Chapter Eighteen: The Hapless Prince

“Daisy!” Clearly, Dr. Erik Selvig, head of the Astrophysics Institute, didn’t want his student’s apprentice scaring off their investor, and quickly called out to halt her complaints.

“Sorry, Daisy’s just been cooped up in this small town for too long—she’s a bit homesick,” Jane Foster rushed forward to apologize for her student. Hao Yun smiled, indicating he didn’t mind.

Truth be told, he rather liked Daisy’s character: straightforward, and open-minded.

As an eighteen-year-old boy living in liberal America, he was quite eager to lose his virginity too!

“No worries. Actually, I’m an enthusiast of astrophysics myself. This so-called funding inspection is just an excuse—I heard Dr. Erik and Dr. Jane were on the verge of a major discovery, so I came here specifically to take part.”

His elegant manners, polite words, and the fact that the funding inspection was entirely fabricated brought wide smiles to the faces of the two in the room.

Especially Jane, who had diverted quite a bit of money to create her specialized equipment! Now, not only would there be no scrutiny over the funds, but the investor wanted to join their experiment; when he returned, she might even get more funding.

“Haha! Welcome, welcome! Young man, have you eaten yet? Should Jane fix you something?”

“No need, I ate on the plane. By the way, isn’t tonight the observation window? I can hardly wait!”

Yes, he could hardly wait to meet Thor!

“Alright, then let’s go!” Erik and Jane exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and set out by car.

…

On the way, Erik and Jane were very courteous to Hao Yun; in contrast, Daisy, who was a bit unruly in the movie, showed him no kindness at all.

As night approached, in the experimental van, none of them felt much like chatting anymore—all were focused on calibrating the equipment.

Even Hao Yun, who was technically just there to observe, was roped in by Erik to help with various tasks.

Once everything was secured, Jane produced an instrument and switched it on… Instantly, the rapidly fluctuating energy readings made both Erik and Jane beam with delight.

“Can I turn on the radio?” Daisy, the only one still inside the van, felt bored and turned to ask.

“No!” Hao Yun raised his right hand to check the time—ten o’clock, Washington time… Yes, Thor should be dropped off soon!

Another half hour passed. The lack of any celestial activity made Jane’s expression falter slightly, especially with Hao Yun present, making her feel even more embarrassed.

If she predicted the celestial event wrong in front of Hao Yun, how could she keep asking Stark Industries for more funding?

“How is this possible? I succeeded all seventeen previous times—down to the second…”

“Jane, you’re an astrophysicist, not a storm chaser,” Erik advised gently. Daisy glanced oddly at Hao Yun—shouldn’t he be the most upset about the failed prediction? Yet, she felt he was smiling.

“No, she predicted it accurately! It’s just… some special interference delayed the storm’s arrival!” Hao Yun suddenly spoke, pointing to the sky not far away.

There, less than a kilometer away, a rainbow-colored light pierced through the clouds… Jane quickly scrambled onto the roof, and the energy detector on the van’s equipment surged rapidly! In moments, it hit the maximum!

“Run!” Seeing the rainbow light intensify and the energy index skyrocket, Jane shouted in panic. Daisy instinctively released the brake, and the van sped towards the tornado!

In the sky, whirlwinds began to coalesce; anyone could see that in less than three minutes, a massive tornado would form!

“Faster, faster!” Jane urged excitedly, holding up a small camera to film through the window… Hao Yun smiled, gripping the handrail tightly… The Bifrost was opening; Thor had arrived!

“Boom!” Suddenly, a flash of fire fell ahead, and a tremendous force whipped the tornado across the field… Daisy quickly tried to steer the van away… but Jane, entranced by the scientific marvel, wouldn’t let it go and lunged for the steering wheel!

“What are you doing? Drive into it!”

“I’m not risking my life for six credits!” Daisy retorted furiously, and the two women began a tug-of-war over the wheel in the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

The van shook violently, then—

“Bang!” A figure smashed hard against the window… Daisy instinctively slammed on the brakes, and the whirlwind dissipated, leaving everything silent.

Inside, Daisy, Jane, and Erik exchanged glances—had they hit someone? They hurried out to inspect the figure they’d struck.

Hao Yun straightened his clothes and calmly got out from the back seat, walking leisurely over to join them.

“Where did this guy come from?”

“Oh please, don’t let him be dead…”

Jane stooped down, shining her flashlight on the figure… The blond giant seemed unharmed, merely shaking his head and lying on the ground, locking eyes with Jane.

Hao Yun’s lips curled upward—yes, this must be the moment Jane and Thor fell in love at first sight.

“Where did he come from?” Jane asked again, but no one on site could answer; the only two who knew, one was watching the scene unfold, the other was struggling to his feet, roaring—

“My hammer! My hammer!”

“Are you searching for Mjolnir?” Seeing Thor grow more agitated as he realized his powers were gone, Erik suggested they take him to the hospital. Hao Yun finally couldn’t resist, calling out from a distance.

“You’ve seen my hammer? Mortal!” Thor spun around, glaring angrily at Hao Yun! Then charged straight at him, intent on grabbing his collar!

But before he could get far, an electric wire shot out from Daisy’s hand… Thor was promptly subdued, knocked unconscious by Daisy’s portable stun gun.

Everyone stared at Daisy; Hao Yun gave her a thumbs up. Kid, congratulations—you’ve accomplished what an entire realm of Frost Giants couldn’t.

Daisy widened her eyes, declaring boldly, “What? He startled me! Besides, I was protecting our investor!”

“Enough, let’s just take him to the hospital.” Jane rolled her eyes at Daisy, signaling Erik and Hao Yun to help hoist Thor into the van.

After the two men struggled to load him, Hao Yun suggested Daisy drive directly back to the lab.

“No need for the hospital—let’s go straight to the lab. I know who he is; I’ll tell you when we’re back.”

“You really know?” Jane asked skeptically, and Erik’s expression was openly dubious… He was hit by a car—are you sure you know him? And he’s not your enemy?

“I do, let’s head back. Once he wakes up, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Hao Yun closed his eyes, ignoring the three. Ah, Thor was so unfortunate—he almost felt embarrassed to reveal the man was a god!

Prince, oh prince, you truly are the worst-off deity I’ve ever seen!