[Edward POV]
Three days after the Cuban revolution took place, Vanessa and I sat together on the living room couch at her place. She wore a large jersey with a tube top underneath and short pants, resting her legs on mine as we watched the morning news.
Vanessa, Maggie, and a couple of other actresses lived together in the $30 million Beverly Hills mansion I had purchased a year ago.
It was a French chateau with eight bedrooms, eighteen bathrooms, a swimming pool, a yoga room, a sauna, a spa, and a beauty salon for the girls. The blue roof and beige walls had attracted Vanessa to choose this place.
Since the actresses under the agency needed to travel frequently, the house served as a temporary haven for them to unwind when they didn't have any scheduled appointnts. While Vanessa had bought her own ho, it was a penthouse in New York City instead of Los Angeles.
"Are you really not mad?" I asked skeptically.
Vanessa shrugged lightly and replied, "I'm not mad. You have work to do. I've seen you work for years now; I know the drill."
I smirked playfully, "Really? You'd be getting the drill if you keep talking like this, you know that?"
"So it's small and twisted?" she grinned, teasing. "It's not sharp, is it? Because that's a dealbreaker for ."
I pulled her in close and gave her a quick kiss. Vanessa giggled and said, "But soday, you're going to let have a peek at your secret life, right? I don't want to be the dumb, bimbo trophy girlfriend who can't support what her boyfriend is doing."
I thought about it for a mont and replied, "Then do you want to shadow today and see what I do all day?"
Vanessa's eyes lit up. "Yes! I definitely want to. And then I'll sell the secret schedule to the CIA. I don't even need the extra money; I just want to do it for the giggles."
"Oh really? You're already planning to betray ?" I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulled her in close, and began to tickle her.
Maggie unexpectedly walked toward us, scowling in disdain at our giggly, flirty exchange.
"No! I'll take it back! I'm not going to tell the CIA about it!" Vanessa exclaid, giving in, breathless from the tickle torture. As I stopped, she teased again, "Maybe Interpol? Let's see what cris you're committing first before I reveal it to the world."
"You're really bold to tell a criminal your exact plan and not expect any retribution from him."
Maggie snapped, "It's ten in the morning! Don't make throw up again!"
Maggie was wearing an oversized satin pajama set with nothing underneath. The see-through fabric would make a normal man drool, but I felt nothing but disdain for her.
I turned to the hungover Maggie and scolded her, "You kept drinking until you blacked out at clubs. Control yourself. Don't overindulge and beco the new Hollywood brat."
"It was my friend's birthday party! I only let myself go a little bit! I'm not usually like this!" Maggie defended herself and ran away to escape further criticism.
"You kinda are! I'm going to put you in rehab if you don't get it under control," I called after her.
"What ti are we going to Grandpa's?" Maggie shouted while pouring herself a cup of coffee from the kitchen. She returned to the living room but kept her distance to ensure she was close to her escape route.
"We were supposed to fly there an hour ago," I chastised her. "Amy's already waiting at the hangar."
Maggie snorted, saying, "You could've woken up as usual, but you wanted to spend so ti with your girlfriend too, right? Don't put all the bla on ."
Vanessa was astonished and said to Maggie, "Didn't you rember our wake-up call? Edward almost broke the lock on the door. You replied and said you were awake, so we waited in the living room."
"Really?" Maggie was taken aback. When she saw my annoyed expression, she imdiately felt anxious and ran away. "Give ten minutes! I'll get ready now!"
I turned to Vanessa and asked, "Do you want to et my grandparents?"
Vanessa widened her eyes, saying ekly, "Are we already at that stage in our relationship? We wanted to take it slow, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "You visited my grandparents last month because you missed them and even stayed at the ranch for a few days. So we've definitely passed that point in our relationship."
Vanessa added a beanie and long sweatpants to her outfit before following us back to the ranch. After our plane landed at the airport, we transferred to a helicopter and flew for ten minutes to reach the ranch. I had arranged a helicopter landing pad near my grandparents' house, as I couldn't afford to waste another hour driving there by car.
Upon arrival, we t my grandparents and enjoyed lunch together before I went horseback riding with my grandpa in the pasture. Vanessa wanted to join us, but my grandmother dragged her away to help with preparations.
"Moo~~" The cows rushed toward where my grandpa and I had stopped the horses. I jumped down from the saddle, gave the horse a carrot treat, and walked over to the cows.
"They're enormous!" I exclaid in astonishnt as I gazed at the new batch of cows. They were one and a half tis larger than a typical cow.
My grandpa chuckled. "Really? You're surprised? I thought you had a hand in whatever happened to them. They were just voted as a prized Wisconsin breed a few months ago."
In truth, I did have sothing to do with their exceptional growth. Twenty months ago, when the new batch of breeding cows beca pregnant, I cast an [Optimal Growth] spell for monster reproduction on them.
Sage had inford that the newborn calves carried a barely perceptible monsterization trait, which made their at more delicious than that of any other cow in the world.
Now that my grandpa had slaughtered a few of them, I planned to cast another [Optimal Growth] spell for the remaining pregnant ones to see if they would evolve further.
The spell wouldn't grant them intelligence or turn them into carnivorous monsters; its purpose was solely to enhance their species' traits, such as producing creamier milk and more tender at.
"I've butchered around 5 of them, 20 are added to the dairy farm, and 30 more are selected for breeding. Their at is the best batch of at I'd ever co across."
I grinned at my grandpa and asked, "Really? How much did it sell for?"
Unexpectedly, Grandpa shook his head and replied, "I didn't sell any of them. You bought all of them from , so you're the owner. Besides, this kind of at—it'd be a waste to sell it to those who don't recognize its value."
I nodded in agreent. "Yeah, it has beco a high-class luxury item. It'd be a sha to just sell it to local vendors. Maybe Gordon Ramsay would want to feature this in his restaurant."
I also had a few poultry farms located in Florida. I didn't want to operate anything in Los Angeles, given the abundance of ntally ill vegan activists there and the constant harassnt they inflicted on local poultry farms.
"Maybe I should open my own restaurant?" I mused.
Suddenly, my grandpa asked, "Isn't it amusing? Just a year ago, one of the ranch hands here quit his job, and a year later, he led a revolution in Cuba and beca the president of the country."
I turned slowly to gauge my grandpa's expression. It wasn't one of amusent; he wanted to share the whole truth. I had recomnded Sado to the ranch to ensure my grandparents' safety while I fought off the assassination attempts during my struggle to release the diabetes treatnt program.
Sado had foiled multiple attempts to kidnap my grandparents from those seeking to blackmail , fostering a debt of gratitude between them. He and my grandpa had beco good friends, so imagine my grandpa's surprise when he saw Sado on the news under a different na with his newfound accomplishnts.
"He's full of surprises," I replied casually. "Two years ago, the freedom fighters' organization led by my mom failed, and they had to flee the country." I added this curtly.
My grandpa's eyes lit up, and he stopped . "Okay, I get it now. No wonder he's so good at fighting."
He pieced together his own conclusion with limited information. It was a manipulative technique, and I felt guilty about lying to him. However, it was the best decision for now.
"How is he doing right now?" my grandpa asked.
"He's fine," I reassured him. "He has a lot on his plate. Various intelligence agencies are funding the opposition in order to take him down. They've supplied tanks, weapons, and even black funds to destabilize the country."
My grandpa's face turned solemn as he took in this information. "So, how is he faring against them?"
I smirked and responded, "He's accepted it all. They're giving away money and weapons for free, so he'd be an idiot to turn them down."
"But—what about the opposition?"
"They were loyal to him in the first place. The agencies made a stupid mistake for their country, but it ended up being beneficial for Sado."
We rode back ho after we finished talking. A few of my workers ca and picked up the at, the milk and so cheese to transport it back to my house in L.A.
When I began to return back, Grandma prepared a delicious brisket from the V1 monsterized cows for to take ho in a tupperware.
"I wish I could stay longer, but I still have several more places to stop by," I said apologetically as I hugged Grandma.
"Aww, that's too bad," Grandpa said, comforting by rubbing my back before letting go. "Co back often, okay? Now that all of my grandkids are in L.A., it gets pretty lonely out here."
"I can let Amy and Maggie stay for another two days. It's not like they have any prior schedules," I ntioned to Grandma. Amy and Maggie shot looks of betrayal. Grandma turned toward them with excitent, causing them to quickly hide their expressions.
"Really? That would be wonderful!"
Amy laughed dryly, accepting her fate. "Okay, Grandma. Because I love you so much, I will stay."
Maggie exhaled in defeat before adding, "I can use the ti to practice my horse riding. I need to relearn that for my next movie."
Grandpa smiled and patted Amy's shoulder excitedly. "Do you still rember how to lasso a cow? I'm going to need so help with the pasture."
Maggie looked taken aback. "I think so?"
"Great! We're going out at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, so don't stay up too late."
Maggie was astonished by her grandpa's words. I smiled in satisfaction, knowing that Grandpa would help instill so discipline back into Maggie's everyday life.
"Grandpa, Maggie's free for the entire week, so you can take as long as you—" Amy started to say, but Maggie stomped on her foot, causing her to wince in pain.
My grandma hugged Vanessa and said, "Edward can be a bit brash, hot-headed and kinda a jerk, but he's a nice kid. I support the both of you in your relationship."
"Thank you Jules." Vanessa was a bit bashful to hear the encouraging words from my grandma. I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "Did my own grandmother just called a jerk?"
Everyone laughed at my question, yet no one answered it. "I'm going to sulk now."
"Aww. Eddy~" My grandma hugged again to comfort , "I didn't an you're a jerk. But you have to admit sotis you're being intentionally difficult."
I was greatly taken aback by the accusations. Amy agreed with grandma, based on the fact that I had just sold them out to stay there while I went back ho alone.
I didn't argue with my grandmother and got on the helicopter with Vanessa. My grandmother looked worried and said to Grandpa, "Did I go too far in teasing him? He looked quite hurt."
"Really? I don't think he cared at all," Grandpa shrugged. Suddenly, he rembered sothing and added, "Before he left, he ntioned he's going to move his cows to Arizona or New xico since Wisconsin is too far away."
"He is hurt! I should talk to him before he leaves—"
But Jules was too late. The helicopter was already in the air. I returned to California after another three-hour flight and went to a brewery in Sacranto. I had bought a couple of farmlands in the area, which were managed by my androids and held many secrets.
Using [Leaf – Plant Modification Skill (Release the Witch)], I evolved the wheat to have more ears, which in turn produced more grains. Then, it was brought to the beer processing factory, where it was fernted with an evolved yeast [Castle of Black Iron]. The product quickly took the number one spot as the most delicious beer in the world, but we weren't ready to launch it on the market just yet.
"We're expanding the farms and the beer factory tenfold. Only then can we start to sell it to the public," I told the staff, which consisted of androids and ordinary researchers.
As Vanessa followed from behind, she inquired about my work. The researchers filled her in on our soil health research, aiming to address the multifaceted challenges facing modern agriculture.
"First and foremost, we are investigating soil degradation—a pressing issue," began the researcher, my number 7 android based on Leaf from "Release the Witch."
"Many conventional farming practices, such as monocropping and excessive chemical use, have led to the depletion of essential nutrients and increased erosion. Our research focuses on regenerative practices that could restore soil health and enhance fertility over ti."
She showed Vanessa the soil ratings we had established in various farmlands across the country. Vanessa was stunned by the topic; she had never truly considered farming to be such a serious issue until Leaf explained it all.
"We also explored the importance of biodiversity in our farmlands. By introducing a variety of cover crops and rotating our main crops, we aim to create a more resilient ecosystem that can better withstand pests and diseases while improving overall soil structure. This diversity benefits the crops and nurtures beneficial microorganisms and fauna in the soil."
Leaf then showcased the genetically modified earthworms, though she omitted the fact that I had created them. The worms would help fertilize the land more efficiently. She also presented our research on new fertilizers and genetically modified crops, leaving Vanessa with starry eyes.
"Finally, we are addressing the issue of carbon sequestration. Through our regenerative practices, we aim to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil, actively contributing to climate change mitigation. Our goal is not just to grow high-yield crops but to cultivate a healthier environnt for generations to co," Leaf concluded her lecture after nearly three hours.
I interjected, "We're still at the beginning of that research, so it will take a lot more ti before it's put into practice."
Cracking open a can of cold, brandless beer, I offered one to Vanessa. "Want so?"
We drank beer together while we rested at the guest house. Vanessa thoroughly enjoyed the new brew, and her face was slightly flushed after just four cans.
"Edward~ Why are you doing all of this?" she asked suddenly.
Confused, I replied, "You need to specify what you're talking about."
"The farm. Leaf told that the governnt doesn't really care about farrs too much. Many of them are in debt, and crop yields are dropping annually. Billionaires are grabbing the depreciated farmland by buying it cheaply."
Vanessa gazed at intently as she continued, "But why are you trying to save them?"
I shrugged and said, "I'm the grandson of a ranch owner. I know how farrs live and how important they are to the country. That's why I'm doing this. Ness, make sure not to tell anyone what you saw here today. A lot of what we're doing isn't exactly legal yet."
"I'm not going to tell anyone." Vanessa grinned mischievously. "Blackmail material will only work if I use it as my leverage, not others."
I rolled my eyes and asked, "And what are you going to use the blackmail material for?"
"Mainly to get your body," Vanessa replied seductively.
"Pervert," I shot back curtly. "Just drink your beer; we need to fly back soon."
"Can we rest a bit with the air travel? I don't really like traveling by plane," Vanessa said sulkily.
"Maybe I can drive us back ho. It'll take a while, but I guess the night drive can be pretty enjoyable."
"You just drank so beer, and you plan on driving?" Vanessa was flabbergasted.
I shrugged and said, "It's only six cans. If I blow into the breathalyzer right now, it won't even detect it. I have trendous alcohol resistance, and my body doesn't register these beers as alcohol."
Vanessa snorted and replied, "Sure you do. But I still don't want you to drive us back."
"So, the only option we have is air travel again," I smirked.
"Fuck!" Vanessa cursed.
...
A day passed, and I invited several people to my house for dinner—a gathering for an important eting.
"Congratulations on surpassing $1.5 billion in the worldwide box office!" I cheered for the cast and crew of The Avengers movie by raising my wine glass. The film had managed to hit the $1.5 billion mark two weeks earlier in this universe.
RDJ, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Feige, the Russo brothers, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Cobie Smulders, Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg, Alexandra Daddario, and Samuel L. Jackson accepted my dinner invitation and ca to celebrate.
There seed to be an extra in the cast. Alexandra Daddario was cast as Amora the Enchantress, an Asgardian witch who helped Loki in his conquest on Earth.
Infatuated with Thor, she caused so chaos during the battle.
The storyline of the movie had so minor tweaks, primarily because I was adamant about changing it. The revisions focused on the Hulk and Captain Arica's characters.
For the Hulk, the scene where he says, "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry," was revised. While it was a great scene for the movie, it didn't accurately capture the relationship between Hulk and Banner, two beings constantly competing to beco the dominant personality.
After being dropped from the helicarrier, the Hulk road in his monstrous form until he neared New York City. He stopped at a diner, where he conversed with Banner in his mind. The scene was shot beside a window to allow the audience to see Banner's reflection in the mirror and the Hulk's ntal state.
When the wormhole opened, Banner told the Hulk that it was a chance for the world to see who he truly was. The Hulk went to fight the Leviathan after he saved a child from being crushed by falling debris.
Captain Arica witnessed the Hulk's actions and had a conversation with him. This dialogue was inspired by the animated series Avengers Assemble.
[Hulk: "I can handle it."
Captain Arica: "Sure you can, big guy. Now rember, watch out for the civilians."
His casual advice irked the Hulk, making the green giant point a finger at Captain Arica.
Hulk: "Is that why you ca over here? To make sure the monster didn't smash the humans too?!"
Captain Arica didn't cower in the face of the raging monster. He turned stern, showcasing his leadership and demonstrating why he was chosen as the leader of the Avengers.
Captain Arica: "Stop that talk! I want you to protect the civilians from the aliens. They are the monsters here, not you. In my day, we had a na for soone like you."
The Hulk was still fuming.
Hulk: "Yeah? What's that?"
Captain Arica: "A hero."
The Hulk was taken aback, and his anger diminished. It was the first ti soone had an honest conversation with him and didn't fear him.
Captain Arica, heroically: "I've been watching you, Hulk. No matter how scared people are of you, no matter how much you're hounded, you always do the right thing. And that makes you a hero in my book. Now, how about we smash so more aliens?"
Hulk: "I'll do that even without you telling ."
The Hulk smiled and leaped into the air to fight off a Leviathan.]
The scene where Tony and Captain Arica argued in front of everyone about SHIELD's use of the Tesseract also received minor tweaks. Steve was a leader, and he understood the gravity of the situation.
It wasn't the ti for him to engage in a pissing contest with Tony. Although the argunt played out, Steve was the first to realize that everyone was under the influence of a spell. The serum brought out the best in Steve Rogers.
His heart was what made him special. He also managed to fight off Amora's enticent, highlighting his strength even more. This made up for his fighting performance against Loki at the beginning of the movie, showcasing to the audience what Captain Arica brought to the team.
These tweaks highlighted everyone's strengths and the complex nature of the heroes.
I received a writing credit for the movie as well. RDJ kept wanting to add to the Avengers roster and hoped I would join the MCU, but it was challenging for everyone to find a character that suited well.
At the dinner party, I brought out a variety of specialties. The tender steaks were softer than Japanese wagyu, and the wine—crafted from mutated grapes and enhanced with Euphoria—made everyone feel blissful.
There was also wheat-based pizza topped with cheeses and sauces made from new ingredients, creating a culinary festival for the guests. It felt like their palates had returned to childhood, where every taste was eclectic and wonderful.
"Be honest, did you drug the food? I'm not mad; I just want to know," RDJ asked after finishing an entire bottle of wine.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I used no drugs in the recipes," I replied playfully. After the satisfying dinner, they lounged around, sampling my expensive alcohol collection and even touring the house.
RDJ stumbled into the arcade room and discovered the VR gear. I had received a Ready Player One universe VR gear blueprint from the gacha and created a virtual world based on my real engine. It was on par with Oasis—the VR universe in which Ready Player One was based.
The n kept taking turns to play, as there were only two sets of equipnt.
"I need one of these. Where can I get one?" Chris Hemsworth asked excitedly after he took off the haptic suit.
"I'm not selling it yet. I think I'll wait another two or three years before releasing it to the public."
"You made this?" RDJ was shocked. "I had a feeling since I first t you. You're this world's version of Tony Stark, aren't you?"
Scarlett joined the conversation, "Just look at his track record. He's definitely the Tony Stark of this world."
"Stop it," I said curtly. "I'm , not anyone else. Okay, I have sothing to hound Feige about. He didn't leave secretly, did he?"
While the movie was in production, I had suggested to Feige that we add Ant-Man and the Wasp to the roster, as they were key mbers of the Avengers. However, Feige chose not to introduce them directly in the movie, believing they needed their own film first before entering the Avengers lineup.
Having established strong trust between us, I wanted to use this occasion to convince him to create a Black Widow movie.
When Captain Marvel was released and the marketing departnt labeled her as the first female superhero, I was infuriated. Black Widow deserved her own movie—one that didn't suck.
Perhaps it was due to her sacrifice in Endga, but I had a lot of respect for the character. Even if making a movie about her at this stage seed risky, I believed that with a solid plot, the film could be successful—at least grossing $400 million on a $100 million budget.
Feige was still reluctant to take the risk. "Maybe I'll do it if I can find a great enough script—"
Before he could finish, I slapped a thick stack of scripts in front of him. I grinned as Feige looked astonished.
"I have one here. A script. It may not be the best, but I think I can show you what I have in mind for the character and the cinematic universe going forward."
In the last two years, I stumbled onto seven different kinds of Marvel's cinematic universe. One of them had the mutants from the very beginning.
Another featured Spider-Man as the main anchor of the story. Yet another revolved around the Fantastic Four.
I saw many story reiterations from multiple universes, one of which had 30 years of content for comic book adaptations. One of the universes only had 18 adaptations of the stories. Two of them closely resembled the universe similar to my previous life but with so minor tiline changes.
I found a Black Widow movie being conceptualized right after the events of the first Avengers movie. Black Widow had to recover stolen alien tech from Taskmaster, and she also stumbled into the Hydra organization in her venture.
Under the orders of Nick Fury, Natasha killed her partner and beca a double agent, infiltrating the Hydra branch led by Mada Viper. The storyline continued through the events of Captain Arica: The Winter Soldier and the second Avengers movie.
However, the second Avengers movie in that universe wasn't about Ultron; it was about Baron Zemo and Hydra's uprising.
Feige was adamant about Ultron being the main villain for the second Avengers movie, so I couldn't change that. But I could tweak the script for the Black Widow movie and push it out earlier in this universe.
As Feige was reading the script, RDJ grew curious and asked, "I read a script that you wrote, Now You See . I had to learn about its existence from a friend of mine. Why didn't you send the script to ?"
I was taken aback and said playfully, "Are you interested in the movie? I wanted to keep the budget low, so there's no way I'm going to spend the majority of the budget on your salary."
"I made over $50 million from the backend deals for the Avengers movie. It made feel really generous, so let's talk about the movie, and maybe I will take a pay cut for the role," RDJ said while grinning.
User Comments
0 comments from readers