Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"I didn't raise my daughters to fall into a trap..."

“You didn’t raise us at all.”

As Natasha spoke, she ran her finger across the kitchen counter to turn on the tap and confirm that water was flowing. This basic method was enough to determine whether this was a permanent residence.

"If you hesitate, you won't see us again. Come on, help me get ready."

Melina handed Natasha a pile of plates, gesturing for her to set the table.

Now it was just Constantine alone, casually flipping through the books on the bookshelf between the kitchen and the living room.

Alexei went to the bathroom alone and let out some heavy groans.

The table was quickly set. With a six-hour time difference between Siberia morning and St. Petersburg, which spans three time zones, this meal was a late-night snack.

Constantine was also sitting at the table, waiting for Alexei to come out of the bathroom.

Melina seemed to have anticipated this situation, picking up a wine bottle from the table and pouring a glass for everyone.

"Let's have a drink first."

At that moment, Alexei burst through the bathroom door, wearing his Red Guard uniform.

Melina whistled a long whistle and clapped her hands to show her appreciation for the outfit.

"I've never washed myself even once, come and have a drink!"

Once Alexei sat down, he and Melina began reminiscing about their previous life, each talking about the happiness they had experienced during those three years.

However, this harmonious atmosphere made Natasha feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Alright, Melina. You need to tell me where Drekoff is! Where is the Red House now?"

This attitude displeased Alexei, who, like a father lecturing his daughter, said sternly, "Natasha, this is a time for reunion, oh Melina, you are as beautiful as you were on your wedding day..."

"You too, you've just gained a little weight. But you're still pretty good."

The affection between the two was so palpable that they were practically ready to find a place to lie down and release their pent-up desire.

However, Natasha didn't care about any of that and instead kept pressing Melina for answers.

Melina rubbed her head, clutching her receding hairline, and said, "Natasha, you can't defeat someone who can control minds. You've never seen the pinnacle of our careers!"

With that, Melina took out a tablet and called out to the door, "Alexei, come in."

A black and white striped pig pushed open the door and waddled in from outside.

"You actually named a pig after me!"

Ignoring Alexei's protests, Melina continued her explanation.

"The Northern Research Institute in Ohio that we infiltrated was actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. research institute. They were studying the structure of the human brain and dissected the brain to create the only cellular blueprint of the human basal ganglia!"

With that, Melina gave the pigs a command.

"Alexei, stop breathing!"

Drinking her wine, Melina looked indifferently at the pig lying on the ground and said, "We didn't steal any blueprints for weapons or facilities; we stole the will of humanity. Alright, Alexei, you can breathe now. Go out, and remember to close the door behind you."

The pig that had fallen to the ground shook its head, got up, left the restaurant, and closed the door with its nose in front of everyone.

"Do you know who Drekoff used them on?!"

After finishing her drink, Melina said somewhat dejectedly, "I don't know, that's not the department I'm in charge of!"

Alexei retorted, "How could you not know! You are the invisible Drekoff. You are his architect!"

"If I were an architect, you would be his partner! You would be his business associate!"

What was originally a harmonious dining table instantly turned into a battlefield for the couple's argument.

Seeing this, Constantine did not stay at the table and went outside.

Not long after, Natasha also came out.

"Let's go back. I don't want to get involved in this anymore!"

"Are you sure? Melina came to us..."

Looking up in confusion, Natasha turned to Constantine, hoping for an explanation.

"Will quest items be left behind after the battle in the Red House is discovered?"

"No, no, we usually kill all the witnesses. The mission has a safety net; if it fails, the safety net will activate, and all the Black Widows will die."

Constantine, unaware of what was going on, explained to Natasha, "So! I discovered the Red Room's operation. Not only did they not commit suicide, they left crucial clues for you, a former member, to discover..."

However, Natasha tried to convince herself and Constantine that none of this was Melina's plan: "But how does this make sense? She works for Drekoff!"

"Perhaps she wasn't doing it willingly? You heard it yourself, Drekoff used manipulation to control everyone. And you've forgotten the most important point."

"what?"

Constantine smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste of the meal he had just eaten.

"How long did it take to cook? From the time we found the red house to finding Alexei and getting here, how long was it all? Melina even prepared my dinner in advance according to the number of people; she took me into account too..."

Those involved are often blinded, while bystanders see things clearly. With Constantine's prompting, Natasha also noticed this discrepancy.

"But why didn't she just say it directly? She found us?"

Under the dim light of night, Constantine pointed to the surroundings: "Remember those controlled pigs? What kind of laboratory do you think would conduct experiments in such rudimentary conditions? Or do you really think the subjects were those pigs? Why couldn't it be Melina herself?"

At this point, Natasha understood what Constantine meant: Melina was using herself as a test subject to escape Drekoff's control.

However, under Drekoff's prolonged manipulation, Melina seemed to lack confidence in herself. This perhaps explains why Melina was so easily persuaded by Natasha in the film.

Having figured it out, Natasha prepared to ask Melina about her plan, but as soon as she opened the door, she turned back.

When couples argue, they often end up going to two extremes. Melina and Alexei, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, naturally went to the extreme of "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Hearing the sounds coming from inside the house, Natasha and Constantine inevitably felt embarrassed.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds inside the room finally stopped, and Melina opened the door, preparing to go out and search for the missing Natasha.

Inside the house, Constantine smelled the benzaldehyde odor emanating from heather flowers.

With a wave of his hand, all the windows of the house opened instantly, followed by a gentle breeze that carried away the smells from the room.

The awkward smell was gone, and the room returned to its previous atmosphere.

Natasha and Melina were washing dishes in the kitchen, talking about something.

Alexei then secretly approached Constantine and whispered, "Do you have any special way to get me back to my previous figure? Perhaps something better. Melina thinks I'm too fat now."

Constantine, who had never considered a weight loss career, looked at Alexei and said, "I can burn you down to your skeleton first, and then reshape your body. You can design your own body shape as you like..."

Hearing this method, Alexei stepped back slightly, distancing himself from Constantine. But unwilling to give up, he eagerly asked, "Can that place be designed too? There are no bones there..."

"Where? What bone?"

Melina stood behind Alexei and asked the question that had just been asked.

A nervous Alexei rubbed the sweat from his palms on his trousers and said, "It's nothing, just curiosity, nothing more."

Without pressing further, Melina approached Constantine and asked, "Can your portal span continents? I'll provide a location; could you open it precisely?"

Constantine understood that the place Melina was referring to must be the aerial fortress of the Red House.

But Constantine shook his head and said, "If it were a place on Earth, I could. But this place must be synchronized with Earth and remain stationary; otherwise, the portal will simply shred the surrounding area."

Constantine's superfluous explanation made Melina turn and give him a serious look, but Constantine remained as indifferent as ever, smoking and ignoring everything else.

"Never mind then, I've already notified the Red House, they'll be here soon..."

Alexei looked at Melina in disbelief, trying to step forward to ask her what was wrong, and he reached out to Constantine beside him, intending to call him over.

However, Alexei's hand came up empty; Constantine had vanished without a trace.

"What about others?"

As Alexei wondered what was happening, the roar of a turbine engine came from outside the window, and a searchlight shone in from the window.

The window was smashed, and several tranquilizer darts hit Alexei.

Pulling out the tranquilizer darts from his body, Alexei shouted outside, "You think this will be enough to deal with the Red Guards!"

Then, more tranquilizer darts riddled Alexei's chest with red welts, and he collapsed powerlessly amidst screams.

Melina stared at everything before her, motionless, waiting for the operatives outside to carry Alexei away.

Meanwhile, Natasha encountered her former sister, Yelena.

Chapter 204: The Red House

"I never expected to meet you like this, Yelena!"

Natasha and Yelena were pointing guns at each other, their gestures and body postures exactly the same.

However, Yelena now lacks her own will; she is merely a tool of the Red House.

Yelena pulled the trigger first, but Natasha acted first, and the bullet shattered the cabinet behind Natasha.

Sliding out of the kitchen, Natasha braced herself against the opposite wall, twisted her body, and kicked Yelena in the ankle as she chased after her.

Attacked, Yelena fell to the ground, her gun falling to the side. Natasha leaped up, landing on top of Yelena, and punched her.

For some reason, Natasha's fist did not land directly on Yelena's head; instead, it was blocked by Yelena's arms, which were in a defensive stance.

At this moment, the other members of the Red House team rushed over from outside and fired a stun gun at Natasha, causing her to convulse and collapse onto Yelena.

At this point, everyone was captured, except for Constantine, who had long since disappeared.

The Red House's mode of transportation is an aircraft with a distinctly Soviet style. Its exterior is made of stainless steel, and it is powered by four turbofan engines with vectoring ducts, allowing it to take off and land vertically.

Melina piloted the plane, while Natasha and Alexei were securely strapped into their seats.

However, in the cockpit, where there were originally two pilots, only Melina was in control of the aircraft. Her co-pilot had initially intended to come over, but then seemed to remember something and turned away.

Melina looked at the empty other side and seemed to smell the cigarettes that Constantine used to smoke.

Sure enough, in the dim light of the cockpit, a cloud of bluish smoke suddenly emerged from the air.

Turning around, Melina secretly glanced at the security personnel accompanying the plane and whispered to the person next to her, "Be careful, don't let them spot you."

However, another cloud of blue smoke appeared, this time condensing and refusing to disperse, neatly arranging in the air to form the words 'They can't find it'.