Immediately?
Rex, having absorbed Goku's knowledge, instantly sensed his own Ki. He knew this was the easy part, but Lorna was struggling.
Rex, however, had to fabricate a believable lie. "It took me a long time, Lorna," he said. "You're a Westerner, unfamiliar with this concept, so it's normal for it to take a while. Don't get discouraged!"
"Okay..."
Half an hour later...
"Boss! I feel it! I finally got it!"
Lorna jumped up, ecstatic. "This is my Ki... so massive..."
Rex secretly wiped the sweat from his brow. Even though he wasn't using much Ki for each transfer, twenty of them had nearly drained him. He'd even started to doubt Lorna, wondering if she would ever be able to sense her Ki.
"Good. Get used to this feeling. Get to know your own Ki. Tomorrow, if everything goes well, we'll start the next step."
"I'm going to get the restaurant ready for the evening shift. Take your time getting used to this. Just come down when it's time to work."
"Okay, thanks, Boss."
"You're welcome."
Rex left the room and went downstairs. He prepared the kitchen, grabbed a quick meal, and opened the new bulletproof door.
Lorna walked down the stairs, a curious expression on her face. "Boss, you said my Ki is a hundred times stronger than a normal person. How strong is yours?"
"..."
Rex hesitated for a moment before answering. "Three times..." He was rounding up, his Ki was actually only a little over twice that of a normal person.
"Only three times?" Lorna's face seemed to register something. "I thought I was wrong, sensing that your Ki was much weaker than mine..."
"Of course it's low, I'm not a mutant."
"Lorna laughed. "I thought you were so extraordinary! Turns out you're not my opponent!"
"Ha... ha..." Rex laughed, a little coldly. "I'm starting to think you don't want to learn Ki Masking!"
"Aw, you're too stingy, Boss! You can't take a joke!"
"Okay, enough nonsense. Start working!"
"There's no one here yet!"
"..."
They stared at each other until Rex silently retreated. Soon, Peter arrived, rushing in from school. As the evening went on, more customers came, and Rex worked hard until 9 pm.
A calm week passed. Kung Fu Barbecue was a hit, and Rex was making over $500 a day. The Hand, the Hatchet Gang, and the NYPD stayed away, and Rex felt the storm Joy Meachum's arrival had brought had passed without incident.
On the morning of the eighth day, someone Rex never wanted to see appeared at the door.
"No way..."
A middle-aged man stepped through the door, a figure Rex instantly recognized.
Rex frowned. "What happened... I've been keeping a low profile!" he thought.
The man, in a black suit, with neatly combed black hair and a gentle smile, looked harmless. But Rex knew this was the biggest trouble he'd faced since coming to the Marvel universe.
Rex quietly sensed the man's Ki, realizing it was at least one and a half times that of a normal person. This put him high among ordinary humans, completely different from what Rex had expected.
"Hello there," the man said, approaching Rex with a smile. "Mr. Rex Lee?"
"Yes, hi," Rex greeted him. "And you are?"
The man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a badge. "Phil Coulson, FBI," he said. "I'm here about a case. Can I talk to you?"
"Haha! So, you're FBI because you're in the US. If we were overseas, you'd be CIA? SHIELD agents, they love to play pretend!"
Rex sneered. "Of course! Have a seat," he said, pointing to the nearest table.
Phil Coulson sat down. "Mr. Lee, seven days ago, Joy Meachum, co-director of Rand Enterprises, came to your restaurant. It was attacked that day by six people. Four of them were subdued. I want to know who beat them."
"If I say I don't know, I'd be obstructing justice, wouldn't I?" Seeing Phil nod, he admitted, "I did it."
Phil Coulson wasn't surprised. His investigation pointed to Rex. He pulled four injury reports from his briefcase and laid them on the table. "These are medical reports on the attackers. The one with the least severe injuries had three broken ribs. The forensic doctor thought he was hit by a car going sixty miles per hour. Of course, you know it wasn't a car. So tell me, how did you subdue them?"
Rex pouted. "I used my hands. Kung Fu."
"Phil Coulson narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Lee, I have to remind you that lying to me while I'm gathering evidence is a federal crime!"