Punctually, Lucas arrived at the first floor of the bookstore, opening the doors to welcome guests.
With most of New York destroyed, many people lost their jobs and became idle.
As one of the few entertainment venues that remained perfectly intact, the bookstore's recent foot traffic was much higher than ever before. Every day, many people came to borrow and return books.
Many others even queued up in advance to enter the bookstore to read, study, or work.
After all, in New York at this time, finding a place with a good environment and heating was not easy.
Soon, the first, second, and third floors, most of the seats in the bookstore, were occupied.
But this had little to do with Lucas. He was the boss and had his own lounge.
Sitting in the lounge, he stopped musing and focused on playing with the Power Stone in his hand.
Although he had decided to give the Power Stone to Loki, it wasn't now.
It's not poverty that troubles people, but inequality. It wouldn't be too late to give it to the three of them together after obtaining the Reality Stone.
Lucas had a good understanding of the Power Stone's abilities during his ten-day war (one-sided beating) with Thanos. He could even mimic the Power Stone's energy to achieve similar effects.
But what bothered him was that his compatibility with the Power Stone was not high, preventing him from fully utilizing its abilities. The amplification the Power Stone provided him was almost the same as when he mimicked it himself later.
It could be said that Lucas defeated Thanos entirely by his own strength.
Putting away the Power Stone, he began to play with the Mind Stone.
The Power Stone at least had some use to him but the Mind Stone was useless to him, and giving it to a member of the Sorcerer Supreme Team could even cause trouble.
Just as Lucas was about to put away the Mind Stone and take out the Space Stone, his perception was triggered.
Someone is watching me!
Following the sensation, Lucas saw a thin, small, melancholic girl in a red coat.
Daenerys Targaryen!
No, that's G'iah, the Skrull princess.
Seeing Lucas look at her, G'iah, a little nervous and awkward, forced a smile.
Lucas grinned, returning the smile.
He had no prejudice against Marvel's aliens. He found that Marvel's alien civilizations were actually quite similar to Earth's civilization, just with a different facade. Countless years ago, perhaps the origins of these alien civilizations were all on Earth.
Withdrawing his gaze, Lucas quietly observed the girl with his mental power. He had seen many Skrulls, but he was too lazy to bother with them.
The Skrulls' disguise was very good on a physical level, but not good enough. At least, it couldn't fool Lucas.
This was the first time Lucas had encountered a Super Skrull. He was very curious what would happen if a Super Skrull imitated him.
'He found me.'
The fledgling princess was flustered at this moment.
'Did he see that I'm not an Earthling? Probably not, otherwise he wouldn't be indifferent.'
'No, since he can defeat Thanos, the Master of the Dark Order, he must have seen many alien races in the Universe, and he might not have a prejudice against Skrulls.'
A bold and sudden thought popped into G'iah's mind, quickly overwhelming her reason.
'How about I just go over and try to strike up a conversation? As long as I shake his hand when I greet him, I can acquire his abilities and memories.'
G'iah mustered her courage, stood up, and walked towards the lounge.
In the lounge, Lucas's lips twitched slightly.
He retracted his previous evaluation of the Mind Stone. Although the Mind Stone was useless to him and couldn't be used to enhance his combat power like Thanos, when combined with his telepathic abilities, the effect was still quite good.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in."
Looking at the innocent young girl, Lucas smiled.
"Sit. What would you like to drink? Coffee, tea, or something else?"
"Tea, thank you."
Looking at the girl who had just sat down, Lucas showed a mischievous smile.
He took out a green bill and pushed it over. "Could I trouble you to buy something from Maximoff Drinks next door?
"I'd like a cup of coffee. You can buy a cup of whatever tea you like, it's on me."
G'iah, somewhat dazed, took the bill and stood up, walking towards the door.
Only after stepping out of the reading room did she suddenly realize.
'G'iah, don't be nervous. He didn't see through your disguise.'
After secretly encouraging herself, she arrived at the drink shop. At this time, the drink shop was also packed with people. Wanda and Pietro were also helping their parents entertain guests.
"Be careful, hold it steady."
Wanda looked at the adorable girl in front of her and reminded her softly.
"Okay, thank you." G'iah thanked her and moved her hand away from Wanda's.
She just wanted to get information about Lucas indirectly through this neighboring girl. But she never expected her talent to tell her that she had just replicated two abilities: mind enthrallment and telekinesis.
'This girl... why is she so strange?'
Watching G'iah walk into the reading room, Wanda withdrew her gaze and stopped thinking about it. No one could cause trouble on Lucas's turf.
"Mr. Lucas, here's your coffee."
"Thank you, Daenerys." Lucas took the drink, politely saying.
"Daenerys?" G'iah sat down, puzzled.
"Is that your friend, Mr. Lucas? My name is G'iah, you might have mistaken me for someone else."
"Oh, I'm sorry, G'iah, I made a mistake. Daenerys is indeed my friend." Lucas spoke nonsense with a straight face.
Hearing of someone means knowing them, and meeting them means they're friends.
However, Lucas and the Mother of Dragons had certainly never met, so they could only be considered acquaintances, not friends.
"But G'iah, do I also look a lot like your friend?" Lucas said with a strange tone.
"Why do you say that, Mr. Lucas?" G'iah was puzzled again, she couldn't quite follow Lucas's train of thought.
"Otherwise, why are you holding my hand and not letting go?"
When Lucas took the coffee, G'iah's hand unconsciously pressed onto his hand. She didn't even notice it herself.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lucas."
G'iah let go of his hand, looking somewhat bewildered.
"G'iah, you're not going to say I look a lot like your future friend, are you?"
Facing Lucas's teasing, G'iah seemed to freeze.
'Why is this girl so dumb?' Lucas wondered silently, waiting patiently.
He was quite curious to see if a Super Skrull could replicate his abilities, and if so, to what extent.
Meanwhile, G'iah's mind was filled with confusion. Her talent feedback indicated that she hadn't replicated anything.
This was unscientific!
"Couldn't replicate any talents?" Lucas asked with some disappointment.