Chapter 112: Aladdin's Lamp!
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At the same time, the blood exuded an aura of extreme bloodlust, causing spiritual pollution. Ordinary people would go insane just by being near it, let alone drinking it.
Lorien nodded and put it away. "I'll keep it for now. We'll see when the time comes."
He didn't need this thing. With the Phoenix Force at his disposal, this Teigu was just a toy to him, something he could give away to others if he felt like it—though certainly not carelessly.
Next was the sixth item.
Lorien pulled out Aladdin's magic lamp. Meanwhile, Hela, still engrossed in her game, glanced over and noticed what he was holding.
Seeing the object in Lorien's hand, she asked curiously, "Is there a drink in that?"
"No," Lorien shook his head. "There's supposedly a spirit inside that grants three wishes."
He looked at the teapot-like lamp. According to legend, opening it would summon a genie who could grant those fabled three wishes—a concept that had captivated countless people. Some even found ways to exploit loopholes, like using their last wish to ask for three more.
But Lorien had a different approach.
"Let's see," he muttered as he rubbed the lamp and placed it on the table.
Hela, curious as ever, came over to watch.
After a moment, a blue smoke figure emerged from the lamp. It had a turban on its head, a blue complexion, and an aura reminiscent of an ancient mystic from Asan.
The figure materialized fully and spoke to Lorien. "Three wishes."
Lorien nodded. "You say it."
The genie blinked in confusion. "Say what?"
"Aren't you supposed to ask me for three wishes?"
The genie opened its mouth, clearly flustered, and after a long pause managed to reply, "I'm here to grant you three wishes."
"Ohhh," Lorien nodded in understanding. "Can you grant anything?"
The genie puffed out its chest confidently. "Anything within my power."
"Alright then," Lorien said casually. "Upgrade Wanda, Gwen, and Hela to the level of Universe beings. That's three wishes, or just give me the Heart of the Universe and call it a day."
As Lorien finished his sentence, Hela's eyes sparkled with excitement, but the genie was completely dumbfounded. "What's a Universe level?" it muttered. "And the Heart of the Universe… what is that?"
Lorien could tell right away that the genie had no idea what he was talking about. Of course, he hadn't really expected the genie to be able to fulfill such wishes.
Waving his hand dismissively, Lorien asked, "Alright, then. What can you do? Tell me your skills."
Relieved to be on more familiar ground, the genie began speaking with confidence. "I can give you vast amounts of money, more than you could ever spend! Or, if there's someone you desire, bring me to her, and I can make her fall for you! I can even provide luxury goods—cars, houses, anything material!"
The moment the genie finished, Hela snorted derisively. "That's what you call a wish?"
Hearing her remark, Lorien couldn't help but burst out laughing, while the genie looked bewildered.
Hela spread her hands, still unimpressed. "Back in Asgard, we could make those things happen by lunchtime, just by asking."
The genie was left in utter disbelief. It was clear this was beyond anything it had encountered before.
Lorien, clutching his stomach in laughter, finally spoke between chuckles. "Alright, alright. You can go back into the lamp for now. I'll call you when I've thought of something better."
Lorien waved off the magic lamp and tossed it back into his storage space.
After a quick assessment, he had a good understanding of the magic lamp's abilities.
"Elementary level material manufacturing, elementary level mind control, and elementary level material reorganization," Lorien mused.
Were there any other abilities? He thought about it for a moment.
Nope, that was it.
All the magic lamp's powers fell under those three categories—and they were at the most basic level. However, to be fair, these abilities could be useful to someone of a lower tier, at least to the level of a sub-parent. So, it had some value.
But for Lorien, it was practically useless.
After the magic lamp was put away, Hela returned to her game. She glanced at the time. It was already 5:30.
"Gwen hasn't arrived yet?" Hela muttered, slightly surprised. By this time, Gwen was usually out of school, and she almost always arrived on time.
"Is Gwen not coming today?" Hela's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement, and she rushed to Lorien's side. "If she doesn't come, let me stay tonight!"
Lorien's face twitched. He could hardly believe that Hela could say something like that so boldly.
It was… it was too much!
His pants suddenly felt a bit tight.
Lorien stood up and tried to compose himself. "Go on now, whether Gwen comes or not is none of your concern."
Hela pouted, her eyes still locked on Lorien's pants.
The situation was tense, and Lorien's efforts to stay composed were becoming increasingly difficult.
But just then, the door swung open.
"Lorien~! I just stopped a gang of bank robbers, that's why I'm late!" Gwen called out as she rushed into the room, explaining her tardiness.
Lorien let out a deep sigh of relief. Crossing his legs, he waited for Gwen to come closer.
Once Gwen was inside, she flopped onto Lorien and immediately began talking about her day. "Lorien, the bank robbers I stopped today were really strange."
"Strange?" Lorien raised an eyebrow. "What was strange about them?"
"Their weapons," Gwen replied, pulling out her pink phone. She opened a set of photos and handed it to Lorien. "Look at this."
Lorien examined the pictures as Gwen leaned in to explain, and Hela, curious as always, climbed onto Lorien's shoulders to see for herself.
In the photos, the robbers were holding weapons that had never been seen on Earth before. Instead of firing bullets, these guns emitted high-density energy blasts. Gwen had even captured video footage showing the energy beams cutting straight through molten steel. The bank's bulletproof glass hadn't stood a chance against them.
It was clear these were no ordinary weapons—they were advanced technology, and possibly alien in origin.
"These weapons are highly destructive and have almost no recoil," Gwen commented, puzzled. "Do you think they could be alien?"
Hela chimed in, "They look like the interstellar weapons I've seen in video games."
Lorien studied the weapons carefully, a smile forming on his lips.
"Didn't you notice something?" he asked.
"What?" Gwen and Hela asked in unison.
Lorien pulled out his phone and searched for images of weapons left behind by the Chitauri after their defeat. He placed the images next to the ones Gwen had shown him.
"Look closely. The main body and the core are exactly the same," Lorien pointed out.
Gwen gasped in shock.
"Alien weapons!" Hela said, her voice filled with excitement. "Lorien, let's get some to play with!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Lorien asked, amused.
"Get a few!" Hela responded eagerly.