"The more I know, the more I feel small. There are so many things in this world that I don't understand yet. I used to be too obsessed with magic to see clearly."
Facing the strange gaze of the Supreme Mage, Mordo openly admitted his shortcomings.
Kama Taiji is a place of natural harmony. Its defense magic doesn't shield against the cold wind and snowflakes, and the continuous cycle of seasons is a characteristic of Earth. At this moment, Mordo's face was slightly pale in the north wind, yet he displayed a composed expression as if he had seen through worldly matters.
"Is this why you're only wearing a T-back, tying yourself up with Setorak's red belt, and hanging from the big tree in the courtyard?" Su Ming's gaze became sharp. He had just returned from the Immortal Palace to witness such an impactful scene: "Also, when talking to me, first spit out the plastic ball in your mouth."
"As you command, Master." Mordo spat out the plastic ball strap from his mouth, revealing a masochistic smile.
Su Ming closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath: "Alright, I want fresh dates. Go pick me two kilograms from the Middle East."
Mordo lifted the magic, freed himself from the tree, and the purple bruises on his body made him look like a zebra, but he was very cheerful: "Your wish will surely come true."
After finishing, he opened a teleportation gate and left.
Seeing the indescribable Mordo leave, Su Ming pinched his brow and walked toward the tea room with his head down. After returning to the low table, he absentmindedly began making tea.
Kama Taiji really doesn't give one a moment of peace. He was only here out of convenience to wait for news from Selene, but he didn't expect to encounter so many things in just a short while.
Indeed, if there's nothing urgent, it's better not to come to this place often.
"Master." Hamill walked into the tea room just in time. In the faint smoke of the incense burner, he returned the cup he had taken from Su Ming earlier.
"What now?" Su Ming touched the teapot, feeling a slightly damp place on the purple clay pot.
"Nothing." Hamill looked at Deathstroke with a worried expression that didn't match his words at all.
How strange, there must be something... But since he doesn't say anything, Su Ming won't be idle enough to find trouble for himself, better to slip away quickly.
So Su Ming waved his hand neatly, not even giving Hamill a chance to speak, and flew away directly: "I'm leaving, keep in touch with Selene. If there are unsolvable problems, don't come to me, go to the Master of Mischief. The dates are all yours."
............
In the following days, as planned, Su Ming reunited with Gin and spent a relaxed time in Hawaii. Every day he would sunbathe on the beach, drink some Powerful Beverage, and at night go to the Spider Web Headquarters to conduct combat training for the Mao Sisters.
Even if he is a Super Soldier, he needs to train regularly to maintain his state. For Deathstroke, this already counts as a leisurely life.
While he was enjoying his little days, Steve and Howard, having arrived secretly in Cuba, were being hunted down.
Although Steve retired, Captain America's connections in the military remained. Despite some people despising him after this time, there are still those who believe that it wasn't Captain America himself who did those things.
So his infiltration into Cuba went relatively smoothly. However, Steve's blonde hair and blue eyes made finding Howard quite a task.
Fortunately, with a reminder from his military friends, he changed out of the Star-Spangled Banner Uniform, preventing too much commotion and found out where the most wildlife was in Cuba.
As a Caribbean nation, Cuba doesn't have many large predators in the wild, nothing more than small animals like spiders, bats, and poisonous snakes. But for someone like Howard, encountering guerrillas in the rainforest would be nearly fatal.
However, when Howard was found a few days later, he was leisurely chatting and laughing with a group of 'beekeepers,' even holding a jungle BBQ deep in the rainforest.
"Hey, Steve, who would've thought it'd be you looking for me." Howard, holding up a grilled fish, smiled and waved to Steve, motioning him to stop hiding behind the tree and join in the fun.
Steve wasn't as carefree as Howard. The group dressed in garish yellow hazmat suits, styled as beekeepers, gave off an unusual vibe.
The so-called BBQ party had Howard as the only one eating, while the others surrounded him with notebooks of various sizes, seemingly taking constant notes.
The sound of pencils rapidly moving on paper filled the air.
He gestured to Howard from behind the tree, but unexpectedly, Howard sold him out directly, forcing Steve to approach the group cautiously, holding his shield.
"Don't worry, Steve, they're all science enthusiasts. Science has no borders, and we get along well." Howard smiled, taking a big bite of the grilled fish.
Steve shook his head, remaining vigilant as he used his shield to cover Howard behind him: "Scientists do have borders. Do they know you're American?"
"Of course, Captain America, Dr. Howard Stark's name is also very familiar to us." The lead figure in red among the beekeepers stood up, closing his notebook: "Dr. Stark's research in physics commands respect from us. We all hold him in high regard."
Howard's pride was so evident that his mustache curled up. Who would've thought that in the depths of the rainforest, when at his wit's end, scientific knowledge could also help him live well?
Moreover, these people really respect him, treating him like a god each day, with all essentials provided.
They all possess a fearless spirit of exploration, with a thirst for scientific knowledge surpassing anyone Howard has ever seen.
Howard, who loves to be a mentor, is constantly showered with false praises and enjoys it tremendously. If it weren't for the absence of women here, he might even consider staying with these scientists deep in the rainforest.
Even though these people dress like beekeepers every day, he hasn't seen their real faces yet. But Howard has met enough masked people, what's a few hundred more?
So, when he is happy from all the flattery, he casually advises them on some scientific research problems. These people seem to be researching some cosmic energy project here, trying to create a clean energy.
Steve slapped away Howard's grilled fish, pulling him back continuously: "Well, now I'm taking him home."
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Our experiment is at a critical stage, Dr. Stark can't leave, it's for all of humanity," said the red beekeeper. Suddenly, the seemingly ordinary trees around cracked open, revealing small machine guns aimed at Steve and Howard.
"Wait, don't fight, there's no need to get violent." Howard stepped in between them with a smile to mediate: "Aren't we friends? Anything can be solved through communication."
"You're right." Although the red beekeeper's expression couldn't be seen, approval could be heard in the dull voice, and then he pulled out a notebook: "So, can Dr. Stark continue explaining the new elements in the cosmos?"
"That's not a problem, but I always forget to ask, what do you plan to create to benefit humanity?" Howard nodded with a smile, thinking there's time to return home after the lecture.
"An artificial Cosmic Rubik's Cube." The beekeeper replied frankly, gesturing for Howard to start speaking with the notebook in hand.
"Yikes!" Howard instantly twisted his face away, grimacing at Steve behind him, mouthing repeatedly: "Hydra, Hydra!"
Speaking of the Cosmic Rubik's Cube, Howard immediately remembered the power of that troublesome thing in Red Skull's hands, although it seemingly fell into the sea later. Why are these people not following the script? When did Hydra change uniforms?
And they're still thinking about the Cube thing. How is this benefiting humanity?!
In reality, these people have no idea that what crashed with the plane was not the Cube but the Tesseract, a completely different kind of thing, and it's currently at Kama Taiji.
Steve signaled with a look, subtly moved to Howard's side, discreetly shielding him, and asked the people: "Who are you?"
"Oh? Can't Captain America recognize us? Let's say, we were once scientists of Hydra, but not anymore. Our wisdom and ability shouldn't be limited to serving one country, we yearn for freedom and the power of technology, so after the war, we established AIM, 'Pioneer Technology'."
The leading scientist answered calmly, displaying no fear despite the intimidating reputation of Captain America.
"Traitors of Hydra... Tell me what you plan to do with the Cosmic Rubik's Cube?" Steve secretly memorized the positions of those machine guns, planning an escape route.
"Of course, it's to create infinite energy. You've experienced the Cosmic Rubik's Cube's performance in World War II, haven't you? Weaponizing cosmic energy batteries is just an initial application; our current goal is to create inexhaustible infinite energy for all humanity..." the beekeeper leader stated.
Howard peeked out from behind Steve, whispering in the captain's ear: "Sounds pretty good."
But the opposing leader immediately continued: "Thus, when everyone on Earth relies on our energy, we can rule the world."
"They're even crazier than Hydra!" Howard grimaced again, these people are crazier than Hydra!
Steve suddenly acted, punching the leader, knowing that those machine guns should be remote-controlled, and the controller is likely in the leader's possession. Knocking him down would give them a chance to escape into the jungle.
A swing of his fist, a flick of his shield, the star-spangled circular shield bounced between the trees like a pinball, causing a group of people to be thrown into chaos.
Steve caught the shield, nudged Howard: "Run!"
The two turned and ran into the forest, with bullets behind them all blocked by Steve's shield. He moved swiftly through the terrain, covering Howard in retreat.
They hadn't run far when the others pursued them on a special single-person vehicle. These vehicles resembled motorcycles but had no wheels, relying only on a large leather nozzle to jet towards the ground, using recoil to traverse the complex jungle terrain effortlessly.
Howard had already switched his shoes to anti-gravity mode, managing to escape and still having the time to critique the new vehicles behind him: "This is the recent miniaturized hovercraft technology from Fur Bear. Could it be sold to these people?"
"Stop thinking about that! You've been with them so long and didn't notice their issues, what on earth were you thinking?!" Steve pulled out a gun and fired backward. He originally came to Cuba for a rescue and didn't plan to kill.
But now, if he doesn't kill, they'll be killed; there's nothing wrong with killing!
"Seems not all scientists are good people."
Howard refused to take the blame; it's not his fault, it's the world's fault!
Science should be clean, has it degenerated to this because of him?
"Not even all Americans are good!" Steve answered without hesitation, his ears moved slightly. Amid the noise of hovercrafts and gunfire, he heard the distant sound of a waterfall: "Can you dive? Let's head that way!"