Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 449 Following the True God (Second Update)

Salomon's birthday is usually synonymous with a family gathering, and the attendees have remained largely unchanged over the years. The Hong Kong Temple Guardian and the family of Master Hamil are frequent guests; they attend Salomon's birthday celebration while Europeans and Americans celebrate Christmas, thus making up for the lost Christmas celebration as well.

Aunt Wu Guiyue, the guardian of the Hong Kong temple whom Salomon respectfully calls "Auntie," will bring her own soup, and Alice, who has long black hair, will also come with her father.

Roast turkey is not served at such festive banquets; nobody eats it. Unless there's stuffing inside the skin, the turkey won't be too dry when it comes out of the oven. Wu Guiyue's husband, an ordinary Hong Kong policeman, happens to have a knack for making roast turkey, incorporating Chinese-style butter stuffing to make it popular.

Like many holidays, this required advance preparation. Salomon had just finished class, greeted his foster mother in an expensive custom-made suit, and returned to the Immortal City. He personally slaughtered the turkeys raised by the druids, and meticulously plucked their feathers in front of a basin of boiling water. After doing this, he went to the bank to exchange some RMB, then led his sheep through the portal to find the XZ herders to help him slaughter the sheep.

Without needing to reveal his identity, Salomon, who was mistaken for a "long-haired foreign monk from a mountain temple," had an extremely good relationship with the herders. He was also treated as a "monk who came on a motorcycle to find someone to slaughter a sheep" and received a warm welcome from the herders. This welcome included butter tea and local hand-pulled mutton.

Salomon smiled as he drank his butter tea, completely unconcerned about whether his stomach could tolerate it.

Because this "he" is not him.

He himself wasn't so idle; all these activities were carried out by alchemical simulations he created for himself. The raw materials were the snow from Kamar-Taj, swept from the square to his doorstep by his arcane apprentices at dawn, and then moved to his laboratory—Himalayan snow is indeed much cleaner than London snow. He himself had gone on a business trip, accompanying Stephanie Malik to broaden his horizons.

Class stratification is very serious in the United States. Even if someone with enough influence in politics loses their position, they can still join various official and unofficial organizations and continue to receive taxpayers' money. There are many such organizations. Take, for example, Sir Arnold Abingson, the honorary chancellor of Oxford University, where Salomon is based. Even after retirement, he still holds many positions, such as chairman of a bank, senior executive at IBM and BP, chairman of the Royal Opera House Trust, and honorary chancellor of Oxford University. Countless students who aspire to enter Whitehall hope to have dinner with Chancellor Arnold.

Especially given the increasingly harsh working conditions for British civil servants, young people aspiring to become Cabinet Secretaries need the wisdom of their predecessors even more. Gaining the favor of an honorary principal makes a meteoric rise a reality, not just a dream.

Although the political landscape in the United States differs greatly from that in the United Kingdom, especially in their civil service systems, this doesn't stop Stephanie from taking Salomon to various political parties. In this respect, Stephanie is the real teacher.

"Please forgive me, I must maintain the proper decorum. Also, I personally suggest you tone down your charm a little." Stephanie rummaged through Salomon's wardrobe, finding an outfit suitable for the occasion. This wasn't because Salomon's clothes were too cheap, but rather too expensive.

This is just a cocktail party. Wearing a haute couture tuxedo or three-piece suit right from the start would only make the person seem overly serious, or like a spoiled brat new to social life. A double-breasted suit is also inappropriate; Salomon's wardrobe only contains British suits, a far cry from the overly baggy American burlap suits.

Most of these suits were chosen by the witches and Athena. Salomon couldn't stand the constant going in and out of the portals, so he took Stephanie to the wardrobe and let her choose for herself while the witches and Laura were looking at the manor.

This was not the outcome Stephanie wanted. She still managed to sift through her wardrobe to find an outfit most suitable for political and social occasions, one that flattered her figure. She even paid for a Patek Philippe watch herself to compensate for the price of the suit. This art of subtly showcasing wealth was a required course for Stephanie; she was even more adept at it than Salomon.

At the same time, she also forcefully demanded that Salomon accompany her to the beauty salon. Although Salomon's thick, long, black curly hair suited his face well, it made him look like a slovenly man in a baggy white shirt. Looking good and being respected are two different things, so Stephanie hired a stylist to redesign Salomon's hair.

She also needed a well-fitting business suit because she was attending the banquet as her father's representative.

"Didn't you bring me here to be your secretary?" Stephanie said proudly. "I have the right to speak on this matter, don't I?"

“Yes, madam.” Salomon smiled gently. He was quite pleased with the speed at which Stephanie’s thoughts had shifted. “I have a good idea,” he said softly, adding a slight “r” to indicate that he was speaking English, not American English. “Let’s set the first hunt on that planet. As the price for a lie that has lasted for thousands of years, I think you are worthy to personally hunt down the gods of Hydra from the past. This is my reward for you, Stephanie.”

She understood the sorcerer's unspoken message. This was the first time Salomon had mentioned her transformation plan in a month; she wanted youth and beauty within easy reach, along with superhuman strength, just like those women wearing power armor.

"I think my father will soon understand what kind of person you are." After nearly two months of sorting through the information, Stephanie had a general understanding of the projects underway in the Immortal City. Although she hadn't spoken a single word to the Wakandans, she had found key information in the documents and reports submitted.

She even knew that there was a very powerful artificial intelligence within the Immortal City, which was the world's most powerful hacker and could be used to monitor cameras around the world and steal secrets from many well-secured companies.

Furthermore, the Immortal City also has a top-secret laboratory with the strongest magical protection, where terrifying monsters lurk in every shadow—she saw a rat (running in through a portal) being swallowed whole by a cold shadow, and then a chilling, rapid chewing sound came from that place, scaring Stephanie, who was trying to gather intelligence, into turning and running away.

Especially when investigating her new boss, she discovered some extremely illogical things. Take his educational background, for example; she couldn't find a single flaw in Salomon's transcript, as if he were born with exceptional intelligence. Another example is his artistic taste; she discovered that Salomon was proficient in sculpture and painting, knew almost every European painter, both known and unknown, and could even create his own reproductions of works by painters he had never heard of.

He seemed to have lived for many years, as if those events had happened right before his eyes.

What surprised her even more was a construction plan for a Martian foundry and a superhuman cyborg program. Although it was just a briefing and a plan, Stephanie found some clues. She believed that after the birth of those god-like superhumans, Salomon's path would be unobstructed, and all the Malik family needed to do was invest, whether it was money or personnel (especially money), they could increase their influence.

Although she hadn't told her father about these things yet, she believed he would make a wise judgment, just as he had when he turned his back on the false god and used a chipped white pebble to survive.

The Malik family will follow the true God and share in the power of the eternal God.

Stephanie placed her hand on Salomon's shoulder and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She was captivated by the sensuality emanating from the well-fitting suit and her intelligence.

"It suits you perfectly," she said with a smile. "You'll shine."

How could anyone say I'm short!

It's infuriating that some subtexts can't be explicitly stated in writing.

(End of this chapter)