Order Keeper

The boundless starry sky should have been as tranquil as Professor Selvig had observed it years ago.

But today, that tranquility was destined to be shattered...

United Dark Energy Action Western Division.

Project Pegasus.

Space Agency Space Radiation Center.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Accelerator Control Center.

In short, this was a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

It was called a secret base, but in reality, there was nothing secret about it.

An operation involving thousands of researchers was underway here, spanning an area of 892 acres.

How could a base like that possibly remain secret?

Yet it was a secret base because, to all of the United States, the entire world, and even all humanity—

The plans being carried out in this base would remain an eternal secret to them!

At that thought, Nick Fury took a deep breath.

He had finally made a move on the dangerous yet incomparably brilliant Cosmic Cube.

Many years ago, the Cosmic Cube had eventually fallen into his hands after changing hands countless times.

To obtain the Cosmic Cube, Nick Fury had paid an incomparably painful price.

He absolutely refused to admit that the price had been one eye, and that his contribution had been raising an orange cat that could never be tamed!

How could Nick "Loves Little Animals Most" Fury possibly have been scratched blind by his own cat?

It was all an illusion!

That cat had merely injured him by accident, and out of guilt, it had handed the Cosmic Cube over to him.

(Or rather, vomited it onto his desk.)

In any case, after that, out of caution toward its power, Nick Fury had kept the Cosmic Cube hidden away.

He had thought he would bury it for the rest of his life.

But unexpectedly, only a few decades later, he had taken the Cube out of its safe and begun to use and study it, just as Hydra's leader, Red Skull, had done back then.

In the spacious office, Nick Fury frowned tightly. Seeing this, Commander Hill beside him shook her head.

"Nick, are we really going to use the Cube? I have a bad feeling about this!"

"We have no other choice, Hill. Earth needs its own trump card, one like those two nuclear bombs back then—a trump card against those aliens perched so high above us!"

Faced with Hill's doubts, Nick Fury remained utterly resolute.

As he spoke, memories from several months ago surfaced in his mind.

Earth had once had powerful freaks like the Hulk, but they were ultimately products of Earth itself, especially since he was only one individual!

But several months ago, that damned Alien Prince had made Nick Fury clearly realize that threats from outer space were right at his doorstep.

Even Captain Marvel, his friend, might not have been able to handle that kind of threat.

Yes, Nick really did have a friend like Captain Marvel, but Captain Marvel would only stop enemies trying to invade Earth for him.

But those damned Asgardians...

In ancient times, Earth had actually been their territory!

By the universal rules of the cosmos, Earth—Midgard—had always been one of the Nine Realms, one of Asgard's inherent territories.

As someone from the universe, Captain Marvel had no choice but to follow those rules. And Asgard had indeed shielded Earth from countless enemies, always honoring its identity and responsibility as Earth's lord!

However, Nick Fury, who considered himself Earth's representative—

He absolutely refused to acknowledge that Earth was Asgard's territory!

More than that, he did not believe Earth needed Asgard's protection!

Asgard could perhaps become Earth's ally, but only an ally.

Earth should even have the right to take the initiative in that alliance!

To achieve that, Earth needed its own trump card.

The Cosmic Cube!

Thinking that, Nick Fury lightly flexed his fingers, then rose and left the office.

As he headed toward the experimental center, Nick Fury saw Professor Selvig approaching him.

He was a great astrophysics expert, and an absolute authority in the study of cosmic rays and dark matter.

Professor Selvig was also somewhat surprised when he saw Nick Fury.

"Director, I happened to have something to discuss with you as well. Please come with me quickly."

"What is it?"

Nick asked softly, following Selvig toward the largest observation deck in the research facility.

As Selvig operated the astronomical telescope standing at the center of the observation deck, he explained to Nick Fury.

"Tonight's sky is different from usual. I discovered a strange meteor with no prior signs of appearance, and that tiny meteor seems to be headed straight for Manhattan, New York!"

"Motherfucker!!!"

The moment Selvig finished speaking, Nick cursed. He understood what Selvig meant.

"Like that so-called Thor before, has something fallen into our country again? Fuck!"

"That's right!" Selvig nodded, pulling the telescope's image onto the central screen for Nick Fury to see.

"I have to admit, the meteor's shape resembles a human body. It appears to be a person wrapped in ice, at least from what I can tell."

"How long until it lands?"

"About thirty-three minutes. The impact point should be around the center of the Manhattan District, at the New York Stock Exchange."

"Huh? Is this Alien Prince coming to crash our stock market?"

Nick Fury made an irritated joke, then turned and left. As he walked, he issued orders to S.H.I.E.L.D. through his earpiece.

"Special operation. Coulson will lead, Natasha will accompany him. Location: Manhattan District. Objective: the person in the sky. Wait for the landing, then take emergency measures according to the situation on site after that thing falls!"

"Understood!"

Coulson, who had been having coffee with a certain cellist, showed a helpless expression.

He waved to the woman across from him and apologized.

"Sorry, please forgive my abruptness, but I have something that must be handled!"

"But..."

The cellist did not even finish speaking. Coulson, who was incomparably responsible toward his mission, did not wait for her answer and left the café directly.

Fortunately, he was already in New York. In less than forty seconds, he had contacted Black Widow Natasha and the seven other action teams under his command.

More than twenty black Humvees converged beneath the New York Stock Exchange without prior arrangement.

When they arrived, nearby police had already begun evacuating the surrounding civilians.

Coulson stepped out of a Humvee, while Natasha had already been waiting more than ten meters away.

"Wow, you got here pretty fast," Coulson said with a smile.

"Heh. I was buying Stark Industries stock. Ever since he admitted he was Iron Man, their stock has been climbing. Soaring, actually!"

Natasha replied expressionlessly, while Coulson continued chatting with a smile.

"Ha, I bought some of his stock too, but it's just too expensive. My salary can't afford to buy too—"

Halfway through his sentence, Coulson stopped. His eyes narrowed as he cautiously looked toward the night sky.

Beside the brightest evening star, a meteor with a faint trail of flame had appeared.

"Damn it, that's fast. Lock onto its trajectory, determine its impact point, speed up the evacuation of civilians! Where the hell is Iron Man? We need help—we have to slow that damned thing down!"

Coulson urgently issued orders, and all the S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents sprang into action.

Natasha shook out her hand.

"What a pain. I hope it's an idiot like Thor!"

"Let's hope so, but there are too few people as simple as him. Stay alert!"

"Mm!"

The two exchanged a silent glance and waited quietly for the meteor's arrival. More than twenty seconds later, another streak of light tore through the sky and landed precisely beside Coulson.

"Wow~ wow~ wow, what an incredible night. Do you know how I felt when I was talking to tonight's oscar-winning actress and suddenly found out a meteor was headed for my tower?"

As he spoke, Iron Man's faceplate lifted, revealing a face full of an unruly smile.

Tony Stark raised a hand and patted Coulson on the shoulder.

"Why is it that the moment I became Iron Man, I had to deal with so much crap? Before, all I needed to do was drink and sleep with women, maybe make some little inventions on the side. But now I have to face foreign objects and meteors, and try to save the world!"

"That's because you fly higher, so you see farther, Tony."

Coulson's expression was incomparably serious.

"There's no time to chat. We have to slow that thing down. We can't let it smash into the center of Manhattan at meteor speed!"

He reminded him anxiously, but Tony merely waved a hand.

"Don't worry about that, pal. That thing is already slowing down."

As he spoke, Tony pointed at the increasingly clear meteor in the sky.

"On the contrary, what worries me is that it's slowing down. That means the thing is intelligent. What do you think it is? Another Asgardian prince? Or maybe some Olympian bastard this time?"

"Stop joking, Tony. It's about to land."

Coulson ignored Tony's teasing and continued to watch the meteor with tension and vigilance.

Still, he also breathed a sigh of relief inside. He trusted Tony's judgment. At the very least, this falling meteor would not bring a massive disaster to New York the instant it hit the ground.

Meanwhile, Heisenberg, within the spacetime matter, experienced the thrill of entering Earth from outer space while hurriedly absorbing the system's gifts.

"Since this assignment is an emergency, the host is requested to quickly receive the novice gift package."

"Gift package contents: Multiverse Language Pack, Multiverse Customs and Habits Summary, mission requirements for the work universe, and the special work content of this operation."

"The world you are about to descend into is Marvel Universe designation 19999. Perhaps calling it the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be more familiar to you."

"Time of descent: three months before The Avengers 1."

"Descent objective: ensure the normal operation of Earth-19999."

"Work compensation: for every year Earth-19999 is ensured to operate normally, you will receive five minutes of absolute invincibility."

"Additional reward: for every day you spend in the work universe, you will receive a certain amount of Origin Matter, which can be exchanged for anything you need."

"Special reward: the more people in the work universe whose life trajectories you affect, the more additional Origin Matter you will receive. Please strive to expand your influence over the work universe."

"PS: You are an important component of the Multiverse Operations Agency. Your actions within the multiverse will not be subject to any restrictions. As long as you ensure the universe's operation, you may do anything you wish."

"Please enter working status quickly, new Order Keeper. Landing countdown: ten, nine, eight..."

"Alright, alright, alright! I still don't understand what exactly I'm supposed to do!"

After reading the system prompts, Heisenberg was completely baffled.

Ensure the universe's operation?

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

Even if he had not come, wouldn't this universe have continued operating anyway?

But ultimately, Heisenberg did not need to dwell on that.

He only needed to know that he had landed!

Boom!!!

As the spacetime matter decelerated, Heisenberg and the spacetime crystal encasing him landed gently on the ground.

At that instant, the spacetime matter on his body rapidly melted away.

And in the next instant, the naked Heisenberg appeared before all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—and the slightly astonished Natasha.