Discussion

"Dad! This isn’t your fault."

Mindy hugged Damon and shouted. Damon hugged her back and said guiltily, "Mindy, I’ll be leaving soon. I trust you understand why!"

Mindy didn’t want her father to leave. She turned to Wang Bert and asked hopefully, "Master, do you have any way to help my dad?"

Wang Bert took a sip of tea and said leisurely, "As for a method, I really do have one!"

Damon and Mindy both asked in delighted surprise, "What method?"

"Damon, get a board and write on it: Master Ancient One, I am Ghost Rider. I am controlled by Mephisto. Please help me. Then kneel at 177A Bleecker Street in New York. Before long, a major big shot will come find you and help solve the trouble you’re in!"

Wang Bert said, "Oh, and don’t mention me when the time comes. I can’t afford to offend that big shot!"

Damon and Mindy stared at Wang Bert in disbelief. Was he messing with them, or joking?

"Don’t look at me like that. This is the best method."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Master Ancient One is Earth’s guardian. The reason Mephisto doesn’t dare enter Earth and has always used projections to trick people into signing contracts is because of her!"

Damon asked, "Even if what you say is true, what will Master Ancient One do to me? Will she purify me directly?"

Wang Bert said, "Probably not. At most, she’ll lock you up and then find a way to turn you back into a normal person."

Damon frowned and asked, "What if I can’t be turned back? Wouldn’t I be locked up for the rest of my life?"

Wang Bert said, "She should be able to turn you back. Even if she can’t, she can still help you control this power."

"This method has too much uncertainty!"

Damon shook his head repeatedly. This plan reeked of three words from beginning to end—completely unreliable!

"This is the simplest method. If you don’t want it, let’s discuss another one!"

Wang Bert didn’t mind. He said, "Damon, before you, there was actually another Ghost Rider. Or rather, a Ghost Rider Cop!"

Damon asked, "The Ghost Rider Cop from Texas?"

"Yes, that legend is true. The Ghost Rider Cop rode a blazing stallion around, searching for evil people to judge."

Wang Bert nodded. "Some Blood Clan members met him before, so we Blood Clan know quite a bit about Ghost Riders. Rumor has it that he betrayed Mephisto. If you can find him, you might be able to get a way to break free from Mephisto’s control."

"Actually, the reason I’ve stayed in Texas all this time is because Mephisto gave me a mission. He wanted me to find the traitor and retrieve a contract from him."

Damon said thoughtfully, "Now that I think about it, that traitor was the previous Ghost Rider!"

After a pause, Damon said, "Mephisto promised that if I retrieved the contract, he would return my soul to me. But I don’t really believe him."

"Of course you can’t believe a devil’s words!"

Wang Bert thought for a moment and said, "Damon, go back to Texas first. Once I settle matters here, I’ll head to Texas and help you search for the Ghost Rider Cop!"

Damon was stunned. He looked at Wang Bert suspiciously. Was this guy being a little too enthusiastic? Could he be after his daughter?

"Vampires are all immortal old monsters. Maybe they like raising girls into what they want or something."

Thinking of that, Damon quietly pulled Mindy a little farther away. Mindy noticed nothing wrong and said excitedly, "Great! I’m coming too!"

"No, you’re staying in New York for school!"

Wang Bert’s single sentence immediately deflated Mindy. Looking at Damon, Wang Bert said, "I know you’re confused. Going to Texas is partly on the way, since I was already planning to visit New Mexico. The other reason is that I want to see Mephisto for myself!"

A Hell Lord—if he didn’t see one for himself, wouldn’t this trip to Marvel have been wasted? Damon was stunned. "You want to see a Hell Lord?"

"People only live for excitement! I’m going to New Mexico because I want to see a god for myself too!"

Wang Bert smiled. "If you have no objections, that’s what we’ll do."

Damon hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I really do need someone’s help."

Mindy pleaded, "Dad, let me go with you. I don’t want to go to school."

Damon shook his head. "You’ll be in danger!"

"It’s fine. You can’t beat Master anyway. I heard he beat you into chunks last night!"

Mindy said. Damon’s face instantly darkened. What a precious daughter. Her own father had been beaten into chunks, and not only was she not angry, she was even praising the culprit for being strong! "You are not going. It’s far too dangerous for you!"

Wang Bert shook his head and said, "Stay in New York obediently. If you miss Damon, just call him. Damon, now that everything has been made clear, there’s no need to cut off contact."

Damon thought about it and said, "That should be fine, though the calls may often fail to connect. Reception is generally poor in remote places!"

"You don’t need to contact each other every day!"

Wang Bert smiled, took a somewhat bulky phone from a nearby cabinet, and handed it to Damon. "This is a phone for internal use by the Osborn Corporation. Not only is it powerful, it can’t be tapped."

Thinking of something, Wang Bert said regretfully, "It’s a shame my private satellite still isn’t ready because my standards are too high. Otherwise, why would we need to worry about reception?"

"A private satellite?"

Damon was speechless. This guy was truly rich. He took the phone, thanked him first, then began operating it.

Although it was a smartphone, Damon had once pretended to be Batman, so he wasn’t behind the times at all. He quickly figured out the phone’s functions.

Mindy said excitedly to Damon, "Dad, add my Twitter account. I’ll post all my updates there. Twitter also has a chat app that lets us video call directly."

Damon asked, "Twitter? Wouldn’t Facebook suit us better?"

"Twitter belongs to Master, so of course we have to support Twitter."

Mindy said, "Dad, if you see anyone you don’t like on Twitter in the future, tell me. I’ll have Master ban them for you!"

Damon was speechless. His daughter seemed to have been led astray! Wang Bert smiled. Thinking of something, he said, "Oh, right. I have quite a few properties in Texas. If you need anything, call me, and I’ll have someone prepare it for you."

Damon smiled. "Quite a few properties? With your wealth, I suppose ‘quite a few’ really means quite a lot!"

"A few estates, farms, resource companies, and hospitals. Altogether, they’re only worth a few billion. Nothing special."

Wang Bert shook his head. At that moment, he saw Lilith outside gesturing at him with a phone in hand, so he asked, "Whose call is it?"

Lilith said, "Chief George and Director Fury. They both want to ask about Ghost Rider!"

"Damon, I’ll go get back to them first."

Wang Bert stood up. When Damon heard George’s name, his eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

Outside the room, Wang Bert took the phone and contacted Chief George first.

"Chief George, that skull-headed man is called Ghost Rider. I’ve already driven him away, and he won’t appear in New York again.

Yes, Watchmen Company will cover the damage he caused, except for Kingpin’s factory and Kingpin Building.

Cleaning out Kingpin’s forces? Sure. Electro and the Hell Sisters will go help you."

After dealing with Chief George, Wang Bert called Director Fury. Before Director Fury could speak, he explained the matters involving Ghost Rider and Mephisto! "Mephisto?"

After hearing this, Director Fury repeatedly cursed, "motherfucker!" What was this nonsense? First Odin, and now Mephisto had appeared. In a few days, would even God come join the fun?

Thinking of God, Director Fury immediately shuddered. If that one really appeared, things would get very interesting!

"I need to consider how to deal with God descending!"

Director Fury irritably scratched his bald head and asked, "Where is Ghost Rider now?"

"I drove him back to Texas. If you’re interested, you can send someone to find him!"

Wang Bert said, "But don’t send anyone with sins on their hands. When he sees a sinful person, he won’t be able to control himself."

"I understand!"

Director Fury hung up and began considering whom to send after Ghost Rider. But after thinking for a long time, he found that no one was suitable! Which agent had clean hands? The fresh S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy graduates would be fine, but such a major matter definitely required a senior agent to lead the team! "Send Coulson. His sins are relatively fewer!"

Director Fury made his decision. Thinking of something, he sighed regretfully. What a shame he had just asked for 1.2 billion dollars recently. Otherwise, this would have been another great opportunity to request funding!

"There are more and more monsters. Not only do I need to build more bases, I also need to establish the Avengers Team as soon as possible."

Director Fury thought to himself, "Even Kingpin knows that those without superpowers will be eliminated. S.H.I.E.L.D. can’t fall behind either!"

News of Ghost Rider quickly made the headlines, but the official line was that a superpowered person wearing a skull mask had caused the destruction. Neither the government nor S.H.I.E.L.D. would allow the current scientific system to be undermined.

Because the government and S.H.I.E.L.D. desperately suppressed the story, it was far less sensational than the Hulk incident. Other than lamenting that New York was becoming increasingly chaotic, the public had few other thoughts.

Although he was deeply reluctant to leave Mindy, Damon still left New York as quickly as possible to avoid hurting her.

On the road, Mindy, who had just watched Damon leave, pouted and said pitifully to Wang Bert, "Master, I’m so sad. I request that I start school a month later!"

"Your dad will cry if you use him like this!"

Wang Bert said irritably, "I’m making you go to school to make up for what you missed. If you truly don’t like it, I’ll arrange a new plan for you in a year!"

Mindy, who had just looked heartbroken, immediately said happily, "You said it. Don’t go back on your word!"

"You little schemer."

Wang Bert laughed helplessly. He had someone send Mindy back to the Dragon Subduing Teahouse, while he headed to the Osborn Corporation. Dr. Banner wanted to see him! Banner said with an ugly expression, "Mr. Wang, I thought you were different from the others. But it turns out what you want is still Hulk!"

"You sound a little resentful there, Dr. Banner!"

Wang Bert smiled. "I want both you and Hulk. Besides, I don’t want Hulk to turn him into War Machine. I want him to become a Super Hero, just as Betty once hoped!"

"Hulk? A Super Hero?"

Banner found it incredibly funny. "Mr. Wang, if you were telling a joke, then congratulations, you made me laugh!"

Wang Bert said, "Banner, I won’t stop you from researching a way to eliminate Hulk, but have you considered what happens if Hulk can never be eliminated?"

Banner fell silent for a moment, then said stubbornly, "I will eliminate him!"

"Really? Dr. Sterns told me that you currently have no idea what to do. Even the antidote from before has completely stopped working!"

Banner had no answer, because that was the truth.

Wang Bert continued, "Banner, Hulk is you. He has the same emotions as you!"

"He is not me, and I am not him!"

Banner shook his head repeatedly, completely unwilling to accept Hulk!

"No wonder Hulk kept Banner locked away later and refused to let him out!"

Wang Bert secretly shook his head and asked, "Did you call me here just to ask that?"

Banner asked, "I also want to know whether you truly plan to turn Abomination into War Machine?"

Wang Bert did not deny it. "Yes. I dug out his brain and installed an Electronic Biological Brain inside!"

Banner asked angrily, "Then if I die one day, would you use my corpse like that too?"

"No, because I know you. But S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military definitely would!"

Wang Bert said, "I don’t know Abomination, so naturally I have to maximize his use!"

Banner’s anger subsided somewhat. He said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military would indeed do that, but Iron Man definitely wouldn’t!"

"Did Tony come to poach my people?"

Wang Bert smiled, not surprised in the least. He said, "Banner, I told you, you can freely decide who you want to work for!"

"I haven’t decided yet. Maybe I should leave New York and hide somewhere with no one around."

Banner said somewhat dejectedly. Betty shuddered and looked at Banner mournfully. "Are you leaving me again?"

Banner didn’t dare look at Betty. In this life, the person he had wronged most was Betty.

"Banner, during this time, I researched your blood! Don’t make that face. The blood from Stern Laboratory is all in my hands."

Seeing Banner’s intention to retreat, Wang Bert said, "Back to the point, I discovered that I actually have a way to prevent Hulk from coming out."

"Hm?"

Banner was first stunned, then asked excitedly, "What method?"

"I am the Blood God. I can control blood!"

Wang Bert said, "As long as I inject my blood into your heart, I can control your heartbeat. That way, you won’t become Hulk because your emotions fluctuate too much.

If that method fails, I can also control the blood to seize your heart and put you into a near-death state, interrupting the transformation!"

Banner thought about it and shook his head. "That won’t work. My blood will reject it, and may even assimilate your blood!"

"It won’t. I tested it! My blood can enter your heart."

"Really?"

Banner seriously considered whether this method was feasible. Betty tried to stop him. "No, Bruce, you can’t do this."

If he did this, Banner’s life and death would be completely in Wang Bert’s hands. Of course it was unacceptable!

"Betty, it’s fine!"

Banner reassured her. He didn’t care about that at all. To get rid of Hulk, he had even tried suicide.

Seeing Banner insist so strongly, Betty could only stop trying to persuade him. Banner turned to Wang Bert and said, "Mr. Wang, please inject me with your blood!"

"No rush!"

Wang Bert waved his hand and said, "Banner, if you want me to do this, you must agree to one condition! My blood is very expensive!"