Helping S.H.I.E.L.D. "Move Bricks"

The desert's hot wind carried grit that crackled against the hastily erected canvas tents. Lin Mo crouched in front of Pepper Town's hiring station, staring at the crumpled job notice in his hand—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logistics department was hiring temporary workers to move equipment. Daily pay: $150, with two meals included.

"Are you crazy?" Ted lowered his voice beside him, nearly crushing the iced cola in his hand. "That's S.H.I.E.L.D.! If they recognize you as that 'Wall-Crawler' from Queens, they'll dissect you for sure!"

Lin Mo said nothing. He simply stared at the address on the notice—the logistics area just inside the blockade, less than a kilometer from the rocky area where Mjolnir was located. This was his only chance to get close to Mjolnir. If he missed it, who knew how long he would have to wait? "Relax." He folded the notice and slipped it into his pocket. "They're hiring movers, not agents. Who would pay attention to someone carrying boxes?"

"But your strength..." Ted did not finish before Lin Mo silenced him with a look.

Ever since returning from Mjolnir's vicinity last night, Lin Mo had not slept. The Energy Resonance alert on his wristband had kept flashing, [Synchronization Rate: 30%] pricking at his heart like a thorn. He knew he would never figure out the connection between the wristband and Mjolnir through furtive observation alone. He needed a legitimate reason to cross that blockade.

At the registration desk, a uniformed middle-aged man was checking a list with his head lowered. His badge read, "Logistics Supervisor Wesley." He looked up and examined Lin Mo from head to toe, suspicion in his eyes. "Done manual labor before?"

"I moved servers in New York." Lin Mo tried to make his voice sound honest and simple, deliberately hunching his shoulders—Physical Enhancement had made his muscles much more defined than before, so he had to hide them a little.

Wesley raised a brow and pointed at a waist-high metal crate beside him. "Carry that to Warehouse Three. If you can do it, you sign the contract."

The crate clearly was not light. Its surface bore the words "Precision Instrument—Handle with Care." Two burly men beside it were struggling to lift it, their faces red with effort. Lin Mo walked over, grabbed the handle with one hand under their astonished gazes, and gave it a light lift—the crate rose as easily as an empty cardboard box.

"Holy shit..." one of the burly men blurted out.

Wesley's eyes lit up as well. He quickly scribbled something on the registration form. "Name?"

"Lin Mo."

"Age?"

"Twenty-four."

"Where did you work before?"

"Queens, Carlos Repair Shop." Lin Mo gave a real address. That made him less likely to arouse suspicion.

Wesley nodded and handed him a temporary pass. "Wear this. You're only allowed in the logistics area. Don't wander around, or I'll send you straight to the police station."

Lin Mo accepted the pass. The plastic card bore his photo, with small print beside it: "Temporary Mover, No. 734." He turned and winked at Ted. "See you tonight."

Ted was still stunned. He watched Lin Mo follow Wesley through the blockade, unaware that cola was dripping all over the ground from his hand.

The logistics area was even busier than Lin Mo had imagined. Dozens of white tents stood in orderly rows. Cables snaked across the ground, while technicians in blue work uniforms hurried past with instruments, muttering things like, "The energy readings fluctuated again," and, "The reactor cooling system needs maintenance." Lin Mo followed an old worker named Dave to an equipment storage area. Crates were piled like small mountains, most stamped with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, while some bore red seals marked "Top Secret."

"New here?" Dave was a bald old man with a thick Texas accent. "First time in a place like this?"

"Yeah. I used to move servers in New York." Lin Mo took the gloves Dave handed him. They were thick rubber, enough to protect against cuts.

"Then you're lucky." Dave pointed at the white tents in the distance. "I heard they've got alien stuff in there. Things we'll never see in our lifetimes." He lowered his voice. "But it's dangerous too. Last week, some kid got curious and tried to peek inside a crate. Two guys in black suits hauled him away, and he never came back."

Lin Mo's heart stirred. He pretended to adjust his gloves. "What's in those crates?"

"Who knows?" Dave shrugged and hoisted a small box onto his shoulder. "Could be weapons, could be parts. We get paid to work, so don't ask questions."

Lin Mo did not press further. He bent down and hoisted three stacked crates of components. Together, they weighed at least two hundred kilograms, but to him now, they felt as light as foam. He deliberately walked steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, only slightly faster than an ordinary worker—enough to finish his workload without standing out too much.

As he passed a blue tent, Lin Mo's wristband suddenly vibrated. An alert flashed by: [Tesseract Energy Residue Detected]. He glanced sideways. The tent flap had not been fully closed, and inside he could vaguely see several silver metal tubes made of a material similar to the S.H.I.E.L.D. parts he had repaired before.

"New guy, hurry up!" Wesley called from behind, holding a folder. "Take these sensors to the monitoring station. Agent Phil Coulson is waiting for them."

Lin Mo's heart tightened, and he hurriedly replied, "Coming." Phil Coulson was here too? He steadied himself, hoisted the crate of sensors, and followed Wesley toward the monitoring station. Along the way, he passed quite a few black-suited agents, all of whom stared at him expressionlessly, as though assessing this suddenly appearing strongman.

The monitoring station was a semi-underground bunker, with two armed guards at its entrance. They only let them through after seeing Wesley. It was much cooler inside. Screens covered the walls, displaying energy distribution maps around Mjolnir. Green ripples rose and fell like heartbeats. More than a dozen technicians stood around a long table, while Phil Coulson stood at its head, pointing at a screen as he spoke to a bespectacled woman.

"Agent Coulson, the sensors are here." Wesley gave an imperfect salute.

Phil Coulson turned around. When his gaze settled on Lin Mo, he paused. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he returned to calm, as if he were merely looking at an ordinary temporary worker. "Put them down." His voice was flat and unreadable.

Lin Mo set the crate down and deliberately brushed his fingers over its edge—there was a small mark he had made, a code left behind when he had repaired S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hard drive last time. Only he and Carlos could understand it. Phil Coulson's gaze swept over the mark, and the corner of his mouth moved almost imperceptibly.

"Good work." Phil Coulson suddenly took a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it over, droplets still clinging to the bottle.

Lin Mo froze for a moment. When he took the water, his fingertips accidentally touched Phil Coulson's hand, and both of them quickly pulled back. "Just doing my job, sir." He deliberately used the honorific, but his eyes were fixed on the energy map—the Energy Core of Mjolnir was golden, surrounded by a blue halo, and its fluctuation frequency was astonishingly similar to that of his wristband.

"Seen enough?" Phil Coulson's voice carried a hint of teasing.

Lin Mo's face instantly reddened. He hurriedly lowered his head. "Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's fine." Phil Coulson turned to the technicians and said, "Continue monitoring." Then he told Lin Mo, "Come with me."

The two stepped out of the monitoring station and stood in the shade of a canvas tent. The desert sun was fierce, making their shadows short. "Business not going well at that repair shop in Queens?" Phil Coulson suddenly asked, idly playing with a metal lighter engraved with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem.

"It's okay." Lin Mo twisted open the cap and drank some ice water. The cold liquid helped him calm down. "I just wanted to look around and make some extra cash."

"What is there to see in Pepper Town?" Phil Coulson's gaze fell on the rocky area in the distance. "Other than sand and a hammer no one can take away."

Here it comes. Lin Mo's heart pounded wildly as he decided to take a risk and probe. "That hammer... did it really come from outer space? People in town said it can summon lightning and move on its own."

Phil Coulson smiled. It was the same smile he had worn at the repair shop last time—gentle, yet edged with something sharp. "Maybe I'll tell you when you're older." He tucked the lighter into his pocket. "Work hard. Wesley says you're very capable. You do the work of three men by yourself."

Lin Mo did not respond. He knew Phil Coulson had seen through his act but had not exposed him. That in itself was an attitude. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. also wanted to see what this "temporary worker" who could resonate with Mjolnir was trying to do.

That afternoon, while moving reactor components, Lin Mo deliberately slowed down. These parts were heavier than the morning's, and their surfaces were cold, as if they had just been taken from a freezer. Dave and the other workers sweated profusely, while Lin Mo was neither flushed nor winded. Only a slight sheen of sweat appeared at his temples, perfectly fitting the image of a strongman who could still get tired.

"What the hell did they feed you growing up?" Dave handed him a towel. "When I was your age, I couldn't straighten my back after carrying half a crate."

"My family ran a martial arts school. I trained my strength from childhood." Lin Mo made up a lie, but he was calculating inwardly—the direct distance from here to the rocky area where Mjolnir was located was only eight hundred meters. With Burst Sprint, he could get there in a little over ten seconds. But he did not dare. There were at least ten surveillance cameras around, along with hidden sensors. The moment he activated his abilities, he would be discovered.

His wristband suddenly began vibrating violently. A glaring red alert appeared on the screen: [Warning! Frost Giant Energy Reaction Detected! Distance: 10 km!]

Lin Mo's hand jerked, and he nearly dropped the crate of components. Frost Giants? Why were they here? Were they after Mjolnir?

He instinctively looked toward the monitoring station. A piercing alarm suddenly blared from that direction, while red warning lights flashed madly atop the tents. Technicians rushed out in panic, shouting into their radios, "Unknown targets approaching from the northwest! Strong energy readings!"

"All personnel, return to your posts!" Wesley's voice rang out over the broadcast, more tense than ever before. "Agent teams, prepare to intercept! I repeat, agent teams, prepare to intercept!"

Lin Mo's heart sank. Something was about to happen. He looked toward the distant sky. The previously clear afternoon had suddenly turned gloomy, and the sandstorm twisted into a vortex, like a gray dragon coiling along the horizon.

"What is that?" Dave pointed at the sky, his voice trembling.

Lin Mo said nothing. His Dynamic Vision caught several blurry shadows diving from the clouds, moving as fast as cannon shells. Frost Giant aircraft!

"Get under cover!" Lin Mo grabbed Dave and ran toward the nearest tent. His Physical Enhancement activated automatically at that moment. Even while dragging a grown man along, he ran at incredible speed, easily dodging a metal frame blasted into the air by an aircraft's shockwave.

Amid the chaos, he saw Phil Coulson standing at the entrance to the monitoring station, radio in hand as he gestured toward the sky. Hawkeye stood beside him with his bow already drawn, a blue glow flickering from the arrowhead—it was a specially made energy arrow.

"Hold the monitoring station!" Phil Coulson's voice came through the broadcast. "Do not let them get near Mjolnir!"

Lin Mo hid behind a tent and watched the agents open fire. Energy beams streaked through the sky in bright lines. The Frost Giants' aircraft were nimble, evading most attacks while occasionally launching ice spikes that smashed into the ground and exploded into white mist. Anything they touched froze instantly.

"I need to get closer to Mjolnir." Lin Mo gritted his teeth. The Frost Giants' appearance confirmed his suspicions—Asgard's troubles had already spread to Earth. If he did not figure out the connection between the wristband and Mjolnir now, he might never get another chance.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he activated Phasing Ability, and his body instantly became semi-transparent. Everyone around him was busy avoiding attacks. No one noticed the mover who had suddenly "disappeared." Lin Mo sped along close to the ground, Dynamic Vision helping him evade every explosion and falling rock as he weaved through the chaos like an eel.

The closer he got to the rocky area, the more violently his wristband shook. The alert [Energy Resonance Intensity: 80%] nearly seemed ready to burst through the screen. Around Mjolnir, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were fighting the landed Frost Giants. Blue energy beams and white ice spikes intertwined above the rocks, creating a harsh, piercing clamor.

A Frost Giant raised an ice axe and swung it toward the rock where Mjolnir rested, seemingly intending to destroy it. Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, he rushed forward and activated Burst Sprint, his speed instantly increasing to eight times that of an ordinary person.

Just as the ice axe was about to strike the rock, Lin Mo arrived. He did not attack the Frost Giant. Instead, he used all his strength to grab the axe handle—Physical Enhancement pushed his strength to its limit, his muscles bulging and the veins beneath his skin throbbing visibly.

The Frost Giant froze, clearly not expecting a mortal to block his attack. He roared and increased his strength. Bone-piercing cold condensed along the ice axe, instantly freezing Lin Mo's gloves and numbing his fingers.

"Get out of my way!" the Frost Giant roared, forcing the ice axe downward.

Lin Mo's knees trembled, and his arms were nearly frozen stiff, but he clenched his teeth. He could feel the resonance between the wristband and Mjolnir reaching its peak. Golden energy flowed through his arm into his body, counteracting the Frost Giant's cold.

"Now!" a familiar voice rang out behind him.

Lin Mo instinctively dodged to the side. Thor had somehow broken free of his restraints. Holding a scavenged iron sword, he slashed at the Frost Giant's leg. An Asgardian's strength was clearly greater than a Frost Giant's. Though the sword was ordinary, the blow staggered the giant backward.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lin Mo looked at Mjolnir again. Wrapped in golden energy, it trembled faintly. The patterns on its handle seemed to come alive, as if calling to him. Lin Mo's heart pounded like a drum as he extended his hand, his fingertips only centimeters from the handle—

"Watch out!" Phil Coulson suddenly shouted.

Lin Mo whipped around and saw a Frost Giant hurling an ice spike at him. He tried to dodge, only to find his body firmly held in place by the energy resonance. He could not move.

Just as the ice spike was about to hit him, a blue energy arrow struck it with perfect precision, exploding it into fragments in midair. It was Hawkeye!

"Run already!" Clint Barton shouted from afar, a second arrow already nocked.

Only then did Lin Mo snap out of it. He activated Phasing Ability, turned, and ran. He did not dare linger any longer. That brief moment of resonance had left him dizzy, as though he had drunk three bottles of whiskey.

By the time he returned to the logistics area, the battle was nearly over. Two Frost Giant aircraft had been shot down, and the rest had begun to retreat. The sky cleared again, leaving behind only a few trails of black smoke. Agents were cleaning up the battlefield, while Wesley checked the headcount with a pale face.

"Where did you go?" Dave hurriedly grabbed Lin Mo when he saw him. "We looked everywhere for you. I thought the aliens had taken you."

"I hid behind some crates." Lin Mo's heartbeat had yet to settle. The wristband on his arm was scorching hot, while alerts kept flashing: [Energy Resonance Intensity: 90%... Synchronization Interrupted... Host Physical Strength Exhausted.]

Phil Coulson walked over. His trench coat was lightly coated in dust, but a smile rested at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like you got lucky. You're not hurt."

"Thanks to you, sir." Lin Mo lowered his head, not daring to look into his eyes—he knew his actions had definitely been captured by surveillance cameras.

"Today's wages." Phil Coulson handed him an envelope, noticeably thicker than usual. "Wesley said you did well, so he added a bonus." He paused and lowered his voice. "The Frost Giants are only the beginning. There will be more trouble in the future. Don't go back to the repair shop in Queens for now."

Lin Mo's hand shook sharply, and the envelope nearly fell to the ground. Was that... a warning? Or protection?

"Pack your things." Phil Coulson turned and walked away without looking back. "A vehicle has already been arranged to take you back to town."

Lin Mo stood there clutching the envelope. He watched agents carry injured comrades into ambulances, watched technicians seal off the rocky area again, and watched Thor get "invited" onto a helicopter by two agents—there was no longer any anger on Thor's face. Instead, he wore a thoughtful calm.

Ted was waiting for him at the hiring station. The moment he saw Lin Mo emerge, he hurried over. "Are you okay? I heard fighting broke out. You scared me to death!"

"I'm fine." Lin Mo stuffed the envelope into his hands. "My pay. More than I expected."

"Really?" Ted opened the envelope, and his eyes immediately lit up. "This much? It's enough for us to have fun in Las Vegas for two days!"

Lin Mo smiled but said nothing. He looked toward the distant rocky area. Mjolnir remained embedded there, like a silent giant. The wristband's alerts had returned to normal. Only the words [Energy Resonance Synchronization Rate: 90%] stood out brightly on the pale blue screen.

He knew Phil Coulson's meaning was clear—S.H.I.E.L.D. had already classified him as a "person of special interest," and he could not return to Queens for the time being. But he did not regret it. That brief resonance had confirmed one thing for him: there had to be some profound connection between the wristband and Mjolnir, perhaps even tied to the reason he had crossed into this world.

As he got into the vehicle back to town, Lin Mo gave S.H.I.E.L.D.'s blockade one last look. Beneath the sunlight, the white tents and bustling figures looked like a massive beehive, hiding countless secrets. And he, a nobody who had once only wanted to run a repair shop, had already been drawn into the heart of those secrets.

"Where do we go next?" Ted's voice was excited. He clearly had not recovered from the joy of "making a fortune."

Lin Mo watched the sand dunes rushing past outside the window and suddenly smiled. "Las Vegas."

Ted's eyes instantly widened. "Really?"

"Really." Lin Mo leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He needed time to recover his strength, and he needed time to think—the Frost Giants' appearance meant that Asgard's war had already spread to Earth. Thor's awakening was only a matter of time. Before that happened, Lin Mo had to uncover the wristband's secret and figure out who he truly was.

Outside the window, the desert glowed gold beneath the setting sun, like an endless ocean. Lin Mo touched the wristband on his wrist. It had returned to calm, as if gathering strength and waiting for the next resonance to arrive.