Marvel World

In a dark, damp alleyway in Hell's Kitchen, Big Apple City, a tall, sturdy young Chinese man stood with a black crow perched on his shoulder.

He was talking to a Slavic woman with platinum-blonde hair and a devilish figure, though she was dressed in simple, plain clothes.

"Miss, I need to make this clear. I did save you, but that was merely a coincidence. You just need to say thank you, and that will be the end of it," the young man said with a stern, straight face.

He completely ignored the fact that the woman before him was a great beauty; it seemed this Russian beauty held absolutely no appeal for him.

"But I don't know where to go. I know nothing of my past. The only impression in my memory is you pulling me out of the sea," Anna said, clutching her collar with both hands, her expression flustered.

That pitiful look made one want to protect her.

Unfortunately, the young man remained completely unmoved. Faced with her plea, the corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes drifted involuntarily toward the trash cans in the alley, where several thugs with obviously twisted limbs lay in a deep coma.

He let out a long sigh. The other party was appearing so brazenly, and her acting was so half-hearted, as if she had him pegged.

The young man could only spread his hands helplessly and say, "Miss Natasha Romanoff, let's stop beating around the bush. What do you, or rather, what do you people actually want?"

He knew the identity of the beauty before him: a super-spy trained by the Red Room of the former Soviet Union, now an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., estimated to be over eighty years old.

Natasha, having her identity exposed, did not look panicked.

She adjusted her expression slightly, used her right hand to toy with her intentionally dyed platinum-blonde hair, and lifted her chin slightly, transforming back into that charming, world-class S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

"Mr. Alvin Ye, can we first talk about how you know who I am? You've become someone we are interested in."

Alvin was actually wondering himself why he had been targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Ever since he transmigrated three years ago, he hadn't done anything worth S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention.

In his previous life, Alvin was named Ye Qing, an ordinary middle-aged man from China, a "mature guy" with a wife and son.

His transmigration was laughable. While moving house, he found an old laptop he had used in high school under his bed.

On a whim, he tried it, and it actually turned on. In his spare time, he used the computer to play the once-classic game, Diablo 2.

As a man who had to have cheats when playing games, he naturally downloaded a character and item editor. He excitedly created a Druid character for himself with all four attributes at 20 and all summoning skills maxed out, intending to take his summoned creatures out to grind maps and get nostalgic.

Of course, his modified, enhanced inventory and chest were filled with runes, ready for him to craft runewords. Oh, and the game-essential Horadric Cube.

As it turned out, whether the computer was too old or the editor was too powerful, the laptop exploded the moment he started the game to run the character.

Ye Qing thus transmigrated into the body of the young Alvin Ye in this Marvel Universe, carrying his self-created legacy with him.

When he learned he had arrived in the Marvel Universe, he decided he had to keep a low profile.

If he truly couldn't find a way back, he would just live out this life peacefully here.

Although he had gained the ten summoning abilities of the Druid from Diablo 2, he had never displayed them in front of others. Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. come knocking?

It was very strange; he was nothing more than a restaurant owner scraping by in Hell's Kitchen.

However, hearing Natasha's tone earlier, it seemed he wasn't their initial target. This gave Alvin a small sense of relief; it was better not to deal with a violent, massive organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.

After a moment of thought, Alvin said, "The day I pulled you from the sea, someone was calling your name through your earpiece. So, I just sent you to the hospital. Listen, Miss Romanoff, I don't want trouble, and things related to secret agents are usually very troublesome."

With that, Alvin waved his hand, wanting to end this unpleasant conversation.

Natasha listened, tapped her ear with her left hand, and seemed to be listening to someone. About 20 seconds later, she nodded at Alvin and smiled, saying, "I suppose I should thank you for pulling me out of the sea. So, thank you!"

"You're welcome. Now, can I go? I still have to look after my restaurant." Alvin didn't try to be clever by acting to deceive her; she was an expert in that field.

He simply made it clear that he refused to continue interacting with her.

Natasha looked at Alvin, bit her lip habitually, and said with a smile, "You weren't my mission target this time, but the location of your restaurant is very convenient for me to approach my target. I don't think you'd mind having an extra beautiful waitress in your restaurant, would you?" As she spoke, Natasha placed her hand on Alvin's shoulder and pressed her entire body against him.

But before she could make any further moves, Alvin shuddered, stepped back, and held up a hand, firmly stopping her from getting closer.

Knowing she was an old lady over 80 and engaging in physical intimacy with her was something the Virgo-natured Alvin absolutely could not accept.

Alvin said coldly, "Miss Romanoff, please show some respect! I don't care what you, or you people, are trying to do, please stay away from my restaurant! Even if it's just for the sake of me helping you out, I really don't want to get into trouble. Hell's Kitchen is already troublesome enough..."

As he spoke, Alvin gestured toward the unlucky thugs. This agent really didn't look like she was seriously carrying out a mission; it was more like she was just going through the motions.

Natasha's expression turned strange. Few people could refuse her requests, which made her even more curious about this restaurant owner.

Straightening her collar, Natasha revealed the cold side of an agent and said icily, "Alvin Ye, Chinese orphan. Parents died in a street shootout when you were eight. Adopted by an orphanage, returned to Hell's Kitchen at eighteen to inherit the restaurant property left by your parents."

Natasha sneered as she looked at Alvin and continued, "Within a month, the participants of that street shootout died one after another in accidents. Mr. Ye, how do you think they died?"

Alvin shrugged and said indifferently, "Who knows? If you find out, Miss Romanoff, you must tell me. I'll go write them a thank-you note. Or, if you want to call the police, I can lend you my phone to dial 911."

Natasha looked at Alvin mockingly. "The police might not care about the lives of these scumbags, but the local gangs would definitely be interested to know why two famous gangs from back then disappeared for no reason."

Natasha's threat made Alvin feel an inexplicable rage. She seemed to never have cared about his safety, even though he had pulled her from the sea just a few days ago.

Perhaps in her heart, completing the mission was the first priority, or perhaps this was just a counterattack because he wouldn't cooperate.

Sensing Alvin's inner anger, the crow that had been perched on his shoulder let out a strange "caw-caw" and flapped its wings, taking flight to circle above the alley.

Alvin stared directly into Natasha's eyes and said in a voice cold enough to freeze, "Is this how you treat your savior? As an agent, using threats to coerce a law-abiding citizen? Who gave you that right? Now, I only want you and your people to get out of my territory. This is Hell's Kitchen. I hate trouble, but I've never been afraid of it!"