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S.H.I.E.L.D., Triskelion Headquarters.

Level Seven Agent Phil Coulson hurried toward the director's office with a tablet in his arms. He had recently been temporarily granted Level Eight clearance, so he was especially motivated at work. He believed this was surely the prelude to a promotion and raise.

After knocking on the director's office door, he found a one-eyed man wearing an eyepatch seated behind the desk. His bald black head gleamed so brightly that even flies would slip if they landed on it.

"Director, there's an emergency." Coulson handed over the tablet. "You need to see this."

On the screen was the "Black-and-White Battle" taking place in San Francisco.

Nick Fury froze for a moment, then quickly asked, "Where?"

Coulson replied, "San Francisco."

Seeing the black panther and white dog, both clearly much larger than normal animals, Nick Fury immediately realized, "They're superpowered individuals?"

"That's right." Coulson tapped the screen and pulled up another prepared file for the director. "The white dog is named Jake Brian. He's a police officer in San Francisco. By searching local surveillance footage, I found that this black panther jumped down from a hospital inpatient building, which allowed me to identify him. These are their detailed profiles."

"Notify the technical team. Have them assess those two guys' physical capabilities based on the destructive power shown in the footage," Nick Fury immediately ordered.

"I already informed them before coming here." Coulson proudly opened another file. "This is the preliminary analysis report they just sent over."

"Good work." Nick Fury smiled and praised him.

See? A leader had to know how to make empty promises. Otherwise, how could he motivate his subordinates?

As for when he would fulfill them... You weren't actually taking it seriously, were you?

"According to the analysis, both animals far surpass black panthers and Great Pyrenees in both speed and strength. Furthermore, they were struck several times by speeding cars during the battle, yet there were no visible signs of injury in the footage." Coulson continuously pulled up close-up shots for Fury to examine.

Without hesitation, Nick Fury ordered, "Go there immediately. Make sure you bring them back."

"It'll be a little slow traveling from the East Coast, and that black panther is an African American soldier. The military will likely reach him before I do." Coulson eagerly suggested, "Why not send someone from the Los Angeles branch?"

"No!" Nick Fury flatly refused.

They were merely two somewhat oversized animals. While humans turning into animals was indeed unusual, unless they demonstrated greater value, they would only be experimental specimens. S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed plenty of similar specimens.

The Los Angeles branch had a more important mission lately.

"Has the fish still not taken the bait?" Coulson asked in surprise. "Could S.P.E.A.R. have given up on the North American Continent?"

"Is that something you should be asking?" Nick Fury's expression immediately darkened.

"Boss, I have Level Eight clearance now..." Coulson looked aggrieved, like a young girl whose scumbag boyfriend had slept with her and then refused to acknowledge her.

Nick Fury pretended to cough, then replied gently, "Zheng Xian is a formidable man. He can't possibly give up on North America, just as we can't possibly give up on the Far East."

"S.P.E.A.R. will definitely send a new person in charge to rebuild its intelligence network."

"Boss, if I catch that person, can I become permanent?" Coulson asked eagerly.

"Hehe, if you really manage to catch him, I can consider promoting you to Level Nine!" Nick Fury's words were not merely empty promises; they reflected part of his true thoughts.

During his years in office, he had clashed with Zheng Xian from across the ocean many times and had deeply felt how troublesome his counterpart was. This time, after years of preparation, he had finally wiped out S.P.E.A.R.'s intelligence network across the Americas, especially North America. Even so, he had failed to capture S.P.E.A.R.'s former Americas Branch chief alive and had obtained only a corpse.

Nick Fury strongly suspected that S.P.E.A.R. still had other networks independent of the Americas Branch that he had not cleared out. After all, a cunning rabbit had three burrows—basic tradecraft for an agent. Nick Fury himself operated that way.

"Get moving. Take a Quinjet. Try to recruit the African American pilot if you can, but at the very least, bring that San Francisco police officer back."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had seen the "Black-and-White Battle" on the streets of San Francisco. Far away in Africa, Wakanda, which possessed the ability to monitor the entire world, had also seen it.

"Father!"

Wakanda's current prince, T'Challa, and princess, Shuri, burst into King T'Chaka's office.

Shuri rotated the Kimoyo Bead on her wrist, projecting the footage captured by a surveillance satellite for her father.

Pointing at the black panther on the screen, T'Challa anxiously asked, "Father, this black panther actually transformed from a human. Its speed and strength nearly match mine after taking the Heart-Shaped Herb, and it's Black as well."

"Could it be that the Black Panther God chose—"

"Nonsense!" T'Chaka roared. "The Black Panther God protects only the people of Wakanda. That black panther is clearly part of an infidel conspiracy."

"But it really does look like—"

"Shut up!" T'Chaka shot his son a fierce glare.

That unfortunate boy had no political sense at all. Could he just say something so deadly without thinking?

The Black Panther God was the Wakandans' faith. If that black panther outside became associated with the Black Panther God, what would happen to them?

The Black Panthers of every generation had merely been ordinary people whose physical abilities were enhanced after consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb. No one had ever been known to transform completely into a black panther. On top of that, this black panther was tall and massive, with strength and speed no weaker than theirs after consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb.

Placed side by side for comparison, whom would the citizens believe was truly favored by the Black Panther God?

Would the other tribes seize this chance to stir up trouble and incite the people to question the legitimacy of the T'Chaka family's rule?

If the notion of "divine right of kings" was destroyed, the legal basis for their family's rule over Wakanda would vanish.

And the Black Panther God truly existed. What if the old god found this transforming panther more pleasing, manifested personally, and declared him the true favored one? They would be in deep trouble!

At the thought of such a terrifying outcome, T'Chaka's face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

Uh... it already looked like the bottom of a pot? Never mind, then.

"Shuri, block this footage immediately. No domestic server is permitted to retain it." T'Chaka adopted a crisis-response attitude.

"Send people... no, use our covert channels to hire mercenaries in America. That panther must be eliminated!"

As king, T'Chaka lacked neither the resolve nor the ability to act when it came to preserving royal power. But to prevent information from leaking—and, more importantly, to avoid the Black Panther God noticing their little scheme—they absolutely could not use Wakandan personnel.

"Only the three of us know about this. Do not reveal it to anyone." T'Chaka did not forget to warn his children. "Not even your mother."

"Understood." Shuri readily agreed.

"Father, perhaps we should pray to the Black Panther God..." The straightforward T'Challa understood what his father meant, but he could not bear it. This went against his usual devout faith in the Black Panther God.

"The Black Panther God is sleeping. There's no need to disturb the old god over such a trivial matter." T'Chaka glared at his son again.

Why had this foolish son still not grown up? Even his younger daughter was more sensible.

Far away in a San Francisco manor, Lin Hao waited leisurely.

He had cast a stone into the water. Now was the time to sit back and watch the ripples spread.

But before the waves began to rise, he was going to enjoy the thrill of a draw.

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