Chapter 13: Homecoming

Vanessa stepped out to find Edward drenched in blood, as if he'd been bathed in it from head to toe. Blood covered him entirely, and bodies of enemies lay everywhere she looked.

"Ugh~"

"This is normal. Go ahead and throw it out. You'll feel better afterward. I'm going to wash up first. Ugh, I am also smelling like ass sweat. Though I wonder why I know how ass sweat smells like..."

With that, he stopped paying attention to Vanessa. After all, he had killed all their pursuers, and now they were relatively safe.

After Edward quickly washed up, he wasted no time in taking Vanessa to the evacuation point, where a helicopter had been waiting for quite some time. Soon, the helicopter whisked them away from the Golden Triangle.

Khun Sa's strength had been compromised by this battle, prompting other warlords to seize the opportunity to start a war and capture a significant amount of Khun Sa's territory and resources.

Khun Sa knew he couldn't maintain his current territory with his weakened strength. He could only give up the excess land, hoping his enemies would turn on each other so he could benefit later. However, it seemed they had already made a pact, as they divided the territory and then fell silent.

Khun Sa had to swallow this loss quietly, but his troubles were not over. His external losses continued to grow because he had kidnapped Vanessa, which provoked the wrath of Kingpin. As a result, Khun Sa's forces faced unprecedented attacks.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Edward and his group had already returned to the Marvel Agency in Hell's Kitchen. As Vanessa walked in, she saw Richard playing "The King of Fighters '97" with Tom and seemingly struggling.

"Richard!" Vanessa called out to her son.

Hearing Vanessa's voice, Richard immediately dropped the controller and rushed into her arms.

"Mom, you're finally back…! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, Richard. How about you?! Are you hurt?!"

"No, I'm okay." Richard then introduced Vanessa to Tom and Jerry, pulling her towards them. "Mom, I want to introduce you to my friends. This is Tom and this is Jerry. They saved me several times."

Just as Richard dropped the controller, Jerry made a quick slide and caught it, immediately starting a match against Tom. However, Tom seemed to have the upper hand, and soon, Jerry was ultimately KO'd.

When the two little guys turned around, they finally noticed Vanessa. However, Vanessa didn't look too good, especially with the smell emanating from her, which made both Jerry and Tom cover their noses.

Vanessa felt a bit embarrassed and was about to say something when suddenly Tom conjured up a curtain, surrounding Vanessa. He then produced a showerhead, shampoo, and other toiletries, while Jerry helped wash her inside.

Next, Tom tossed Vanessa's dirty clothes into a basin that appeared out of nowhere and began washing them before also ironing them. In just two minutes, Vanessa's clothes were as good as new, and Jerry had finished washing her.

When Vanessa emerged, she was dressed and cleaned but still in a daze.

"What just...?"

"You know, the physiology between mice and mice is different, and the same goes for cats," Edward explained.

"But..."

"Enough about my pets. Kingpin is still waiting for you. I'll escort you there," Edward interrupted Vanessa again.

"Okay then…."

"Tom, Jerry, goodbye," Richard said, waving to his little friends.

Jerry, standing on Tom's shoulder, waved back at Richard. Then, Edward took Vanessa and Richard to the top floor of Wilson Tower and, in Kingpin's presence, handed over the scroll before leaving.

"Are you alright, Vanessa?" After everyone else had left, Kingpin hugged Vanessa gently and asked.

"I'm fine, Wilson." Thinking about her recent experiences, Vanessa couldn't help but cry. She tried to smile despite her sadness.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Rest assured, those who hurt you will not get away with it!" Kingpin held Vanessa tightly, his voice filled with menace.

Watching his parents' loving interaction, Richard suddenly felt a bit like an outsider.

"But we still have to thank Ed. If it weren't for him, I might not have made it back. You have no idea how powerful Ed is."

"Oh? How powerful?" Kingpin asked with great interest.

Vanessa then recounted everything Edward had done, leaving Kingpin increasingly astonished, especially at the mention of his immortality. Kingpin took note of this crucial detail. Vanessa then added, "Wilson, can we live next to the agency? It would be safer for Richard and us."

"Of course, I'll have people buy all the land around the agency right away," Kingpin said with a smile.

"Good, then I'll go rest now, I'm exhausted." Vanessa kissed Kingpin, then opened the hidden room in his office. Inside was a massive bed, reinforced with solid metal and iron columns to support Kingpin's impressive weight of over 400 pounds, which no ordinary bed could handle.

As Vanessa slept soundly, Kingpin carefully closed the secret room door and motioned for Richard to come over.

"Richard, have there been any attacks on you these past few days? Tell me the truth."

"There were, but Tom and Jerry took care of them," Richard answered cautiously.

"How many attacks?"

"Two waves," Richard replied, head lowered.

"Who are Tom and Jerry? Ed's employees?"

"No, they are Brother Ed's pets. They're really powerful, they're ninjas. They can breathe fire and water, and Jerry can even summon a wooden dragon," Richard said excitedly.

Kingpin wondered if Richard was delusional, but he knew his son well enough to trust that Richard wouldn't lie to him, at least not about something like this.

In other words, everything Richard said was true, which meant he needed to reassess Edward's strength.

Kingpin quickly arranged for the land around the agency to be purchased, except for one building that belonged to Edward, which he couldn't buy. But that was enough.

Soon, a renovation team arrived to start working on the houses next to the agency. However, the result was chaotic as Tom and Jerry went wild, wanting to set off fireworks and throw bombs. Fortunately, Walter was at the agency and managed to calm them down with great difficulty.

Even so, they were still furious, sitting by the window and glaring intensely at the renovation crew.

This made the workers extremely uneasy, but they had no choice but to pretend they didn't notice.