The Fantastic Four

I was away on a business trip, so I really didn’t have much time to write, but I couldn’t cut back on the promised extra chapters. Enough with the nonsense—here’s the actual chapter.

"So, in my opinion, our combat personnel should be few but elite."

After explaining in detail to the Avengers what Galactus was, Li Congxin said calmly, "First, everyone participating in the battle must be capable of surviving in space. Relying on equipment is fine, but they must not have their combat power affected by fighting in a vacuum."

Everyone nodded in unison. On that kind of battlefield, there was no place for ordinary people.

Li Congxin continued, "Second, each combatant’s individual fighting ability must not be too poor. This overlaps somewhat with the first point, because any Avenger capable of fighting the enemy head-on should have no trouble surviving in space. There’s only one exception: Steve."

At his words, everyone turned to look at Captain America.

With the Eight-Edged Plum Blossom Bright Silver Hammer in hand, Captain America was now absolutely among the top-tier Avengers. But he was still an ordinary human and lacked the ability to survive—or even fight—in outer space.

In an ordinary battle, Li Congxin could easily use methods such as altering the laws of the universe to let everyone move through space as if it were level ground. But if their opponent was Galactus, he couldn’t guarantee that he would have enough strength left to look after everyone else.

What if Big G happened to be in good condition?

Tony immediately thumped his chest and declared, "Leave this to me!"

It had to be said that Tony’s technology was indeed the perfect solution to Captain America’s space-survival problem. Captain America sincerely thanked him.

Tony’s response was, "I’m only doing this to protect Earth. The suit is just on loan to you. Once this battle is over, I’ll take it back. Unless you tell me where Bucky Barnes is…"

Captain America’s expression changed several times. Then he lowered his eyes, gazed at his nose, and sat there like an enlightened monk in meditation.

Seeing this, Li Congxin hurriedly changed the subject. "Aside from Steve, Tony should be included as well. Then there’s Thor and Asgard’s Beta Ray Bill, along with Daisy and Mindy. That gives us roughly five superpowered fighters besides me, one more than the other side. Five against four—even if we can’t win, we should be able to hold out without losing for a short while."

"The rest depends on whether I can defeat that invincible Galactus."

"Wait, I want to participate too!" Just as Li Congxin had finalized the list, a familiar female voice suddenly rang out. Ava’s familiar figure then walked over. "I’ve already begun communicating with the Phoenix Force inside me. If I use it in battle, I should be able to contribute."

"And me." After Ava, Wanda entered as well. "After studying at Kamar-Taj for several years, I can now control my abilities proficiently. That fellow Strange is no match for me at all. I feel I can contribute to this battle too. I might even be able to handle one of Galactus’s Emissaries."

The Phoenix Force and chaos magic?

If those two powers joined the battle, Earth’s chances of victory would undoubtedly increase considerably.

After thinking for a moment, however, Li Congxin still shook his head. "Wanda can participate, but Ava should stay behind to protect Earth. If we can avoid using the Phoenix Force, it’s best not to use it at all. With so many of us leaving, Earth also needs someone powerful to guard it."

After a great deal of persuasion, Li Congxin finally managed to dissuade Ava from participating. He wasn’t doing this entirely out of selfishness. Ava’s compatibility with the Phoenix Force was neither high nor low, but it was certainly far inferior to that of the most famous Phoenix host, Jean Grey. Nor could it compare with Wanda’s compatibility with chaos magic. Once activated, the danger to Ava would definitely be greater than it was for the others.

To prevent himself from one day having to face Ava after the Phoenix Force ran wild, Li Congxin had to restrict her use of it as much as possible. Ideally, she would never use it even once.

After temporarily settling the lineup, Li Congxin began considering other potential reinforcements that might play a crucial role.

Thus, Reed Richards and his companions, who were also in New York, entered his sights.

Previously, Li Congxin had never paid much attention to the Fantastic Four. Their abilities were neither particularly strong nor particularly weak, and they hadn’t reached the point where he had to recruit them. More importantly, there had never been any news of the Fantastic Four in the outside world.

Since they hadn’t mutated yet, it would be better to let them quietly remain ordinary people.

But now that Galactus had appeared, it was difficult not to think of the Fantastic Four whenever Galactus was mentioned. Although Big G could be bullied by just about anyone in the comics, those four were still the ones who restrained him most effectively.

As for whether the Fantastic Four had already completed their mutation, that question was actually unimportant. In Li Congxin’s eyes, the four of them combined were nothing special. What truly interested him was Mister Fantastic’s intellect.

Thinking of this, Li Congxin immediately asked Tony, "Tony, how much do you know about that guy Reed Richards?"

"That Richards fellow…" At the mention of his fellow scientist, Tony curled his lips. "I have to admit, he really is a genius. But he’s a genius who doesn’t do his proper work."

Li Congxin was taken aback. "Doesn’t do his proper work?"

Tony nodded slightly and continued, "His research is often decades ahead of its time, but I’ve seen some of his results, and they’re practically useless. He conducts research based solely on his own interests and never considers practicality. If that isn’t failing to do his proper work, then what is?"

Li Congxin smiled faintly. Tony wasn’t wrong at all. That was classic Doctor Doom.

At that moment, Tony added, "Not long ago, that guy organized a group of people to go into space for some kind of scientific research. An accident happened, and they were all mutated by radiation from an unknown cosmic energy. Fortunately, they all gained superpowers during the mutation."

"I’d considered inviting them to join the Avengers, but those fellows rejected my invitation without hesitation and formed some ridiculous superhero organization. I think it was called the Fantastic Four."

Had the Fantastic Four already transformed?

A playful smile appeared at the corner of Li Congxin’s mouth. "Mingyue, arrange an appointment for me. I’m going to visit Mister Fantastic tonight."

The current Avengers Base was funded jointly by Li Congxin and Tony. Even its control system consisted of two separate systems: Li Congxin used Mingyue, while Tony used Friday. The others could ask either one for help as they pleased. Mainly, they all had their own Artificial Intelligence and disliked using someone else’s while working.

After making the appointment, Li Congxin immediately took Ava back to his room to explain in detail why it was important for her to remain on Earth. His explanation lasted a full three and a half hours. After hearing him out, Ava was thoroughly convinced. She kept crying out "Oh!" and "Yes!" in delight, the words rising and falling from her lips in a series of melodious, high-pitched sounds.

While Li Congxin discussed the true meaning of protecting life on Earth with Ava, the Richards fellow he had successfully arranged to meet earlier was facing a huge problem.

A creditor had come knocking!

To understand this, they had to start with the space trip that had turned them into the Fantastic Four. At the time, Richard had proposed the space-research project, earning the admiration of his friend, another scientist named Victor von Doom. Doctor Doom felt that Richard’s research seemed promising and probably wouldn’t be as disastrous as his previous projects.

Thus, he decisively funded Doctor Doom’s research.

The result was that the space trip ended in disaster, and the entire spacecraft was scrapped after that voyage. As for the results he had been hoping for, aside from granting the Fantastic Four superpowers, not even a fart remained.

The failed research caused all the money Doctor Doom had invested to go down the drain. Then the investor who had provided him with funding pulled out, making his company’s already dire situation even worse and pushing it toward bankruptcy.

With nowhere else to turn, Doctor Doom suddenly discovered that he had gained the ability to control electricity and transform his body into metal.

It turned out that during that cosmic storm, the Fantastic Four hadn’t been the only ones to gain powers. Doctor Doom, who had been exposed to the cosmic rays alongside them, had acquired an ability of his own as well!

With his new power in hand, Doctor Doom immediately thought of revenge.

He would make those four bastards who had ruined him suffer a fate worse than death!

Thus, he first killed the investor who had withdrawn his funding, then sowed discord among the Fantastic Four. In a short time, he had single-handedly beaten the newly risen superhero team into submission.

After using her power to shield her teammates from one of Doctor Doom’s electrical attacks, Invisible Woman Susan turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Reed, should we ask the Avengers for help?"

"Not for now." Mister Fantastic shook his head decisively. "We should be able to resolve this problem using our own abilities."

Although he rejected Invisible Woman’s suggestion without hesitation, Reed actually had his own little scheme in mind.

He had only just rejected Tony’s invitation. If he asked the Avengers for help now, wouldn’t that prove that they didn’t have what it took to defeat a supervillain?

How could they maintain the Fantastic Four’s independence then?

Of course, as a superhero, he didn’t care about power. But once he joined a large organization, his freedom of action would inevitably be restricted.

If he were willing to do that, how could someone as intelligent as him have allowed Tony to leave him several zeroes behind in terms of wealth?

"Hee-hee…"

As the Fantastic Four were beaten back under Doctor Doom’s fierce assault, a bell-like laugh suddenly rang out from the street.

Then a young girl in a pale yellow jacket slowly walked over from the other end of the street. As she walked, she kept saying, "According to what I know, Doctor Doom is a bad person. He can be killed."