Chapter 134: One Look at Xi Nian, A Lifetime of Trouble
From the moment Xi Nian encountered the Fantastic Four to returning with Invisible Woman Susan to her apartment, he had never revealed his true face. His baseball cap had fallen off once, but his black mask never came off.
Even his name and identity were false.
From the beginning, Xi Nian considered his encounter with the Fantastic Four nothing more than coincidence. With him and Lorna still having their own secret mission against the invaders, he had no intention of exposing his real identity.
Now, with only Susan left as the outsider, and with their current fused state making separation impossible for the time being, Xi Nian gave Lorna a subtle nod.
Lorna hopped off her chair and came over, her small hands unclipping the strap of his mask.
Under the soft light—
Susan's eyes widened little by little. For the first time, she saw the boy's uncovered face.
Sharp, handsome features, a clean and sunny face, with just a trace of youthful immaturity.
Much younger than herself.
Susan's heart skipped a beat.
At such close distance, face-to-face, their bodies still joined together, warmth radiating from their connected waists and hands, sweat making their skin stick even tighter, breaths mingling in the narrow space between—
What earlier felt tolerable now pressed on her with full force. She couldn't ignore it.
"Why? Is there something dirty on my face?" Xi Nian asked curiously when he noticed her staring.
"N-no! Hurry and eat, don't go hungry," Susan blurted, turning her gaze away. Her cheeks flushed like a shy schoolgirl, thankfully hidden by the dim light.
Lorna's eyes, however, held an unmistakable flash of hostility toward Susan. Then she glared at Xi Nian, too.
This stupid brother of hers was like a walking jewel, always attracting women! More and more rivals appeared every day.
"Brother, let me feed you!" Lorna suddenly said sweetly. With one hand she gently cupped Xi Nian's chin, while with the other she shoved a large burger into his mouth.
"Mmphhh!"
Xi Nian's mouth was stuffed full. He had no idea what he'd done this time to anger the North Star again.
"Polaris, that's too much. He can't eat all that in one bite," Susan said.
But as she spoke, her body instinctively leaned forward. She opened her red-painted lips and took a bite from the burger sticking out of Xi Nian's mouth.
"Wha—?!"
Susan quickly covered her lips with her hand. After chewing and swallowing, she saw the obvious missing bite from Xi Nian's burger and realized how wildly inappropriate her action had just been.
"I want some too!" Lorna's cheeks flushed in quiet rage and immediately thought Susan was provoking her. She stood on tiptoe, ready to bite into the burger as well.
Xi Nian hurriedly stuffed the rest into his mouth, his forehead lightly bumping against Lorna's smooth one.
"You've got your own… eat that instead…" he mumbled around the mouthful of food.
"Hmph!" Lorna stomped back to her seat, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
Xi Nian glanced at Susan, who was pretending that bite never happened, and then at Lorna, who was struggling to contain her anger. Somehow, he felt this night wasn't going to be easy.
…
While the three of them finally started their meal—
The TV flicked on, broadcasting the midday report about the bridge accident, where the Fantastic Four had publicly revealed their extraordinary powers.
"Los Angeles may soon have its own resident superheroes. Let's wait and see!" the female reporter concluded with excitement.
Xi Nian silently breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he and Lorna had only been background blurs on camera, unremarkable passersby.
After the bridge incident news, the program cut to another breaking story:
"Yesterday afternoon, after Tony Stark publicly revealed the location of his Los Angeles seaside mansion, three armed helicopters launched a terrorist assault. The luxurious villa, along with the entire cliffside, was bombed into the sea. Tony Stark's fate is unknown. His secretary, Pepper Potts, survived."
The screen showed images of the devastated coastline, still smoking from bombardment.
"Since last night, the military has sealed off the site and dispatched divers to search the waters. So far, Tony Stark has not been found. The U.S. cabinet states that War Machine is already pursuing leads on the terrorists…"
Xi Nian and Lorna exchanged subtle glances.
So the newspaper they saw yesterday was already outdated. The very same day Tony provoked those terrorists, his mansion was blown into the ocean.
These weren't ordinary terrorists. They were brazen beyond belief.
Xi Nian knew the truth: the real mastermind wasn't some vague "extremist group." It was Aldrich Killian, a biologist with extraordinary methods—
His soldiers could ignite themselves with blazing heat and heal instantly.
If not for the accident binding him to Susan, Xi Nian and Lorna would've already wiped those terrorists off the map.
Now, they had no choice but to wait until separation.
For now, let War Machine have his chance. Maybe he'd manage to take down the group on his own.
…
Outskirts of Los Angeles, inside a luxury mansion—
"Even if you hold my people hostage, you'll never get my armor!"
Surrounded by several terrorists, War Machine stood bound to a heavy machine rig.
Inside the cockpit, Colonel James Rhodes glared defiantly. He wore a rough, silver Iron Man suit—an old Mark model taken from Tony, modified with crude military engineering.
That suit was more precious to him than his own wife.
"You'll give it up yourself."
The leader stepped forward: a blond man in a suit, none other than Aldrich Killian. He placed his palm against the lower abdomen of the armor.
His hand glowed molten red, sizzling heat spreading across the metal. The high temperature seeped into the interior!
Inside, Colonel Rhodes had no choice. The heat was unbearable. He disengaged the suit and crawled out of the cockpit.
He tried to fight back barehanded, but reality crushed his resolve. Killian kicked him flat onto the ground with ease.
War Machine was defeated.
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