Chapter 141: Stuck in a Bug (Part 1)

The entire virtual conference room fell into a deathly silence. No one dared to speak harshly on behalf of the United States—everyone knows that if you make enough bold claims, eventually one of them will come true!

The slaughter of the tycoons certainly triggered a redistribution of wealth.

But don't forget, the simplest way to legitimately inherit the wealth of a tycoon is to avenge the previous head of the family. If they can't take revenge on Kratos, do you think they won't be able to deal with the officials and generals who angered him?

This terrifying sense of dread loomed over every attendee.

At this moment, President Ellis stepped in to ease the tension. " Earth is already facing enough threats. We have no intention of forcing one of its protectors to turn against us. I swear as President that I will severely punish the person who ordered fire control system to test you. Please, Mr. Kratos, forget this minor unpleasantness. If you need anything, feel free to ask our government, and we'll do our best to accommodate your requests."

Atreus stared at the President's face for three seconds. "In the future, just don't get in my way. There's nothing I want from you guys."

"I assure you of that," the President responded straightforwardly.

Atreus then took his feet off the table and stopped humiliating them.

In front of the guards who had burst into the four-star general's quarters, opened the safeties on their assault rifles, but didn’t dare to fire, he opened a portal and walked through it with boldness.

No one dared to shoot, nor did anyone want to.

Director Nick had already shown the U.S. military footage of Loki shrugging off 5.56mm bullets, and Kratos was the man who had brutally beaten Loki.

Key point: he did it twice!

As the portal's light disappeared on the other end of the camera, every attendee felt a deep unease. Now they understood why Kratos could come and go as he pleased.

The man was playing with spatial teleportation—no matter how thick your door is, it’s utterly useless. Likewise, dropping a nuclear bomb would only end up polluting your own environment.

For a moment, a cold wind blew through everyone's hearts.

On a secure channel, the same group of people gathered again, but no one dared to be arrogant.

"Director Fury, what's your take?" The President called on Nick.

The one-eyed director cleared his throat. "Kratos is strong enough, has enough deterrent power, and is relatively safe."

"You mean he's not a real threat?" asked an elderly female official.

"I can only say that his threat level, compared to the Chitauri, Kryptonians, and Loki, ranks last on the list," Nick replied confidently.

"Go on," the President prompted.

"First, he has never intentionally slaughtered civilians or committed any serious crimes. Second, unlike Thor, who doesn't understand American society at all, Kratos is more familiar with how our society operates. He knows what we truly fear and what we respect. Finally, we clearly have common enemies."

Several high-ranking officials nodded in agreement.

Nick continued, "Moreover, the risks of trying to control him far outweigh the potential rewards. It's highly likely that the entire Olympian pantheon stands behind him. We already know that Asgard is not on Earth. So, it's very likely that Mount Olympus, which is even more renowned than Asgard, isn't located in Greece on Earth, but on another planet. From their combat performances, each of these so-called 'gods' possesses the power to easily destroy a city."

Nick signaled to Agent Hill, who then played footage for the meeting, showing Thor surviving a fall from thousands of meters and Kratos and Wonder Woman instantly killing Leviathan beasts.

The expressions on the faces of these high-ranking officials became pained as they watched.

Officials hate uncontrollable people and events, but what could they do?

Sensing the atmosphere, President Ellis proposed, "I suggest that we provide some privileges to those on the whitelist under the Temporary Superhuman Rating Act, temporarily halt any secret or public investigations, and conduct a series of informal contacts to gauge their attitudes."

"Agreed!"

"Seconded!"

"Okay."

And so, driven by Superman and Kratos, the White House leadership changed its stance towards the superhumans, ushering in a honeymoon period between the government and the superhumans.

Of course, how could the tycoons not hold a grudge?

Kratos' name was firmly etched into their memories.

Atreus didn’t care about this at all.

#### Fun Fact 1: The signers of the Declaration of Independence were all slave owners.

#### Fun Fact 2: Sparta was a slave-holding society.

Case solved: Turns out they were in the same business! Naturally, competitors are enemies! If you can't beat them, join them.

This little incident spread among the major tycoons and even reached the Wayne family.

Atreus was quite pleased about that.

"You're playing with fire!" Bruce Wayne was furious.

"I just love that look on their faces when they hate me but can’t do anything about it."

Bruce blinked and then changed the subject, "Are you really not some Greek deity?"

What could drive a science-believing genius inventor to start believing in mysticism and mythology? It had to be because he had a ridiculously rebellious son!

Someone shrugged, feigning ignorance, "If the Wayne family doesn't have any divine lineage, then no."

Bruce nearly choked on his own blood. If he could win in a fight, he would have loved to beat his son to death. So in the end, it was still the Wayne family taking the blame?

Atreus genuinely didn’t care. After all, they were all written as superheroes but were actually just people in costumes.

Come on! Let’s hurt each other!

Another superhero, Tony Stark, found out about this and nearly burst out laughing like a pig. He showed the secret email to Pepper, "That bastard, he really went for it!"

"I feel like he and you… complement each other well."

Iron Man and Kratos, one in the light, the other in the dark.

It was precisely because of Kratos' presence that the White House leadership had to rely even more on the already well-known Iron Man.

At least the Avengers' future would be a lot smoother.

No one knew that in the middle of the African Sahara Desert, in a vast and barren sandland with no one for miles around…

A female corpse wearing only a scanty battle outfit was sprawled in the middle of the desert.

The intense sunlight in the great desert was enough to cook flesh.

Buzzards had already been drawn to the sky above.

But…

She was alive.

"Cough! Cough, cough!" Fura Ol suddenly jerked upright, violently coughing up a blood clot that had been stuck in her lungs and windpipe.

She realized her Kryptonian mask was still on, but her black Kryptonian battle suit had been stripped off by someone.

She then noticed her enemy—Kratos—sitting leisurely under a parasol on the opposite side.

Almost instinctively, Fura O lunged at Kratos.

Just like before, she failed.

No, if in the previous two battles she could still fight back, this time she had no chance at all.

A terrifying force from deep within her soul crushed her will to resist, forcing her to kneel.

"What have you done…" she furiously demanded of Kratos, who was surrounded by beautiful women.

"Nothing, I just found a bug!"

(End of Chapter)