Researching the Tesseract

The next day, Blood God Manor.

Thor flew in holding Jane and stared in astonishment at the crowd carrying bags and luggage throughout the manor. "So many people?"

"Once they heard they could visit the divine realm, they all came rushing over."

Wang Bert smiled. "Thor, they’re not just going as guests. They’ll also help you suppress the rebellion."

"That’s right, Thor. We’ll drink together and fight together."

Ivan laughed heartily. "I’m leading this expedition. Besides War Lizard, I brought thirty sets of Drone Armor. We’ll definitely be able to help."

"Hulk will be going too."

Dr. Banner said with a smile. Besides those two, Super Heroes such as Punisher, the Hell Sisters, Yinsen, Black Widow, Iron Fist, and Black Panther would also be joining them.

"Thank you all for your help."

Thor was overjoyed. Never mind the others—War Abomination and Hulk were both incredibly powerful, only a little weaker than him.

Wang Bert glanced at Jane and asked, "Thor, you’re taking Jane with you too?"

Thor nodded. "Yes. She’s always wanted to visit the divine realm, so I’m taking her along this time."

"Then make sure you protect her. Don’t let anyone bully her."

Thor failed to catch Wang Bert’s implication and said carelessly, "Don’t worry. No one in Asgard would bully her."

"Perhaps."

Wang Bert did not say more. He turned to the others and said, "All right, take everything you need and get ready to leave."

"Okay."

Everyone nodded. In addition to the Super Heroes, there were special representatives from the government, military, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Everyone was full of anticipation for this trip to Asgard.

Wang Bert said to Stephanie Malik, who had gotten in through connections, "Stephanie, don’t be nervous. Just treat it as a vacation."

"I know you want me to go out and broaden my horizons."

Stephanie nodded. "I remembered everything you taught me to say."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. "Very good."

Once everyone was ready, Thor nodded to Wang Bert and shouted, "Heimdall!"

A seven-colored light descended, and everyone vanished. Wang Bert smiled at those remaining. "What happened today may well end up in the history books."

"That’s very possible."

Pierce, who had come specifically for this, asked Wang Bert, "Mr. Wang, is there really no way for us to contact them?"

Wang Bert shook his head. "They’re too far away. We can’t contact them. But with Thor keeping watch, nothing should go wrong. They’ll return on schedule in three months."

"That’s good. When the time comes, we’ll welcome them back together."

Pierce said with a smile. Yes, welcome them with guns and cannons.

"That will definitely be necessary."

Wang Bert smiled. In truth, he knew exactly what Pierce was plotting, because he had given Pierce a drop of his blood long ago—during a handshake.

As long as Wang Bert and Pierce were not too far apart, he could receive the information transmitted back by that drop of blood. Thus, Wang Bert knew Pierce was personally funding Project Insight, and he also knew Lizard Doctor worked under him.

But Wang Bert had not dealt with them in advance. On one hand, being too omniscient and omnipotent was not a good thing for him. Humanity would not thank him; they would only become more wary of him.

On the other hand, Super Heroes needed to level up. Wang Bert did not want a group of rookie-level Super Heroes when it came time to fight the final boss.

Besides, Wang Bert also wanted to take over Lizard Doctor’s research results—free things were always the best.

After speaking with Wang Bert, Pierce walked over to Tony and said, "Mr. Stark, I thought you would be going with them?"

"Believe me, no one wants to visit Asgard more than I do."

Tony sighed. "But I need to make money. Some bastard is pouring money into the Space Station like crazy, even throwing more than a hundred kilograms of Vibranium into it. To have the same level of control as him, I can only keep throwing money in too. Honestly, I’ve never worked this hard to make money in my life."

"It’s a pity S.H.I.E.L.D. has no money lately. Otherwise, we definitely would have invested too."

Pierce sighed, though not because of the Space Station. He regretted that Tony had not gone with them. For Project Insight, Iron Man was a massive threat.

Tony looked disgusted. "Forget it. I heard some agents have been on strike lately? Agents going on strike—I’ve lived all these years, and this is the first time I’ve heard that phrase."

"Hill canceled travel allowances, and the agents are very dissatisfied."

Pierce sighed, nodded to Wang Bert and Tony, then turned and left.

After Pierce left, Wang Bert smiled at Tony. "Not bad acting. No one could tell you wanted to kill him."

"In half a month, Project Insight will begin. When that happens, I’ll kill him with my own hands."

Tony snorted and asked Wang Bert, "Can Frank and the others really make it back in time?"

"They can."

Wang Bert nodded. "Ivan’s Quantum Communication has already made some progress. It can’t handle voice or video yet, but sending a few text messages won’t be a problem."

"Quantum Communication?"

Tony was somewhat displeased. "Is that madman’s research reliable? Don’t let it fail at a critical moment."

"Although he drinks vodka at work every day, although his style is extremely rough, although his factory catches fire every week or two, he should still be reliable."

Wang Bert shrugged. "By the way, I’ll be going into seclusion to study magic for a while. Don’t look for me unless it’s truly important."

"We won’t need you this time. I’ll deal with Hydra myself."

Tony said arrogantly. Wang Bert smiled and said, "Haven’t you noticed? Every time you talk like that, you end up getting slapped in the face."

Tony’s face twitched. Then he said, "It definitely won’t happen this time."

"Then it definitely will."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert had Lilith bring out a cloak from the room. "Pierce may make a move against you. This is a Wakandan energy cloak. Wear it."

Tony’s eyes lit up. "A Wakandan energy cloak? Bert, you could even get your hands on something like this?"

"Don’t study it. That’s the minimum respect you can show. Also, this cloak costs one hundred million dollars. What are you looking at? I’m giving you a bargain. I wouldn’t sell it to anyone else even for one billion."

"One hundred million it is. You really are a Vampire."

Tony snorted as he accepted the cloak. In truth, he knew full well that no amount of money could buy this cloak.

Just then, Tony’s phone rang. It was Little Pepper. "Tony, Steve’s illegitimate son burned down half a street trying to catch a robber. Get back here and deal with it right now. God, the stock price is going to drop again."

Without giving Tony a chance to speak, Little Pepper hung up. She was clearly furious.

"That Human Torch is nothing but trouble."

Tony had a headache. No wonder Bert had not cared at all when Human Torch switched teams. That guy was a problem child. Stark Industries had lost a great deal of money because of him these past few months.

"I’m leaving first. Uh, thanks for the cloak."

After leaving behind a word of thanks, Tony hurried away. Wang Bert shook his head and headed for the Cosmic Cube Research Lab beneath Blood God Manor.

That was right, the Cosmic Cube Research Lab. It had two main researchers: one was the old acquaintance Dr. Selvig, while the other was Dr. Richards.

"Mr. Wang, are you really going to research the Tesseract?"

Dr. Selvig frowned. "The last time S.H.I.E.L.D. researched it, Loki and the Chitauri were drawn here."

"Don’t worry. I’ve made preparations."

Wang Bert raised his hand, and a glowing iron box—the Tesseract—appeared out of thin air. "I asked Master Ancient One to make it a shell from Uru Metal and Vibranium. Other than me, no one can control the Tesseract."

"That’s good."

Dr. Selvig breathed a sigh of relief. Dr. Richards said excitedly, "So this is the Tesseract? I can’t wait to begin researching it."

"No rush. Let me make one thing clear first: the Cube will not be kept here in the future. It will stay with me at all times."

Wang Bert said, "In other words, if you want to study it, you must wait for me to come here."

Dr. Richards frowned slightly, but Dr. Selvig repeatedly nodded. "That’s better. It’s safer. I don’t want to be controlled again."

"You won’t be."

Wang Bert said, "Let’s discuss the objectives first. There are two goals in researching the Tesseract: a small goal and a major goal.

"The small goal is simple: draw out the Tesseract’s energy and put it to use.

"The major goal is the Bifrost."

Dr. Selvig and Dr. Richards were both stunned. "The Bifrost? Asgard’s Bifrost?"

Wang Bert nodded. "That’s right, Asgard’s Bifrost. Ivan will secretly collect data."

"That could work."

Dr. Richards’ eyes lit up. "When can we begin research?"

"Right now. I’ll remain here for a while."

Wang Bert said. He had previously learned a great deal of Space Magic. Now that he had the Tesseract, he naturally intended to fully master it all.

During a break in the research, Wang Bert secretly sought out Dr. Richards and handed him a top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. file.

"Captain Marvel, Project Pegasus, the Light-Speed Engine…"

Reed asked in surprise, "The Tesseract can actually create such a powerful Super Hero?"

"The Tesseract’s mysteries are endless."

Wang Bert said, "If we can unravel the secret behind Captain Marvel’s birth, then humanity will never need to fear aliens again."

After thinking it over, Reed shook his head. "It won’t be easy. I don’t have any information on the Light-Speed Engine."

"First, research how to use the Tesseract to enhance the human body."

Wang Bert said, "I’ll help you find test subjects."

Reed hurriedly shook his head. "Mr. Wang, I won’t do anything that harms innocent people."

"Neither will I."

Wang Bert said irritably. "You’ll understand when the time comes. Reed, everything is for the protection of Earth."

Reed hesitated, then nodded. "All right, I’ll help with the research, but I can’t guarantee anything."

"Very good."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. If he could absorb the Tesseract and enhance himself, his strength would surely soar. Though he was already powerful, he did not mind becoming even stronger.

Blood God plus Captain Marvel. It had potential.

As for whether Reed could figure it out, put it this way: if Reed could not, then no one else could either, because Reed was Marvel’s smartest man.

Wang Bert had put so much effort into Reed precisely because of his intelligence.

Asgard. Odin’s brows twitched as he looked at the group of Earthlings. He had told Thor to bring that Vampire here, yet the Vampire had not come. Instead, Thor had brought a whole group of Earthlings on a sightseeing tour. What was this supposed to be?

Thor did not notice Odin’s displeasure. He casually led Jane to Odin and introduced her. "Father, this is my girlfriend, Jane."

"Girlfriend?"

Odin grew even angrier. How could an ordinary Earth woman possibly be worthy of Asgard’s prince?

However, with so many people present, Odin did not lose his temper. He took a deep breath and said, "Go entertain your friends first. By the way, which of them knows the Blood God best? There is something I want to ask."

Seeing Odin completely ignore her, Jane felt quite disappointed. She said, "Your Majesty Odin, Stephanie is the Blood God’s companion. If there is anything you need, you can ask her."

"Good."

Odin immediately had someone bring Stephanie over, then took her to speak privately in the palace.

Watching Odin’s retreating back, Jane said bitterly, "It seems your father doesn’t like me."

"He’s just too busy."

Thor said unconcernedly, "I’ll take you to meet my mother. She’ll definitely like you."

"All right."

Jane secretly sighed. It seemed that being with Thor would not be so easy.

Inside the palace, Odin asked Stephanie, "I heard the Blood God has two disciples. Is that true?"

"He has many disciples."

Stephanie was a little nervous. She slowly said, "The ones you mean should be Lina and Hai."

"Hai?"

"Yes, Hai. Her origins are very strange. Not only does she have amnesia, she appeared out of nowhere in the Blood God’s manor."

Stephanie said, "Also, she seems very interested in killing. She always thinks killing can solve everything."

"It really is her!"

Odin sighed inwardly. As he considered what to do, Stephanie said, "Bert has been teaching Hai history lately. He wants to guide her properly and let her understand that ruling a nation cannot rely solely on threats of death."

Odin froze, then urgently asked, "Can the Blood God guide her properly?"

"I don’t know either. But as a master, how can he watch his disciple go down the wrong path and do nothing?"

Stephanie said, "Doing something may not guarantee success, but doing nothing will guarantee failure."

Odin fell silent. Even a master acted this way. Could he, as her father, truly drive his own daughter to extinction? Let’s try. Maybe she really can be guided properly. Then Asgard’s skies may finally clear.

After a moment, Odin said, "Asgard welcomes your arrival. I will have Thor properly entertain all of you."

"Thank you, Allfather."

Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief. Though she did not know what was going on, the task Bert had assigned her should have been completed smoothly.

After Stephanie left, Odin summoned the raven Huginn again. "Go to Earth and become Little Hela’s pet. If Hela shows any signs of recovering her memories, report to me immediately."

"Yes, Allfather."

Huginn nodded. "Princess Hela liked me very much when she was young. She should accept me as her pet."

Thinking of Hela as a child, Odin could not help but sigh. Hela had once been innocent and romantic, but in his pursuit of unifying the Nine Realms, he had destroyed everything.

Perhaps this really was an opportunity.

"Can’t you give me a little peace of mind?"

At the police station, Tony came to collect Human Torch after he had been detained for three days. Human Torch said unhappily, "Why was I locked up for three days? I was catching a criminal."

"If you weren’t one of my people, you’d already have been convicted. To catch a bank robber, you burned down half a street!"

Tony was deeply dissatisfied. He let out a breath and said, "We’ll talk when we get back."

With that, Tony led Human Torch out of the police station. The moment they appeared, reporters immediately surrounded them. "Mr. Stark, do Super Heroes have special privileges? Why was Human Torch only detained for three days after burning down half a street?"

"We’ll hold a press conference shortly to explain the matter."

Tony said. His head of security, Happy, immediately came over to help push the reporters aside. At that moment, a man rushed in front of them, pulled open his coat to reveal grenades all over his body, and shouted viciously, "Iron Man, Mandarin sends his regards."