This is what I'm going to do.

Wu Yanzu's fingers trembled slightly, and he grabbed her fingers with his own.

Their fingers are intertwined.

Tony looked at their tightly clasped hands, and this time he didn't mock them, but simply took a sip of his drink in silence.

Steve lowered his head, looking at the glass in his hand: "At least you still have memories. My Christmas... is still in 1943. Back then, Bucky was still alive, we couldn't afford a turkey, so we could only share a roasted potato in an alley in Brooklyn."

"But I felt back then... that was the best Christmas ever," Steve's voice was a little hoarse, "because everyone was still there."

"..."

"Alright, since we're all orphans," Tony broke the silence, "let's let us, a bunch of kids without parents, take care of ourselves."

He raised his glass.

"Respect ourselves."

"Respect ourselves."

The group's glasses clinked together, producing a crisp sound.

Ding! Special popularity points +1500 (from Tony Stark)

Ding! Special popularity points +2000 (from Steve Rogers)

Ding! Special popularity points +5000 (from Jessica Jones)

……

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The clock on the wall pointed to 11:55.

"Alright, that's the sentimental part over." Tony Stark clapped his hands, reverting to his usual nonchalant demeanor. "Now, let's get to the main event of the night."

Tony immediately had Jarvis switch the feed to the large screen in the living room.

"Hey Anthony," Tony said, pointing at the screen, "that crazy reality show of yours... is it really going to open for registration at midnight?"

"Of course." Wu Yanzu leaned back on the sofa, his confident smile returning. "This is a Christmas gift for all of America."

On the screen, the countdown to Times Square is in progress.

Vought Media bought all the GG slots for tonight.

The huge logo of "WHO IS THE NEXT?" flashed on every screen.

Countless anchors and reporters are standing in the cold wind, shouting into the camera.

"Five minutes to go! Waters' website traffic has already broken its all-time high!"

"All the superpowered people in America have been waiting for this moment!"

"Who will be the next lucky one?!"

Tony frowned as he looked at the images.

"Do you know what you're doing, Anthony?" Tony's tone turned serious. "You're opening Pandora's box."

"In the past, those with superpowers hid in the shadows. S.H.I.E.L.D. kept them in check, and although their methods were a bit crude, at least... society was stable."

"Now, you tell them: Hey! Come out! You can become a star! You can make a lot of money!"

Tony turned and stared at Wu Yanzu: "You'll bring out all those lunatics, criminals, psychopaths... The world will be in chaos."

"A mess?" Wu Yanzu shook his head, stood up, walked to the French windows, and looked at himself on the screen.

"Tony, do you think they cease to exist just because you don't look?"

"They've always been there. In the gutters of Hell's Kitchen, in the barns of remote farms, in the cubicles of mental hospitals."

"They are repressed, surrounded by fear. This repression is the ticking time bomb."

Steve Rogers looked at Wu Yanzu with a complicated expression.

"But that's too... opportunistic, Anthony," Steve sighed. "A hero shouldn't be driven by fame and fortune."

"That was your era, Captain," Wu Yanzu said calmly. "In this era, no one will generate electricity for love. If you want them to protect the world, you have to give them... a reward."

"when--!!"

Just then, the clock struck midnight.

A new day begins.

On the screen, the moment the registration channel opened, the numbers started jumping wildly.

1000...

10000...

50000...

In just a few minutes, the number of applicants exceeded 100,000!

"My God..." Steve exclaimed in shock, "So many people?"

"This is the American Dream, Captain." Wu Yanzu turned around, looking at the numbers on the screen, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "Everyone wants to be the protagonist."

"One hundred thousand people?" Tony Stark frowned. "America has that many superhumans? I thought superhumans like Steve were rare."

"Most of them are just pretenders." Wu Yanzu calmly swirled his wine glass, looking at the crazy data on the screen. "Some people may just be able to curl their tongues into a lotus shape, or drink two liters of cola in one go, and think they are 'superheroes'."

"But this also illustrates one thing."

Wu Yanzu pointed to the still soaring number, which represented public opinion, desire, and an unstoppable torrent.

"People crave power; people crave attention."

"Tony, Steve."

Wu Yanzu turned around, his back to the frenzied numbers on the screen, and opened his arms as if embracing a godfather of an entire era.

"This is the future I'm talking about."

"A future where...superhumans no longer hide, but stand center stage."

At this point, the screen begins to scroll through a series of real-time uploaded "registration videos".

Scene 1:

A chubby man with a face full of acne shouted at the camera, "I'm the 'Fart King'! I can blow out candles with my farts!"

Then came a deafening sound.

The entire audience: "..."

Jessica: "Ugh..."

……

Scene 12:

A beautiful woman in a bikini conjures a dazzling spark from her fingertips. "I'm the Fire Woman! I'm hot!"

Tony: "Hmm... I can get through to that. Jarvis, find her contact information."

Pepper: "Tony!"

……

Scene 25:

A strange man wearing a mask, a red bodysuit, and carrying two samurai swords.

He gave the camera the middle finger, then pulled out a knife and cut off his middle finger.

"Witness a miracle! Ta-da! It's grown back! Hahahaha! I'm Wade! I want to sleep with Homelander!! Vote for me!! Vote for me!!"

The entire audience: "..."

Steve Rogers frowned: "This...this is too bloody."

Wu Yanzu's eyes suddenly narrowed.

Deadpool? Wade Wilson? They're in this universe too?

Hmm, it should also be one of the variants of Deadpool... That's interesting.

……

Scene 33:

A silver figure flashed past the camera.

Nothing could be seen clearly, only a boastful laugh could be heard: "My name is Pietro! I'm the fastest man in the world! By the time you see my name, I'll have already run from the East Coast to the West Coast!"

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Wu Yanzu's lips.

Pietro Maximov... Quicksilver. Is Hydra getting impatient?

"Looks like some real guys have infiltrated." Tony Stark's expression turned serious. "That silver-haired kid is fast. Jarvis, have you done the calculations?"

"Sir, based on frame rate analysis, the speed he exhibits in the video exceeds Mach 20. This is a true superhuman."

"And that lunatic who cut off his finger." Steve also sensed something was wrong. "His healing speed... is faster than any super soldier I've ever seen."

"That's what I'm supposed to do, Captain."