Blood God and Wanda

"The reason they don’t believe you is that you have no evidence. We Hydra, along with the Grand Elder, have plenty of evidence involving gods, demons, and Vampires."

Baron Strucker smiled slightly at the candidate’s words and asked the Grand Elder, "Am I right, Grand Elder?"

"There’s no shortage of evidence," the Grand Elder said. "I can even find a Reincarnated Angel to work with you."

"A Reincarnated Angel? That’s good."

The candidate was delighted at first, then asked worriedly, "Uh, the wings won’t fall off, will they?"

Everyone wanted to roll their eyes. The Grand Elder said, "Don’t worry, they definitely won’t. The problem last time was that you were surrounded by traitors."

"Not all of them were. My advisor wasn’t."

The candidate retorted excitedly, "Ha ha, the whole world will soon know that I’m not the idiot. They’re the idiots."

"No, you’re the real idiot," Baron Strucker silently mocked.

He said, "Besides what we just discussed, you need to tell the world another truth: Iron Man’s son is the reincarnation of Mephisto, the Demon King of Hell. He will destroy the world."

"Iron Man’s son is the reincarnation of a Demon King from Hell?"

The candidate was stunned, then nodded hard and said gleefully, "The people of America have the right to know the truth. Let’s see what that arrogant Tony Stark does then."

"The Demon King must be destroyed."

The Grand Elder said firmly, "Baron Strucker, there’s no time to waste. I’ll take people to find the Reincarnated Angel immediately."

"Good. We Hydra will do everything we can to help you destroy the Demon King of Hell. After all, no one wants the world to end."

Baron Strucker smiled. Before long, the Grand Elder and the satisfied candidate left one after another. The candidate departed through a portal created with Piri’s body; Sokovia was quite far from New York.

After all the guests had left, Pietro suddenly appeared in front of Baron Strucker and shouted anxiously, "Baron, is there any news about my sister?"

"Yes, Pietro. I’m just as concerned about this as you are."

Baron Strucker nodded and said, "According to our investigation, Wanda is neither at S.W.O.R.D. nor Stark Industries. She was taken away by that martial arts expert who appeared out of nowhere.

"As for where that expert is, we haven’t found out yet."

"I’ll look for him. That guy is terrifying," Pietro shouted.

"Where would you even look? Besides, those Super Heroes are looking for you right now."

Baron Strucker said, "The only way to save your sister is to exchange hostages."

Pietro stared at him in shock. "Exchange hostages?"

"Yes."

Baron Strucker nodded, then controlled his tablet to project a holographic screen displaying photos of three little girls.

Baron Strucker introduced them, "These are Blood God’s three disciples: Mindy, Ghost Rider’s daughter; Lina, whose background is unknown; and Hai. They often leave Blood God Manor and go out. As long as we capture any one of the three, we can exchange her for Wanda.

"That martial arts expert is said to be Blood God’s senior martial brother."

"Capture Blood God’s disciples?"

Pietro was somewhat shocked. He asked, "Baron, isn’t that a bad idea? They’re all little girls, and Blood God is supposed to be terrifying."

"This is the fastest way to rescue Wanda. As for Blood God, you don’t need to fear him. We have a way to deal with him."

Baron Strucker was clearly a little too confident. He said, "Blood God has sent quite a few people to protect the three girls, but since nothing has happened so far, those bodyguards aren’t very vigilant. As long as we catch them off guard, we can definitely capture them."

"I’m coming with you."

Pietro hesitated, then said, "But once we save my sister, we have to let them go. We can’t hurt children."

"I’ll leave them to you when the time comes," Baron Strucker said, sneering inwardly. Such valuable bargaining chips—how could I possibly let them go?

Blood God’s disciples could not only be exchanged for Wanda and the divine artifact needed to unseal the angel, but could also be used to restrain Blood God!…

Let’s turn the clock back to yesterday at noon. In a mansion somewhere in Manhattan, Wanda sat at the dining table with disheveled hair, tattered clothes, a pale face, and drenched from head to toe, looking as if she had been thoroughly abused.

Wang Bert placed a cup of hot coffee in front of Wanda and said irritably, "I told you not to run away, but you tried escaping more than ten times in one morning and drained yourself badly. If anyone saw you like this, they’d think I did something to you.

"Your reputation may not matter, but mine does."

Wanda glared at Wang Bert, raised her left hand, and pointed at the ring on her ring finger. "A young, beautiful girl gets dragged home by some strange-looking guy, and then that guy puts a ring on her ring finger. If it were you, would you run?

"A ring. A ring finger. Don’t tell me you don’t know what that means."

"I don’t."

Wang Bert looked a little awkward, then shamelessly said, "I’m from several hundred years ago and have only just emerged from seclusion. In my era, rings didn’t symbolize anything."

To be honest, Wang Bert was a little wronged. That ring was the Mind Ring, one of the Ten Rings, and it was meant to prevent the power of the Mind Scepter inside Wanda from acting up.

The Mind Ring had always been worn on Wang Bert’s left ring finger, so he instinctively put it on Wanda’s ring finger. Wanda misunderstood, then spent the whole morning desperately trying to escape, terrified that he would do something bad to her.

She suffered backlash three times, fell off the balcony twice, slammed into the courtyard wall twice, and fell into the swimming pool once… Thus, Wanda ended up in her current state.

Wanda gritted her teeth. "Can you make up anything more ridiculous? The way you speak is completely modern. And tell me, why does an ancient person know how to use a refrigerator, electric lights, a microwave, and a computer?"

"Because I’m a genius. You mortals have no idea how amazing geniuses like us are," Wang Bert said.

Wanda snorted disdainfully and took a sip of coffee. Her eyes immediately lit up. The coffee was delicious and probably cost a lot. Capitalists really knew how to enjoy themselves.

Just then, the doorbell rang outside. Wang Bert went to open the door. A moment later, he returned carrying several LV bags and said, "These are clothes and shoes for you to change into. Take a shower, put them on, and then we’ll get down to business."

"Get down to business?"

Wanda held her coffee cup, her face full of vigilance. Wang Bert said impatiently, "Interrogation. Don’t forget, you’re a prisoner now."

Wanda snorted. Looking at the obviously expensive bags, she asked suspiciously, "You bought such nice clothes for a prisoner? I’ve seen this brand in magazines. One piece costs at least several thousand dollars."

"I just picked them online. That store was the closest, so I chose it," Wang Bert said casually.

To him now, money was truly just a number. He could not even remember how much money he had.

"Damn capitalist."

Wanda cursed, finished her coffee, then picked up the bags and headed toward the bathroom with a hint of excitement. She had never worn clothes this expensive before.

Wang Bert called after her, "Hey, don’t try to escape again, or I’m afraid I’ll die laughing."

Wanda’s face instantly turned red. She turned around and glared fiercely at Wang Bert before entering the bathroom to take a shower.

Wang Bert shook his head and searched for math problems on the computer while drinking tea, preparing to give Mindy a meaningful winter vacation.

He was truly an exceptionally dedicated Master.

After a while, Wanda came out wearing a short white dress. Wang Bert’s eyes immediately lit up. He had to admit that Wanda was indeed a great beauty. More importantly, she had an especially good figure.

There was no reason to let a beauty like this go to a robot, especially since she and Vision were a tragedy among tragedies.

It was Wanda’s first time wearing clothes this expensive, and she felt a little uncomfortable. Remembering something, she looked at Wang Bert strangely and asked, "Why do these clothes fit so well?"

"I have X-ray vision. Didn’t I tell you?" Wang Bert asked casually.

"What?"

Wanda was startled and hurriedly covered her chest. Wang Bert laughed. "You actually believed that? I’ve seen countless women. One glance is enough for me to know your size."

Wanda sighed in relief, then said contemptuously, "Looks like you and Blood God are both scumbags."

Wang Bert said unhappily, "Hey, that’s slander, you know? And how is Blood God a scumbag?"

"Who doesn’t know Blood God is a scumbag?"

Wanda walked over and sat down, pouring herself another cup of coffee. "People say that if he isn’t flirting with women, he’s on his way to flirt with women."

"He’s a playboy, not a scumbag," Wang Bert said.

Wanda asked, "What’s the difference?"

"The difference is huge."

Wang Bert explained seriously, "A scumbag uses feelings to deceive women, and women often end up suffering terribly because of it.

"A playboy is different. He satisfies women with things other than love—money, material comforts, a handsome face, a strong body. From the very beginning, women know that it is merely a fling or a transaction.

"So when they part ways, the women won’t be heartbroken. They’ll only feel satisfied.

"Blood God never forces women or deceives them with feelings. He’s a playboy, not a scumbag. They are completely different concepts."

Wanda was dumbfounded. She had never imagined such a theory existed. After a moment, she said with utter contempt, "Anyone who can come up with a theory like that is definitely a scumbag. No matter how you put it, isn’t it all just flirting with women?"

"It’s different. My junior martial brother, Blood God, is only searching for his true love."

Wang Bert smiled. "Once he finds her, he’ll devote himself wholeheartedly to her and use every skill he has learned to make her the happiest woman in the world."

Wanda scoffed. "Can a playboy really become better?"

"Of course. Tony Stark and his father, Howard Stark, were both playboys before marriage. Once they got married, they were both extremely faithful to their wives."

Wang Bert said, "Blood God definitely can be too."

Wanda stubbornly said, "Maybe they were just pretending."

"A reformed Blood God? The richest man on Earth, handsome, powerful, invincible, romantic, and skilled in every technique that can make a woman happy?"

Little stars could not help appearing in Wanda’s eyes. This was practically the prince charming every woman dreamed of.

Wanda suddenly came to her senses and glared at Wang Bert. "You deliberately make women think they can become that true love, then leave after you’re done playing with them. And you still say you’re not a scumbag? Blood God!"

"I have no obligation to satisfy them, or your fantasies."

Wang Bert shrugged. He was not surprised that Wanda had seen through his identity, because he had never tried to hide it.

Wanda blushed slightly at his words, then bared her teeth at him. He really was a scumbag—his skin was unbelievably thick. Fortunately, she was smart enough to see through him at the crucial moment and not fall for it.

"I bought you clothes and treated you to coffee. Let’s get down to business."

Wang Bert put on a serious face and said in an official tone, "Name, gender, home address."

Wanda looked at Wang Bert speechlessly. "Blood God, I won’t tell you anything."

Wang Bert did not care. He asked, "Why do you hate Tony so much? Don’t tell me you’re really his illegitimate daughter?"

Wanda fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I was ten at the time. My younger brother, my father, my mother, and I were happily having dinner when a shell suddenly fell from the sky and blasted a huge crater into the ground. My parents fell into that crater, and then the entire building started collapsing.

"Then the second shell came. It landed only three feet away from my brother and me. Luckily, it didn’t explode.

"For the next two days, my brother and I stared at that shell in constant fear. Even the slightest tremor outside made us worry that it would explode.

"On the side of the shell facing us, there was one word: Stark."

"The shells made by Stark Industries are really that poor in quality? Tony boasts about his company’s product quality every day. I really need to look down on him for this," Wang Bert said.

"Do you have any sympathy at all?"

Wanda snapped. At a time like this, should he not comfort her a little, then curse Tony Stark out?

"You’re still here, which means the shell didn’t explode."

Wang Bert shook his head, took out a wristband, and put it on Wanda’s wrist. When Wang Bert held her hand, Wanda blushed slightly. Other than Pietro and those emotionless researchers, she had never been this close to a man since growing up—especially not a man who was a bastard, yet very charming.

Wanda lacked love. Perhaps that was why she would fall in love with Vision—Vision had always taken care of her.

After Wang Bert finished putting it on, Wanda snorted. "What Magic Item is this?"

"This is the latest personal computer produced by Xandar."

Wang Bert used his own wristband to control Wanda’s. A holographic screen appeared from the wristband, displaying news about Stark Industries shutting down its Weapons Department, along with follow-up reports on the inside story.

Wanda read carefully. Once she was done, she said hatefully, "Leaving aside whether this report is true, even if it is, does that mean Tony Stark bears no responsibility?"

"He does. Supervisory responsibility. Although it doesn’t show on the surface, Tony has always felt guilty about his negligence. That’s why he became Iron Man. Also, over the years, he has been compensating people harmed by Stark Industries weapons."

Wang Bert nodded and said, "Did you know? He’s been researching the Anti-Blood God Armor. Heh, he thinks I don’t know, but I know everything. I even sold him some of the materials at a high price. Not much—only ten times the normal price."

"Anti-Blood God Armor?"

Wanda stared at him. "I don’t understand. Aren’t you good friends? Why is he so wary of you? Back in the illusion, what worried him most was you turning evil."

"He’s wary of me because I’m too powerful. If I ever turned evil, no one on Earth could stop me. That makes him deeply uneasy, so he is desperately preparing precautionary measures."

Wang Bert said, "He doesn’t want to, and doesn’t dare to, be negligent again."