Down and Out

The Cosmic Cube, also known as the Space Stone, had famously been kept in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands for decades. With Richard's current abilities, it probably would not have been impossible for him to break into S.H.I.E.L.D. and take it by force.

But after weighing it briefly, Richard gave up on the tempting idea.

First of all, it would not only mean falling out with S.H.I.E.L.D.; it would also be an act of provocation, a demonstration aimed at the entire world. It would be like openly jumping onto the United Nations conference table, pointing at the representatives of every nation, and arrogantly declaring, "I'll do whatever I want and take whatever I want in this world, and none of you can do a thing about it."

Okay, that would be a little too stupid.

Richard was indeed confident in his own abilities, but he was not swollen with arrogance because of it. He was quite satisfied with the life he had now. He did not want to jump out like an idiot such as Abomination, practically announcing to the world that he was invincible. That would have been utterly brain-dead.

Besides, based on the movie's plot, all he knew was that the Cosmic Cube was currently in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession. He had no idea where exactly it was being kept.

Who knew how many secret bases and top-secret laboratories S.H.I.E.L.D. had hidden under its name? Nick Fury had strongholds all over the globe. Who knew which backwater corner the Cosmic Cube had been tucked into?

More importantly, even if he really got his hands on the Cube, he might not be able to use it.

The Infinity Stones were not power rings that could be used the moment you acquired them. Aside from the Power Stone, whose nature was special enough that it could be directly used to smash people, the other five Infinity Stones could not be used casually. Either you needed special equipment like the Infinity Gauntlet, or you needed to understand how to use time magic like Doctor Strange.

Otherwise, with nothing but a bare Infinity Stone in your hand, you could only be like Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.—after decades of research, all they had managed to make was a pile of laser guns that could only go pew-pew, and were still less powerful than Iron Man's repulsor cannons.

So after thinking it through, Richard gave up on the idea of snatching the Cosmic Cube. At least for the moment, the thing could not offer him any practical help.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury, dressed in a leather coat with his legs crossed in his office, suddenly felt an inexplicable chill shoot up his spine. It felt as though someone had set their sights on something that belonged to him. Strange!

Could it be that the council had found out about him secretly embezzling public funds to buy a transport ship last week? That made no sense!

For the time being, the Cosmic Cube was out. Come to think of it, there was another Stone on Earth, the Time Stone known as the "Eye of Agamotto," kept by the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One. But Richard decided to keep his distance from that Stone for now as well. At least until the Sorcerer Supreme breathed her last, he would not entertain any thoughts about it.

Obtaining an Infinity Stone would have to be considered carefully; for now, it was probably not something he could use anyway. And based on Richard's understanding and speculation regarding Ultraman, abilities gained through things like genetic mutation generally offered little help after transforming into Ultraman. Enhancing the physical strength of the host with something like a super-soldier serum might help, but such enhancement drugs were mostly rare and hard to come by. Their effects were also unstable, usually accompanied by risks and side effects.

But if he was not mistaken, certain special skills that a human host had learned and mastered on their own could generally still be used after transforming into Ultraman.

For example, magic.

At least in the MCU films, magic should have been one of the abilities with the lowest barriers to entry. It did not require absurd luck, nor did it require a dozen PhDs impressive enough to make people's scalps tingle. All it required was a certain degree of talent. The mages of Kamar-Taj in the films did not seem particularly secretive about teaching magic. They were willing to teach anyone who found their doorstep everything they knew—as long as that person had the talent to get started.

Well... the premise was that you had to find the right place.

Still, Richard made a mental note of it. When he had the time, he would take a trip to Nepal and see if he could find the entrance.

During the lunch break, Richard had finished eating and was heading toward his office when he suddenly heard reporter Hodge complaining nearby. "Hey, this typewriter was just issued, Jessica. It hasn't even been in service for two months. Could you please take a little better care of it?"

Jessica curled her lips. "Its quality is just terrible. I barely used any force, and it broke on its own."

Hodge was immediately unhappy. The hell did she mean she barely used any force and it broke by itself? Why not say the typewriter had thrown the first punch?

"Enough, this is annoying." Jessica waved a hand impatiently. "Just deduct the repair costs from my bonus."

Richard happened to cut in at that moment, saying with a grin, "Of course. But I should remind you that your bonus for this month was already gone."

Jessica: "..."

Her pretty face immediately darkened. Damn it, if her boss had not mentioned it, she would have forgotten. Her bonus had been gone since last week!

At this rate, by the end of the month, she might not only fail to earn a cent but actually have to pay out of pocket.

Could you believe someone could get poorer the more they worked?

At that moment, Richard felt that he had deeply experienced the evil of capitalism. The essence of capitalists really was exploitation. Capitalism truly was unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable...

He patted Jessica on the shoulder. "Keep at it. I've noticed you've been working pretty hard lately. Maybe I'll give you a raise after a while. Those dark circles under your eyes are pretty bad. Did you work late again last night?"

Jessica's expression was extremely ugly. "No. The desk in the office was just too hard, so I didn't sleep well."

Richard: "???"

He instantly looked at Jessica in a new light. Was she really that dedicated? She did not even go home at night and just slept on her desk?

Just as Richard was beginning to consider making Jessica the Employee of the Month, Hodge explained from the side, "Jessica has been sleeping in the office for days. She was kicked out by her landlord because she's two months behind on rent..."

Richard: "..."

Was that not... a little too miserable?

Jessica Jones, a well-known superhero in the original work, had actually been reduced to getting kicked out and having no choice but to sleep on an office desk...

Richard felt that this would not do. It was one thing if Jessica had been down and out before; that had nothing to do with him. But now Jessica was an employee of his newspaper. If word got out that one of his employees was so poor she did not even have a place to sleep, would that not make him look like one of those ugly capitalists who exploited their workers?

So he thought for a moment. "Jessica, how about this? My house is pretty big, and I'm the only one living there. There are plenty of empty rooms I never use. If you're willing, I can rent one to you at a low price. You don't need to pay the rent upfront; you can move in first, and we can deduct the rent from your monthly salary later..."

"Deal." Jessica agreed immediately, without the slightest hesitation.