Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
After finishing the 'Sumire Karaage Roll', Helen Cho had a look of lingering desire on her face. Influenced by the 'Pleasure' effect, she was no longer as agitated as she had been moments before.
"You mentioned earlier that you wanted to study a gem?"
Although Helen had been shocked just now, she had caught Fini's words and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "It can actually help people gain superpowers?"
Fini nodded, then added, "Not everyone. For now, the only ones I can be certain about are those siblings. I can't guarantee anything for anyone else."
A hint of curiosity flickered in Helen's eyes, yet she remained uneasy. She asked again, "Will it really not be dangerous?"
"I'm not certain. That depends on your research."
Fini didn't give a direct guarantee of absolute safety, after all, he wasn't the one conducting the experiment. However, he didn't want Helen to worry either, so he continued, "But there is a high probability that they will be fine. Furthermore, this has been done with their own personal consent."
Upon hearing this, Helen still wore a hesitant expression.
If it weren't for the prestige associated with his identity as the Silver Knight, Helen likely wouldn't be hesitating right now—she would be looking for a way to secretly call the police.
"You will be in charge of the entire experiment. If it truly becomes too dangerous, you can choose to stop!"
Seeing her wavering, Fini drove the point home: "Moreover, once this experiment is completed, I will inject full funding to support your research on the 'Cradle of Life' project."
Helen's eyes instantly lit up with interest. She bit her lip slightly, struggled with the thought for a moment, and then whispered, "I also want to take a photo with you!"
"..."
Fini looked at Helen speechlessly, but he didn't refuse. He nodded readily while cautioning her, "A photo is fine, but you must be extremely careful not to let anyone else see it. There are many bad people looking for me right now."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Though Helen felt a twinge of regret that she couldn't show it off, she nodded like a chick pecking at grain, looking very excited.
Next, Fini installed a sub-program of Jarvis into the laboratory. Seeing such a powerful artificial intelligence, Helen was struck by a fresh wave of amazement.
When she heard it was Tony Stark's exclusive AI butler, her expression shifted to one of "that makes sense." In this field, Tony had always been at the global cutting edge.
Besides helping with the research on the Scepter, Jarvis would also be of immense help to her 'Cradle of Life'. This filled Helen with joy and anticipation; she hoped to finish Fini's experiment quickly so she could return to her own research.
Afterward, Fini brought the Mind Scepter and the Maximoff siblings to the lab, handing over full authority of the facility to Helen.
Once he finished these tasks, Fini let out a long sigh of relief. With the siblings' situation settled, his next priority was to quickly deal with the Tesseract issue.
The Vibranium in Wakanda wouldn't be as easy to settle with money as this laboratory had been.
For the past few days, Fini had been wondering if he should "borrow" the name of that Panther Goddess in secret. He was going to have to deal with her sooner or later anyway; he was just borrowing some Vibranium in her name first.
Additionally, there was the question of what kind of item to forge out of Vibranium to carry the Space Stone. He had no intention of using designs that were difficult to carry, like a scepter or a cube, ever again.
East Africa.
The sweltering weather made Fini, who had just arrived from New York, feel a bit unadjusted.
Fini was flying through the air on the back of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Since he didn't know the hidden location of Wakanda, he had to resort to this simplest method: exploring the region bit by bit.
It was a nation, after all, so it didn't take long before Fini discovered this "super-developed" country hiding under the guise of one of the world's poorest nations.
Wakanda!
Passing through the protective layer of the simulated environment, Fini rode the Blue-Eyes White Dragon into the country. The sight of various buildings constructed with advanced technology made Fini feel a bit out of place at first glance.
"Look! What is that?"
"Heavens, it's a giant dragon!"
"Hurry, report to the King!"
Perhaps his luck wasn't great, but Fini was spotted immediately upon entering. Several people herding livestock on the ground shouted in terror at the sight of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Fini hadn't intended to sneak in anyway. Before coming, he had thought it over and decided to try negotiating first. Thus, he had the Blue-Eyes White Dragon land in an open clearing, quietly waiting for them to send someone over.
Advanced technology brought advanced efficiency. Fini had only been on the ground for a few minutes before several uniquely shaped fighter jets sped toward him. They hovered not far above Fini; perhaps seeing that he made no hostile moves, they didn't open fire immediately.
Soon, a black figure leaped down from a jet. Following that, a group of bald women landed from other aircraft, holding spears and surrounding Fini.
"The Knight of God's Punishment!?"
T'Chaka looked at Fini, who was clad in 'Incursio', and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon resting beside him. Inside the Black Panther suit, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Hello, King T'Chaka!"
Based on the information he had gathered, Fini bowed slightly toward the Black Panther in front of him and offered a greeting.
Hearing Fini accurately call out his name, T'Chaka's body shuddered slightly. This clearly indicated that Fini hadn't stumbled in by accident; he had come here specifically.
"Greetings. May I ask how the Knight of God's Punishment knew of this place?"
T'Chaka didn't know Fini's purpose and didn't dare to start a fight lightly. After all, the whole world knew of Fini's strength. Although Wakanda didn't interact with the world, it didn't mean they didn't monitor outside information.
Therefore, even though T'Chaka was wearing the Black Panther suit and was accompanied by his guard, he still didn't dare to act rashly. The sheer size of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon beside Fini was a massive deterrent on its own.
"It was just a coincidence. I came here simply to see how you, who have always worshipped Bast, are faring. At the same time, if possible, I have a small request."
Fini spoke in a calm tone, carrying an air of "your God and I are friends, I just happened to stop by to visit."
As expected, Fini's words caused a surge of alarm in T'Chaka. He felt both anger at Fini's apparent disrespect toward the Panther Goddess and worry that Fini might actually have some connection to her.
After all, if a lie is told often enough, it can sometimes be mistaken for the truth. Furthermore, people all over the world were claiming Fini was an emissary of the gods, so T'Chaka couldn't help but let his mind wander.
Coupled with the fact that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon beside Fini clearly didn't look like something from Earth, they didn't dare to jump to conclusions before knowing Fini's origins.
"If you don't mind, I would like to invite the Knight of God's Punishment to my palace, so that we may host you properly!"
T'Chaka decided to stabilize Fini first. Judging from Fini's current attitude, he seemed to be asking for something, so T'Chaka planned to assess the situation before making a decision.
"Then I shall trouble you!"
Fini accepted the invitation smoothly. Similarly, he sensed the possibility of a peaceful negotiation from T'Chaka's attitude. Besides, he wasn't exactly lying; he did indeed know Bast—it was just that their relationship might not be that great.
(End of Chapter)