Magic Girl Reappears

Ross had plenty of experience dealing with the police. He immediately raised both hands high to show that he posed no threat.

Once he and the nearby gang members had been brought under police control, he quickly explained the situation in just a few words.

"I'm Ross, Ms. Payne's bodyguard from next door. I discovered these armed criminals breaking into the Westons' house earlier, so my colleagues and I came over to provide support on our employer's orders."

Seeing that the police had arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Weston also nervously emerged from the house.

The police questioned the couple again and confirmed that Ross was telling the truth.

Then, one officer took Ross to Mark's house and found Rosalie for another interview.

Rosalie explained the situation and handed the police the video footage the drone had taken earlier of the gang members entering the Westons' house with guns.

At last, the police collected all the bodies and loaded the captured gang members into police cars before leaving.

As the bodyguards' representative, Michael also went to the police station with the police cars to cooperate with the follow-up investigation.

"Ahh..."

After the police left, Rosalie could not help yawning.

Since Dreamland Children's Park had been released, Rosalie's fame had soared. She had been flooded with acting offers lately and was busy every day without a moment to spare.

Having had her sleep interrupted earlier, she was utterly exhausted by now.

"All right, Mom. It's fine now. Go get some sleep!"

Mark comforted her.

"Okay, Mark. You should go to bed early too!"

Rosalie nodded sleepily, then turned and returned to her room to catch up on sleep.

Mark, meanwhile, did not feel sleepy at all.

As Super Brain's level continued to rise, he found that he needed less and less sleep.

After returning to his bedroom, Mark ordered Alice to send out drones to inspect the surrounding area and see whether any other hidden dangers remained.

Just then, one of the drones captured something that caught Mark's attention.

Right after the police cars sped past with their sirens wailing, a window in a supermarket in the next block suddenly opened, and a figure climbed out.

"Just a petty thief."

Noticing the large bags of food and other items on the person's body, Mark shook his head slightly and decided not to pay any further attention.

His sense of justice was not that strong. He would not report people who stole from supermarkets merely for food to the police.

"Huh, this is..."

However, when the drone enlarged the thief's figure, Mark recognized her.

She was the Chinese girl he had met in Hollywood before, the one who performed magic tricks on the street.

After the drone Mark had sent out back then was destroyed by her, he had completely lost track of her. He had not expected to run into her again this time.

"Alice..."

Mark had originally wanted Alice to send the drone closer so that he could speak directly to the girl through it and tell her that he wanted to recruit her.

But seeing the girl warily scanning her surroundings as she walked down the street, Mark abandoned that plan.

Given her vigilance, he worried that if he brought the drone closer, it would be destroyed again before he even had the chance to speak.

"I'd better go myself and talk to her face-to-face."

Mark quickly made his decision, got up, and left his bedroom.

His appearance as a six-year-old child was highly deceptive. He believed that once she saw him, her guard would drop considerably.

"Michael, send two men to accompany me."

Mark took his safety very seriously. Not only did he bring a weapon, but he also had two armed bodyguards conceal themselves and follow behind him.

Following the route the drone had recorded her taking, Mark soon blocked her path of escape.

Seeing Mark suddenly appear in front of her, the girl was clearly stunned.

A child appearing alone on the street late at night really was strange.

She had originally wanted to go around Mark and continue on her way, but after hesitating slightly, she still reminded him, "Kid, it's very late, and it isn't safe outside. You should hurry home."

Mark was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the girl to be so kind-hearted.

Even though she herself was barely surviving, she still warned a strange child she encountered on the street.

"You're a Mutant, aren't you?"

Mark's words brought the girl's departing steps to a halt.

"Who are you?"

Her eyes instantly turned wary, and faint sparks flickered at her fingertips.

Only after seeing that there was no one nearby besides Mark, a child, did she relax a little, though she still remained ready to flee at any moment.

"You destroyed one of my drones before."

Mark reminded her.

"So that drone was yours!"

The girl first looked guilty at being caught, but her tone quickly hardened. "You can't blame me for that. You were the one who sent a drone to follow me!"

"Don't worry. You don't need to compensate me."

Mark waved his hand and stated his purpose. "I just think your ability is quite good. I want to hire you to work for me. What do you think?"

"You want to hire me?"

The girl looked at Mark, the little brat who did not even reach her chest, with amusement, as though she did not believe him at all.

"Ten thousand dollars a month, with food and lodging included. I can pay you one month's salary in advance."

Mark pulled out a thick stack of bills from his pocket and held it out to her.

He had prepared it before coming here, specifically to win over the girl in front of him.

Judging from how she had performed magic tricks on the street before and sneaked into a supermarket to steal food, her life should have been quite difficult.

"Uh..."

At the sight of the thick stack of cash before her, the girl froze.

She had not expected a little brat like Mark to really be able to produce so much money. She even had the urge to snatch it and run.

"Well? Do you want to work for me?"

Mark smiled and shook the cash in his hand.

In the Federation, the idea that money came first was deeply ingrained. This girl was clearly no exception.

But she soon remembered the miserable state of her parents when they died, as well as the assassins who had been secretly hunting her all these years.

In the end, the girl shook her head. No longer looking at the cash in Mark's hand, she turned to leave.

Mark noticed that besides food, the girl carried a teddy bear that was not something someone her age would normally enjoy playing with.

"You're living in the sewers right now, aren't you? They're full of all kinds of bacteria and viruses, which are very bad for children's health. The younger the child, the more easily they catch diseases..."

Mark spoke up to remind her.

If she still refused his offer, he would not force her.

Although the girl's ability had considerable value, there were too many people with superpowers in the Marvel Universe. Mark could simply continue searching for others to hire.

"What do you want me to do for you?"

Seemingly finally moved by Mark's last words, the girl stopped and turned to ask him.

"Your ability is still too weak to help me for now. Just develop it while helping me with some miscellaneous tasks."

"You said food and lodging were included. When can I move in?"

"Any time!"