Chapter 98: Voodoo Doll

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"What?" Steve Rogers was clearly confused by Natasha Romanoff's request.

"Intimate displays in public places make people feel uncomfortable," Natasha Romanoff said.

"Yes, exactly," Steve Rogers agreed wholeheartedly with her statement.

Natasha Romanoff took the initiative and wrapped her arms around Steve Rogers' neck, stealing his first kiss since 1945.

Meanwhile, on the nearby elevator, Hawkeye's piercing gaze scanned the crowd continuously. When his eyes fell upon Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers, he didn't look too closely and immediately turned his head away.

The scene ended there.

Everyone understood that this so-called kiss had nothing to do with emotions; it was purely for covert purposes.

"Nick Fury has been assassinated, and Natasha Romanoff and I have to go into hiding. It seems that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been heavily infiltrated by HYDRA," Steve Rogers said. "Combined with the previous videos, HYDRA must have many other bases. Their strength is far beyond imagination."

"Unfortunately, now we can't trust anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. except for the few individuals who appeared in the videos," Tony Stark said.

[The fourth question begins. Prepare yourselves.]

[Why was War Machine James Rhodes pursuing Iron Man Tony Stark?]

[A. James Rhodes was bribed by enemies and wanted to eliminate Tony Stark quickly.]

[B. Tony Stark drove under the influence of alcohol in the Iron Man suit, causing the accidental death of numerous civilians. In a fit of rage, James Rhodes sought to protect the people.]

[C. The suit was controlled by someone else, and James Rhodes was not in control of his own actions.]

[D. James Rhodes had his mind controlled and lost control of himself.]

[Correctly answering this question will reward you with a voodoo doll. By dripping blood onto the doll, it will recognize its owner. Carrying the voodoo doll allows the owner to die once on their behalf. Answering incorrectly will deduct one year of life.]

"Die once on their behalf!" When this reward was announced, it struck a chord in the hearts of those in the answering space. Even Thor, who usually looked down upon the rewards from the answering space due to his long lifespan, felt a sudden thrill. With this voodoo doll, it was like having a second life!

However, these individuals were all Avengers, with moral standards to uphold. Even Tony Stark, with all his flaws, was still a trustworthy person in matters of right and wrong, so there was no way they would fight over the voodoo doll.

"James Rhodes, Stark, he's the one who took your suit, right?" Thor was the first to speak, "Is his nickname War Machine? It sounds quite imposing."

"He doesn't have that nickname now. He probably got it after wearing my suit," Tony Stark thought for a moment and said, "But now that the answering space has appeared and my palladium poisoning has been resolved, there won't be any incidents of him trying to steal the suit. Therefore, there won't be a War Machine either."

"It seems that these videos were extrapolated based on the premise that the answering space had not appeared," Bruce Banner said.

"Stark, you know him, your good friend. Who do you think we should choose?" Steve Rogers asked.

"A can be eliminated immediately. Putting aside our friendship, he's not the kind of person who can be bought," Tony Stark casually glanced at the options and directly ruled out one.

"B can also be ruled out. First of all, I wouldn't drive under the influence and accidentally kill civilians. I may be a second-generation rich guy, but I'm not one of those idiots with alcohol and women on their minds, I know how powerful my suit is, and I wouldn't drive it while intoxicated. To put it bluntly, even if I didn't care about injuring civilians, I would still be afraid of injuring myself," Tony Stark continued, immediately ruling out the second option. "And, taking a step back, Rhodes is a rule-abiding, obedient person. Even if I really did accidentally kill civilians, at most, he would give me a good beating. He would arrest me and put me in jail, not kill me to protect the people."

"Stark, I have my doubts about this," Thor expressed his skepticism directly after hearing Tony's response. "You have a 'criminal record' of drinking and wearing the suit before. Alright, it hasn't happened yet, so it's a 'post-crime'."

"Thor, the situations are different. That time, I let Rhodes take the suit on purpose, and I stayed in the room without flying out."

"But there were many civilians in your room. You were drunk and fired repulsor blasts. Can you say there was no possibility of accidentally hurting them?"

"Well, my mistake," Tony Stark shrugged. "But Rhodes is still trustworthy. He wouldn't do something like pursuing me. He's a soldier, not an assassin."

"Since options A and B can be ruled out, the answer must be either C or D," Bruce Banner said. "Stark, you know your suit better than anyone else in this world. Do you think option C is possible?"

"If it's my own suit, then it's impossible. But if it's a suit that I've given away, then it's hard to say," Tony Stark said. "The military, those bunch of idiots, would definitely tamper with the suit, upgrading the software and rewriting the system. But they are a group of inept people, and if someone takes advantage of what they create, it's also possible."

"C seems more plausible, but what about D?" Thor said. "We've seen Scarlet Witch's ability to control minds. It's possible that someone similar could manipulate Rhodes to target you."

"That's correct. D is also possible," Tony Stark said. "But I think the chances of Rhodes encountering someone like that are slim. Compared to D, C is more likely." Tony Stark stated directly, "I choose C!"

[Answer correct! Reward distributed!]

A voodoo doll with its mouth and eyes sewn shut, giving off an eerie and terrifying vibe, appeared on the ground.

"This thing can actually die on my behalf?" Tony Stark picked up the voodoo doll, marveling at it.

After the appearance of aliens, gods, and magic in the world, things became chaotic in many ways. But sometimes, there were also small surprises, like this sacrificial doll in front of them. This was something that technology could never achieve.

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=>Sailing with Whitebeard: Starting with a Question

=>The day of studying in Hogwarts

.....

[END OF CHAPTER]