The Great Demon Lord of the American Comics World

Chapters 139, 171 and 172: Misunderstanding, I'm really not a world-destroying demon.

The Helicarrier's main dining room was set up like a buffet, and the victorious Avengers were immediately surrounded by cheers and confetti as soon as they entered.

The victory celebration began, and the Avengers enjoyed the treatment of heroes, laughing and talking loudly while surrounded by their crew and drinking heartily.

Reed, Banner, and Tony, three brilliant minds, got together, drinking and talking about topics that ordinary people couldn't understand at all, and occasionally taking photos with the crew members who admired them.

Captain America also rediscovered the feeling he had back in the military, teaming up with his steady and reliable teammate, The Thing, to drink with the crew.

Hawkeye and Black Widow were drinking and chatting in a corner. People who didn't know them might think they were a couple, but who would have thought that Hawkeye was already married and even had a child?

Young and handsome Johnny, with one arm around each of two beautiful young female crew members, loudly recounted the terrifying beasts the Avengers encountered in the Fog Zone. He vividly described the beasts' power and terror, boasting about his fearlessness and bravery in facing them. This caused the two beautiful female crew members to gasp in surprise, their hearts fluttering, and they pressed their entire bodies against him.

"Looks like Johnny's going to have a great night. Hopefully his back can hold up."

Li Xingzhou, holding a glass of wine, smiled and said to Susan beside him.

"So you're envious of Johnny?" Susan asked with a half-smile. "I also saw quite a few beautiful women giving you flirty looks just now, so should I leave for a bit and create an opportunity for you?"

Li Xingzhou chuckled to himself:
"On this ship, is there any beauty more captivating than you? Having you by my side is enough..."

Just then, Nick Fury walked over with a wine glass in his hand: "Want to chat?"

Li Xingzhou could tell what he wanted to say just by looking at his expression, and said to Susan:
“Sorry, I have to go talk to the director about world affairs. Why don’t you go talk to Reed and the other smart guys first? I know you can keep up with them.”

Susan patted his chest lightly and smiled, "Go ahead."

Li Xingzhou followed Nick Fury to a corner of the restaurant and sat down on two single sofas facing each other.

"I have received the battle report from New York. Although many details are still unclear due to the blood mist, we have a general understanding of the situation."

Nick Fury stared at Li Xingzhou with his one eye and slowly said:

"Your power is far greater than what you have shown us. In fact, I was truly terrified when I learned from Thor's confession when he brought Loki to surrender that it was you who defeated Loki and annihilated the alien army."

"I can't understand how you can be in two places at the same time, handling two battles simultaneously, but then again, I don't think that's really important. Because what's truly important is that, if you wanted to, you could do something far more terrifying than an alien army, like wiping out a city..."

Li Xingzhou smiled:

“Nick, there’s no need to be so tense. The fact that I didn’t cover up my actions after creating that blood mist, but instead openly let you know who did it, is enough to prove my stance.”

"Yes, I know you are trying to show us goodwill."

Nick Fury nodded and then said:

"What makes me nervous is that I don't know what someone as powerful as you really wants. If someone has a clear goal, even world domination, it's not too frightening. But if the purpose is unclear, yet you have the ability to overthrow the world, it's bound to make people uneasy. Especially for a paranoid old agent like me, I'm always suspicious. So, Leonardo, can we talk frankly about what you really want?"

"What do I want..."

Li Xingzhou leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the brightly lit restaurant and the handsome men and beautiful women around him, and spoke slowly in a low, almost lamenting tone:
"When people are happy and successful, they should indulge in joy and not let their golden goblets stand empty, facing the moon..."

"?" Nick Fury was completely bewildered and didn't understand.

Li Xingzhou chuckled:
"That's an ancient Chinese poem. When you read it in Chinese, it goes like this: 'When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest; don't let the golden goblet face the moon empty.' Okay, I'll lay my cards on the table. I'm a hedonist."

He winked at Nick Fury:
"Fine wine, beautiful women, delicious food, gorgeous clothes, music, dance, movies, poetry, literature, luxury cars, yachts... I love all of these and want to enjoy them to the fullest. But to enjoy all of this, civilization is necessary."

"So you don't need to worry that I might suddenly have a brain fart and want to destroy the world. That wouldn't do me any good. On the contrary, I hope the world will become more prosperous and continue to produce fresh and interesting entertainment projects so that I will never get tired of them."

Nick Fury couldn't help but ask:
"A strong person like you, don't you have any lofty ideals or anything like that?"

“Of course there is.” Li Xingzhou smiled: “To attain immortality and live forever… In layman’s terms, it means to become a higher form of life and have eternal life.”

"Can mortals really do such a thing? I've heard that even the gods of Asgard cannot live forever."

"That's why I call it an ideal—you understand? It may not be realized, but I'm constantly striving towards it."

"So, in your pursuit of your ideals, will being an ordinary person become your price?"

"Nick, your question is like asking a billionaire if he would steal coins from a beggar's bowl while becoming the world's richest man—Nick, you're insulting me, do you understand?"

"I'm sorry, I was just a little worried..."

“I know you won’t believe my side of the story. But that’s alright.” Li Xingzhou smiled slightly and said leisurely, “I don’t need to prove anything to you. Whether you believe me or not, it won’t affect me. This may sound arrogant, but it’s the truth.”

As a top agent with unfathomable cunning, Nick Fury was naturally not angered by Li Xingzhou's words, which seemed to belittle him. He also knew that Li Xingzhou's words were just the blunt truth, albeit not the most tactful.

Therefore, he simply gave a wry smile and shook his head:

"Yes, for a superman like you who can single-handedly defeat an entire alien army and even launch a counterattack to capture an alien mothership, whether I trust you or not is indeed irrelevant..."

"Don't say that, Nick. You're still a very good person, a good soldier with a strong will. Even if you're suspicious, ruthless, cold-blooded, and heartless, all your actions are for the safety of the Earth and humanity. You've truly dedicated your life to this cause. I admire that."

Li Xingzhou, in turn, comforted him:
"There's an old Chinese saying, 'A promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold.' I can make you a promise: I will never become a madman who destroys the earth and humanity. For a cultivator like me, the most taboo thing is losing control. Do you understand? I'm even more wary of losing control than you are."

If a cultivator loses control, that's called going into demonic possession.

Even demonic cultivators fear this the most.

Nick Fury pondered for a moment, then asked:

"Can I understand that you won't easily harm mortals?"

Li Xingzhou smiled slightly:
"Whoever it is, just don't get in my way. In fact, I've hardly killed anyone in my life, well, I've killed fewer people than the Punisher... Of course, aliens can't be considered human."

“Well, although my paranoia still worries me, your promise at least makes me a little more at ease,” Nick Fury said.

"I'm glad you can relax. Also, you can prepare countermeasures for if I lose control. As a professional agent with important responsibilities, you must be prepared, right? It's okay, just prepare as much as you can, I won't interfere."

"Your confidence makes me feel terrible..."

"There's no way around it, I'll always be this honest and confident."

"One last question for you—you just said that you hope the world will always prosper and become more prosperous so that you will never get tired of it... So, what will you do if one day you get tired of it?"

“Of course…” Li Xingzhou met Nick Fury’s single eye, sensing his tense and heavy emotions, and said solemnly, “To change the world, to change the world…”

Nick's dark face turned somewhat pale:

"This... can I interpret this as the world being destroyed and then reopened?"

"Haha...look how nervous you are."

Li Xingzhou smiled and waved his hand:

"Of course not, I'm not that ruthless. When I say 'change the world,' you should take it literally."

“The literal meaning?” Nick realized. “You mean, go to other worlds?”

Li Xingzhou nodded slightly:
"Whether or not my ideal of attaining immortality and eternal life can be realized, I think I will never stop pursuing novelty. When a world is no longer new and interesting to me, I will naturally go to find a new world."

Nick Fury glanced at Susan, who was chatting with Reed, Banner, and Tony not far away, and whispered:

"As far as I know, you have many lovers... and I also know that you're different from a playboy like Tony; you're very possessive and don't just play around and forget about it..."

Li Xingzhou asked with a smile, "What do you want to say?"

"I'm curious, will you abandon them?"

"Your curiosity is a bit too much." Li Xingzhou shook his head and chuckled. "Sorry, this is my privacy, and I can't satisfy your curiosity."

"Okay, I made a slip of the tongue."

"So, what other topics would you like to discuss with me?"

"The Cosmic Cube..."

"Oh, that's actually Odin's treasure. Odin must have been out of his mind to hide the Tesseract in one of Odin's temples on Earth. After a long period of time, it was found by the Nazis during World War II. Thor asked me for it back, and I brushed him off, but you know, Odin is not someone to mess with, so I'll have to go to Asgard in a while to return the Tesseract."

"...Alright, the Cosmic Cube is yours to handle."

"Are you alright now?"

"It's alright. Oh, by the way, there's something I need to give you..."

He took a stack of slips of paper from his pocket and placed them in Li Xingzhou's hand:
"Some female crew members asked me to give this to you. They were too embarrassed to approach you in person... well, mainly because they were too embarrassed in front of the Invisible Woman."

Li Xingzhou picked up the slips of paper and saw that they were all contact information, even the crew members' room numbers on the mothership. He smiled knowingly and put the slips of paper away.

"Then, continue enjoying your victory celebration. I won't disturb you any longer."

Nick raised his glass, lightly clinked it with Li Xingzhou's, and left with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

After the cocktail party.

Li Xingzhou and Susan went to his private lounge.

"I just heard from the crew that while we were fighting those monsters in the Fog Zone, New York also experienced an alien invasion? I heard the battle was extremely fierce?"

"Yes. New York was invaded by an alien army. Selena, Gwen and the others gathered their Avengers and fought a bloody battle against the alien army. Other city heroes also stepped forward, and the X-Men came to the rescue from Westchester County... In short, it was a very intense battle. Nick was just talking to me about this."

"Why did he want to talk to you alone? I heard the core area of ​​the battle is Stark Tower. Iron Man was furious when he found out and threatened to confront Nick Fury. Normally, if Stark Tower is attacked, Iron Man, no matter where he is, will receive an alarm signal from Stark Industries' corporate satellite immediately. But today, he didn't receive any alarm signal at all. You know, he didn't go into the Fog Zone."

"Perhaps the fog is interfering with the satellite signal? Although Tony didn't enter the fog, he was on its edge. Given how large the fog is, it's possible that it's interfering with the satellite signal."

"That's possible. But Tony thinks Nick Fury interfered with the signal."

"That's understandable, actually. After all, the fog zone is also very dangerous, and if it were allowed to expand, it could develop into a major crisis that could affect the whole world. But fortunately, both sides have been resolved, haven't they?"

"Well, thankfully both sides have been resolved..."

"So now, it's time for us to celebrate."

Li Xingzhou gently embraced Susan, unzipped her battle suit, and released her breasts.

……

At the same time, in New York, at the Water Company.

The man from the motherland awoke from a nightmare, feeling dizzy and exhausted, experiencing a weakness he had never felt before.

"How is this possible? How could I have become so weak?"

His first suspicion was that Vought International had done something to him.

After all, he was a superhuman whom Vought International had nurtured from childhood in their laboratory.

During that long experiment, he himself didn't believe that the Wot Corporation hadn't prepared any effective countermeasures against him.

However, although he harbored rebellious intentions and had long harbored the idea of ​​taking control of the Water Corporation, he had always carefully concealed his thoughts and never revealed them.

So why would the Water Corporation target its top executive for no reason?
"Damn it, what on earth is going on?"

When the man from the motherland raised his hand to touch his forehead, he found it burning hot; he had a high fever.

"That's ridiculous, how could I possibly be sick?"

He felt a little panicked, struggled to get out of bed, and dragged his heavy steps to the bathroom. Just as he was about to turn on the tap, he was startled by his reflection in the mirror.

In the mirror, Homelander's once pure blonde hair was now mottled and streaked with countless white hairs. His temples, in particular, were completely white.

His forehead was now covered with deep wrinkles, and his cheeks were thin and sunken, making him look decades older. "How could this be?"

The man stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the mirror, his expression one of horror and fear.

Just then, the reflection of Homelander in the mirror suddenly gave a strange smile:
"Poor people of the motherland, don't you understand? Someone has harmed you..."

If a reflection in a mirror suddenly laughs and speaks eerily, a normal person's first reaction would be to be startled, thinking they've encountered a ghost.

Homelander was no exception, but just as he showed a hint of shock, he was drawn to the light shining in his own reflection in the mirror. The shock on his face gradually faded, and his eyes became dazed.

Then, looking calmly at his reflection in the mirror, he asked:
"Who made me like this?"

Ah Zu's current expression and tone seemed to indicate that he had grown accustomed to this eerie reflection, or perhaps he had begun to subconsciously ignore the absurdity of the "reflection speaking"—

If Loki saw Homelander now, he would find that Homelander's symptoms were exactly the same as his previous ones.

"The person who harmed you is..."

Before he could finish speaking, a bloody hand suddenly emerged from behind the reflection's head in the mirror, covered the reflection's mouth, and dragged it deep into the mirror.

"?"

Looking at the reflection in the mirror—a face filled with astonishment and horror, hands frantically reaching out for help, only to be dragged away by that blood-red hand—Homelander blinked, his eyes glazed over for a long while.

When he regained consciousness, he had forgotten what had happened before, and stared in horror at his reflection in the mirror, gasping in disbelief:

"WTF? How did I get so old?"

Well, poor Homelander had a massive amount of his life force mercilessly burned by Li Xingzhou to activate a blood-sea array capable of covering the entire Manhattan area. The price was...

The people of our motherland are getting old.

But that's not the most serious problem.

Just as Homelander was shocked and bewildered by his own old age, his door was suddenly flung open, and his assistant Ashley rushed in, exclaiming:
"Homelander, something terrible has happened! Aliens have invaded New York, and many superheroes are fighting back to save the citizens, but none of our Vought International heroes have shown up... Our company phones are ringing off the hook, and our company website and your personal website have been attacked. Everyone is asking you where you were when this happened! Tens of thousands of people have already left messages saying they're unfollowing us!"

Upon hearing this, the man from the motherland felt dizzy and nearly fainted.

However, upon catching a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, Homelander's usually not-so-skilled brain suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and he came up with a perfect excuse.

"Ashley, can't you see what I look like now? Do you know why I've become like this?"

"The father of the nation said sternly."

Ashley then realized that Homelander had actually aged, and she was immediately shocked and pale.
"Why...why have you aged so much? What happened?"

“Yes, why have I aged so much?” Azu shouted, “Is it possible that this is related to an alien invasion? Tell me, is it possible?”

Ashley, a seasoned PR professional skilled in public relations, quickly grasped Azu's implied meaning. Her mind raced, and she soon came up with an idea:

"Yes, you became like this because of the aliens! The aliens knew you were the strongest superhero in America, and that as long as you existed, their invasion was doomed to fail. So before their massive invasion of New York, the aliens secretly sent an advance team to poison you with some kind of... poison? Yes, they used a special alien toxin on you, poisoning you and imprisoning you."

"No, I can't be poisoned and imprisoned!"

The father stated unequivocally:

“They used a ‘virus’ on me, it’s a kind of…”

Suddenly, an idea inexplicably popped into the mind of the man from the motherland:

"It's a virus that can control other people's minds! Aliens infected me with this virus, trying to turn me into their puppet and make me fight for them. But I withstood the virus's erosion with my iron will, even sacrificing my life to actively activate an immune factor storm, aging myself by decades overnight, to completely eliminate the mind-control virus!"
"After that, I wiped out that alien advance team and destroyed all their viruses, thwarting their plot to spread the virus and control other superheroes..."

Ashley's eyes lit up, and she pointed at Homelander, saying:
"Yes, that's it! If it weren't for your heroic fight in the shadows, all the superheroes in New York would probably have fallen and become puppets controlled by aliens..."

"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and write the press release! Also, find some alien corpses... What? All the corpses have disappeared? Devoured by some terrifying blood shadow? I don't care what method you use, just create a scene of a great battle for me... I'll go to that scene afterward... Also, find the best makeup artist, I don't look miserable enough right now..."

In order to regain popularity and deal with the doubts, Ah Zu decisively began to save himself.

For him, even growing decades older is not as terrible as losing fans and experiencing a decline in his approval rating.

……

time flies.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed since the Battle of Manhattan.

In early November, the New York City mayoral election took place.

Kingpin, who bravely fought aliens and saved citizens in the Battle of Manhattan and made a name for himself, was elected with a high number of votes.

Kingpin's first act after being elected was to heed public opinion and sign a bill submitted by the city council, officially declaring smoking tobacco leaves in designated smoking areas in public places legal. Prior to this, although New York State had passed laws legalizing the possession, smoking, purchase, and transportation of less than 25 grams of tobacco leaves, smoking them in public places was still prohibited.

Now, responding to the strong demands of the citizens of New York and wholeheartedly serving the public, Mayor Kingpin has passed the bill legalizing smoking in designated smoking areas in public places. This represents another solid step forward for New York on the road to democracy and freedom, and the air in New York will become even sweeter in the future.

Of course, there was also a very small number of die-hards who vehemently criticized this law.

For example, a wealthy businessman who likes to wear red ties and has a fondness for blonde, long-legged, chubby beauties denounced this law as destroying a bright and beautiful future.

However, Kim refuted these fallacies with sound and legitimate reasons:

As the mayor elected by the citizens, I must respect the opinions of the majority. What are you, this small group, up to? Do you want to undermine America's democratic traditions?

Besides, New York had just experienced an alien invasion not long ago, in which so many people died. The survivors must find a way to heal their emotional wounds and forget the fear of the alien invasion, right?
What could be more relaxing than a cigarette?
If that's not enough, then have another one.

Teenagers are more emotionally vulnerable and have suffered more severe psychological trauma in this attack, especially those teenagers whose relatives have been injured or even killed. What methods can they use to alleviate their emotional pain?
Federal law states that it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to drink alcohol, regardless of where they are drinking!
Law-abiding teenagers can't numb themselves with alcohol, so what else can they do but smoke tobacco?
This is for the physical and mental health of New York teenagers!
In short, New York became unique in the United States.

In addition, Kingpin also approved a large amount of municipal funding for the postwar reconstruction of New York City. Although it was agreed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Asgard's representative Thor that the cost of postwar reconstruction would be borne by Asgard, New York has plenty of money. Why not take this opportunity to invest more money to do a better job of reconstruction and make the city more beautiful and attractive?

As one of the world's premier international metropolises, the most dazzling ray of light atop the beacon of light, shouldn't we build more luxurious public restrooms, each costing millions of dollars? We need to let tourists from all over the world and immigrants yearning for a beautiful and glorious future truly experience the dignity of New York.
The New York subway has a history of over a hundred years. Kingpin, as a new leader, is bound to make some changes, so he must have invested several hundred million dollars in renovations, right?

Although a few hundred million is a bit low, it's barely enough to install some iron fences, waiting seats, and isolation facilities.

The compensation money from the Palace of Asgard is barely enough for basic repairs, let alone upgrades. The New York City government needs to invest more money to upgrade and beautify the green belts along the roads.

As for contracting various reconstruction projects and being responsible for the supply of building materials, those companies naturally belonged to Kingpin and his allies and partners.

As a mayor responsible to his constituents, Kingpin is unlikely to trust anyone with whom he doesn't know the money.

Who knows if those greedy guys will embezzle it?
It's more reliable to have your own people handle things.

As Kingpin's close ally and partner...

Yes, although Li Xingzhou hasn't switched jobs yet, with his current connections, influence, and strength, Kingpin, who is rough on the outside but incredibly shrewd on the inside, no longer treats him as a subordinate, but as a close partner and ally.

It's worth noting that Li Xingzhou's connections in the judicial system played a significant role in Kingpin's successful election as mayor.

Therefore, Li Xingzhou naturally got a large slice of the pie as well.

He was responsible for supplying luxury public toilets, some costing millions of dollars each.

Li Xingzhou then placed an order directly with a mysterious Eastern power for a reasonable price of $20,000 per room.

Li Xingzhou's construction company also got a significant share of the profits from projects such as the New York subway upgrade, the reconstruction and upgrading of public facilities such as highways, bridges, and green belts, and even some real estate developments.

Now that he had started to make a fortune and was earning more money than he could count, Li Xingzhou's MASA company naturally began to expand.

Because Vought's superhumans performed no well during the alien invasion, and Homelander never participated in the fight, Vought's reputation plummeted, and its stock price crashed.

Although Azu quickly salvaged his image with a series of miraculous moves, and his approval rating rose instead of falling, Vought International still faced widespread criticism—someone filmed Queen Maeve fighting with the superheroes.

Even though Homelander tried her best to prove that it was because she was infected with an alien mind control virus and not because she was colluding with aliens, Vought Corporation was still greatly affected.

Fortunately, Xuanse and Huoche Tou had not officially debuted at the time and were not known to the public; otherwise, the impact would have been even more severe.

Just before Wotech's stock price recovered, Li Xingzhou seized the opportunity to acquire a significant number of Wotech shares and successfully joined the board of directors.

The acquisition went so smoothly, of course, because of Azu's strong support.

Now, Azu has completely become Li Xingzhou's puppet.

Although he did not erase Azu's consciousness, Azu now spends most of his time like a sleepwalker. The Blood Sea Demon Lord secretly controls Azu's body and imprisons the "old ghost from another world" who abandoned Loki and possessed Azu.

As for the identity and origin of that old ghost from another world, Li Xingzhou is slowly exploring while stripping away and devouring his power, and he has already made some progress.

……

It's another early morning.

Li Xingzhou woke up in his own bed. He moved away from the pink legs and jade arms wrapped around him and was about to get up when a pair of slender legs wrapped around his legs again. At the same time, a pair of delicate arms hugged the back of his head and pressed his face against her chest.

Polaris held Li Xingzhou's head with both hands, closed her eyes, and murmured:

"It's a bit swollen, help me..."

Li Xingzhou shook his head helplessly and helped her solve the problem.

At the same time, his other hand embraced Selena's smooth, cool body on the other side.

After a thoroughly enjoyable morning workout.

Li Xingzhou, full of energy and radiant with health, went to the balcony and, facing the rising sun, inhaled and exhaled the purple aura of the morning sun.

After completing my routine morning practice.

Li Xingzhou formed a hand seal, and a beam of spiritual light shot up from his fontanelle, transforming into a tall and straight figure upon landing.

The figure was dressed in black, and his physique, features, and facial features were exactly the same as Li Xingzhou's.

But his gaze was like lightning, and his aura was sharp and incomparably cold, unlike Li Xingzhou's approachable manner. Instead, he exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay, like a divine sword that would cut anyone who got too close.

This figure in black was none other than the second primordial spirit dharma form that Li Xingzhou had condensed.

It has been more than a month since the war ended.

Li Xingzhou had completely refined the life force of the Chitauri and the divine power of Loki that he had devoured. With his cultivation level soaring, he not only developed two more arms from his "three heads and six arms" to perfect the "six arms", but he also mastered the two prerequisite supernatural abilities, "ever-changing" and "size at will".

The primordial spirit dharma image also condensed into a second one.

This second primordial spirit form is named "Heavenly Sword True Lord".

Li Xingzhou once obtained the innate sword bone and peerless sword soul of a nemesis.

Although these two fundamental qualities were not carried over to his next life's physical body due to his demise under the heavenly tribulation, his primordial spirit was still deeply influenced by them, thus possessing unparalleled swordsmanship talent.

Therefore, when condensing his second primordial spirit dharma image, Li Xingzhou chose to use his swordsmanship talent as the foundation, supplemented by his nine lifetimes of swordsmanship attainments, to condense this "Heavenly Sword True Lord".

The sword that Li Xingzhou prepared for Tianjian Zhenjun was none other than Loki's rapier.

This sword possesses a variety of properties, including extreme sharpness, the ability to appear in the void, weakness, paralysis, tearing, and bleeding. It also has super strong elemental energy conduction capabilities. In the hands of the Heavenly Sword True Lord, who specializes in swordsmanship, it will unleash even greater power than Loki.

In addition, the "Second Generation Thousand Machine Umbrella," which can transform into various weapons and launch umbrella ribs to form a sword array, will also be given to Heavenly Sword True Lord for use.

After cultivating his primordial spirit and dharma form for a while, Li Xingzhou sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and with a thought, projected his consciousness into Azu's mind, arriving at the mental illusion created by the Blood Sea Demon Lord.

This is the prison of that "old ghost from another world".

Please give me a monthly ticket!

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(End of this chapter)