S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Test"

The ceiling fan in the repair shop creaked as it turned, stirring together the smell of motor oil and the fresh scent of sycamore leaves. Lin Mo was crouched on the ground, replacing the brake pads on a classic car. Grease from his fingertips had smudged his blue coveralls, spreading into a small dark stain. Shield was dozing beside the toolbox, his tail swaying gently in time with the fan. Every so often, he lifted his eyes to watch the leaves drifting outside the door.

"Jingle—" The wind chime at the entrance rang. The crisp clink of copper startled Shield into pricking up his ears. Lin Mo looked up and saw a silver-gray Chevrolet parked outside. Its window rolled down, revealing Phil Coulson's face, as always wearing a mild smile. He was dressed in a beige trench coat today, with an inconspicuous badge pinned to the collar. It flashed once in the sunlight before disappearing into the fabric.

"Lin Mo, long time no see." Coulson pushed open the car door, his leather shoes rustling through the fallen leaves. "I heard you changed careers? Old Carlos has been talking about you for days."

"Fixing computers was too quiet. Fixing cars is livelier." Lin Mo straightened up and wiped his hands with a rag. His gaze lingered on the Chevrolet's license plate for half a second—a standard New York State plate, except for a tiny S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia at the corner, identical to the one he had seen at Stark Industries last time. "What's wrong with the car?"

"The brakes have a slight problem." Coulson walked around to the passenger side. As he opened the door, his movements paused briefly, as if adjusting something. "They suddenly fail sometimes. I took it to the dealership three times, but they couldn't find the issue. Thought I'd try my luck with you." His gaze swept over the tools on the workshop shelves, lingering two extra seconds on the wrench that could bend steel rebar.

Lin Mo nodded without replying. He went to the driver's side and activated Phasing Ability the instant he opened the door. His vision scanned the brake system like an X-ray, immediately spotting something wrong. There was an extremely subtle modification on the brake line, as though someone had twisted it with a special tool. Under a certain pressure, it would automatically lock up. This was not a malfunction. It was a deliberately designed trap.

"I'll take it for a test drive." Lin Mo sat in the driver's seat. The leather was slightly hot, clearly having been baked by the sun. As he fastened his seat belt, his fingertips brushed the panel beneath the steering wheel and felt a raised metal plate—a miniature sensor, warming faintly with the engine's vibrations.

Coulson sat in the passenger seat and took a thermos from his trench coat pocket. "Want some coffee? Colombian. Better than the instant stuff you have here." He unscrewed the cap, and steam carrying the scent of caramel drifted out. A blurred eagle emblem was printed on the side of the cup.

"No. I don't drink that while driving." Lin Mo started the car. The engine rumbled steadily, with no hint of anything unusual. He shifted into gear and pulled out of the repair shop. The Chevrolet rolled slowly over the leaves, its tires making soft crackling sounds. Dynamic Vision activated automatically, breaking the roadside scenery into countless details: the newspaper stand owner's fingers handing over a paper, the angle at which a girl's skirt lifted as she rode past on a bicycle, even the sound of electricity shifting in a distant traffic light.

"Autumn in Queens is more pleasant than Manhattan." Coulson looked out the window, his fingers lightly tapping his knee. The rhythm was astonishingly close to the rebound frequency of the brake pedal. "I heard you helped the fire department move a redwood wardrobe a while back? The kind three strong men couldn't lift."

Lin Mo's grip tightened around the steering wheel. This had actually reached S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ears? He glanced into the rearview mirror and saw a brown Ford following far behind. Its windows were heavily tinted, making it impossible to see inside. "Ted was exaggerating. The beer cans inside the wardrobe had already been moved out."

"Is that so?" Coulson smiled and took a sip from his thermos. "Still, carrying it up to the third floor alone is impressive. I know a friend in special forces who says it takes over ten years of training to do that." He turned to Lin Mo, his eyes behind the lenses remarkably bright. "Did you train before?"

"When I was young, I helped my family carry grain in the countryside." Lin Mo turned the steering wheel, avoiding a child chasing a ball. Physical Enhancement made his steering accurate to the centimeter. The tires nearly brushed the curb as they passed. He could feel the faint vibrations from the brake pedal, coming 0.3 seconds faster than normal. Clearly, the modification had begun activating in secret.

When they drove onto Queensboro Bridge, the wind suddenly picked up, making the Chevrolet's mirrors hum. Coulson suddenly said, "Looks like something's happening ahead." He pointed forward. A truck had stopped in the middle of the road, and its driver was standing behind it inspecting a tire, blocking more than half the lane.

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. Was this the signal for the test? He took a deep breath and lightly placed his right foot on the brake pedal. Physical Enhancement allowed him to control his force precisely, even refining the extent of muscle contraction down to the millimeter. Under normal circumstances, he should have slammed on the brakes now, but he knew that would trigger the lockup device.

"Screech—" The braking sound was soft, like a feather brushing against the ground. The Chevrolet slowed with incredible smoothness, neither jolting with a hard stop nor coasting helplessly on momentum. At the same time, Lin Mo turned the wheel. The car slid past the edge of the truck and came to a steady stop just as its mirror nearly grazed the other vehicle's taillight, leaving exactly enough room for a pedestrian to pass.

Coulson's hand holding the thermos paused. The steam around the lid wavered, yet not a single drop spilled. He looked at Lin Mo, the curve of his smile deepening slightly. "Quick reactions."

"Comes from driving classic cars. Those old things have brakes even less reliable than this." Lin Mo released the brake, and the car slowly drove away. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the brown Ford in the rearview mirror. In that instant, it had clearly slowed down, and the silhouette behind the window seemed to be aiming something at them.

They hit a red light on the way off the bridge, and the Chevrolet stopped before the crosswalk. Lin Mo lightly tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as his mind raced. The brake modification was meant to test his reaction speed. The Ford following them was recording data. Coulson's thermos might even be hiding a camera... Was S.H.I.E.L.D. treating him as a potential recruit?

"You seem to dislike attention." Coulson suddenly spoke, his gaze resting on a stray cat by the roadside. "Hogan from Stark Industries wanted to invite you to be a technical consultant last time, but you turned him down quite decisively."

"I'm used to freedom. I can't stand being controlled." Lin Mo watched the light turn green and lightly pressed the accelerator. "Besides, my little skills probably aren't worth mentioning in your eyes." He deliberately left "your" vague as he observed Coulson's reaction.

The man smiled without denying it. "Everyone has different value. Some are suited for the front lines, while others are suited to guard the rear." He took out a USB drive from his trench coat pocket and placed it on the dashboard. "This is payment for fixing my car computer last time. There are some... interesting things on it. You might like them."

Lin Mo glanced at the USB drive. Its casing was matte black, with a tiny serial number on the side—the same coding convention used for internal S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment. He did not touch it, only said, "It was nothing. You don't need to be so polite."

When the Chevrolet returned to the repair shop, Ted came running over from across the street, carrying a huge magic box. The sequins on the box glittered so brightly in the sunlight they were almost blinding. "Mo! Look at this new levitation trick I learned!" Without noticing Coulson, he rushed straight to the car. "I can make a coin stay in midair for three minutes. The principle is—"

"Ted." Lin Mo cut him off and tilted his head toward Coulson.

Only then did Ted notice the man in the passenger seat. His face instantly flushed red, and he frantically tried to hide the magic box behind his back. "Ah... hello, sir. I'm Ted, Lin Mo's friend." His gaze circled Coulson's trench coat before he suddenly leaned close to Lin Mo and whispered, "This guy smells like that man in the black suit from last time. Like hospital disinfectant."

Coulson opened the door and got out, the smile on his face unchanged. "Magic? I'm rather interested." He looked at Lin Mo. "Leave the car here for repairs. Can I pick it up tomorrow afternoon?"

"No problem." Lin Mo nodded, watching Coulson walk toward the brown Ford. Its window lowered, revealing the face of a young agent rapidly recording something on a tablet. The rhythm of his fingers swiping the screen was strikingly similar to the frequency with which Lin Mo had controlled the brakes earlier.

The Chevrolet's hood was still hot. When Lin Mo opened it, a faint metallic burning smell drifted out. He did not inspect the brakes. Instead, he bent down to examine the undercarriage. Sure enough, he found a miniature camera near the fuel tank, its lens aimed directly at the driver's seat. "S.H.I.E.L.D. really is cautious." He gave a cold laugh, lightly twisted it with a wrench, and the camera fell free. He casually tossed it into a hidden compartment in the toolbox.

Ted leaned closer and pointed at the brake line. "There's something wrong with this pipe. The connector has been ground down." He loved to brag, but after hanging around Lin Mo for so long, he had become half an expert in mechanics. "Did someone sabotage it on purpose?"

"Maybe someone at the dealership installed it improperly." Lin Mo took out a wrench and lightly tapped the brake line with his fingers. Physical Enhancement allowed him to control the force precisely. He loosened the clasp that triggered the lockup device without leaving any trace. "Small problem. It'll be fixed by tomorrow."

Ted wanted to say more, but Lin Mo stopped him with a look. He knew the kid could not keep secrets. If Ted learned S.H.I.E.L.D. was testing him, there was no telling what kind of mess he would make. "Wasn't your levitation trick supposed to be impressive? Show me."

"Sure!" Ted immediately forgot about the brakes. He pulled out a coin from the magic box, rubbed it in his palm, and tossed it into the air. The coin really did hover in midair without moving. "Pretty amazing, right? The principle is—"

"Electromagnetic levitation," Lin Mo finished for him, though his gaze was fixed on the USB drive Coulson had left behind. The setting sun shone through the workshop window onto it, making it as black as a light-absorbing stone. He knew it definitely did not contain anything "interesting." More likely, it held S.H.I.E.L.D.'s test data, or... a recruitment offer.

When he closed the shop that night, Lin Mo drove the Chevrolet into the innermost bay of the workshop and covered it with canvas. Shield lay in the dog bed beside it, lifting his head from time to time and giving low whines, as if warning him about something. Lin Mo patted the puppy's head and took the miniature camera from the toolbox's hidden compartment. He had already scratched the lens cloudy with sandpaper.

He sat on the toolbox, turning Coulson's USB drive in his hand. The metal casing left a cold sensation against his palm. Dynamic Vision allowed him to see every scratch on it clearly. One extremely fine line, when magnified, turned out to be S.H.I.E.L.D. encryption code. "Want to know what I'm capable of?" Lin Mo chuckled and tossed the USB drive into the deepest part of a drawer, burying it beneath Ben's Automotive Repair Encyclopedia.

His phone suddenly rang. It was a text from Peter: [Brother Lin Mo, I finished the wrist guards I designed. Should I bring them over tomorrow?] A hand-drawn blueprint was attached. The wrist guards resembled the shock-absorbing device he had seen at Stark Industries last time, only more compact.

Lin Mo replied with a "Sure," and warmth suddenly filled his heart. The kid always remembered things others did not care about. Lin Mo had only mentioned the wrist guards in passing last time, yet Peter had actually made them.

The repair shop was especially quiet late at night, with only the sound of the ceiling fan turning and Shield's breathing. Lin Mo lay on his cot, staring at the water stains on the ceiling. They looked like a blurred map, one that happened to reveal the outline of Queens. He remembered Coulson's gaze that day, the Ford that had followed them, and the tampered brake system.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s probing had become increasingly obvious. From the initial car computer, to the later "chance encounters," and now this brake test, they were gradually figuring out the limits of his abilities: the strength, precision, and reaction speed granted by Physical Enhancement. They might even know Phasing Ability existed.

"What exactly do they want?" Lin Mo touched his wristband. Its screen was pitch-black, with 276 days remaining until his next check-in. He did not want to get involved in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mess. He did not want to face alien invasions or supervillains. He only wanted to stay with this repair shop, Martha's apple pie, Ted's magic tricks, and Peter's little inventions.

But Coulson's words would not leave his mind. "Some are suited for the front lines, while others are suited to guard the rear." Maybe he had never had room to choose from the beginning. Ability brought more than convenience; it also brought responsibility he could not escape. Just as he could easily lift a truck tire now, if an even heavier "burden" fell upon him someday, could he really just stand by and watch?

Shield suddenly got up and ran to the door, growling low at the outside. Lin Mo sat upright and activated Phasing Ability. He saw two figures in black suits wandering outside the repair shop. They held something resembling a scanner, aimed in the direction of the workshop.

"They really won't leave me alone." Lin Mo sighed and pulled out a steel pipe from beneath the bed. The strength in his fingertips made the metal faintly warm. He had no intention of going outside. He only wanted them to know he was not some soft target they could test at will.

The next afternoon, Coulson arrived on time to pick up the car. Lin Mo was changing the oil on a motorcycle, and Shield lay beside his feet. When he saw Coulson, he raised his tail. "Fixed?" Coulson walked over to the Chevrolet and lightly tapped the hood with his finger.

"Yeah. The brake line clasp had come loose, so I secured it again." Lin Mo straightened up, spinning the wrench in his hand. "I took it around a few times. No more problems."

Coulson nodded and sat in the driver's seat to start the car. The engine sounded steadier than it had yesterday. He pressed the brake, and the car stopped smoothly. A perfectly measured surprise appeared on his face. "Looks like your workmanship really is better." He pulled several bills from his wallet. "The repair fee."

"No need. I still haven't thanked you for the coffee last time." Lin Mo pushed the money back, his gaze falling onto the passenger seat. The thermos was gone, replaced by a copy of New York Map. It was open to Queens, with several neighborhoods circled in red, including his repair shop.

Coulson smiled and did not insist. Before rolling up the window, he suddenly said, "By the way, there's a community fire drill next week. They might need people to help move equipment. Are you free?"

Lin Mo's heart stirred. A fire drill? Were they trying to test his strength again? "We'll see. I've got a lot of work lately."

As the Chevrolet drove away, Lin Mo stood at the entrance and watched its taillights disappear among the sycamore leaves. He knew this was not the end. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tests would only become more frequent until they uncovered every card he had. But he had no intention of backing down. Just like repairing classic cars, no matter how complex the malfunction, there was always a solution.

Ted came in from outside with his magic box, humming an off-key tune. "Mo, was that guy giving you some kind of signal just now? His rearview mirror was adjusted really strangely. It looked like he was filming our shop."

"You saw it wrong." Lin Mo turned back into the workshop and picked up Peter's wrist guard blueprint. The boy had drawn it very carefully, labeling the dimensions of every component. Beside it, he had written, "Can disperse 30% of impact force." Lin Mo suddenly felt that no matter how S.H.I.E.L.D. tested him, as long as these people remained by his side, he had the confidence to face anything.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the ground, falling where the silver-gray Chevrolet had been parked. Fallen leaves formed the vague shape of a shield on the pavement. Lin Mo picked up his wrench and continued replacing parts on the classic car. Within the crisp clinks of metal striking metal lay the determination he did not speak aloud—if he could not avoid it, then he would still protect the small piece of ground that was his.