Beating around the bush had never been Thor's style. He either stayed silent or spoke plainly and clearly. So by the time Thor had finished recounting the circumstances of his banishment to Coulson, the horizon was already beginning to lighten.
Li Feng, who had accompanied Coulson through the long night, stretched lazily, yawning while rubbing his stomach. "Coulson, now that we've got most of Prince Thor's story, shouldn't we head back to the RV to rest and grab some food?"
At this point, Li Feng glanced at Thor's stomach and whispered to Coulson, "Asgardians are all big eaters. Based on the energy provided by Earth's cattle, an Asgardian can easily devour an entire cow in a single day—without even needing digestive aids."
Coulson eyed Thor's flat stomach and asked quietly, confused, "What do you mean?"
Wasn't it obvious? Li Feng rolled his eyes and whispered, "Even though I own a cattle farm, bro, consuming at least one cow a day—do you really think I can afford that?"
Before Li Feng could finish, Coulson instantly understood his implication. "You want S.H.I.E.L.D. to reimburse you for the cattle, or just have us buy and deliver some cows and sheep to your place?"
Li Feng nodded. "Better just have some livestock delivered." To be honest, Li Feng knew Thor wouldn't be staying on Earth for more than a few days, so the amount of livestock he could consume was actually quite limited. But let's not forget—the cattle and sheep Li Feng ate were all personally tended to by Kreacher.
To ensure Li Feng had access to safe, high-quality meat, the loyal and hardworking Kreacher occasionally fed the livestock magical potions or herbs infused with magical energy.
As a result, Li Feng's daily meals contained gentle, easily absorbed energy that also subtly enhanced his physical constitution. For Li Feng, this was practically priceless.
Letting Thor enjoy a meal or two was fine, but eating like this every single day? Li Feng couldn't handle that—even a wealthy landlord wouldn't have that much surplus.
So having S.H.I.E.L.D. bring in a batch of cattle and sheep was actually the best solution.
And once Thor left, those livestock would conveniently become Li Feng's.
Coulson pondered for a moment. Thor's veins flowed with the pure blood of the Asgardians. Even though he had been exiled to Earth, he was still a member of Asgard's royal family.
Given that Thor had once been the crown prince, he likely still held some influence in Asgard.
If the Asgardians found out their deposed prince was going hungry on Earth, who knew what kind of trouble might arise? Not to mention how embarrassing it would be for humanity—it would be downright shameful.
Besides, having an alien on Earth whose technological civilization far surpassed humanity's meant that S.H.I.E.L.D. could benefit greatly by fostering a good relationship. Extracting some outdated Asgardian technology from him shouldn't be too difficult.
With that in mind, Coulson took out his walkie-talkie in front of Thor and ordered, "Agent Sitwell, purchase a truckload of cattle and sheep for our extraterrestrial friend." After a pause, he turned to Thor and asked, "Lord Thor, do you have any special requests?"
Thor, still somewhat disoriented about his future, shook his head blankly at first. Then, feeling thirsty, he said, "Do you have any alcohol? I'd like a drink."
"Alcohol?" Li Feng smacked his lips and grinned. "I almost forgot—Asgardian drinking culture is famous across the universe. Rumor has it they feel physically uncomfortable if they go a day without alcohol."
Famous across the universe? Coulson gave Li Feng a thoughtful glance.
Li Feng gestured toward the exit and motioned for Thor to follow him. "I have homemade beer in my RV," he said. Then, with a wink and a lick of his lips as if savoring the memory, he added, "And my beer isn't ordinary—it's brewed with magical herbs. Unique flavor, you know."
If anyone else had invited him, Thor—who had resolved to set aside his pride—might have hesitated. But this was an invitation from a mage, and it involved alcohol. Thor didn't hesitate at all—he nodded in agreement immediately. However, before leaving, Thor remembered his newly made friend was still waiting for him. Although Coulson and Li Feng seemed like good people, Thor still felt a little uneasy.
Before Thor could speak, Li Feng, standing nearby, spoke first: "Almost forgot, Coulson, let Dr. Erik Selvig go."
"Of course," Coulson replied, narrowing his eyes at Li Feng with a strange feeling before picking up the walkie-talkie and ordering, "Bring Dr. Selvig here."
Soon after, the door was pushed open, and Selvig, exhausted from a night of interrogation, walked into the room. Glancing at Coulson and Li Feng inside, he forced a cheerful expression and opened his arms toward Thor, saying, "Donny, Donny, you're here. I came to take you home."
Beside them, Coulson raised an eyebrow playfully, observing Li Feng's gaze toward Selvig while leaning in to whisper, "Would you say Thor is going native? He barely arrived on Earth and already gave himself an Earthling name?"
Li Feng gave Coulson an exasperated look—still in the mood for jokes, huh?—and shrugged, replying quietly, "Hope you can still laugh about it later."
Coulson blinked. What did that mean? There seemed to be layers to that remark.
Li Feng ignored Coulson's obvious confusion for now. Some conversations could wait. Right now, the priority was settling Thor and, incidentally, earning a bit of his friendship.
"Gentlemen," Li Feng gestured for Thor and Selvig to leave the base, "it's been a long night. Let's head to my place for some proper rest."
With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
Thor, his face etched with the bitterness of losing his father and uncertainty about the future, patted Selvig's shoulder and nodded toward Li Feng. "This is Master Austin. Let's see what a mage's home looks like."
Selvig stared blankly at Li Feng's retreating figure. A mage? Which asylum did this guy escape from? Damn, the government's standards were slipping—hiring mental patients now? What a waste of taxpayers' money.
While grumbling internally, Selvig and the others reached the base exit.
Li Feng glanced back at Selvig, offering what he thought was his friendliest smile, and called out, "Kreacher—"
Before the words fully left his mouth, Kreacher appeared instantly before Li Feng, blinking his large, watery eyes. "Master, Kreacher is at your service."
"Holy—!" Selvig stumbled back in shock at the sudden appearance of the large-eared creature, pointing a shaky finger. "Did this kid mutate or something?"
Kid? Mutated?
Li Feng's expression darkened as he shot Selvig a look. Seriously? Most people would assume alien first—how did this guy jump straight to genetic mutation? Guess that's what happens when you're a science nut—everything gets a scientific explanation.
Thor, being an Asgardian, had seen his fair share of bizarre creatures. Kreacher's appearance barely fazed him. If anything, he found the elf's big eyes kind of endearing.
So, crouching slightly in front of Kreacher, Thor simply studied him with plain curiosity before turning to Li Feng. "What kind of creature is this?"
"Kreacher's a house-elf, a type of magical being," Li Feng answered offhandedly before instructing, "Prepare some food for our guests."
After a brief pause, he pointed at Thor. "This one needs a lot of nutrients. Slaughter one of our own cattle for him."
Then, gesturing at Selvig, "This one's just a regular human. Make something that'll improve his constitution."
Nearby, Coulson narrowed his eyes at Selvig. He knew Li Feng well enough—if he was going out of his way to prepare special meals for Selvig just because of Thor, there had to be more to it. He had spent several days with Li Feng, yet not only had he never tasted any food that could enhance his physique, but Li Feng hadn't even mentioned it. Now, to provide such food for Selvig—wasn't that going a bit too far?
Not to mention, Li Feng had repeatedly shown concern for Selvig in their conversations. Wasn't his intention to get close to Dr. Selvig a little too obvious?
Coulson was just puzzled—what could an astronomy professor possibly offer that would make Li Feng so eager to befriend him? Did a mage even need to study astronomy?
Coulson stroked his chin: Well, that actually made sense. Divination often involved stars, and stars were part of astronomy, weren't they?
As for Coulson's speculations, Li Feng couldn't be bothered to explain. Coulson could think whatever he wanted—there was no way Li Feng would tell him that Dr. Selvig's understanding of space was extraordinary and could help him comprehend spatial concepts.
In the future Battle of New York, when Loki invaded Earth, he sought out no one else but Selvig to study the Tesseract. What did that imply?
It meant Selvig was a genius—even Loki, an alien, knew about Selvig's expertise in spatial research.
In Thor: The Dark World, Selvig ended up in a mental hospital after being mind-controlled by Loki using the Mind Stone.
But even there, this brilliant man continued his research, even lecturing to fellow patients. The most absurd part? His theories were later proven one by one.
For instance, Selvig calculated the positions of the Nine Realms—how Midgard was at the center of Yggdrasil, Asgard at the top, and so on.
Beyond that, Dr. Selvig might seem low-key, but just look at his social circle to realize how impressive he was.
In the original storyline, after S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated Erik Selvig and Jane Foster's equipment, Selvig told Jane, "I had a friend who studied gamma radiation. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up, and I never saw him again." That clearly meant he knew Bruce Banner.
And that wasn't all. Right after, he added:
"I'll contact a colleague of mine, send him an email, see if he can help."
The "colleague" he referred to was none other than the original Ant-Man—Dr. Hank Pym.
The key was the term "colleague." Pym was a heavyweight in quantum physics, so how much did Selvig know about the field if he worked alongside him?
Maybe Selvig couldn't match Hank Pym, but teaching Li Feng quantum mechanics shouldn't be a problem, right?
With such a brilliant man—one who could actually help him—and Selvig coming all this way to meet him in person, there was no way Li Feng would pass up the opportunity.
Of course, if the chance arose, Li Feng wouldn't mind recruiting Selvig as his subordinate.