifrost.
Of course, the vast universe held far more than these nine realms. Countless alien species and planetary powers existed out there, making things incredibly complicated.
"System, are all of these places open for exploration?" Du Mu asked.
[Yes. All areas are open, and players can freely explore anywhere.]
"Awesome!"
Du Mu once again marveled at how much freedom the game offered. You could even explore beyond Earth.
He'd thought the system would say something like, "You can explore the next area later."
That evening.
Du Mu was watching over the hammer when he suddenly received a message.
Loki had escaped!
Du Mu rushed to the scene and found Coulson and Clint looking grim.
"What happened?"
Coulson said solemnly, "Loki woke up a little while ago. He seems to have used some kind of magic to suddenly disappear from the Confinement Room."
Du Mu asked, "What about Thor?"
"He's still in there, but something seems off about him."
Hearing this, Du Mu went into the Confinement Room and saw Thor standing there dejectedly, his eyes vacant.
Du Mu asked curiously, "What's wrong, Thor?"
Thor's voice was low. "Loki went back to Asgard. He told me that if it weren't for me, Asgard and Jotunheim wouldn't have gone to war, and Father wouldn't have died. This is all my fault."
"Then why didn't he take you with him?"
"Because Loki has already reached a truce with the Frost Giants."
Thor's voice was full of bitterness and self-reproach. "But the condition was that I, the culprit who started the war, be exiled to Midgard forever."
Du Mu raised an eyebrow. "But didn't you say you were the heir to the throne?"
Thor's mood sank even further. "Because of my recklessness, Mother has given the throne to Loki. Loki is now the king of Asgard."
"Is that what your little brother told you?"
"Yes."
Du Mu was speechless. "Then how do you know he's telling the truth?"
Thor replied without hesitation, "Loki wouldn't lie to me. He said that while I was in exile, he led Asgard's army against the Frost Giants, went in and out of Jotunheim seven times, killed several million Frost Giants, and only then reached an agreement with Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants."
Du Mu: "..."
Now I can say with one hundred percent certainty that it's a lie!
Did Loki really think he was descended from the God of War? He claimed to have killed several million Frost Giants?
That was even more ridiculous than Nick Fury pole-dancing at S.H.I.E.L.D.!
Du Mu couldn't help asking, "Didn't you notice anything wrong with that?"
Thor nodded gravely. "I did. Jotunheim doesn't have that many Frost Giants. Loki must have miscounted."
Du Mu: "..."
Forget it. This guy was a lost cause.