After World War II, the USSR and the United States divided up the Third Reich's legacy.
Obsessed with black technology and magic, the Third Reich had accumulated a vast amount of technology, but for various reasons, much of it never saw widespread use. For example, the founder of the later HK Company had been an engineer at the Mauser factory during the Third Reich.
The USSR, now fallen into the pages of history, took most of the technological equipment, while the United States received the vast majority of the technical experts through "Operation Paperclip." With the resources of a great power behind them, they then put the technologies that might otherwise have gathered dust in warehouses to the test, one by one.
For one thing, it was hard to believe that the USSR's achievement of sending the first human into space and the United States' first successful Moon landing had nothing to do with their division of the Third Reich's spoils.
After all, aerospace launch vehicles later evolved largely from the missile technology of World War II. The USSR, which developed the world's first launch vehicle, had even modified an intercontinental ballistic missile directly. And the first missile ever used in combat was the Third Reich's V-2.
Moreover, the three countries that had conducted the most extensive research into the human brain were Germany, Japan, and the United States. The first two had obtained crucial data through mass human experimentation during World War II. The latter, in addition to outright plunder, had secured a trove of talent and information by sheltering war criminals.
If technology like that really existed, then even if some war criminals had fled to South America with it, even if only scraps remained or it survived solely in the memories of technicians who had studied it, it would certainly have been documented—especially when it came to human enhancement.
"Nothing is impossible!" Wei Xiuming said. "The real world doesn't need to make sense. A week ago, could you have imagined that today you'd be sitting face-to-face with someone from the future, talking about powerful beings who threaten the world order and even humanity's future?"
After Wei Xiuming finished speaking, he stopped, hoping the one-eyed bald man would pick up the thread or fill in the blanks himself. But the other man merely watched him in silence with his right eye, leaving Wei Xiuming unable to use many of the lines he'd prepared.
After a long while, Nick Fury finally spoke. "I have five minutes left in my schedule for you. Once they're up, your existence will be recorded because you met with me. So if you have something to say, make it quick!"
Wei Xiuming faltered at that. Why was he so patient with other protagonists, even launching into long speeches in response to what they said, yet so impatient with me? So he launched into a long-winded explanation:
"Starting with the new millennium, humanity's extinction began to accelerate. In my time, every civilization in the universe had been wiped out except humanity, and the human population had fallen to a terrifyingly low number. At the suggestion of Klein, the then-director of S.H.I.E.L.D., with Mr. Fantastic Reed leading the effort and second-generation Iron Man Morgan providing funding and technical support, Project Tomorrow Reversal was born."
"Bug-like creatures that infiltrated human society by mimicking people; vampires locked in a love-hate relationship with humanity; the Akashic Records, which stored the memories of human society; desire demons that manipulated human wants; an energy core from the far reaches of the universe; a huge mess caused by the Mages; power from Helheim; artificial intelligence hostile to humanity; disasters formed from the legacies of ancient figures; the Boon-type virus, which distorted reality and the digital world; Pandora's Box, containing enough energy to destroy a planet; and time travelers who crossed time to plunder the past."
"Compared to those, Shocker wasn't much of a terrifying force before it invented the history-altering machine."
After he finished, Wei Xiuming didn't go on. Instead, he picked up the menu and pencil and continued drawing.
Nick Fury waited for a while, then saw Wei Xiuming push another drawing in front of him.
It was much more intricate than Shocker's emblem, but its contents were far more terrifying: nine long snakes coiled together to form the outline of a human head, with a huge eye at the very center of the sphere.
"This is the legendary leader of Shocker. Nobody's seen its true form. Even within Shocker, there are only fragments of information about it. This is based on those descriptions."
Wei Xiuming had excellent control over his body and could reproduce the images in his mind perfectly. What he'd drawn was the Shocker leader from the Den-O and OOO crossover movie.
"There's nothing else I can tell you. I don't know what kind of world this is—whether it's the past of my world or just a very similar parallel world. Maybe my world's past had someone like me, too. Maybe it was someone returning from the future to the past who brought all those monsters out of the woodwork—like the Terminator series, which has made it to its eighteenth sequel."
Wei Xiuming plucked out one of his hairs, tore off the page with Shocker's emblem, wrapped the hair in it, and handed it to Nick Fury. "Take it and analyze it. There are obvious artificial traces in my genetic sequence. They come from Shocker technology. If you find any similar products, be sure to take extra care."
"I've said my piece. You can ask questions now," Wei Xiuming said. "Before that, I want to know what you plan to do with me. Will you make me a fighter, pitting me against enemies that the heroes and technology of this era can't handle, or have me help upgrade your technology?"
"You can stay in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s science and research division." Nick Fury beckoned, and an agent wearing gloves came over with a sealed evidence bag and placed Wei Xiuming's hair inside. Only after the agent had left did he speak again. "You said you know a lot of technology, so stay here and put it to use. Compared to a Captain America, a scientist who can mass-produce what he does is more valuable."
This arrangement would allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to enrich its scientific knowledge with Wei Xiuming's technology. As an organization dedicated to protecting the world, it was essential to stay ahead of the times. Second, keeping the unpredictable Wei Xiuming under close watch would make him easier to monitor.
Most importantly, if Wei Xiuming wasn't a liar and really did have technology ahead of its time, the annual patent fees alone would be astronomical. To build a secret base of his own and hire agents independent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury had to siphon off part of the funding the Security Council allocated to the organization each year.
If he weren't director—or if his successor were a penny-pincher—all it would take was a thorough audit by a professional accounting team, and Nick, that Black Eggplant, would be caught red-handed for embezzlement and corruption.
With patents in hand, though, the books would be much easier to make look respectable.
"I refuse!" Wei Xiuming waved a hand, his tone almost playful. "Do you think none of the disasters I mentioned were caused by S.H.I.E.L.D.? How many unknown things are hidden in your warehouse? Even the one who came after the director couldn't figure it all out, let alone the director in my time. When the Avengers were active, he was still a complete nobody."
In truth, Wei Xiuming wanted to accept. S.H.I.E.L.D. had plenty of good stuff, such as the obelisk that could activate Inhuman genes and the objects left on Earth by aliens. Most importantly, the Cosmic Cube containing the Space Stone was in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession.
It was one of the six authorities of the universe. Never mind the limitless energy it contained; just deciphering a part of its power over space could bring about a qualitative leap.
The new element used in Iron Man's Arc Reactor had come from Howard Stark's research into the Cosmic Cube during the latter half of his life, but the limitations of the era had prevented him from putting it to practical use.
If Wei Xiuming got some time to study it, the belt storage technology used by Kamen Riders—the kind that seemed to rely on a fourth-dimensional butt—could be made a reality. Foreigners really lacked imagination. When they thought of space, they only thought of portals. Weren't Storage Rings from the cultivation novels so much better?
But under close supervision, there were things he couldn't do.
For instance, Shocker monsters didn't exist in this world. But with his technology, he could guarantee he'd be able to make them. He could even take on the role of Shocker's leader.
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