Chapter 73: Unlucky Child—New York

Mei Mumu's cheek twitched; he knew it was time to part ways with Christine.

“Mordo?” On the other side, the Ancient One beckoned Mordo over.

Mordo walked away, granting Mei Mumu and Christine a rare moment alone.

The distant rumble grew clearer. Christine gazed at Mei Mumu, who seemed hesitant to speak, and asked with gentle understanding, “Are you... leaving again?”

“Yes... This is a mysterious war, a war for Earth, and... my own war.” Whether he wished to admit it or not, Mei Mumu knew this was not the time for romance.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go!” Christine smiled, but from her wise, bright, and captivating eyes, Mei Mumu glimpsed heartbreak and reluctance.

“I actually... I don’t know how to say this. Anyway, I’ve truly gone from being a doctor to a... sorcerer. Perhaps I’ll be a sorcerer for the rest of my life. If someone like me...” Mei Mumu stammered.

For him personally, while Christine was beautiful, he wasn’t so enthralled as to be unable to walk away like a naive boy before a stunning woman. Yet, fused with Doctor Strange’s fate and the lingering emotions of the original Mei Mumu of this world, something deep within seemed to drive him toward irrational actions—

Like falling in love with Christine once more. Loving this beautiful nurse who watched over him day and night, never leaving his side after his accident.

Christine pouted with a certain nonchalance.

Was this a kiss?

Was she about to kiss him?

Mei Mumu was bewildered, instinctively closing his eyes.

The kiss arrived, just as expected.

Alas, it landed not on his lips, but on his cheek.

In the Western world, a kiss on the cheek is merely the most basic gesture of friendly social etiquette. It doesn’t even compare to a kiss on the forehead for family.

Just as Mei Mumu was about to speak, the hospital intercom crackled to life: “Miss Palmer, Miss Palmer, please report to the emergency front desk immediately.”

Christine hesitated, then flashed that enchanting smile with dimples. “I need to go play the ‘night nurse’ now. So you’d better play the hero who saves the world, Mr. Mei…”

With that, she turned gracefully and left, pushing open the door.

Watching Christine’s elegant figure fade away, Mei Mumu was suddenly overwhelmed with melancholy.

He couldn’t tell whether these feelings were truly his own, or remnants from the original soul fused within his body.

Without a word, he beckoned, and the Cloak of Levitation, lurking in the corner, spiritedly flew over and fastened itself to his shoulders.

At some point, tears began to flow, sliding down his still handsome face.

The Cloak, mischievous as ever, used its corner to wipe his tears.

“Don’t touch me.”

The Cloak kept wiping.

“I said stop…”

The Cloak continued.

Why? Why were his tears flowing even more?

Mei Mumu couldn’t understand.

...

Many people from China don’t realize that New York is actually the largest city and port in America, an international metropolis. It sits on the northeastern coast at the mouth of the Hudson River.

The city comprises Manhattan Island, Long Island, Staten Island, and nearby mainland areas, totaling 945 square kilometers.

Geographically, Manhattan is uniquely blessed: the Hudson River to the west, the East River to the east, making Manhattan a river island nestled between two graceful waterways.

Even when storms hit at sea, it’s always Staten Island and Brooklyn on Long Island that bear the brunt first. There’s never any danger of direct hits.

The prosperity of Manhattan is beyond imagination; not only is it a global luxury hub, but it boasts near-perfect amenities—Broadway, Yankee Stadium, Columbia University, United Nations Headquarters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Empire State Building, and the famous Central Park.

The high quality of life here has caused property prices to soar for years—until the Battle of New York.

Everyone knows that the loss and drop in property values from damaged buildings in Manhattan are only temporary, as long as there aren’t any more bizarre alien invasions. Prices will recover quickly.

That’s how it should have been.

Unfortunately, thanks to Mei’s meddling, history was altered, and the dark lord Dormammu, who was supposed to descend in Hong Kong, instead appeared at the New York Sanctuary in southern Manhattan.

Incidentally, the famous Stark Tower, Iron Man’s home, is also in Manhattan, about twenty blocks from the New York Sanctuary.

The kind of earth-shattering tremor could wake even hibernating bears, let alone the arrogant playboy Tony Stark, busy flirting somewhere nearby.

“What-the-hell?” Tony uttered a classic American curse—a phrase meaning, “What the heck!?”

He shouted into the room, “Friday, what’s happening?”

Friday was Iron Man’s AI butler, a super-intelligent program capable of independent thought, assisting Tony in all matters, calculating information, developing armor, and upgrading the Arc Reactor.

In ‘Iron Man,’ when Tony donned his suit, Friday would automatically perform iris scans to ensure no unauthorized access. The previous butler, Jarvis, later became Vision. Friday succeeded him.

Friday responded with its uniquely magnetic electronic voice: “Detecting a large-scale, unexplained spatial fluctuation on Bleecker Street, Manhattan. The spatial data model is 83.88% similar to the Battle of New York, suggesting an alien incursion.”

“Aliens? Aliens again? Where did they come from, and why wasn’t there any warning?” Tony was utterly exasperated.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I haven’t received any alerts from the Avengers, the Space Telescope, or any official organizations. In fact, all extraterrestrial monitoring systems show everything is normal.”

“You’re saying they just opened a cosmic portal in New York with no warning?” Tony was getting angry.

“There’s a 99.81% probability that this is the case.”

Uninvited guests are never friendly.

If trouble had struck elsewhere, especially with a request from the United Nations, Tony might have hesitated, given the recent Civil War fiasco, with ‘War Machine’ James Rhodes left half-paralyzed in bed, and Tony still troubled about it.

But this was New York—his turf.

Aliens invading and descending right onto New York was like someone slapping Tony’s face with a shoe, and then wiping the sole on him.

Could he tolerate that?

Not a chance.

Within five minutes, Iron Man’s crimson and gold figure was speeding above the scene, and Vision arrived nearly simultaneously.