Skirts Raina (Second Update)

Early the next morning.

In the same place, Old Wang met with the elders.

Although the Resurrection Serum could prolong life, it could not change one’s appearance. In any case, the elders did not care about that.

Each of them was brimming with vitality, as if they had returned to their youth. A few shameless old men were even considering whether, while they were still young, they should continue contributing to humanity’s reproduction. The more people, the greater the strength—and they had experience…

The men looked at Old Wang with delight, growing happier the longer they looked. Then they felt a little regretful and secretly marveled to themselves:

The older the ginger, the spicier it was. Jia Ying had acted fast!

"Congratulations, Elders."

Old Wang wore a broad smile as he exchanged pleasantries with the elders, while looking toward several people standing off to the side.

They were candidates Old Wang had forcibly added.

When Inhumans absorbed the Terrigen Mist, the Kree genes within them were activated and underwent unknown chemical reactions with human genes, naturally producing all sorts of abilities. Some were strong, some weak. Those Old Wang had picked were naturally among the stronger ones, or—

The more pleasing to the eye ones.

The calmest person there was a not-too-dark Black man in his forties. He was powerfully built, his heart rate consistently around sixty-five, and he appeared healthy, as though he exercised regularly.

His eyes constantly surveyed his surroundings, watching everyone’s expressions and movements. No matter what he saw or thought, his face remained as calm as ever, occasionally revealing a Mona Lisa-like smile.

He was clearly no ordinary man. In fact, he had ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. He was the ex-husband of newly promoted Level 7 Agent Melinda May, a psychological counselor who had successfully been dumped by May after the Bahrain Incident and reduced to being a bachelor.

That had clearly been the right choice. Compared to Coulson, this man was obviously lacking. Who knew what Agent Mei had been thinking back then? Wasn’t this an era where looks mattered?

His name was Andrew Garner.

When he noticed Old Wang looking at him, Andrew quickly nodded in greeting.

With his ties to S.H.I.E.L.D., Andrew was well informed. He knew that Old Wang was one of Fury’s favorites and a benefactor of Afterlife, so he could not be underestimated.

Beside him stood a somewhat handsome young white man around thirty. His eyes darted everywhere, and his expression was somewhat arrogant and unruly, as if he were the greatest thing under heaven and looked down on everyone else.

Young people always had a little of that ignorance of their own limits. It was understandable.

His name was James Slay. He was no ordinary person either; one of his ancestors had been Ghost Rider, so his background ran deep.

Standing opposite them was a Mexican girl with long hair draped over her shoulders and a wide mouth. Her ten fingers were tangled together, her palms drenched in sweat, and she looked rather nervous.

Having suddenly been brought to such a godforsaken place by a blind monk, how could an ordinary person handle it?

Her name was Elena Rodriguez, nicknamed Yo-Yo. She was the only one among them with a clean background, and she had great potential.

After so many years of racial intermingling, there were far more than a hundred thousand Inhumans on Earth. There were far more than these whom Old Wang remembered alone.

The problem was that some abilities were too weak, not worth wasting the already scarce Terrigen Mist on. Others Old Wang remembered, but he could not recall their names or appearances at all.

He had a mild case of face blindness. As long as someone was unfamiliar to him, they all looked more or less the same.

Among Earth’s seven billion people, Old Wang’s memories combined with Skye’s searches had only found three people, yet there were four at the scene.

Beside Yo-Yo stood a girl in a navy blue floral dress, just over twenty. At first glance, she seemed nervous. Looking again, beneath that nervousness was barely restrained excitement; within that excitement was faint fear; and hidden within that fear was a trace of pride.

Clearly, she had an extremely complex personality and was an exceptionally successful actress.

But in front of Old Wang, her performance had no value whatsoever, because after just one glance, he recognized her:

Skirts Raina!

Her background was complicated as well. From the beginning, she had known she was not an "ordinary person" and had always wanted to become an "angel."

Unfortunately, she had never known what a so-called "angel" truly was—until yesterday.

After being brought here, Jia Ying had told them everything about Inhumans.

"I brought her here."

Carl walked over and said, "I found her long ago and had her help me look for my daughter."

I know that… Old Wang nodded, then looked at the four of them.

"Afterlife has never forced anyone to do anything. You all have a choice: absorb the Terrigen Mist, or refuse. What I need to tell you is that although the Kree genes in your bodies are no different from each other, once they undergo a chemical reaction with the Terrigen Mist, no one knows what kind of ability you will awaken. Have you truly prepared yourselves?"

"Don’t try to scare me with that. I wasn’t raised to be scared." James was young and confident, more receptive to new things. On top of that, his ancestors had not been ordinary people, and he had been exposed to such things since childhood, so he had some longing for them.

Andrew spoke second. "Director Wang, I’m a psychological counselor. I’ve dealt with all kinds of psychiatric patients. Even if I turn into a brown bear, it wouldn’t be unacceptable. Everyone has a wild beast and a demon hidden in their heart. I can control it."

Old Wang smiled without commenting.

He had once read a novel where every psychologist was a pervert.

Being around too many perverts was also a tremendous burden for psychologists.

Everyone’s endurance had its limits. Psychological counselors naturally had far greater endurance than ordinary people, but that also meant that once they could no longer bear it, the consequences would be more severe than for ordinary people.

Words were the weakest weapon. Trying to persuade a psychological counselor, or even merely influence one, was extremely difficult. Old Wang decided to let facts speak for themselves.

"I… I want to try…" Yo-Yo hesitated somewhat.

Modern girls all had a bit of curiosity for the strange. She had dreamed fanciful dreams about transmigrating into souls or bodies, transforming and taking another’s place, imagining herself as an angel descended to the mortal world or a beautiful princess.

She was an ordinary person. Given a choice, most ordinary people would be willing to try, and she was no exception.

Skirts Raina simply nodded, utterly resolute.

"I’ve been preparing for this all along!"

"Whether in misfortune or fortune, poverty or wealth, sickness or health, beauty or ugliness?" Old Wang asked.

Raina froze, feeling that the line sounded oddly familiar.

Such solemn words in such a solemn setting left Raina no choice but to think it over. Then she nodded heavily.

"Yes!"

"Perhaps you’ll become a monster covered in fur, or a hedgehog bristling with spines?" Old Wang asked again.

Raina’s heart skipped a beat.

She was not particularly beautiful, so like most girls, she was deeply attached to her appearance.

The thought that she might become a monster made her feel uncomfortable all over.

But a decision she had made long ago was not so easily changed. Besides, she had confidence in herself. She believed she would become an angel rather than a demon, and nodded again.

"It’s fine!"

Old Wang said nothing more.

He had given her the necessary warning. Hopefully, it would help Raina accept the final outcome.

"Begin," Jia Ying ordered.