Shadow of the Beautiful World

Ms. Carter is already 60 years old. The old man was very tired when she came to Oakland from New York. She lost energy after chatting with Merlin for a while, and left the rest of the work to Fury.

This seemingly friendly lady is not an easy character to get along with. During the more than 20 minutes of her chat with Merlin, she dug out all the details of Merlin in the past 21 years in a silent way.

Under her guidance, Merlin told her almost all his stories.

Of course, the most important things were concealed by Merlin.

Including the Coulson family, the undersea man Vico and Arthur Jr., the female warrior Okna of Wakanda, the Wayne family who extended a helping hand, Bruce's whereabouts, etc.

If you promise to keep others secret, you must do it. This is Merlin's rule.

And Fury, who replaced Ms. Carter and talked with Merlin, was also a very cunning agent. He knew that Merlin had been persuaded by Ms. Carter, so he no longer deliberately led him to join the Strategic Science Corps.

Instead, he generously opened a room for Merlin to rest well, and gave him 3 days to think about it before giving them an answer.

To be honest, Merlin was really tempted.

Not just because of Ms. Carter's encouragement, nor just because of the favorable conditions Fury put forward.

The two most important reasons why he was tempted were, firstly, the Strategic Science Corps did have a way to help him through the serum conversion period. According to Ms. Carter, after Captain America Steve became a super soldier, it took nearly three months to fully master the power of body modification.

And it is precisely because Mr. Howard tailored a reasonable training plan for Steve that the potential of Captain America can be continuously explored, allowing him to grow up at the fastest speed and become stronger in the war. Until he became a great hero who turned the tide.

Secondly, Fury has hinted more than once that the organization of the Winter Soldier is likely to be the official intelligence organization before the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, but now because of the turmoil in the current situation, those originally powerful intelligence organizations have degenerated into mercenaries. soldiers or assassination organizations.

Merlin had made a feud with them, killed their strongest warrior, and those people would not let it go.

Instead of Merlin facing the ensuing revenge alone, it is better to join the Strategic Science Corps. They are capable enough to thwart the revenge of those organizations on Merlin.

Most importantly, Merlin belongs to his own selfishness.

After joining the Strategic Science Corps, whether he wants to continue to search for the legendary wizards, completely solve the problem of dark forces, or resort to scientific methods to get rid of the plight of being threatened by demons, he can use the energy of this organization .

It can be called getting twice the result with half the effort.

But he still couldn't make up his mind right away.

Past experiences have taught him to be cautious, to think repeatedly and carefully before making a decision, and to assess the situation.

He felt uneasy about the future in his heart, although he himself did not know where this uneasiness came from.

You look like you haven't slept well.

The next morning, when Merlin got up for breakfast, he met Fury.

The latter occupied a table alone and was eating, and there were many people eating around, but judging from their expressions and movements, these guys should all be agents who came to defend Ms. Carter with Fury.

I didn't sleep well, after all, you are by my side.

Merlin sat opposite Fury with his breakfast. He looked at the high-ranking agent who was cutting bread in front of him. This guy looks really bad at eating. Merlin also noticed that the way Friede cut the bread was weird, instead of the more convenient diagonal cut, it was cut around the four corners of the bread. He thought it was fun, so he asked:

Why cut bread like this? Is this also one of the regulations of the Strategic Science Corps?

Fury glanced at him, shook his head, and said:

I don't eat triangles of bread

Why?

Merlin asked, and Fury said angrily:

Because on the battlefield of the Vietnam War, I encountered a triangular bomb disguised as bread on the dining table. Do you want to continue asking?

Alright alright.

Merlin didn't ask any more questions, so as not to anger Fury, but just as he was about to eat, Fury put something on the dining table and handed it to Merlin. It was a black watch, which looked like an ordinary watch. no difference.

For you.

Fury picked up the tablecloth, wiped his mouth, and said to Merlin:

A new product from the logistics department, which contains a new GPS locator and a miniature bomb, which can be used to escape after being imprisoned.

Um?

Merlin narrowed his eyes. He took a bite of the fruit, picked up the watch, and said to Fury:

You should know that if I really want to run, you can't catch me relying on this thing, right? Even if it explodes, it won't hurt me.

So I didn't hide its 'little secret' from you.

Fury didn't care. He picked up the wine glass, took a small sip, and said to Merlin:

Whether you are willing to accept our goodwill or not in the end, you have to enter the monitoring range of the Strategic Science Corps. This thing is actually a demonstration of sincerity.

Merlin, when you bring it, it means that you are willing to live in peace with us, which means that we are friends, at least acquaintances. You take it, we will know where you are, and when you are in danger , we can save you, of course, if you are willing to let us know.

Are all secret agents so narrow-minded?

Merlin snorted, and in front of Fury, changed his worn-out watch and put the new watch on his wrist.

The gesture made Fury smile. He stood up, patted Merlin on the shoulder, and put a wad of money in Merlin's hand. He said:

Although you are not yet an official member, I will give you your salary and allowance for this month first. Go out and have fun these few days, and I will notify you when you leave.

Fury left the restaurant, and Merlin looked around. While chewing the food in his mouth, he picked up the wad of money, counted them, and put them in his pocket with satisfaction.

He drank the last sip of soup, pressed a note under the plate, wiped his mouth, turned and left the hotel.

Before leaving Oakland, he was going somewhere.

Oh, it's all ruined.

Merlin, wearing a baseball cap, stood at the entrance of that black neighborhood, as if standing on a piece of post-war ruins. At least one-fifth of the houses were completely destroyed in the scuffle that night. .

The apartment where he once hid was completely destroyed by a third of the explosion, and the upright wreckage exuded a sense of sadness.

The neighborhood has been cordoned off, but there is no police to maintain order, and there are no reporters to report the news. Except for the local residents who are searching for things on the ruins, the calm here seems to be completely forgotten by the outside world. same.

Merlin can probably guess that it should be the Strategic Science Corps exerting pressure on the local media and completely blocking the news here, in order to deceive people, or in other words, to prevent other residents of the city from feeling fear.

This is a necessary information control, even in modern society, people's acceptance is not necessarily very strong.

If the local media hastily broke out such a dangerous incident, it is likely to cause panic and even trigger a series of vicious incidents that should not have happened.

Merlin's hands were in his pockets, and he was walking on the rubble-covered streets. This place should have been cleaned up urgently. The corpses, guns, and bloodstains in the ruins were all covered up. Of course, in some remote corners, there were still Some faint blood stains could be seen.

And after Merlin activated his spirit vision, he could even see that even under the sunlight, there were still some weak ghosts floating on these ruins. They lingered in the ruins, unwilling to leave for a long time.

But these weak spirit bodies can't resist the sunlight, just like ice will melt when placed in the sun. After another 2 or 3 days, the place will become very clean.

Merlin also got word from Fury about the outcome of that night's shootout and attack.

The nearby police and firefighters arrived in time, and it is said that there was another secret force to help. In short, before the building collapsed, most of the people were evacuated, and there were not many real casualties.

This is probably the only good news among all the bad news.

Sir, sir, do a little bit to rebuild our community.

When Merlin reached the corner of the street, a group of people were standing there, appealing to locals and those who came and went to donate for the reconstruction of the neighborhood.

A little girl with messy hair stood beside Merlin, holding up a donation box with all her strength, looking at the big brother with expectant eyes.

Merlin looked back, at the back of the fundraising site, where the basketball court should have been, there were many children standing there in a daze, no smile on their faces, and no longer chasing and playing. Feeling uneasy due to an unwarranted disaster.

All right.

Merlin took out the still-warmed salary from his pocket, leaving only one-tenth of it for himself, and then put all the rest into the donation box that the child was carrying.

I'm sorry, children, I wish you a safe life.

He stroked the somewhat messy hair of the surprised little girl, and said sorry that the child couldn't understand at all. Then stand up, turn around and prepare to leave. But just as he turned around, a child's scream came from the edge of the basketball court.

The screaming was miserable, like that of an abused cat.

Merlin walked over and found that some guys with messy tattoos on their shoulders were beating a little boy. And most coincidentally, Merlin knew that child.

That was the child Merlin sent to call that night.

He completed the task Merlin gave him and contacted the butler of Wayne Manor, who hired Psylocke to rescue him. It can be said that without this little boy, Merlin might have been captured by the Winter Soldier long ago.

Hey!

The men who were beating the child heard a voice stopping them from behind. The guy with a fierce look at the head turned his head and looked at Merlin who was wearing a baseball cap and windbreaker behind him.

He scolded viciously:

Go away! None of your business!

I didn't call you!

Merlin ignored the fierce man. He reached out and took off his baseball cap, and said to the little boy crouching on the ground with his head in his arms, his nose bruised and his face swollen from the beating:

You, child, do you need help?

The terrified little boy raised his head. There were blood stains at the corners of his mouth and nostrils. He looked at Merlin in a daze. After Merlin took off his hat, the little boy's eyes burst into surprise.

Obviously, he recognized Merlin.

The boy's expression caught the attention of the fierce sweater. He moved his shoulders, walked up to Merlin, stretched out his fingers, and tapped Merlin's chest fiercely. He said in a fierce voice:

Do you know that kid? His father owes us money, and he will definitely not be able to pay it back, so you can pay it back!

OK.

Merlin's expression didn't change much. He looked around, pointed to the alley not far away, and said:

There are too many people here, let's go there and talk.

Walk!

The big man in the lead waved his hand, and the five of them pushed Merlin into the alley. The little boy who was left on the spot looked at the few people who walked into the alley in a daze and fear.

After a while, he heard a scream, which made the little boy run to the side of the alley in a hurry. He thought it was Merlin who was beaten by those vicious guys.

But the child poked his head out into the alley, and was surprised to find that Merlin was holding the big man's neck with one hand, easily lifting him up in the air, as if he was carrying a small chicken. Behind Merlin, The remaining four strong men had all rushed to the street in less than a minute.

Blood was spilled everywhere, filling the alley with a sense of panic.

Is the money owed to you paid off?

Merlin asked peacefully, the man strangled by him was speechless at all, Merlin shrugged, and he said:

Since you don't speak, I'll take it as your acquiescence.

boom

With a wave of Merlin's hand, the guy was thrown several meters away, right at the corner of the alley where the Winter Soldier smashed the bricks and stones that night, and his head was badly hit.

Merlin, who had resolved a debt dispute, clapped his hands happily. He looked at the blood stained on his fingers with some disgust. He wiped the blood on a guy under his feet, then turned around, and saw the guy standing in the alley. boy with mouth.

He walked over, patted the boy on the face, and said:

Go, good boy, don't look at these.

The child followed behind him, looking back from time to time. After walking for a few minutes, Merlin suddenly asked:

What's your name? Have your father and uncle been rescued?

My name is Eric, Eric Stevenson.

While wiping the blood from his face, the boy said sadly:

My father and uncle are gone. They say my father is dead. I don't believe it. My father always says he wants to take me home. He says our home is far away, and that place is called Wakanda.

Wakanda?

Merlin narrowed his eyes, and he asked:

What's your father's name?

Enjob, my uncle's name is James.

The boy raised his head and looked at Merlin, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, he said:

Can you help me find my father and uncle? You are so good at fighting, you can definitely help me find them.

Enjob?

Merlin recalled the name. If he remembered correctly, this should be the person who confronted the mysterious Black Panther that night, and he should be a prince of Wakanda. The Black Panther King said that he betrayed Wakanda with outsiders, and that he would send Enjob back to the Council of Elders for sanctions.

I don't know how they are now.

Merlin's thoughts were considered by the boy Eric as a trade-off. Eric, who grew up in a black community, has seen many such things. He gritted his teeth, took Merlin's hand, and said to Merlin:

Come with me, boss, I'll show you something!

As it is

Take it as my reward for paying you!