After Natasha and the others left.
Stark dialed a number—
[How's your hand doing? Stephen]
Stephen Strange: [Oh... Tony... You actually have time to call me... My hands...? They... are quite good now... Kamar-Taj... is truly a magical place... If you're free... come visit again...]
Tony Stark: [Why does your voice sound so choppy?]
Stephen Strange: [Oh... actually... "800"... yours sounds choppy too... maybe because... the signal is bad here... Hiss... Not only is the signal bad... it's also freezing...]
Tony Stark: [Ah... alright... So, can you perform surgery again? I need the best surgeon to remove the shrapnel from my chest.]
Stephen Strange: [You've made up your mind? ... You should know that even for me... performing that surgery on you... carries certain risks...]
Tony Stark: [What if we add magic to it? Plus, I'll invite other top medical experts to discuss the procedure together.]
Stephen Strange: [That's an interesting idea... Alright, I'll get there as soon as possible... very soon...]
…..
Himalayan Mountains
Strange shivered from the cold wind, trembling as he tucked his phone back into his robes...
Then.
This mage apprentice, with a ring-bearing hand, made a slicing motion—
Sizzle... Sizzle... Sizzle...!
A perfect circular golden spark portal formed halfway.
A pleased smile appeared on his unkempt face.
But then—
Boom~~
In the next second, the incomplete golden spark portal collapsed again...
"Oh..."
Strange couldn't help feeling a little discouraged.
After all, Miss Maximoff, who started at the same time as him, could already defeat Master Mordo and even spar with the Ancient One...
By comparison, he was still just a struggling apprentice practicing portals...
Luckily, there was still that white-haired fool who was even worse than him...
"Looks like Tony will have to wait a bit longer..."
United Kingdom. Greater London Metropolitan Area. Greenwich District.
Ye Li habitually stood atop the observatory, feeling the wind. The shadows behind him trembled as if something dangerous was about to emerge...
Whoosh!
A rush of air passed his right ear, then his left in the next second.
He knew some little spider-girl was playing tricks on him, but he didn't expose her. Instead, he turned his head to the left in cooperation—
—No one was there...
But.
When he turned his head back—
A few strands of golden hair flashed before his eyes, along with a familiar, delicate face~
At the same time—
Soft, tender lips pressed against his~
"Mm..."
When their lips parted...
"Stealth attack successful, Li~"
The girl smiled playfully, licking the corner of her lips in satisfaction. "You're such a careless mage, how could you let someone get so close~"
"I'm just a mage for fun..."
"Oh~"
Gwen deliberately stretched the sound, teasing, "So you're an amateur mage then~"
"Alright, you're laughing at your man now."
Ye Li wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist, lifted her up, and kissed her again—
"Mm...!"
Though Gwen had a slender, graceful figure, in Ye Li's arms, she seemed petite and delicate~
She dangled her legs as he lifted her effortlessly...
"Wait~!"
Finally escaping her boyfriend's grasp, she quickly handed him a mystical staff, saying, "Let's talk business first..."
"What business are you talking about, hmm~"
Ye Li took the Mind Scepter, tapped it lightly on the ground with a thud, and leaned lazily against it.
At the same time, his hand, using weaving magic, gently caressed her lower abdomen, gradually wandering upward...
"You deliberately wore the outfit I made for you. Your 'business' is just that you missed me, right~"
"Ah...!"
Gwen felt the mischievous rascal pinch her lightly. She quickly pulled away and said, "I already told you, let's talk business first...!"
Hehe~
Ye Li stopped at the right moment, not pressing further. Instead, he looked at his little girlfriend with amusement and said, "Alright, go ahead."
He just loved this kind of little romance... where she had clearly done everything with him before, yet still acted all shy and reserved.