Kamar-Taj (End)

"How have you been lately?" Rebecca's concerned voice came through the laptop video call.

"Not bad. I've calmed down a lot lately and stopped having nightmares. How's your work at S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Shen Fei asked with a smile.

At Kamar-Taj, Shen Fei had not cut off contact with Rebecca. Back when he had attended Midtown High School, the two had stayed in touch, and they were good friends now. Shen Fei also often asked Rebecca about biochemistry.

As for Shen Fei being at Kamar-Taj, it was easy enough to explain. After going through the horrors of Raccoon City, he had suffered frequent nightmares, so he had come here seeking peace of mind.

Rebecca did not doubt that much. She herself had suffered nightmares at first, after all. The experience in Raccoon City had been far too terrifying.

"Pretty good." Because S.H.I.E.L.D. had confidentiality rules, related information could not be disclosed.

The same went for Sherry. Shen Fei only knew that she was doing well, but not the details.

Still, while Rebecca could not talk about S.H.I.E.L.D., she could talk about other things. Shen Fei was terribly out of touch with outside news at Kamar-Taj.

Through Rebecca, Shen Fei learned that after he had left school and come to Kamar-Taj, the aftermath of Umbrella Corporation had continued to escalate.

After completing the related compensation payments, Umbrella Corporation quickly declared bankruptcy, several years earlier than in the game world. Perhaps because of this, the bioweapons viruses produced by Umbrella Corporation flooded into underground black markets across various countries. Governments found evidence of bioweapons being used in many nations.

Chris and Jill contacted several relevant people, eleven in total, and began establishing the BSAA, the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. Because Chris had encountered enormous obstruction when he had previously sought help from the military, he had little faith in the government's attitude. Thus, the BSAA began as a civilian organization.

A civilian organization naturally had no law enforcement authority or similar powers. At first, the BSAA's work was limited to assisting police forces around the world in establishing anti-bioterrorism departments, training police officers in how to deal with bioweapons, and widely educating the public on how to prevent bioweapons incidents.

It had to be said that the BSAA's work had been extremely effective. Bioterror incidents in many regions were snuffed out shortly after they began, preventing tragedies like Raccoon City from happening again.

However, as bioweapons incidents continued to intensify, and with the push from the Global Pharmaceutical Alliance, the BSAA was soon formally recognized by the United Nations, which took it over and reorganized it to deal with bioterror incidents worldwide.

Although the truth about the Raccoon City incident had not been made public, ordinary people were not fools. Combined with the accounts of many Raccoon City survivors, the result was that most people no longer trusted drugs produced by pharmaceutical companies.

This outcome dealt a huge blow to the Global Pharmaceutical Alliance. Umbrella Corporation had been able to complete compensation and declare bankruptcy so quickly not only because S.H.I.E.L.D. had played a role, but also because the Global Pharmaceutical Alliance had exerted considerable influence.

Making the BSAA official was the Global Pharmaceutical Alliance's attempt to salvage the market.

During this period, something quite interesting happened: traditional Chinese medicine suddenly became hugely popular. Compared with finished pharmaceuticals, whose ingredients ordinary people had no idea about, the raw materials of traditional Chinese medicine could be seen at a glance.

Since civilian groups had formed organizations to combat bioterror attacks, the authorities naturally could not fall behind. The FBC, the United Nations Commission on Bioterrorism Incidents, emerged under these circumstances.

The BSAA and the FBC did not have a subordinate relationship, but the FBC held greater authority than the BSAA.

It looked as though nothing had changed from the game, but in truth, the United Nations Commission on Bioterrorism Incidents belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D. It merely used that name for secrecy.

The FBC had always wanted to bring the BSAA under its control, claiming there was no need to waste resources establishing two anti-bioterror organizations. However, Chris and the other founders strongly opposed it, and some countries also did not want S.H.I.E.L.D. to monopolize power. Thus, the two organizations continued to coexist.

When Shen Fei heard this news, he regretted that S.H.I.E.L.D. had ultimately failed to recruit Chris. As for Leon, he had joined the FBI.

Do not underestimate Leon just because he was a lowly police officer. His name included Kennedy, after all. His rapid promotion was not solely due to ability; he had connections behind him as well.

These were the things Shen Fei roughly learned from Rebecca. There were also matters he did not know about, such as Claire being kidnapped, a certain island suffering a bioterror incident, and the destruction of a genius girl's dream of ruling the world. It had been only a few days away. It really had to be fate.

That person was Alexia Ashford, a genius girl who graduated from a prestigious university at the age of ten and created the T-Veronica Virus at twelve. She then injected herself with it, requiring fifteen years of cryogenic freezing to fully merge with the virus. Yet because Claire and Chris suddenly broke in, she failed when she was only days away from success.

Of course, because this world was the Marvel Universe, even if she had fully merged with the T-Veronica Virus, she could not possibly have ruled the world. Still, she would definitely have been difficult to deal with then.

The combat power enhanced by the T-Veronica Virus was one thing, but the key was that the virus incorporated the genes of the Ancient Queen Ant, forming a social structure like that of ants. That was what was truly terrifying.

Of course, although it was powerful, if the queen died, everyone else would die as well in a chain reaction.

Though the outside world was lively, Kamar-Taj remained very peaceful. As far as the Ancient One was concerned, unless monsters from Dimension Space invaded, she would not care how human society developed.

To be honest, if Shen Fei had not had other plans, staying at Kamar-Taj would have been a fine choice. Aside from Kaecilius, the mages of Kamar-Taj had no other enemies, and the Ancient One could naturally handle dimensional monsters. Even if the Ancient One died, there would still be Doctor Strange.

With the Time Stone, so what if Dormammu came? He would still have to retreat obediently.

Unfortunately, this place was too peaceful. The Ancient One had lived long enough to see through life and death, let alone anything else, but Shen Fei was not like that.

"So this is Mount Everest." Using a Portal with a Sling Ring, Shen Fei arrived at the summit of Mount Everest, and he was thrilled. This was the highest peak in the world, a place he had never even dreamed of visiting before. Now he could appear here whenever he wanted.

Kamar-Taj's Portals and Mirror Dimension could only be used with a Sling Ring. As one of the most important Mystic Items, Sling Rings were kept under extremely strict control, and Kamar-Taj had a rule: anyone who left could not take any Mystic Items with them.

Under the Ancient One's watch, stealing a Sling Ring was impossible. Even if he managed to steal one, it would make no difference once the Ancient One came looking for him.

Thanks to his previous spiritual journeys through Dimension Space and the abilities of the Op-Op Fruit, Shen Fei progressed rapidly in magic and learned quite a few spells. The only thing he lacked was power, or rather, magical energy.

"I still don't have Strange's nerve." Strange dared to casually touch and use the Time Stone, but Shen Fei truly did not have that kind of courage.

The Ancient One usually seemed kind and gentle, but that did not mean she would not kill.

"The materials for Sling Rings are far too rare. I've never even heard of them. Could they be products of Dimension Space?" Naturally, Shen Fei had analyzed the Sling Ring with the Op-Op Fruit, but unfortunately, he could not make sense of it at all.

When he asked Wong, Wong only said that all Sling Rings were made by the Sorcerer Supreme. As for how they were made, he did not know.

Naturally, Shen Fei wanted some of Kamar-Taj's Mystic Items, such as Strange's Cloak of Levitation. It could automatically defend and save its master, and it could fly. It was incredibly powerful. But the Ancient One had prepared it for Strange, so there was no point even thinking about it.

The other Mystic Items each had their own uses as well, such as the Magic Shoes that allowed one to jump extremely high.

Of course, the most important thing was still the Sling Ring. A mage with a Sling Ring was a true mage. Without one, all he could do was swing energy blades around and slash.

It had to be said, the Ancient One's move was truly ruthless.