Anomaly Point (Mid)

"It looks like I won't need to sneak around anymore." Slipping back into his single-occupancy cabin aboard the ship, Shen Fei felt a wave of relief wash over him as he stepped onto the deck. At this point on Earth, the one person he feared most was the Ancient One.

With the Ancient One out of the picture, no one on Earth at this stage could match him—not even Mordo or Wang, who had trained in magic for many more years than he had.

Magic was wondrous, but science was equally so. Take Pym Particles, for instance; to some extent, they could already be considered magic.

"The military's mobilized." Hearing the roar overhead, Shen Fei looked up and immediately understood what was happening. Fighter jets and over a dozen helicopters were heading toward Terragrigia.

"Looks like they're not going to nuke the whole island. It's because of that Anomaly Point."

Just as Shen Fei had guessed, once the higher-ups learned about the permanent Anomaly Point on the island, their objective shifted to retaking control of it.

According to the scientists in Primeval, an Anomaly Point was a window into a past era of Earth. Tampering with events there could affect humanity's future, so the best course of action for any creatures that came through was to send them back.

Unfortunately, that was just one scientist's opinion. To most of those in power, an Anomaly Point represented enormous profit. The unstable ones that could vanish at any moment weren't worth worrying about.

But a potentially permanent Anomaly Point? That was full of untapped resources. As for its impact on the present and future—well, even if they could see it, as long as it didn't affect them personally, they didn't care.

Humanity was a race that could unite in the face of a great disaster, but also one that would tear itself apart under the same circumstances.

Just like in Avengers: Endgame and Days of Future Past, when the superheroes brought back the half of all life that had been wiped out, not everyone was grateful. Most of those who resented them were the ones who hadn't been snapped away.

"I wonder what they'll think when they see the Anomaly Point is gone." Imagining the reaction of those people after fighting tooth and nail to storm the military base, only to find the Anomaly Point had vanished, a smug grin spread across Shen Fei's face.

"It's a shame about this island." If the Anomaly Point were still there and the military stayed stationed, Terragrigia might have had a chance to thrive again over time.

But without the Anomaly Point, the military would definitely pull out. And then, not many people would want to live in a city that had suffered a bioterrorist incident.

"Are you alright?" Seeing Rebecca, who had just woken up and stepped onto the deck with a pale face, Shen Fei asked with concern. Even though she hadn't done much fighting earlier, reliving a catastrophe like Raccoon City had stirred up memories from her time in STARS.

"I hope Chris and Jill are okay." Gazing toward Terragrigia, Rebecca said worriedly. Chris and Jill hadn't evacuated; they were still on the island clearing out monsters.

"Don't worry too much. I just saw the military deploy. They'll be fine," Shen Fei assured her.

This incident was nothing like Raccoon City. That one could be covered up, but this time, there was no hiding it.

"You're a mutant." After carefully checking their surroundings to make sure no one was nearby, Rebecca lowered her voice.

Superpowers weren't new to Rebecca, who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. The organization's cold storage held plenty of such individuals.

In the Marvel world, there were many such people—mostly from the Inhumans, various radiation mutations, natural anomalies, and so on.

As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s biochemical expert, Rebecca had been tasked with studying them. The agency even had a list of mutants, though officially they were called Superpowered Individuals.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had a classification system for these superpowered beings: harmful or harmless. The harmful ones went into cold storage; the harmless ones were placed under surveillance and required to report to S.H.I.E.L.D. periodically.

The reason for this policy was that almost every superpowered individual who had surfaced so far was far from harmless. Having a little power and doing whatever they wanted was the norm.

Rebecca's caution stemmed from that concern. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she also had a duty to report any superpowered individuals she discovered.

"I'm not a mutant. What I used earlier was magic." Shen Fei's words left Rebecca completely stunned.

"Magic... you're a mage?" After a long pause, she finally seemed to process it.

"More accurately, a sorcerer." Shen Fei raised his right index finger and wagged it with a smile.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" After another moment of silence, Rebecca asked.

"Not here." Shen Fei gestured for her to follow him to his room.

"Watch closely." He pressed his palms together, and a golden beam of light appeared before him, slowly expanding into a shield.

Thump, thump, thump.

A stunned Rebecca tapped the shield lightly, confirming it was real. If the shield was real, then what Shen Fei had said about being a sorcerer must be true too.

"That's not scientific." As a scientist, Rebecca voiced the same thought most scientists had when they first encountered magic.

"Magic is just science we haven't discovered yet." Shen Fei quoted a famous science fiction writer.

"I might need to report this." Hesitating, Rebecca still said it, explaining S.H.I.E.L.D.'s regulations on superpowered individuals.

Shen Fei had revealed his abilities to save her, and now she was about to report him—it felt a bit like biting the hand that fed her.

"Go ahead and report it. Don't worry about me. Remember, I'm not an ordinary person anymore." Shen Fei smiled.

He had anticipated this situation before he even acted, so he had prepared a cover story. Revealing himself now was a bit earlier than he'd planned, but it was still acceptable.

In this world, if he wanted to develop further, he couldn't avoid contacting S.H.I.E.L.D. Only through them could he access more—like Thor, the future Avenger.

Having an official identity was crucial. Without one, interacting with certain people would be a hassle, let alone getting to Asgard.

If Shen Fei wanted to advance his magic further, Asgard's magical system was an excellent choice.

"We found them." On a Quinjet, Natasha and Sherry rappelled down onto the deck of a luxurious cruise ship, the Queen Zenobia, floating on the sea below. This ship was the base of the terrorist organization Gray Hounds.

"Something's off. Be careful." Noticing that such a commotion hadn't drawn anyone out of the cabins, Natasha sensed trouble and warned Sherry. The two of them grabbed the weapons dropped from the Quinjet and entered the ship.

Meanwhile, at the military base, reality once again proved that biological weapons couldn't stand up to modern arms. After a round of bombing and a sweep by over a dozen helicopters, the base was quickly retaken.

"What did you say?" Staring at the monitor showing the Anomaly Point's location empty, the military high commander nearly smashed his communicator in rage.

After wasting so much manpower and resources, it had all been for nothing. Even as a general, the consequences would be hard to bear—especially with S.H.I.E.L.D. watching from the sidelines.

According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding charter, Anomaly Points fell under their jurisdiction. In theory, at least. In practice, unless an Anomaly Point had already been exposed, no country would hand it over to S.H.I.E.L.D.

But no matter how bitter he felt, he could only accept his bad luck. Based on previous research reports, this was just the Anomaly Point closing on its own.

"Time for a good long rest." The Terragrigia incident had shocked the world, cutting Shen Fei's internship short. Officially, it was blamed on a terrorist attack, but from the intel Shen Fei gathered from Rebecca, Jill, and the others, it was actually a conspiracy among FBC's high command.

The reason was simple—in Eastern terms, it was "nurturing bandits to keep oneself indispensable."

Within S.H.I.E.L.D., oversight came from the World Security Council. This newly formed FBC, of course, wasn't entirely under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control—the United Nations had sent a High Command representative.

Before the Raccoon City incident, the Biohazard Defense Department hadn't been taken very seriously. After all, bio-attacks occurred so rarely that its authority and funding naturally lagged behind other departments.

Just like a certain country launching a war only to find a vial of laundry powder, many "Resident Evil" incidents were actually exaggerated pretexts.

But after the Raccoon City incident, the Biohazard Defense Department's stock shot up overnight—its power and funding skyrocketed.

To push for even greater authority, someone orchestrated this operation.

Of course, in a purely Resident Evil world, that explanation would hold up fine. But in the Marvel world, this person was merely a pawn pushed to the front, exploited by those with real agendas.

"Hello." As Shen Fei stepped into his room, an unfamiliar voice put him on high alert. Once he recognized who was speaking, a quiet laugh rose in his heart.

At first, he thought it was S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, but after seeing who it was, he knew otherwise.

Dressed in a sharp, well-fitted black suit, sunglasses on, lounging casually on the sofa—the visitor was Wesker.

Standing behind him was Ada Wong. From the bandages on her face, it looked like she was injured.