Wanda Maximov opened her bright, dark eyes without blinking, and the red light covered her bright eyes like a laminar iris. Crimson ripples brewed between her slow-moving palms, changing and flipping like fluid, gradually conjuring the shape of a knife at the will of the little witch, polishing the edge of a thin, sharp blade.

She held her breath and concentrated her strength like never before, and fine beads of sweat slid down her snowy cheeks. With a flick of her fingertips, dark red ripples exploded in the air, and the throwing knife dragged a phantom of chaotic magic to shoot out, with a slight cracking sound.

The blade-shaped mana pierced the humanoid target ten paces away, leaving a thin piercing rift in the head.

The tense nerves finally relaxed, and Wanda breathed a long sigh of relief, bending over with her hands on her thighs and panting. Her cheeks were crimson, she was sweating profusely, and she subconsciously looked at the "mentor" who was standing with her arms crossed.

"Well done." Michael handed her a white dry towel from the shelf, "It's going pretty fast today. ”

Wanda thanked her and took the towel to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"Take a break and then move on later." Michael walked over to the table in the corner of the room, picked up the brewed coffee pot and shook it, and poured himself a cup of coffee.

Then he raised the coffee pot at Wanda: "Do you want coffee?" ”

"One cup, sugar, thank you."

Wanda stepped closer. She inadvertently caught a glimpse of the watch on Michael's wrist as she took the coffee cup from his hand. It was a black watch of considerable craftsmanship, with a round case made of ceramic, a delicate skeleton dial, and a dual-time mechanism that could be used for two different regional time sets.

Wanda took a sip of her coffee: "The table is good. ”

"AMVOX, if you like it, I can give you a piece." Michael shook his wrist, "Interested in watches?" ”

"No, thank you. I'm not particularly interested. Wanda shook her head, her gaze moving to a wall of white flowers in front of her, "It's just that I remembered a watch from my past...... It was given to me by my dad when I was nine years old. ”

There was a look of memory in her eyes. Michael took a sip of his coffee and didn't make a sound.

"At that time, I was particularly fond of an Eastern European cartoon called 'Virgi and Her Friends.' It's a silly cartoon, but I just love it.

When I was nine years old, the production company of that animation seemed to be cooperating with the activities of some local group in our city to launch a limited edition watch on the theme of animation. At that time, I was clamoring for it, but our family's financial situation was not very good, so my mother disagreed. But my dad agreed, and he took me to the queue early in the morning, and we waited in line for more than an hour at minus temperatures, and I finally got my wish to get the limited edition watch. ”

She closed her eyes slightly.

"But I didn't expect that the cartoon-themed limited edition watch would be the only gift my dad could bring out after our house was destroyed by the bombing."

"I'm sorry."

"Later, I traveled with Pietro to many places, and I lost the watch somewhere. That's always a pity...... But that's been many years. The local group in the city seems to have gone out of business soon after, and the limited edition watch for the event was released once a year, so it must have been out of print. ”

Wanda paused and looked at Michael.

"To be honest, I've always thought that people with money and power were the same. They are so high and drunk that no one cares about the lives of people in a small place like Sokovia. She put her glass down, "I thought you were one of them. ”

"Oh? So you've changed your mind now? ”

"From the first time we met, I thought you were just another madman like Straker, chasing power, trying to conquer the world or something. Elizabeth...... Your secretary, tell us you're the best she's ever met, and I didn't believe it at the time. "But now I realize that you're really different from everyone else." You never enjoy your power and wealth, I only see that you want to use your gifts and power to do good. ”

"I've never said that." Michael said dryly.

Wanda smiled lightly: "Miss Elizabeth also said that you would not admit it. I think she knows you a lot. ”

Michael pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you mean by 'others'...... I guess Stark, right? ”

The smile on Wanda's face vanished.

"Stark is a murderer." She said coldly, "A lot of people say that. ”

"There are also a lot of people who say he's a hero."

"Pietro and I hid under the bed and were trapped for two days by a bomb with Stark's name on it. For two whole days, we waited for him to kill us. The little witch's tone was full of resentment.

"That name only means that he made the bomb. Countless people die at gunfire every year, but no one goes to the gunsmith for revenge. ”

Wanda frowned and looked at him, "Are you asking Stark to defend himself?" ”

"I'm telling you not to dwell on the past." Michael said lightly, "Hatred may seem like it can drive you forward, but one day it will consume you." Whether it is past resentment or achievement, if you keep dwelling on the past, you will only be stagnant. There is no point in dwelling on the past, what matters is the future. ”

"So that's what you've been doing all along? There is no past in your eyes, only the future? Wanda said, "Does your past mean nothing to you?" ”

"Nope." Michael replied dryly, "Instead of dwelling on the established facts of the past or the achievements of the past, we should look at what should be done in the future." ”

"So you're telling me that I should leave it at that?" Wanda said in a deep voice, "Stark blew up our home, killed our parents, and almost killed us. We've survived Straker's experiments and acquired these abilities to get to where we are today...... And you're telling me now that we should end here, just forgive Stark? Shake hands with him and make peace? ”

"I'm saying you should let it go and let it pass, not ask you to forgive Stark. There is a difference between the two. ”

Wanda looked up at him, and suddenly found that the man's eyes were so unfathomable, cold and deep, like an abyss, and there was not the slightest fluctuation in the process of speaking.

She found herself accustomed to telepathically detecting others and knowing the innermost thoughts of anyone. But this man is the only one...... She couldn't read at all throughout.

"You know, what I just said about knowing you...... I found out I was wrong. Wanda said bluntly, "You are indeed different from everyone else." You're not as greedy, lustful, or conquering as they are...... You're just not emotional. ”

Michael drank his coffee and put down his cup, his face expressionless.

"Intermission is over." He said lightly, "It's time to train." ”