Virtual Training Grounds

"It's really nothing," William shrugged. "I just have a suggestion: in the future, you could call yourselves S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Why that name?" Coulson let out a sigh of relief.

"Because in the not-so-distant future," William said, staring into his eyes, "a man carrying a shield will become your spiritual leader."

Coulson couldn't help but freeze, because William's words reminded him of someone—a hero, an eternal legend.

"Impossible, he's already dead." Coulson shook his head sadly, then bid William farewell and left the apartment.

Having finally sent Coulson away, William hurried back inside, locked the door, and leaned against it, letting out a long breath. That wasn't easy, but he had finally managed to bluff his way through it.

He had racked his brains these past few days trying to figure out how to fool Coulson. Telling the truth was out of the question, so he had to spin a story. The real challenge was deciding what kind of story to tell.

After some deliberation, he decided to use the worldviews of Overwatch and the Robot Terminator to fabricate a grand, futuristic world.

It was only while thinking it through that he realized how similar the settings of Overwatch and the Robot Terminator were; both featured powerful artificial intelligence and terrifying robot armies. Because of this, combining the two worlds created a spark of artistic brilliance.

With Overwatch and the T-800, the Omnic Crisis and Skynet, Coulson would surely be shocked once he learned the truth.

In any case, he had successfully sent the man away. Whether the other party believed him or not, his goal had been achieved.

To be fair, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't really care what your abilities were; they cared about whether you posed a danger. If you could prove you were capable but harmless, S.H.I.E.L.D. might even take the initiative to recruit you.

William felt his acting over the past two days had been Oscar-worthy. Flowers and applause were in order. Thinking too much.

Coulson probably wasn't even sure if he believed it or not; the line between truth and fiction was blurred. Perhaps he would go off to investigate Overwatch later, but William would let him.

If William didn't say anything, it would remain an eternal mystery.

He hadn't expected to be targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D. so soon after arriving in the Marvel world. Fortunately, he had barely managed to resolve this crisis, and S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn't bother him for a while.

Unless he ignored Coulson's warning and blatantly transformed into Soldier: 76 again; if that happened, he wouldn't be able to explain his way out of it.

The Overwatch System brought him powerful abilities, but it also brought risks. Being Soldier: 76 felt great, but after the transformation ended, he was left with lingering fear. Had he been too impulsive? What if he had gotten hurt?

William realized the core issue: his proficiency with the heroes.

In the Overwatch game, players had a "playtime" stat for each hero. The longer you played a hero, the better your mastery and performance.

When William transformed into Soldier: 76 for the first time, he noticed his shooting accuracy was quite low; otherwise, those two robbers would never have escaped. In the real world, his transformation time was limited, meaning he didn't have much time to practice.

"Athena, is there any way for me to practice hero abilities?"

"Entering Virtual Training Grounds."

As William called out to Athena, the Overwatch emblem on the back of his hand lit up. Mosaic-like points of light gathered and converged before him, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived in a mysterious space.

The scenery before him resembled a massive base, with the Overwatch logo visible everywhere.

Dozens of large-headed robots stood in the plaza; some remained stationary while others moved about. These robots were divided into red and blue teams, constantly attacking one another.

William looked around in curiosity. The facilities and architecture felt familiar; he knew he hadn't been here for the first time.

"Athena, where is this?" William asked.

"Virtual Training Grounds, the training and learning space for the Overwatch System. Here, you can transform into any unlocked hero without energy or time constraints..." Athena answered patiently.

No wonder it felt familiar; the game had a similar area for players to train, though the robots here didn't have health bars.

"Side quest initiated!"

"Side quest: Robot Terminator: Destroy 200 training robots."

He hadn't expected destroying training robots to count as a side quest. By this logic, he had encountered both hidden and side quests, yet the main quest had yet to begin. "Athena? When do we start the main quest?"

"The main quest will automatically unlock once you reach Level 1."

"Alright, I understand. Prepare for Soldier: 76 transformation!"

In Brooklyn at night, a red vintage convertible sped down the road. Coulson, who was driving, was somewhat distracted, not even noticing when he accidentally ran a red light.

He couldn't be blamed; he had just experienced something incredibly bizarre. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s philosophy was to build a line of defense between the world and even stranger things, and today, Coulson had encountered something truly strange.

A man claimed to be from the future, a distant future where the world was ruled by artificial intelligence, and a terrifying Judgment Day had destroyed all of human civilization...

Such a story was even more ridiculous than a novel or a movie. Time travel wasn't that simple; it was clearly a fabricated tale.

Coulson felt he had been deceived the moment he stepped outside; William was definitely messing with him. But soon, he noticed something off.

If William just wanted him to stop pestering him, he could have claimed any random ability. Coulson was just going through the motions, giving a routine warning. Why go to such lengths to invent a story with such a grand background?

Coulson kept pondering this question, recalling the stories about Overwatch and Judgment Day. If the story were true, then either the storyteller was crazy, or the listener was.

Without realizing it, he began to doubt his own skepticism. Perhaps, in the future, there really was an organization called Overwatch...

As he let his mind wander, the car's communicator chimed, turning into a video call window. The feed was dim, revealing only the silhouette of a person.

He couldn't see the face, hidden in the darkness—perhaps the person just had a dark complexion.

"Agent Coulson, how is the mission proceeding?" the mysterious person asked.

"Sir." Coulson snapped back to reality. "I have successfully made contact with the target."

"Did you discover anything unusual?"

Hearing the question, Coulson fell silent. He didn't know if he should report this; he felt the guy was a total lunatic. He hesitated and decided not to mention it for now—it would just be a waste of his superior's time. Besides, the guy hadn't caused any trouble; he could always question him again later.

"Sir, the signal was bad just now," Coulson replied. "Everything is normal. He is just an ordinary powered individual."

"Very well," the mysterious person said. "I need you to return to headquarters as soon as possible. There is a mission for you."

"By the way, I have a new idea regarding the name of the organization." Coulson shamelessly presented William's suggestion as his own. "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division is just too long. Why not put the initials together?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.—what do you think?"

This book has been signed. I hope everyone will recommend and tip. Thanks for all the encouragement and support, mwah!