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*****
The rich, sugary aroma hung in the air, thick enough to make one feel as though they were drowning in sweetness. It made pedestrians pause involuntarily as they passed the warmly decorated cake shop, unable to move their feet, their senses hooked and dragged inside by the tantalizing scent.
Inside the Kent Cake Shop, Mike was busy baking cakes, while Raven, acting as the shop assistant, was introducing their signature pastries to a customer.
After packing a small slice of strawberry cake, Raven smiled and saw the guest out before turning back into the kitchen.
Mike handed a tray of freshly baked donuts to Raven, picked up a tray of tiramisu himself, and they walked out to the front together.
After arranging the desserts on the display shelves, Mike took the cup Raven handed him. He walked over to the entrance, leaning lazily against the doorframe. He looked curiously at the two shops directly across the street, lifting his cup to take a sip of water.
There was the Time Café, and next to it, God's Fruit Shop.
"Pfft!"
A stream of water sprayed from the corner of Mike's mouth.
Even though he had seen it countless times, every time his eyes landed on the name of Odin's fruit shop, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
A glint flashed through Mike's eyes as his gaze penetrated the walls, observing the situation inside God's Fruit Shop. He raised an eyebrow.
Hey, don't say it—business actually looks pretty good.
It was certainly enough for those two, Odin and Frigga, to make a living.
Of course, this was all Frigga's doing. Her elegance and gentleness had attracted quite a few customers.
As for Odin…
That one-eyed old man had actually been secretly nicknamed "The Captain" by some people behind his back.
When Mike and the Ancient One first heard that nickname, they had laughed until their sides hurt.
Perhaps sensing Mike's gaze, Odin suddenly let out a soft snort in Mike's direction.
Mike shrugged, deactivated his super vision, and took another sip of water.
Just then, he saw Odin walk out.
The old man was eating an apple while tossing another one up and down in his hand. He began walking toward Mike.
While still half a street away, Odin hurled the apple in his hand straight at Mike.
Mike reached out and caught it, feeling the heavy force behind the throw, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
This old man is really petty.
Mike muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
Odin narrowed his single eye, which shimmered with a dangerous light.
"I said, thanks for the apple."
Odin nodded with satisfaction. He walked up to Mike, glanced into Mike's shop, and seeing that it was basically devoid of customers, he grinned widely.
"Hah! Your business isn't doing so great either, is it?"
Mike took a bite of the apple and said indifferently, "If I wanted to, business could be a hundred times better than this."
"Heh!"
Odin curled his lips in disdain. He looked over at the Ancient One's café and said, taking pleasure in another's misfortune, "Oh my, the Ancient One is truly miserable. After a whole day, barely anyone has walked through the door, right? It looks like next month is going to be hard to get through."
Mike said leisurely, "You don't seriously think that after living on Earth for so long, and faking her death with such premeditation, the Ancient One doesn't have some savings stashed away, do you?"
Odin: "..."
So, am I the only one who is genuinely poor?
If he had known earlier, he would have prepared some assets in advance.
Now, he suddenly felt worried about his and Frigga's retirement life.
Crunch!
He took a vicious bite of his apple, but suddenly, it didn't taste very sweet anymore.
Mike chuckled mischievously, checked the time, and said, "I should go prepare lunch."
Hearing this, Odin suddenly revealed a smile.
"Thanks a lot!"
"?"
"You didn't think you could eat my apple for free, did you?"
Mike looked at Odin speechlessly, then shoved the apple—which was missing only one bite—back into Odin's hand. "Giving it back to you!"
Odin: "!"
"Pfft! Haha!"
Raven, witnessing this scene from inside the shop, watched Mike walk back in and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Mike muttered, "Trying to trade a lousy apple for a meal ticket... am I that cheap?"
Despite his words, when lunchtime arrived, Mike still had Raven go over and invite Odin and his wife to eat.
Regarding this, Odin expressed great satisfaction.
When the meal was ready, the Ancient One also arrived, holding a teapot in one hand and a small folding fan in the other. She wandered leisurely into Mike's shop, sat unceremoniously at the dining table, and asked with a smile, "What are we having for lunch today?"
"So, you guys asked me to open a shop with you just to treat my place like a cafeteria?"
Mike looked at the Ancient One and Odin with amusement, set the tableware in front of them, and turned back to the kitchen.
There were still two dishes that hadn't been brought out yet.
The Ancient One smiled faintly. "Didn't you already prepare it for us?"
Raven pointed at Mike and whispered to the three of them, "He prepared it for you ages ago; he just has an unforgiving mouth."
Frigga nodded. "He was afraid we would feel embarrassed, but are we the type of people to feel embarrassed?"
Hearing this, the Ancient One and Odin nodded in agreement.
"Hehe!"
Raven chuckled softly, looking at Mike's busy back, and whispered, "That's just the kind of person he is—hard mouth, soft heart."
The Ancient One added in a whisper, "And a little bit petty."
Odin nodded vigorously.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Mike walked out carrying two plates of food.
"We are praising you!"
Odin shouted loudly at Mike.
Mike looked at the old man suspiciously, snorted lightly, but the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly.
"Eat quickly, and leave quickly when you're done. You still have a shop to rely on for your livelihood."
Mike tossed the comment at Odin.
Odin's face stiffened, and he grumpily threw a piece of meat into his mouth.
Fragrant!
"Oh..."
He let out a satisfied groan.
"Delicious!"
He praised it, unable to help sighing with emotion. "I finally understand how Thor and the others were tamed by Mike."
"Haha!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, the sound of an explosion erupted from the street.
The expressions of the group remained completely calm; even the meat held in their chopsticks didn't tremble in the slightest.
Mike's eyes flashed, and he frowned. "It's an Inhuman."
Because of the appearance of the Kent Star, and the constraints and management the Kent Star placed on mutants, the mutant situation had been effectively controlled. Now, however, the constantly emerging Inhumans had become the new threat. As more and more Inhumans appeared, the situation was gradually becoming increasingly severe.
"This sort of thing will have to be resolved sooner or later," Raven murmured, involuntarily thinking of the mutants' past.
"But among them, is there a Mike? Or someone like Charles or Erik? Without a leader, no matter how many Inhumans appear, they are just a plate of scattered sand," the Ancient One pointed out the thing the Inhuman community was currently lacking the most.
Everyone nodded.
"It's resolved. A superhero showed up and took down that Inhuman."
Mike announced the outcome, then immediately urged, "Hurry up and eat; I still need to take my afternoon nap."
Above the ocean, on a mysterious island known to very few, lay a city of Inhumans.
This city had existed for a very long time. Its technological development far exceeded that of human cities, yet it was cut off from the world, so much so that the outside world had no idea such a city existed on this planet.
Attilan.
Daisy and her partners had been here for some time now.
She was very satisfied with life here.
To be precise, she had fallen in love with this place.
Because her abilities were outstanding, after her identity as an Inhuman was confirmed, she received attention in Attilan. As time passed, her status in Attilan continued to rise.
This was a city of Inhumans, a city where ability and bloodline determined status.
On the day a person came of age, they would participate in an awakening ceremony. Those who did not awaken an ability, or whose awakened ability was useless, would become the bottom tier of this city.
That day was the day their status was decided, the day their destiny was sealed.
Fortunately, the abilities of Daisy and her few companions were all quite good, so their treatment here had been excellent.
Daisy sat on the balcony of her room, looking down at the scenery below from a high vantage point, a satisfied smile on her face.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. A flash of joy crossed Daisy's face.
"It must be Lincoln."
She whispered to herself, walking with light steps to open the door.
"Crystal?" A look of surprise flashed across Daisy's face. "Why are you here today?"
"Can't I come to find you?"
Crystal rolled her eyes playfully, which then curved into lovely crescents as she teased, "Were you waiting for Lincoln? Sorry to disappoint you. I'm leaving! I'll leave right now!"
Daisy grabbed Crystal. "Don't go! Since you're here, anyone else will just have to stand aside!"
"Including Lincoln?" Crystal smiled slyly.
"Of course!"
Daisy nodded and pulled Crystal into her room.
Crystal giggled and said, "That's more like it. It makes giving you access worthwhile."
"Access? What access?"
"The means to communicate with the outside world that you've always wanted, of course."
Hearing this, Daisy's eyes lit up.
"Communication with the outside world!"
She cried out in a low voice, asking anxiously, "What do I need to do?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just log in to your account now."
Crystal explained with a smile.
Because Daisy and her group were outsiders, there were naturally many restrictions placed on them initially to prevent them from revealing matters concerning Attilan.
Now, after passing the test of time...
"That's great!"
Daisy cheered, immediately took out her computer, and connected to the network.
As a hacker, being restricted to a local area network was practically fatal.
She skillfully logged into her assigned identity account and began accessing news websites.
"The address here is hidden; no one can trace it back to this location, so you can use it with peace of mind," Crystal introduced, looking curiously at the screen.
"This is..."
"Some news about Inhumans."
Daisy read the webpage earnestly, her brows gradually furrowing.
Crystal watched Daisy curiously. Seeing Daisy's expression become increasingly grave, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Daisy didn't answer; she just rapidly browsed through the recent news regarding Inhumans.
Several minutes later, she closed the webpage with some agitation.
"What is actually wrong?" Crystal asked again.
Daisy took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Crystal, did you see the news just now?"
"I saw it. What about it?"
"Do you... do you feel nothing at all?"
"Feel? Feel what?"
Crystal looked bewildered.
Daisy looked at Crystal and sighed helplessly.
Attilan was ruled by the Royal Family. As a member of the Royal Family, Crystal was one of the highest-ranking people in Attilan, both by status and ability. It could be said she had never suffered a day in her life and simply could not understand the plight of the Inhumans outside.
Daisy murmured, "Crystal, how do you guys... no, how do you view the Inhumans outside of Attilan?"
Crystal thought for a moment. "They are Inhumans, just like us."
"That's it?"
"What else?" Crystal was full of confusion.
"Don't you think that Attilan, and the Royal Family, should do something for those Inhumans? Their current situation isn't very good."
"But we didn't cause that, did we? If they want to, they can come to Attilan. Attilan welcomes them."
Hearing such an answer, Daisy opened her mouth, feeling a blockage in her chest.
The words sounded technically correct, but didn't it feel too cold?
Weren't they all kin?
Attilan was so powerful; couldn't it provide shelter for the Inhumans? Just like the Kent Star and the Kent family did?
Daisy revealed a bitter smile. "Crystal, not everyone can find Attilan."
"But you guys found it, didn't you?"
"If we didn't know about Attilan, we wouldn't have searched for it. And for the outside world, Attilan is a city that simply doesn't exist, so why would they come looking?"
"That is their problem," Crystal said indifferently.
Daisy was stunned, then gave a wry smile.
It seemed that in Crystal's eyes, only the Inhumans of Attilan were her true compatriots.
But the Inhumans outside Attilan... everyone was clearly the same.
Seeing Daisy's expression, Crystal's indifferent face suddenly turned helpless. "I don't have any way to help either. This kind of thing isn't something I can decide."
Looking at Crystal's expression, Daisy smiled. She couldn't help but hug Crystal, saying gratefully, "Thank you. I knew you were a kind girl."
Crystal blushed, nodded seriously, and said, "Of course I'm kind. Otherwise, I would have wiped you all out the first time I saw you!"
As she spoke, she made a ferocious face.
Daisy couldn't help but laugh, but then she suddenly said, "Crystal, do you want to help those people?"
Crystal was startled. "Daisy, don't do anything reckless!"
This was not something she could decide.
Daisy pursed her lips and said, "I know!"
Crystal breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, I have decided to go see Black Bolt!"
"What?"
Crystal screamed out in shock.
Sunday, at Steve's house.
Outside the bathroom, Steve was waiting anxiously.
A moment later, the bathroom door cracked open, and Peggy Carter revealed one eye.
"How is it?"
Steve asked anxiously.
A flash of disappointment crossed Peggy Carter's eyes as she said, "Nothing."
Steve nodded in disappointment, then immediately squeezed out a smile. "Don't worry. If we work hard, we'll conceive eventually."
Peggy Carter suddenly threw the door wide open and looked Steve up and down with a strange expression.
Steve's body shuddered, his face changed drastically, and he shrieked, "Impossible! Don't think crazy thoughts! I definitely don't have a problem!"
Peggy Carter snorted lightly. "Are you saying it's my problem?"
Steve shook his head vigorously and hugged Peggy Carter. "Relax, it's a probability issue."
Peggy Carter fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Why don't we go to the hospital together and get checked out?"
(End of Chapter)