Virtual Training Grounds

"There's really not much to it." William shrugged. "I just have a suggestion. From now on, you could call it S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Why that name?" Coulson asked, relieved.

"Because in the not-too-distant future..." William looked him in the eye. "A man carrying a shield will become your spiritual leader."

Coulson couldn't help but freeze. William's words had made him think of someone—a hero, a legend who would live forever.

"Impossible. He's already dead." Coulson shook his head sadly, then said goodbye to William and left the apartment.

At last, Coulson was gone. William hurried home, locked the door, and leaned against it with a long sigh. That had been tough. He'd finally managed to bluff his way out of it.

For days, he'd racked his brains trying to figure out how to bluff Coulson. Telling the truth was out of the question, so he'd have to make something up. But the real question was, what kind of story should he tell?

After thinking it over for a while, he decided to invent a grand future using the worlds of Overwatch and Terminator as his inspiration.

It was only while he was thinking it over that he realized how similar the settings of Overwatch and Terminator were. Both had powerful artificial intelligence and terrifying robot armies. That was exactly why combining the two worlds had sparked something brilliant.

Overwatch and T-800, the Omnic Crisis and Skynet. Coulson would be stunned if he ever learned the truth.

In short, he'd managed to bluff his way out of it. Whether Coulson believed him or not, William had accomplished what he set out to do.

To be fair, S.H.I.E.L.D. probably wouldn't care much about what your powers were. What they cared about was whether you were dangerous. If you could prove that you had abilities but posed no threat, S.H.I.E.L.D. might even try to recruit you.

William felt like he'd delivered an award-winning performance over the past couple of days. He deserved a little gold statue. There should be flowers and applause here. Don't get carried away.

Coulson probably couldn't even tell whether he believed the story or not. It was so hard to separate truth from fiction. Maybe he'd investigate Overwatch someday. William could let him do as he pleased.

If William didn't say anything, it would remain a mystery forever.

William hadn't expected S.H.I.E.L.D. to start watching him as soon as he arrived in the Marvel Universe. Luckily, he'd managed to handle this crisis, and S.H.I.E.L.D. probably wouldn't bother him for a while.

Unless he ignored Coulson's warning and brazenly transformed into Soldier: 76 again. If that happened, there'd be no explaining his way out of it.

The Overwatch System had given him incredible abilities, but it had also brought risks. Becoming Soldier: 76 felt great, but once the transformation ended, he'd been scared out of his wits. Had he been too reckless? What if he'd gotten hurt?

William had also noticed where the problem lay: his proficiency with each hero.

In Overwatch, players had a playtime stat for every hero. The more time they spent playing a hero, the better they became at controlling them, and naturally, the better they played.

The first time William transformed into Soldier: 76, he'd found that his accuracy was terrible. Otherwise, those two robbers would never have escaped. In the real world, his transformation time was limited, which meant he didn't have much time to practice with each hero.

"Athena, is there a way for me to practice the heroes' abilities?"

"Entering Virtual Training Grounds."

As William called for Athena, the Overwatch emblem on the back of his hand lit up. Pixel-like points of light gathered and formed in front of him, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a mysterious space.

The scene before him looked like a huge base. Overwatch emblems could be seen all over it.

Dozens of big-headed robots stood in the plaza. Some remained in place, while others moved around. The robots were divided into red and blue teams, constantly attacking one another.

William looked around curiously. The facilities and buildings seemed familiar. He knew he must have been somewhere like this before.

"Athena, where is this?" William asked.

"The Virtual Training Grounds, a space for training and learning within the Overwatch System. Here, you can transform into any unlocked hero without an energy or time limit..." Athena replied patiently.

No wonder it looked familiar. The game had a similar area where players could practice, though the robots in the Virtual Training Grounds didn't have health bars.

Side Quest Started!

Side Quest: Robot Terminator: Eliminate 200 Training Bots.

He hadn't expected eliminating Training Bots to count as a side quest. That meant he'd encountered both a hidden quest and a side quest, but the main quest still hadn't started. "Athena? When do we start the main quest?"

"The main quest will unlock automatically once your level reaches 1."

"Got it. Get ready for a Soldier: 76 transformation!"

At night in Brooklyn, a red convertible sped down the road. Coulson, behind the wheel, was distracted and didn't even notice when he accidentally ran a red light.

It wasn't his fault. He'd just experienced something so bizarre. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission was to build a line of defense between the world and even stranger worlds. Today, Coulson had run into something truly bizarre.

A man had claimed he came from the future. In that distant future, artificial intelligence ruled the world, and the horrific Judgment Day had destroyed human civilization...

The story was more ridiculous than anything in a novel or a movie. Time travel wasn't that easy. It was obviously made up.

Coulson had felt he'd been tricked as soon as he left. William had definitely been trying to fool him. But soon, Coulson realized something didn't add up.

If William wanted Coulson to stop bothering him, he could have just told him what his powers were. Coulson had only been following procedure and giving him a few simple warnings. So why go to all that trouble and invent such an elaborate backstory?

Coulson kept thinking about it, recalling the story of Overwatch and Judgment Day. If the story was true, then either the person telling it was crazy or the person listening was.

Before he knew it, he'd started to doubt what William had told him. Maybe there really was an organization called Overwatch in the future...

As he was lost in thought, the car's communication device rang and turned into a video call window. The video was dark, and he could only make out the outline of a person.

He couldn't see the man's face. It was hidden in the shadows. Maybe he was just very dark-skinned.

"Agent Coulson, how's the mission going?" the mysterious man asked.

"Sir." Coulson immediately came back to his senses. "I've made contact with the target."

"Did you notice anything unusual?"

At the question, Coulson fell silent. He wasn't sure whether he should report this. The guy seemed like a complete lunatic. After hesitating, he decided it was better not to say anything for now. It would only waste his superior's time. The guy hadn't caused any trouble, anyway. Coulson could ask him more later if he got the chance.

"Sir, the signal was bad just now," Coulson replied. "Everything's normal. He's just an ordinary person with abilities."

"Good," the mysterious man said. "I need you back at headquarters as soon as possible. I have a mission for you."

"By the way, I have a new idea for the organization's name." Coulson brazenly passed off William's suggestion as his own. "The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division is far too long. Why not put its initials together?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. What do you think?"