CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 096: WANDA PASSES OUT! LORIEN AND GWEN’S PLAN SUCCEEDS!

After returning to the rented house, the four of them went inside, and Lorien immediately cast a soundproof barrier over the place. That way, no sound would escape.

There were two bedrooms—one large, one small. Naturally, Hela would take the smaller one. Lorien and the two girls would use the larger one. Decision made.

Hela had already worn herself out running around all day. The moment she stepped into her room, she collapsed onto the bed and drifted off.

It was already night, and in Westview there weren’t many people out at this hour. Most stayed home.

In the larger bedroom, Wanda was using magic to make the bed, replacing the bedding with her own mattress and quilt.

Gwen, watching her, nudged Lorien’s shoes with her foot, then made a hand signal—time to start the plan.

Lorien nodded in anticipation.

"Wanda, I’m going to take a shower first. You can go after me."

Wanda kept working on the bed and nodded.

"Alright, you go ahead."

Gwen winked at Lorien and left.

So, what was the plan?

Step one: Gwen says she’s going to shower.

Step two: Lorien takes the chance to handle the witch.

Step three: Gwen comes back after showering.

Step four: Team up to torment the witch.

Step five: Play Spider Knight again.

Perfect.

Following the plan, step one was already in motion. Lorien moved on to step two.

He walked over and pulled Wanda into his arms just as she finished making the bed.

"You’ve worked hard."

Wanda smiled.

"How can using magic to slack off be hard work? You’re the one who taught me."

Lorien held her hand.

"You’re right."

But that wasn’t the real point.

He slid his left arm around her waist, still holding her hand with his right, and added casually,

"Gwen said she’s going to take a while—wants to soak for a bit before coming back."

"Huh?"

Wanda blinked.

"Did she really say that?"

"She did." Lorien nodded, though he’d just made that part up.

Wanda, however, seemed to think there wasn’t enough time. She leaned against him.

"You’re taking too long. Gwen will be back soon."

"She won’t," Lorien murmured in her ear.

...

And so the plan unfolded.

Step one. Step two. Step three. Step four. Step five.

Gwen laughed out loud.

Wanda cried—whether from discomfort or joy, it was hard to say. Either way, she cried... then fainted.

...

The next morning, Lorien woke up feeling happier than he had in his entire life. Not even winning the lottery could compare. The real thrill was breaking his own limits.

He got out of bed, humming a tune as he turned on the hot water. Even towel-drying his hair had rhythm.

He couldn’t help it—last night had been incredible. His first dream had come true, and that wasn’t easy to pull off.

He had seized every single opportunity—every conversation, every bit of verbal sparring, every exchange pushed the situation forward. Opportunities like that were rare.

Wuhu~~~! This really was heaven’s blessing.

Lorien knew his success had been a perfect combination of timing, location, and people. Just like that time at Leipzig-Halle Airport—without the right setting, it wouldn’t have happened. But once they were out... it worked.

Tell me that’s not great. It’s fantastic.

Anyway, Lorien was overjoyed.

After his shower, he snapped his fingers—dry in an instant.

The two girls were still asleep and probably wouldn’t be up until noon, so he decided to go out and buy lunch.

Yesterday’s bread, jam, and salad would go well with some stir-fried dishes. If that wasn’t enough, he still had egg fried rice. They definitely needed to replenish their strength after last night.

Like he’d said before, here was the analogy again—Lorien was "·," Wanda was 1, Gwen was 2.

At the start, it was 2 relentlessly targeting 1, pushing her to the point of tears and rolling her eyes.

Once 1 left the stage, it became a one-on-one between "·" and 2.

The result? No contest.

"·" won.

With his momentum only growing, how could Lorien possibly lose?

"That’s it? How do you expect me to lose? At the very least, it’d have to be 11 and 22—1 and 2 just aren’t enough."

With that, Lorien went out and bought plenty of groceries.

But as luck would have it, on the way he ran into Geraldine again.

This town was small—it was easy to bump into familiar faces. Just like market day in a rural village.

"Hi!"

Seeing Lorien buying groceries, Geraldine was stunned, though she still greeted him respectfully.

Lorien glanced at her and nodded.

"Good morning. How’s the investigation going?"

He was only making polite conversation, but Geraldine took it seriously. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before leaning in slightly.

"We’ve learned that the culprit behind the sorcerer’s disappearance is likely a dark sorceress," she said. "We don’t know anything else for now."

Lorien nodded. It had nothing to do with him.

He picked out a few more vegetables, asked the waiter to wrap them up, and said, "Not bad. Good luck."

Taking the food, he handed over the money. When the waiter tried to give him change, Lorien waved it off.

"Keep the change."

Then he left.

Geraldine watched his relaxed, confident back and fell into thought.

"This is what a true powerhouse looks like..."

She thought about those so-called bosses in suits, ties, and polished leather shoes. They might look impressive, but to superheroes, they were nothing.

But the man she had just seen—the one who had two female superheroes in love with him—now that was cool.

Whether it was his temperament, appearance, way of speaking, or his build, to women, he was absolutely top-tier.

Yes, men rate women, but women also rank men: average, good, excellent, and must-have. And in their eyes, Lorien was clearly top priority.

The more women pursued a man, the more other women would like him. For men, it was the opposite—if too many men chased a woman, they’d lose interest.

Strange, but true.

That’s why female fans can be so intense. If many women pursue a man and he still doesn’t agree to be with any of them, in women’s eyes, he’s irresistibly charming. They’ll imagine he must be amazing and strong—even if he’s never shown it. And they’ll want to win him to prove themselves.

But then Geraldine remembered—this "male god" already had two female superheroes as partners. Her excitement deflated.

"Sigh, good men really only belong to strong women..."

...

When Lorien returned home with the groceries, he found Gwen already awake and in the shower.

The sound of water came from the bathroom.

He set the food down on the table just as Gwen came out wrapped in a bath towel.

"Ha~~~"

She yawned, but her eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Hold me~"

Lorien, of course, pulled her into his arms and carried her to the sofa. Gwen sat sideways on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"I’m sleepy... so tired... last night was too crazy..."

Lorien chuckled.

"If you’re tired, then sleep."

"I don’t want to..." she murmured, her breath warm against his neck. "Let’s talk while we rest. If I fall asleep, I’ll just sleep on you."

He didn’t mind; he never got tired easily.

"Alright. Rest."

"Mm."

Gwen gave a soft hum and settled into his arms.

Lorien leaned back on the sofa and pulled out his phone. Holding Gwen while scrolling through his feed—how could this be called torture? This was pure happiness.

After a while, he glanced at her. Sure enough, she hadn’t fallen asleep. Something seemed to cross her mind, and she smiled.

"Wanda’s still sleeping. Her face last night was so funny."

Lorien recalled that expression. He and Gwen had "teamed up" on Wanda, nearly driving her insane.

Their routine was simple: Gwen held Wanda’s hands while Lorien pinched her ears.

In the end, she passed out.

Wanda might be a sorceress, but she couldn’t escape Gwen’s grip—or withstand Lorien’s reckless assault.

That expression... well, it could only be experienced, not described.

"Let’s skip it next time. This time can be an exception—I think Wanda was about to cry."

To be safe, Lorien Su reined himself in as he spoke.

Gwen nodded.

"I know, we went a bit too far with her yesterday. But she’ll definitely hold a grudge against me and wait for a chance to get back at me."

Get back at her?

How?

Using the same approach Gwen did?

Perfect.

That was exactly what Lorien wanted.

If they didn’t quarrel, how was he supposed to "fish in troubled waters"?

"Ahem. It’s fine." Lorien patted Gwen’s hip. "I’ll help you both."

"Us?" Gwen blinked.

"Ahem, I mean I’ll help you—slip of the tongue."

That was how it worked: if Gwen came up with the idea, he’d help Gwen. If Wanda did, he’d help Wanda. Today, Lorien was a certified fence-sitter.

Gwen didn’t care who he said he’d help. She was happy either way, rubbing her head against his collarbone and mumbling,

"Love you so much mua"

Lorien pushed her head back slightly.

"Don’t leave marks. How am I supposed to face people if you do?"

Gwen grinned.

"Tony Stark had marks on his neck when he gave a press conference."

"He’s a playboy—he doesn’t care. That’s his persona, not mine," Lorien said helplessly, wiping away a bit of saliva.

And that was the old Tony. The current Tony had reformed and was devoted only to Pepper.

"Not sleepy anymore?" Seeing that they’d been chatting for a while, Lorien asked as Gwen shifted in his arms.

"Nope."

"Then let’s watch some TV while we wait for lunch."

"Okay." Gwen kept snuggling against him.

The TV flickered on, and the two of them lay together, chatting idly as the screen played in the background...

Until noon.

Click.

A door opened—not the master bedroom’s, but Hela’s.

Hela stepped out barefoot, whining,

"I want to play games..."

Her gamer cravings had clearly kicked in.

Lorien reached into the void, pulling out a handheld console and a tablet.

"This one can play all kinds of handheld games. This one can play the origi—" He stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind, just use the handheld."

He put the tablet away and tossed the console to her.

Snap—

Hela caught it, powered it on, and saw a library full of games: Zelda, Pokémon, Mario Land, and more.

"Wuhu~~~!"

She lit up, overjoyed. She’d thought coming here meant no more gaming, but she hadn’t expected such a magical device. This was better than the Tesseract!

"This is amazing~!"

She dashed back to her bed and dove in to play.

...

Meanwhile, Gwen glanced toward the master bedroom door, a hint of unease in her voice.

"Do you think we went too far last night?"

Lorien looked toward the silent room. He had to admit—it might have been a bit much. Last night’s intensity had nearly left water dripping from the ceiling.

"I’ll go check on her."

Setting Gwen down, he got up and opened the bedroom door.

Inside, Wanda was still sleeping under a thin quilt. Her breathing was steady—she seemed fine, probably just exhausted.

Lorien walked to her side. There were faint tear tracks at the corners of her eyes from last night, though whether they were from pain or pleasure, he couldn’t tell.

"Yeah... we really went hard," he muttered.

He figured it was time to help Wanda improve her stamina. Otherwise, at her current recovery rate, following him would be rough. But first, he’d help her recover now—otherwise, she might sleep until evening.

He placed his hand over her chest, giving it a gentle squeeze. The Phoenix Force flowed into her, restoring her strength and spirit. It only took the smallest trickle of energy.

Moments later, Wanda’s eyes fluttered open. She looked dazed at first, then focused on Lorien.

He withdrew his hand and asked softly,

"Feeling better?"

Of course she was—he’d used the Phoenix Force. She was back to full power. But he asked out of care.

Wanda stretched out in a big star shape, inhaling deeply, then suddenly bounced up and pinned Lorien to the floor.

"You and Gwen ganged up on me," she accused, pouting. "You wouldn’t stop no matter what I said—until I passed out!"

"I really misjudged you two. You’re awful!"

She waved her little fists at him. Lorien playfully blocked each one with a gentle slap, murmuring,

"Ahem, that was Gwen’s idea. Yesterday afternoon, when we came back, she whispered it to me. You should find a way to get back at her."

"I’ll definitely help you."

Wanda paused. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

It cost him nothing—he’d help whoever had a plan.

"Alright then."

She got off him, but her expression turned thoughtful.

"Even with your help... what if I still can’t last long?"

She had a point. After last night, she’d had to admit her own weakness, and it worried her.

"No problem." Lorien waved it off. "I have something that can help. I’ll give it to you tonight."

"Really? That’s great!" Wanda cheered and hugged him.

He patted her back.

"Come on, Gwen’s waiting outside. Let’s make lunch."

"Mm."

They walked out together.

Gwen glanced at Wanda, surprised she wasn’t upset. When she saw her calmly walk into the kitchen to cook, a shiver ran through her—something told her there was definitely a plan brewing behind this.