Phantom in Falcon's Eyes

In the dim security corridor, plaster peeled from the walls, exposing mottled bricks. Under Mei's forceful kicks, the rusty iron door let out dull, heavy thuds, like the pained groans of the ancient building.

Lin Xiu could feel the faint tremors of the Nanobots in his palm, like a weak electric current. The Oracle System had just completed thermal imaging coverage of the entire floor.

The silver swarm that had slipped through the cracks in the walls was now weaving twenty moving heat sources inside the structure. Each signal precisely simulated fluctuations in human body temperature. The silver insects flickered faintly within the walls like sprites in the darkness.

"Three, two, one," he counted softly. Then a guard's shrill cry suddenly exploded in his earpiece: "Target spotted in Area B! Movement in the east stairwell!" The voice echoed through the narrow corridor, especially piercing.

Mei's fingers slipped on the cold, rough doorknob. Cold sweat ran down the back of her neck and into her collar, bringing an icy sensation.

She glanced at Lin Xiu. Pale blue streams of data danced in the young man's pupils as the Oracle System calculated escape routes in real time. The data flickered dreamily, as if it were an entrance to another mysterious world.

When the iron door was finally forced open, a cold wind carrying New York's thick smog rushed in. It carried a pungent stench and cut across their faces like blades.

Lin Xiu's Nano Armor glimmered faintly beneath his skin—Tactical Form had silently activated. The glow seemed especially mysterious in the darkness.

"To the rooftop!" Mei grabbed him and ran up the stairs. "The top floor has ventilation ducts connected to the municipal network."

But Lin Xiu suddenly stopped, his gaze sweeping over the old fire hydrant around the corner. Much of its red paint had already peeled away.

The Oracle System issued a warning: "Armed squad detected three floors below. All exits expected to be sealed within thirty seconds." He shoved Mei into the shadows behind the fire hydrant, and Nanobots flowed from his fingertips, crawling along the rough wall toward the ceiling smoke detector with a faint rustling sound.

"Go to the rooftop. I'll draw them away." His voice was as steady as a precision instrument. "Your work card can open the top-floor maintenance door. Meet at the B4 vent in three minutes."

Mei's pupils abruptly constricted. She was about to argue when dense, chaotic footsteps rose from below, drawing closer and closer like the footsteps of death itself.

Lin Xiu patted the back of her hand. Warmth seeped through his tactical glove, carrying the distinctive heat of the Nanocore. "Trust the Oracle System's calculations. The margin of error is no more than 0.7 seconds."

Before his words had faded, he turned and charged down the stairs. He planted a foot against the rusty railing for leverage, making it creak and groan.

The smoke detector blared overhead, its piercing alarm like a demon's roar. Twenty false heat-source signals flashed at once across the guards' thermal imagers—some raced toward the underground garage, some slipped into the elevator shafts, and three charged straight for the rooftop.

"Split up and pursue! Don't let the target get away!" The squad leader's roar was sliced apart by the alarm. Lin Xiu sped along the wall, hearing bullets shriek past and scrape against it behind him, sharp enough to pierce his eardrums.

He suddenly braked at a corner. Nanobots gathered across his back into glider wings, and he shot through the glass window like an arrow released from a bow. The shattering glass rang out crisp and clear.

The instant wind rushed into his collar, altitude data flashed across Lin Xiu's retina: 32nd floor, wind speed 6.8 meters per second.

The Tactical Form thrusters on his calves activated. He adjusted his gliding angle, and the metal wingtips scraped across the bright glass curtain wall of the office building opposite, producing a sharp rasp.

On the street below, traffic flowed endlessly and horns sounded one after another. The noises gradually faded from Lin Xiu's ears—until a shadow dived from the clouds. It was Falcon.

Sam Wilson's flight wings gleamed coldly in the sunlight. He narrowed his eyes at the flying unit that had suddenly appeared.

His radar was completely clean, without even the slightest signal. Instinct told him this was not new S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment.

"Unregistered airborne target, identify yourself," he called into his earpiece, his right hand already gripping a Shock Dart.

Lin Xiu's Oracle System detected the threat first. A red warning burst across his retina: "High-altitude, high-speed target approaching. Identity: Sam Wilson. Codename: Falcon. Avengers member." He tapped the armor around his wrist, activating Tactical Form's dynamic defense system. The glider wings on his back instantly contracted into three diamond-shaped armor plates.

"Sorry about this," Lin Xiu murmured, rolling sideways the instant Falcon threw the Shock Dart.

The blue energy dart skimmed past his shoulder armor and struck the billboard behind him, bursting into brilliant sparks that shone especially brightly beneath the sun.

Sam's pupils contracted slightly. That was no ordinary evasive maneuver—the target's turning angle was as precise as a trajectory calculated in advance.

"Interesting." Sam pulled the control cords of his flight wings and moved to flank him from the rear. "Since when did S.H.I.E.L.D. have equipment this agile?"

Lin Xiu did not answer. His attention was fixed entirely on the Oracle System's data stream.

Falcon's flight path, the Shock Dart's energy frequency, the traffic density in the streets below... all the information collided rapidly in his mind before converging on one conclusion: he could not afford to fight.

He suddenly dived. His glider wings spread to their widest angle, and he skimmed over the roof of a bus just five meters above the ground, drawing startled cries from the passengers inside.

Sam followed close behind, the thrusters on his flight wings screeching. "Hey! This is dangerous—"

His words were drowned out by the roar of the subway tunnel.

Lin Xiu fixed his eyes on the tunnel entrance ahead. Tactical Form's thrusters erupted at maximum power, and he plunged into the darkness like a silver arrow.

Sam came to an abrupt stop at the tunnel entrance. The signal on his radar screen suddenly warped into static—electromagnetic interference.

"Damn subway signal shielding." He pulled off his goggles and stared into the darkness deep within the tunnel. "It won't be this easy next time."

When the metal door of the underground shelter sealed behind Lin Xiu, cold sweat had already soaked his back. His wet shirt clung to him with an icy chill.

The Nano Armor automatically reverted to its base form, revealing the black T-shirt beneath, drenched in sweat.

He slumped before the console, tapping the controls to start a diagnostic program. Data instantly flooded his vision across his retina.

"Armor wear rate: 3.2%. Thruster fuel remaining: 78%... Wait." Lin Xiu's breathing abruptly caught as striking golden text appeared in the system prompt: "[Psychic Energy Mapping] function unlocking... Analysis progress: 17%."

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the Nanocore around his wrist, where the burning sensation from resisting the mind control still lingered, throbbing faintly.

Loki's ghostly blue glow, the controlled agents, and the Oracle System's sudden evolution... those fragments pieced together a hazy image in his mind, as if invisible hands were pushing something forward.

"Ding—"

The communicator's alert interrupted his thoughts.

Mei's projection rose above the console. Her hair was somewhat disheveled, and her work card still swung from her neck. "I submitted an incident report and highlighted the abnormal energy fluctuations. Director Fury's side... may send more people."

Lin Xiu nodded, but his gaze fell on the surveillance feed behind her—Asgard's Rainbow Bridge flashed across the screen.

He was about to speak when the communicator suddenly crackled with static. A deep voice mingled with the noise: "Balder's aura... why has it appeared here?"

Mei's brows drew tightly together. "What was that? Interference?"

Lin Xiu did not answer. His finger hovered above the button to disable the wireless connection.

The Oracle System's warning continued flashing: "Unknown signal source detected. External connection severance recommended immediately." He stared at the golden analysis progress before finally pressing the button.

In the darkness, the faint glow of the Nanocore brightened and dimmed in his palm, like some dormant power being gently awakened.