After getting beaten up by Esdeath, Blonsky recovered quickly, like nothing had even happened.
After all, he had three separate recovery systems stacked on him: the Extremis Virus, mutant regeneration genes, and the Red Hulk serum. Even Wolverine would probably look tame next to him.
"Boss."
After announcing her presence, Esdeath went off in high spirits to find Zod.
Zod was grilling meat.
As a shut-in with a serious lack of common sense, Zod had basically no real entertainment in his past life, or back on Krypton either.
After all, as a shut-in, he did not know weapon models, did not care about cars, did not care about figures, did not care about PC parts…
Even gaming, he was only mediocre.
After being reborn as a Kryptonian, he might have finally found his one daily routine and favorite pastime: researching weapons and materials.
Krypton, thanks to Zod, gained a lot of advanced weapons.
But now that he had crossed into the Marvel world and regained emotions, Zod found himself not knowing what to do to relax.
Play games?
Crushing everyone felt pointless. As for collecting cars or building computers, he was not that interested.
And then he realized his interests probably boiled down to two things: research, and food.
Speaking of food, Zod had a greedy mouth.
Back in his past life, he barely spent money. He could wear the same clothes for five years without replacing them. But when it came to eating, he could easily spend an extra thousand-plus a month. Extra, meaning that was not even counting normal meals.
A huge slab of beef had been delivered straight from his ranch.
The grill sizzled. A drop of hot fat slid slowly along the meat's plump grain, intoxicating in a way that made your mouth water.
The meat was tempered by charcoal, already overflowing with fragrance. Then it was boosted by pepper salt and spicy sauce, becoming even richer and more flavorful.
Even Esdeath, walking over, could not help shifting her gaze to the more irresistible target: the barbecue.
"Try it."
Zod cut off a small piece with his knife. Inside, the meat was still a bright, fresh red.
Esdeath took it, bit down, and her mouth instantly flooded with heat. Tender, juicy, crisp at the edges, fresh and salty, numbing and spicy. All of it churned and danced on her tongue at once, the deliciousness hitting the very tip of her taste.
Zod could tell from her expression that she was satisfied, but he could not accept meat that was still that underdone.
This was where high-energy electromagnetic waves came in handy. They acted directly inside the thick beef, and the bright red quickly deepened toward brown.
Then Zod tore off a chunk of beef with his bare hand and tossed it into his mouth.
An explosion of texture.
The seasonings were a bit too much for Zod's overly sensitive tongue, so he simply shut off that excessive sense of taste and kept only a normal human level. Instantly, it tasted far better.
He and Esdeath shared the barbecue with absolutely zero dignity. When it was done, Esdeath's hands were greasy, while Zod's hands were completely clean, not a trace of oil.
"Boss, how did you do that?" Esdeath stared at the grease on her hands, genuinely curious about Zod.
"Grease is just molecular structure to me. If I need to, I just break it down at the molecular level," Zod said.
That cleaned more thoroughly than dish soap, hand wash, body wash, even strong tea. It even removed the smell completely.
Then he pulled her hands over.
The grease and colorful seasonings on Esdeath's hands visibly faded at a speed you could see, revealing her original pale skin.
But after the cleaning was done, Esdeath did not let go.
She leaned in and kissed Zod.
Zod was not surprised at all. To him, Esdeath's "sneak attack" was slow enough that he could have gone and finished a can of cola and come back.
"Boss."
Esdeath started getting handsy.
Zod did not refuse. A reasonable amount of entertainment was good for both body and mind.
Two million words later, Esdeath lay sprawled on the bed, feeling like she could not move a single inch.
Zod simply sat at the edge of the bed, drinking an ice-cold Coke.
To Zod's body of steel, a "great battle" with Esdeath only counted as warm-up, even though Esdeath was also Kryptonian.
As for the one with Uld, it did not even count as warm-up. It was just tasting something new.
Esdeath's head rested on Zod's thigh. Zod stroked her hair and cheek, feeling something strangely indescribable.
After all, Esdeath was something he had created with his own hands. Deep down, he knew she was not truly the real Esdeath, and that "bringing her to life" came with distortions in plenty of places.
But at least in this moment, watching Esdeath asleep on his lap, Zod felt genuinely satisfied.
Esdeath could feel Zod's fingers brushing her cheek, her eyelids, her lips. But she was too lazy to open her eyes.
Her whole body felt like it did not belong to her anymore.
She had wanted to conquer Zod in this brand-new territory, only to discover Zod was stronger. He had forced her down, completely worn out.
As expected, a strong person was strong in every way!
She shifted into a more comfortable position, feeling a sense of safety she had never had since childhood.
That growth from girl to woman also changed certain subconscious thoughts in Esdeath.
Zod did not think that far. After Esdeath adjusted into a more comfortable posture, he stopped moving too.
It was already 2001.
Thor's descent was still nine years away. Doctor Stephen Strange going to Kamar-Taj to study was still fifteen years away. And the Ancient One's death would be in 2017, meaning there were still sixteen years before the Ancient One would die and go follow Eternity.
It felt a little long.
Should I use this time to develop into the cosmos?
"No. My current strength has only just brushed the Skyfather level. It's still too dangerous out there in the universe."
Zod shook his head. Setting everything else aside, Gladiator of the Shi'ar Empire alone was already absurd. The key problem was that Zod still had not figured out whether this world was the movie universe or the comics universe.
Originally, he had been sure it was the movie universe.
But Spider-Gwen's appearance left him completely confused.
Otherwise, he would not have gone personally to confirm it. It practically shaved years off his life. Which universe was Spider-Gwen from again?
If Deadpool also turned out to be a woman, that would be a massive problem.
And that was exactly why, even though Zod had already seen Wade in the Inner World fighting tournament, back when Wade still had not become Deadpool, he still ordered the Black Queen to keep a close eye on him.
Then there was the Venom symbiote and Eddie.
Those two had been gaining momentum lately. Even though their appearance was savage and terrifying, it unexpectedly attracted a huge group of fans who loved that brutal look and behavior. The Black Queen, who had been watching them closely, had not found any signs of Venom laying eggs either.
/-\
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