Chapter 163 Odin: I Endorse Vought Studios
"Cut! Perfect! That take is a wrap!"
Lin An sat in the director's chair, holding a cup of iced Americano, and loudly announced while pointing at a cluster of twisted light and shadow in the monitor.
Ahead of his line of sight, the once sacred and solemn Bifrost Bridge of Asgard was now covered with messy cables and reflectors.
Malekith, the once majestic leader of the Dark Elves, currently had two dark circles under his eyes and lifelessly withdrew the Reality Stone from mid-air.
In the scene just now, he had forcefully used this cosmic-grade divine object to knead out a lump of "colorful black", plus pink heart-shaped bubble highlights for embellishment.
Lin An took the lead in applauding.
"Director Matt, your special effects level is simply an industry benchmark, much better than those freeloading green screen tailors in Hollywood."
"Thor: Dark Dimension is officially wrapped!"
Malekith's eye twitched twice, but he didn't dare to speak, silently going to pack up his lunchbox.
"Boss, aren't these special effects a bit too avant-garde?"
Assistant Madelyn asked cautiously from the side.
"What do you know, this is called artistic tension."
Lin An slammed the iced Americano onto the table, turned his head, and looked at "Odin", who was sitting on the throne in the corner and putting on a straight face as a cold, aloof NPC the whole time.
Which was Loki.
"Old Ao, the filming is done, let's talk about publicity and distribution."
Lin An walked over, wearing that capitalist smile that gave Loki the creeps.
"For the next month, I have arranged three global premiere interviews in New York, London, and Tokyo for you, as well as red carpet appearances for eight high-luxury brands."
"I've booked your schedule."
"Audacious!"
Loki almost jumped up from the throne, and the Eternal Spear in his hand heavily thumped on the ground.
He couldn't bear it anymore.
Acting as an extra was fine, but he still had to go show his face on mortal territory?
"I am the Lord of the Nine Realms! The God King of Asgard! You actually want me to go and smile ingratiatingly at a group of ants? Never!"
Loki's chest heaved violently.
Lin An unhurriedly pulled out a crumpled piece of A4 paper.
"Oh my, let me see how Chapter 6, Article 4 of the contract is written?"
"Party B must unconditionally cooperate with Party A for commercial publicity and distribution..."
Before the words fell, Loki suddenly let out a muffled groan.
A violent tearing sensation from the depths of his soul instantly pierced through his entire body.
Cold sweat broke out in a rush.
"Wait a minute!"
Loki gritted his teeth, his facial muscles twitching.
"Can you go?"
Lin An looked down at him from above.
"I can... I can!"
The pain of the soul instantly disappeared, and Lokigasped heavily like an oxygen-starved fish, his eyes filled with humiliation.
"Father!"
A rough shout came from behind.
Thor's eyes were red, and he strode over, pulling "Odin" tightly into his arms in a hug.
"Father, to support my career, you are actually willing to lay down the dignity of the God King to do publicity on Earth, I... I am so moved!"
Thor was moved to tears, the muscles on his arms bulging as he choked Loki's neck tightly.
Loki was choked until his eyes rolled back, his magicdisguise almost collapsing on the spot.
He roared frantically in his heart: "Bullshit! I was forced! You brainless blond idiot, let me go!"
"Such deep father-son affection, truly heartwarming."
Lin An applauded at the right moment, then snapped his fingers.
"Wade, where the hell did you die off to?"
Deadpool, wearing a red and black tight suit, somersaulted and darted out.
"Deadpool is here! Boss, you finally remembered me, your chief meme officer?"
Deadpool creepily edged up to Loki, and with a backhand motion pulled out a red-and-black interspersed tight support suit printed with a huge logo of the "Odin Global Support Club" from his crotch.
"Come on, Your Majesty, change into your battle robe!"
"For the upcoming publicity tour, I will serve as your exclusive accompanying director, recording your eating, drinking, and shitting 24 hours a day...!"
Loki looked at that weird-smelling piece of clothing, his eyes filled with despair.
Half an hour later.
Vought International's official channel started a global live broadcast.
On the screen, Odin, the God King of Asgard, was forced to wear that comical red and black support suit.
He clenched his back teeth, his mouth corners twitching wildly as he squeezed out a smile uglier than crying.
"I am Odin. I endorse... Vought Studios. This movie... is even more exciting than my conquest of the Nine Realms. Everyone must buy tickets."
The global network instantly boiled over.
"Holy shit! The God King is calling out personally?"
"What a lineup! Is the Universe about to change its skies?"
"Why does Odin's expression look like he's been kidnapped? Whatever, tickets already bought, anticipation maxed out!"
Three days later.
Hollywood welcomed the darkest day in history.
The three top blockbuster movies Thor, Wolverine, and Spider-Man were released globally on the same day.
Relying on money power and absolute traffic suppression, Vought International directly monopolized ninety-five percent of the global theater screenings.
Other production companies couldn't even drink soup, so they banded together to pull banners and protest.
The top floor office of Vought Tower.
Lin An leaned against the boss chair, his legs resting on the office desk, holding his phone and casually saying, "I heard someone is protesting me for practicing monopoly?"
On the other end of the phone, the U.S. President wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling: "Mr. Homelander, they misunderstood! How can this be called a monopoly? This is completely normal business behavior under a free market economy! I will immediately send the National Guard to clear the venue, guaranteed not to delay your movie's blockbuster sales!"
"Consider yourself sensible."
Lin An hung up the phone and shifted his focus to the real-time box office data big screen on the wall.
Too crazy.
Long lines formed outside movie theaters around the world, and midnight screenings had to be opened for three consecutive sessions.
On social media, discussions about these three movies had completely exploded.
Twitter trending search number one: "Is Logan, the tough guy in Wolverine: Origins, really that slut who dances Latin dance?"
Netizen A left a message: "I swear, when I saw Logansmoking a cigar and killing all directions in the movie, my head was filled with images of him being pinned to the wall by Deadpool to dance pole dancing! The contrast is too strong, I can never go back!"
The subsequent trending search was: "Can the battle suit ads in Spider-Man be any more blatant?"
Audiences across America laughed until they were starved of oxygen in the movie theaters.
Because every time Peter Parker swung between the high-rise buildings of New York and posed in a handsome posture, the huge "Head & Shoulders" logo on his chest would flash brightly, and the villains would even stop during the fight to ask him what shampoo he used.
But the most explosive one was still Thor: Dark Dimension.
Filmed entirely on location in Asgard!
Five thousand real deities acting as extras!
God King Odin making a friendly cameo!
Coupled with Malekith's outrageous special effects kneaded out using the Reality Stone, it directly shut up all self-proclaimed professional film critics.
"The special effects are too awesome, no, this isn't special effects, this is divine power! The God King is acting for us, Homelander is awesome!"
"That lump of colorful black is simply a visual miracle! Where did Vought dig up such a special effects master?"
Looking at the overwhelming carnival on the internet, the system's prompt sounds kept ringing in Lin An's mind.
Madelyn stepped in high heels quickly into the office, her voice trembling with excitement: "Boss! The first-day box office is out! Thor has broken the global film history single-day highest record! The total single-day box office of the three movies has already broken four billion U.S. dollars!"
Lin An's mouth corners curled high up.
He closed his eyes and glanced at the system panel in his mind.
Current popularity value: Eighty-nine million!
He took a big step forward toward the 500 million benchmark required for advancing to the [Ultimate Silver Age Superman Template].
"Thanos, Purple Sweet Potato..."
Lin An opened his eyes, a trace of scarlet flashing across the depths of his eyes, "You old brat won't be smug for much longer. I'm going to strip off your Infinity Gauntletand use it as a Fiji cup!"
Just when Vought International was making a fortune and the whole network fell into a carnival, Loki, far away in Asgard, stared at the bill in his hand, trembling all over with anger.
Zero!
His account balance hadn't increased by a single penny!
On the holographic screen inside the grand hall, Lin Anwas hosting a live broadcast of the global celebration banquet.
"Here, I want to especially thank His Majesty Odin of our Asgard!"
Lin An raised his glass under the spotlight with a brilliant smile, "Thanking him for his noble character, starring with zero salary, and making outstanding contributions to the film and television industry of the entire Universe!"
"Puff—"
Loki almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
He fiercely pulled out the communicator Lin An left him and frantically pressed the dialing button.
As soon as the call went through, Loki cursed wildly: "You Vampire! Bastard! Why is the salary zero? I am fucking the dignified Lord of the Nine Realms, acting like a monkey for you, working to death and you won't even give me a single coin?!"
On the other end of the phone, Lin An's voice was righteous and confident, even carrying a hint of innocence: "Huh? Old Luo, what you said is wrong. Did you forget how it was written on the contract?'Salary negotiable'."
"What was the result of the negotiation?!"
Loki roared until his voice cracked.
"The result of the negotiation is that I feel zero salary matches your noble God King identity. How vulgar to talk about money, right? Alright, I'm very busy, bye."
"Beep——Beep——"
Listening to the busy tone in the phone, Loki went completely crazy.
He smashed the communicator onto the ground, trampled it to pieces, and then rushed back to his bedchamber like a madman, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find that crumpled "Vought Labor Dispatch Contract".
"Loophole... there must be a loophole!"
Loki glared with his bloodshot single eye, reading those overlord clauses word by word through gritted teeth.
"I swear, even if I sell my soul to Mephisto, I will definitely get rid of you son-of-a-bitch black-hearted capitalist!"
Half an hour later, Loki's eyes lit up.
"Homelander, you just wait for me!"
Meanwhile, at Vought Tower on Earth, Lin An sneezed and casually signed a new project proposal asking Deadpool to go to Asgard to open a branch audition show.
Life is endless, fun never stops; this was Lin An's creed of life!
Chapter 164: Death Goddess, Hela
Inside the bedchamber of Asgard, Loki was hunched over a pure gold desk, using a magnifying glass to scrutinize the wrinkled Vought International labor dispatch contract word by word.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his back teeth clicked as he gritted them.
"Damn heartless capitalist! Zero salary? Fuck your zero salary!"
Cursing, Loki flipped through the densely packed terms.
The contract stated clearly: Party B must not proactively attack Party A in any form, and must not damage the property safety and commercial interests of Party A and Vought International. Violators will suffer the pain of soul-tearing.
"Cannot proactively attack... cannot damage interests..."
Loki muttered to himself, suddenly shrinking his pupils and slamming the desk hard.
"Wait! This only says 'Party B himself' cannot make a move, it doesn't say I can't find external help!"
Loki laughed neurotically.
As long as he didn't do it himself, finding a third party to slaughter Homelander wouldn't trigger the contract's penalty mechanism at all!
But the problem came: looking across the Nine Realms, who could defeat that monster whose physical body could withstand the Reality Stone head-on?
Invite Odin back from the Earth nursing home?
No, if the old man knew he was locked in a nursing home and subjected to eighteen layers of mental restraints, the first person he would strike dead would be Loki.
Loki touched his chin in contemplation for a moment, a long-sealed terrifying figure suddenly flashing across his mind.
The one sealed by Odin in Helheim, Asgard's true first-in-line heir—the Death Goddess, Hela!
"That's right! How could I forget that lunatic!"
Loki slapped his thigh, his eyes flashing with the light of a successful scheme, "In terms of seniority, she is Thor's biological sister; in terms of strength, she once slaughtered the Nine Realms alongside Odin. As long as she is released, no matter how tough Homelander is, he will be chopped into mincemeat!"
Half a day later, at the edge of the Helheim seal.
A gloomy and cold aura rushed forward, a flash of golden light on Loki's body used illusion to transform himself into Odin's appearance, holding the Eternal Spear, stepping into the sealed grand hall with majestic strides.
"Evil spawn, do you know your crime?"
Loki lowered his voice, imitating Odin's low and majestic tone.
In the darkness, a tall woman with disheveled hair slowly stood up from the throne.
She didn't even raise her head, merely sneering.
"Give it a break, I can smell the coffin stench on the old man across three realms. You smell like stale discount goods, which sewer did you Frost Dwarf crawl out of?"
The smile on Loki's face instantly froze.
He sheepishly waved his hand, shedding the illusion disguise, and changed back to his original appearance in green robes and leather armor.
Hela raised her eyelids, sizing him up from top to bottom, her eyes full of disdain: "Yo, isn't that little plaything adopted by Odin? Are you even worthy of sitting in Odin's position? What, did you kill that old man?"
Loki was choked to the point of almost losing his breath, but for the sake of his grand plan, he forcibly suppressed his anger and squeezed out what he thought was a charming smile.
"Big sister, I am here to bring you a great gift. Odin is not dead yet, but I have exiled him to a nursing home on Earth, and now Asgard is under my call."
Hela sneered: "Oh? Then what did you come to me for, wanting me to help you eliminate future troubles once and for all? Completely kill the old man?"
"Cough, how could that be, after all, he's the old man, I'm here to seek cooperation."
Loki cleared his throat and began making big promises, "Haven't you always wanted to reorganize Asgard's glory and conquer the Universe? Now there's a small problem. A mortal capitalist named Homelander has appeared on Earth, extremely powerful, treating Asgard as his private film and television Base, and even Thor has become his lackey. As long as you help me kill Homelander, let alone Asgard, in the future the entire Universe will be decided by the two of us!"
He sneered inwardly: Once you two fight to a mutual destruction, I will give an order and take down the traitor.
When Hela heard the words "mortal capitalist" and "film and television Base", her brows noticeably furrowed.
"Asgard's warriors, acting as actors for mortals?" A trace of tyrannical murderous intent flashed in Hela's eyes.
"The old man really lives backwards more and more. I want to see what kind of ant dares to shit on Asgard's head."
Loki was overjoyed in his heart: It's done!
Earth, seaside resort area.
Sea winds howled, and Lin An was holding a cup of warm milk in his hand, leisurely gazing at the sea.
Thor stood aside, holding the freshly baked box office battle report of thor: the dark world, excited like a two-hundred-jin child: "Mentor! Look! The box office has broken records again! Jane says I am now the world's hottest tough-guy actor!"
Lin An took a sip of coffee and gave him a faint glance.
"Calm down, Thor. As a top star under Vought, you must learn to get used to this life of being surrounded by stars. I have already accepted next month's underwear endorsement for you, remember to make your abs more obvious."
"No problem, mentor!"
Thor patted his chest in assurance.
Just at this moment, the space above the cliff suddenly distorted violently.
Loki, disguised as Odin, walked out quickly from the portal with a stiff smile on his face: "Thor, Mr. John, I am introducing an old friend of Asgard to you..."
Before his words fell, a suffocating divine power of death suddenly erupted from the spatial rift!
Hela stepped out with her slender long legs, wiping her hands, and the black-green divine power instantly turned into all-sky black spikes, forming an airtight death sword rain!
Loki was delighted, this fellow was quite dedicated, getting straight to work right off the bat.
However, Hela had no intention of abiding by any cooperation agreement.
That all-sky sword rain not only shot overwhelmingly toward Lin An, but even Loki and Thor were completely enveloped within the attack range!
"FUCK?!" Loki was so frightened his soul flew away, performing a sloppy donkey roll to miserably dodge a few black swords flying past his face, cursing bitterly, "Crazy woman! You don't play by martial arts rules! We're on the same side!"
Hela sneered, wildly flinging her hands as more Swords of the Night Sky whistled out: "Trash who acts as a servant to ants, do you deserve to talk about cooperation with me? Asgard does not need cowards, go die together!"
In his urgency, the illusion on Loki completely collapsed, revealing his original green-robed appearance.
Thor brandished Mjolnir to shatter a few incoming black swords, catching a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, his eyeballs almost popping out: "Loki?! You're not dead?! You bastard have been impersonating father?!"
"Where did you take father!"
Loki climbed up from the mud pit, wiping the muddy water on his face with some embarrassment.
"Brother, father is doing well, but now is not the time to settle family ethics accounts..."
Both hands instantly condensed two gloomy green daggers, "Solve this crazy woman first!"
Thor gritted his teeth.
"I'll deal with you later!"
Before the words fell, the battle tacit understanding deep in the two brothers' bones was instantly awakened.
Thor roared, his whole body erupting with dazzling lightning, and Mjolnir, carrying the momentum of ten thousand jun of thunder, tore through the air and fiercely smashed toward Hela's face.
Loki simultaneously transformed into several afterimages, flanking her weirdly from the side, viper-like daggers stabbing straight at Hela's neck vitals.
However, facing the two's full-strength pincer attack, Helamerely raised her eyebrows contemptuously.
"Just this little ability?"
She didn't even take half a step back, violently waving one hand to generate a thick black sword shield out of thin air, and with a loud bang of "bang", she actually shook Mjolnirflying away rawly!
Immediately following, she didn't even look at the flank, backhanding a whip leg carrying a fierce sound of breaking the air, directly kicking Loki along with his illusions flying dozens of meters away, heavily slamming into the cliff wall.
Absolute strength crushing!
Thor caught the flying-back hammer, the web of his thumb and forefinger numb from the shock, his eyes full of disbelief.
Loki was even clutching his chest and coughing up a mouthful of blood, and when he looked up to see a gigantic black blade dozens of meters long rapidly condensing above Hela's head, that world-destroying death oppression completely sobered him up.
Can't beat her!
Not in the same dimension at all!
"Shit! Gonna die, gonna die!" Loki's voice cracked in fright, throwing his head back toward the sky and roaring frantically and heartbreakingly: "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost Bridge! Quickly open the Bifrost Bridge and run away!!!"
Boom!
Just at the nick of time when the giant black blade was about to hack down, a dazzling seven-colored pillar of light instantly broke through the clouds and descended from the sky.
Precisely enveloping Loki, Thor, and Lin An, carrying a strong spatial pulling force, sucking them rapidly into the depths of the Universe.
"Mentor! Run away quickly! This crazy woman is a monster!" Thor shouted anxiously to Lin An while being pulled by the Bifrost Bridge.
Lin An stood within the rainbow light pillar, not even a single drop of milk in his hand spilled.
He looked at Hela, who was violently chasing up along the Bifrost Bridge pillar from below, with no ripples in his heart, and even wanting to laugh a little.
Hela?
Death Goddess?
With this attack intensity, she couldn't even break the defense of his current mid-level Silver Age Superman bio-force field.
If he were willing, a backhanded Heat Vision right now could melt Hela's antler helmet on the spot.
But...
A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Lin An's mind.
Wait, why is this plot so familiar?
Hela chases into the Bifrost Bridge, shatters the passage, and then... gets exiled to Sakaar?
Sakaar! The Grandmaster's turf!
Lin An's eyes lit up instantly.
That was the Universe's largest garbage dump, and even more, the Universe's hottest gladiatorial reality show scene!
That old fellow the Grandmaster monopolized the underground dark fist broadcasts of the entire galaxy, with tens of billions of viewers every day!
What the fuck kind of fleeing from disaster was this, this was clearly a delivered Universe-grade traffic trend outlet!
If Vought International's business were expanded to Sakaar, and the Grandmaster's gladiatorial arena was transformed into Universe Talent Show: Extreme Life and Death Fight, wouldn't that popularity value shoot up like a Rocket?
Wasn't the seemingly distant 500-million popularity value ultimate Silver Age Superman template just around the corner?
"Fighting and killing is so uninteresting, going on a business trip to an alien Planet to travel, and by the way annexing a branch company, this wave is a blood profit."
Lin An's abacus in his heart clicked loudly.
At this time, Hela had already chased into the interior of the Bifrost Bridge passage.
Looking at Lin An with his calm face, a trace of ferocity flashed in Hela's eyes: Wanting to run, huh?
Grant your wish!
The Sword of the Night Sky in her hand swung out fiercely, and the violent divine power of death slammed heavily onto the light wall of the Bifrost Bridge!
Crack!
The seven-colored light pillar instantly filled with cracks, and violent spatial turbulence roared and poured backward in.
"No——!"
Thor let out a despairing roar, his entire body directly flung out of the passage by the violent gravitational pull.
Loki shrieked like a spinning top as he was sucked into the void: "Hela! Even as a ghost I won't let you go——!"
Lin An leisurely finished the last sip of milk, casually threw the empty paper cup into the spatial rift, and conveniently tidied up his cloak.
At the instant the Bifrost Bridge completely collapsed, Lin An let the spatial turbulence wrap around him, leisurely and unhurriedly falling toward that unknown Planet full of garbage and traffic.
Chapter 165: Sakaar
Bang, bang!
Two dark shadows heavily smashed down from the wormhole torn open in the sky, blasting two deep craters into a foul-smelling mountain of metal garbage.
A few seconds later.
"Boom!"
A third figure landed lightly.
Lin An hovered in mid-air, his toes half a meter away from the rotting corpses of alien creatures and rusted mechanical parts.
He adjusted the Stars and Stripes cape behind him, not a single drop of muddy water splashing onto it.
Thor, his face covered in black mud, crawled out from the pile of scrap metal. Without even bothering to spit out the engine oil in his mouth, he grabbed Loki, who was still dazed nearby, by the collar.
"You bastard!" Thor's fist landed solidly on Loki's cheekbone. "Where on Earth did you hide Father?!"
Loki's head was knocked to the side by the blow, and he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, launching a vicious counter-attack straight at Thor's lower body.
"Let go! You brainless golden-haired ape! If I hadn't called Heimdall to open the door, you'd have been chopped into minced meat by Hela by now!"
"Stop trying to change the subject!"
Thor clamped his legs together to dodge the attack, his hands tightly choking Loki's neck.
"You disguised yourself as Father to rule Asgard! Where did you take the real Odin? If anything happens to him, I'll snap your neck right here today!"
"Cough, cough... Bullshit!"
Loki was choked until his eyes rolled back, his hands flailing about wildly.
"The old man is alive and well! He's watching TV and eating pudding in a nursing home on Earth! You idiot, take a good look at what hellish place we're in right now!"
"A nursing home?! You actually locked the ruler of the Nine Realms into a mortal nursing home?!"
Thor completely flipped out. Without Mjolnir in his hand, he resorted to biting, sinking his teeth straight into Loki's ear.
"Ah—you mad dog! Let go!" Loki screamed in pain, drawing the green dagger from his waist to stab at Thor's ribs.
The dignified Thor and God of Mischief were currently acting like two street punks fighting over turf.
Rolling around in the sour-smelling garbage heap, spitting at each other, pulling hair, and poking eyes.
Completely lacking any dignity of gods.
Lin An looked down condescendingly at this farce, pulling a handful of melon seeds he had swiped from the set out of his pocket, cracking them while surveying his surroundings.
The sky was dark red, filled with spatial wormholes of various sizes, looking like festering sores that periodically spat out all kinds of cosmic garbage.
In the distance, a massive city with extremely vibrant colors and a heavy industrial cyberpunk style stood at the end of the wasteland.
Right in the center of the city was a towering circular gladiatorial arena piercing the clouds.
Sakaar. The largest junkyard in the Universe, and also the biggest gathering place for outlaws across the cosmos.
Lin An spat a melon seed shell into a nearby abandoned engine.
He had come to the right place.
In that arena, tens of thousands of desperadoes slaughtered each other every day, and that old pervert Grandmaster broadcasted these scenes of carnage via the holographic network to the wealthy elites across the entire galaxy.
This was practically a natural short-video platform and tipping guild.
Things like "The Vought Midnight Talk Show" still had far too small of a vision.
Lin An calculated in his mind: how many people were on Earth? How many people were in the entire galaxy? If he could take over Grandmaster's arena...
Lin An glanced at the system panel in his mind.
Popularity value: 110 million.
He was still over 300 million short of the 500 million needed for the [Ultimate Silver Age SupermanTemplate].
As long as he secured Grandmaster's live broadcast channels, let alone 500 million, reaching a billion would be a matter of a year or a half.
By then, even if Thanos came wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, he could still pin his purple-yam head against the ground and grind it, forcing him to dance "Extreme Paradise" for the top donor of the live stream room.
"Hey! You up in the sky!"
A rough, hoarse shout interrupted Lin An's business blueprint.
Lin An looked down.
At some point, a circle of people had surrounded the garbage mountain.
These fellows wore armor pieced together from scrap metal, wore gas masks on their faces, and held various stun guns and energy emitters in their hands.
The alien leading them had four eyes, and skin as rough as a toad's, pointing the muzzle of his gun at Lin An.
"Are you newly arrived garbage?"
The four-eyed toad licked his lips, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Lin An's tight suit.
"That outfit looks not bad; peeling it off can trade for two bottles of strong liquor. As for the bodies of you three, they'll be just right to sell to Grandmaster as gladiators. What great luck today."
"Gladiators?"
Hearing this, Thor in the pit kicked Loki away, stood up, wiped the mud off his face, a flash of electrical light flickering in his blue eyes.
"Ants, do you know who you're talking to? I am Thor, the God of Thunder! Son of Odin!"
The four-eyed toad sneered: "On Sakaar, no matter what kind of god you are, you're just a meat pig! Open fire!"
"Hum!"
A large alloy net carrying powerful current instantly shot out from the emitter, covering Thor head-on.
Just as Thor was about to raise his hands to summon lightning, he found that the divine power within his body had become extremely sluggish under the suppression of this Planet's peculiar magnetic field.
The net draped over him, and high-voltage current instantly surged through his entire body.
"Ugh ah—" Thor convulsed all over, falling rigidly into the garbage pile.
Seeing this, Loki immediately raised his hands, a hypocritical smile piling onto his face.
"Big brothers, it's a misunderstanding! I'm not close with him; I'm just a passing magician. I can perform tricks for your boss, just don't electrocute me!"
"Too much chatter."
The four-eyed toad didn't stand on ceremony at all, backhanding a shot that fired a ball of electrical light, directly shocking Loki into foaming at the mouth and collapsing on top of Thor.
The two brothers, wiped out.
The scavengers laughed heartily, walking forward carrying energy handcuffs, preparing to tie them up.
The four-eyed toad raised his head, looking at Lin An who was still suspended in mid-air: "You, come down yourself, or should I electrocute you down?"
Lin An didn't move.
He stared at that stun gun, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc.
"Your boss is Grandmaster?" Lin An asked unhurriedly.
"Is Grandmaster's name something a meat pig like you can call out?"
The four-eyed toad grew impatient, raising his gun to aim at Lin An. "Last warning, get down here!"
"No need for a warning."
Lin An's eyes instantly lit up with crimson light.
"Hiss—!"
Two extremely condensed streams of high-temperature Heat Vision suddenly shot out without the slightest warning.
The red light traced a dazzling trajectory through the air, accurately and flawlessly severing the four-eyed toad's right arm that held the gun.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror, and the high temperature instantly sealed off the blood vessels, not even a single drop of blood flowing out.
"Clatter." The severed arm along with the stun gun dropped into the muddy water.
A second of dead silence.
"Ahhhhhh!" Clutching his bare shoulder, the four-eyed toad let out a heart-rending scream, dropping straight to his knees on the ground.
The surrounding scavengers were all stunned.
They had seen all kinds of superpower users on this Planet, but never such a ruthless character who would slice off someone's arm without a word and without even a starting stance.
Lin An slowly descended, his red combat boots stepping onto the metal scrap and producing a muffled sound.
He walked straight up to the four-eyed toad, grabbed the tube of the opponent's gas mask, and hoisted his entire body up with one hand.
"I ask, you answer." The smile on Lin An's face vanished.
"Where is Grandmaster's gladiatorial arena? Where does he usually broadcast? What is his follower count? How's the conversion rate?"
The four-eyed toad was in so much pain he was about to pass out; how could he understand these internet jargon words? He could only struggle desperately.
"You monster... Let me go... The Scavengers Guild won't let you off!"
"A guild?" Hearing this word, Lin An frowned.
"I hate it most when people mention guilds to me. Employees should just do their jobs properly; what's with starting guilds? They're simply tumors hindering the free development of the capital market."
The red light in his eye sockets lit up once more, the temperature even higher than before, causing the surrounding air to distort from the heat.
"Are you talking or not?"
"It's, it's in the center of the city! The tallest tower! The Grandmaster is right there! Everyone on the Planet is watching his gladiatorial matches!" The toad was scared out of his wits, shouting frantically.
"Very good." Lin An nodded in satisfaction, casually flicking his wrist and tossing the toad like trash onto a pile of scrap metal more than ten meters away, leaving his life or death unknown.
Seeing this, the remaining scavengers didn't dare make a move. They dropped their weapons and turned to run, wishing their parents had given them an extra pair of legs.
In the pit, relying on his Asgardian physique, Thor barely caught his breath, shaking his numb head as he sat up.
"Mentor..." Thor said in a weak voice, "We need to leave quickly, something is wrong with this place, even my lightning won't work..."
Loki also grunted as he climbed up, rubbing his scorched hair: "Run? Where are we running to? Outside this lousy Planet are spatial turbulence everywhere; nobody can get out without a spaceship."
Lin An turned around, looking at the two dirt-covered gods, and brushed the dust off his hands.
"Leave? Why leave?" Lin An grinned, smiling like a farmer who had just laid eyes on a peerless crop of leeks.
"Did I put in so much effort to bring you guys here just for you to go begging for survival?"
"What do you mean?" Loki stepped back vigilantly.
He knew this smile all too well; every time Lin An wore this expression, it meant someone was about to have terrible luck.
Lin An walked up to Thor, reached out to pull him out of the pit, and casually patted the solid muscles on his chest.
"Thor, haven't you always wanted to prove to your father that you're a true warrior?" Lin An cajoled persuasively.
"Of course!" Thor puffed out his chest, "The glory of Asgard must not be desecrated!"
"Very well." Lin An pointed at the huge gladiatorial arena in the distance, "See that? The top-tier arena in the entire Universe! As long as you can make a name for yourself in there and win the championship, I guarantee that not only will your father be proud of you, but the entire Universewill know the name of Thor!"
Thor's eyes lit up. Following Lin An's finger, his hot blood instantly rushed to his head: "Really? As long as I just fight? That's what I'm best at!"
Loki listened from the side and rolled his eyes: "You brainless golden-haired fellow, he's about to sell you off to fight underground cage matches!"
Lin An glanced sideways at Loki: "Loki, you have a task too. Your eloquence is decent, and your looks have a bit of pretty-boy potential. Later when we enter the city, you'll be responsible for public relations with Grandmaster. Whether it's bragging or flirting, just manage to sneak your way into the upper management and figure out the underlying logic and cash flow of their live-streaming platform."
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Loki pointed at his own nose, "I am a king of gods! You want me to do PR for an alien old man who sells meat pigs?!"
"Chapter 6, Article 4 of the contract." Lin An uttered softly.
Loki shivered all over, as if the phantom pain of being torn apart came flooding from the depths of his soul once again.
He clenched his teeth and shut his mouth, his eyes wishing he could skin Lin An alive.
Right at this moment, a dilapidated spaceship shaped like a flying garbage can descended from the sky.
The cabin door opened, and a woman wearing black leather armor and draped in a blue cape staggered down the gangway.
She was carrying a massive metal liquor bottle, let out a drunken hiccup, and looked hazily at Lin An and the other two.
"Hey, the three over there."
The woman casually pointed at them, her voice hoarse and laced with heavy drunkenness, "You guys belong to me now. I'm going to sell you to Grandmaster to trade for money to buy booze. Be good and put on the cuffs, don't make me use force."
Seeing the woman's face clearly, Thor suddenly froze.
He looked at the special tattoo on the woman's wrist and stammered out, "You... this mark... are you the Valkyrie of Asgard? Valkyrie?!"
Hearing that name, the woman's body visibly stiffened for a moment, then she tilted her head back and took a fierce swig of liquor, sneering, "Asgard hasn't existed for a long time. I am now called Scavenger 142. Shut up and get on the ship yourselves."
Thor took a step forward in excitement: "Why are you here? Asgard needs you! Hela is back, we must—"
"Bang!"
Without any warning, Valkyrie pulled out a small circular metal piece and accurately slapped it onto Thor's neck.
A strong neurotoxin was instantly injected, and before Thorcould even finish a complete sentence, he rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground with a "boom," completely losing consciousness.
Loki was startled. Just as he reached for his dagger, Valkyrie flicked her wrist, and another metal piece was already aimed at him.
"I surrender! I'll get on the ship myself!"
Loki very prudently raised his hands, walked around Thor, and obediently headed toward the spaceship.
Valkyrie snapped her fingers in satisfaction and turned to look at Lin An, who was still standing in place without moving.
"Tight-suit pervert, you're up."
She shook the metal piece in her hand.
Looking at this drunken woman, Lin An was blooming with joy inside.
He was just worrying about how to gracefully infiltrate Grandmaster's territory, and this tour guide had delivered herself right to his doorstep.
"No need to trouble yourself, I'll do it myself."
Extremely cooperatively, Lin An stepped forward, proactively stretching his neck out and even thoughtfully helping her press the metal piece down tightly.
"However, I must remind you of one thing, big sister."
Looking at Valkyrie's startled gaze, Lin An said with a smile, "When you sell me to Grandmaster, remember to ask for a bit more. I am a man who's going to acquire his entire industry; if you sell me too cheap, I won't agree."
Right as his voice trailed off, Lin An very cooperatively closed his eyes, feigned being electrocuted unconscious, and fell rigidly backward.
Chapter 166: Arena
Valkyrie 142 dragged them like three dead dogs.
She pulled a special metal rope in one hand, dragging Lin An, Thor, and Loki all the way into the top-floor grand hall of Sakaar's highest building.
"Grandmaster, new merchandise."
She hiccuped, threw the metal chain onto the ground without even lifting her eyelids: "Change for drinks."
Above the throne, Grandmaster wore an exaggerated red and blue robe, with a signature blue stripe painted on his face.
He was teasing the virtual projections around him with a small stick, turned his head upon hearing this, and swept his gaze back and forth over the three people on the ground.
Loki reacted first.
He stood up straight almost crawling and stumbling, skillfully brushed the dust off his body, and instantly piled a hypocritical smile on his face that could give Odin a heart attack.
"Respected... Grandmaster!"
Loki slightly bowed, executing an extremely graceful hand-on-chest salute, "Your taste is truly peerless in the Universe! The collision of these colors, the tension of this tailoring, it is simply more brilliant than the sea of stars of Asgard! I am Loki, a wandering magician, and your most loyal admirer."
Lin An looked at him sideways, internally calling him an expert.
As expected of the God of Mischief, this kid's posture of sliding down to kneel and this bootlicker tone were even more proficient than those million-dollar public relations directors of Vought International, making him simply born with the holy body of a lackey.
Grandmaster's eyes lit up instantly.
He pointed at Loki and instructed the guards beside him: "Oh my, this little mouth is so sweet. Take him to my VIP box and let him pour wine for me. It's lonely at the top here, and I just happen to lack someone to chat with."
Loki smoothly went along with the current and stood behind Grandmaster.
His eyes had already begun to roll around shrewdly, staring fixedly at the tipping revenue stream on the big screen, calculating in his mind how to figure out this system so he could report back to Lin An and be spared that damned soul pain.
Grandmaster's sight turned to the blond, blue-eyed hunk beside him.
Thor was just about to roar angrily and violently break free from the alloy handcuffs, but his peripheral vision caught sight of Lin An's composed back, instantly remembering the mentor's teachings before departure.
He immediately swallowed back the curse words that were about to slip out.
Instead, he looked at Lin An with a daft, resigned-to-death expression and shouted loudly: "Mentor! Could this be the 'grassroots immersive training' you spoke of? I am ready!"
Grandmaster was startled, then laughed so hard he rocked back and forth.
He pinched his chin, looking at Thor as if looking at a rare Beast.
"Good heavens, this aesthetic of lacking a brainstem is what modern audiences love to watch the most."
Grandmaster waved his hand: "Take him away, throw him into the dungeon, and arrange some of the fiercest opponents for him. Call him... Thunder Spark!"
Several fully armed guards swarmed up and forcibly dragged Thor away.
Not only did Thor not resist, he was still shouting aloud: "For the glory of the working class! Mentor, I will definitely not let you down!"
Finally, it was Lin An's turn.
Grandmaster looked up and down at this man wearing a Star-Spangled Banner bodysuit and red gloves.
"And you? What kind of god are you?"
Grandmaster's face was full of banter.
Lin An was all smiles, not only not resisting, but instead pulling a crumpled piece of A4 paper from his pocket and respectfully handing it over.
"Hello Grandmaster, I am John, this is my resume. I am good at creating hype and atmosphere, and I yearn extremely for your platform's "Gladiator Death Contract". I heard that signing means free food and lodging?"
Grandmaster froze.
He looked at Lin An's handsome face that revealed a hint of flattery, and felt the body inside this person without any energy fluctuations, letting out a chuckle.
"What kind of ultimate freak is this? A mortal dares to come to the arena to seek death?"
Grandmaster turned to look at Valkyrie: "What can this good-for-nothing do? I'd think he's not sturdy enough even as a punching bag. Two bottles of strong liquor, no more."
"Deal."
Valkyrie took the liquor bottle without hesitation, turned around and left without even looking back.
Grandmaster dropped an electronic contract and had Lin An press his fingerprint.
"Fine, today's appetizer match happens to lack a comedic cannon fodder. You go up, as long as you can last a minute without being torn apart, I'll reward you with a bite to eat."
Lin An grabbed the electronic contract and quickly scanned the terms on it.
The smile on his face became increasingly brilliant, but inside he was frantically complaining.
What kind of lousy contract is this?
The final right of interpretation is unclear, the revenue split goes entirely to the platform, and there's not even basic work-related injury compensation.
With these lousy provisions, in the eyes of real capitalists, it is simply an open-door ATM!
As long as I suck up all the traffic in the arena, this platform's tipping capital pool will be my private vault.
Lin An readily signed his full name.
He even considerately handed the tablet back to the guard with both hands, like the most dutiful, lowest-level working stiff.
"Take him away, throw him in the cell."
Grandmaster waved his hand impatiently.
In the dark and damp gladiator cell, it exuded the body odor and urine stench of alien creatures.
Thor crawled up from a pile of hay.
"Hey, newcomer."
A huge alien composed of blue stones leaned over, with an unexpectedly gentle tone, "I am Korg, and that's my good brother Miek."
He pointed to a large bug next to him holding two machetes.
Thor completely ignored the desperate situation outside, and instead familiarly patted Korg's stone shoulder.
"Prison break? What prison break?"
Thor pointed to the other end of the cell with a proud face, "Did you see that man wearing the Star-Spangled Banner bodysuit? That's my mentor! The greatest workplace guide in the entire Universe!"
"We are not in prison, this is called 'grassroots investigation'! As long as you follow him, there are free hamburgers to eat every single meal!"
Korg scratched his stone head, full of confusion.
At this time, the other end of the cell, a corner that should have been filled with the atmosphere of death, was as lively as an underground talent show backstage.
Lin An sat cross-legged with one leg over the other, sitting on the corpse of a huge dead alien Beast.
He held a glow stick he had swiped from somewhere in his hand, holding a meeting for a group of fierce-looking gladiators.
"Wrong! You bunch of idiots, do you understand what traffic code means?"
Lin An tapped the head of a monster with four claws with the glow stick, "You look so ferocious, and you bare your teeth as soon as you go on stage? Vulgar! Too vulgar!"
The four-clawed monster let out a grievance-filled low roar.
"You need to establish a contrast-cute persona, understand? Fall down first when you go up, get up and rub the back of your head, and then suddenly burst out and swallow your opponent alive. This is called a plot twist! Top benefactor big shots eat this set!"
The four-clawed monster nodded as if it understood.
Lin An pointed at Korg and shouted: "Stone man, come over here."
Korg obediently walked over.
"Your voice line is not bad, quite hypnotic."
Lin An pinched his chin and looked him up and down, "Next time you go on stage, don't just focus on fighting; while fighting, recite bedtime stories with your gentle voice."
"When you smash an enemy's head, say 'Good boy, good night' in your mouth. Understand?"
Korg widened his eyes: "Will... will this work?"
"Listen to me, I guarantee your tips will double."
Lin An said with absolute certainty.
He pointed again at an alien female gladiator with six arms in the corner: "You! Stop picking your feet over there! When you go on stage, make a heart shape facing the camera. If two hands are not enough, use all six hands together, like a flower bud, understand? There must be interaction!"
Although Thor didn't understand what 'traffic code' meant, looking at his mentor's grand and imposing back as he wielded power, he only felt it was inexplicably awesome.
He trotted over with large strides, squatting beside Lin Anlike an open-minded primary school student seeking advice.
"Mentor!"
Thor's eyes shone, his face beaming with a goofy smile, "They all have personas, what about me? Shouldn't I also concoct some gimmick? My lightning strikes really loudly, how about I go on stage and perform breaking a large boulder on my chest for them first?"
Lin An reached out and poked Thor's solid pectoral muscles: "Listen, blondie. When you go on stage later, tuck in those abdominal muscles of yours. Your persona right now is 'fallen prince's desperate counterattack'."
"You have to take a beating first, get beaten until you vomit blood, and when it looks like you're about to not make it, shout 'For Asgard', and then counterkill. I am familiar with this script; it will definitely suck dry the wallets of those alien tycoons."
Thor scratched his blonde hair as if he understood.
Then he patted his chest hard, making a dull thudding sound: "Rest assured, mentor! Although I don't know what sucking dry wallets means, taking beatings is my specialty! I guarantee I'll spit blood more brilliantly than the Bifrost Bridge, and I will never shame our Vought International!"
"Bzz—"
A harsh broadcast sound exploded over the cell, and Grandmaster's highly penetrating voice spread throughout the entire dungeon.
"Distinguished audience! Distinguished benefactors! Tonight's first appetizer, the hell-level battle royale, is about to begin!"
The red alarm lights flickered wildly.
"Let's see which unlucky bastard was chosen... Oh, a good-for-nothing from Earth, named John! He will face three hungry, bloodthirsty frantic Beasts! Place your bets now, folks!"
The huge metal door at the end of the cell slid open to both sides with a boom.
The sunlight outside shone in, accompanied by the deafening cheers and bloodthirsty screams from outside.
Several alien Beasts the size of hills were driven by stun batons, drooling foul-smelling saliva, roaring as they rushed toward the tunnel.
Thor curled his lip in disdain, looking at those drooling monsters with eyes like looking at a barbecue meal.
"Mentor, do you need me to roast them for you?"
Thor waved his fist naively, "Such low-level Beasts don't even have the qualification to smell your body odor!"
He turned his head and whistled at the group of dumbfounded alien gladiators in the cell.
"Everyone, watch carefully. Today I'll set an example for you and teach you what a true top traffic star is."
Lin An opened his legs, stepped on the sandy ground, and walked step by step toward the arena.
He didn't run wildly, nor did he tremble with fear.
His steps were steady and large, and his spine was straight.
That posture didn't look like cannon fodder going to their death, but rather like a superstar about to walk the red carpet of The Oscars and prepare to receive a lifetime achievement award.
At the same time.
In the VIP box at the highest point of the arena.
Grandmaster leaned on the soft leather sofa, holding a cup of fluorescent colored liquid in his hand.
He stared at the holographic projection below, full of excitement.
"One minute! I bet this kid won't even last ten seconds before his head gets bitten off!"
Grandmaster laughed loudly.
Loki stood to the side holding a wine pot, his eyes staring fixedly at the figure wearing the bodysuit in the screen.
When Lin An completely walked out of the tunnel and stepped into the sandy ground stained red with blood.
Hundreds of spherical live-streaming cameras suspended in mid-air immediately swarmed over like flies.
Lin An stopped his steps.
He raised his head, his handsome face directly facing the largest main camera.
The next instant, a smile as brilliant as sunlight, highly approachable yet exuding absolute confidence, blossomed on his face.
That was the signature smile uniquely belonging to Vought International's Homelander.
But in Loki's eyes, this smile was not the sunlight of a savior at all.
This was clearly a capitalist who saw leeks all over the ground, ready to raise his sickle and slaughter everywhere, revealing ferocious fangs before cutting down!
Loki's hand shook, and he almost dropped the wine pot onto the ground.
A cold sweat trickled down his back.
"It's over."
Loki roared frantically in his heart, "These idiots have no idea what kind of monster they've let in! Sakaar is going to be turned upside down!"
Chapter 167: See You Again, Hulk
Sakaar Central Arena.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators were howling at the top of their lungs.
The waves of sound made the holographic projection screens in mid-air tremble continuously.
Those alien gamblers waved the credits in their hands, their eyes bulging round.
In the center of the arena, Lin An was surrounded by a dozen or so alien fierce Beasts the size of small hills.
These Beasts drooled green acidic saliva, their fangs turned outward, and their sharp claws scratched harsh noises against the alloy floor.
Lin An lowered his head to glance at his feet.
His shoe upper was almost splashed by a drop of saliva.
"So fucking disgusting."
Lin An cursed inwardly, "Grandmaster's aesthetic is truly something else. The Beasts he found look just like mutated toads in a sewer. With this appearance, they wouldn't even be able to sell tickets if put in a zoo on Earth."
However, this was a big stage.
Billions of netizens across the Universe were watching, and it would be a waste not to capitalize on this traffic.
"System, open the quantum live broadcast room for me. Target push to Earth."
As soon as his words fell, a translucent floating camera that only he could see popped up out of thin air in front of him.
The lens aimed directly at his face, which wore a perfect signature smile.
At the same time, Earth.
Countless netizens who were brushing short videos, slacking off at work, or waiting for the subway had a live broadcast room pop up forcibly on their phone screens simultaneously.
The title was extremely eye-catching: Homelander Takes You to Explore Alien Arenas, Immersive Experience of Alien Customs".
In less than half a minute, the online viewer count directly broke 100 million.
"Holy shit? Homelander is broadcasting again?"
"Where is this background? The special effects are quite realistic. Did Vought International pour money into making a new movie again?"
"Upstairs, are you blind? Didn't you see the title says alien arena! Homelander thinks Earth lacks profits, so he went to alien worlds to collect taxes!"
"That drooling big lizard in the front is too disgusting. I'll tip ten bucks, begging Homelander to roast it!"
The bullet comments rolled past densely, and the smile on Lin An's face grew even more sincere.
He regarded traffic as more important than his own life root, and this wave of popularity value conversion would definitely allow him to make a huge profit.
Lin An pulled out a microphone with the Vought International logo from behind his back.
This gadget had also just been exchanged with popularity value, coming with a built-in forced hijacking function for universal channels.
"Ahem, microphone sound check."
Lin An's voice instantly drowned out the official commentary of the entire arena, spreading across the entire galaxy along the holographic network.
"Family members, good morning."
Lin An waved at the camera, "Today I am taking everyone to explore the Central Arena of Sakaar. Look at this giant alien lizard behind me, it looks quite unique. Let's test right now whether its bite force is any good, and whether it can bite through this latest nano-bodysuit newly developed by Vought International."
Grandmaster in the VIP box was holding a wine glass, and froze on the spot when he heard this voice.
"What is this good-for-nothing doing?"
Grandmaster pointed at the screen, "Who let him bring a microphone up there? Cut off his channel for me!"
The guard typed on the console with sweat all over his head, "Grandmaster, it cannot be cut! His signal source directly hijacked our underlying code!"
Just at this moment, the largest fierce Beast couldn't hold back anymore.
Its hind legs exerted sudden force, pouncing towards Lin An like a mountain of flesh, its bloody mouth aimed directly at Lin An's head.
That speed was extremely fast, stirring up a gust of fishy wind.
A bloodthirsty cheer erupted from the audience stands, everyone waiting to see this bodysuit pervert have his head bitten off in one gulp.
Lin An didn't even look straight at that Beast.
He was still holding the microphone in his hand, and with his left hand backhanded an extremely casual giant slap.
That movement was as light as chasing away an annoying green-headed fly.
Boom!
A huge sonic boom exploded in the center of the venue.
The air was forcibly compressed into a white wave of air.
The moment that fierce Beast's huge body came into contact with Lin An's palm, it flew backward directly like a cannonball coming out of a barrel.
Bang!
The energy shield hundreds of meters away was smashed into a large pit. The fierce Beast didn't even have time to let out a scream, smashing directly into a pool of blurry meat paste on the shield, with green blood flowing down the energy barrier.
The whole audience was silent.
The hundreds of thousands of alien gamblers who were frantically roaring the second before now all opened their mouths wide, like ducks whose necks were pinched.
Inside Earth's live broadcast room, the bullet comments also cleared out for a second.
Immediately following, overwhelming exclamation marks and question marks completely flooded the screen.
"???"
"What just happened? Was that big lizard slapped flying by a single palm?"
"Sonic boom! Holy crap, a purely physical slap produced a sonic boom! Homelander is awesome!"
"This is too decompressing! I announce, I give Vought International's wave of alien store exploration a full score!"
Lin An blossomed with joy in his heart.
Hearing the system continuously prompt "Popularity Value + 1 million" and "Popularity Value + 5 million" in his mind, the smile on the corners of his mouth grew wider and wider.
These fellow Earth folks were still so reliable.
He continued to stride forward, taking a leisurely stroll among the remaining pack of fierce Beasts.
A monster with four arms roared and rushed over.
Lin An walked up, his right fist gently thrusting forward.
With another loud boom, a transparent large hole was directly smashed into the monster's chest, and it fell straight to the ground.
Another monster that looked like a giant centipede tried to sneak attack from behind.
Without even turning his head, Lin An raised his leg and delivered a back kick.
That monster burst open directly from head to tail, with minced meat scattering all over the ground.
Left punch, right slap.
Lin An's movements were extremely harmless to humans and animals, and not even the wrinkles on his clothes were ruffled, yet he treated these alien monsters that made the Universe tremble with fear like balloons, popping them one by one.
Every time he slapped one to death, he didn't forget to make a heart gesture towards the camera.
"Thanks to 'Little Cheap Bastard Wearing Red Bodysuit' for sending ten big Rockets. Deadpool, I'll reimburse you when we go back, charge it to Vought International's public account."
"Thanks to 'Black Widow' for the spaceship. Natasha, don't forget to help me check on the kid at Benjamin's place."
Lin An smiled brightly at the camera: "Old irons, hit that follow button so you don't get lost. The little yellow cart in the lower left corner, Vought International's same-style limited edition bodysuit, only 998. Put it on, and you too can slap an alien toad to death with one palm."
Behind the iron railings of the arena's waiting area.
Thor grasped the railings tightly with both hands, his eyes wide as copper bells, trembling all over with excitement.
"Did you see that! This is my mentor!"
Thor turned his head and shouted at Korg the rock man beside him, "What alien fierce Beasts, in front of the great capitalist assembly line, they are all vulnerable defective products! I understand, mentor is teaching me that no matter how powerful the enemy is, as long as I maintain a perfect workplace smile, I can trample them under my feet!"
Korg scratched his stone head and said honestly, "I don't know anything about assembly lines, but I know that guy can slap my head into lime powder with one palm."
In the VIP box.
Loki covered his face, his body unconsciously shrinking into the corner of the sofa.
"Idiots, a bunch of idiots."
Loki cursed frantically in his heart, "Grandmaster is such a fool, he has no idea what kind of ancestor he bought back! How is this a comedic cannon fodder, this fucking thing is a humanoid black hole! Even Hela is unwilling to take his fists head-on, what the hell do these Beasts count for!"
Grandmaster was trembling all over with anger at this moment.
Looking at the man below who turned a bloody gladiatorial combat into a product-selling live broadcast, and then looking at the plummeting ratings of his official channel, his lungs were about to explode.
What made him most unbearable was that the bodysuit pervert actually pasted Vought International's merchant link directly in the very center of the holographic giant screen, completely blocking Grandmaster's logo!
"Too deceitful!"
Grandmaster fiercely smashed the colorful wine glass in his hand, "In my territory, leeching off my traffic, and still hanging his advertisements? Where does this put my authority!"
He pushed away the maid beside him and rushed to the front of the console.
"Grandmaster, the first batch of monsters has all died. Should we send guards down to arrest him?"
The guard asked cautiously.
"Arrest my ass! I want to tear him into pieces in front of billions of viewers to recover my ratings!"
Grandmaster gritted his teeth, "Open the highest-level floodgate for me! Release his undefeated champion!"
The guard's expression changed drastically: "Grandmaster, but according to the rules, the champion can only be in the final match..."
"I am the rules!"
Grandmaster roared, "Open the door for me! I want that Earthling to die!"
Below the arena.
Lin An had just slapped the last two-headed strange wolf to death, and was wiping his hands with a wet tissue he didn't know where he pulled out from.
"Family members, the quality of these alien monsters is too poor, there's no challenge at all. I haven't even used much force, and they fell down."
Lin An sighed towards the camera, "I wonder if there is anyone who can fight in this crappy place, otherwise this store exploration would be too boring."
As soon as the words fell.
The ground of the entire arena shook suddenly.
Heavy footsteps came from the deepest part of the corridor, and with every step taken, the ground followed by jumping once.
A huge special alloy floodgate slowly rose.
There was no light inside, only heavy breathing, like a real Beast panting.
The audience stands stunned for a second, then erupted into frantic screams ten times more crazy than before.
"Champion! Champion! Champion!"
Hundreds of thousands of people shouted in unison, the wave of sound almost overturning the sky.
Thor heard this commotion in the waiting area, and curiously poked his head out.
A huge green figure walked out from the shadows of the corridor.
He was fully three meters tall, his whole body's muscles bulging like granite, wearing a set of heavy-duty gladiator armor.
On his head he wore an exaggerated red helmet, and in his hand he dragged a warhammer larger than a door panel.
Hulk, the Hulk.
Thor saw that familiar green big face, and his entire person became excited.
"Hulk?!"
Thor clung to the railings, overjoyed, "It's Hulk! Earth's friend!"
Lin An smiled and greeted him.
"Yo, Hulk? Why did you run over here instead of working properly at the company?"
Hulk's eyes, which were originally filled with anger, had now become completely blood-red, with no reason left at all.
Hulk stared fixedly at Lin An in the center of the arena wearing the Star-Spangled Banner bodysuit, looking like he saw an irreconcilable enemy.
"Roar——!"
Hulk let out an eardrum-shattering roar, his two thick thighs kicking hard with force.
The alloy plate on the ground was directly stepped into a large pit, and his entire person leaped high like a green mountain of flesh.
The huge shadow instantly shrouded Lin An.
In mid-air, Hulk threw away the warhammer in his hand, clenching his fists tightly, carrying Earth-shattering power, like a meteorite falling, smashing fiercely towards Lin An's head.