Free Web NovelChapter 777: Chapter 735: Reporter
After the Holy Shield Brotherhood incident, maybe it was just as the Leopard God had said, the Earth, past its crisis, ushered in a phase of steady development.
There was no longer anything that could threaten the Earth with crisis, only minor street brawls remained. Su Ming entrusted his scientific research plans to the upgraded adjutant for execution. The various departments under the group also had foundations and professional managers to operate them; he only needed to occasionally glance at the ledger—no one could fool him.
As everyone knew, Slade had taken his beautiful secretary to Hawaii for vacation.
The intelligence brought by the Spider Web was basically trivial matters. Every time Su Ming heard about these affairs, he would simply turn over on the beach to heat evenly, emitting waves of a salty scent.
Whether it was about Ray and Tesla, Peggy and SSR, or Fury and the Roaring Assault Team, he didn’t care about managing them. At most, he’d secretly instruct the Spider Web to continue following and infiltrating.
Taking a vacation really meant taking a vacation. His current task was just to slowly digest some timeline memories, and this work would probably last for centuries.
After the last incident, both the Blood Race, Mutant, and Inhumans had become compliant, each force was either licking its wounds or amassing strength. freēwēbnovel.com
Occasionally, some small villains would pop up on the streets, naturally being dealt with by masked heroes. They were not Superpower Users; they either used martial arts with each punch landing on flesh or engaged in gunfights. These things did not interest Su Ming at all.
The only thing he had done was secretly knock Peggy out and force-feed her a bottle of elixir of immortality.
Originally, he didn’t plan to do so. After all, in the comics, Fury would find an unlimited formula supply channel, and Peggy, as a future S.H.I.E.L.D. leader, should also receive the privilege of immortality.
But waiting left and right—years had already passed, and Peggy looked like Steve’s elder sister. The disappointing Braised Egg still hadn’t found news of the unlimited formula.
If this continued, it might affect Steve’s marital life, so Su Ming had to intervene personally.
Otherwise, once Baki returned after achieving success in cultivation, discovering that Peggy had already died of old age, what fun would there be left for Su Ming to watch?
......................
As time continued to pass, year after year the spring-to-winter cycle repeated, and Su Ming had fully went into hibernation. By 1955, it seemed that Leviathan had amassed enough strength to begin a direct confrontation with SSR. Yet what appeared before everyone’s eyes was a proxy war.
The battle erupted in Vietnam.
This time, Steve decided to retire. To him, it was an invasion of another country’s territory, and in this war, the United States didn’t stand on the side of justice.
And as a soldier, he had to obey orders. But when orders conflicted with beliefs, Steve unhesitatingly left the military.
Though he couldn’t stop the outbreak of an unjust war, he still showed his stance through action.
The dispute between SSR and Listan should not come at the cost of countless civilian deaths, and he, Captain America, was done with it.
The military immediately found someone to take Steve’s place. Anyway, Captain America was a masked man, and the public recognized the costume, not the person.
So Steve, dejected, went to find the Godfather because he was out of work and didn’t know what to do for the time being.
Hearing him say that, Su Ming was lying on a beach chair alongside Gin, handsome men and beautiful women wearing fashionable sunglasses, happily sipping pineapple juice.
The pineapples Dr. Erskine grew were really sweet.
To keep drinking such good pineapple juice in the future, Su Ming specially approved a dose of Leech Potion for Dr. Erskine to inject, so he could forever provide this special pineapple supply.
"Ah... retired, huh? How about working at Wilson Enterprises?"
Steve had already shed his military uniform, dressed now like a lumberjack from the countryside, which looked very strange on the beach in Honolulu.
Beside him, Peggy, wearing a white dress, held onto one of Steve’s arms, "I also quit the SSR. Steve didn’t want to participate in such a war, and I didn’t want to be ordered to persuade him, so we were both kicked out. However, we have some savings and want to take this opportunity to travel around the world."
"Hmm? You guys don’t plan to get married?" Gin, pulling down her sunglasses from her nose, curiously asked.
Peggy, slightly embarrassed, pursed her lips and glanced at Steve, "My parents’ marriage was very unhappy, and I’m not ready myself. Plus, my physical examination report came out, and I also have gained a long lifespan. Both of us planned to wait a few years before deciding."
The female agent’s indirect mention of the longevity issue went unheard by Su Ming, who nodded with a big smile, "That’s good, young people should go out and travel more; the first stop of your journey is where?"
Steve turned around and sat on Su Ming’s lounger, shaking sand out of his shoes, "We plan to see Antarctica since we’ve visited all the other continents over the years, only Antarctica’s left."
Su Ming’s eyes turned into the dead fish eyes; seriously, going to Antarctica for tourism? Even if you’re a Super Soldier, you don’t play like this, going for snowball fights?
But Slade, being just an ordinary person and a company owner, refrained from commenting on this.
"I see. Someone sent me a few dog fur coats earlier, and I heard it’s rather cold in Antarctica. Why don’t you take them with you? Originally, I was going to sponsor you with some funds, but in Antarctica, I guess you can’t spend money..."
"No need, Godfather, we’re just here to say goodbye." Steve couldn’t imagine wearing dog fur and immediately declined, "If Baki comes looking for me, just let him know."
"Alright, I’ll call someone to bring over a meal shortly; we’ll have a meal together to see you off."
"Okay."
...............
Whether it was out of habit from being busy or simply being bored, Steve’s farewell made Su Ming a little restless after these years of being a salted fish.
Things were not bad on the Marvel side, but the trouble over in DC hadn’t been resolved yet. After sufficient rest over these years, it was time to go there and settle the Laughing Bat and Luthor.
Even with DC’s Ten Lantern Rings’ ’Creation’ in hand, Su Ming was still very interested in ’Transcend’ and ’Destruction.’
At night, after bidding farewell to Steve and Peggy, Su Ming and Gin sat side by side under the eaves of a seaside cabin, gazing at the pitch-black sea.
The distant starry sky appeared exceptionally bright, with the sound of the waves ceaselessly crashing.
Gin rested her head on Su Ming’s shoulder. She knew him all too well, and at this moment, Su Ming’s gaze had grown resolute, indicating he had some new plans.
"Are you planning to go out on business?" She twirled her hair with her fingers and closed her eyes.
"Yes, there are some debts that need to be settled."
Su Ming said calmly, looking at the distant stars and feeling the slight chill brought by the night breeze.
Gin shifted her head, as if searching for a comfortable position, "Can you take me with you?"
"I don’t have the ability to take you beyond the All-Powerful Universe yet, maybe later."
This was the truth, even though the adjutant had undergone certain upgrades, technological research is not accomplished overnight. Even if Su Ming stayed in the Marvel Universe, he would have to wait for her to climb the tech tree.
Although the adjutant’s program had been optimized considerably, during this era, one couldn’t even buy a circuit board outside. What was limiting development was the world’s hardware and productivity levels. Even Su Ming couldn’t force a world to grow prematurely.
However, there were indeed benefits. Some projects that originally required over a hundred years of research, such as vibranium and its derivative alloys, now might only take a decade or so.
The speed of scientific research has increased several times.
Unfortunately, they still had to wait, not only for scientific theories but also for the world to catch up in terms of acceptance and production capacity.
"Ciri can go with you. She’s the same kind of person as you, isn’t she?" Gin asked again, opening her eyes to look at Su Ming’s face.
"Her ability would allow her to go, but that world is too dangerous. She’s skilled at fighting monsters, but not at dealing with human nature."
Su Ming understood that Gin wasn’t being jealous, just a little worried, intending to find him a helper.
But this suggestion had to be refused. Ciri needed a few more years of training, and her past experiences were practically a chronicle of being deceived. Not to mention, there’s a dark and shady mental patient over in DC.
At that time, even Su Ming’s secrets might be extracted by the Bat, which would be troublesome.
Being a woman from Asgard, Gin naturally couldn’t dissuade others from going to war. Even though she had lived on Earth for a long time, some things in her bones couldn’t be changed.
"Leaving tomorrow?"
"Tonight."
"Then wait until I fall asleep."
"Alright."
...............
"Clatter..." Su Ming typed on the keyboard, lines of text appearing on the display screen.
In the office bustling with people during the day, there was only him left at this moment. The glow of the screen illuminated the last wisp of steam over the coffee cup. The empty room, compartmentalized into cubicles, resembled cages imprisoning inmates.
No, actually everyone is willingly imprisoned. For the sake of survival, they voluntarily entered the jungle of reinforced concrete, struggling to live in this cold city.
His name was Slade Wilson. Perhaps because of his Celestial Dynasty bloodline, when his family was alive, he also had another name, Su Ming. However, no one called him that now.
In the dead of night, in the darkness, typing on the computer was his job.
Don’t misunderstand, he was no criminal. His job, at first glance, might sound dignified, but the monthly salary was actually very meager.
He was a reporter for the Daily Planet. His daytime job involved running around the streets, while at night he typed up articles.
Now, in the age of the internet, maintaining the newspaper’s influence inevitably required relying on news websites. After graduating from college with excellent grades, he joined the Daily Planet, but three years later, he was still on the periphery. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
It couldn’t be helped. In three years, he hadn’t caught any big news, while a pair at the newspaper, with incredible luck, practically monopolized all the major events in Metropolis.
Even if Su Ming staked out in a car for days and nights, the news he captured would at most involve a third-rate internet celebrity having a tryst, which no one cared to read.
As for that couple, even a casual lunch outing could lead them to stumble onto a big story, like an armed gang robbing a bank vault.
With his full equipment, Su Ming could only capture a small-time celeb eating a blackened banana in the shadows after laying in ambush for days. Meanwhile, Louise’s accidental selfie could capture the appearance of a robber stealing millions of US Dollar right behind her.
How could he compete?
Eating a two-dollar donut from the vending machine while watching Louise and Clark enjoy steak bought with their bonus, a sense of melancholy filled his heart.
Su Ming wasn’t envious of them. Earning money was their skill, and good luck was a form of strength. Especially since it wasn’t a recent phenomenon; everyone at the newspaper had become numb to it.
Not sure what to put on the front page for the next day? Wondering what the big headline should be on the website? Just send Louise and Clark out for a spin, and big news would naturally come their way.
But the editor-in-chief’s attitude was annoying. Towards that couple, he was as gentle as the spring rain, speaking softly, his old face full of smiles.
However, when facing Su Ming, his attitude changed, as harsh as a stern reprimand, frequently threatening with dismissal, telling him to get lost or go beg, making it unbearable...
