My family runs an adventurer's guild.

So, when they weren't in town, the daily affairs of the Totoro Town Adventurers' Guild (or rather, the daily affairs of the Overlord online game company) had to be temporarily managed by Portia, the administrator of the neighboring National Library.

Although Miss Portia is a ghost and has no physical form, unable to clean, deliver items, or even write records—unless she uses the magic [Hand of the Wizard]—as long as she "floats" behind the counter where Phil usually naps, she can at least answer a customer's question, right?

Well, they're pretty much like the customer service representatives at online game companies on modern Earth.

In Phil's opinion, this was an incredibly easy and leisurely job.

However, for this Ghostly Miss who was used to slacking off, such a noisy and busy work routine was still a bit hard for her to adapt to - her library, which hadn't received any new books in decades, was considered quite lively if one or two people came to stroll around during the day.

As a result, after serving as a customer service representative for so many days, this usually gentle ghost lady also became irritable.

"...Philip! You're finally back! What's wrong with your mistress? She has absolutely no manners!"

As soon as the cat-man pushed open the door and came in, Miss Ghost Portia flew over like a cannonball, hands on her hips, and questioned Phil, "...Three days ago, she came back staggering and dizzy, like she'd drunk a hundred barrels of liquor. No matter how much I called her, she wouldn't respond, went straight into the bedroom and fell into a deep sleep, and even activated a magical barrier to prevent me from entering the bedroom... What on earth is she doing...?"

"...Ah...Miss Lulutia was injured by the white dragon in the Westfall, and then she endured it for a long time before she received treatment."

Faced with the menacing ghost librarian, Phil couldn't help but lean back subconsciously. "...So, after returning home, she was probably too busy hibernating to recover and didn't have the energy to talk to you anymore. I apologize on her behalf, meow!"

"...Wow! She actually went to fight a wild dragon? And she didn't even turn it into roasted dragon steak, or drag it into a cave to lay eggs?"

Upon hearing this, Miss Ghost Portia exclaimed in surprise, "...You've really impressed me!"

—Uh, I think so too… If Tony hadn’t been there, she might have been dragged off to lay eggs.

Phil nodded in agreement, thinking with lingering fear: If Miss Silver Dragon were to become a roasted dragon steak, his fate would probably be dire as well…

In light of the lessons learned from this near-death experience, Phil believes that in the future, he should try to persuade Miss Lulutia to eat more, sleep more, exercise less, and stay in bed all day.

If you're really bored, there are so many wonderful other worlds waiting to be explored, so why bother going on adventures with your original body?

—No matter how many times you die in another world, it's just like being eliminated in a game, but you only have one life!

"...Hey, speaking of which, the customers of your Adventurers' Guild are really strange, aren't they? Not a single person has come to post bounty quests these days. Every guy who walks through this door is asking about the world of Overlord, and the questions they ask are getting more and more tricky."

Miss Ghost Portia continued to complain, "...There are so many things I don't know at all, and they're not written in the notebook you left behind, so I have to sleepwalk to that other world to investigate in person, or ask that big skeleton Ainz—do you know how many times I've logged on and off these past few days?"

(At this point, Ainz and Shalltear had already "logged off" and returned to the world of Overlord—for them, this was the true game world.)

"...Well, how should I put it, there are some things you don't need to take so seriously! Just tell them you don't know!"

Phil scratched his nose a little awkwardly, "...But you really have had a hard time these past few days. So, to express my gratitude, I brought you some gifts from the Western Wilderness, all things you've been wanting for a while! And the source is absolutely legal and there's no problem!"

The next moment, with a flash of magical light, four completely naked female dark elf corpses suddenly appeared in the Adventurers' Guild's hall—thanks to preservation magic, these corpses, though dead for several days, remained remarkably intact and lifelike: their smooth, delicate skin was as sweet as honey and wax, their snow-white hair flowed with silver light, and the coffee-bean-shaped mounds on their breasts were particularly eye-catching…

The players gathered in the hall immediately gasped in amazement. Miss Ghost Portia, in particular, cheered with delight.

"...Oh! A fresh, beautiful girl's corpse! Fantastic! This is exactly what I need!"

—Miss Portia wasn't originally a ghost, but a Corpse Princess. However, because her original corpse had been used for too long and had finally collapsed, she ended up in her current formless ghost... which made it impossible for her to properly organize the books in the National Library.

In this situation, in order to obtain a new body and transform back into the Corpse Princess, Miss Portia, the Ghost, posted a quest at the Adventurers' Guild in Totoro Town a long time ago: "Seeking a beautiful young female corpse as a casting material." Unfortunately, due to the low reward, no one ever accepted the quest—just like Firi was a poor cat before, Miss Portia was also a poor ghost with little money...

Although she had practiced Corpse Princess Transformation countless times in the world of Overlord, almost maxing out this rather obscure skill, Portia was still a drifting, illusory ghost in the real Totoro Town... Now that she finally had young female corpses as materials for her spellcasting, she couldn't wait to use magic to transform them into Corpse Princesses and then "wear" them on her soul.

Before Phil could explain the origins of the female dark elf corpses, he was stunned to see Miss Portia use magic to lift the four female corpses and excitedly drag them back to her private laboratory in the library next door…

An hour later, a female dark elf, completely naked, with smooth, supple brown skin as if coated with olive oil, and long silver hair flowing down to her ankles, slammed open the door of the Adventurers' Guild and jumped in barefoot.

"...Philip-chan! I'm so lucky today! I only tried once and I got my new body! Look at it! Isn't it beautiful?"

Miss Portia, now dressed in a black woman's skin, laughed and shouted, completely unconcerned about exposing her alluring brown body, causing many idlers in the hall to stare wide-eyed and drooling.

“…Um…Miss Portia, your new body is wonderful, very nice…but, could you please get dressed before you come out?”

"...Ah...sorry, I've been a ghost for so long I've forgotten about clothes (sticks out tongue)..."

Chapter 262, Stark, the Eternal Chosen One

After a while of fussing, Miss Ghost Portia... well, now Portia the Corpse Princess, finally managed to change into an outfit that was fit to go out—because Portia hadn't needed clothes for many years (ghosts don't need clothes), and because she hadn't taken good care of them, her old clothes were now either moth-eaten or moldy, and were basically unwearable.

So, she had a brilliant idea: she found some paint and ink and prepared to paint on her body, using body painting as a substitute.

Hey, Ms. Portia, could you please not be so unrestrained?

Even though your skin is a bit dark now, your great figure will still excite the sluts in town!

Firi, feeling utterly exasperated, could only find a few of Miss Silver Dragon Lulutia's clothes for her to change into.

Then, he took this black version of Portia to the Temple of Hypnos in town to bid farewell to the Earth expedition team.

As for Miss Lulutia, the silver dragon mistress who has fallen into another deep sleep, all that can be done is let her continue sleeping.

The safe return of the Earth Upright Cat Expedition Team was, in general, quite simple. They simply lay down on the altar where they had come from, and then the priest communicated with Princess Dream of Sleep to cancel the temporary bodies they had magically formed in this world.

Unlike when the Earth expedition team arrived, in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Sleeping God in Totoro Town, in addition to the altar that already existed, there was a hastily made bronze statue and an empty shrine, as a memorial symbol for Tony Garfield, the "hero of two worlds"—when Tony returns to Earth, his Iron Cat suit will be placed in this shrine as a sacred object to be worshipped.

And when he visits again, he can put on his Garfield suit again—provided he's willing to continue being Garfield next time...

Tony expressed his basic approval of the above arrangements.

The only thing that bothered him was that in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Sleeping God in Totoro, the bronze memorial statue on the obsidian base, inscribed with the words "Hero of Two Worlds," was still shaped like a chubby, round, orange Garfield cat, instead of the dashing figure of Mr. Tony Stark, the short-legged, tech-savvy man, dressed in a black suit and platform shoes...

But there's nothing we can do about it; after all, the Tony Stark who appears in this world is always in Garfield's form. If a human-shaped sculpture of Tony were actually erected here, Tony's fans in this world probably wouldn't recognize who he is.

Moreover, for Tony on his way out, erecting monuments and statues was a minor matter; receiving the divine grace of the Lord of Sleep was the most important thing.

To this day, five true gods have shown great goodwill towards Tony Garfield, the man who has brought so much change to this world. Therefore, as the guide who brought Tony Garfield, the man who brought him to this world, Princess Hypnos should naturally also show some appreciation to Mr. Tony; otherwise, it would be truly inappropriate.

Moreover, this is not a one-sided gift, but a mutually beneficial transaction. As a "newbie among gods," Hypnos, who has held the throne for only twenty years, has been developing well recently, but overall he is still just a local god with a very weak foundation and very limited influence, and urgently needs to be strengthened. Judging from the huge changes and impacts that Tony has brought to the world with the things he has made before, it is hard to say whether Tony is sharing Hypnos's glory or Hypnos is riding on Tony's fame!

Therefore, in the courtyard of the Shrine of the Sleeping God in Totoro Town, as yet another five-colored ray of light poured down from the sky, holy and ethereal music with a touch of languid relaxation began to play out out of nowhere. Tony Meow was once again pulled by some kind of powerful and holy force, his whole body glowing as he slowly rose into the air, with a Holy Symbol of the Sleeping God formed from divine power flashing and rotating above his head.

After tossing and turning for half an incense stick's time, Tony finally finished bathing in divine grace and calmly and slowly returned to the ground.

Among the onlookers around the courtyard, many had already collapsed and started snoring due to the dissipation of the Sleep God's divine power.

All of the above was a pre-arranged procedure, so both the onlookers and Tony himself appeared to be following the established routine. However, before Phil could even approach Tony to offer his usual flattering words, the sky, which had just calmed down, once again resounded with melodious notes. Another piece of music, more lively in style but equally sacred and noble in its tone, began to play out in the air.

Tony the Cat, who had just landed, was once again pulled into the air by a beam of light, bathed in another magnificent holy light. A cute holy symbol shaped like a cat's paw, formed from divine power, spun continuously above his head…

A moment later, the holy light and divine music gradually dissipated, and Tony the Cat descended from mid-air, but his face showed no joy; instead, he looked dejected and troubled. Phil, curious, went over to ask, and Tony told her, "...Just now, the Cat Goddess also bestowed a divine blessing upon me. She said that my various creations and inventions in this world have greatly enhanced the image and reputation of the cat race, so she wanted to reward and encourage me..."

"...Isn't that great? You can never have too much divine grace. With the blessing of the Cat God, you'll be the eternally chosen one, protected by the seven gods! Perhaps we should call you Saint Tony Stark from now on!" Phil blinked, not understanding why Tony was troubled.

"...But the problem is, the Cat God wants to use me as the face of the cat clan, but I am a pure human! I'm not only not a cat, I'm not even a cat-human!"

Tony complained, "...So, to avoid being exposed, Cat God just spoke with Sleep God and stipulated that I can only use Garfield form when I come to this world from now on...Damn it, I'm going to ask Jim Davis (the creator of Garfield) for some advertising fees when I get back!"

Upon hearing Tony Garfield Stark's complaints, Phil's expression became quite interesting, a mixture of amusement and pity, or perhaps a sense of shared misfortune... but ultimately, it culminated in a long, melancholic sigh.

Then, he squatted down, reached out and ruffled Tony's hair, and said earnestly:

"...Brother Tony, in that case, from now on, let's all be good cats together!"

Then, Phil got scratched by Tony Garfield Stark's paw.

"...Damn it, who wants to be a cat with you, meow! I'm a human, a proper human, meow!"

"...Okay, I understand. Then you can be a good fake cat!"

Author's message

PS: While reading about World War I today, I realized the British government truly didn't treat Indian soldiers like human beings. Five years after the war ended, a group of Indian prisoners of war were still in Turkish POW camps. London pretended they didn't exist, and the Turks used them as free labor. One group of Indian POWs trekked from Ankara across the Caucasus, paddled across the Caspian Sea on rafts, and traversed war-torn Central Asia before finally returning home, only to find their property divided and their wives and children nowhere to be found. To prove they weren't dead, they had to go to court… Other Indian soldiers imprisoned in German POW camps were also released on the spot, but Britain and France refused them entry, telling them to find their own way east, crossing Eurasia to get home.

Chapter 263, A Biohazard in the Marvel Universe?

In short, although Tony Garfield Stark himself had various grievances, the other members of the Earth expedition team were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred in the face of the unprecedented and unparalleled "Sevenfold Divine Grace" on Earth.

Therefore, after returning to the Marvel universe, the awe-inspiring story of "Tony Stark blessed by the Seven Gods" was quickly spread by the members of the expedition team, with both praise and criticism, and attracted widespread attention from the media... Of course, Tony's antics in the other world, which resulted in Garfield's fame and the embarrassing story of becoming "the cat favored by the dormouse," were also spread and became a source of amusement.

In an instant, Tony Stark, already a household name, became a global news sensation. His rise to fame was particularly dramatic when, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the restored Stark Industries building in Manhattan, Phil, acting on the orders of the Golden Dragon King Alaric, presented Tony Stark with a plaque inscribed with "Hero of Two Worlds."

Overall, public opinion and feelings about Tony Stark's great success in the fantasy world and even winning divine favor are mixed – people feel that Tony has brought glory to Earthlings, but they are also extremely jealous of the fame he has gained in the other world.

More importantly, besides the magical version of the Arc Reactor that Tony invented himself, all the gadgets he tinkered with in the fantasy world that pleased the gods were super-antique, outdated technologies that had already been born on Earth in the 18th and 19th centuries... As a result, many overconfident guys had the illusion that "it doesn't look difficult," "why not me," and "I could do it too, so annoying."

Driven by jealousy stemming from this misconception, some people sourly accused Tony of offering up application technology, a common asset of all humanity, to curry favor with the gods of another world, forcibly labeling him a "traitor" who sold out Earth... In fact, according to the general media view, such baseless barking doesn't need much attention; a period of cooling off will quiet things down.

Despite being a darling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with three solo films under his belt, Tony Stark has never been a gentle and docile character. This guy is unruly, free-spirited, and inherently enjoys challenging everyone and everything, especially the government.

As a result, Tony Stark immediately started arguing with the critics online, creating a huge uproar and generating a new hot topic.

Even more excitingly, seemingly to capitalize on the hype, Jim Davis (the creator of Garfield) held a press conference at this time, announcing that he would sue Tony for unauthorized use of Garfield's image in another world, which he claimed damaged the interests of Tony as the creator and his company. Tony was furious: "...I haven't even asked this old man for advertising fees yet, and he has the nerve to sue me for copyright infringement? Why doesn't he just sue that Sleepyhead girl?"

—As a result, upon hearing this, Jim Davis actually sent a lawyer's letter to Phil from Xavier's Estate accusing Hypnos of infringing on Garfield's copyright, seemingly believing that the laws of the United States could govern gods from another world...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Washington, D.C., S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in the Triangular Wing, Director's office

"...A hero of two worlds, the eternally chosen one protected by the seven gods, Saint Tony Stark..."

Nick Fury, the bald, one-eyed director, sat in front of his computer screen, watching the heated comments and controversies surrounding Tony's journey to another world on websites and forums. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, a rare hint of jealousy creeping into his tone.

As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who oversees all supernatural and mysterious events worldwide, Nick Fury can be considered to have reached the very top of the global power structure. He has seen his share of grand occasions and has experienced all kinds of honors and privileges.

Luxury yachts, beautiful young models, seaside villas, and multi-million dollar cars are all trivial matters to Nick Fury.

You should know that Nick Fury secretly smuggled in some of the agency's funds into a slush fund, which amounted to billions or even tens of billions of dollars!

However, Nick Fury eventually felt a pang of jealousy towards something as luxurious as "divine grace"—he really wanted it too!

However, compared to Tony Stark, who received seven divine blessings and was envied and hated by mortals around the world, what gave Nick Fury a bigger headache was the 22nd-century Japanese transmigrator in another world—Suzuki Satoru, who used the online name "Momonga" and has now changed his name to Ainz.

His terrifying description of how human society will head towards its end in the next hundred years is like a bombshell, stirring up a tsunami of ideological conflicts and storms in the world's press, literary, intellectual, economic and many other circles.

Although Black Widow Natasha, as a seasoned and professional female spy, wouldn't casually reveal the contents of her conversation with Ainz, the problem was that she couldn't prevent the other members of the Earth expedition from contacting Ainz, nor could she control the mouth of that 22nd-century Japanese man—Ainz had already traveled to another world and wasn't from the same era as S.H.I.E.L.D., so giving orders rashly would only cause them to rebel!

As a result, when the Earth expedition returned from the other world, Ainz's statements and interview transcripts were made public, causing a great uproar in the world's media, especially his descriptions of the neo-Nazi revolutionary movement in 22nd-century Europe, which even led some to single out and exonerate Nazism...

Although it has not yet led to a major overturning of the standards of truth, the resulting ideological confusion is inevitable and is intensifying.

Things like values ​​and political correctness, which seem like insurmountable golden rules, can actually be broken, distorted, or even torn apart over a long period of time measured in centuries. In 1919, students in Beijing could openly shout the slogan "Down with the Confucian shop!" If it were in 1819, even the emperor would not have dared to desecrate the sages in such a way.

In 19th-century America, who could imagine that a black man could be elected president of the White House?

Therefore, the merits and demerits of Hitler and Hydra may one day be overturned—although Nick Fury would find it hard to accept.

Of course, it seems premature to focus on the Nazis or even the exoneration of Hydra right now, and for Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., it would also be considered neglecting his duties... because, just as he was deep in thought, another S.H.I.E.L.D. job fell into his lap.

Moreover, its severity is comparable to the Battle of New York a few months ago!

—In New Orleans, the capital of Louisiana, millions of citizens have inexplicably gone mad and turned into zombies!

Chapter 264, Cloak and Dagger (Part 1)

As the core of the Marvel universe, New York is undoubtedly a metropolis with a tumultuous history. From aliens to supervillains to terrorist organizations, and of course, superheroes, all have a special fondness for this city, turning it into the most exciting and lively interstellar battlefield.

On the other hand, other American cities in the Marvel universe are not exactly peaceful places either.

For example, just a few months after the alien invasion of New York ended, Louisiana, located in the southern United States, quietly produced a super Waaaagh, which suddenly turned its capital, New Orleans (famous for its roasted chicken wings), into Raccoon City from Resident Evil!

It's true what they say: a fierce dog doesn't bark, and a barking dog isn't fierce. New Orleans usually keeps a low profile, but now it's suddenly caused a huge uproar!

China has the Yangtze River, a major waterway, and the Yangtze Delta is home to Shanghai. The United States also has the Mississippi River, a major waterway, and the Mississippi Delta is home to New Orleans, the capital of Louisiana.

The Mississippi River runs almost through the central United States, eventually emptying into the vast Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans.

To a large extent, the Mississippi River can be called the mother river of the United States and is regarded as one of the symbols of the country.

Unfortunately, Shanghai, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, is China's largest metropolis and economic engine, enjoying immense global recognition. New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, despite sharing a similar geographical location with Shanghai, is remarkably poor. Not only has it remained largely unknown, but since the turn of the century, New Orleans has further deteriorated into one of the poorest, most dilapidated, and most dangerous places in the United States, reportedly boasting a crime rate second only to Detroit in the Rust Belt. Furthermore, the proportion of Black residents is so high that visitors might mistake it for Africa.

So much so that after Hurricane 6 in New Orleans, the U.S. military had to be fully armed, driving armored vehicles, and displaying the same ferocity they had shown when landing in Mogadishu, before daring to enter the city for disaster relief; otherwise, they risked being killed by the disaster victims—this illustrates the close bond between the U.S. military and the people.

Of course, compared to the current biohazard crisis in New Orleans, that hurricane that tarnished the image of the American imperial army is nothing—this "biohazard crisis" is not an exaggeration, it means exactly what it says.

Within just a few hours, millions of citizens in New Orleans began to resemble zombies from Resident Evil, tilting their heads, baring their teeth, and wandering the streets with a drunken, moonwalking gait, engaging in fights and biting each other whenever they encountered one another.

To make matters worse, the disaster struck so suddenly that the entire city was cut off from other areas almost instantly. If it weren't for satellite surveillance systems capturing the anomalies in downtown New Orleans, people outside might not have known that something terrible had happened in New Orleans!

As usual, after detecting the unusual situation in downtown New Orleans, the first to rush there were not the military or police, but the incredibly fast journalists. Then, these American journalists, almost risking their lives to get the news, soon fell victim to the commotion upon entering the danger zone, transforming into highly violent madmen who ended up fighting bloody battles with local residents…

Fortunately, the victims who became violent madmen also seemed to be affected by a brain damage halo, resulting in a significant drop in IQ. They were basically unable to use modern weapons such as firearms and could only punch each other directly or bite each other with their teeth. Therefore, the mortality rate was not high in the short term.

However, if this situation continues to drag on, it is only a matter of time before the death toll in New Orleans surpasses that of the Battle of New York.

The National Guard that followed also quickly fell victim to the tactic upon arrival, turning into a group of violent freaks. Thus, after it was preliminarily confirmed that the events in downtown New Orleans were supernatural, the task of maintaining peace on Earth automatically fell to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"...The good news is that these violent citizens are not suffering from any infectious disease. Rather, it is because some unknown hallucinogenic substance has appeared in the air of New Orleans, causing the citizens to exhibit group symptoms similar to drug-induced excitement and severe violent tendencies, but it is not contagious."

The bad news is that we cannot determine what this unidentified substance is, its origin, or whether it was an accidental occurrence or the work of a terrorist organization, so there is currently no treatment available. We only know that it may possess supernatural energy.