A deathly silence fell over the hotel. After a long while, Lin Xiao spoke first, "Tell me, what exactly are you here for? I don't believe you came here to see me."
Mystique narrowed her eyes and spoke coldly.
Why should I tell you?
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, stepped forward, and cornered Mystique.
Mystique's eyes widened, her voice trembling. "What do you want?"
Lin Xiao nodded without hesitation. "I want to."
"Fuck!" Mystique, feeling offended again, attacked once more. Lin Xiao neither dodged nor evaded, continuing to nag, "What do you want here?"
Mystique, annoyed by his nagging, rolled her eyes. "Anyway, even if I told you, you wouldn't know. I'm here to find Shang-Chi."
Lin Xiao frowned, chewing on the name twice. " Shang-Chi? What kind of name is that? So corny? Is he Korean?" He scoffed, "Is it even a tenth as good-sounding as mine?"
Doupao's voice rang out at the right moment. "Ding-- Shang-Chi, son of Wenwu, son of the current leader of the Ten Rings, is not a Korean."
Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then closed his mouth.
He had spent several months in Afghanistan and had certainly heard of Wenwu. The man with ten bracelets, who single-handedly wiped out an entire mountainous region of armed strongholds. If he had met Wenwu instead of the Ten Rings scum in Afghanistan, he thought for a moment and nodded honestly, Tony would probably still be squatting in a cave hammering tinplate.
But this didn't mean he had any goodwill towards Wenwu. A Dragon Country, yet doing things that angered both heaven and man; this black sheep, doing things that damaged the reputation of the Dragon Country, would be dealt with sooner or later. Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, tapped his fingers on his knee, and began to calculate in his mind. If he defeated Wenwu, wouldn't those ten rings be his? Ten rings, those were good things. He thought about whether to give them to his godmother—ten was a bit too many, maybe five? Five was also a bit too many, maybe three would be a token. What if his godmother didn't like that kind of thing? That kind of detached and noble person might find bracelets too vulgar. Then, should he accept them himself, and his presence would be enough? It's a small gift but a big sentiment, his godmother would definitely feel his sincerity. He was the most filial son, that was beyond doubt.
His lips curled into a wide smile, his mind already racing with fantasies—his godmother, overjoyed, declared, "Good son, Kamar-Taj is yours from now on!" Why bother with any more ridiculous quests? He'd become a Archmage! He'd walk Dormammu like a pet dog, and even the Vishanti would offer him cigarettes. The Darkhold? Daring to tempt him? He'd counter with a massive double-cross, turning the Darkhold against him—"You tempt me to embrace darkness? I'll tempt you to abandon darkness for light! From now on, you'll be my Daylight Festival!"
Lin Xiao's mind grew increasingly pleased with himself, his eyes narrowing into slits. Mystique was opposite him, had seen Lin Xiao with this expression before; she knew he was full of wicked schemes and wondered what mischief he was plotting this time.
"Cough cough..."
Mystique coughed a few times on purpose, pulling Lin Xiao Lin Xiao back to reality from his beautiful fantasy, causing him to blush and decide to change the subject.
He deliberately drew out his words: "Hmph—why don't you come looking for me, but instead go looking for Shang-Chi? Don't you love me anymore?"
Mystique's expression froze for a moment. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she found herself completely at a loss for words.
Lin Xiao didn't give her any time to react, taking a step forward and seamlessly switching his tone from sour to enthusiastic. "Want me to come with you? Two people can look out for each other. Look, I'm good at fighting and can hold my own, and now I know a bit of magic, which can even help you out if needed—"
"No need." Mystique quickly took two steps back, maintaining a safe distance from him.
Lin Xiao's expression immediately fell, like a large, abandoned dog, his finger trembling as he pointed at her. "You—you wicked woman! You scumbag!"
Mystique's blue face turned green at a visible speed.
Lin Xiao saw all her changes and laughed even harder inside. He dropped his aggrieved, abandoned woman expression, leaned forward, and suddenly lowered his voice, carrying a faint smile, "Then you become Ella. Long time no see, I've missed you."
Mystique opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
The next second, she flipped over and jumped straight out of the window.
Lin Xiao strode to the window and leaned halfway out to look down. The blue figure had already flashed twice on the opposite rooftop and disappeared into the shadows of the buildings. It was pretty fast. He shook his head, closed the window, leaned back against the wall, crossed his arms, and gazed at the distant traffic, lost in thought.
Doupao's voice rang out, its tone carrying a subtle hint of probing. "Ding--Host, are you worried about Mystique?"
Lin Xiao's expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. "Worry about nothing! I'll tear you apart if you say another word."
He paused, narrowed his eyes, and adopted a businesslike tone. "I've been itching to take on missions these past few days. Generate me a mission to find Shang-Chi, the reward should be 100 Free Points, and the difficulty should be one star."
Doupao silent. The silence lasted longer than ever before.
"Ding--The task generation rules are determined by the system's built-in algorithm. Whether the host's suggestion should be included is probably not acceptable. Moreover, a one-star task rewards one hundred free points, which is a significant reward in any dimension--"
"Are you the system or am I?" Lin Xiao interrupted him, his tone self-righteous. "I don't need some divine artifact, just a hundred points of free attribute, is that a lot?"
Doupao fell silent again.
"Ding--Host, I believe you're trying to use the mission as an excuse to legitimately help Mystique."
Lin Xiao's expression froze again. He opened his mouth, only to find himself speechless, choked by a system. He decided to change the subject.
"Fine, bring up Wenwu's information." He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a smile returning to his lips. "Let me properly appreciate this lord's strength."
A blue screen unfolded before his eyes, displaying rows of data columns filled with densely packed attributes and skill descriptions. Lin Xiao's gaze swept from the top down, skipping over the long list of skill descriptions and background information, and directly focused on the combat power rating at the bottom.
A.
He stared at the letter for about two seconds, then swiped to turn off the screen. He squinted; it seemed it would still take a while, but it would be soon.
6:30 p. m., at the entrance of Culver University.
Lin Xiao leaned against the door of the Land Rover, holding a paper bag in his hand, obediently waiting for someone to appear.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Betty came out of the laboratory building, and Lin Xiao waved to her with a slight smile.
Betty frowned and was about to go back to school, but Lin Xiao didn't give her the chance. He stepped forward, grabbed her bag, and Betty sighed, opened the car door, sat in the passenger seat, leaned back, rubbed her temples, and let out a long sigh.
"I have to go to the military region tomorrow." Her voice was a little muffled. "My dad wants me to go there. He says it's to cooperate with an investigation—but really he just wants to call me in for questioning. Annoying."
Lin Xiao glanced at her, but didn't start the engine. He handed her the paper bag, saying casually, "For you."
Betty took the paper bag, opened it, and found a candied hawthorn skewer inside. The bright red hawthorn berries were coated in a glistening sugar coating, shimmering with an amber light in the sunlight. She stared at it for several seconds, turning it over and over to examine it twice, then looked up at Lin Xiao, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"What's this?"
"Candied hawthorn berries, Dragon Country snack, hawthorn berries coated in rock sugar." Lin Xiao started the engine, his tone casual as if he were just saying the weather was nice. "Bought them in Chinatown, have a taste."
Betty carefully took a small bite. The sugar coating crumbled between her teeth with a crisp crunch. First came the sourness of the hawthorn, mixed with the sweetness of the rock sugar, exploding on her tongue. She squinted her eyes for a moment because of the sourness, then her eyes curved into two crescent moons, and her shoulders trembled slightly. Lin Xiao watched her satisfied expression as she bit into the candied hawthorn, a small puff of cheek bulging out, and a smile curved his lips.
Betty ate two hawthorns, and her mood improved considerably. She held up the candied hawthorn skewer in front of Lin Xiao, gesturing for him to have one too. Lin Xiao opened his mouth, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and wrinkled his nose at the sourness, which made Betty laugh again.
Just as things were getting along so well, Betty suddenly wrinkled her nose, moved closer to Lin Xiao, and sniffed like a puppy. Lin Xiao paused in his chewing of the candied hawthorn. Good grief, are all women's noses this sensitive? Could she have smelled Mystique?
Betty frowned slightly, and her nose twitched, clearly trying to identify the unfamiliar scent. Her expression slowly changed from confusion to doubt, and her lips moved as if she wanted to ask something.
Lin Xiao's mind raced. Explain? Say that a blue-skinned female Mutants jumped on him and tried to stab him? Betty would definitely ask more questions, but he felt uneasy about keeping it from Betty. Betty's lips moved repeatedly, clearly about to speak.
Lin Xiao suddenly lowered his head and sealed her lips with his. Betty's eyes widened, and she tried to push Lin Xiao away with all her might, but she couldn't muster any strength. "My God, this bastard, how dare he kiss me! No! No! I can't let him succeed!" She pushed, pinched, bit... but it didn't seem to work. "Fine, let him be..." Betty thought to herself and closed her eyes.
Kamar-Taj Temple
The Ancient One stood in the center of the hall, an open ancient book laid out before her, the faint light and shadow of the tracking spell still lingering in the air. She suddenly turned her head and sneezed four or five times, each one so loud that it echoed throughout the hall.
She raised her hand and rubbed her nose, her brows furrowing in an unusually serious manner. While tracking Kaecilius's group of traitorous disciples, her magic had been interfered with by something. Following the source of that interference, she subconsciously made a calculation, and then she saw a new variable, a new scene, arising in the future universe.
A scene she really didn't want to see.
In the scene, Lin Xiao, carrying two boxes of pastries and a box of tea, stood ostentatiously at the entrance of Kamar-Taj, a bright smile she knew all too well on her face. Meanwhile, she herself stood inside, speaking in a tone she had never used before:
"My son, you have finally come."