The Great Demon Lord of the American Comics World

Chapter 83, The Fantastic Four are about to debut!
Gwen ran all the way here.

Wearing a sports vest and stretchy shorts, she ran from her home across most of the forest hills to Li Xingzhou's house, which was almost diagonally opposite, in less than five minutes, without even breaking a sweat.

At the same time she arrived, a yellow Chevrolet Camaro pulled up in front of Li Xingzhou's house, and a petite young girl got out, wearing a blazer, pencil skirt, black stockings, high heels, and blue-rimmed glasses.

Looking at the young girl's sweet face, Gwen secretly curled her lips, thinking to herself that she was just as expected. The playboy's secretary was indeed the type who did the work when there was nothing to do.

Seeing the pretty young woman carrying a bag of groceries heading towards the gate of Li Xingzhou's villa, Gwen ran over and greeted her.
"Hi, good morning."

"Hello……"

Emma stopped and looked at Gwen, a sweet smile on her face, but inwardly she felt a habitual pang of jealousy over Gwen's height—well, Emma was indeed too petite. Even though Gwen's height of 168 cm was already considered petite compared to Selena (173 cm), Iriana (177 cm), and Mariko (177 cm), Emma was only 158 cm tall…

Furthermore, Gwen is not only 10 centimeters taller than Emma, ​​but her proportions are also amazing.

Emma was envious of the waist-to-hip ratio, the shoulder-to-hip ratio, the round and firm breasts outlined by the tight sports vest, and the perfectly curved peach buttocks wrapped in elastic shorts. She couldn't help but wonder if such a perfect figure, like that of a cartoon character, could really be achieved through exercise.

Gwen was unaware of the richness of Emma's inner thoughts; she only felt the air around her suddenly turn cold.

Her keen spider-like senses allowed her to instantly perceive that the chill emanating from the sweet-smiling girl opposite her.

Gwen didn't understand why the other person suddenly seemed so hostile. Kind-hearted and not one to easily assume the worst of people, she assumed the other person was simply instinctively wary of overly enthusiastic strangers. She immediately offered a friendly smile and explained:
“I am Gwen Stacy, a friend of Leonardo DiCaprio, and I am here at his invitation.”

Why would someone dress like this to visit so early in the morning?
You and the boss are definitely having an affair!
Emma keenly sensed the underlying issue, but then she thought that this was at least much better than waking up in the Boss's bed early in the morning.

Emma suppressed her jealousy and maintained a polite smile:
“So you’re a friend of the Boss. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Emma Grossman, the Boss’s secretary. I’m here to bring him breakfast and pick him up to go to the office.”

The two shook hands, which marked their introduction, and then chatted casually as they entered Li Xingzhou's yard. They arrived at the villa gate and rang the doorbell.

Soon, Li Xingzhou came to open the door and saw Gwen and Emma standing side by side outside. He smiled and said:
"It seems you two already know each other. Come in."

He welcomed them through the door and noticed that Gwen was dressed in sportswear with a few beads of sweat on her forehead, so he asked her:
"Want to take a shower?"

Gwen refused, saying, "There's no need. I'm not actually sweating."

"Let's have breakfast together."

Gwen and Emma entered the restaurant, and the three of them shared the breakfast that Emma had brought.

During the meal, Li Xingzhou asked Gwen:
"What are your plans for today?"

Gwen shrugged:

"Enjoying the holiday, doing nothing."

"How about visiting my company?"

"Your disciplinary company is really up and running?"

"Yes. We have successfully taken over Rex Island prison."

"Congratulations. I've heard that Rex Island prison holds many serious offenders?"

"Yes, there are many violent criminals, including serial killers who have committed a dozen or even dozens of murders."

Gwen asked curiously, "Would those kinds of bad guys be obedient in prison?"

Li Xingzhou smiled and said lightly, "They are actually very well-behaved."

Of course, I was naughty before.

However, ever since he took over the prison, arranged for vampires to be prison guards, and the Sand Angels also resided there, and Emma occasionally went over to exchange killing tips with them, they gradually began to behave.

After Li Xingzhou moved the "Blood Sea Array," which was beginning to take shape, to the prison, he absorbed their excessive blood, energy, and negative emotions day and night, and began to reform them through various forms of physical labor. Even the most vicious killers have gradually calmed down recently.

They're not exactly as docile as sheep, but they certainly don't have the physical strength or energy to cause trouble anymore.

After breakfast, Li Xingzhou took Gwen and Emma on a tour of his villa. Although Gwen had come last night, she had only stayed in his bedroom to heal her wounds and exercise, and hadn't really had a proper look around his house.

During the tour of the study, Gwen noticed a piano covered by a screen in the corner and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"You can play the piano?"

Li Xingzhou smiled and nodded:
"know a little."

He originally didn't know how to play—having been reincarnated nine times, he had naturally accumulated many talents. In terms of musical instruments, he was proficient in various instruments such as the erhu, flute, xiao, guqin, and drum, but he just didn't know any Western musical instruments.

There was no way around it; all nine of his transmigrated lives were to martial arts and cultivation worlds with Eastern backgrounds, and not a single one of those worlds had Western musical instruments like the piano.

However, before his awakening, Li Ang had practiced piano since childhood and was a skilled pianist, so Li Xingzhou also learned to play.

"Could you play me a piece? I mean, a piece for me and Emma?"

Gwen is very interested in music and is quite good at playing the drums. She even formed a band with some classmates in high school.

Faced with Gwen's request, Li Xingzhou readily agreed:
"Alright, I'll play a piece for you."

Li Xingzhou lifted the piano cover, opened the front cover, sat down in front of the keys, moved his fingers a few times, tried a few notes to get a feel for the game, and then began to play formally.

As his long, slender fingers danced across the piano keys, melodious music flowed out like clear spring water, causing Gwen and Emma's eyes to light up simultaneously, their breathing unconsciously becoming softer, as if worried that their breathing might disturb his moving music.

Although he was only playing a simple piece, "Für Elise," the flowing music contained a wealth of emotions that easily stirred their feelings, making them feel as if they were strolling under the gentle moonlight, listening to a tender and moving love poem.

Before we knew it, this piano piece was coming to an end.

Li Xingzhou played the last note, then turned his head and smiled at Gwen and Emma:
"How about it?"

"Boss is absolutely the most amazing pianist I've ever met!" Emma praised without reservation.

Gwen also gave it high praise:
"With just this piece, Für Elise... I personally feel that it is already at the level of a world-class piano master. You are fully capable of performing a solo in a concert."

Li Xingzhou laughed heartily:
"You're praising me way too much."

"I'm just telling the truth."

Gwen said with a serious and excited expression:
"One more song?"

Seeing that Gwen and Emma were both full of expectation, Li Xingzhou nodded slightly.

"Then play one more song."

After saying that, his ten fingers began to dance on the piano keys again.

This time, after a slightly gentle prelude, the melody gradually becomes more exciting.

Gwen stared intently at his profile, feeling as if the stirring music had transported her to the raging waves of the sea, where she was sailing the oceans with a valiant captain, battling the storms… When the piece ended, Gwen savored the memory with longing and asked:

"I've never heard this piece before. Did you compose it?"

Li Xingzhou shook his head: "No. I've heard others play it occasionally..."

Emma smiled and said, "Boss is too modest. This is definitely a piece of music that has never been played before. You must have composed it."

Gwen then asked, "What's the name of this piece?"

Li Xingzhou shook his head and didn't offer any further explanation, only answering Gwen's question.

"He was a pirate. The name of this piece is 'He Was a Pirate'."

Okay, he was playing the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean, the song by Captain Jack Sparrow.

And in this world, there is no such movie as Pirates of the Caribbean.

Gwen was fascinated by his piano skills, and even more so by the elegant demeanor he exuded when he played with such focus that it made her heart flutter. She had originally wanted to ask him to play another piece, but at that moment Li Xingzhou's phone suddenly rang.

"What is it?" Li Xingzhou picked up his phone and answered the call from the receptionist at the company headquarters.

“Boss, an auditor from the Internal Revenue Agency has come to visit and says he wants to meet with you to discuss tax issues.”

"An inspector from the Internal Revenue Service?"

Li Xingzhou frowned.

The beautiful Internal Revenue Service is the famous "IRS," commonly known as the National Tax Service.

The IRS is notoriously difficult to deal with, and its investigators are all highly equipped and highly efficient elites. Many gang leaders who were once the FBI had no chance against have ultimately fallen to the IRS for tax evasion.

Therefore, America has a famous saying: "In this world, only death and paying taxes are eternal."

Even many gang leaders firmly believe that it's better to mess with the IRS than to mess with the IRS.

Given the IRS's notorious reputation, Li Xingzhou couldn't help but frown when he heard that IRS agents had come to his door.

Although he wasn't afraid of the IRS, being targeted by this pack of hyenas was bound to cause some trouble.

At the same time, he was also wondering:
My company has only been open for a short time and has no tax issues. How did we attract IRS agents?

Tell them to wait, I'll be there soon.

After replying to the receptionist, Li Xingzhou hung up the phone and gave Gwen an apologetic smile.
"I have some company matters to attend to. I was originally planning to invite you to visit, but now..."

Gwen nodded understandingly. She had also heard "IRS" and knew this was a problem that needed to be dealt with carefully. She smiled and said:
"Then I'll visit your company again sometime."

"Okay." Li Xingzhou gestured to her with a phone sign: "I'll make an appointment with you again when I have time."

After seeing Gwen out, Li Xingzhou got into Emma's Chevrolet Camaro and headed to the MASA headquarters.

As Emma drove, she asked, "Boss, would you like to listen to music or the radio news?"

Li Xingzhou casually said, "Let's listen to the news."

Emma turned on the car radio and tuned it to the news channel of the Huanbao Daily. Soon, a news item caught Li Xingzhou's attention:

"Renowned scientist Reed Richards will lead his team today aboard the space shuttle to outer space for a three-day study of cosmic rays..."

Reed Richards?
Traveling to outer space in a space shuttle to study cosmic rays... and then being irradiated by the rays and turned into a rubber man?

So the Fantastic Four are going to appear too?

I don't know which version of Fantastic Four it is, if it's the older version...

What if the Human Torch looks like Captain America once Captain America is unearthed?
Imagining the scene of the Human Torch and Captain America staring at each other, Li Xingzhou couldn't help but smile with interest.

At that moment, another breaking news report was broadcast:
"At X:X local time in Monaco, renowned inventor, entrepreneur, and superhero Tony Stark was attacked by a terrorist while participating in an F1 race... Notably, the terrorist is suspected of possessing arc reactor technology and has created a rudimentary exoskeleton suit..."

Tony was attacked while racing, and the attacker's situation... sounds like "Whiplash"?
"It's getting more and more lively!"

Li Xingzhou chuckled and sighed, then took out his phone and dialed Tony's number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hey Tony, the news said you were attacked?"

Tony said in a displeased tone:
"Yes, I was attacked. I was happily racing when a madman suddenly drove onto the track and cut my car in two..."

"Then are you injured?"

"It was just some minor injuries."

"Then I can rest assured. By the way, has the attacker been caught? Where are you planning to keep him?"

"Of course I caught the attacker myself. Although I only brought a weakened version of the portable transforming Mark suit when I went to the race, that guy's exoskeleton suit was much more rudimentary, and he was no match for me... As for where to lock him up, that's up to the judge, it has nothing to do with me."

“I see… My Rex Island prison would be happy to take in that attacker. Keep him here, and I guarantee he'll never be able to escape and cause you any more trouble…”

"To be honest, you're after his technology, aren't you?"

"How could that be? I'm a pacifist, I have absolutely no interest in weapons of war..."

After chatting with Tony for a while, Li Xingzhou made another call to His Excellency the Supreme Court:
"Good morning, Your Honor. I am Li Ang. I have something to ask you. Have you heard about the attack on Tony Stark's car?... Yes, the guy who attacked Tony..."

After ending his call with the Grand Justice, Li Xingzhou revealed a pleased smile.

Whiplash is a genius; he can build an arc reactor and a simple exoskeleton armor using extremely rudimentary equipment.

Of course, his creativity is not as good as Tony Stark's. Without a prototype, he cannot design and manufacture the Iron Man suit himself, but even without manufacturing the suit, Whiplash's skills are sufficient.

Although that guy was extremely stubborn and cunning, even outmaneuvering the arms dealer Justin Hammer who wanted to use him, once he fell into Li Xingzhou's hands, Whiple couldn't cause any trouble and could only obediently hand over his knowledge and technology.

Li Xingzhou's good mood lasted until he returned to the company.

Upon returning to MASA's headquarters on the 20th floor of the Yashida Building in Manhattan and meeting the two so-called IRS inspectors, his mood... became even more cheerful.

Because one of the two agents was a dark-skinned, one-eyed man wearing a leather trench coat and exuding a powerful aura.

It was Nick Fury, the director of Snake.net.

(End of this chapter)