The Self-Cultivation of a Special Agent

Nick Fury and Coulson exchanged a glance; they knew their objective for this visit had been achieved.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had originally reached out to William to deal with extraordinary threats. They had long assumed the danger would come from the Ten Rings, as rumors suggested the organization possessed power beyond the norm.

However, the Ten Rings never surfaced, and it was only then that he realized their true enemy was the terrifying Iron Monger.

Regardless, William had played a massive role in the battle. Even though they still weren't clear on what William's abilities were or what his true identity might be.

But when facing such a dangerous individual, perhaps making him a friend rather than an enemy was the wisest choice.

"I have one more request," William said.

Nick Fury's face darkened, thinking to himself that this better not be another headache.

"You don't have to look so grim," William said helplessly. "I actually just want a clearance level. I heard S.H.I.E.L.D. has a ranking system; I'm not asking for much, just give me Level 7!"

Coulson was shocked upon hearing this. This guy was pushing it—he had to remember that he himself was only Level 6.

Nick Fury thought, I'm naturally dark-skinned anyway. He pondered for a moment and said, "I can consider granting that, but I hope you can cooperate with Coulson. We won't monitor you anymore, but he will continue to live here for the time being to protect you and coordinate your operations!"

"Any operation?" William asked.

Why did he want Level 7 clearance? Because Coulson was only Level 6. He would be spending a lot of time with him, and at the very least, before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, he didn't want to be taking orders from Coulson every day.

At the very least, he had to make him his subordinate. Besides, William had his own selfish reasons for wanting this clearance.

"As long as your actions don't threaten public safety or interfere with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operations, I can agree to your terms." Nick Fury sold Coulson out without a moment's hesitation.

To be honest, not monitoring William at all was impossible. Even if they didn't install cameras in his home, they would certainly need Coulson to keep an eye on him.

"Pleasure doing business." Hearing this, William nodded in satisfaction and shook hands with Nick Fury.

After finally sending the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents away, William hurriedly searched his home again. He was worried these guys wouldn't give up and might have planted bugs or similar devices.

To ensure his safety this time, he transformed into Hanzo and fired a Sonic Arrow, checking every corner of the room before he finally felt at ease.

Although he didn't find any bugs or cameras, he did find a silver key.

To be precise, it was a USB drive—the very item he had snatched from the Skull Gang. He had hidden it away so long ago that he had forgotten where he put it.

The mission regarding the Skull Gang's secrets had earned him a suitcase filled with cold, hard cash. He had originally thought he was going to get rich, but who could have guessed the entire case was filled with counterfeit bills? Heh.

However, he soon discovered the secret inside the suitcase: a mysterious USB drive. The drive contained a terrifying self-destruct system that had nearly cost him his life.

Fortunately, he had previously drawn Sombra's Hack ability, which allowed him to disable the death countdown. He was shocked to discover that this USB drive was related to the long-vanished Hydra.

Hydra had been hiding in the shadows of S.H.I.E.L.D., waiting for a chance to resurface. There had to be Hydra secrets inside. He wanted to open the drive but discovered it had a secondary password that required a fingerprint to unlock.

"Special event triggered, hidden mission initiated!"

"Hidden Mission: Mission Impossible: Successfully infiltrate the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the Triskelion, find clues for the secondary password, and steal a fingerprint."

Just then, Athena's voice rang in his ears.

William had been curious about whose fingerprint could unlock the drive, and now that the hidden mission had popped up, it seemed he would have to pay a visit to the Triskelion!

"Sir, these are your new credentials."

Coulson looked helpless as he handed the brand-new ID to William. There was no helping it; William was Level 7 and he was Level 6. Even if he was unhappy, he had to be respectful.

William took the ID and smiled, saying, "I need you to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Coulson asked curiously. Rank really does have its privileges, he thought, he's already ordering me around.

"Don't be nervous. I just want you to teach me some of your agent knowledge and skills."

Agents were synonymous with mystery. They were trained, skilled in multiple languages, masters of combat, and knowledgeable in psychology. They usually executed dangerous and classified missions under special identities.

From hunting criminals, sniping terrorists, and gathering intelligence to infiltrating foreign nations; down to catching thieves, helping old ladies cross the street, or saving cats stuck in trees.

Of course, those were things the FBI or CIA often did. S.H.I.E.L.D. was a much more unique department.

S.H.I.E.L.D. stood between this world and more bizarre realms, preventing people from learning things they weren't ready to know. It was the world's last line of defense.

Superpowers, paranormal events, futuristic technology, and even alien invasions—the dangers they faced were often far greater than those encountered by ordinary agents.

There were many staff members at S.H.I.E.L.D., but they were generally divided into three categories: field agents, office staff, and logistics.

Field agents were those who executed various missions outside; office staff mostly sat behind desks; and logistics had the busiest jobs, such as sanitation and medical care.

After getting a general understanding, William and Coulson returned to the Triskelion, where they would undergo systematic training. However, it turned out William didn't actually want to learn anything else.

After simple firearms and combat training, William asked as if it were an afterthought: "Coulson, can you teach me some special agent skills?"

"What kind of special skills?" Coulson asked.

"Like picking locks, stealing fingerprints, that sort of thing." William finally revealed his true purpose.

"Why do you want to learn those?" Coulson's brow furrowed.

William shrugged and said, "I've always thought those skills were cool. I'm not forcing or ordering you, I just hope you'll teach me voluntarily!"

Coulson rolled his eyes. You call this not forcing or ordering? You're clearly threatening me.

There was no choice. Coulson figured William wouldn't do anything truly heinous, so he had no choice but to obediently teach him these skills.

Picking locks wasn't actually difficult, provided you had the tools. But stealing a fingerprint was not a simple matter.

First, you needed an original print; second, you had to preserve the print perfectly; finally, you had to find a way to replicate the print elsewhere.

In these steps, you couldn't afford a single mistake!

After Coulson finished teaching William how to steal a fingerprint, he suddenly felt something was off. "Wait, why are you learning this? You aren't planning to rob a bank, are you?"

"How could I!" William's response left him dumbfounded. "Do you think I'm Talon?"

Talon can rebuild your father's empire~