Chapter One Hundred: Reservations

“Of course I know what’s down there.”

Faced with the others’ doubts, Gu Chongyan spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Nothing more than a few aliens and their spaceship. Destroy it, and that’s that. It won’t cause any bad consequences.”

“As for your parents, didn’t you want to send them to prison? If they come, wouldn’t that let us catch them all in one sweep?”

Gu Chongyan’s matter-of-fact confidence left the children at a loss for words.

The black kid, Alex, stared blankly and stammered, “B-but our parents already bribed the police. Even if we call them, it won’t help. We have to find enough evidence before we can bring them down.”

Hearing that, Gu Chongyan let out a light laugh. “No need to make it so complicated. The police they bribed are only the ones in the Los Angeles area. That doesn’t include me.”

“Something I forgot to mention: besides being a wizard, I’m also a special operative under S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a special organization that safeguards world security under the supervision of the World Security Council.”

“If your parents really committed crimes, I have every right to bypass the Los Angeles police and arrest them myself. I could even take down the entire Los Angeles police force while I’m at it.”

“So now, do you still have any questions?”

Watching Gu Chongyan speak so casually and confidently, everyone was stunned, including Richard.

None of them could understand why an enemy who seemed almost impossible to resist in their eyes became so simple in Gu Chongyan’s hands.

His relaxed expression made it seem as though he were not facing an event that might sink California, but merely deciding what to have for dinner.

If Gu Chongyan had known what they were thinking, he would probably have told them that this matter really was not that difficult.

To put it bluntly, among the villains of the Runaways, aside from Morgan Le Fay, whose origins were still unknown, the most troublesome one was merely an alien who had lived for many years and could possess other bodies.

Although that alien could glow, fly, generate electromagnetic reactions, and possessed a certain degree of superhuman ability, such powers were truly nothing remarkable in the Marvel Universe.

It was only because his enemies were a group of children that he seemed so troublesome.

Gu Chongyan had now recovered to his peak state. His strength had reached planetary level, and with all-out force he could even exchange a few blows with a weak Celestial-level being.

There were many people in the universe stronger than him, but this alien was absolutely not among them.

Aside from that alien, the only one among the children’s parents who could pose even a slight threat was the one who seemed to have come from Kamar-Taj, Tina Minoru.

But as long as he did not grow careless, wiping them all out in one go would be effortless.

Before absolute power, any scheme was worthless. There was naturally no need to devise plans or anything of the sort.

Seeing that the others were speechless, Gu Chongyan said, “It seems you have no further questions. In that case, can we go to the construction site now and put an end to all this?”

“Wait, I have a question.”

At that moment, Karolina, who could glow, raised her hand.

Her expression was strange, her eyes conflicted. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “You just said that beneath that pit are a few aliens and their spaceship.”

“How did you know that? And also, I, I...”

By then, Karolina had trouble continuing with the “I, I, I...” in her throat.

But Gu Chongyan had already understood what she was trying to say. He cut short her inner struggle and said, “No need to go on. I understand what you mean.”

“You all just saw my magic. As a wizard, divination is only basic skill. Using magic to infer all this is not difficult for me.”

“As for you.” Gu Chongyan paused, then swept his gaze across the others one by one. “Your guess is not wrong. You are the child of that alien and your mother. By bloodline, you could be said to be half human and half alien.”

“That glowing alien is your father in the true sense of the word.”

“The aliens beneath the pit can, in a sense, also be considered your kin.”

“But.” Gu Chongyan changed tone, “don’t assume that because you share something in common with them, you belong to the same family.”

“No blood relation does not mean they are not family. For example, the bond between the rest of you.”

“Likewise, blood relation does not mean family. For example, the alien who gave birth to you. Perhaps because of your bloodline, he may feel some paternal affection for you, but that all rests on the condition that you do not stand against him.”

“He is about to activate the spaceship. The immense power it generates will destroy the underground structure of California and trigger a massive earthquake.”

“If you stand with him, he’ll take you with him. You can survive on another planet. But if you refuse him, he will abandon you without the slightest hesitation and let you perish along with California.”

“He is already like this; the kin you have never even met will only be colder still. In truth, they are the real family, and in their eyes, you are nothing more than a half-breed born from a night of lust.”

“So there’s no need, just because you can glow, to lump yourself together with that bunch of inhuman creatures. Nor is there any need to agonize over what sort of origin you truly have.”

“You are you. You are Karolina. You are the closest, most inseparable family to the people around you. That is all.”

After hearing these words, Karolina’s expression shifted again and again. Clearly, every sentence had struck straight at the heart of her turmoil.

Ever since discovering that she could glow, she had felt like an outsider.

Because of that, after discovering a second person who could glow, and who was very likely her biological father, Karolina had developed a special feeling toward him.

On one hand, she knew he was an evil villain who survived by devouring the lives of others. On the other, she could not suppress the sense of kinship that rose within her.

Gu Chongyan’s words might be said to have shattered the complicated emotions she had carried all along.

Neither the glow nor her origins would affect her relationship with her true family. There was no need to seek belonging from another race because of such a thing.

Of course, she had to admit that Gu Chongyan’s phrase “half-breed” had also shattered her fantasy of coexisting with the aliens.

As a being half human and half alien, she was destined not to belong to either side. The only thing she could rely on was family.

“Thank you. I understand now,” Karolina said softly, biting her lower lip.

“You’re welcome,” Gu Chongyan said with a nod. “It’s best if you can untie the knot in your heart.”

Then he turned to the others. “And the rest of you, if any of you are like Karolina, if you have concerns about the next step or any emotional entanglements with your parents, you can speak up.”

“I’ll do my best to answer your questions. If there are no more problems, then we can begin.”

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