Publicizing the Inhumans

Hearing Peter’s words, Wang Bert turned to Gwen and said, "Gwen, I think Peter may have a mental problem. Take him to a psychiatric hospital."

"Mr. Wang."

Gwen sighed helplessly and said, "Peter is just that kind of person. He always looks for problems in himself. He’s good in every way, except he’s too kindhearted."

"Kindhearted is fine. Being a doormat isn’t."

Wang Bert shook his head and said to Peter, "If Harry isn’t dealt with soon, a lot of people will die. Peter, I believe you understand that."

"I do."

Peter gritted his teeth and volunteered, "Mr. Wang, I want to go after Harry."

Wang Bert did not object. "Fine, but it’s too dangerous for you to go alone. I’ll send Electro with you."

"Electro?"

Gwen’s eyes lit up. Electro and Spider-Man going on a mission together would definitely be interesting.

"Gwen."

Peter gave Gwen a helpless look. What kind of girlfriend liked reading stories about her boyfriend and another man?

Gwen smiled awkwardly. Wang Bert gave her a puzzled glance, then stood and said, "All right, Peter, I’ll leave this to you and Electro. I have other matters to handle, so I’ll be going."

"Mr. Wang, thank you for coming to see me."

Peter and Gwen hurriedly stood as well. Gwen hesitated, then asked, "Mr. Wang, if I may ask, why don’t you personally deal with those fugitives? With your strength, it should be effortless for you."

Peter hurriedly said, "Gwen, Mr. Wang has important matters to deal with. We can handle something this minor ourselves."

If Mr. Wang stepped in, would Harry still be alive?

Wang Bert shrugged and said, "Because I have something more important to do: keeping Earth’s next guardian in a good mood."

"Keeping Earth’s next guardian in a good mood?"

Gwen froze, then asked in surprise, "Wait, Mr. Wang, aren’t you Earth’s next guardian?"

"Exactly. This is an extremely important matter. The better my mood is, the more I’ll love Earth. And the more I love Earth, the harder I’ll work to protect it."

Wang Bert said solemnly, "On the other hand, if I’m busy every day and in a bad mood, then maybe one day I’ll take the Blood Clan and leave Earth, never to return."

Peter and Gwen were both stunned. That actually sounded like it made some sense? Wang Bert smiled, opened a portal, and left. Peter glanced at Gwen and asked, "Did he just fool us?"

"Probably."

Gwen nodded and said, "But it’s not entirely unreasonable. If someone keeps giving selflessly to Earth without conditions and stays busy every day, then in the end, even a saint might think of giving up."

At Kamar-Taj, Ancient One rubbed his nose. Who was talking about me behind my back?

Shaking his head, Ancient One looked at Doom and Strange practicing outside and sighed inwardly. When will I finally be able to retire?

A few days later, Wang Bert was sunbathing on the beach and watching beautiful women in bikinis when he received a call from Steve. "Bert, you really have it easy, leaving everything to others. I’ve been in meetings with those countries these past few days until my head feels like it’s about to explode."

"The capable work harder!"

Wang Bert said lazily, "Have you settled the policy for the Inhumans?"

Steve said, "We have. New Inhumans are also human and enjoy all the rights humans do. S.W.O.R.D. will guide and protect them."

Wang Bert asked in surprise, "That went so smoothly?"

"Not at all. Several countries argued so fiercely they nearly came to blows. In the end, we had to borrow your name to suppress the opposition."

"My name?"

"Yes. I told them that S.W.O.R.D.’s principle of embracing all and accepting everyone was personally established by you."

Steve smiled. "After hearing that, those countries reluctantly agreed to let us try, though they reserved their objections."

"Ms. Carter must have come up with that idea for you."

Wang Bert laughed. "Still, I’m very satisfied with your policy."

"That’s good. By the way, when is Trish coming back? I plan to go on her show to promote S.W.O.R.D. and the Inhumans."

"Publicly promoting the Inhumans? You really have some nerve."

Wang Bert said, "Fine. I’ll have her return as soon as possible. Steve, I have to say, you’ve given me quite a surprise. I wasn’t wrong about you."

Steve laughed. "It’s a good thing Tony isn’t here, or he’d definitely punch you."

"Haha, he just can’t stand being beneath me."

Wang Bert laughed loudly. "By the way, has there been any progress in the search for the Inhumans?"

"None at all. Over the past few days, that No-Eyed Person has appeared a few times, but each time he was too far away. By the time Tony and the others got there, they couldn’t find any clues."

Steve sighed. "Tony has tried other methods too, but nothing has worked. The later we find them, the more troublesome the Inhumans’ situation will become."

"Even if we find them, we may not be able to stop the Inhumans from awakening."

Wang Bert chatted with Steve for a few more minutes before hanging up. At that moment, two youthful, beautiful women walked over and smiled. "Handsome, could you help us apply some sunscreen?"

"With pleasure."

Wang Bert smiled faintly. Wasn’t the beach for beautiful women?

What was the biggest sensation in New York today? Trish Talk had returned. Trish had spent over a month gathering material in Asgard and had finally come back.

However, this episode of Trish Talk was not about her experiences in Asgard. It was an interview with the director of S.W.O.R.D., Super Hero Steve Rogers.

New Yorkers vaguely sensed that this would be huge news. After all, Trish was the most popular host in the world.

Ever since meeting Wang Bert, Trish’s fate had been completely changed.

"Captain, I’ve actually always been your fan. Remember to give me an autograph later."

After a few pleasantries, Trish got straight to the point. "Captain—well, I should call you Director now. The audience is very interested in S.W.O.R.D. Could you introduce it to us?"

"Of course. S.W.O.R.D. is very different from S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. treats everyone as an enemy, while we treat everyone as a friend…"

Steve spoke eloquently. Once he finished his introduction, Trish asked, "Director, you said S.W.O.R.D. will make every effort to disclose information to the public. Is that true or false?"

Steve nodded. "It’s true. For example, S.W.O.R.D. is preparing to disclose the matter of the Inhumans to the public."

"The Inhumans? What are those?"

"The Inhumans have a long history…"

Steve began explaining in detail, hiding almost nothing. He even released the videos and pictures Wang Bert had shown them back then.

The audience was deeply shocked, both by the existence of the Inhumans and by the fact that S.W.O.R.D. was actually making their existence public.

It seemed S.W.O.R.D. really was different from S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Director, is it really okay for you to say all that?"

Trish asked in feigned shock, "Won’t someone rush in at any moment and take you away for leaking classified information?"

The audience laughed, and Steve laughed too. "Don’t worry, they won’t, because I’m the director. In short, S.W.O.R.D. will make every effort to disclose anything that can be disclosed in the future."

"Only make every effort?"

"Some information really cannot be made public. It would cause turmoil throughout the world."

Steve said, "For example, the Blood Clan and demons in Blood Clan Police Department. If they truly existed in the real world, not only would we refuse to disclose information about them, we would do everything possible to keep the public from learning that they existed."

After a pause, Steve added, "If I forced that information out, I might really be taken away."

Trish and the audience laughed. The audience liked Steve more and more. Captain America was truly frank.

If Steve had said he would reveal everything, the audience would only have sneered. Anyone could tell that was impossible.

Trish asked in surprise, "Director, do you watch TV dramas too?"

"Although I was frozen for seventy years, I’m not some old relic. I don’t just watch TV dramas—I also use Twitter. If you’re interested, you can follow my personal account and S.W.O.R.D.’s official account. Both are verified."

As Steve spoke, two QR codes appeared on the television screen, and viewers hurriedly picked up their phones to scan them.

The record for the fastest growth in Twitter followers would soon be broken.

"Then I really should follow you."

Trish said, "Director, I believe the audience really wants to know how S.W.O.R.D. plans to treat these Inhumans."

"Different Inhumans will be treated differently."

Steve said, "The Inhuman leadership used unknown means to awaken large numbers of Inhumans and also kidnapped new Inhumans. They are criminals, and I will do everything I can to bring them to justice."

At that moment, a picture of the No-Eyed Person appeared on the screen. Steve said, "This is the kidnapper, codenamed No-Eyed Person. If anyone sees him, please report it to S.W.O.R.D. immediately."

Trish asked again, "No-Eyed Person? That codename really is fitting. What about the other Inhumans?"

Steve said, "As long as they have not committed crimes, we will not do anything to them. We will even help them reintegrate into society, provided they pass our tests."

"What about new Inhumans? As you said, anyone could awaken as an Inhuman."

"Our strategy for new Inhumans is training and assistance."

"Training and assistance?"

"That’s right, training and assistance. We will not only teach them how to control their abilities, but also provide psychological counseling to help them accept their changes."

Steve said, "This is not imprisonment. Every new Inhuman can use a phone to contact people outside or post on Twitter and so on."

"What happens after the training?"

"Once they have completed training and we confirm that they can control their abilities without hurting others, we will let them leave."

Steve said, "Of course, they may also choose to join S.W.O.R.D. or organizations in various countries. We will not restrict that. New Inhumans have the freedom to choose."

"That sounds quite lenient."

"Inhumans are also human and enjoy all the rights humans should have. Anyone who means them harm is committing a crime, and S.W.O.R.D. will pursue it to the end."

Steve said, "Of course, Inhumans have no special privileges either. They must obey the same laws that humans do.

"Also, if an Inhuman awakens and refuses to come to S.W.O.R.D. for training, then any problems that arise because of that—such as losing control of their powers and accidentally injuring others—will be the Inhuman’s own responsibility."

"I like that. I’ve always believed that even Super Heroes must obey the law."

Trish smiled. "Director, what if a new Inhuman cannot return to their former life? For example, that Toad Monster from before. I think the public would have a hard time accepting it."

Steve said, "Then he can choose to work for a special department, or immigrate to New York."

"Immigrate to New York?"

"Yes. We spoke with Mayor George, and he is willing to accept Inhuman immigrants, but on one condition: when New York faces danger, the Inhumans must help."

As Steve spoke, Trish could not help sighing. "New York has suffered so many disasters. Mayor George is really thoughtful."

New York viewers sighed one after another. New York did not just have a lot of disasters—it had an absurd number of them. It was practically cursed.

Next, Trish asked many more questions, and Steve answered each one in detail. An hour later, the interview concluded successfully.

This interview undoubtedly caused a worldwide sensation. Countless people were discussing the Inhumans both in real life and online. Some were curious, while others felt disgust or jealousy, but overall there was not much hostility. After all, everything was only beginning.

It was worth mentioning that Steve’s frankness earned S.W.O.R.D. a great deal of goodwill. The public felt that S.W.O.R.D. was ten thousand times better than S.H.I.E.L.D.

In a small town in Mexico, a young man danced excitedly in the street and shouted, "I’ve awakened! I’m an Inhuman! Hahaha, I can finally immigrate to New York!"

The neighbors around him were astonished. A woman asked, "Juan, is that true? You aren’t dreaming, are you?"

"Of course not. I’ve already called S.W.O.R.D. Hey, let me show you my superpower."

Juan chuckled and motioned for everyone to move back. Then he aimed his hand at a metal trash can in front of him. The next moment, a shockwave burst from his palm with a bang, sending the trash can flying several meters away and rolling across the ground.

"Wow!" Everyone around him cried out in unison, staring at Juan with both shock and envy—envy that he could immigrate to New York.

That was New York.

Just then, a large number of energy bolts appeared around them. Immediately afterward, a No-Eyed Person appeared beside Juan, grabbed his shoulder, and said, "My fellow kin, I’ve come to take you."

"Who’s your fellow kin?"

Just as the No-Eyed Person was about to activate his ability, Juan fired a shockwave from his palm and blasted him away. He said excitedly, "I’m a future American! Hahaha, I’m going to capture you, wanted criminal, and earn myself some merit!"

"Catch him! His bounty is huge!"

The people around them came to their senses and raised their weapons at the No-Eyed Person. The No-Eyed Person was both shocked and furious as he vanished in an instant.

"Damn it."

Everyone was deeply disappointed. At that moment, an Iron Man Armor crashed to the ground from the sky and scanned the surroundings at top speed, recording data.

"Finally, I got something."

Tony Stark was thrilled. This was the closest he had ever been to the No-Eyed Person.

Seeing Iron Man, everyone grew excited. Juan shouted happily, "Iron Man, are you here to take me?"

Tony said, "The people coming to take you are behind me. Kid, help maintain order. I have serious business to handle."

"No problem."

Juan immediately began helping maintain order. As he looked at Iron Man, he felt a surge of envy and longing. Should I become a Super Hero too?