Thor

"There was no other way. Otherwise, the shrapnel in my chest would have killed me long ago." Tony Stark shrugged. He had yet to develop a new Arc Reactor, and his armor technology was stuck at Mark V, progressing slowly. But by earning points through hunting monsters, he had forcefully poured the enhancement functions in his wristband into his armor—without adding a single gram of material, its defense had doubled outright. It was practically cheating.

"Go see the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Your father left you a gift," Li Chen reminded him.

"A gift?"

"It can solve your palladium poisoning problem."

"All right. Hopefully." Tony Stark shrugged skeptically.

To be honest, Li Chen could have forcibly removed the shrapnel from Tony Stark's body with his superpowers. But lacking professional medical knowledge, acting rashly could cause serious harm to Tony Stark's ordinary human body. Until he obtained the abilities of a medical hero, it was best not to attempt such dangerous operations.

"Move aside, Uncle," Child Emperor said with a lollipop in his mouth. He carried the latest high-tech backpack he had developed. This equipment had directly elevated his combat strength to B-Class Hero level, enough to handle Demon-level Disasters. As for building the Super Gundam, he planned to use top-grade materials—Vibranium. Unfortunately, Stark Industries' Vibranium reserves were far from enough. At least a hundred tons would be needed to build the complete "Vibranium Dreadnought Giant."

"Brat, didn't your family teach you to respect your elders?"

"I only respect real ability. That doesn't include uncles who only know how to run their mouths."

"Real ability? Then you've met the right person." Tony Stark boasted confidently. "I built a circuit board at four, made an engine at six, graduated from MIT with top honors at seventeen, and took over Stark Industries at twenty-one. Now I've not only developed artificial intelligence, but also created Iron Man armor decades ahead of modern technology."

Child Emperor merely dragged out an "Oh—" without the slightest hint of surprise.

"Talking about this with a brat like you is a waste of time."

"Not necessarily," Li Chen interjected at the right moment. "Let me introduce him. This is Child Emperor, the second-ranked D-Class Hero. He's currently strong enough to defeat you."

"What?"

"Tony, you always call yourself a genius, yet you can't even compare to a ten-year-old." Li Chen smiled. This was precisely meant to stir Tony Stark's drive to improve. His earlier warning about the purple potato spirit had also been half-truth, half-bluff for that purpose.

Such vague ideas ultimately could not give him any sense of urgency, leaving the development of the Iron Man armor stalled at Mark V without any breakthrough.

Since that method did not work, he could only switch tactics and strike him fatally in the field where he was most arrogant.

"Hey, President, that lousy attempt at provoking me won't work."

"Really? Child Emperor had already mastered all the foundational theories by the time he was seven."

"You mean the subjects from compulsory education? That does make him a prodigy, but if you're saying I'm inferior to him, I refuse to accept that."

"I mean all the foundational theories needed for scientific research."

"What kind of joke is that?! That would require at least seven or eight doctorate degrees. Even if he started learning in the womb, there's no way he could cram that much knowledge into his head, right?"

Tony Stark's eyes widened, and even his voice changed pitch. Knowledge that ordinary people could not grasp even after exhausting their entire lives had been fully mastered by this brat at seven? He was a monster straight out of a comic book!

"Uncle, just because you can't do something doesn't mean you should doubt others. Got it?" Child Emperor rolled his eyes irritably, still sucking on his lollipop.

Tony Stark's expression instantly turned serious. He threw out several more professional questions in succession, only for Child Emperor to answer them fluently. In the end, Child Emperor even questioned Tony Stark until he was left speechless. For a genius boy capable of building the Brave Giant, such basic knowledge naturally posed no difficulty.

Looking at Child Emperor before him, Tony Stark suddenly felt like he was having a heart attack. This little monster was terrifying! If he did not work harder, he was afraid he would be left behind by the times.

"Senior, you're smiling like a ** cat," Mash quietly reminded him.

"Am I?" Li Chen forcibly held the corners of his mouth still. Watching Iron Man get crushed so badly by Child Emperor that he began doubting his life was simply too satisfying. At least he had new material to tease Tony Stark with in the future.

After ten minutes of "friendly conversation," Tony Stark was completely wilted. Wearing his armor, he slumped across the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"President, this uncle's mental fortitude is way too weak, isn't it?" Child Emperor scratched his head. Honestly, aside from building Gundams, this uncle's research ability was actually just a tiny bit better than his...

Child Emperor truly could not understand why this uncle had suddenly shut himself off.

Of course, he had completely ignored the age gap between them.

"Don't worry. Once he gets over the blow, he'll naturally pull himself together. When that happens, his rate of improvement may put enormous pressure on you."

"Hey, I'm still just a kid! I need to grow up healthily. I don't want to compete with this uncle."

Child Emperor suddenly realized that he seemed to have gotten himself into serious trouble.

Can't you just let me grow up naturally? Do you really have to use outside pressure to force me to mature?

I'm only ten?!

"This is so boring! Why aren't there any decent monsters at all?!"

Tatsumaki floated into the room, her face practically screaming the word "bored," as she complained.

Most of New York's monsters had already been cleared out by the other heroes. Coupled with Tatsumaki's deterrence as a "super nuclear weapon," she was bored out of her mind every day.

"Huh? Another little runt? President, hiring so many child laborers isn't a good idea."

Bang!

Tony Stark's body instantly flew out of control and slammed into the wall, embedding deeply into it like a statue.

"JARVIS! Activate the thrusters!"

[Sir, an unknown force is interfering. Unable to activate.]

"WTF???"

Tony Stark looked utterly dumbfounded. Mark V could reach supersonic speeds at full power, yet it could not break free from this bizarre force?

Immediately afterward, Tatsumaki used her telekinesis to bounce him around the room dozens of times like a ball. Tony Stark was completely unable to resist. It was an absolute stain on his life, one he was destined never to forget.

"If you dare call me short again, I'll twist you into a pretzel!"

Tatsumaki roared furiously. Her height was her sore spot. Anyone who touched it was doomed.

Within the [League of Heroes], only Li Chen could firmly suppress Tatsumaki. If anyone else provoked this tsundere loli, the outcome would definitely be miserable.

After suffering a second beating, Tony Stark completely shut himself off...

"Why... are all the child laborers here such freaks..."

One was a genius child, and the other was a monstrous loli. Was the setting of the [League of Heroes] that the younger someone was, the stronger they became?

"President, I'm bored to death. Hurry up and find something for me to do!"

"Want to spar with me?"

"No! Do you think I'm stupid? That would just be asking to get beaten up!"

Tatsumaki's face darkened as she puffed up her cheeks and refused.

Li Chen's telekinetic power was a whole level above hers. He could pin her down with a single finger.

Tatsumaki understood the enormous gap between their strengths, so she wisely chose to retreat—in the face of such absolute suppression, all resistance was futile.

Just like how, if Tatsumaki wanted to deal with Iron Man Tony Stark right now, she would probably only need to move a finger to win easily.

"Then how about I find you a god to play with?"

"A god?"

"If I remember correctly, a Thor descended to Earth recently."

"Interesting."

Tatsumaki crossed her arms, excitement gleaming in her eyes.

For the first time in twenty-eight years, she had heard that transcendent beings such as gods actually existed in this world.

Tony Stark and Child Emperor, standing nearby, froze instantly. As firm believers in science, they could barely accept the existence of superpowered individuals and mutants, but gods? That completely overturned their understanding of the world!

In comparison, Annie and Mash appeared much calmer. After all, on Valoran and in Valhalla, the existence of gods had long been commonplace.

Once the invisible telekinetic restraints around him were released, Tony Stark struggled up from the ground. Fortunately, his Iron Man armor was completely undamaged.

But at that moment, compared to the condition of his armor, what concerned him more was the subject of gods.

"Wait, did you just say... gods really exist?"

"Of course," Li Chen explained calmly. "Gods exist in many planes, and your world is no exception. Didn't I tell you before? The Asgardians have always protected Earth from extraterrestrial threats. The Thor who descended this time is the heir of the Asgardians."

"This world is becoming more and more beyond comprehension..."

"But there's no need to worry too much. They're merely a race that has mastered Rune Magic and advanced technology. So-called gods are just special beings with greater power."

"When you put it that way, it does seem much easier to accept."

"Interested in meeting the future Thor? His divine power may be sealed right now, making him no different from an ordinary person."

"Of course we're going!"

The four immediately agreed—Tatsumaki, Child Emperor, and Tony Stark were all eager to see the legendary Thor.

As for Mash and Annie, they had long been accustomed to all kinds of gods. They had no interest in Thor and chose to remain behind at the [League of Heroes] headquarters.

The group arrived at the spatial teleportation room inside headquarters.

Using his authority as president, Li Chen set this teleportation to free mode—normally, this service charged members a fee.

Before they gained the ability to make ultra-long-distance spatial jumps, the members of the [League of Heroes] mainly relied on the teleportation room to travel across the world.

"Coordinates locked: New Mexico."

"Teleportation will begin shortly. Brief dizziness may occur. Please prepare yourselves."

"Countdown: 3... 2... 1! Spatial jump activated!"

As pale blue light suddenly flared, the four people in the teleportation room instantly vanished from where they stood and appeared in distant New Mexico.

The main story of the Marvel film Thor revolved around Thor's growth. This prince of the divine realm, who had caused a war through recklessness, was stripped of his divine power by his father Odin and banished to Earth. In the end, he came to understand what it truly meant to become a real hero and a qualified king.

Three days earlier, Mjolnir's energy fluctuations had been detected in New Mexico, but Li Chen was in no rush to contact this fallen god. He knew that only a Thor tempered through hardship was worthy of joining the [League of Heroes]—that arrogant Asgardian prince who looked down on humans clearly did not meet the requirements.

"This should be the town." The four members of the observation group spoke quietly. At this moment, Thor was immersed in immense grief—he had learned from his brother Loki that his father had supposedly been angered to death by him. Yet this god's way of dealing with grief was rather unusual: he swiftly fell in love with a local woman, and the lovey-dovey scene in the restaurant made Li Chen's eye twitch from afar.

As Thor exchanged sweet glances with his girlfriend in the restaurant, a spatial tunnel leading into town suddenly opened. Tony Stark, dressed in red-and-white armor, dropped to his knees and dry-heaved. The dizziness caused by the spatial jump made this wealthy man, who rarely exercised, suffer miserably. In contrast, Child Emperor was studying the distant Thor with an inquisitive gaze, his eyes gleaming with the fervor unique to a scientific madman.

# An Abnormal Group Portrait

The thirty-five-year-old man staggered against the wall, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. Why could a child barely over ten endure side effects of this degree so easily? He stared incredulously at the tiny figure wearing goggles.

"In terms of physical data, that child is equivalent to a thousand ordinary adults like you." The researcher beside him pushed up his glasses, speaking as calmly as if discussing the weather.

"What?"

"Even unarmed, he can now handle Tiger-Level disaster incidents."

The boy in goggles scratched his head sheepishly. "It's just daily exercise. The doctor said I can't train too hard during my growth period, or it'll affect my height..."