Carol stared at the Arc Reactor in William's hand, feeling the energy radiating from it—identical to that of the Tesseract.
For a moment, she was completely stunned.
But she quickly regained her composure, narrowing her eyes before giving William a look filled with genuine admiration.
"I have to admit, you're a genius," she said.
"You actually managed to invent a device capable of generating Tesseract-level energy."
Then, her expression turned teasing.
"But if you really knew me, you'd understand just how deeply connected I am to the Tesseract's energy—how familiar I am with it.
And…."
Carol suddenly leaned in closer, lifting herself onto her toes and sniffing at William.
"I can sense Tesseract energy inside your body."
Then, she smirked mischievously.
"But what really surprises me is that the energy didn't transform you—you didn't gain superpowers like I did.
So, tell me, how are you controlling it?
And where exactly did you hide the Tesseract?
Or…."
Her eyes drifted down to his stomach as she laughed playfully.
"Did you swallow it?"
Carol's shameless gaze made William's face twitch.
What kind of filthy thought was that?!
"You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered.
But then, a thought struck him, and he frowned.
"Wait—you can really sense the Tesseract's energy in me?"
Carol nodded.
"I can't see it leaking, but I can feel the energy's flow inside you."
That made William's frown deepen.
Carol must have noticed his concern, because she added,
"Relax. I'm the only one who can sense it—only because I'm so intimately familiar with the Tesseract's power.
Besides, now that your Sentinel Armor has absorbed superpowers, it's actually harder for me to detect the energy.
If you hadn't used that blue energy in your magic earlier, I might have thought I was imagining things.
I only rediscovered it when I got this close to you."
"Whew…"
Hearing that, William let out a deep sigh of relief.
As long as the energy wasn't actively leaking, he wouldn't be walking around like a human beacon, detectable by every scanner or superpowered being.
And as far as he knew, Carol was the only person in the universe who had been directly modified by Tesseract energy.
If even she had to practically press against him to sense it, then he should be fine.
Plus, unless he completely stopped using the Tesseract's power, it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out.
As long as nobody realized that the Tesseract's power was actually the Space Stone, it wouldn't be a major issue.
He also understood why the Sentinel Armor helped mask the energy—because it was constantly absorbing the Tesseract's energy.
After thinking it over, he placed his left hand behind his waist, and a chunk of raw Sentinel metal appeared in his palm.
Without any energy signature, it seamlessly fused into the armor, while a fully charged piece of Sentinel material was secretly stored away.
And just as he suspected—
Carol suddenly frowned and muttered,
"What the hell? My energy perception is dropping again…."
"Hahaha!"
Finding a perfect way to hide his energy, William was so delighted that he almost hugged Captain Marvel and kissed her.
But just as he restrained himself—
Carol didn't.
Without any hesitation, she grabbed his neck, lifted herself slightly, tilted her face—
And kissed him.
William's eyes widened in shock as Carol closed her own eyes, slowly floating upward, trying to find a more comfortable angle.
What the fck?!
Was he just assaulted by Captain Marvel?!
Once his brain rebooted, William found himself at a crossroad.
Should he resist and risk ruining their already fragile relationship?
Or should he "take one for the team", considering her power level and influence?
Honestly, for William, there was no real dilemma.
Carol might not be drop-dead gorgeous, but she was far from ugly.
So, with a deep breath, he decided to just roll with it.
But before he could reciprocate, Carol seemed to realize something—
William wasn't responding at all.
His hands were still floating awkwardly in the air, making it obvious that he wasn't fully into it.
Feeling a bit awkward, Carol released her grip on his neck, floated back slightly, and crossed her arms with an annoyed look.
William pretended not to notice her expression and seized the opportunity to escape.
"The ship will take you back to Earth," he said.
"I've got other things to do—see you in London."
Without waiting for her response, he opened a portal and disappeared.
As the portal vanished, Carol let out a frustrated growl.
"What the hell was that?"
Even she didn't know why she had suddenly done that.
And now?
Not only did she fail to gain the upper hand, she also lost the perfect chance to squeeze a "favor" out of him.
If she had pushed for a deal right then, she could have easily gotten full compensation for her "stolen" abilities.
But if they discussed it later in London, she'd probably only get 80% of what she originally could have.
### Back in London
As soon as William returned to his estate, he burst out laughing.
Just a few hours ago, he had been stressed about handling Carol—
Now, everything was 10 times easier.
"Sunday, bring back the Skrulls' ship from orbit and release them."
Then, he suddenly remembered—
"Wait… didn't we dismantle their ship?"
Sunday responded,
"The Kree warship has been fully disassembled, and all its technology has been analyzed and replicated.
If you wish, we can construct an identical ship in two weeks.
However, if you want it reassembled from the old parts, it would take three days, but its stability and safety would be significantly compromised."
William waved dismissively.
"Who cares about stability? As long as it doesn't fall apart after a few flights, that's their problem, not mine."
"Understood, SIR. Assembly will be completed in 70 hours."
After a moment's thought, William added,
"Gather information on Carol Danvers' past interests in the U.S. and design a small personal spaceship specifically for her."
"Understood."
As Sunday continued updating him on the past few days' events, William casually switched on his underground TV—
And the first thing he saw was his own name on the news.
"Wait… did Abigail tell everyone I was out at sea?"
Sunday responded,
"Yes, SIR. After you left Earth with the Set Gemstone, multiple Holy Church factions in London tried to track you down.
Miss Abigail had no choice but to publicly announce that you had gone on a yacht retreat."
William smirked as he remembered his promise to Nissa and Selene about taking them out to sea.
"How long would it take to build a 100-meter luxury yacht?"
"If we purchase all existing equipment and only construct the hull and power systems, approximately 10 hours."
"Then start building—and get all the permits sorted."
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]