Luke was just about to interrogate them, these uninvited guests who had stormed into his humble little shop.
As a transmigrator with full knowledge of the Marvel universe, he'd already guessed who they were.
After the Abomination incident, Ross wouldn't ignore the sudden appearance of a three-headed hellhound. The man was probably foaming at the mouth to get his hands on Doggo.
And honestly, it wasn't that hard for the U.S. military to dig up someone's identity.
Still, Luke hadn't expected Ross to move this fast.
Or this aggressively.
When he'd watched the movies, Luke had thought Ross was just a persistent old guy with a grudge. A little annoying, sure, but not a full-blown villain.
Now that Ross had sent a gun squad to hold his little sister at gunpoint?
Luke had updated his assessment.
This old bastard is a straight-up supervillain.
Send soldiers to grab whatever you want?
Threaten a child? His cute sister at that?
Inhumane doesn't even begin to describe it.
Luke gritted his teeth. General Ross had just made a very dangerous enemy.
As for these lapdogs of his? Luke had been ready to deal with them too. Wanda was safe now, so it was time to press the button and send them all to the underground dimension.
But just as his finger hovered over the watch's hidden trigger...
Captain Havok lowered his gun.
Then, to everyone's complete confusion, he walked straight over to a shelf and picked up.
The entire room froze.
The soldiers behind him looked like someone had unplugged their brains.
What the hell is the captain doing?
Why did he suddenly forget the hostage and start shopping?
Wanda blinked in disbelief. He'd actually put the gun away. She didn't waste the moment, instantly ducking behind Luke like a squirrel.
Even Luke was stunned.
He had expected many things. A shootout. A last-minute standoff. Maybe someone shouting dramatic lines, even a villain monologue wouldn't have felt so out of place.
But he had never expected a sudden ashtray appreciation moment.
Havok turned the ceramic piece in his hand, nodding slightly.
Then he looked back at his squad and asked, completely serious:
"It's rare to get a break from the base. Don't you guys need to buy anything?"
The soldiers just stood there, mouths slightly open.
But then, just like puppets waking from a trance, they slowly nodded in unison.
One by one, they lowered their weapons. Some scratched their heads, deep in thought about shopping lists. Others wandered to shelves and casually picked up items.
In seconds, the grocery store transformed from a high-stress standoff into a peaceful weekend outing.
A scene of harmony and friendship.
Wanda, peeking from behind Luke, whispered:
"Brother… are they making fun of us?"
Luke smiled and patted her now-bulletproof head fondly.
"No. They're just out on vacation. They forgot to change out of their uniforms."
Wanda wasn't actually that naive.
She might have looked a little silly and sweet, but kids raised in orphanages don't stay innocent for long.
She had noticed the strange tension that filled the store earlier.
And she definitely noticed how the red dots had appeared on the soldiers' foreheads right after they pointed guns at her.
It was like the store itself had reacted in order to protect her.
Her brother's "they're just shopping" story? Obviously nonsense.
But she didn't call him out on it.
After a while, the soldiers began lining up at the counter with items in hand. Their spontaneous shopping spree was winding down.
Luke gave Wanda a gentle nudge. "Time to collect the money."
Wanda's eyes instantly lit up, cha-ching~! Turning into dollar signs.
All traces of fear gone, she stepped behind the counter like a seasoned shopkeeper.
She didn't even bother calculating.
She looked at the modest pile of items, cheap snacks, plastic containers, and a very ordinary ashtray, and declared:
"Everything together, four hundred dollars!"
He glanced at the goods. Not even worth twenty.
Wanda had just charged them twenty times the original value!
A black-market queen in the making.
But the most surprising thing?
Not a single soldier complained. They just started pulling out cash like it was perfectly normal.
Luke's eyes flicked toward the lucky cat statue on the counter.
Its little plastic paw kept waving.
Was this thing the strongest mutated item in the store all this time and he didn't know it?
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