"Is she also a superhuman?"
Coulson wasn't too surprised by Matilda's performance. He knew that there were many capable people around Ye Li.
However, he still didn't hold back on his praise.
"No wonder Mr. President brought her along. She's indeed an outstanding child. Maybe she could be helpful in our research on that hammer."
Ye Li smiled slightly—
—Taking Matilda along wasn't just for that reason...
Researching the hammer with S.H.I.E.L.D. was just a side task.
His real reason for coming to New Mexico was to find Jane Foster.
Because he had discovered Matilda's last name—Foster.
Matilda Foster...
So, could Matilda actually be related to Lady Thor?
After all, in the movie universe, they were played by the same actress...
And now they even had the same last name. What a coincidence.
…..
"Donuts, yogurt, chocolate bars…"
Ye Li placed some snacks on the cashier counter and said to the clerk, "Hello, give me some cigarettes too."
"Alright, sir. Which one would you like?"
Because of Ye Li's good looks.
The female clerk enthusiastically introduced the options.
"CAMEL? WINSTON? LUCKY STRIKE? Or Marlboro, HILOTON, KENT…"
Ye Li didn't smoke. He looked down at Mathilda.
Mathilda placed her small hands on the glass cigarette display, looked for a while, then pointed at a women's cigarette and said, "Peel~"
Ye Li shrugged at the female clerk, "You heard her. Get that pack of Peel."
The female clerk gave a strange look but still took a pack of Peel and handed it to Mathilda.
At that moment—
"Hands up! Hurry!"
"Don't play tricks, or we'll blow your heads off!"
Two robbers with shotguns pushed open the glass door and pointed their guns at the cashier, Ye Li, and the others.
The robber in the brown jacket pointed his gun at the counter and quickly ordered the cashier, "Empty the cash register!"
The other robber, wearing a black jacket, took out a bag and slapped it onto the counter, "Put it all in this bag! And pack up the cigarettes too!"
"Give us that pack too!"
The brown-jacketed robber pointed his gun at Mathilda again, "Hey, give me the cigarettes in your hand. This isn't something a little girl should be smoking."
"Don't point your gun at us."
Ye Li didn't even bother to move and just reminded the two unlucky guys attempting a zero-cost shopping spree, "You'll regret this."
"What are you trying to do?"
The robber turned his gun toward him. "I'm warning you! Don't try any tricks!"
Mathilda stared at the gun barrel…
For a moment… an illusion of a pool of blood flashed before her eyes…
Tan—!
She suddenly crouched low, her lower leg shot out quickly, and she swept one of the robbers off his feet!
Immediately after.
Her brown little boots hit the ground as she leaped into the air.
Mathilda grabbed the barrel of the other robber's gun.
With a quick twist of her small hand, she snatched his shotgun.
She swung it back at his head—
—Bang!
The robber, struck by the gunstock, collapsed to the ground without resistance.
Mathilda successfully took down both robbers in three seconds.
"What?"
Barbara and Coulson, who had just been picking out items, rushed over, drew their guns, and froze in place… That was brutal!
"Wow…"
The still-raising-her-hands female clerk broke the silence, "I should watch fewer movies… Otherwise, I'll keep having weird dreams…"
Click.
"I haven't smoked this kind before…" Mathilda murmured as she tore open the cigarette pack in her hand, pulled one out, and held it between her lips.
She bit down on the cigarette with her pearly white teeth, looked up at Ye Li, and mumbled through her soft pink lips, "Brother… can I borrow a light…?"
Ye Li smiled gently, "You did well."
Crackle~
He extended two fingers in front of the girl's soft lips, and blue electric sparks ignited the cigarette for her.
It had quite the vibe of a well-dressed scoundrel luring a delinquent girl…
The next day.
Old Bridge City, city border.
"Why did you ditch Coulson and come here?"
"Aren't we going to the hammer site?"
Barbara looked around cautiously. Even with her agent instincts, she couldn't find anything immediately.
Ye Li, however, walked straight towards an open hall building. "Trust my instincts, Barbara."
Inside the open hall.
"You tell me."
Erik Selvig tested his assistant, "This isn't just an ordinary geomagnetic storm, is it?"
He was an astronomy PhD.
Just a short while ago.
Dr. Erik Selvig, Dr. Jane Foster, and their graduate assistant Darcy Lewis had been conducting astronomical observations in the wilderness when they encountered an incredible, possibly geomagnetic phenomenon… Oh, and also a random drunk who called himself "Thor."
This guy, who shared the name with the Norse god of thunder, had been taken down by Darcy's taser and was probably still lying in a hospital bed…
"Look, the lensing effect at the edges."
After reviewing the computer's analysis, Jane Foster replied to Dr. Selvig, "It has the characteristics of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge."
Darcy Lewis asked in confusion, "What bridge?"
Dr. Selvig looked at her strangely, "Aren't you a science major?"
Darcy adjusted her glasses and said a little sheepishly, "Political science~"
Jane added, "She was the only applicant."
Dr. Selvig, knowing his field was rather niche, helplessly explained to Darcy, "An Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a theoretical link between two different points in space-time…"
"Simply put—" A male voice from outside interjected, "It's a wormhole."
The speaker was none other than Ye Li.
"Hey, Li."
Seeing that the open hall contained an old man and two pretty girls,
Barbara glanced at Ye Li. "So, your instincts just led you to two beautiful women?"
"Wow~"
Darcy, upon seeing the incredibly charming Ye Li, swooned slightly. "He's so handsome~"
Ye Li, however, focused his gaze on Jane. Her face… it looked like a fusion of the movie universe version and the comic universe version…
"Who are you?"
Dr. Selvig became wary. "Did you go to the wrong place? The motel is west of the street."
"No mistake, we're looking for you."
Ye Li stepped forward, took out his vice president club ID, flashed it briefly in front of Selvig and the others, and then put it away.
Then he started making things up. "S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation. Cooperate and explain your recent findings."
"..."
Dr. Selvig: "Do you take me for an idiot?"
Jane: "Um… we didn't really see it clearly…"
Darcy, noticing Mathilda following them, couldn't help but joke, "Bringing a kid on an investigation…? Handsome, you guys seem more like a traveling family of three…"
"Huh?"
Jane also noticed Mathilda, furrowing her brows in confusion, as she drifted into a memory…
"Oh… You got it half right, beautiful."
Ye Li was indeed taking his little sister out for a trip and asked Darcy, "What's your name?"
This wavy-haired, pretty side character—back when he watched the movies in his past life, he never really bothered remembering her name.
"Darcy, Darcy Lewis~"
Seeing that Ye Li spoke to her first, Darcy was delighted. "Handsome guy, what's your name?"
"Ye Li."
Ye Li liked lively and enthusiastic girls, so he continued chatting with her. "I think we can have a talk."
Talk about what? Of course, not romance.
Although she looked nice, he wasn't particularly into slightly chubby girls. Darcy was a bit fuller-figured, and her legs lacked a bit of aesthetic appeal.
Ye Li planned to use Darcy… to gather detailed information about Jane. Know thyself and know thy enemy, and you will never be defeated.
If nothing unexpected happened, triggering the Female Thor's "Connection" quest should grant him the Thor template as a reward.
Of course, he couldn't just say that outright. He had to rope Darcy in first and then slowly guide her into it…
"Sure, sure! Handsome, give me your contact!"
Darcy thought this handsome guy was also into her and excitedly exchanged numbers with him~
Dr. Selvig couldn't take it anymore and reminded Ye Li, "If you're here just to flirt with Darcy, do it some other time. Don't interrupt my work."
"We can talk right now!"
Darcy wasn't about to let go of the handsome man who just fell into her lap. She grabbed Ye Li's arm and said, "I know a great bar nearby. We can go there!"
Dr. Selvig was speechless at her fangirling. "Darcy, do you still want your credits?"
"Oh…"
Hearing the mention of credits, Darcy reluctantly let go of Ye Li. "Alright, we'll talk later then…"
"Alright, you can leave now."
Selvig completely saw Ye Li as just some playboy trying to pick up Darcy and shooed him away. "You can date at night. For now, leave."
Ye Li flashed his badge again. "I still need to gather some intelligence from you."
He wasn't really interested in investigating Thor, but getting Darcy alone wasn't enough—he couldn't miss out on the main character, Jane Foster.
Using "investigation" as an excuse, he planned to get familiar with them first.
"You think I'd believe your nonsense?"
Dr. Selvig pointed at Mathilda, who was sucking on a lollipop, and spoke to Ye Li in a slow, deliberate tone.
"Just like Darcy said.
"If you want to fool people."
"At least don't bring a little girl along."
He felt like his intelligence was being insulted. What kind of agency would bring a teenage girl on an investigation?
"Oh… What a bias…"
Ye Li squatted down and egged his little sister on, "Mathilda… he's discriminating against your age…"
"Hm? What about it?"
Mathilda was already used to it. She didn't mind being underestimated as long as her new family—her big brother and sister—liked her.
"..."
Seeing how Zen-like Mathilda was, Ye Li simply said, "Ahem… Show him what you can do."
"Oh."
Mathilda then realized what her brother meant—he wanted her to demonstrate her strength.
So—
In the blink of an eye, she launched a beautiful high kick, and in another blink, she brought it down—
—Bang!
A small cloud of dust was kicked up~
After Mathilda moved her little boot away—
A deep, clear footprint was left in the yellow dirt ground.
Selvig: (Д)!
Jane: (⊙o⊙)!
Darcy: ⊙ω⊙!
"Who the hell are you people!?"
Dr. Selvig grabbed a taser from the table and pointed it at Ye Li. "Leave this place…!"
Click~
Barbara slowly chambered a round in her pistol and screwed a silencer onto the barrel. "You'd better put that toy down."
"Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding!"
Darcy quickly raised her hands in an attempt to de-escalate. "Li, have this lady put her gun down first. We believe you're with the authorities!"
"Her name is Barbara."
Ye Li introduced her to Darcy. "Personal bodyguard. She always does this when someone points a weapon at me."
"I'm calling the police…"
Dr. Selvig muttered to himself, "I'm calling the police…"
"Alright, Doctor."
Darcy pressed his hand down. "Put my taser down already."
At that moment—
Jane suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now!"
Digging through her childhood memories, she realized that Mathilda looked a lot like how she did when she was young!
Although they didn't look identical like twins, they had the level of resemblance expected between biological sisters.
There was a strong possibility that Mathilda was a lost relative of their family!
Could it be that Dad or Mom had an illegitimate daughter somewhere?
With this thought in mind, Jane ran up to Mathilda, squatted down, and asked, "Little girl, is your last name Foster?"
Mathilda nodded, then shook her head. "Um… My last name used to be Foster… but now it's Ye."
Ye Li's eyes flickered slightly—so they really were related… And they were cousins at that.
After this.
A full-fledged family reunion saga unfolded.
Jane called her family to ask and found out that her father had a younger brother.
This uncle had cut ties with the family years ago after joining a drug-dealing gang.
All in all.
Mathilda was most likely Jane's cousin.
They just needed to go to a hospital and run a DNA test to confirm it…
"So, this was a family search, huh?"
On the way to the county hospital.
Darcy kept sneaking glances at Mathilda's delicate little face and curiously asked her friend, "Jane, were you this pretty when you were little?"
Jane rolled her eyes. "Am I not pretty now? And Mathilda only looks like how I did as a kid, it's not like we're identical."
Selvig, meanwhile, was holding an observation chart that had a faint silhouette on it. "Going to the hospital works out. That guy named Thor is suspicious… We need to check on him…"
"What's the issue?"
Ye Li turned his head over and playfully teased the doctor. "Lemme take a look?"
"Hey!"
Dr. Selvig, guarding it like it was top-secret, put the image away. "Can't you take your own car?"
It wasn't surprising he was so cautious.
After all, Ye Li had claimed to be from a government agency, then seemed like he was just flirting, then suddenly was looking for long-lost relatives… Nothing about this guy seemed normal.
…..
County Hospital.
"Oh my god…"
Jane Foster stared at the test results in her hands, shocked. "Mathilda really is my cousin?!"
Ye Li: "Lemme see."
Jane handed him the report and curiously asked, "Mr. Ye, what's your relationship with Mathilda?"
Ye Li took the test results with two fingers, skimmed through them, and casually said, "I'm her adopted brother. So, do I count as your cousin?"
Jane: "…I don't think that's how it works."
"How did you find this place?"
Jane questioned Ye Li, "Why didn't you look for my parents first? Why come to me?"
Ye Li obviously wouldn't tell the truth, so he brushed it off. "Ms. Foster, let's just say I have a special intuition. Mathilda being your relative is a fact, isn't it?"
"Intuition?"
Jane scratched her head, feeling a bit annoyed. "I thought running into that weird guy with my car was strange enough… Now you're talking about some kind of intuition…"
"Jane, that weird guy is gone."
Darcy walked over. "Dr. Selvig found out he broke free from his hospital bed restraints. No idea where he went."
Jane glanced at Ye Li with a teasing expression. "Mr. Ye, can you use your 'intuition' to help us find him?"
Ye Li replied with a mischievous tone, "Just back your car out of the parking lot, and you'll find him."
"Heh~"
Of course, Jane didn't believe him…
A few minutes later.
Bang!
Thor had just escaped from the hospital and was wandering around when Jane's Jeep, reversing out, slammed right into him…
Darcy: "Jane! You hit him again!"
Jane: "What?"