The one holding a hammer isn't necessarily a warrior; it could also be a blacksmith!

Last night, Coulson and Melinda had a huge misunderstanding! Because of the misunderstanding and mutual resentment, the two even each wrote a completely different report and submitted them separately to Director Nick Fury.

Their standoff continued into the next morning, until Annie, while eating breakfast, casually let slip the truth about the previous night, which finally thawed the cold war between the two.

Only then did they realize that a group from the Mutant Brotherhood had been causing trouble! The ringleaders were an old man in an iron helmet who could fly, and a blue-skinned, scaly mutant who could take on anyone's form!

Coulson and Melinda were well aware of the Mutant Brotherhood. The two Annie described were famous names on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s roster: the notorious Magneto and Mystique! How could they not recognize them?

This bunch of mutant terrorists, dedicated to armed struggle, had always been at odds with the military and had clashed with them many times! But they had always kept their hands off S.H.I.E.L.D., so why this time?

Yet now they had struck at S.H.I.E.L.D.—did they have some scheme? Realizing the gravity of the situation, the two, after obtaining the director's approval, brought Annie to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, to the director's office.

Director Nick Fury had always been curious about Annie. After learning about the previous night's events, he had specially arranged today's meeting. First, he wanted to meet this alien little girl in person; second, he thought it necessary to win her over.

Although ever since this little girl appeared, she had caused all kinds of trouble for S.H.I.E.L.D., in Nick Fury's view, she could practically be labeled a trouble-maker! But for now, he still had use for her—at least in his Avengers plan, this little girl held a pivotal position!

However, Director Nick Fury's first meeting with Annie was not too pleasant...

Right now, Nick Fury and Annie were locked in a glaring contest! The moment they met, Annie had provoked Nick Fury. Unable to hit her or punish her, Nick Fury had no choice but to resort to the glaring technique! As for Annie, her approach was: What are you staring at? If you glare at me, I'll glare right back, glare you to death!

And so, the two were locked in a standoff!

The reason it had come to this was that when Annie walked into the director's office, her first words were: "Wow~! Is this one-eyed black charcoal head your director?"

Well! With that one sentence, she had thoroughly offended Director Nick Fury! Nick Fury could imagine that soon, gossips would be spreading this new nickname the little girl had given him behind his back: One-Eyed Black Charcoal Head!

The dignified director of S.H.I.E.L.D. might soon become a laughingstock. Even if no one dared laugh in his face, he could imagine the whispers behind his back.

Coulson and Melinda were barely holding back their laughter, their mouths twitching as they watched the two live wires, one big and one small.

"Director, is there a mission? Why did you have us bring Annie here?" Coulson thought for a moment, then stepped in to break the standoff. Someone had to end this awkward situation and give the director a way out, or else they might get caught in the crossfire and earn his resentment!

Nick Fury ignored Coulson and kept staring at Annie, trying to force the little girl to back down and apologize first. But after a while, the little girl still showed no sign of yielding. Feeling that this wasn't getting anywhere, he pretended to cough and ended the standoff.

"Ahem, so you're that mischievous little brat Annie?" Then he noticed the toy bear in Annie's arms. "So, this is Tibbers? Can I take a look?" Nick Fury was very interested in this bear that could grow big or small, and had even taken on the Hulk two-on-one, beating them down!

"I'm Annie! But I'm not mischievous!" Annie retorted angrily. "Letting you see the bear isn't impossible, but aren't you afraid it'll bite your head off?"

With that, Annie lifted the bear with both hands and offered Tibbers to Nick Fury. The implication was clear: If you dare touch it, Tibbers will definitely bite your head off. Go ahead and try!

"Ahem~! I'll pass on that." Remembering Tibbers' track record, Nick Fury decided it was better not to humiliate himself.

Today, Nick Fury had called Annie here for two serious matters: first, to get to know Annie and build some rapport, though that didn't seem to be going too smoothly—but at least they were now acquainted!

The second matter was more important. Recently, S.H.I.E.L.D. had encountered a mysterious event that even many experts were baffled by! At his wit's end, Director Nick Fury had somehow suddenly thought of Annie, because of her identity as a mage!

Although Annie was a bit young, and he wasn't sure if she was reliable, with a one-in-a-million hope, he had Coulson invite Annie to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. Maybe Annie, this little girl, could see something? That would be a huge help to S.H.I.E.L.D.!

"Alright, Annie, take a look at this first."

Nick Fury handed Annie a photo, signaling the little girl to come closer! Seeing that the director didn't object, Coulson and Melinda, curious, also gathered around.

"Huh? Is it something fun?" Thinking the photo might show something interesting, Annie quickly leaned in and picked it up.

Annie took the photo and looked: Oh, a hammer. Not fun at all! Then she tossed the photo to Uncle Coulson and Aunt Melinda beside her.

"An ugly hammer! What's fun about it? Why do I have to look at it?" Annie curled her lip in disdain. She had skipped class and come all the way to S.H.I.E.L.D. just to look at a photo of a hammer? She might as well go back to school and bully that fat kid!

"This hammer is no ordinary thing! First, no one can move it, not even lifting equipment! Second, it can release lightning! So far, our people have been completely helpless against it!" Nick Fury handed Annie another photo of the hammer discharging lightning.

"Oh... so it's a magical hammer with an owner! That's why you can't lift it, of course. But it's really ugly!" Annie dropped the photo, looking disgusted. Short, ugly, and so hideous—maybe only a blacksmith would use it?

Well~, Thor had just been demoted to the same level as a blacksmith by Annie!

"Are you sure?" Nick Fury frowned at Annie. She had only glanced at it twice before making such a claim—wasn't she just talking nonsense as a kid?

"Of course! Only magical weapons can release lightning, fire, frost, and the like! And only magical weapons have soul-binding or recognition functions! Under those circumstances, no one but its owner can take it!"

A glint flashed in Annie's eyes!

A soul-bound magical weapon that released lightning! It seemed pretty powerful, and it refused to be moved by outsiders... Then it was at least a divine artifact level, right? A divine artifact! Annie suddenly wanted it badly—should she steal it?

But after thinking it over, she gave up!

A divine artifact lying around was tempting, but the hammer's appearance was just too ugly, and Annie didn't like it. She wasn't a blacksmith! What use would stealing a hammer be? Would she have to go around smashing people in a fight? She didn't want to do that! Besides, stealing a divine artifact with an owner would definitely anger the owner! So, forget it.

Annie knew quite a bit about magical weapons. After all, her family background was deep, with the entire Gray Order backing her. Annie's knowledge base was nothing to sneeze at, let alone the fact that she was a powerful genius mage! Anyone who could be called a powerful mage was no simple character! Besides talent, they needed a vast amount of knowledge.

If you thought Annie only played around in the Voodoo Lands, you'd be dead wrong! A two-year-old who could tame a powerful Shadow Bear with magic and turn it into a toy! Was that just talent? Could she have reached the hero rank of Valoran at age five on talent alone? What were we doing at five? Playing in the mud?

Annie's mother, the Shadow Witch Amoline, could tell you very clearly: By the time Annie was seven, she had already read through the entire library of the Gray Order! Although Annie spent most of her time playing, how did she play? Using fire magic as a toy! Catching Shadow Bears to play with! Roasting old dragons for fun! She had practically wrecked the entire Voodoo Lands!

"Is there any way to take it away?"

After learning the truth about the hammer, Director Nick Fury's first thought was naturally to secure it. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been collecting strange things for a long time! The storage room had plenty of items weirder than this hammer. These oddities posed a huge threat to Earth, and to maintain world peace, they belonged in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s storage—no one else's!

"Either let me melt it down with fire and turn it into an iron block, then you can take it! Or wait until its owner shows up!"

Annie was confident her flames could melt the hammer. Just an unattended divine artifact! What's the big deal!

Of course, doing that would inevitably offend the hammer's owner. But Annie didn't care about that! If she couldn't handle it, she'd just say: That black charcoal head director made me do it! Hmph~!

"Melt it down? That's not impossible... Wait, you're saying it has an owner?" Nick Fury caught the key point, slightly startled.

"Of course! You didn't really think it fell from the sky, did you?" Annie shot Nick Fury a contemptuous look.

It actually did fall from the sky! Satellites had captured it! Director Nick Fury added that silently but didn't say it out loud. There was no need to argue with a little girl over such things; the important matter came first.

"Alright, then who might its owner be?" Nick Fury asked one last question.

"How would I know? Maybe some god! Maybe some legendary warrior! Or maybe some magical blacksmith!" Annie replied huffily. How could she tell who the owner was from just a photo of a hammer? It didn't have a name written on it!