Late at night, the stars glittered overhead.
Waldorf Hotel, tower suite.
In the dim, spacious bedroom, only Marlena's steady breathing could be heard.
The charming, mature woman still had a lingering flush on her cheeks.
As though she had just finished some intense exercise, she dragged her exhausted body into sleep.
"Time to draw."
Remaining fully awake and showing no sign of physical exhaustion, Luke gently pulled his right arm out from beneath Marlena's head, where she had been using it as a pillow.
He lifted the thin blanket and got out of bed completely naked.
Before long, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.
"Two people who can't get drunk going to a tavern really is boring."
A few minutes later, Luke put on a bathrobe, opened the floor-to-ceiling window, and stepped outside.
The slightly chilly night breeze brushed past him, bringing an immediate sense of coolness.
After leaving the Broadway Theater that afternoon, he and Rogers had gone to Old Joseph's Tavern in Brooklyn to catch up, only to draw a huge crowd of onlookers.
One was a War Hero, a legendary figure.
The other was Captain America—well, probably a national idol.
New York City residents flocked over at the news, cramming Old Joseph's Tavern full.
In the end, what should have been the classic reunion of old friends reminiscing about the past and imagining the future turned into a dull drinking contest.
The clinking of glasses rose and fell, the aroma of malt drifted everywhere, and bursts of laughter occasionally erupted over some crude dirty joke.
The atmosphere was so heated that anyone might have thought they were putting on some adults-only show inside!
"Like Rogers, I've already forgotten what being drunk feels like."
Luke sighed.
Later, when he and Rogers walked out of the tavern,
the streetlights had already come on, and night had fallen.
The two of them were clear-headed and completely sober, without the slightest sway in their steps.
As for those guys competing in the drinking contest?
Every last one of them had collapsed onto the tables. Some had sprawled directly on the floor, leaving the tavern in a complete mess.
After Old Joseph had the staff clean up, he tossed them all onto the side of the street.
Spending one night as homeless men wouldn't cause any serious problems anyway.
For a Super Soldier, the serum injected into the body formed a protective system for regeneration and healing. Mere alcohol could never numb Rogers.
He had been frozen for seventy whole years and was still perfectly fine.
An ordinary person would probably have turned into a dried corpse long ago.
As for Luke, perhaps only a vintage brew Asgard had treasured for a thousand years could make him feel even slightly drunk.
After chatting for a while, the two went home separately.
Afterward, Luke and Marlena had another pleasant and thorough intimate exchange that promoted both physical and mental health.
Having finished such a fulfilling day, he finally remembered that he still had one chance to draw a Superman Template.
"Activate the drawing opportunity."
As Luke felt the cool night breeze, a thought crossed his mind.
Light flickered in his mind.
The numerous floating templates began spinning rapidly.
Each brief pause tugged at Luke's emotions and made his heart race.
"Silver Superman... this one's pretty good."
Luke could not help getting excited as he looked at the Superman Template with its silver border.
"Hey! Why did it pass by? That... Thought Superman?"
Another extremely powerful Superman Template drifted past.
Only when the spinning gradually slowed did it come to a complete stop.
Template extraction complete
Superdemon (Superdemon)
"So it's this one... Not exactly a pleasant surprise, but not much of a disappointment either. It feels like I hit the guarantee."
Luke froze for a moment, then smiled.
In that case, one of Superman's flaws—his lack of magic resistance—had been made up for, hadn't it?
If he encountered the Sorcerer Supreme in the future, he would not feel so uncertain.
Etrigan, also known as Magic Superman, was Superman's counterpart in Earth-13's magic universe.
Unlike Superman, whose magic resistance was practically zero, he had no such weakness.
On the contrary, Magic Superman could manipulate flames, command energy, and resist mind control.
This was quite a decent haul!
Luke equipped the newly drawn Superman Template, and the data on his character panel abruptly changed—
Host: Luke (Luke-Cahill) Loaded Template: Magic Superman (LV1) Abilities: Natural Draw (Active), Mental Immunity (Passive), Stellar Energy (Passive), Bio-Force Field (Passive) Reputation: 1645374 Achievement: Legendary figure
"Superman who knows magic... the whole style feels a little strange."
After loading the brand-new template, Luke felt a vast amount of information flood into his mind.
He spread out his palm, and the air around him rippled as a ball of blazing fire quietly floated above his hand.
So-called "Natural Draw" was the ability to draw in magical elements drifting through space.
"The magical power in the material world feels very weak... No wonder those sorcerers use all sorts of big shots as intermediaries to gain powerful strength."
Luke snuffed out the flame in his hand and spoke to himself.
Most sorcerers in the Marvel World drew their power from other dimensions or formed contracts with other beings.
For example, Kamar-Taj, founded by the Sorcerer Supreme.
The source of the Sanctum sorcerers' power was the trinity known as Vishanti.
Many Black Magicians were servants of the ancient demon god Chthon.
Vampires were created by Him!
And the Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic also had an inseparable, direct connection to Chthon!
Then there was Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, Mephisto of Hell, Cyttorak, ruler of the Crimson Cosmos...
They were all Dimensional Demon Gods rejected by, or unwelcome in, the material world.
"Being able to make up for one weakness is something worth celebrating."
Feeling the power surging through his body, Luke murmured, "I wonder whether there'll be a Superman who eats kryptonite in the future—or perhaps a Super Kryptonian?"
The next morning, before the fully prepared Luke could set foot on the European Theater, he received the bad news of a crushing Allied defeat.
Even worse, Rogers, who had packed everything and was filled with excitement, saw the casualty list of the 107th Infantry Regiment.
Among the names was his friend, James Buchanan Barnes.
"Maybe Bucky was only captured. He's still alive and waiting for us to rescue him!"
Luke patted Rogers on the shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"Commodore Cavill, Allied Command won't approve this rescue operation."
Carter reminded him from the side.
"The area where the 107th Infantry Regiment fought is one of the most heavily guarded regions on the European Theater! Forcing a rescue could result in even more casualties."
Hearing Carter say that, Rogers became conflicted.
He was definitely going to rescue Bucky, or at least confirm whether he was still alive, but he also did not want to cause pointless losses for the Allied Nations.
"There's no need to trouble Allied Command or mobilize any other units. This rescue operation will involve only Rogers and me."
Luke said calmly.
He had long wanted to get in touch with Hydra's Red Skull and see whether he could unlock more missions.
"No! Commodore Cavill! You're now a hero of the Allied Nations. If you're captured or suffer an accident, it'll shake the morale on the front lines!"
Carter grew anxious and hurriedly tried to stop him.
Because of their conversation at the Venice Palace that night, her attitude toward Luke had already turned cold.
But considering the consequences if he fell into enemy hands, Carter had no choice but to step forward and persuade him.
If anything happened to the Allied Nations' War Hero, the legendary figure heavily promoted by the American military, it would lead to serious consequences!
"Miss Carter, perhaps you still don't know me well enough. I enjoy challenging missions, and I'm also good at creating miracles."
Luke ignored her attempt to persuade him. Looking at Rogers, he smiled and asked, "Ready for an adventure?"
Rogers gave Carter an apologetic look, then nodded firmly at Luke.
"Ready, Commander!"
Rogers raised his right hand in salute.
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