The Time Is Set, the World to Travel To Is Set-What Are We Still Missing?

"I've told you everything I know. So now, what's your decision?"

After finishing her account, Annie looked at Ryan, who was deep in thought, and asked. She still couldn't tell whether Ryan was pretending to have amnesia or had truly lost his memory. After all, some of the questions he had asked earlier were far too stupid, and from what she had observed, he didn't seem to be lying.

"Hmm, do you have any relatives in China you can rely on?"

Li Mo asked after thinking it over. If Annie still had family in China, sending her back there might be a good choice.

But if she didn't, his current idea was to adopt Annie himself.

It had to be said that this little girl was remarkably smart. At least, when Li Mo had been eight, he absolutely wouldn't have been able to explain something so clearly, much less possess logical thinking almost on par with an adult's.

Therefore, whether because adopting Annie could help him fit into this world or because of his past life's interest as a shut-in in raising little girls, his thoughts leaned toward adopting her.

"No. Or rather, even if I do, I don't know about them. Mom never told me anything about her family."

Annie sounded somewhat downcast as she said that. Li Mo's expression did not change as he said, "Then it's the same in the United States—there's no one you can trust, right? If you can trust me, I'm willing to take responsibility as your guardian. I'll treat you as my little sister too!"

"Why?!" Annie's face was filled with surprise and wariness. "Adopting me won't benefit you in any way. Abandoning me would maximize your gains and get you more. Are you sure you've thought this through?"

"Of course. You're my little sister..." Seeing the disbelief in Annie's eyes, Li Mo changed his tone. "At least, you were for three months. And you're also the first person I saw after losing my memories. I may not remember what came before, but the relationship between us really existed. Besides, I really like you!"

Li Mo's tone was sincere. Though his true motives carried a measure of self-interest, he genuinely liked the pretty, strong, smart little girl before him, and that was enough.

With Thanos's sunset snap hanging over him, Li Mo had come to care little about money. As long as he had enough to spend and could live happily, that was fine. Besides, with a large inheritance, he had no financial difficulties.

"Huh?!"

Annie jumped in fright, her tiny body instantly springing behind the sofa, where she stared at Li Mo with complete vigilance.

"I never thought you were a pedophile, Ryan!" Annie said in disgust.

"Hey! The kind of liking I meant was an adult's affection for a child! What kind of twisted thoughts does a little brat like you have?!" Li Mo roared in exasperation. He did like little girls, but not ones this young. This was outright slander.

"Who knows what you're really thinking," Annie muttered quietly. Seeing Ryan's face darken further, she could only say helplessly, "Fine, I misunderstood you. I apologize, Ryan."

"Forget it."

Seeing that Annie had a few more smiles on her face than before and looked much better, Li Mo waved his hand. "I'm not going to argue with a child. So, Annie, I'll ask you again. Are you willing to become part of my family?"

Li Mo looked at Annie with bright eyes, waiting for her answer.

After a stretch of silence, Annie lightly nodded.

Li Mo's face lit up, and he happily walked two laps around the room.

"What do you want to eat? We should celebrate the family we've formed again."

Though Li Mo had been a shut-in in his past life, he had excellent cooking skills—at the very least, no worse than an ordinary hotel chef's.

"Make whatever you want. But Ryan, how come I don't remember you knowing how to cook?" Annie asked curiously.

Li Mo's body stiffened. He gave an awkward laugh and said, "There's a lot you don't know. I'm a man with many talents."

"Braggart!"

The little girl pouted and muttered, but said nothing more. She sat back down on the sofa and turned on the television.

Ryan said he had amnesia. At first, the little girl hadn't believed him. But as Ryan asked more and more questions, including many that were basic common knowledge—such as whether Captain America really existed and what year it was—she had basically accepted the reality of his amnesia.

Though she had been nervous and even afraid at first, the final result was pretty good. She had family again.

Glancing back at Ryan busily working in the kitchen, Annie clenched her fists. Her mother's image appeared in her mind, and tears streamed down her face as she smiled.

"Oh my God!"

"What kind of stuff is in the kitchens of American homes at the end of the twentieth century?!"

Li Mo looked at the things before him and nearly broke down. He only remembered that he was good at cooking, completely forgetting that he was no longer in his own home. He was in an American home from the end of the twentieth century—more precisely, December 1998—and the kitchen utensils were vastly different from what he was used to.

"Alright, let me see..."

"This should be the refrigerator. There are eggplants, beef, potatoes..."

"This is a gas tank? Why the hell does it look like this?!"

Once he had familiarized himself with the kitchen again, Li Mo skillfully began preparing the ingredients with the unfamiliar kitchen knife, humming a tune as he cooked.

He was very happy right now. Annie agreeing to join his family was one reason, but more importantly, it was 1998.

And from what he remembered, Thanos's snap happened around 2016.

Although asking Annie had confirmed the miserable fact that this was the Marvel Universe, the nearly twenty-year gap filled him with delight.

Twenty years was enough time for him to enjoy everything there was to enjoy. As for what to do when Thanos snapped his fingers twenty years later, wasn't there still a fifty percent chance of surviving? And even if he really died then, enjoying twenty years would still make it worthwhile. Besides, Avengers 4 hadn't even been released yet. Maybe the writers would lose their minds and bring everyone who had been erased back to life.

With the fragrant scent of rice in the air, Li Mo carried the finished dishes and rice to the glass coffee table in the living room.

The usual place for eating was probably not here, but Li Mo felt that a new life deserved a new way of doing things, so he decided to change where they ate. Of course, being able to watch television while eating here was also important. He was quite curious about what American channels showed. He had heard in his past life that there were adult programs, though he didn't know whether this television could receive them.

"It smells pretty good."

Annie, who was watching a music variety show, caught the tempting scent and couldn't help sniffing the air.

"Of course. You don't usually get to eat my cooking."

Li Mo said it as though it were only natural.

"Well, it really is hard to get."

Thinking about how she had never seen Ryan cook once in the past three months, Annie nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Annie liked it, Li Mo also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he really wasn't sure whether the dishes he made suited American tastes, but fortunately, it seemed he had succeeded.