In the hall of a newly purchased private manor on the outskirts of London.
The firewood crackled and popped in the fireplace, dispelling the dampness of the night.
Luca changed into a cashmere sweater and sank deep into the sofa.
To his left, Gwen Stacy sat cross-legged on the carpet, slowly peeling an apple with a fruit knife, and then casually stuffing a piece into Luca's mouth.
On his right, Wanda's fingertips were wreathed in faint Chaos Magic.
At this moment, the magic was warming the red wine in Luca's glass, whose face still had a slight blush.
Meanwhile, in mid-air directly in front of Luca, JARVIS projected a giant holographic 3D globe.
Five or six twinkling points of light were scattered across the globe.
This represents the Justice League employees who were sent abroad on official business.
Luca swallowed the apple, then reached out and pinched Gwen Stacy's cheek, earning a playful glare from the girl.
He then cleared his throat and switched to the public channel.
"Hello, hello? Testing the audio channel."
"Attention all personnel, it is now the late-night attendance period for the Overseas Special Operations Department."
Luca picked up the warmed red wine, took a sip, and spoke casually.
"Please report on your respective progress."
"Remember, failure to report on time will result in a deduction of your monthly performance bonus, and false reporting of military intelligence will result in a deduction of half a year's year-end bonus. We are a legitimate company that values the rigor of multinational management."
There was a half-second of silence on the communication channel.
Immediately afterwards, a loud thud, like a heavy object hitting the ground, suddenly erupted.
Russia, Siberia.
Deep in the icy wilderness.
A fierce wind howled through the air, carrying ice shards.
Outside an abandoned radar station half-buried in snowdrifts, corpses dressed in white combat uniforms lay scattered about.
Frank was lying on top of a wrecked tracked armored vehicle.
He wore a thick, cold-weather mask, had a frozen cigar in his mouth, and was covered in a snow camouflage cloak.
"Boss, I'm Frank."
"The permafrost in Siberia is very hard."
"The temperature here is so low that even vodka would freeze into an ice pop."
"If Loki is really hiding here wearing a green dress, I assure you, his eggs have frozen and shrunk back into his stomach by now."
The crisp sound of Frank pulling back the bolt came through the communicator.
"Also, I raided a secret Hydra smuggling hideout along the way."
"They had half a ton of enriched uranium and two boxes of weapons. I blew up the radar tower and buried them all inside."
"Then I discovered that there were no gods here, only a bunch of dead Russians."
Luca chewed on his apple and chuckled softly.
Frank Stark Industries advocates for green and environmentally friendly practices.
"If you bury radioactive materials and dead bodies together, the local environmental protection department will send me a lawyer's letter."
"However, given that you killed Hydra, you'll receive an extra attendance bonus."
"Received." Frank replied succinctly.
"I'm going to move to another hilltop and continue my stakeout."
"By the way, the recoil on this rifle is amazing, a hundred times stronger than the Barrett."
Before Frank could finish speaking, loud electronic music and jarring video game sound effects suddenly burst into the channel.
Watch your step! Excuse me, excuse me!
Japan, Tokyo.
Sixty meters above the Shibuya Crossing.
Peter Parker stood with one foot on the edge of a huge billboard, swaying slightly in the night breeze.
He had already changed into his battle suit, the built-in visors of which were constantly changing their apertures.
This is a facial bone comparison scan being performed on a crowd.
" Mr. Luca! I am Peter!"
Peter's voice sounded almost bubbly with excitement.
It seems that the energy of young people is being unleashed amidst Tokyo's dazzling nightscape.
" Tokyo is so cool!"
"The streets here are covered in glowing signs, and even the vending machines sell hot ramen!"
"I just spent two hours squatting on the roof of Kanda Shrine, and then scanned Ginza again with the detector you gave me!"
Peter shifted his weight to the other foot and continued his report.
"The results show that the energy readings here are perfectly normal."
"Aside from a group of bikers chasing each other on the street, there was absolutely no trace of aliens or magic!"
"I also used Silk to suspend the ringleaders of the biker gang at the bottom of the overpass; the patrol officers are bowing to me now!"
The faint sound of Peter slurping noodles could be heard over the communicator.
"Furthermore, Mr. Luca, I must protest! While the black pork bone ramen is delicious, the portion is far too small!"
"At my current metabolic rate, I ate more than ten bowls in one go just to barely fill my stomach. Your meal reimbursement limit might be exceeded..."
Luca rolled his eyes and rudely interrupted Peter's rambling.
" Peter, your suit is equipped with global real-time positioning and heart rate monitoring. I can see that you stood in front of the maid café for a full eight minutes just now."
"If you dare use public funds to buy headbands with cat ears, I'll tell Mary Jane what you're doing."
Peter coughed, seemingly choking on the soup, and his frantic, dry laughter immediately came through the channel.
"Cough cough cough! Absolutely not! Mr. Luca! That was purely tactical reconnaissance!"
"I swear I was just scanning the interior of the cafe for hidden cracks!"
Gwen Stacy chuckled softly when she heard Peter's embarrassed voice, and reached out to poke Luca's waist.
"Don't keep scaring him; Peter is still a college student."
"College students must also abide by financial reimbursement regulations."
Luca replied matter-of-factly, then downed the warm red wine Wanda handed him in one gulp.
The next second, a crisp knocking sound came from the channel.
Thump.
Rome, Italy.
The square outside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
A night breeze swept through the ancient stone colonnade, and the fountain's spray shimmered under the streetlights.
Matt strolled along the edge of the empty square.
"Boss, this is Matt."
"If I remember correctly, the employment contract stated that he was the Justice League's legal counsel and special operations officer."
"But now, I'm standing on the steps of the Pantheon in Rome, with several patrolling gendarmes beside me who suspect I'm a lost blind man."
They've come over twice to ask if I need to be taken to a shelter.
Matt raised his cane and gently tapped it on the stone slab beneath his feet.
"I've already scanned the basements of all seven surrounding churches with my white cane."
At this point, Matt let out a deep sigh.
"Aside from the discovery of two monks who had stolen communion wine and piles of papal remains in the catacombs, there was nothing here."
"Boss, forgive my bluntness, but sending a blind man to the heart of the Europe Renaissance to find a horned Northern Europe god is a terrible idea."
"This arrangement is logically completely unreasonable."
Luca adjusted his position on the sofa.
"Mr. Murdock, this is precisely a matter of trusting your intuition."
"Didn't Thor say that Loki likes places with a long history and a strong religious atmosphere? Where in all of Europe is there more of a mystical atmosphere than Rome?"
Keep banging on the floor. If you actually find it, you'll get double the pay for your workers' compensation and overtime.
"No need for that." Matt rubbed his temples.
"I just hope that when I get back, my company will reimburse me for two boxes of aspirin; the bells here are making my ears hurt."
Just as Matt was questioning his existence outside the cathedral in Rome, a heavy breathing sound suddenly came through the communicator.
Huff... Huff...
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
On the edge of a slum near Copacabana Beach.
Bruce Banner sat on the edge of the bed.
At this moment, he was soaked in sweat.
He gripped his shirt tightly with one hand, and held a miniature wristwatch in the other.
The heart rate reading on the screen was fluctuating between 135 and 145, with the edges flashing red.
" Bruce? What's the situation on your end? Is Hulk coming out?"
Luca sat up straight, his tone slightly less teasing.
Although he wasn't afraid of the Hulk, his rampage through downtown South America would have been a public relations disaster.
"Hoo... no... Luca, I'm still... still under control..."
Banner swallowed hard, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
"The problem... the problem isn't with Loki!"
"I took the spatial reading detector and circled the rainforest and port of Rio, and found absolutely nothing unusual!"
"Then why is your heart rate so high?" Luca raised an eyebrow.
Banner was almost in tears, and he cried out in a low, desperate voice.
"Because this is Brazil! It's Carnival pre-festival week!"
"The whole street was filled with women wearing only feathers and bikinis dancing the samba! The music was so loud that earplugs weren't even necessary!"
As he spoke, Banner covered his eyes in pain.
" Hulk... Hulk is screaming in my head!"
"I thought he wanted to come out and smash things, but actually he just kept yelling that he wanted to go to the beach to watch big-butt women dance!"
"I have to recite the Bible every few minutes to keep him under control!"
" Luca, for God's sake, quickly transfer me to the Arctic or the Sahara Desert!"
"If we stay here for another hour, Hulk will be out partying in his grass skirt!"
"Pfft!"
Upon hearing Banner's tragic story, Gwen Stacy and Wanda burst into laughter, collapsing onto the sofa.
Gwen Stacy laughed until tears streamed down her face, clutching her stomach and convulsing.
" Hulk wants to dance the samba? Good heavens, if Tony knew this, he'd definitely build him a suit of armor with sequins!"
Luca couldn't help but laugh out loud, then cleared his throat.
" Dr. Banner, stay at your post."
"Overcoming temptation is also part of the Justice League's mental health assessment."
"Take a deep breath, think about quantum mechanics, think about atomic decay equations, and don't let the Hulk steal your body to flirt with other girls."
"I... I tried! But quantum mechanics is completely useless against two hundred dancing girls!"
Banner let out a mournful howl, followed by a series of frantic gasps for breath.
Just as the channel was filled with amusement at Banner's plight, another voice, suppressing its anger, slowly cut in.
France, Paris.
An outdoor café on the Champs-Élysées.
The early spring nights in Paris carried a slight chill in the air.
The streetlights cast a warm glow, and occasionally a few vintage cars would slowly drive by.
Jessica was wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses.
She was wearing a black low-cut cashmere knit top, a long, slit pencil skirt, and red 10-centimeter high heels.
Opposite her, Natasha wore a fitted trench coat, her burgundy curly hair casually cascading down her back.
Holding a cup of hand-drip coffee in his hand, he adopted a languid posture.
In front of the two were shopping bags bearing the Dior and Hermès logos.
But this is definitely not a shopping trip.
Beside their feet lay a briefcase, inside which a miniature radar was silently scanning the 7th Arrondissement of Paris.
Jessica picked up her food, took a small bite, glanced at Natasha across from her, and then pressed the communicator on her collar.
"Boss, I'm Jessica."
" Miss Natalie and I have been conducting a six-hour-long, comprehensive search of the center of Paris."
"From the Louvre's vault to the Eiffel Tower's transmission base, we used portable scanners."
Jessica took a deep breath, and the gritted teeth in her voice could no longer be concealed.
"But apart from the smell of perfume and the slow-moving waiters, there was nothing unusual about the space."
"Of course, aside from the advances of certain France men who think they're romantic but can't even button their suits properly."
Natasha took a sip of her black coffee, then pressed the button on her headset.
"Yes, Mr. Stark."
"However, Assistant Jones insisted on wearing these 10-centimeter high heels on tactical patrol today."
"This has significantly slowed down our movement speed on the streets."
"In order to cover up her identity and avoid arousing suspicion, I had to cooperate with her and force her to spend 64,000 euros in several clothing stores."
Natasha smiled slightly, her gaze piercing Jessica like a knife.
"Of course, I've already issued all the invoices, and the reimbursement form is Stark Industries Europe Division.'"
"I suppose the generous Mr. Luca wouldn't mind paying for Miss Jones's professionalism?"
The moment she finished speaking, the coffee spoon in Jessica's hand was bent and deformed by her grip.
Damn bitch!
Jessica roared inwardly.
If it weren't for the fact that I had to pretend to be an ordinary office assistant in front of Luca.
She swore that two minutes ago she would have slapped the food right in Natasha's face and then stomped on her mouth!
Hydra is now under intense surveillance and has completely retreated.
And she, a top-notch spy, not only had to work as a maid under Luca's nose.
Now they actually have to put on an acting showdown with a despicable woman on the streets of Paris!
" Assistant Natalie is so considerate."
Jessica spoke into the microphone with a forced smile, her voice sounding like it was being squeezed out from between her back teeth.
"But I think that a woman's reaction to being approached by a stranger is more likely to arouse suspicion from the France police than her complaining about the height of her heels."
Listening to the two women's open and covert attacks.
Luca smiled slightly.
"Alright, alright, ladies."
"Sixty-four thousand euros is enough, I approve it, as long as you don't buy the whole street."
"If you two really have too much energy, you can go back to the hotel tonight and book a double suite for a proper sparring match."
"But if I don't see the Notre-Dame de Paris scan data in my work briefing tomorrow morning, your bonuses for next month are all forfeited."
The two women took a deep breath at the same time and replied in unison.
"Understood, boss."
After hanging up the call with Paris, the channel finally quieted down a bit.
All reports from various regions have been completed.
The permafrost of Siberia, the neon lights of Tokyo, the churches of Rome, the carnival of Rio, and the Champs-Élysées of Paris.
The entire Justice League was mobilized, but the feedback they received was surprisingly consistent.
zero.
There were absolutely no clues about Loki or the spatial fluctuations of the Tesseract.
Loki seemed to have evaporated from the Earth's surface.
Just as everyone was lost in thought.
A muffled hiccup suddenly came from the channel.
"Belch!!"
The burp was very loud, followed by the crisp sound of beer being slammed onto a hot plate.
Thor's loud voice suddenly rang out, making everyone's headphones buzz.
"I say! Warriors of the Midgard!"
"I was eating a family bucket of KFC while listening to your report!"
"I must point out seriously that your search for Loki has been completely misguided from the very beginning!"
There was a half-second of silence in the channel.
Then Pietro's irritated words immediately rang out.
"Hey big guy, what do you know now? Besides sitting in your office and wearing out the sofa, your understanding of the Earth is worse than a primary school student's, okay?"
"And didn't you just say that Loki likes lively places? How come you're wrong now?!"
"Insolence! Silver-haired brat! In the Nine Realms, no one understands Loki better than me!"
"Thor retorted angrily, and you could still hear him pounding his chest on the other end of the line," Thor retorted angrily.
Loki has always been an insecure younger brother!
"Whenever he makes a mistake in Asgard, gets scolded by his father, or loses a duel to me, guess where he hides?"
Thor paused, his tone becoming more certain.
He would transform himself into a snake, or a fly!
"Then hide in a mud pit behind the Asgard! Or deep inside a wine cellar piled high with straw!"
Thor shouted instructions into the microphone.
"Listen to me! Loki has been badly injured by Luca, and his pride has been wounded!"
"So he's definitely hiding in a filthy place licking his wounds right now!"
"You should focus your search on all pig farms and large landfills throughout Europe and even the world!"
"If you throw two bombs into the mud, I swear in Odin's name, Loki will jump out screaming!"
Within the channel.
A silence lasting ten seconds ensued.
"... Thor."
Luca rubbed his throbbing temples, somewhat speechless.
He was certain that Thor was drunk and taking the opportunity to slander his brother.
How do you know?
Then you'll have to ask Tony how he treated you in the past.
Luca understands these things very well.
"You just said... to send the entire Justice League to search the world for pig troughs?"
"That's right! This is the divine wisdom of Asgard in tracking!" Thor shouted confidently.
"Screw your sacred wisdom! Go back to your couch and eat your fried chicken! If you dare spout your pigsty theory on the public channel again, I'll have JARVIS replace all the beer in the building with water!"
Luca immediately cut off Thor's speaking privileges.
Then, he let out a long breath.
Although Thor's suggestion was as absurd as a psychopath's.
However, this interruption, along with the findings of each team's investigation, allowed Luca to quickly spot something suspicious.
He shut down the communication channels, leaving only internal listening enabled.
JARVIS.
"Yes, sir."
"Retrieve data from the radio telescopes we've deployed in low Earth orbit, as well as the wreckage site records from that S.H.I.E.L.D.. base."
"Understood, retrieving data."
Luca's eyes flickered slightly.
An idea was gradually emerging in my mind.
He felt that Loki wasn't stupid.
In other words, it's impossible for an evil god to knowingly linger on Earth knowing it already exists.
"Nobody can find you..."
Luca tapped his fingertips lightly on the windowsill, a smile beginning to appear on his face.
" Bambi... you didn't actually stay on Earth at all, did you?"
"What if you used the Space Stone to jump directly to a place invisible to our radar..."
Luca raised his head, his gaze piercing through the clouds and landing in the depths of the boundless, cold starry sky.
"Interesting."
"It seems this hunting game is much bigger than I imagined."