Allen approached the elderly man wearing sunglasses who was trying an interesting method to move the hammer.
"Old man, don't you think this is cheating?"Allen glanced at the crowd of people who had also tried but failed.
"Haha, if there's one thing I've learned in my long life, It's that when everyone else doesn't achieve something by doing the same thing, try something different," the old man adjusted his glasses and gave Allen a look. "What's the matter, kid? You have little faith!... my dear Betty can do the job."
"You named your truck?" Allen quickly shook his head. "Alright, you win, but I bet you a hundred bucks this won't move the hammer!"
"Deal! By the way, I'm Stan Lee," the old man offered his hand to Allen.
"Pleasure, I'm Allen Walker..." Allen, of course, returned the greeting.
Both got into Betty and started the engine amid the cheers of the people. Many thought this was cheating, but since no one could move it, it wouldn't hurt to try.
Allen put on a hat and leaned out the window as Betty revved up.
"It doesn't seem to be working, Stan!" said Allen.
"Nonsense!" The old man spat out the window and then turned serious. "Come on, Betty, that money's for old Stan."
Allen smiled enthusiastically. "You're a crazy old man, don't blame me if you ruin Betty!"
Tony approached to see the commotion and rolled his eyes at Allen. "What are you doing, kid?..."
The image of Allen at the window holding his hat while the truck's wheels skidded on dry land, blowing air into the sky, was strange, but nothing compared to the hammer that didn't budge an inch.
Shortly after, the rear defense broke, and Allen laughed as old Stan Lee took out a hundred dollars from his pocket.
"Take it, you little scammer!"
"Pleasure doing business, Stan, heh," Allen nodded and laughed.
Allen approached within a meter of the hammer and observed it closely.
===
– How is it possible that it didn't move even a bit after being pulled by a truck?! O_o
– It seems stuck! It must be cursed! D:
– I think it might be its density; I heard that a spoonful of a neutron star weighs as much as an entire continent xdd."
Rick - "Idiot! If something that heavy fell on Earth, there wouldn't be Earth left! Just look at the crater it left; the object itself isn't that dense. It's caused by something magical or supernatural... although I can think of eighteen ways to do the same with science sitting in my armchair."
MJ - "It's weird to see you answer people's doubts, Rick137."
Rick - "I've been in therapy since season seven, it's something about self-improvement and avoiding suicide, maybe I'll even become kind... not too much, something like Hitler."
Mary Jane regretted asking, and Allen rolled his eyes while watching the comments; now that the apocalypse had passed, he had time.
Allen activated the incognito function to prevent people from seeing him talk with the chat.
"How evil do you have to be to consider Hitler as someone good?" Allen asked as he watched the comments go crazy with questions and comments.
– Allen! :0
Rick - "According to my stupid grandson, at least Hitler cared about Germany, so I'm worse than him..."
– Allen, you see, over a million people are watching you!!
"Seems like it, hahaha," Allen laughed. "Sorry, everyone, I'd love to answer questions and chat, but you all know the situation; I need to focus. We'll do a live stream at my house just for chatting later."
Ruby - "Wait, Allen, given the craziness you faced, people both adore and hate you a thousand times more than before."
"I expected it; technically, I saved the world, but at the same time, I know I've earned the resentment of many for forgiving Hulk and the fear of many because of my power..."
Allen grabbed his head and sighed. "They may not believe me, and don't expect me to be a hero, it's not my thing... but I can at least assure them that I won't use my power against innocents."
===
The discussion in the chat intensified; Allen didn't know that among that sea of comments were reporters, influential people, and even politicians.
...
Gwen and MJ were stressed by the number of comments they had to review. Allen told the system to help them and activated slow mode in the chat.
Allen looked up at the sky, wondering how long it would take for Crown Clown to return. Allen's original Innocence was of the Parasitic type, which meant he had a connection both spiritually and physically. However, this time it came in the form of equipment, which made Allen unable to summon it.
Still, it posed no problem. Allen can call Crown Clown from wherever he is, and it will come. Besides, the system knows where the sword is at all times. And right now, it's streaking across the sky at the speed of sound.
Looking for more options, Allen shrugged and moved two fingers of his hand. Instantly, the ground was cut into a square around the hammer. Allen learned to use Sukuna's cursed technique without the need for the skills but only in a limited way.
"Hulk, please."
Hulk was munching on popcorn, watching what Allen was doing without understanding anything. Upon hearing his name called, he roughly handed Tony his popcorn tub, covering him in popcorn in the process.
"Remember who paid for this?!" Tony threw the tub on the ground, annoyed.
"Hulk, help!!" Hulk approached and tried to lift the ground. Surprisingly, it didn't move.
"Gaahhh!" Hulk grunted.
"Wait, Hulk," Allen stopped him and signaled to Coulson, who pulled out a megaphone.
"Attention, everyone, please evacuate the area."
At first, people didn't want to and complained, so Allen bought several big screens and placed them a bit farther away, and the people agreed.
Once the people were further away, Allen let Hulk try to lift the hammer with more force. Hulk's muscles bulged, and his veins stood out, but the ground only cracked while the hammer remained unmoved.
'Allen, can you hear me?'
'Gwen?'
'Yes, it seems that's Thor's hammer; the rune on the hammer seems to reference the Norse god of thunder... remember the story of the sword in the stone? It's something similar...'
'In that case, Hulk should be able to move it; he's as innocent as a child.'
'Don't confuse being good with being worthy...'
'Alright, thanks, Gwen.'
Allen grabbed his head with both hands. "Wait!, does this mean I won't get paid?! Damn it!"
Initially, Fury offered to pay Allen in advance, but he refused, saying he wouldn't accept it until the task was completed as that would be cheating.
"My stupid RPG player mentality!!"
===
– Wait, is this about money?! D:
– You disappoint me, Allen. I thought it was a super important mission!!
- D:
– Oh the deception! the betrayal! Man, you deceived me! D:
"Shut up, son of a b... I crossed the damn desert and saved the damn world for that hammer worth a hundred grand, and now it turns out I won't get paid for this?!!"
– Hahaha!!
– Hahaha, screw you, Allen!!
Rick – you should always charge in advance, idiot! Hahaha!
===
Allen sighed and walked over to the hammer, then grabbed it. "Damn!, it's all because of... Huh?" Allen looked at his hand stupidly as he saw the hammer lifted. Far from being happy, Allen felt depressed. "Ugh, this smells like another apocalypse..."
...
While Gwen wasn't sure whether to laugh or be angry with Allen for playing in the desert, she heard someone knocking at the front door.
Gwen stood up, intending to go and see, but she was stopped by a redheaded girl with a furrowed brow. "Gwen, I've seen enough of Allen's content to know common clichés, and there's one where people close to the MC tend to be in danger when he's away from home."
Someone else might have thought it was a joke from Mary Jane, but Gwen sharpened her gaze and started thinking like her father.
"Does Allen expect visitors?" the blonde asked.
"Allen? Visitors? No..." MJ quickly responded, "The only visit would be Natasha, but she's on her way to New Mexico."
"Bills to pay?" Gwen asked again.
"Allen said they arrive next week," MJ felt more cautious as the situation got more complicated. She took a notebook from a drawer in the same RGB room and checked Allen's notes, bill payment dates, mail day, expense records, etc.
MJ checked everything, and it was unnatural for Allen to receive visitors today. Gwen took a deep breath and psyched herself up. She retrieved her magic wand from her storage bag.
The bag Gwen uses is similar to MJ's storage ring. Allen bought two in the system's store so that Gwen and Natasha would have portable storage too.
"Wait here..." said the blonde girl, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard a reloading sound. She turned to see MJ with a Glock in her hand.
"Wednesday said I should check it before using it..." The girl murmured, checking her gun. When she saw it was working fine, she nodded and then looked at Gwen, confused. "What?"
The blonde girl shook her head. "Sorry, for a moment I forgot that Allen has enough weapons in his clothing drawer for a whole battalion," Gwen said, looking both amused and uncomfortable.
Allen didn't need all the item cards, so he left most of them at home in case the girls needed them. Also, Wednesday only took the cards she liked for herself and left the rest.
MJ returned Gwen's gaze and noticed the wand in her hand. "I don't know much about HP, but I know you don't become a powerful witch in a day. Leave that and take an SMG!" MJ started walking towards the door, shaking her head.
"I can do simple spells; that should be enough!" Gwen replied, pouting but feeling ashamed inside. Her first instinct was to unconsciously grab the magic wand, though she knew how to fight very well. She also knows how to handle common weapons due to her father, so it would be more natural for Gwen to grab a weapon, not MJ.
Both girls set aside their worries and walked cautiously towards the door.
"Wait, what's the plan?" MJ asked, stopping Gwen by the shoulder.
"Huh?..." Gwen's coefficient dropped for a moment as she looked at her wand and felt the urge to use it. "You... open the door, and I'll shoot them with Wingardium Leviosa!" Gwen nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay..." MJ accepted without much thought, but as she took a step, she stopped Gwen again, more confused. "What's that spell supposed to do?"
Gwen sighed and crossed her arms. "It's literally the simplest magic from Harry Potter... isn't Lumos also there... well, it's the second simplest magic." Gwen looked disapprovingly at MJ. "How are you going to be Allen's girlfriend if you don't know the basics?"
"How am I supposed to know that HP geek stuff?! Allen loves me!" MJ said, looking at Gwen with disdain.
"Who are you calling a geek?! You're an Otaku who won't admit it but cries when seeing drawings die!!" Gwen retorted.
"You dare insult anime?! There are better animes than the whole Harry Potter saga put together!!" MJ started arguing angrily upon hearing Gwen's words and decided to attack Gwen's weak spots.
"Huh?!" A vein popped on Gwen's forehead.
...
The girls argued pointlessly for five minutes. Then they looked at each other with defeated faces.
"What are we doing? I'm sorry, Mary Jane," Gwen apologized, regretting her behavior.
"I'm sorry too," MJ smiled at Gwen. "Do what I do in these cases, blame it on Allen's bad influence."
Gwen chuckled; both girls made amends by blaming Allen for making them what they were now. If Allen were here, he'd object to such an injustice.
"Wait, can you still tell me what the spell does? How am I supposed to expect or not expect if I don't know what the darn spell does?" MJ became nervous; Gwen won't make them explode, right?
"Just open the door, and I'll handle it, trust me," declared Gwen bravely and convincingly.
"Really? Because I feel like you're just looking for an excuse to use magic against someone," MJ said, looking at Gwen acting heroic. She didn't believe a single word from the blonde.
"I'm not playing; our lives could be in danger! Do you think I'd put us at risk just for the pleasure of using magic?!~..." Gwen's gaze wandered as she held her magic wand, but immediately her look became serious and fair. "Of course not!"
"..." MJ silently stared at Gwen. "And what if I just shoot them??..."
A more American solution couldn't exist. Strangely, it made sense. If there were a killer on the other side of the door!
"You dare blame me when you just want to shoot someone?!"
"Don't compare me to you, magical blonde." MJ shrugged. "I just proposed an idea; I don't care how we do this."
"If it were a real killer, you'd both be dead already... I didn't expect anything from Allen's girlfriends, but you've disappointed me," Wednesday appeared in her human form as she looked disapprovingly at the pair of girls.
MJ and Gwen realized they had acted very foolishly and hung their heads. It's a reality that people are influenced to a lesser or greater extent by the people around them. In this case, it was knowing Allen.
(Allen: No friend, you won't blame me for that!)
"It doesn't matter, there's something outside you both need to see..." said Wednesday, reverting to her indifferent look, but there was a trace of unease in her tone that no one noticed.
Gwen and MJ stopped playing and went out to see two wooden boxes, two meters high by one meter wide, in the hallway.
Wednesday looked at the boxes from behind Gwen and MJ, 'it seems I'm not the only one. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse.'