Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 787 The Negotiations Were Destined Before They Even Began (First Update)

The room, carpeted in dark red, was spacious but poorly lit, the dark oak floors absorbing any remaining light. The only source of light came from the fireplace on the right side of the room. Two high-backed armchairs sat at an angle, and a tall man sat in one of them. General Hale noticed him immediately; his presence was so strong, as if he were the center of the room, and even though he was impeccably dressed, General Hale could still sense the explosive power of his muscles beneath his clothes.

A warm breeze and the soft crackling of burning firewood wafted in, but the man remained unaffected by Gideon Malik and General Hale's entry into the room. He continued speaking to the woman seated in another high-backed armchair. His expression was relaxed and cheerful, his long, black curly hair and obsidian-like eyes reflecting the warm light of the fireplace. His lively voice shifted slightly in the empty room. The woman in the opposite armchair occasionally chuckled at the man's words. General Hale found the woman's voice somewhat familiar, but the high back of the chair obstructed her view; she could only see a pale arm.

It was a young woman's arm.

Gideon Malik stopped General Hale from walking away, gesturing for her to wait there.

General Hale withdrew her arm, straightened her spine, and assumed a more comfortable standing position. She began to speculate about the man's identity. Combining this with the flags and badges she had seen earlier in the hall, she could deduce that the golden eagle badge represented this man, or the force behind him. It certainly wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D.; that was absurd. The design looked more like an ancient emblem than a modern, simplified symbol.

She couldn't fathom what kind of power could possess power armor and super soldiers—technologies the US government coveted. But if this man truly possessed such terrifying power, then having a general standing by and waiting wasn't entirely unexpected. He was certainly far more approachable than the Goldman Sachs, Lehman, Lazard, Warburg, and Stern families—the likes of which were considered powerful conglomerates. Despite being a general of the United States, she couldn't simply meet with the heads of those conglomerates; those were the true financial backers of the US government.

From where the fireplace couldn't reach, the door opened, and General Hale was surprised to see Gideon Malik's daughter emerge carrying a steaming tray with several exquisite ceramic cups. She had assumed the man was talking to Stephanie. Stephanie smiled and handed one of the cups to the man, and another to the person sitting in a high-backed armchair. Gideon Malik, as if struck by lightning, smiled and gestured for General Hale to come forward.

The man did not sit up, but smiled and nodded to General Hale.

"Mom?" The person sitting in another high-backed chair stood up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Ruby?" General Hale was also quite surprised, but she quickly recovered. With astonishing speed, she grabbed her daughter's wrist and pulled her to her side. Ruby cried out, and the glass full of mulled wine crashed onto the carpet, splattering lemon slices, cloves, and cinnamon rolls along with the scalding wine onto the exquisite carpet, while she frantically shook her burning hands.

"What does this mean?" She glared sternly at Malik's father, and then at the man sitting in the armchair. If it were one of her subordinates, they might have gone weak in the knees under that gaze, but the man simply smiled, took a sip of mulled wine, and made no response.

"Mom, this is my friend!" Ruby protested. She did indeed consider Salomon a friend; after all, it wasn't Salomon who had given her experiences she'd never had before—as mentioned before, Ruby was the product of General Hale's artificial insemination. After Dr. Whitehall's eugenics program temporarily ended, the newborn Ruby grew up at the Hydra School. If Dr. Whitehall hadn't died, Ruby, now entering puberty, would also have become the mother of the eugenics program, undergoing artificial insemination to produce the next stage's product. However, Alexander Pierce's power was destroyed, Dr. Whitehall's businesses were seized by the Malik family, and the researchers were incorporated into the Immortal City, rendering Ruby's artificial insemination program completely useless.

The girl had learned everything she was supposed to learn and undergone all the necessary training, but she had never seen the outside world. Her room had a standard blast door, reinforced with at least five centimeters thick composite alloy plates and a combination lock. Salomon used magic to saw through the steel plate, extended an invitation to the astonished Ruby, and presented her with a gift.

A retractable hunting knife and a double-barreled pistol.

Ruby accepted the gift without hesitation.

Salomon first showed Ruby the Hydra security personnel he had wiped out. After confirming that Ruby wasn't averse to blood and death, he took her on a tour of New York City, traveling the world through portals, and finally arriving at her room in the castle. Ruby went completely wild. Her favorite activity was skydiving without a parachute, which she did three times. Like a child begging their parents to ride a roller coaster, the thrill was almost irresistible to this girl who had never seen the outside world.

She longed for her next adventure, provided she was with Salomon.

"Shut up!" General Hale was furious, his face flushed. "I thought this was a negotiation, but I never expected you to resort to such despicable tactics!"

"Why don't you hear what I have to say?" Salomon first waved his hand, removing the stain from the carpet, then extended his hand, inviting General Hale to sit in the armchair Ruby had previously occupied. General Hale hesitated before accepting, but she instructed her daughter to stay obediently by her side and not go anywhere. Ruby, though reluctant, complied with General Hale's command, standing to the side rubbing her wrist, her eyes filled with longing. Stephanie took General Hale's coat and hung it in the nearby dressing room. Salomon said to Gideon Malik, "We need some time; I can't stay in Europe for too long."

"As you wish, my lord." Gideon Malik nodded and left the room with his daughter. His steps were as light as a young man's as he walked out; General Hale's earlier apparent slowness in the face of the elderly was merely a facade. After undergoing internal organ cleansing, joint replacement surgery, and stem cell repair and reconstruction in the Immortal City, Gideon Malik could live another fifty years. Before leaving the room, Stephanie subtly winked at Salomon, and after receiving a slight nod from Salomon, she smiled and departed.

"I'm sure you've met Constantine; he's one of my guards," Salomon said with an impeccable politeness and smile. "I apologize for not having time to introduce him; I'll do so next time. I think we can have a proper talk now, General Hale. Would you like a glass of mulled wine?"

"I'm a little worried."

“There’s nothing to worry about, Father. I’ve never seen a monarch who couldn’t be persuaded.” Stephanie slowly sipped her mulled wine. Salomon had personally taught her how to make mulled wine, supposedly a favorite recipe of the Greeks. “Like the Malik family, like me,” she said proudly, taking pride in the Malik family becoming the monarch’s spoils of war, like animal heads hanging on a decorative panel, something to display their master’s glory. Gideon Malik didn’t have much of a problem with becoming a complete vassal, because Stephanie had told him that Salomon possessed a space fleet capable of space warfare, and the fact that the Malik family could board this flight to the Immortal City was already a reward from Salomon.

"Constantine," Stephanie said to the man who used to be called Zero, but was now being trained and matured through time dilation and the Time Stone, and was now called Constantine, "The rest is up to you."

"I will, Malik, for I am an extension of the monarch's will."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)