Player in the Marvel Universe

The night was dark and the wind high, deep within the confines of a secluded manor.

The master bedroom door creaked open, and a figure swaggered inside.

The man wore a thick, floral-patterned cotton jacket, paired with shocking Barbie-pink shorts and a pair of poop-yellow clogs.

This ensemble couldn't be called particularly ugly, only uniquely hideous.

The most eye-catching feature was the massive yellow dog-head mask covering his face, its cheeky expression radiating an inexplicable sense of mockery.

The dog-headed man walked straight to the desk, opened the computer, and pulled a USB drive from his pocket to plug it in. A progress bar immediately popped up on the screen.

While waiting, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Yo?"

"Du Mu, this is Nick Fury. What is your current status?"

"Infiltrated the target location. Currently acquiring the mission item."

"You haven't been spotted, have you?"

Just as Du Mu was about to answer, the bathroom door in the master bedroom clicked open. A bearded man in a bathrobe stared at him in terror.

"Damn it! Who are you? How did you get in?!"

"Where are the bodyguards?! Bodyguards! Body..."

Bang!

A single gunshot rang out, crisp and clean.

The dog-headed man calmly holstered his pistol and spoke into the phone: "Don't worry, no one will find out."

"..."

Nick Fury fell silent on the other end for a few seconds, his voice dropping low: "After the mission, return to headquarters."

"Okie-dokie!"

Du Mu hung up the phone just as the progress bar on the computer screen finished. He deftly pulled out the USB drive.

The next moment, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

[Daily mission "Steal Important Intelligence" completed!]

[Rewards: EXP +500, S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation +10, C4 Explosive *1]

"Tch, more trash rewards."

Du Mu curled his lip, his gaze sweeping over the corpse on the floor as he sighed: "Still, this game is damn impressive. Look at the death feedback on this NPC; it's just like the real thing. I refuse to believe the game designers haven't killed anyone before."

In truth, he was immersed in a holographic virtual game called Marvel World.

By the year 2065, holographic virtual gaming technology had long been popularized, allowing players to experience a virtual world that was nearly one hundred percent realistic.

As a hardcore gamer with millions of followers, Du Mu had cleared countless games and held a small reputation in the international gaming circle.

Two months ago, a gaming company under the Marvel banner approached him, inviting him to test this new work, which boasted "unprecedented high freedom," and promised a ten-million-dollar bonus if he cleared it in one go.

Du Mu knew nothing about Marvel, and even less about the plot.

After all, in his era, Marvel stories had gone through so many generations of updates that the original characters had long since vanished.

The hottest superheroes of the moment were the Seventh-Generation Iron Man—a black single mother with gender dysphoria, severe alcoholism, morbid obesity, a history of multiple sex-change operations, three divorces, and five children.

She formed a family with the Eighth-Generation Captain America, who was a gay, vegan, animal rights and environmental activist, a pioneer of the feminist movement, a devout Catholic, and possessed one-eighth Native American ancestry; they shouted about "family" every single day.

This combination of superheroes, stacked with every political correctness buff imaginable, might be enjoyed by those across the ocean, but Du Mu couldn't muster any interest.

That said, Du Mu signed the agreement without a second thought and lay down in the top-tier virtual gaming pod provided by the company.

No choice.

They paid way too much!

At the start of the game, the system provided several identity options: Hydra Spy, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Stark Industries Employee, Hell's Kitchen Resident, Midtown High School Student.

Du Mu clicked an option at random and began the game.

After two months of playing, Du Mu had to admit that the freedom in this game was indeed ridiculously high.

There were no beginner tutorials and no guidance; all operations and plot progression relied entirely on the player's own exploration.

The most absurd part was that after so many days, he hadn't even seen a shadow of a main quest!

If the game system hadn't repeatedly guaranteed that a main quest existed, Du Mu would have suspected he was playing a spy simulator.

"Come to think of it, this game doesn't seem to have an exit button," Du Mu wondered aloud.

The system's voice chimed in right on cue:

[We are very sorry. A minor issue occurred at the start of the game, causing a system bug. We are currently working at full capacity to fix it.]

"I'm not going to be in any trouble, am I?"

Du Mu's heart skipped a beat.

[Please rest assured, player. The game's virtual pod monitors your vital signs 24 hours a day and will force a wake-up immediately if any abnormalities are detected.]

[Supplementary note: The time dilation ratio between the game and reality is 362:1. The top-tier virtual pod and high-efficiency nutrient solution you are using ensure your body's basal metabolism remains stable for over ten years, so there is no need to worry about time or safety.]

[If the player insists on exiting the game, you may do so at any time, but you will permanently forfeit your eligibility for the one-time completion bonus.]

[Does the player wish to exit the game?]

"No exit!"

Du Mu refused decisively.

Are you kidding? He would never quit the game until he cleared it and claimed the ten-million-dollar prize!

Just then, dense and hurried footsteps sounded outside the door; clearly, the previous gunshots had alerted the manor's bodyguards.

Du Mu dismissed the lingering doubts in his mind, quickly pulled up the game map, and locked onto the coordinates for the S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

Click, teleport!

By the time the bodyguards arrived, there was only a cold corpse in the master bedroom, along with a ticking C4 bomb.

"Holy shit!"

BOOM!!!

Triskelion Building, Director's office.

At this moment, Nick Fury was sitting behind a large desk, reviewing a thick stack of documents.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. funding allocation report?"

A voice rang out abruptly.

Nick Fury looked up sharply, only to see a massive yellow dog head leaning in close to the files.

Du Mu: (乛ᴥ乛)

"Motherfucker!"

Nick Fury shuddered, shouting out instinctively.

But he soon recognized the other party and said with a dark face, "Du Mu! How many times have I told you! Dress normally at headquarters, or at least look like a human!"

Du Mu was immediately displeased upon hearing this: "But this outfit is clearly cool, and it has high stats, too."

Nick Fury's mouth twitched.

Did you leave your aesthetic sense in the embryo when you were born?

He was just about to lose his temper when Du Mu suddenly pointed at a section of the document.

"By the way, Director, this report doesn't look right. Why are there several large, unexplained expenditures? Could it be... someone in the agency is embezzling public funds?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Nick Fury suddenly coughed violently, slammed the file shut, shoved it into a drawer, and said with a straight face, "This is top secret. I am handling it personally; it is not something a Level 5 agent like you should be asking about."

"Oh."

Nick Fury kept a straight face and forcibly changed the subject: "There is an important mission for you now."

As he spoke, he took a file from another drawer and pushed it in front of Du Mu.

On the cover of the file was a photo of a flashy man with a mustache, with his name and identity listed below.

Tony Stark, Chairman of Stark Industries.

"Three months ago, Tony Stark was attacked by unidentified militants in the Middle East and his whereabouts remain unknown."

"I need you to leave for Afghanistan immediately, find out where Tony Stark is, and if he is still alive, bring him back safely."

As Nick Fury's voice trailed off, the system's voice sounded simultaneously.

[NPC Nick Fury has issued a new mission to you]

[Mission: Birth of Iron Man]

[Objective: Travel to the Middle East to find Tony Stark and bring him back safely]

[Player has triggered the main storyline mission! Upon completion, the player will receive generous rewards!]

Main storyline mission!?

Du Mu widened his eyes in excitement.

It's here!

The main storyline mission he had been looking forward to for so long had finally arrived!

"Iron Man? Sounds like a superhero title. Could he be an important character?" Du Mu speculated.

Although he knew very little about Marvel, he knew it was a superhero comic company, and the core naturally revolved around superheroes.

However, Du Mu hadn't heard of any superheroes since he started playing, let alone seen one.

Though, the Nick Fury in front of him did have a bit of that superhero vibe.

Then what is his hero title?

One-Eyed Hero?

Or Motherfucker Hero?

"Du Mu! Are you even listening!"

Nick Fury watched the dazed Du Mu, feeling his blood pressure rising.

Du Mu snapped back to reality: "Sir, what did you just say?"

"I said..."

"Forget it, that's not important, skip the plot!"

Nick Fury: 👁️‍🗨️