Everything that happened today
without question
made this the most surreal day Tony had experienced in the entire past year.
His solid, invincible iron suit—capable of lifting objects weighing dozens of tons—
had just been effortlessly slammed to the ground by a pair of bare hands.
Even accounting for the possibility of a sneak attack,
it was still utterly unbelievable.
"JARVIS! Activate—"
Tony struggled to lift his head, calling out to JARVIS, trying to bring the weapons system online—
to take down this attacker.
But before he could finish—
A hammer came flying in from the distance and smashed straight into Tony's iron helmet!
The violent concussion sent his eyes rolling back as he blacked out on the spot.
The entire Iron Man suit shut down and collapsed, lifeless.
"Yeah!"
"Did you see that?!"
"Master! I helped you take down your opponent!"
Thor, gripping Mjolnir, clenched his fist in excitement.
Wearing an utterly punchable grin, he waved the hammer in his hand and cheerfully greeted Renjie inside the restaurant.
"How did this guy end up on Earth…?"
Renjie covered his face, speechless, rubbing his temples in pain.
Thor casually hauled Iron Man off the ground and strode into the restaurant with a laugh.
Terrified screams instantly filled the space.
Customers fled in every direction, scrambling toward the exits.
Thor didn't care about the chaos he'd personally caused.
After all, he was the legendary God of Thunder—
and gods were not subject to human law.
The thunder god plopped down beside Little Clark, even reaching out to pinch the child's cheek.
Only then, fully satisfied, did he turn back to Renjie with a radiant grin.
"Master, I've come to train under you again."
That ingratiating smile made Renjie's right eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
"Let me guess why you came to Earth."
Renjie took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, forcing out a dangerous smile.
"Loki ran away?" Renjie asked.
"Mm…" Thor replied.
"You're afraid Father will blame you, so you ran to me instead?" Renjie asked again.
"Mm…" Thor laughed sheepishly.
"You idiot! Do you think I won't punish you?"
Renjie scolded him—and chopped Thor on the head with a swift hand strike!
Thor bared his teeth in pain, but didn't resist.
His purpose this time was to protect his teacher—Renjie.
No one had ever made Loki suffer such a crushing loss before.
Given Loki's personality, retaliation was inevitable.
This was a family matter.
Outsiders shouldn't be dragged into it.
"Then what is this supposed to be? Why did you attack Tony Stark?"
Renjie glared at Iron Man, sprawled on the ground in a deep coma, and angrily demanded an explanation.
"When I arrived, I read Earth's newspapers," Thor said.
"Isn't he your opponent?"
"I helped you deal with him—what's wrong with that?"
Thor asked, genuinely puzzled.
In Asgard, resolving disputes through duels was the fairest—and most efficient—method!
"You solved nothing, you idiot!"
"Is your head just one big lump of muscle?!"
Renjie snapped at Thor.
His good mood for the entire day had been completely ruined by these two idiots.
"Clark, I'll take you somewhere else to play."
"If you stay here any longer, you'll end up just as stupid as him."
Renjie shot Thor a glare, then took Clark's small hand and led him out of the restaurant.
"Hey! Master!"
"I was only trying to… protect you…"
Thor stood up, arms spread wide, shouting after Renjie's retreating back.
But from a corner of the fast-food restaurant, a mocking snicker rang out.
Thor angrily turned his head toward those foolish humans—
only to burst into laughter when he realized it was Android 18 and Android 16, immediately pretending nothing had happened.
Only then did he understand.
Even Android 18—the personal bodyguard—had deliberately kept her distance.
This was private space.
No wonder that normally unflappable Great Sage had been so furious!
...
Under the glow of dusk,
Renjie walked along the wide street, holding Little Clark Kent's hand.
"Father… are they your friends?"
Clark Kent looked up at Renjie's face, curiosity filling his eyes as he asked.
"Not really," Renjie sighed softly, his emotions complicated.
"We've just crossed paths before. That's all."
"But they all seem to care about you a lot."
"Whether it's Iron Man… or the bearded uncle…"
Clark gathered his courage and spoke his thoughts aloud.
Children were sensitive creatures.
He had already sensed it—
how much he resembled his adoptive father,
and the indescribable sense of closeness between them.
Even calling him 'Father' felt natural—
as if it were simply the way things were meant to be.
"The adult world is complicated," Renjie said, gently rubbing Clark's head, resorting to the excuse adults always used.
"You'll understand when you grow up."
At first,
His interactions with them had been purely transactional
to complete events and obtain system rewards.
But the protagonists of these stories were living, breathing people—
not NPCs in a game.
Everything Renjie had done for them,
they had seen.
They had remembered.
That kindness had given them warmth
at their most desperate moments.
And so
To them,
Renjie was an irreplaceable friend.
That was precisely why—
his sudden decision to adopt a child had shocked them so deeply.
"I see…"
Little Clark responded perfunctorily.
His former adoptive parents had once used the same excuse.
Renjie fell silent for a moment, then suddenly stopped.
He crouched down and pulled his adopted son into a tight embrace.
"I wanted to give you an unforgettable surprise before saying this."
"But those two idiots ruined everything."
"Even though this is a bit rushed…"
"But…"
"Clark—welcome to my family."
END OF CHAPTER
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