"Hey, Mike. I heard you finally showed up to class today."
Just as Caroline was waiting for Mike's response, Lisa, the campus queen bee, strolled into the parking lot, dressed in a fresh, stylish outfit and wearing a picture-perfect smile.
The moment she arrived, she walked right up to Mike with an air of complete familiarity. As she passed the Channing heiress, she made sure to shoot her a deeply provocative glare.
"Wow, is this your new car? It looks amazing. Mind if I hop in and see how it feels?"
At the same time, Lisa noticed the luxury sports car parked right behind Mike.
With his ridiculously good looks and what was clearly substantial wealth, Mike was undeniably the highest-quality guy her age Lisa had ever encountered.
Of course, his looks played the biggest part—humans are visual creatures, after all.
And that was exactly why Lisa was in such a rush to spread rumors, desperate to lock down an "official" relationship status with Mike as quickly as possible.
"Sorry, there's no room for you in this car."
Mike slightly sidestepped her attempt to grab his arm and shook his head.
Thanks to his [Eavesdropping on Women's Hearts] ability, he had heard a whole lot of ugly things swirling around in her mind: rampant materialism, desperate vanity, and petty, calculating schemes.
The only thing completely missing from her thoughts was anything remotely resembling "sincerity."
Right at that moment, Needy—who had already decided she absolutely despised Lisa's fake, overly-friendly act—stepped forward with an icy, expressionless face. She planted herself squarely between Mike and the "harassing" girl, physically cutting her off.
The dynamic in the group instantly shifted:
Excluding Caroline, who was happily watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, Lisa had immediately been boxed out and reduced to an "outsider."
Refusing to go down without a fight, Lisa instantly morphed her expression into one of deep "grievance," looking at Mike with wide, pitiful eyes.
She was clearly trying to trigger a man's natural protective instincts.
You had to give it to her: becoming the undisputed campus queen bee so soon after the semester started proved Lisa had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
It's just a shame she tried them on Mike—especially a Mike equipped with the [Eavesdropping on Women's Hearts] ability.
Every single one of her petty little schemes was completely transparent to him.
"Well, alright then. Whenever a seat opens up in your car, feel free to let me know..."
Faced with Mike's cold reception, Lisa still wasn't ready to give up on such an impossibly high-quality catch.
Before leaving, she flashed a suggestive look and dropped a double entendre, "I'm very experienced when it comes to riding~"
...
"Was there something else you needed?"
After watching Lisa walk away, Mike turned his attention back to the Channing heiress.
"Uh, no..."
Having thoroughly enjoyed the show, Caroline suddenly flashed a sweet smile and threw out an impromptu invitation. "I'm hosting a private party this weekend. I was wondering if you were free?"
Growing up in an ivory tower, Caroline had been incredibly sheltered by her father. Lacking basic street smarts and social cunning, practically every thought she had was written plainly on her face.
Mike had absolutely zero doubts that the "private" party the girl mentioned would ultimately end up consisting of exactly two people.
The truth was, she was just another girl lusting after his body.
But compared to Lisa, Caroline's intentions were much simpler and lacked any real malice.
"We'll see how it goes!"
Mike replied. "If I'm free that day, I'll give you a heads-up beforehand."
Armed with the [Eavesdropping on Women's Hearts] ability, Mike never had to worry about getting played by a woman.
His core philosophy was simple: never pass up a good girl.
"Okay! It's a date, then~"
Despite the man's slightly dismissive attitude, Caroline was still thrilled.
After all, happiness is all relative...
...
After spending another two days on campus, Mike received a mission briefing call from MIB headquarters during his lunch break on Thursday.
According to Agent Z, a highly "dangerous" individual dubbed the [Green-Faced Bandit] had recently appeared near Broadway.
This individual possessed bizarre [Transformation] abilities, was completely impervious to bullets and blades, and displayed incredibly erratic behavior.
The very first time this weirdo appeared, he completely dismantled a gang of street thugs in the Broadway district, acting very much like a "superhero."
Up to that point, there wasn't much of an issue.
But immediately afterward, the guy turned around, used his superpowers to completely clean out a bank on Broadway, and firmly cemented his status as a [Bandit].
Talk about a massive pivot in character!
"Based on preliminary intel from the FBI, the true identity of the [Green-Faced Bandit] is highly likely a low-level clerk at the Broadway bank named Stanley..."
After outlining the [Bandit's] basic profile, Agent Z got to the main point: "Given the nature of his transformation abilities, MIB headquarters suspects he may have gotten his hands on the Mask of Loki, the God of Mischief..."
"If that turns out to be true, your mission is to retrieve that mask."
According to available historical texts, the evil god Loki was also known as the God of Mischief. His greatest power was his ability to corrupt minds and heavily amplify humanity's darkest desires—including the desire to kill.
So far, the [Green-Faced Bandit] hadn't actually harmed any innocent people. But if his powers truly came from the [Mask of Loki]...
It was only a matter of time before the mask twisted him into a bloodthirsty demon that only knew how to kill.
This was exactly what MIB headquarters feared the most.
"Listen closely, Agent M. The Mask of Loki possesses the power to bewitch the mind. It subtly compells whoever finds it to put it on their face without even realizing it..."
Because this involved an evil god, Agent Z made sure to issue a strict warning before ending the call. "So, please exercise extreme caution on this mission. If necessary, request backup from headquarters, or reach out to Father James at the Church."
Here, it's worth noting the distinction between the Christian God system and the Olympian/Norse pantheons.
The Church firmly believed that God, as the supreme deity, was real and required reverence and prayer.
Conversely, they categorized deities like Zeus and Loki as purely fictional mythological figures, requiring absolutely no reverence.
Therefore, having clergy members handle problems caused by these "mythological figures" was actually right up their alley.
"I appreciate the concern. I'll be careful~"
Mike accepted the warning graciously.
At the same time, based on Agent Z's description, Mike had already figured out exactly what was going on with this [Green-Faced Bandit].
He had to admit, even though Stanley was a total nobody whose life was a mess, his core character was actually much "nobler" than most people's.
Suddenly acquiring superpowers, and being actively corrupted by the Mask of Loki, the absolute worst thing he did was casually grab some stacks of cash.
If everything aligned with Mike's guess, Stanley's primary motivation for robbing the bank was simply that another crew was already in the middle of robbing it.
In a twisted, roundabout way, Stanley had essentially stepped in and temporarily protected the bank's money.
...
Having preliminarily determined that Stanley wasn't a massive threat, Mike waited until classes ended for the day. He dropped Paige and Collins back at the mansion first, then took Needy over to the neighboring Broadway district.
By the time Mike and Needy arrived at Stanley's apartment building, the street was already blocked off by a fleet of FBI vehicles.
Clearly, the Broadway bank robbery had drawn the intense focus of the relevant authorities.
"Who's in charge here?"
To skip the hassle, Mike walked right up and flashed his FBI badge.
"Good afternoon, Captain~"
A middle-aged man wearing a Detective Lieutenant badge stepped forward. "I'm Lieutenant Peter Kellaway. I'm leading the operation."
The FBI credentials the MIB had provided Mike didn't list a specific job title; it functioned more like a special-access badge that essentially outranked almost everyone he'd encounter.
It was valid for anyone below the rank of General.
Therefore, even though Mike looked incredibly young, in Detective Kellaway's eyes, he was an absolute "VIP."
"Hello, Lieutenant. What exactly is the objective of your current operation?"
Mike asked directly.
Kellaway quickly gave Mike a full rundown of the situation.
It turned out that security footage from the day of the robbery showed the [Green-Faced Bandit] engaging in a fierce, chaotic shootout with another heavily armed crew.
The [Green-Faced Bandit] was actually the one under attack.
Of course, none of that was the critical detail. The important part was that during the massive firefight, half of the [Green-Faced Bandit's] tie was shot off and left behind at the crime scene.
The FBI had followed that exact piece of evidence straight to Stanley.