Order Keeper

The boundless starry sky should have been as calm as Professor Selvig observed years ago.

But today, calm 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.

Though called a secret base, it wasn't secret at all.

Here, an action plan involving thousands of researchers was underway, covering a land area of eight hundred and ninety-two acres.

How could such a base possibly remain secret?

But it was called a secret base only because, to all of America, the world, and even all of humanity—

The plans carried out in this base would forever remain a secret to those people!

With that thought, Nick Fury took a deep breath.

He had finally laid hands on the dangerous yet dazzling Cosmic Cube.

Years ago, the Cosmic Cube had fallen into his hands through a series of twists and turns.

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

He would never admit that the price was one of his eyes, and that his payment had been raising an Orange Cat that could never be tamed!

How could Nick Fury, lover of small animals, have his eye scratched out by his own cat?

All an illusion!

That cat had only accidentally injured him, and out of guilt, had handed the Cosmic Cube over to him.

(Or rather, vomited it onto his desk.)

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

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

But unexpectedly, just a few decades later, he took the Cube out of the safe and began to use and study it, just like the Red Skull, the Leader of Hydra, had done back in the day.

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

"Nick, are you 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, like those two nuclear bombs back then—a trump card against those lofty aliens!"

Facing Hill's doubts, Nick Fury was utterly resolute.

As he spoke, his mind also recalled memories from a few months ago.

Once, Earth had freaks like the Hulk, powerful as they were, but they were ultimately products of Earth, and just individuals at that!

But a few months ago, that damned Alien Prince made Nick Fury clearly realize that the threat from outer space was right at his doorstep.

And this threat wasn't something even his friend, Captain Marvel, could handle.

Yes, Nick did have a friend like Captain Marvel, but she would only block enemies trying to invade Earth.

But those damned Asgardians...

In ancient times, Earth was their territory!

If judged by the universal rules, Earth, or Midgard, had always been one of the Nine Realms, an inherent territory under Asgard's jurisdiction.

As a cosmic being, Captain Marvel had to follow those rules, and Asgard had indeed shielded Earth from countless enemies, always upholding their identity and responsibility as Earth's lords!

But Nick Fury, who considered himself Earth's representative, absolutely refused to accept that Earth was Asgard's territory!

What's more, he didn't believe Earth needed Asgard's protection!

Asgard could be Earth's ally, but only an ally.

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

To achieve that, Earth needed its own trump card.

The Cosmic Cube.

Thinking this, Nick Fury lightly moved his fingers, then got up and left the office.

Walking all the way to the experimental center, Nick Fury saw Professor Selvig approaching.

He was a great astrophysics expert and an absolute authority in cosmic ray and dark matter research.

Seeing Nick Fury, Professor Selvig was also a bit surprised.

"Director, I was just looking for you. Please, come with me quickly."

"What?"

Nick asked softly, following behind Selvig as they walked toward the largest observation deck of the experimental facility.

Selvig operated the astronomical telescope standing at the center of the observation deck while explaining to Nick Fury.

"The night sky is different tonight. I've spotted a strange meteor with no prior warning signs, and that ultra-small meteor seems to be heading straight for Manhattan, New York!"

"Motherfucker!!!"

The moment Selvig finished speaking, Nick cursed out loud, understanding exactly what Selvig meant.

"Just like that so-called Thor last time, something else is falling into our country again, goddammit!"

"Exactly!" Selvig nodded, pulling the telescope's observation feed onto the central screen and showing it to Nick Fury.

"I have to admit, this meteor's shape resembles a human body. On the surface, it looks like a person wrapped in ice—at least, it appears that way."

"How long until it lands?"

"About thirty-three minutes. The landing site is roughly the center of Manhattan, right where the New York Stock Exchange is."

"Ha? So this time an Alien Prince is coming to crash our stock market?"

Nick Fury cracked a displeased joke, then turned and walked away. As he moved, he issued orders through his earpiece to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Special operation. Coulson leads, Natasha accompanies. Location: Manhattan. Target: the person in the sky. Wait for the landing, and after that thing falls, handle the situation on-site as needed!"

"Copy!"

Coulson, who had been drinking coffee with a cellist, wore a helpless expression.

He waved at the woman in front of him and said apologetically.

"Sorry, please excuse me. I have something urgent I need to handle."

"But..."

The cellist didn't even finish her sentence. Coulson, utterly devoted to his mission, didn't wait for her reply and walked straight out of the café.

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

As if on cue, over twenty black Humvees gathered below the New York Stock Exchange.

By the time they arrived, the local police had already begun evacuating nearby civilians.

Coulson stepped out of his Humvee, and Natasha was already waiting a dozen meters away.

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

"Heh, I was already buying Stark Industries stock. Ever since he admitted he's Iron Man, their stock has been rising nonstop—skyrocketing!"

Natasha replied flatly, while Coulson kept up the small talk with a grin.

"Ha, I bought a little of his stock too, but it's way too expensive. My salary can't handle too mu—"

Mid-sentence, Coulson stopped. His eyes narrowed as he carefully scanned the night sky.

Beside the brightest morning star, a meteor tinged with faint flames had already appeared.

"Damn, that was fast. Lock onto the meteor's trajectory, confirm its landing spot, speed up the evacuation. Where the hell is Iron Man? We need help—we have to slow that damn thing down!"

Coulson barked out orders, and all S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents moved in unison.

Natasha flexed her hands.

"What a pain. Hope it's another idiot like Thor."

"Let's hope so, but simple people like him are rare. Stay alert."

"Yeah."

The two exchanged a silent glance, waiting for the meteor's arrival. About twenty seconds later, another streak of light cut across the sky, landing precisely beside Coulson.

"Wow~ wow~ wow, what a night. You know, when I was chatting with tonight's Oscar-winning Actress and suddenly noticed a meteor heading for my tower, can you guess how I felt?"

As he spoke, Iron Man's faceplate lifted, revealing a face full of cocky smiles.

Tony Stark reached out and patted Coulson on the shoulder.

"Why is it that the moment I became Iron Man, I have to deal with all this crap? Before, all I had to do was drink and sleep with women, maybe tinker with some little inventions. But now? I'm facing foreign objects and meteors, and I have to try saving the world."

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

Coulson's expression was dead serious.

"No time for chitchat. We have to slow that thing down—we can't let it slam into Manhattan center at meteor speed!"

He urged anxiously, but Tony just waved a hand.

"Don't worry about that, buddy. It's already slowing down."

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

"What I'm more worried about is that it is slowing down. That means that thing has intelligence. Guess what it is—another Asgardian prince, or maybe some Olympic bastard this time?"

"Don't joke around, Tony. It's about to land."

Coulson ignored Tony's teasing, still watching the meteor with tense vigilance.

But inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. He trusted Tony's judgment—at the very least, this falling meteor wouldn't bring a massive disaster to New York the moment it hit the ground.

Meanwhile, inside the space-time matter, Heisenberg was savoring the thrill of entering Earth from outer space while hurriedly absorbing the system's gift.

"Due to the sudden nature of this assignment, please seize the time to receive your rookie package."

"Package contents: Multiverse Language Pack, Multiverse Customs and Habits Summary, mission requirements for the working universe, and special operational details for this action."

"The world you are about to descend into is Marvel Universe number 19999. You may find it more familiar to call it the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

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

"Objective: ensure the normal operation of Earth-19999."

"Compensation: for every year Earth-19999 operates normally, you will receive five minutes of absolute invincibility."

"Bonus reward: each day you spend in the working universe, you will gain a certain amount of Origin Matter, which you can use to exchange for anything you need."

"Special reward: the more people in the working universe whose life trajectories you influence, the more additional Origin Matter you will earn. Strive to expand your influence on the working universe."

"PS: You are an integral part of the Multiverse Operation Agency. Your actions within the multiverse are unrestricted. As long as you ensure the universe's operation, you may do whatever you wish."

"New Order Keeper, please enter work mode immediately. Countdown to landing: ten, nine, eight..."

"Alright, alright, alright—I still have no clue what I'm actually supposed to do!"

After reading the system prompts, Heisenberg was utterly baffled.

Ensure the universe's operation?

What the hell does that even mean?

Even if I hadn't come, wasn't this universe already running fine on its own?

But in the end, Heisenberg didn't need to dwell on that.

All he needed to know was that he had landed!

"BOOM!!!"

As the space-time matter decelerated, Heisenberg and the crystalline shell encasing him gently touched the ground.

In that instant, the space-time matter around him rapidly dissolved.

And the next moment, a completely naked Heisenberg stood there, exposed to the eyes of every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and a slightly astonished Natasha.