Lu Mingfei doesn't want to be a superhero

Loki gripped his scepter and took a deep breath—although he completely disdained understanding Earth's culture, he had still learned a little of Earth's language for the sake of easier communication.

Humans on Earth are so ill-mannered!

When I become the king of the earth, I will definitely teach you how to worship God.

However, he had more important matters to attend to, so he had to temporarily spare these mortals—he needed to find the Cosmic Cube on Earth and use it to open the gate, allowing the Chitauri army to teleport directly over.

But... where is the Cosmic Cube now?

Loki could only roughly determine that the Tesseract was on the North American continent, but he was a bit clueless about its exact location.

Just as Loki was thinking about how to find information about the Tesseract, a familiar scene caught his attention.

Loki looked up and saw an advertisement screen fixed on the shopping mall displaying a building with a very familiar style—it was an Asgardian-style building.

Immediately, a sinister-looking human appeared on the screen. The human retrieved a box from the building, opened it, and a faint blue light emanated from the box, illuminating his face. A look of excitement appeared on the human's face.

The scene then shifts to the blue glowing cube lying quietly inside the box.

Loki was stunned—this is the Tesseract!

There's no doubt about it; this is definitely the Cosmic Cube, and it was even unearthed from an Asgardian-style building, so there's no doubt about it—such a treasure could not possibly be native to Earth; it would be reasonable for it to have been left behind by Asgard when they left Earth.

That's great! I found the Cosmic Cube as soon as I landed on Earth. Even fate is on my side!

Earthlings, come and welcome your destined king!

Loki was even more excited than Red Skull was in the trailer.

157. Visitors on the Filming Set (Chapter 156)

The filming location for Captain America is located in the northwestern suburbs of Los Angeles, near Universal Studios Hollywood.

This place has been transformed into a high-tech laboratory, with a huge circular device at the center, from which countless pipes extend, connecting to all parts of the laboratory.

On a platform resembling an experimental table on the device, there was an open wooden box, inside which a blue transparent cube was glowing.

While movies strive for realism, just as Steve doesn't know where Hydra found the Tesseract, he also doesn't know the specific process by which Hydra used the Tesseract to research superweapons—to be precise, with Hydra's demise, probably no one in the world knows the details anymore.

Although Steve had once stormed into Hydra's research base, he was not a scientist and did not know much about the technology there. Moreover, he was in the middle of a battle and did not have the extra energy to observe the exterior of the laboratory. Therefore, this part had to be original.

Fortunately, they have a real scientist named Tony here. Tony can simply use his own knowledge to build a decent set, and then arrange a few scientifically sound scenes of researching the Tesseract. That should be enough for making a movie.

The outermost circle of people in the laboratory was filled with various state-of-the-art filming equipment, all neatly arranged. Each unit was in position behind the equipment, aiming at the filming location in the center, waiting only for the actors to be in their makeup before filming could begin.

"Tony, are you sure no one will say the movie is unscientific or too fake after it's made?" Lu Mingfei asked from the side.

Tony, as the director, stood next to the cameraman and turned to look at Lu Mingfei: "Don't worry, no one will say it's fake, because most of the equipment in the lab is genuine."

"The real thing?!" Lu Mingfei's eyes widened as he scanned the lab room. "Holy crap! All of this stuff must be worth almost five hundred million dollars!"

"Pretty much," Tony said casually. "I couldn't find a replica of the particle collider inside, so I just put the one I made before in there. You can't even buy one outside."

The cameraman who was adjusting the camera next to him trembled and almost broke the camera off—he was a top cameraman in the industry and had participated in many big productions. He had seen film crews that invested hundreds of millions of dollars to shoot a movie, but he had never seen a film crew that invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build a set.

The key point is that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this scene will only appear for a maximum of ten minutes in the movie!

And where did you get all this ridiculously expensive scientific equipment?! What lab would be so crazy as to lend this stuff to a film crew?!

“To be precise, you can’t buy one that small,” Dr. Banner said from the side. “Most particle colliders are very large. This is the first time I’ve seen an ion collider that’s miniaturized to fit in a room like Tony’s.”

Dr. Banner was supposed to be on the island Tony had prepared for him, with his supporting roles being digitally composited. However, because he needed to treat Bucky, he was invited to the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital. After discussing it, Lu Mingfei and Tony decided to bring Dr. Banner to the set.

In any case, given his current level of control over the Hulk, there's no need to worry about the Hulk running out and hurting people—after all, the Hulk chained Dr. Banner's Bucky without harming him, only crushing his mechanical arm.

"Wow! Are these the most advanced scientific instruments in the lab? I've never seen anything this advanced in the Osborne Group. Is that a field emission microscope? And that's a multi-functional X-ray diffractometer, right? And a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer! Wait, why is there a circular dichroism chromatograph in a physics lab? Isn't that used in biology labs?" Peter stood next to Lu Mingfei, exclaiming excitedly.

Peter was just a stuntman and didn't have any scenes to film today, but he was a research enthusiast, so Lu Mingfei generously brought him to the lab to broaden his horizons.

Of course, it wasn't entirely about broadening his horizons. Lu Mingfei had a deep understanding of Peter's scientific research talent and ability. If he could bring this genius into Stark Industries after graduation, it would be an absolutely profitable deal!

Tony glanced at Peter, quite fond of this street hero friend of Lu Mingfei, especially since the other party had displayed impressive scientific knowledge. So he offered to explain, "I'll let you in on a secret, I did some research, and some scholars believe that the Cosmic Cube possesses certain biological characteristics..."

"Ahem!" Natasha coughed lightly, walked over with a dark face, and reminded him, "Mr. Stark, please do not disclose information about the Tesseract in public."

And this "some information" you checked, if I'm not mistaken, must have been found by hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database!

"What does it matter? That thing has sunk to the bottom of the sea anyway," Tony said nonchalantly. "If anyone wants to study it, it'll be Atlantis that does, if Atlantis really exists."

Natasha sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Although Fury instructed her to keep a close eye on Tony and prevent him from leaking any important classified information, how could she stop him? Strictly speaking, he's now a major shareholder of S.H.I.E.L.D. and her superior!

She could consider pinning her hopes on Lu Mingfei. If there was anyone in the world who could persuade Tony Stark, besides his girlfriend Pepper Potts, it would probably only be Lu Mingfei.

“Tony, how about we make an art book?” Lu Mingfei suggested. “After the movie is released, we can sell exclusive art books that include biographies of some characters and descriptions of items, such as a brief account of Carter Page’s background, Captain America’s shield, and the design of the Tesseract, etc…”

Natasha covered her face: "Don't reveal these secrets..."

"What secrets could there be? The Cosmic Cube has sunk to the bottom of the sea anyway," Lu Mingfei shrugged.

It didn't sink! It didn't sink! It's right here at S.H.I.E.L.D.! You guys are digging up our secrets! Natasha roared inwardly.

Lu Mingfei glanced at Natasha discreetly—to be honest, he had doubts about the Tesseract sinking to the bottom of the sea. According to Steve, he and the Tesseract sank into the sea one after the other. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to retrieve Captain America, they might be able to retrieve the Tesseract as well.

Of course, this is just his unfounded speculation and cannot prove anything.

"By the way, what about that guy with the electric shock?" Tony asked.

"Electric Boy?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback. "Tony, do you mean Thor?"

Tony nodded.

"Don't let him hear that you gave him that nickname. That guy is a proud god with a head full of muscles and alcohol. He's not as easy to talk to as Peter, who can let you call him Arthropod Boy," Lu Mingfei complained.

"Leaving aside the fact that having a brain full of muscles and alcohol is hardly a characteristic of a god," Peter retorted, "when have I ever accepted a nickname like 'Arthropod Kid'?"

“Ahem, let’s get down to business,” Lu Mingfei coughed lightly. “Saul was here too, but I sent him to the next room because he kept reading his lines and practicing his movements loudly after he arrived. He even said things like, ‘I’ve seen plays in Asgard, and that’s how actors practice backstage.’ It seriously disturbed other people’s work, so I sent him to find a room outside where he wouldn’t bother anyone to practice. It seems his girlfriend was practicing with him too.”

However, it must be said that the proud Thor actually practiced his acting skills repeatedly for a minor role with a few lines, which probably shows that he really cared about this opportunity.

Just as Lu Mingfei and his group were talking, an invisible shadow moved through the crowd, its eyes fixed on Lu Mingfei.

……

158. Chapter 157 Loki: Did I really come to Earth?

Loki remained invisible, gripping his scepter tightly, glaring angrily at Lu Mingfei, his teeth itching with hatred—if it weren't for this mortal who inexplicably came to cause trouble, he would have destroyed Jotunheim long ago and become the true king of Asgard!

Because of this damned mortal, he was exiled by the Father God and wandered in the universe. He even suffered attacks and plunder from other cosmic civilizations—most of whom he killed in retaliation, but there were a few he was too weak and alone to defeat, so he could only escape using illusion magic.

After wandering in the universe for a long time, he came into contact with a mysterious person who claimed to be "Thanos's messenger". The other party proposed to cooperate with him and gave him this scepter that could control people's minds. He promised that as long as he found the Tesseract and opened the portal, the Chitauri army would conquer Earth for him and make him the king of Earth - provided that he would present the Tesseract to the great Thanos afterward.

He had heard of Thanos's reputation; he was known as the cosmic tyrant who brutally ruled and slaughtered the civilizations of countless planets. With his support, conquering Earth would be a piece of cake.

Although he wasn't sure who was stronger, Thanos or his father Odin, Odin had long lost the mindset he once had when conquering the Nine Realms. Even Jotunheim dared to break the alliance and act arrogantly in front of him, unafraid of his retaliation. He even dared to negotiate with a mere mortal mage, which was enough to prove that Odin's ambition had faded. Therefore, he certainly wouldn't go to war with Thanos for the sake of a mere Earth.

As for that bald, mortal mage who dared to mock him...

He admitted that the mage's magical skills were indeed slightly better than his, but mortals are mortals after all. Once the Chitauri army descends upon Earth, she will be nothing more than a stubborn ant. At that time, he will spare the life of that mortal mage and make her his handmaiden to humiliate her, in order to avenge the past!

As for the culprit who ruined his grand plan, the damned mortal who would turn into a giant lizard, he would nail him to the tallest building on Earth and order vultures to devour his entrails, making him repent for his foolishness!

Of course, all of this was predicated on him obtaining the Cosmic Cube—the thing that was placed on the table in the center of the crowd.

Maintaining his invisibility, Loki bypassed the crowd and walked to the box containing the Tesseract, solidifying the glowing blue cube.

To be honest, he was still a little incredulous that he had found the Cosmic Cube so easily and smoothly, and even suspected that it was a trap set for him, and that the box actually contained a fake cube.

But it doesn't matter. The person who gave him the scepter said that the scepter and the Rubik's Cube are connected, and the scepter will change when it gets close to the real Rubik's Cube.

Although Loki hadn't noticed any changes in the scepter since entering the room, he figured it might be because he wasn't close enough, so he simply moved the scepter closer to the Rubik's Cube, making it only a few centimeters away.

The blue light emanating from the scepter immediately brightened.

Excellent! This is the real Cosmic Cube!

Loki immediately became excited, dismissing his earlier suspicion that it was a trap.

Great, now that we've confirmed its authenticity, all we need to do is take the Rubik's Cube away.

Loki's gaze fell on Lu Mingfei, who was talking to Peter—the mortals around him were no threat at all; as long as he killed this mortal who could turn into a lizard, he would be invincible.

As luck would have it, the scepter given to him by the mysterious man not only possessed the special power to control people's minds, but could also emit a powerful energy beam.

Loki had already tested it, and its power was no less than when he used the Spear of Eternity—although his inability to unleash the Spear of Eternity's true power was one reason, it was still enough to prove the scepter's power.

If it were that giant green monster from the Rainbow Bridge Temple, it might have been able to withstand a single blow and survive, but this mortal who can turn into a lizard only has more superpowers or magic; his physical abilities are not at the level of a monster.

This blow will kill you!

Loki pointed his scepter at Lu Mingfei, and blue destructive energy gathered at the tip of the scepter. Because it was difficult to control, the attack range even included another mortal who was talking to Lu Mingfei.

However, Loki didn't care about accidental injuries; he merely glanced at Peter indifferently.

You're just a mortal; blame your bad luck.

However, the next second, just before the scepter was about to be activated after being fully charged, the mortal who was talking to Lu Mingfei suddenly changed his expression and then tackled Lu Mingfei.

Loki didn't have time to change the direction of his attack, so the blue energy beam missed its target, only piercing through the wall.

……

"Mingfei, are you alright?" Peter helped Lu Mingfei up from the ground.

"What happened? Just now... the Cosmic Cube attacked us?" Lu Mingfei looked in the direction of the Cosmic Cube. A blue beam of light had just been released from there. Luckily, Peter had his spider-sense and pounced on him.

"Everyone evacuate!" Tony was the first to react, shouting, "Jarvis, armor!"

“Yes, sir,” Jarvis’s voice came from Tony’s arm.

The surrounding crowd screamed and scattered. Fortunately, in addition to the backstage crew, there were also extras waiting to go on stage to play the laboratory researchers. These extras were all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who immediately guided the crowd to evacuate under Natasha's command.

Lu Mingfei turned to look at Tony, about to ask him what was going on, why his fake Tesseract had suddenly attacked, when he heard Dr. Banner shout, "No, it's not the Tesseract, it's the thing next to it, there's an energy source there!"

As a mage, he has a unique sensitivity to energy sources. He hadn't noticed the burst of energy before, but it became very obvious when it did, so he immediately noticed it.

The crowd was evacuated from the lab almost instantly by the professional evacuation efforts of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but Natasha, who was in charge of the operation, did not leave. Instead, she pulled out a pair of glasses from somewhere, put them on, and then shook her head: "No, I can't see."

Lu Mingfei raised his hand and unleashed a large cloud of ice mist, which almost enveloped the entire laboratory.