Chapter 1524

Although it was late autumn, the sun on the West Coast was still scorching. Stark lay on a lounge chair on the beach and took a sip of the juice in his hand.

Pepper sat on the lounge chair next to him, applying sunscreen to herself, and looked at the leisurely Stark, asking, "You just threw your laboratory to yourself from another universe? Are you sure he can handle the work of our universe?"

"It's not like I did it so he could handle work for me." Stark spread his hands and said, "I had Peter from his universe bring him over purely because there's big trouble about to find me, and it's not just one. If I don't run early, I'll definitely be in big trouble."

Pepper leaned forward and asked curiously, "What kind of trouble could make the dignified Stark abandon his own experimental projects and rush to the West Coast overnight to accompany me?"

Stark took another sip of juice, sighed deeply, and thought for a long time before spitting out a sentence: "It's too complicated, it's hard to explain."

And in the Stark Tower laboratory in New York, the unlucky Stark who was tricked into taking the blame was now thinking about a philosophical question—do the parents of a parallel universe count as one's own parents?

Theoretically, they shouldn't count. If every Stark in a parallel universe had a pair of parents, then they must be each person's own parents, and they can't be mixed up.

But the problem is, the vast majority of Starks in the universe no longer have parents, and for some reason, the Stark of this central universe has both parents. So emotionally, it is indeed very difficult for Stark to use a sentence like "You are not my mother" to deal with Maria's interrogation.

Moreover, Stark knows that even if he says he came from a parallel universe, Maria will definitely ask him who he eventually married, whether he had children, and other such questions. But Stark is equally unable to answer these questions because the Earth in their universe is now in ruins, and matters of romance can only be discussed later.

Therefore, he could only shrug his shoulders as if he didn't care, turned his head away, and said, "This question is very complicated. You have to give me some time. I have to think it through before I can explain it to you."

Stark intended to muddle through this matter. Anyway, he would leave here in a few days, and by then, wouldn't it be the Stark of this universe who would have a headache?

Thinking this, he took a few steps back, gave Peter a wink, and said, "I left something at home. I'll go back to get it first, and we'll talk later."

After finishing, he showed a fake smile, greased his feet, and slipped away quickly. He ran all the way to the elevator door before he heard Maria's roar coming from the room.

"Howard! It's all those rotten things from your youth that didn't give our son a good example!"

Stark, standing at the elevator door, showed a gloating smile, and Peter, who had just caught up with him, asked, "Mr. Stark, where are we going now?"

"Of course, to find the Stark of this universe. If he's not in the laboratory, he must be at home. Let's go, let's find him, and then ask him where he hid Schiller."

In the vast majority of cases, Stark lives in the Stark Group's tower, often working in the laboratory all night, sleeping in the lounge for a while in the morning, and then continuing to handle miscellaneous matters.

Occasionally, he will also go to the Avengers base, similarly debugging equipment there all night, handling various logistical tasks, and then taking a nap in the armor.

But besides the old Stark family house, Stark also has his own penthouse mansion in Manhattan, where land is expensive. Occasionally, he will return there to stay for a few nights, usually to hold parties or go on dates with female companions.

Stark knows himself very well. If he's not in the laboratory in the evening, he must be in the bed of some cover model. So going to the apartment now to find another himself might even allow him to appreciate his awkward expression.

Thinking this, Stark soon arrived at the door of his Manhattan apartment. To prevent Peter from seeing some scenes unsuitable for children, Stark let him stay in the restaurant downstairs and went to the elevator alone.

The penthouse mansion's elevator has independent access, so as soon as the elevator door opened, Stark entered the familiar entrance hall directly. Entering the spacious hall, Stark hadn't even turned to walk to the bedroom when he heard a crisp female voice coming from the direction of the washroom.

Stark raised an eyebrow, but before he could feel proud of his accurate prediction, he saw a slender figure with black hair walk out of the washroom—it was Loki.

Stark was stunned for a moment. The Loki in front of him was wearing a white silk bathrobe, her long black hair blown half-dry, and some strands of hair with moisture still sticking to her cheeks. Her fair neck and chest were still stained with water droplets, and she looked like she had just finished taking a bath.

Seeing Stark appear in front of the door, Loki raised her eyes and looked him up and down. While holding a bath towel to wipe her hair, she said, "Why are you only back now? I've been waiting for you for half a day."

While Stark was in a daze, the elevator door suddenly opened again. Peter and Howard walked out of the door. Howard was still saying while walking: "Tony, we really need to talk. You have to find a way to round out this lie, otherwise your mother will nag us both every day..."

Howard, who had just walked out, saw Loki wearing a bathrobe with wet hair at first glance, as well as Stark who was stunned on the side.

He widened his eyes and looked at Stark, saying: "Tony, didn't you say you and Loki had nothing going on? So you two really... Helen is really... Can humans and Asgardians... Ah???"

Howard pressed his forehead with his hand, unable to figure it out. But seeing Loki put down the bath towel and put her hands in the pockets of her bathrobe, he immediately covered his eyes with his hand in embarrassment, pulled Peter to walk out quickly, and said while walking: "Do whatever you want today, but you must give me an explanation tomorrow!"

After finishing, he left in a hurry with Peter, who had unlocked the elevator permission for him. Stark stared at Loki and said: "So Tony Stark of this universe really... How did you two... Wouldn't Thor..."

After Stark lowered his head and thought calmly for a while, he raised his head again and looked at Loki from head to toe. Loki blinked.

"My meaning is..." Stark crossed his arms and tapped one foot lightly, saying: "Every universe's Loki is... Hmm?"

The instant Stark's gaze swept across Loki's face, his eyes stayed straight on those green eyes. Ignoring the awkwardness brought by the slightly familiar face and temperament, Stark had to admit that Loki was really beautiful and full of a peculiar attraction.

He couldn't help but take two steps forward, lowered his head slightly, and looked at the Loki in front of him, saying: "If every universe's Loki were as beautiful as you, the Avengers would definitely welcome Thor more."

Loki pursed her lips and smiled. When she raised her eyes, the water droplets on her eyelashes slid from the ends to the roots and flowed into her eyes, making her emerald-like eyes even more shimmering.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared above her pupils. Loki frowned, stared at Stark's face, and said: "You are really not the Tony Stark of this universe. Where did he run off to?"

"I'm also here to find him." Stark spread his hands and said, "I thought I would see some cover model here, I didn't expect it to be you."

Loki put away her slightly pitiful expression, and the coldness belonging to the God of Mischief climbed back onto her face. She snorted coldly and said: "Of course it's me. I knew that if his parents couldn't find him in the laboratory, they would come here to find him. If you hadn't come, they should have seen me lying on Tony's bed."

Loki grabbed the bath towel from her hair in annoyance and threw it on the sofa next to her. After sitting down, she crossed her legs, crossed her arms, and gritted her teeth, saying: "Damn it! He actually ran away in advance?! Which link went wrong? Could it be that someone leaked the news in advance?"

"No way, Loki." Stark walked to the opposite side of Loki, looked at her, and said: "Your method of dealing with the Stark of this universe is actually to run to his bed and then slander his reputation. Aren't you being too despicable?"

Loki rolled her eyes and said: "Do you want to hear what you're saying? Does Tony Stark actually have any reputation in this regard for me to slander? Or is it that he brings those cover models here to discuss reputation issues with them all night?"

Stark was choked up. He smacked his lips, his momentum weakened a bit, and he muttered: "That's my private matter. Even so, you can't..."

"Who told him to smash me several times with his stupid armor and call me 'such a weak god'?" Loki crossed her arms and said unhappily.

"Pfft."

Stark couldn't help but laugh out loud, and immediately received a glare from Loki. He quickly tightened his expression, made a serious and profound look, and said: "Then he really has no manners. How could he do such a rude thing to a beautiful lady?"

Stark leaned forward, his forearms pressed on his knees. Loki leaned back on the sofa chair in a relaxed posture, her arms resting on the armrests, and her whole body tilted to one side. Seeing Stark's interested expression, she raised an eyebrow, smiled, and said: "I guess, after we met last time, you must have looked at the Loki of your universe several times after returning to your universe, right?"

"Seriously, you are much more likable than her." Stark made a funny expression and said: "She caused quite a mess in our universe. Even if she is as beautiful as you, she can't be forgiven."

Loki hummed softly, raised the other leg resting on one leg, stroked the long hair by her ear with her hand, and said: "For the sake of you being so sensible, regarding your question, my answer is, yes, Loki has no gender. Whether it's male or female depends on my mood."

"Could it be that you are for the Stark of this world..."

"Don't use this to flatter yourself." Loki pinched a strand of hair with her hand, turned her head away, and said: "You should know that Natasha's evaluation of you is not very good."

"That's because she's Black Widow. No one should blame a man for not being able to handle Black Widow." Stark said a bit sullenly.

Then, he raised his eyelids again, skillfully fished out two wine glasses from under the coffee table, but didn't put them in front of Loki immediately. Instead, he gently groped the rim of one of the wine glasses with his index finger and said: "I guess, you shouldn't have anyone else waiting for you tonight?"

"Do you want to say that you are the same?"

"Yes, we are equally unfortunate, but also equally lucky."

Loki laughed brilliantly. Stark seemed to have received tacit approval. When he lowered his eyes, the smile in his brown eyes surged out through his dense eyelashes. He placed the wine glass in front of Loki.

But just at this moment, Loki let out two more low laughs. She looked up at the clock next to her and said: "Look at the time, Thor should be off work soon."

"Are you reminding me to hurry up?" Stark stared at her with raised eyes.

Loki held the handle of the wine glass Stark handed her with her hand, but neither her hand nor the glass left the table. Stark reached out his hand, and just as his fingertips were about to touch the back of Loki's fair hand, a low laugh came from above.

"I am indeed very lucky, because if it were the Stark of my universe who came today, he wouldn't fall for such a simple trick."

The instant Stark's fingertips touched the back of Loki's hand, a violent wind rose from the ground, thunder roared outside the window, and a roar sounded from high above.

"Tony Stark!

! I knew you were up to no good!

!

!"