"Alright, I take back what I said earlier. There really isn't much to see here."
Tony handed an ice cream cone to Strange.
"Everyone who recognizes me wants to point a gun at me. Luckily, I run fast."
Strange took the ice cream cone from Tony but didn't respond. He was carefully examining Ye Li's Mind Scepter— "Is this magic?"
"Maybe it is. In essence, magic is also a form of science."
Ye Li took the scepter back, "Look at it later."
"What's wrong?"
Ye Li took the scepter back. "You can look at it later."
"What's going on?"
Strange had just asked when, from the parade crowd, a white-haired punk-looking teen came striding quickly toward them———
"Stark? Is that really you? I can't believe you actually dared to come here!"
"Oh~ here we go again..."
Tony pointed at Pietro and said, "I can go wherever I want. Are you here for revenge too? Just for that ridiculous reason? I've had enough. You should go after the ones actually using the weapons."
"Tony's anxiety might be flaring up again...."
Strange whispered to Ye Li, "I told you—this kind of 'relaxing getaway' doesn't work."
Ye Li leaned on the scepter, watching the drama. "This kind of problem can only be solved by himself."
Elsewhere, the black-haired girl was glaring at Tony from the corner of her eye, while occasionally glancing over at Ye Li....
Her expression was a little complicated.....
[Are they together...?]
"What did you say? Ridiculous!?"
Hearing Stark's words, Pietro got furious! He took a big step forward, swinging his fist, ready to punch this executioner—
But!
Tony tilted his head and easily dodged, thanks to the combat moves Ye Li had taught him.
At this point in time, Pietro hadn't undergone any experiments yet—he was just a strong, ordinary young man.
"Heh~"
Just as Tony was smugly smiling—
Tap... tap... tap tap!
More people charged out of the protest crowd, all clearly targeting him...
"Shit!"
Outnumbered, Iron Man cursed, hurriedly pressed the summon bracelet for his armor—
But it seemed to be too far away... There was no response.
The outcome was obvious—Stark was pinned in a corner by the enraged mob.....
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Not the face!"
"Ow! You bastard! Why are you pulling my pants?!"
"Alright! I promise I won't come to Sokovia again! Let me go!"
From the sound of it, he was suffering quite a bit.
However, Tony was quite smart—due to the angle, the main one hitting him was Pietro alone.
So, even though he could have dealt with Pietro, he deliberately tangled with him to block the rest of the enraged crowd.
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
Strange, ever the unreliable friend, moved a bit to the side, trying to show that he had nothing to do with this person~
But—he would've been fine staying still. The moment he moved, he attracted the crowd's attention—
"These two are with Stark!"
The ones who couldn't get to Stark shifted their sights—Ye Li and Strange were now their targets of fury.
Strange: "..." 'Should've stayed on the plane. Stark, you bastard.....'
"Li, it's your turn."
Seeing that he was about to get beaten, Stephen quickly hid behind Ye Li—at least this guy had a staff, right...?
'Ah... finally, my turn to shine.'
As the angry civilians rushed over, Ye Li spun the scepter in his hand, wondering how to strike a cool pose while staying lowkey—
"Wait a minute!"
A crisp, feminine voice suddenly rang out at this moment—
As the girl's voice sounded, a cascade of black hair fluttered in front of Ye Li, with a few strands lightly brushing against the wind—tickling his nose slightly.
"They..."
The girl spread her slender arms. The punk rings on her delicate hands added a touch of boldness to her already stunning appearance.
Wanda stood in front of Ye Li, speaking up for him.
"They... he is innocent. Don't trouble him, just go after Stark."
"Wanda! What are you doing?"
The victims of Stark's weapons weren't going to show mercy to this powerless girl—
"Step aside! Or we'll hit you too!"
"You guys..."
Seeing how unreasonable they were, the girl's lovely amber eyes flickered. She bit her silver teeth and suddenly grabbed Ye Li's wrist.
"Run!—"
Without another word, she pulled along the man she hadn't even spoken a full sentence to and dashed into a nearby small alley—
This was the most impulsive thing the girl had ever done in her life. Even Ye Li was a bit surprised...
Thankfully, he didn't forget his buddy. Before leaving, he tossed the scepter into Strange's arms and shouted—
"Take care! I'll contact you later!"
"Uh..."
Strange helplessly clutched the scepter and looked at the surrounding angry locals... trying to explain, "Listen... I don't even know those two. Do you believe me?"
A few people exchanged glances—
"Beat him up!!"
Thud! — Wuen～~!!
Just as a powerful fist was about to land on poor Strange, it was suddenly deflected by a faint blue energy shield.
The resulting shockwave knocked several angry men off their feet—even the ones beating Tony got hit.
"Wanda!"
Now riled up, Pietro scrambled up and only just realized—his sister was gone...
"Where's my sister?!"
A bystander vendor who had been watching the whole thing shouted with a laugh,
"Hey Pietro! Your sister ran off into the alley with a hot guy—gonna give you a nephew, hahaha!"
The vendor's words caused a chain reaction of laughter from the crowd, making Pietro's face burn with embarrassment.
He glared at Stark before quickly dashing into the alley, chasing after them, "WANDA!——!"
Step step step.
Tony seized the opportunity and ran up to the energy shield, pleading with Strange,
"Hey, open a door for me! Stephen!"
"Uh... well...."
Strange hadn't learned magic yet and couldn't operate the shield, so he could only respond helplessly,
"Sorry, we're at capacity here..."
Tony: "??....."
…..
"Huff~ huff~"
Wanda led Ye Li through twists and turns, finally stopping as they arrived at her home, "Here... they shouldn't be able to follow us now..."
Ye Li touched his nose and studied her... 'So, this is what Wanda was like at this stage... so innocent.'
"Uh... aren't you afraid I might be a bad guy?"
"Huh?"
Wanda seemed to only just realize the situation and blushed slightly, folding her arms over her chest,
"You're... not gonna try anything bad, are you?"
"I'm just warning you not to be so naive."
Ye Li took out a beautiful woven bracelet with a pendant and handed it to her, "Be careful not to be tricked by bad people in the future."
"I'm not as dumb as you think."
Wanda retorted stubbornly, then delicately picked up the bracelet with her fingers and asked, "What's this for?"
Ye Li smiled, "A gift of thanks for you. It can take you wherever your heart desires."
The key wasn't the gem the size of a pigeon egg, but the bracelet itself—woven with threads from the Web of Destiny.
Once he added a Mind Shield to this girl, as the 'World Weaver,' Ye Li would be able to open portals for her based on her intentions.
"Heh~"
Wanda obviously didn't take it seriously. She laughed softly, slipped her finger through the bracelet, and spun the charm a few times—
"I thought you'd say something cheesy.
Those guys in the street always say that kinda stuff.
But none of their gifts were this pretty~ Outsiders really are different....."
When her slender fingers stopped, the bracelet gently spun and slid onto her snow-white wrist—
A quiet acceptance.