I Came from the Void

Harvey considered that, in terms of both power and lifespan, he was undoubtedly closer to the Void Clan than humanity.

Perhaps because he had been human in his previous life and at the beginning of this one, he still felt some sense of belonging toward humanity and might favor humans at certain times.

But while that sense of belonging would not disappear with time, it would undoubtedly grow fainter as his long life stretched on.

Having thought this through, Harvey had already made his decision.

"I came from the Void."

Under the wary gazes of Natasha, Nick Fury, and Coulson, Harvey spoke.

Nick Fury, Natasha, and Coulson's pupils contracted.

Natasha and Coulson almost instinctively moved to act, but remembering the warning from earlier, their hands stopped before reaching for their guns.

And at the very moment Harvey spoke those words—

The host has ceased deceiving himself and fleeing from his true nature. The host has acknowledged his own will and existence. The system has officially recognized its master and will unlock all functions.

Hearing the cold voice in his mind, Harvey's eyes flickered.

He had awakened the system more than two years ago, yet he had never known how to unlock the other Hero Templates, so he had patiently waited.

Now, he understood. The problem had been with himself.

Although he had never rejected the Void, he had never fully accepted it either.

At least, before Nick Fury asked him what race he truly belonged to and forced him to seriously consider it, he had never regarded himself as a member of the Void Clan. That was why the system had not officially recognized him as its master.

"..."

Nick Fury had originally confirmed that this Grim Reaper was a superpowered individual. Thinking he had landed a big fish, he had wanted to recruit Grim Reaper into the Avengers Initiative.

As fellow humans, all he needed to do was make the other party understand that Earth was currently like a lone boat in the vast universe, liable to be overturned by enormous waves at any time.

Then there was a chance the other party would accept his invitation and join the Avengers Initiative, contributing to humanity. Yet he had never expected him to be not a human, but an alien.

That made the many prepared lines Nick Fury had ready difficult to say.

Earth was humanity's only home for now. If it was destroyed, it would truly be gone.

But to an alien, Earth was merely a temporary foothold. Even if it was destroyed, they might simply return to their own homeland.

However, considering that Grim Reaper had been on Earth for over two years and had merely worked as a mercenary,

without causing too many catastrophic disasters on Earth, it proved that he probably had no intention of destroying the planet.

"Then, my friend from the Void, what is your purpose in coming to Earth?"

Still, in order to understand how he could communicate with this Grim Reaper, Nick Fury asked the question.

At the same time, Nick Fury gave Natasha and Coulson a warning look, telling them to suppress their thoughts.

Humanity possessed mushroom clouds. Even if aliens existed, they should still be capable of killing one.

But the price they would need to pay was far too high, so their priority had to be determining whether he was friend or foe.

"I saw this beautiful planet and came here to travel and experience life."

Faced with the question, Harvey lied as naturally as breathing.

Nick Fury, Natasha, and Coulson all thought that reason was absurd, but since the other party was unwilling to reveal his true intentions, they could not force him to speak.

Based on the strength Grim Reaper had displayed just now, their odds of winning if they fought were not high. They might even be zero.

So they absolutely could not fight him. At least with their current capabilities, they were not enough to force Grim Reaper to say what they wanted to hear.

"My friend, since you have no intention of concealing your identity, does that mean there is a possibility for us to communicate?"

Nick Fury revealed a strained smile that anyone could see through.

"Aren't we communicating right now?"

Harvey noticed the probing and wariness in Nick Fury's gaze and words, but he did not care and casually replied.

"Look at me, my old brain is getting muddled."

Hearing that, Nick Fury knew it was a relatively friendly signal. He rubbed his smooth, shiny head and played dumb.

"I accepted your deposit. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Harvey did not deliberately dwell on the matter and instead adopted a strictly businesslike attitude.

Nick Fury did have things he wanted Grim Reaper to do, but compared to matters that agents could handle, intelligence was more important.

So Nick Fury spoke. "I originally had something I wanted to ask of you, but now that I know you are an alien from the Void, could I buy some intelligence from you?"

"Although I work for money, it depends on what intelligence you want to know."

Harvey knew what this old fox Nick Fury was thinking, but he did not refuse.

"The intelligence I ask about definitely will not be meant to probe you."

"I only want to ask how many aliens in the universe are relatively close to Earth, and what their technological levels are like."

"Or whether they possess any particularly special abilities."

"And whether Earth is currently exposed to the sight of other aliens."

Hearing this, Nick Fury stated his questions.

"There are countless intelligent lifeforms in the universe, and their technological levels far surpass Earth's."

"Space jumps, Cosmic Battleships, interstellar energy cannons—everything is available."

"But those places are too far from Earth. Learning too much now would only add to your worries."

"As for abilities, that is hard to say. There are too many races, and their abilities vary."

"Even setting aside innate abilities, there is no doubt that aliens' average physical qualities far exceed those of humans."

"As for distance, including Earth, the surrounding worlds are collectively known as the Nine Realms."

"Asgard among the Nine Realms is where the Asa Gods live—the gods you humans speak of, led by God King Odin."

"Earth has always been exposed to the sight of aliens, and many aliens have visited Earth in the past."

"For example, the Kree and the Skrulls."

"It is only because Odin is still alive that other races do not dare cause too much trouble openly."

Harvey naturally would not deliberately reveal the future, lest the course of the Marvel World change too greatly and make all the intelligence he understood difficult to predict.

However, Harvey could still explain some things that would not affect the overall course of events.

As long as no major deviations occurred, Thor would inevitably be banished to Earth in a few years. By then, the existence of the Asa Gods would also enter the eyes of many people on Earth.

When Nick Fury heard Harvey mention the Kree and the Skrulls, he knew that Grim Reaper before him understood far more than he had expected, which also made Grim Reaper's words more credible.

"You mean that our human myths and legends are real?"

"Humanity has always been protected by those Asa Gods?"

At the same time, this also gave rise to some questions in Nick Fury's mind.

"Although the legends differ, many of them are undoubtedly real."

"If you get the chance in the future, you may be able to meet the Asa Gods."

Harvey slightly nodded, affirming his words.

"I have a question, Mr. Grim Reaper. You said Odin is still alive, so aliens do not dare act recklessly."

"Does that mean Odin from our human myths may die in the future?"

Hearing this, Natasha could not help speaking up.

Harvey glanced at Natasha but did not answer.

Yet Harvey's silence at that moment was like an affirmative signal, making Coulson, Natasha, and Nick Fury tense inwardly.

Grim Reaper had specifically mentioned that God King Odin was not yet dead, which was why aliens did not dare act recklessly. That meant that once God King Odin died—

humanity would also have to face the arrival of other aliens from the universe.

And Grim Reaper's refusal to answer whether Odin would die also indicated that even God King Odin had a lifespan.

Nick Fury did not blame Natasha for asking without permission. He had already learned what he wanted to know, and his resolve to form the Avengers Initiative grew even firmer.

It was simply impossible for Nick Fury to recruit Grim Reaper directly.

"Thank you for your intelligence, Mr. Grim Reaper."

"I wonder if we might have opportunities to cooperate in the future?"

Therefore, Nick Fury wore a kind smile and asked in a friendly manner.

"That depends on the mission. As long as you can afford the reward, it is not impossible for me to cooperate with you."

Harvey did not refuse outright, instead giving an ambiguous answer.

While only a fool would refuse money, there was still some money Harvey would not earn.

Hearing this, Nick Fury knew that offering enough money was not enough to hire Grim Reaper. Whether he was willing to act depended entirely on his own wishes.

It could be said that humanity was completely in the passive position, and Nick Fury disliked that feeling very much.

"Thank you very much. Though this is our first meeting, I believe we have had a very pleasant conversation."

"I hope we will have the chance to cooperate in the future."

However, they currently had no ability to change the situation, so Nick Fury said this with a smile.

"I hope so."

Harvey knew Nick Fury was stopping while things were going well, hoping to leave a good impression on him, so he answered amiably.

Then Harvey vanished, along with the several cases of dollar bills.

Natasha and Coulson watched Grim Reaper disappear as though he had teleported away, and both looked wary.

"Sir, he is far too mysterious. We cannot be sure that everything he said was true."

"Perhaps he might even be human. After all, we cannot identify his true identity."

Then Coulson looked at Nick Fury and asked for his opinion.

Nick Fury's thoughts continued to churn. Hearing that, he let out a long breath. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by seriousness, and he spoke slowly.

"Coulson, you make a lot of sense. It is difficult for us to confirm his identity."

"But he knew about the Kree and the Skrulls. Those were aliens I encountered decades ago when I was young."

"Other than within our agency, that information has never spread, yet he mentioned them."

"And judging by how Grim Reaper comes and goes without a trace, obtaining large sums of money would be extremely easy for him."

"Yet he chose to work as a mercenary to earn money."

"That is precisely what proves that the legendary Odin may truly exist."

"Because of Odin's existence, Grim Reaper does not yet dare act too recklessly on Earth."

They could not learn Grim Reaper's true identity, so even if he killed them, the higher-ups would have no way to investigate.

A nation and its laws could restrict human superpowered individuals or heroes because, as long as superpowered individuals and heroes were human, they had things to fear on Earth.

But for these aliens, human laws held no real power.

The root cause of this problem was that humanity's current weapons were still too weak, leaving them without the capital to negotiate with aliens.

Therefore, the formation of the Avengers Initiative was imperative—indeed, it was becoming urgent, because when Odin would die was an unknown.

"Natasha, no matter what methods you use, quickly make contact with Harvey Anberaka and test him. Find out whether he is truly a superpowered individual."

Nick Fury gave the order directly.

Natasha understood the importance of the matter and nodded before leaving.

"Coulson, gather more information on people whose deeds are even slightly unusual."

"I need to deal with some trouble."

Nick Fury looked at his trusted subordinate, gave the order, and left as well.

The intelligence learned from Grim Reaper was priceless to Nick Fury.

However, these matters obviously could not all be told to the higher-ups, so he needed to make sure the cover-up was handled properly.

Here is the second update. Please send some votes, I'm begging you.