"Don't be absurd ...I plan to consume this power within my host's body."
"No, you can't." The Phantom moved to stop him, manipulating Hill to step forward, "Firstly, your host absolutely cannot withstand the parasitic presence of two Symbionts in his body. Secondly, the process of a Symbiont consuming another Symbiont is extremely violent - his body would not be able to withstand such an assault. Thirdly, Chaos Power would assault a person's spirit, driving them mad."
"In short, your current body absolutely cannot support what you're planning to do. I won't allow you to harm your human host either. This violates the protocol of cosmic special agents…"
"Who said I planned on doing this within this host's body?"
The Phantom shook his head again: "Even if you switch to another host, the result will be the same - an ordinary human's body is absolutely incapable of withstanding such an assault."
"I know that you previously parasitized a kid named Peter. While he possesses a powerful physique, the spiritual assault of Chaos Power is magical in nature, and he would still be unable to resist it. This comes with great risk."
"If humans can't handle it, what about the Aesir?"
The Phantom was dumbfounded. He looked at Venom and said, "Aesir? Have you gone mad? Their Thor nearly killed us all!"
"Look at your gene bank, it clearly recorded the power of the thunder, and the majority of Symbionts are allergic to the Aesir…"
"I am not allergic to anything other than stupidity."
"But where are you going to find...you're not seriously thinking of parasitizing an Asgardian prince, are you??" The Phantom incredulously said: "You've really gone mad! Odin won't allow any of this to happen."
"Odin is hibernating."
"Even...even if Odin doesn't care, they won't agree to your parasitism, right? Their senses are much sharper than humans, so it won't be possible to parasitically sneak in without being discovered."
"That's why I'm not planning on sneaking in. I intend to negotiate terms with them."
As the sun gradually set, the larger the building, the longer the shadow it cast. These shadows were like barriers across a river, the setting sun flowing through them, combing them into fine golden threads.
Manhattan's off-work hours were bustling. Most of the well-dressed elites, briefcases in hand, hurriedly walked down the street. The coffee shops and restaurants on the roadside were crowded with people. Loki glanced around at his surroundings, not finding a place where he could teleport away from the crowd and finally decided to take a taxi.
The cab stopped outside an apartment building on Central Station West Street. By the time Loki entered the apartment building, the sky was almost dark.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Thor was sitting on the sofa, drinking beer and eating fried chicken. Loki didn't have time to berate him. He quickly walked over to the entrance, opened his briefcase, pulled out his laptop, and then dialed his phone, saying, "Sorry, Mr. Hull, I've made it home. I'll continue explaining our strategy for this quarter…"
Loki maneuvered his computer while speaking into the phone, all while hearing the cacophony of crunching noises from Thor's direction.
In the end, he couldn't stand it. After hanging up the customer's call, he turned and said to Thor: "How come the Father of All Gods doesn't see you like this? I should really…"
"I paid my rent. You can't control what I do in this house." Thor took another bite of his fried chicken, "Besides, unlike you little office workers, car repair is a physically demanding job. If I don't eat enough, how am I supposed to work the night shift?""
"I…"
Loki covered his forehead, deeply regretting his previous mishap with pyro control that blew up the house.
After the incident in the former apartment, they had to move. Though Odin had paid for foster care, S.H.I.E.L.D. insisted they couldn't live separately. The reason that Nick gave was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lack of manpower and their inability to provide protection to them both separately. But Loki knew better, Nick was simply unsatisfied with what Odin had given.
Therefore, the two of them still had to live together.
Loki made up his mind to make a name for himself on Wall Street, so he worked extremely hard. His efforts showed, as he gained many significant clients, while many smaller clients were also willing to work with him. So he was pretty busy, working over 18 hours a day.
As for Thor, he was quick to work at the same car repair shop, progressing from being an errand boy to a full-fledged mechanic.
Comparing which of the two jobs was harder came with its difficulties. In the short few weeks that Loki had joined Wall Street, he discovered the diversity of the human species. Every night he found himself wishing he was Thor, so he could call down lightning and smite some of his more difficult clients.
Thor encountered similar issues. Since he often got physically involved with car owners, his wages were frequently docked. If it wasn't for the garage owner appreciating his sturdy physique, keeping things under control, Thor would have been fired a long time ago.
Both of them had their own ways of keeping busy and their own ways of being tired. But oddly enough, this busyness and tiredness surprisingly improved their relationship by a slight degree. After all, the bond between wage slaves is subtly firm.
After dealing with a heap of troublesome clients, Loki went and sat down on the sofa. He took a can of beer from the pile next to Thor, and after opening the pull-tab, he directly began to chug it. Thor took a bite of his fried chicken and commented, "I always thought it was ridiculous that you needed a glass to drink beer. You never really looked like an Asgardian warrior, but you're much better now."
Loki didn't feel like dealing with him. All he was thinking about was why humans could continuously ask questions beyond his comprehension. Even when standing on a branch of the World Tree, gazing into the boundless starry sky of the Nine Realms, had he never contemplated the cosmos's truth and origin as profoundly as he did today.
After guzzling another mouthful of beer, Loki thought, Wall Street truly is a perfect place for mages to cultivate. Just two months of work here, and your depth of thinking about the universe will ascend to a whole new level.
The lamp in the apartment's living room remained off, the flickering light from the television the only source of illumination. Thor's gaze shifted from the variety show on the television - he hesitated before asking: "How's Asgard doing lately?"
Loki put down the can, wiped his mouth, then glanced at his shirt stained with beer. "Asgard's condition doesn't concern you one bit. Besides, you can't go back anyway."
Thor squeezed the can in his hand, causing beer to squirt from the opening onto his hand, then trickle onto the floor. Loki looked at the floor and said: "You're mopping up tomorrow."
Just as Thor was about to retort, a ringtone cut through the silence of the empty living room. Loki picked up his phone from beside him, saying,"Hello, this is Odinson…"
Hearing his self-introduction, Thor squeezed the rest of the beer into his mouth without saying a word.