Identity Leak, Invitation

"Bert, I’m here."

Thor strode out of the seven-colored light with a hearty laugh. Wang Bert looked at the scorched grass and said irritably, "Couldn’t you pick somewhere else? Do you know how much trouble it is to restore the lawn?"

Thor looked a little embarrassed. He took the Tesseract, sealed in a container, from behind his back and said, "Bert, I came to return your Tesseract."

"Now that’s what I’m talking about!"

Wang Bert was overjoyed. He had been waiting for the Tesseract for a long time—without it, he could not use any of the Space Magic he had learned recently.

Wang Bert took the Tesseract and said, "Thor, stay for a meal. Jane’s in the neighboring state. I’ll send someone to pick her up."

Thor was a little tempted, but then he shook his head. "No, I need to go back and suppress the rebellion. Maybe next time."

Wang Bert asked in surprise, "You can’t spare even this little time?"

"It’s Odin’s order. He won’t let me stay too long."

Thor shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, Mindy and Lina came running over after hearing the commotion. Mindy stared at the hammer in Thor’s hand and asked excitedly, "Is that Thor’s Hammer? Can I hold it?"

"Little girl, you can’t lift this hammer."

Thor casually tossed the hammer and laughed. "This is the King’s Hammer. Only Asgard’s king and future king can lift it."

"So whoever lifts it can become king?"

Mindy’s eyes lit up even more. She pleaded sweetly, "Big Brother Thor, let me try."

Thor laughed heartily and set the hammer on a nearby platform. "Sure, give it a try."

Mindy immediately grabbed the handle, but no matter how hard she pulled, the hammer did not budge. Wang Bert shook his head and asked Thor, "Thor, is the first thing you do every morning when you wake up pick up Thor’s Hammer?"

Thor was puzzled. "Why would I pick up Thor’s Hammer the moment I wake up?"

Wang Bert asked, "If you don’t, how do you know Thor’s Hammer still recognizes you?"

"I’m Thor, prince of Asgard. How could Thor’s Hammer possibly stop recognizing me?"

Thor said arrogantly, "Little girl, stop trying. You can’t lift it."

"Stupid hammer."

Mindy, drenched in sweat from exhaustion, cursed loudly. She felt she could not be the only one making a fool of herself, so she said to Lina, "Lina, this hammer looks pretty good. Use it to crack walnuts."

"Walnuts are tasty."

Lina’s eyes lit up at that. She immediately reached for the hammer. Thor laughed and said, "Little girl, this hammer isn’t for cracking walnuts. Holy—"

The reason Thor was so shocked that he cursed was that Lina had lifted Thor’s Hammer. Lina swung the hammer around and shouted, "Crack walnuts! Crack walnuts!"

Thor could not help rubbing his eyes. Had he seen that right? Thor’s Hammer had actually been lifted by a little girl who wanted to crack walnuts with it? Mjolnir, where was your dignity? Your pride?

Wang Bert and Mindy were equally dumbfounded. Mindy said incredulously, "Big Brother Thor, what’s going on? Why can Lina lift the hammer? Didn’t you say only Asgard’s king and future king could lift it? Wait, is Lina Odin’s illegitimate daughter?"

"What? She’s my sister?"

Thor froze. So this was the kind of Odin he was—he actually had an illegitimate daughter on Earth.

"Don’t talk nonsense. Lina isn’t Asgardian."

Wang Bert shot Mindy an annoyed glare. He was also deeply puzzled. Why could Lina lift Thor’s Hammer? Was it because of her pure heart? Thor came back to his senses and hurried over to Lina. "Little girl, can you give the hammer back to me?"

Lina shook her head repeatedly. "No. I want to use it to crack walnuts."

"If you really use it to crack walnuts, Mjolnir will cry."

Thor quickly came up with an idea. "I’ll buy you walnuts if you give the hammer back."

"Really?"

Lina was delighted. She immediately returned the hammer to Thor and said, "Remember to buy me walnuts. I want ten jin."

"No problem. I’ll buy you a whole truckload."

Thor was overjoyed to get the hammer back. Wang Bert was speechless. The mighty Thor’s Hammer was worth only a truckload of walnuts. Meow Meow Hammer really would cry.

Mindy scolded her, "Dummy! If you became Queen of Asgard, you could have as many walnuts as you wanted."

Lina asked, "What’s the Queen of Asgard? Can you eat it?"

"Queen of Asgard?"

Little Hela, who was nearby, blinked and walked over. "If you lift the hammer, you can become Queen of Asgard?"

"That was an accident just now."

Thor had learned absolutely nothing from the experience. He set the hammer on the platform again and said, "Only Asgard’s ruler can lift this hammer."

"Really?"

Little Hela reached for Thor’s Hammer. Thor said, "Of course it’s true. You definitely can’t lift it. Holy—"

Thor cursed again, because Thor’s Hammer had been lifted once more.

As Little Hela lifted Thor’s Hammer, several images flashed through her mind. She instinctively raised the hammer high and shouted, "I am the Queen of Asgard!"

As Little Hela shouted, the sky suddenly darkened, filling everyone with a sense of foreboding.

In Asgard, Odin abruptly rose to his feet and stared toward Earth in disbelief. "What’s going on? Why has Hela’s aura appeared on Earth?"

Odin immediately ordered, "Heimdall, inspect Earth at once. Find Hela’s aura."

"Yes, Allfather."

Heimdall immediately looked toward Earth, only to find that New York was completely shrouded in darkness. He could see nothing there. Other places were unaffected, but none contained Hela’s aura.

"New York? Ancient One must have sealed off that place."

Odin’s expression turned ugly beyond measure. After thinking for a moment, he summoned the raven Huginn and sent it to Earth to inspect the seal.

At Blood God Manor, everyone stared dumbfounded at Little Hela beneath the dark clouds. Mindy said angrily, "Thor, what’s going on? Why can Lina and Hela lift it, but I can’t? Are you picking on me?"

"How would I know?"

Thor was getting a little frantic too. You were the King’s Hammer—could you stop being so casual? Could just anyone lift you? Looking at Little Hela, with her black hair drifting in the wind and dark circles beneath her eyes, an idea suddenly surfaced in Wang Bert’s mind. He was instantly alarmed. Damn, could Hela be that Demon King?

They do look somewhat alike. But why did she turn into a child and end up at my house? Could it be that I had a child with Hela in the future, and the child traveled through time to come back and recognize her father?

Wang Bert’s imagination ran wild. Little Hela had no idea she had suddenly gained a cheap father. Excitedly waving the hammer, she kept shouting, "I am the Queen of Asgard! I am the Queen of Asgard…"

Thor hurriedly said, "Little girl, there’s something wrong with the hammer. Give it back to me first. It’s dangerous."

Little Hela said unhappily, "You said the hammer is yours. Call it, then. Will it answer?"

"It will."

Thor immediately laughed at that and held out his hand toward the hammer. Under normal circumstances, it would fly straight back into his hand, but this time, it did not move at all.

"That gesture is pretty interesting."

Little Hela blinked, suddenly tossed Thor’s Hammer aside, then held out her hand. With a whoosh, Thor’s Hammer flew back into her hand.

"This is fun!"

Little Hela’s playful nature was stirred. She kept throwing Thor’s Hammer out and pulling it back again. Thor was completely stunned. He felt as though he had been cuckolded—his childhood sweetheart of a hammer had run off with someone else.

Could this little girl be another one of Odin’s illegitimate daughters? Wait, why did I say another?

"Damn, this is definitely Hela."

Wang Bert swallowed, his head pounding. He said to Little Hela, "Hela, stop playing. Give the hammer back to Thor. Mindy was joking with you. What country determines its successor with a hammer?"

"That’s true. If there really were such a country, it would collapse sooner or later."

Little Hela thought so too. She casually tossed Thor’s Hammer to Thor as if it were trash. Thor hurriedly caught it, afraid someone might snatch it away again.

As the hammer changed hands, the dark clouds in the sky quickly dispersed. Wang Bert looked up, and his eyes narrowed.

"Bert, I’m heading back first. I’ll come see you again when I have time. Heimdall!"

Thor hurriedly shouted toward the sky. If he stayed any longer, he would break down.

The seven-colored light flashed, and Thor vanished—though Heimdall could not see New York, he could hear Thor’s call.

Wang Bert looked at the scorched lawn and viciously gave the sky the middle finger.

Lina also cursed toward the sky, "Bad guy! Where are the walnuts you promised me?"

Mindy looked disdainful. "And you call yourself Thor? You even trick children out of their things."

"Thor’s reputation is completely ruined."

Wang Bert laughed helplessly. Looking at Little Hela, he said, "Hela, go back and continue your homework."

"Okay."

Little Hela obediently went back to do her homework. She was quite interested in that history, though she completely disagreed with its conclusions.

What contradictions? The only reason an empire collapsed was because it had not killed enough people.

Wang Bert walked to one side, took out his phone, and called Ancient One. "Master, something major happened."

"First, you haven’t formally become my disciple. Second, nothing major has happened on Earth. Third, I’m making tea."

With that, Ancient One hung up. Wang Bert rolled his eyes. Master Ancient One was as concise as ever.

"Since Master Ancient One says it’s fine, it probably isn’t a major problem."

After thinking it over, Wang Bert sent a photo of Little Hela to the technical department and asked them to analyze what she would look like when she grew up.

In Asgard, as soon as Thor returned, Heimdall and Odin fixed their eyes on him—he carried Hela’s aura.

Odin asked in a deep voice, "Thor, where did you just go, and who did you meet?"

"Your illegitimate daughters."

Thor said resentfully. Odin nearly jumped. Thor knew about Hela? Wait, no, Hela was the eldest princess, not some illegitimate daughter!

Odin said unhappily, "What illegitimate daughters do I have?"

Thor said furiously, "How can you not? There are two of them. Odin, I misjudged you. I’m going to expose you to Mother!"

Odin directly smashed him with his spear. "Nonsense. Tell me exactly what happened earlier, in detail."

"How am I talking nonsense? Those two little girls could lift Thor’s Hammer. They must be your illegitimate daughters."

Thor unhappily recounted what had happened. Odin and Heimdall exchanged looks. Two little girls? What was going on?

Heimdall asked, "Allfather, could they really be your illegitimate daughters?"

"Get lost. How could I have illegitimate daughters? I only have one—"

Odin stopped himself. Thor shouted, "Odin, you admitted it! You have one illegitimate daughter! I’m going to tell Mother."

"Get lost!"

Odin was so enraged that he sent the brainless Thor flying. At that moment, Huginn returned from Earth and reported, "Allfather, there is no problem with the seal. Hela is sleeping within it."

"The seal is fine? Then what exactly is going on? Wait—a little girl carrying Hela’s aura?"

Odin suddenly thought of a possibility and raged, "Did some bastard get my daughter pregnant?"

Heimdall reminded him speechlessly, "Allfather, Hela has been sealed for thousands of years."

"That’s true."

Odin thought for a moment, then flew over to Thor and said, "Your friend has helped you a great deal. Invite him to Asgard as a guest."

Those two little girls were both Blood God’s disciples. If they invited him up and asked, would they not learn everything? "They should have been invited long ago."

Thor immediately forgot what had happened earlier. Excitedly, he flew toward the Bifrost.

Watching the reckless Thor, Odin could not help shaking his head. To avoid repeating Hela’s tragedy, he had never taught Thor the arts of rulership. Was that truly right, or was it wrong? Odin sighed inwardly. Hela, you wronged me, and I wronged you too.

"What? Go to Asgard as a guest?"

Wang Bert’s expression shifted slightly. If it had been before, he would certainly have been eager to visit Asgard. He might even have picked up a few alien beauties. But now? Heh. His brain was not broken.

Hela was his disciple—the technical department’s analysis was complete. Once Hela grew up, she would look exactly like the Demon King Hela.

"Thor, I’ve been very busy lately. I don’t have time to go."

Wang Bert said, "But I can’t ignore your kind invitation. How about this? I’ll send Ivan and the others with you."

Though Thor was a little disappointed, he still nodded. "That works. I like Ivan. When it comes to drinking, he is no less capable than an Asgardian warrior."

Wang Bert said, "Good. I’ll gather people. Thor, go talk to Jane. We’ll leave tomorrow."

"That works too."

Thor’s eyes lit up. He immediately swung his hammer and left. A moment later, he flew back and awkwardly asked, "Where is Jane? Also, give me another phone. The last one broke."

Wang Bert was speechless. It really was not easy for someone with that intelligence to live for thousands of years.

After sending Thor away, Wang Bert posted on Twitter: "Asgard tour group. Ivan will lead it. Departure tomorrow. Limited spots available, sign up quickly."

Tony immediately posted: "Is this for real? Count me in, but I should be the leader."

"Get lost. I’m leading it. If you, you sissy, go over there, you’ll only disgrace Earth."

Ivan said, "Bert, lend me your private jet. I’m going to Russia to buy the most authentic vodka."

Trish said excitedly, "I want to go! I want to go! I want to go!"

President Ellis also posted: "Blood God, can this delegation include a government official?"

Hill did not lag behind either: "Blood God, S.H.I.E.L.D. hopes to participate."

"So many people want to go?"

Wang Bert thought for a moment, then posted again: "Let’s simply establish a long-term delegation to properly learn about the universe."

"Fully support this."

A long row of replies followed. Humanity had long wanted to see what lay beyond Earth.

When Pierce saw those posts, his eyes lit up. Project Insight was about to begin. If a group of Super Heroes went abroad—no, off-world—the resistance would surely become much smaller.