Protecting You

Upon Russell's blunt remark about her poor acting skills, Kara's innocent expression quickly vanished from her face.

"Is my acting really that bad?" Kara asked with a hint of reluctance.

"Yes! It's like kindergarten level!" Russell added seriously.

Hearing Russell's response, Kara let out a sigh of resignation and said slowly, "Fine, since you've figured it out, I won't pretend anymore. Diana did give me some instructions."

"What instructions?" Russell asked directly.

"Firstly, I'm supposed to keep an eye on you to prevent you from wandering." Kara extended a finger, smiling as she spoke.

Regarding this point, Russell wasn't surprised. While Diana might not mind him flirting around, that didn't mean she supported such behavior.

Not minding and supporting were two completely different things.

"And the second?"

Since there was a first instruction, there definitely had to be a second. Russell continued to inquire.

"Secondly, to protect you!"

Seeing Kara raise two fingers earnestly, Russell furrowed his brows slightly.

Diana asking Kara to keep an eye on him, he could understand.

But Diana asking Kara to protect him? This was a bit...

Kara was undeniably strong!

Russell didn't deny this fact.

Among the people he had encountered so far, Kara's strength was only second to Diana's.

Even the Hulk was currently no match for Kara.

Although the Hulk looked like he could crush Kara with just one hand, in an actual fight, Kara would probably have a higher chance of overpowering the Hulk.

The fact that the Hulk couldn't fly alone meant that he couldn't gain any advantage against Kara in their confrontation.

Not to mention that Kara possessed long-range attacks like heat vision and super breath.

While Kara was powerful, Russell himself wasn't weak.

He might not be particularly strong right now, but as long as he didn't provoke those hidden big shots, he would generally be safe on Earth.

"I don't need your protection, I can take care of myself!"

Even though he didn't know why Diana had made this arrangement, Russell had no intention of accepting Kara's protection.

Holding onto Diana's thigh was one thing, since she was his legitimate girlfriend. With someone as reliable and gentle as Diana looking out for him, it wasn't something he couldn't accept.

Living off someone else's success wasn't something just anyone could do!

But Kara was different.

Setting aside the fact that he was currently considering how to activate the Kryptonian Heritage reward, having Kara, who looked barely of legal age, protect him wouldn't look good at all.

"No, you need it!"

Kara didn't pay any attention to his refusal and spoke earnestly.

"I don't need it!"

Russell rejected once again.

"You need it!"

"I don't need it!"

"You need it!"

....

Russell repeatedly rejected, and Kara repeatedly insisted.

In the end, unable to bear the futile argument that resembled children bickering, Russell stood up abruptly.

"Let's fight!"

"If you win, I'll accept your protection, but if you lose, you'll obediently be my secretary!"

Since reasoning couldn't convince the other party, then physical persuasion would have to do!

Though the methods were different, both aimed at convincing.

"Fine!"

Kara stood up as well, looking at Russell with confidence.

After more than ten minutes...

Suburbs of New York.

Justice League Headquarters.

Similar to the still-in-construction Avengers, Russell also set up a headquarters in the suburbs of New York for the Justice League.

Though the headquarters was quite spacious, currently, only one person was living there – the Hulk.

Gwen occasionally stayed there for a few days, but not too often. After all, Gwen was still an undergraduate student and had to attend classes, so living in the suburbs wasn't convenient.

Each member of the Justice League had their own room within the headquarters.

Russell had one as well.

However, he had never stayed in his own room. When he needed to stay at the Justice League headquarters, he typically stayed in Gwen's room, discussing the meaning of life and the origin of the universe.

If Gwen wasn't there, he would go straight to his apartment.

Similar to the Octopus Monster Industrial's unmanned factory, the operations of the Justice League headquarters were also overseen by No. 3.

Presently, No. 3 had duplicated programs in the Justice League headquarters, unmanned factory, laboratory, and company headquarters.

However, the core program of No. 3 still resided within the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor Unit No. 1.

Though he mainly used duplicated programs, for No. 3, an artificial intelligence, there wasn't much of a difference.

The only distinction was that the core program within Endosymbiotic Battle Armor No. 1 had to frequently receive information transmitted back by the duplicated programs.

En route to the Justice League headquarters, Kara had taken the opportunity to visit her apartment and change into her blue midriff-baring Supergirl suit with a super-short skirt.

Presently, Kara hadn't gotten into the habit of wearing her superhero uniform underneath her clothes.

However, Russell believed that Kara would develop this habit sooner or later.

At the same time, he had a small question.

Superman, Clark Kent, wore his uniform underneath his clothes – no problem there, since his uniform was a single-piece bodysuit.

But Kara's uniform was different; Kara wore a skirt, and a super-short one at that.

Would she wear the super-short skirt over her office skirt?

Russell found it hard to imagine that scene.

However, he didn't waste brain cells pondering this question.

Although he couldn't imagine the situation right now, if everything went smoothly, he might have the opportunity to personally verify this question in the future.

Russell, wearing the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor, and Kara, dressed in her Supergirl suit, flew directly to the Justice League headquarters.

They had just landed on the training field of the headquarters when Hulk, holding a barrel of wine, approached them.

Seeing Russell's arrival, Hulk waved at him excitedly.

Then, picking up the barrel of wine, Hulk began pouring it into his mouth in big gulps.

Although Russell had taught Hulk how to control his emotions, Hulk's fondness for drinking wasn't something Russell had influenced.

Ever since he had his first drink, Hulk, who had never drunk alcohol before, had developed a liking for whiskey.

Presently, Hulk consumed more whiskey in a day than Russell did in a month.

Not only did Hulk have a decent tolerance, but his taste for alcohol was also good.

Up until now, he hadn't caused any trouble while drunk.

This fact truly reassured Russell.

If Hulk really caused trouble while drunk, he would immediately forbid Hulk from drinking.

When regular people cause trouble when drunk, it's already a headache.

But if Hulk caused trouble while drunk, he might end up demolishing New York.

After landing on the training field, Kara couldn't help but examine Hulk.

Although Russell had shown her some news reports about Hulk last night, seeing Hulk in person was a completely different experience from reading about him.

As Hulk waved at Russell, Kara flew up to him, using her eyes to continually examine his powerful physique.

Seemingly finding merely looking insufficient, Kara extended her right hand and playfully poked Hulk's steel-like abs with her index finger.

Standing before the massive and unfathomably strong Hulk, who stood over two meters tall, Kara, at only 1.65 meters, appeared extremely petite.

Hulk didn't recognize Kara. As she touched his abs with her finger, Hulk's expression soured. He retreated a few steps and simultaneously raised the massive wine barrel in his hand to create a barrier between himself and Kara.

"Hulk doesn't like being touched by others. You'd better not do that."

---

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