Qin Xiao's disguises usually ended in failure, but this time, facing the simple-minded, big, hulking Thor, he easily won his trust.
Especially when Qin Xiao said that when Thor was eight, Loki had turned into a snake, and Thor had picked it up to play—only for it to suddenly revert to its original form and sting him.
Even their mother, Queen Frigga, and Odin himself didn't know about this.
After entering the Marvel era, Qin Xiao had frequently posed as a fortune teller, and eventually partnered with Thor to run a successful divination business.
Incidentally, he also got a little payback for the dog food incident earlier.
"I also know that Loki came to you last night, claiming that Odin is dead. He lied. Your father is just asleep. He doesn't want you to return. You know there can only be one king."
Thor's excitement surged at this. You see, the greatest blow to him wasn't that he couldn't lift Mjolnir—but that Loki had secretly told him yesterday that, because of his recklessness, he had killed their father.
"I know Heimdall is ignoring your call right now. But once you learn to live as an ordinary person and complete your own training, you will regain the powers you lost. Your friends, those three warriors, and your fiancée—Sif, goddess of Earth and Harvest—will come to the mortal world to find you."
"What? I have a fiancée?"
Jane looked flustered and asked Thor loudly.
Although the two hadn't officially started a relationship, ever since they met, there had always been a subtle spark in their eyes.
A quietly brewing tension had formed between them, but before it could blossom, Qin Xiao tore it open.
In truth, Thor had never seriously considered the matter. For over a thousand years, he had regarded Sif as a comrade and brother-in-arms.
Before meeting Jane, he only knew that when he ascended the throne, he would marry Sif—but he had never thought about the specifics.
Qin Xiao's revelation made his heart skip a beat. He panicked for no reason.
"Jane, listen. This is the name my father assigned when I was born. I've always treated her as a sister. I never considered marrying her…"
"You don't need to explain to me. I'm just a mortal. You're the God of Thunder. Your future wife should be a goddess or something. That fits your status."
"She's the goddess of Earth and Harvest!"
Qin Xiao added sharply.
"Exactly. The goddess of Earth and Harvest—she's supposed to be your future wife!"
"And thank you for the reminder!"
Jane picked up the glass of water in front of her and splashed it straight onto Qin Xiao's face.
He spun around angrily.
"What the—why'd you throw water in my face?!"
Qin Xiao felt more aggrieved than Dou E ever did.
"Sorry, Jane, that wasn't intentional. She just… I mean, I have to catch up first, then come back to you. I still have a lot to learn from you."
Thor stammered to Qin Xiao, clearly moved by Jane.
"It's fine, go ahead! Handle your own business first, then come find me. You know where I am, right?"
Qin Xiao wiped his face, resigned, and assumed the posture of a master dealing with the God of Thunder.
The big guy shot him an apologetic glance before hastily running after Jane.
"Damn it, running into you here!"
Fortunately, the system awarded Qin Xiao 500 points for completing a task. He was only 500 points away from unlocking the second-floor mall, which was a small comfort.
After the hulking god left, Qin Xiao muttered to himself and got up to leave.
Before he reached the door, a restaurant waiter blocked him.
"Sir! That table hasn't paid yet! And you broke a glass, so compensation is required!"
"Ugh! Why do I have to run into these idiots now?"
"I don't know them, and I'm not paying. I just said a few words because they looked familiar, but I didn't order anything!"
Qin Xiao felt exasperated and really didn't want to pay.
"Sir, if you refuse, we'll call the police!"
"Fine! I'll pay by card!"
…
He had no idea how Thor would manage to win back his girlfriend.
In any case, by the next afternoon, Qin Xiao hadn't seen the big guy come looking for him.
But he did receive an invitation from Tony.
Tony was always very polite. The invitation came via Stark Industries, inviting Qin Xiao to attend the Stark Expo in New York three days later.
In this world, Stark Industries was undoubtedly a leading tech company, and the Stark Expo was one of the largest technology exhibitions in the world.
The massive exhibition area gathered the latest products from major tech companies worldwide, and the expo lasted an entire year.
Stark Industries chose this time for the expo to showcase their inventions and new energy applications.
Even if they weren't making weapons, they had enough strength to achieve significant technological advancement in other fields.
Since the expo lasted a year, its opening held particular significance for Stark Industries.
In reality, Tony had sent invitations to every member of the Avengers.
But most were real-life agents with little time for the opening ceremony. Bruce Banner still had a military profile, so it wasn't convenient for him to appear.
Qin Xiao wasn't especially interested in the expo's opening ceremony, but he remembered the long-legged beauties dancing with Tony in the movie and felt… a little itchy.
However, given his recent progress with Black Widow, it was best to stay put for now—just in case an opportunity arose to overthrow her.
While Qin Xiao hesitated, Coulson walked in with a serious expression.
"What's going on?"
Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow at his stern demeanor.
"A business card written in Chinese with your name on it!"
Coulson held up a card.
Qin Xiao took it and examined it. It was a plain card, with "Qin Xiao" written in large characters adorned with a dragon and phoenix motif.
Flipping it over, there was an address:
177A Blick Street!
The address looked familiar, so Qin Xiao asked Coulson:
"Do you know where this is?"
"Perhaps you should see this first."
Coulson opened his phone and played a video.
It showed surveillance footage of Thor's hammer. At first, there was nothing around it.
Suddenly, a golden rotating energy ring appeared in the void above the hammer.
As the ring stopped spinning, a portal framed by the energy appeared.
Inside, a business card floated.
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