American Comics: Trading Tom Cat

Just then, a colleague who was in the background suddenly picked up a gold nugget that had rolled to his feet; it was originally a piece of ice.

Picking up the gold nugget, this simple-minded colleague thought for a moment, then took a bite. After a instant, he exclaimed in astonishment, "It's real! This is real gold!"

This time, everyone was completely shocked. Even the vice president's breathing became rapid, his eyes filled with greed as he stared intently at the mountain of gold, then glanced at Locke out of the corner of his eye.

Locke suddenly laughed, but this time it wasn't a playful laugh; it was a mocking laugh.

“A fool with no sense of awe; the world is never short of such idiots.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the vice president in the video suddenly burst into flames. The flames on his body were strange; they burned very slowly, but the pain seemed to be amplified dozens of times. The vice president's painful screams echoed throughout the entire base like a pig being slaughtered.

Those nearby rushed to try to save the vice president, but the fire on his body seemed to have an extinguishable property. Neither water nor fire extinguishers could put out the flames; instead, they became nourishment, making the vice president burn even more fiercely, and his screams became increasingly painful.

Someone seemed to have thought of something and rushed in front of the video to speak, but Locke waved his hand and turned off the screen.

His gaze fell on Jack Hall: "This world was originally worthless to me. The only thing I could appreciate was the glimmer of light in the souls of the people in this world when they faced disaster."

"But now, instead of seeing any light, that foolish greed has completely made me lose interest in continuing to appreciate it."

“Jack Hall, I will still take action for your sake, but this time, it will be completely different from what you imagine.”

Suddenly, a sense of unease rose in Jack Hall's heart, a very strong sense of unease.

The next moment, suddenly, a magnificent and enormous screen appeared out of thin air, stretching across the sky, so large that everyone could see it clearly.

"Don't worry about who I am. Humans of this world, the apocalypse has arrived and is about to sweep across your world."

As they spoke, a series of apocalyptic scenes appeared before everyone's eyes. No proof was needed, because many of these scenes had already begun to unfold: cold waves, gales, freezing temperatures...

"Now, in order to save your world, I will give you a few choices."

"First, I will intervene three times to extinguish the first three disasters. After that, you will have to bear the consequences of any other disasters that occur."

"Secondly, when a person is angry, he needs the death of his enemy to dissolve his anger. The same is true of nature's anger. It indiscriminately and randomly wipes out half of humanity in order to appease nature's anger."

"Third, this disaster stems from technology, from the endless exploration and greed of technology. I will annihilate all technology in this world to appease the angry nature."

"Fourth, evil will eventually come to an end. All the evildoers in this world will be sacrificed to bring peace to nature. The judgment of evil will be decided by your world itself."

"Now, I'm giving you time to discuss, to think, and finally, to make a decision!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a selector appeared in front of everyone.

Moments later, the world became incredibly noisy, filled with discussions and doubts.

At that moment, in Antarctica, Locke looked at the three people present and said, "What do you think people will choose?"

The two colleagues in the background suddenly swallowed hard a few times. If before, in their understanding, Locke was just an extraordinary being with powerful abilities, then at this moment, Locke was a god, and that was beyond doubt.

Upon hearing Locke's question, the two men, though filled with awe, exchanged a glance. Then, one of them cautiously said, "We'll probably choose option three. Although losing technology will cause many inconveniences, everyone can survive, and nothing is more important than life."

His colleague next to him disagreed, saying, "No, I feel we would choose option four. Not everyone, or most people, can imagine the consequences of leaving technology. In comparison, sacrificing a group of villains is a more acceptable option for most people, because most people abhor evil."

Locke, without offering any comment, instead looked at Jack Hall, the protagonist, and said, "Jack Hall, what do you think?"

At this moment, Jack Hall fell into a long silence, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, a look of immense pain crossed Jack Hall's face: "No, they won't choose three, and they won't choose four!"

"They will make a different choice!"

"Another option?" Both of the background boards left their colleagues looking bewildered.

The next moment, they suddenly looked up at the sky.

Suddenly, countless fighter jets appeared in the sky, and they were clearly the latest models.

Jack Hall said weakly, "If someone doesn't want to make a choice, the best way is to eliminate the god who makes them choose, even if that god might actually be here to save the world."

The faces of the two colleagues in the background turned deathly pale.

Locke simply smiled and shook his head, then with a wave of his hand, the countless fighter jets vanished without a trace.

Even though they had already glimpsed the power of the person in front of them, this scene still made the two colleagues in the background widen their eyes.

"Now, Jack Hall, what choice do you think everyone in this world will make?"

"Three?"

"I think it should be four!" The two background figures started arguing again.

Only Jack Hall gave a wry smile and shook his head: "I think the most likely outcome is option one!"

"How is that possible!" the two colleagues on the background exclaimed immediately.

"Anyone can see that option one is the least meaningful. After all, no one knows how many disasters will occur. Choosing option one, which is a shortcut and a matter of luck, is meaningless. The remaining three options, although each has its own costs, are the real solutions to the problem!"

Jack Hall sighed helplessly: "You're all right, but you've overlooked one thing, and that is... the human heart."

　380 The two colleagues fell silent immediately.

Jack Hallyan raised his head, gazing into the void with an incredibly complex expression. An ordinary villain might harm a few or a few dozen people at most, but a truly wicked person could harm hundreds of thousands, or even millions. What kind of person would be qualified to do that? The answer is obvious.

When those certain people unite completely, they are enough to change the beliefs of most people!

A moment later, a huge pillar of light stretched across the sky.

Option 4 accounts for 26%, Option 3 accounts for 24%, Option 2 accounts for 5%, and the final option 1 accounts for 45%!

The three people present seemed to have instantly lost all their energy and spirit.

Locke simply smiled and tapped the void three times.

The ocean roared, raising towering waves, only to be annihilated by a single force. Terrifying hurricanes took shape, poised to wreak havoc on the entire world, only to be crushed by an out-of-the-sky force. The sky was filled with icy currents, which were torn apart by a single force.

Having done all this, Locke turned around and prepared to leave.

"Thump!" A heavy thud sounded as the car crashed to the ground.

Locke turned around and saw Jack Hall kneeling on the ground, his head firmly on the floor.

"Please, please give humanity another chance!"

Locke replied calmly, "The opportunity has been given, the disaster has been averted, I have done more than enough, why ask for another chance?"

"You said that this disaster originated from the anger of nature. Directly eliminating the disaster has not eliminated the anger of nature. If I am not mistaken, an even bigger and more terrible disaster will follow, a disaster that will truly destroy everything!"

"Plop, plop..."

Two more sounds of kneeling were heard.

Locke sighed. He wasn't really interested in this world. His few attempts were just to see the bright spots in the world when faced with disaster, which was the most touching scene in every disaster movie.

Locke has no interest in being a nanny and solving everything, nor can he solve anything. This is the world's wrath, and the only way to resolve it is to destroy the world. Giving him a choice and lending a hand is enough.

However, these three people in front of him showed Locke something different from some of the foolish high-ranking officials; this was the true light of humanity.

A moment later, Locke waved his hand, and a ship emitting a faint light appeared in his hand.

"This is a boat, similar to the so-called Noah's Ark, nourished by the light of humanity. If there is enough light of humanity, saving this world is not difficult."

"Friendly reminder: you'd better not choose to use it yourself."

Jack Hall was certainly not stupid; in fact, he was smarter than most people. He understood what Locke meant: Jesus guided and saved the world, but in the end, he was nailed to the cross. If he chose to use this ship, he could certainly save people, but the outcome would probably not be much better.

but……

Jack Hall gritted his teeth: "If someone has to bear the burden, then let it be me!"

Locke looked at Jack Hall in front of him and shook his head. Heroes? They'll only ever be hung on the wall.

Chapter 96 Odin, are you throwing money at me again?

After a while, Locke looked at the new trading interface, which had turned gray and was gradually disappearing, and shook his head slightly.

"Heroes will eventually be hung on the wall."

As for the people of that world, after killing the captain of that ship, the brilliance of their humanity will be utterly dimmed. They don't want to lose their population, their rights, or their technology, but in the end, they will lose everything.

With a flick of his wrist, Locke extinguished the last ripple in that world and chose to search for the next trading world.

"In the next world, don't choose those ordinary worlds again."

Suddenly, Locke raised his head and gazed into the distance.

A streak of light descended from the heavens, accompanied by a rainbow of colors, and fell upon the Earth.

At the same time, a profound, vast, and familiar divine will appeared before Locke's eyes.

Locke smiled slightly: "Odin is preparing to discipline his silly son."

Odin, the king of the gods, appeared as a phantom and nodded wearily: "I am growing weaker and weaker, while Thor is not yet ready to become king."

"No problem. You guys put on a show to make Ragnarok come, and that idiot will force himself to mature."

Odin, the king of the gods, twitched his eyelids: "If possible, I wouldn't want him to mature under those circumstances."

Forced to grow up amidst the destruction of one's country and the loss of one's home, how painful that must have been. Odin didn't experience it, but he can imagine.

"By the way, are you still planning to let Thor inherit the throne?"

Odin, the king of the gods, fell silent; he knew what Locke meant.

Now that Locke is standing behind them, Locke is different from the previous God-Kings of Asgard. The successors of Asgard used a special method to exchange their lifespan for power. As a price, the God-Kings could only live for about five thousand years at most, which is far less than the normal lifespan of the God-Father level. However, the gains were also great. Each successor could become stronger over time, which could ensure that each generation would not lack God-Father level powerhouses.

Locke is different; he himself doesn't know how long he will live.

With such a figure standing behind, the best choice would naturally be for Hela, as the linchpin, to ascend the throne.

But the problem is...

Odin, the king of the gods, suddenly looked at Locke with a deep gaze: "Hela isn't stupid. She was just too focused on the war and neglected everything else. Now she understands what it will cost her to ascend the throne, so..."

Locke's lips twitched. What did he mean by "what one has to pay to ascend the throne"? Did he have to sacrifice his virginity?

Is that girl, no, that older girl, so resistant to him?

Locke suddenly became interested and decided to go to Helheim to chat with that girl when he had time.

Seeing the wicked expression gradually spreading across Locke's face, Odin, the king of the gods, had a strange expression on his face, which was twitching, but he didn't say anything.

"Getting back to the point, Odin, haven't you ever really considered Loki?"

“Loki?” Odin frowned. He knew that Locke’s words were not without reason, and he was also aware of Loki’s question.

Suddenly, his old eyes lit up: "What did you see?"

Locke did not directly answer the question: "Odin, you, or all of Asgard, have actually greatly underestimated Loki."

Thor has various forms, such as the Awakened Thor, Rune King Thor, and Old Man Thor. Does Loki have none? King Loki, Story God Loki, and Old Man Loki may not be as powerful as Thor, but they are not much less so.

“Most importantly, Loki possesses an intelligence that other successors lack. Of course, you may see it as mere cleverness, and that cannot be denied, but cleverness is still intelligence.”

This is something Locke also finds hard to understand. Thor is a carefree and impulsive man, and he wouldn't care if the throne were handed over to Loki. Or perhaps he would be happier with Loki as king and him as general, spending his days fighting and killing – a perfect setup.

Loki, having gained recognition, may still be somewhat wicked, but he's not without his merits. The scene where he sacrifices himself for Thor shows that his feelings for Thor are actually quite deep. His sense of responsibility, intertwined with gratitude and emotion, might actually lead him to perform quite poorly.

After all, even if it's bad, can it be worse than Thor leading a group of Asgardians to Earth as refugees?

Odin, the king of the gods, pondered for a moment: "I will give him a chance."

Locke shook his head: "That would better be a real opportunity. Besides, Odin, you've never taught him how to be a king."

Odin, the king of the gods, suddenly looked at Locke with a strange expression, which made Locke raise an eyebrow.

"Odin, why are you looking at me with that strange look?"

"No, I just feel that you seem to admire Loki somewhat."

"Admiration? Not at all. In my opinion, he's just a pathetic guy who can't get recognition."

To gain Odin's approval, he even stabbed his own father after discovering he might have a connection to the Frost Giants. He's truly a hardcore and ruthless person. With proper guidance, he might actually become quite remarkable.

Odin, the God-King, vanished, disappearing in a torrent of seven colors.

Locke's face twitched, and he inexplicably felt that the old ghost seemed to have some strange idea.

…………

In Asgard, at the Queen's Palace, Odin and Frigga are conversing.

Frigga was silent for a moment, then grabbed Odin's old hand: "Odin, I'm so happy that you've finally let go of your worries."

"Loki, he is our real child too!"

How could I possibly be impartial!