I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Depp's consciousness left his body along with his spirit, and he looked at his blue, translucent body, feeling quite amazed.

"This thing seems... kind of like an out-of-body experience."

"According to Taoist descriptions, this would probably be considered a state of Yin spirit, since it is just a void spiritual form that cannot be solidified. Therefore, it certainly cannot be considered a Yang spirit."

Depp, in spirit form, wandered back and forth in the skies above Smallville, observing everyone in the town.

In just a short while, Depp discovered three individuals who had been mutated by Kryptonite.

However, they didn't do anything outrageous, so Depp ignored them.

It must be said that after the astral projection, the feeling of the spirit flying and wandering in the air is completely different from flying with the wind.

This feeling was more carefree; at that moment, Depp felt like the lightest and most agile person in the world.

It requires absolutely no magical abilities or external objects; as long as the thought arises, it can ascend and descend.

Perhaps... when Clark awakens his flight ability in the future, it will be in his current state.

As Depp was thinking this, he suddenly heard a phone ringing.

The system panel then appeared next to Depp in his spirit form, and the sender was Wellen Jones.

Depp thought for a moment, then returned his spirit to his body before leaving the classroom to answer a video call.

In the video, Wellen, whose appearance is becoming increasingly fierce, is wearing a specially made black suit.

The enormous muscles and scales filled the entire suit to the brim.

This can no longer be called a suit-wearing thug; this is a damn suit-wearing thug.

Fortunately, Wellen was well aware that his appearance was indeed a bit frightening, so he specially got a pair of glasses without a prescription and carried them with him at all times.

Otherwise, he was really afraid that he would one day replace the Court of Owls and become the weirdo that parents used to scare their children into going to sleep.

However, Depp didn't find Wellen's appearance scary at all. On the contrary, the fact that Wellen wore glasses reminded Depp of a certain Pokémon.

A green mutated version of the rogue crocodile (￢_￢)

Wellen spoke first, saying, "Reporting to the boss! Eighty percent of the family businesses of the members of the Court of Owls have been acquired by our Depp Group."

"What?" Depp was a little confused for a moment.

Those families own 80 percent of their businesses, which span almost every sector of Gotham City.

This acquisition means that their company can get a share of all the industries in Gotham.

It's the extra-large size!

Depp even had some doubts: did his company really have enough money to acquire all of these?

Although he knew that the Depp Group had been developing very rapidly under Wellen's management, he thought it couldn't be this fast.

This isn't just like taking a plane, this is like taking a rocket!

Wellen seemed to sense Depp's question and said, "Odyswald was a great help with the acquisition."

As the first underling Johnny Depp recruited, Wellen wasn't particularly fond of the others.

Even after Oswald became mayor, Wellen still didn't think much of him.

However, after hearing what Wellen said, Depp finally understood.

It turns out that Oswald had pulled some strings behind the scenes to hand over all those businesses to the Depp Group.

Given this, the acquisition price will likely be very low.

Depp even suspected that the acquisition might have been orchestrated by Oswald.

The Gotham City government may need to provide additional funding to the Depp Group.

Depp had already thought of the reason: the Depp Group, having taken over the businesses of these impoverished families, urgently needed financial support to restore these businesses to their original operating status as soon as possible.

This is to ensure the sustainable development of Gotham City's economy and to address the employment issues of these companies' long-term employees.

Therefore, the Gotham City Treasury Department must allocate funds to the Depp Group to accelerate its recovery and that of its businesses, which would be good for the citizens of Gotham and all sectors of society.

Then, Wellen continued, "Acquiring these properties cost us approximately five billion dollars."

"Fortunately, the Gotham City government proactively applied for an interest-free loan for us for these five billion dollars. And for the next five years, they allocated $1.5 billion annually to the Depp Group as financial assistance to help the Depp Group take over these 'broken companies'."

Upon hearing this, Depp exclaimed, "Good heavens! I was absolutely blown away!"

I have to say, Oswald is a good guy to befriend; he really knows how to share the benefits with his own people!

Based on Oswald's actions alone, Depp thinks he's done a good job as mayor.

For the sake of Gotham City's future, Depp declared that no one is allowed to compete with Oswald for the position of mayor of Gotham City!

I'll beat anyone who tries to steal from me!

After reporting all this, a smug expression appeared on Wellen's face.

Nothing makes me happier than making money for my boss, not even sleeping with Ivy!

Upon seeing this, Depp immediately praised, "Wayne, you truly are someone I have high hopes for! Whether it's combat or business management, you are indeed among the best in the world."

Upon hearing Depp's words, Wellen's green face flushed slightly.

He scratched the scales on the back of his head and said with a sheepish smile, "Don't mention it, it's all thanks to the boss's excellent teaching. By the way, I have a high-level meeting in a bit, so I'll hang up now, boss."

Upon hearing this, Depp waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. Once you're done with this busy period, you should take a good rest and go on a trip with Ivy or something."

Wellen nodded and said, "I'll try to squeeze out some time, but company matters are more important."

Depp pretended to put on a stern face and said with exasperation, "This is not a suggestion, it's an order! Wellen, you'd better spend half a month with Ivy next week and then come back, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Wellen immediately nodded and said, "Understood, boss! You're so good to me!"

"Go to the meeting."

"Okay, boss. Goodbye, boss."

Depp sighed after hanging up the phone.

This guy, Wellen, it's not just a matter of whether he's straight or not.

But that's all I can do to help him; his future is up to him.

However, what Depp didn't know was that Ivy, like Wayne, was a workaholic.

After all, plants are Ivy's lifeblood, and she loves spending every day working in the research institute.

When she heard the order from Wellen, she immediately sighed helplessly.

For Ivy, traveling was nothing compared to studying plants in the research institute.

She even felt it was a burden, especially when traveling and having to deal with so many disgusting people.

Ultimately, after much deliberation, the two decided to take a road trip to a remote, uninhabited rainforest region teeming with various plants and animals.

Back in the classroom, Depp had just sat down, his bottom still warm.

Then I received another message.

However, this message did not come from a human technological product like a telephone, nor did it appear on the system interface; rather, it appeared out of thin air in his mind.

Currently, besides the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, only the gods of Asgard can communicate in this way.

Depp closed his eyes and listened, and sure enough, it was Thor's voice, that goofy guy.

"Depp, I need help, we've been hacked..."

Depp keenly noticed that although Thor's voice was as simple and honest as ever, it was clearly mixed with a hint of sadness and despair.

After calculating the time on his fingers, Depp slammed his fist on the podium: "Holy crap!"

The podium shattered with a crash, leaving the students who were doing their problems completely bewildered.

Depp looked embarrassed, carefully swept up the shattered pieces of the lectern, and said, "I have something to do, I'll go out for a bit. You can continue with your work."

After Depp left the classroom, the students did not complain about why he was so irritable.

Instead, they became even more excited and studied even harder.

In their eyes, this is definitely what Johnny Depp meant by "the power of knowledge"!

Just now, after Depp calculated the time, he immediately knew what had happened.

In the Marvel universe, this timeframe corresponds to the Aether reappearing in the world and possessing Thor's human girlfriend, Jane Foster.

This leads to the resurgence of the Dark Elves, who attempt to reclaim the Aether Particles, merge the Nine Realms, and plunge them into eternal darkness.

And the Ether is the Reality Gem!

Furthermore, judging from Thor's tone just now, as if his mother had just died.

Depp concluded that the current timeline in Asgard is most likely the time when the Dark Elves first invaded Asgard after their resurgence.

Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, led his forces to Asgard in an attempt to seize the Aether from Jane Foster.

Thor's mother, Frigga, was stabbed to death after she tricked Malekith.

In other words, Thor really did lose his mother!

Depp touched the left side of his suit trousers to confirm that something was still there.

Depp, too lazy to close his eyes and meditate, directly replied to Thor using the system: "Wait for me, I'll be there soon!"

Depp then immediately used the Marvel travel time he had gained earlier when introducing the bug and the mother-eating bug.

"Confirmed use of Marvel's one-week travel time, landing location: Asgard!"

The next moment, a purple mist flashed by, and Depp appeared in some unknown little place in Asgard. Fortunately, the temple where Odin and the others were located was within sight.

Half a day has passed since the dark elves' invasion.

Night had fallen, and Depp looked up to see Asgard in ruins.

Everywhere were still ruins and thick smoke billowing.

Countless wrecked aircraft lay scattered across the land, and the corpses of Asgardian soldiers and dark elf minions littered the entire city.

The distant temple was also in a state of ruin with exposed bricks and stones, clearly indicating that the Asgardians had been caught off guard by the sudden attack of the dark elf fleet.

Furthermore, the scale and intensity of the battles here are far greater than those depicted in the movies.

Looking at the golden protective shield rising again in the distance, Depp sighed, controlled the surrounding airflow, and flew towards the distant temple.