Chapter 172: Slept Together Yet?
Red Devil, of course, remembered Thor.
Back when the Avengers became famous, he had already recognized that this "God of Thunder" was the Asgardian prince he once robbed.
If he had known Thor was at Stark Tower, he never would have brought Raymond straight there. At best, he would have dropped Raymond nearby and slipped away first.
Who knew they would run right into the man himself—and be recognized at a glance? What rotten luck.
If they really fought, he wasn't necessarily afraid. Even if he lost, with his survival skills Thor still wouldn't catch him. But he was in the wrong, and with a guilty conscience he had no desire to clash with Thor.
Thankfully, with Raymond and Tony smoothing things over, Thor couldn't make a scene. Otherwise, Red Devil would already have bolted.
Seeing Red Devil's awkward face, Thor realized he had been playing dumb. He snorted and stopped paying attention to him.
Thor needed Raymond's help, so he wasn't about to attack Raymond's friend in front of him. He was mad about the past, but not mad enough to risk Jane's life.
Pushing old grudges aside, Thor kept watching Raymond in the distance.
"Tony, are you sure your detective friend can find Jane?" he asked quietly.
"Last time Happy went missing, I used every resource—including S.H.I.E.L.D.—and still couldn't find him. Dr. Raymond found him in half a day," Tony said in a low voice.
"Happy went missing too?" Thor was surprised.
Given how well he knew Tony, he had met Happy many times. But that had happened after he returned to Asgard, so he hadn't heard about it.
"It's not important now. I'll tell you later," Tony waved it off. "I wasn't sure Dr. Raymond could find Jane either. I just asked him to try."
"But since he came in person, that means he has some confidence. If even he can't do it, worrying won't help."
Thor relaxed a little and looked back at Raymond.
But what he saw made his heart jump again—Raymond was talking to himself. It looked like he suddenly had an episode.
"What's going on?" Thor asked.
"Probably having a fit," Red Devil chimed in.
"A fit? What do you mean?" Thor forgot he was talking to his old thief and pressed for details.
"Dr. Raymond has some issues up here," Red Devil tapped his head and lowered his voice. "He was treated in a psychiatric hospital and only got out recently."
Thor stared at Tony.
Tony gave an awkward nod to confirm, then quickly added, "Don't worry. Even with his condition, Dr. Raymond is absolutely reliable. I trust him."
"How is it? Any leads?" Raymond asked in his mind.
"The space here is very unstable," the John sub-personality replied. "If she slipped through a spatial crack here like you said, we should be able to find her. But unless I can quickly pinpoint the exact place she vanished, even if we succeed it may take a few days."
"Too slow. No other way?" Raymond was not satisfied.
Although this world is not the same as the MCU, if Jane Foster fell into a pocket space and didn't die, she still wouldn't last long.
There's no food or water there. If it takes days to find her, she might already be dead.
By then we'd just be collecting a body. What's the point.
"My private stash does have a few tools that can find people fast, but those aren't my standard gear. Even if I materialize them, they won't work," the John sub-personality said, shaking his head.
He had no better way.
"I can!" the Exorcist sub-personality suddenly jumped out. "Did you all forget me?"
Raymond and the John sub-personality were both stunned.
Right—how could they forget him?
When it comes to finding people or things, the Exorcist sub-personality is much better than John. No one else can match him in this area.
Raymond asked, "If the Exorcist confirms the location, you can handle the rest, right?"
"No problem," John answered without hesitation.
"Good."
With that, Raymond quickly switched control to the Exorcist sub-personality and withdrew John.
As soon as he appeared, the Exorcist rolled his neck and shoulders, then walked straight to Thor.
"You—yes, you. Have you slept with that woman?" he asked bluntly.
"???" Thor was confused.
What is this—some kind of census?
And what kind of accent is that English? It sounded strange.
Even Tony couldn't stand it. Thinking Raymond was having an episode, he whispered, "Raymond, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm finding someone. Don't disturb me," the Exorcist waved him off.
Thor looked at Tony. Seeing Tony give a small nod, he admitted it.
"If you've slept together, then it's easy. Give me a strand of your hair," the Exorcist said, holding out his hand.
"What are you going to do?" Thor grew wary.
In the Nine Realms, plenty of dark mages can use hair or blood to curse someone.
"Find someone, what else? Do you want to find her or not? If not, forget it."
Hearing that, Thor stopped asking, pulled out a small tuft of hair, and handed it over.
The Exorcist took the hair and turned away.
He wrapped it around the index finger of his right hand, then traced symbols in the air with the other—"Heaven and earth without limit, lend me your law… a thread of fate ties lovers… seek!"
The golden strand of hair suddenly flew up on its own.
Like a snake, it weaved through the air and drifted toward the second floor of the abandoned factory.
Seeing this, the Exorcist's eyes lit up. "Got it!"
He shifted into a crane-like stance, spread his arms, and rose lightly into the air, chasing after the hair like a flying dragon.
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