Blood Bag

The smoke of Sokovia had yet to clear when the Red Room's transport plane landed in a hastily cleared open area.

The hatch slowly opened. Melina stepped out first, her tactical boots making faint sounds against the scorched earth. Behind her, fifteen-year-old Natasha Romanoff held the hatch with one hand, her red hair cutting a sharp arc through the wind.

(Regarding Natasha's age: writing that Natasha was five or six years old before was my mistake. I only watched the Black Widow movie roughly once, basically at triple speed, and seeing how small Natasha was as a child gave me the impression that she was only five or six. That was my fault. Fortunately, readers pointed out that Natasha should have been around ten or eleven at the time. I have already revised the earlier chapters. No wonder the age at which Black Widow defected from the Red Room didn't match the age in my book. It was my mistake. I sincerely apologize.)

"It's him." The girl's voice was soft, but the fingertips gripping the hatch had already turned white.

The figure who had left without a word three years ago now stood two hundred meters away, in front of the medical tent. The hem of his black trench coat was stained with blood as he spoke to Alexei.

Seven-year-old Yelena came over with a lollipop in her mouth. "Who is it, Sis?" The candy rolled around in her mouth, making her words adorably muffled.

Natasha did not answer. She took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped from the three-meter-high hatch.

Her tactical boots pushed off the scorched ground three times, every step precisely avoiding rubble and shell craters. The fifteen-year-old girl's body already displayed the explosive power of a top agent, and the fifteen-meter distance vanished in an instant.

"Chen Tian!!!"

The instant the man turned at the sound, Natasha's whip kick tore through the air toward his temple.

This strike was at least three times fiercer than it had been three years ago, the result of countless hours spent practicing against steel pillars in the Red Room's training grounds.

"Bang—!"

He raised an arm to block and easily stopped Natasha's kick.

"Oh?" Chen Tian raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile curling at his lips. "Ha, Nat. Haven't seen you in years, and your temper's gotten worse."

Natasha used the rebound to flip backward and land. The lines of her body beneath the tactical suit had already begun to mature.

She assumed an improved close-combat stance, complex emotions churning in her emerald eyes. "January 17, 1996. Kathmandu, Nepal."

"You threw Yelena and me away without a word!"

Chen Tian froze for a moment, then laughed. "So that's what this is about?"

He reached out to ruffle her red hair, only for a hand chop to knock his hand aside. Just as he was about to explain, he caught sight of another little cannonball sprinting toward them from the corner of his eye.

"YoRHa Sister!" Yelena's cheer interrupted the confrontation.

The little girl charged toward 2B like a golden cannonball, only to slam on the brakes at the last second. Somewhat shyly, she adjusted her butterfly hair clip before throwing herself into the silver-haired warrior's arms. "I-I completed all the training programs you left behind! And... and I missed you so much."

2B rubbed Yelena's hair. "I missed you too."

Yelena happily enjoyed 2B's caress. "Nat," Chen Tian suddenly extended a hand, "do you need it like Yelena..."

"You think I'm a seven-year-old?" Natasha sneered.

Yet her gaze involuntarily drifted toward 2B. Yelena was clinging to 2B like a koala, and 2B's expression was no longer cold. A warm smile rested on her lips as she gently stroked the little girl's hair.

Chen Tian opened his arms with a mischievous grin. "Come on, don't be shy~"

"Go to hell!" Natasha threw a beautiful spinning kick straight at Chen Tian's face, but he smiled and dodged sideways.

With her back to Chen Tian, Natasha reflected that the little girl from three years ago had grown up. Now, she understood that some questions should not be asked, and some answers should not be heard.

The Red Room's training had taught her that secrets were like landmines: the less she knew, the safer she would be. So she did not press Chen Tian about his sudden disappearance. (Chen Tian met Natasha's family in 1995 and took control of the Red Room that same year. After going to Kamar-Taj in 1996, he was transported to 1999.)

She took a deep breath, forcing the surging emotions back down, then walked toward 2B instead. At that moment, 2B held Yelena in one arm while the little girl chattered endlessly about the interesting things that had happened over the past three years.

"YoRHa Sister." Natasha's voice was open and generous. With her hands on her hips, she smiled brightly.

"It's been a long time, Natasha." 2B smiled at her.

As Chen Tian watched Natasha and Yelena gather around 2B and chatter away, a voice came from behind him.

"Oh? Our 'Ghost Commander' finally decided to show himself?" Melina stood behind Chen Tian with her arms crossed, a cold smile curling her red lips. "Three years ago, you left behind one sentence about the 'Hibernation Protocol' and had Mr. Madara guard headquarters. And what happened?" Her voice was thick with dissatisfaction. "Even Madara suddenly vanished."

Chen Tian awkwardly rubbed his nose. He suddenly recalled how, at Kamar-Taj, the Time Stone's energy had inexplicably brought him back to this point in time. Perhaps the same thing would happen again next time.

His expression turned serious. "Melina, find somewhere safe and call Alexei. I need to talk to you about my sudden disappearance."

Melina's cold smile immediately vanished. She keenly caught that strange flicker in Chen Tian's eyes and turned at once. "Alexei!" Her voice had taken on the sharpness unique to a Red Room commander.

The hulking man checking on the wounded abruptly looked up. Melina rapidly said a few words in Russian. Alexei's expression quickly shifted from surprise to solemnity. He patted a medic on the shoulder and gave a few instructions. By the time he strode over, he had already pressed the encrypted communicator on his wristwatch. "Safehouse B7. Activate full-spectrum signal jamming in three minutes."

Natasha, who had been chatting with 2B about the past few years, sensed that something was off. She turned slightly and saw the serious expressions on her adoptive parents' faces, as well as Chen Tian's.

She frowned slightly. Something's not right. Did something unexpected happen? she silently guessed.

As Natasha wondered about it, 2B gently patted her shoulder. Natasha quickly turned around and saw 2B smiling warmly. "Natasha, stop guessing. Come on, let's go take a look together."

The confusion in Natasha's heart showed on her face. "I... can go? I'm not one of the Red Room's higher-ups."

Holding Yelena, 2B walked past Natasha toward Chen Tian. "Come on. Master won't mind."

Natasha looked toward Chen Tian. He happened to be looking at her, and he waved her over.

She took a deep breath and quickly followed 2B.

The temporary metal door of Safehouse B7 silently closed behind them, while the air circulation system gave off a faint hum.

This so-called safehouse was merely a basement. The building above had been temporarily requisitioned by Red Room agents, and all the equipment in the basement had only just been set up.

"All communication channels have been cut. Encryption protocols are active." She looked up from the screen at Chen Tian. "Now then, Commander, what do you need to tell us?"

Chen Tian smiled and motioned for everyone not to be nervous and to sit down first.

After everyone took their seats, Chen Tian tapped his fingers against the table. "In 1996, I went to Kamar-Taj. You all knew that. But I was accidentally drafted into service by The Ancient One."

As he spoke, Chen Tian rubbed his nose. It was all a lie, because he did not know whether he should tell them that the Time Stone's energy had affected him, turning him into an unstable time traveler.

But that gesture made Natasha narrow her eyes—Chen Tian always made that little motion whenever he lied.

"What does that mean? And who is The Ancient One?" Alexei scratched the back of his head, completely unable to understand Chen Tian's words.

Chen Tian glanced at 2B, who spoke on his behalf. "The Ancient One is this world's Sorcerer Supreme, a mage who protects this world from invasion by outside evil forces."

"Uh, what?" Alexei's eyes went round. "Am I still drunk from last night, or what? Why are there even mages now?"

Chen Tian smiled. "You're not still drunk. All of this is real. There are many mysterious beings in this world. As long as they do not reveal themselves, no one can find them."

"Chen Tian, you still haven't explained the part about being drafted into service." Melina cut off Alexei before he could say more.

"Oh, right. You can tell that the strength of my 'family members' and me is far beyond ordinary people, right?"

"Yes, I can tell." Melina nodded.

"So because of our abilities, she dragged us off to do her work. In the future, I may still disappear from time to time." Chen Tian shrugged.

"That's not fair!" Natasha stood up. Everyone looked at her. She was somewhat angry. "Why should that happen? Our Red Room has plenty of crises to deal with too!"

Melina nodded in agreement with Natasha. "Nat is right. During the years you were gone, S.H.I.E.L.D. began continuously targeting us. Even when we went into hiding, they kept searching for us, making our operations against Hydra extremely passive."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Is that black hard-boiled egg Nick Fury still the one giving the orders?"

Chen Tian's words made both Alexei and Yelena laugh. Alexei laughed so hard he could barely breathe, slapping the table. "Black... hard-boiled egg... Hahaha... what an apt... description... hahaha."

Alexei's loud laughter affected everyone present, and smiles appeared on their faces. Melina even shot Alexei an irritated glare before suppressing her own smile and speaking to Chen Tian.

"It's not just him. Pierce from the World Security Council has also been egging Nick Fury on."

"That's perfectly normal. Alexander Pierce is one of the Hydra heads embedded within the World Security Council."

"What?" Melina and Alexei abruptly stood up.

"No wonder. No wonder. We deliberately left Hydra intelligence for the agents we sent to Fury, but they turned a blind eye to it and stubbornly treated us as enemies instead." Melina finally understood.

"Then can't we just go kill Pierce?" Alexei shouted angrily. Several times while carrying out missions, he had encountered S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. To keep the World Security Council and S.H.I.E.L.D. from targeting them further, he had not dared to kill them.

Chen Tian stroked his chin, thinking.

The destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council had been part of his plans for 2010. If he started planning it in advance now, would it cause changes to the events after 1999? After all, anything he did now could affect the later timeline.

Thinking that, Chen Tian looked at Natasha and frowned.

Wait. If that's the case, then when I attended the Stark Industries charity gala, Natasha clearly didn't know me. What was going on? And now that the Red Room is under my control, will Natasha still defect and join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Is... is something wrong here?

Chen Tian's frown deepened. He could not make sense of it. Or perhaps the later timeline had already changed.

That's the problem with returning to the past of the same timeline. Change even a little thing, and everything afterward could become unrecognizable. If I want it to become my original timeline, then I need to actively make changes. But how can I ensure Natasha joins S.H.I.E.L.D.?

When did Natasha join S.H.I.E.L.D.? I think I saw a timeline on some website before. It seemed to be sometime between 2000 and 2008. That's far too vague. There's no exact date. What am I supposed to do with that?

Natasha looked at Chen Tian in confusion as he stared at her with a frown, but she did not dare interrupt him. More precisely, no one dared to interrupt him.

Forget it. I'll do it this way! Chen Tian turned his gaze toward Melina. "Melina, from now on, the Red Room will go completely underground. Oh, wasn't Dreykov researching the 'Sky Red Room' project before?"

Melina nodded. "Yes, but after you took over, we shifted our focus toward eliminating Hydra."

"Then restart the project. Once the Sky Red Room is completed, we'll relocate there. All outside bases can be abandoned. Leave behind only a few people who were brainwashed under the Puppet Protocol. And Budapest will retain all the Puppets."

"Why keep Budapest?" Melina did not understand.

Chen Tian looked at Natasha. "I'm leaving it for Natasha."

Everyone looked at Natasha in confusion. Even Natasha raised a finger and pointed at herself in surprise. "Me?"

"Yes. I'm giving it to you as your ticket into S.H.I.E.L.D."

"You want me... to be a spy in S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Her voice was calmer than she had imagined.

Chen Tian tapped his fingers against the tabletop. "We're going to create 'the Red Room's last Black Widow.' A perfect weapon that defected with the fury of vengeance."

Melina was the first to object. "Nat is only fifteen. S.H.I.E.L.D. won't—"

"So not now." Chen Tian waved a hand. "After the Sky Red Room is complete, Natasha will first make a name for herself on the black market. Fury will be particularly interested in an 'out-of-control superweapon.'"

"Why do this?" Alexei, the brute that he was, could not think that far ahead.

"Um, Melina, ever since we broke with Hydra, how has the Red Room's financial situation been?" Chen Tian did not answer Alexei, instead asking Melina.

"Not good. Especially now that both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. are targeting us. Even our old secret accounts have been frozen by S.H.I.E.L.D. So far, we have lost at least one billion dollars."

Chen Tian nodded. "Right. That's my next plan."

"First, we'll spend several years allowing Nat to grow and establish the name 'Black Widow' in the agent world, drawing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention."

"Next, they will 'discover' that Nat's behavior does not resemble that of a human, but a machine."

Chen Tian suddenly chuckled.

"That situation will definitely attract Fury's attention."

"At that point, he will certainly send agents to investigate Nat. Oh, right." Chen Tian looked at Natasha.

"Nat, you'll need to sabotage several S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. On the surface, it will appear that you did it alone, but in truth..."

"The Red Room will support every operation from behind the scenes," Melina continued. "It's to demonstrate Nat's power, right?"

"Bingo. Exactly. A powerful Black Widow who carries out missions like a robot—Fury will have no choice but to send his best agent after her."

"At that point, when Nat fights that agent, she'll 'accidentally' reveal that she is being controlled but cannot break free."

Chen Tian sneered. "Once that happens, Fury will start investigating Nat's background again."

"And 2B will prepare an 'impeccable' backstory for Fury at the Budapest base. After Fury finishes investigating, Nat will appear in another operation and 'accidentally' be captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., thereby breaking free of control."

"And the first thing she'll do after breaking free is show S.H.I.E.L.D. her hatred for the Red Room. At the Red Room's Budapest base, Nat will obtain plenty of Red Room records from when Dreykov was in charge. Then..."

Chen Tian made an exploding gesture. "With one BOOM, Nat will blow up the Red Room's Budapest base alone, then disappear into hiding. Until she 'happens' to encounter that agent again. To 'repay' the agent for awakening her self-awareness, Nat will hand over all the Budapest documents to that agent."

"Under those circumstances, do you think Fury would try to recruit Nat?"

"But there are many uncontrollable factors involved," Natasha said with a frown. "For example, how can I ensure that agent will release me after I deliberately let myself get captured?"

"If they don't release you, why can't we release you and make it look like you awakened and escaped their custody for revenge?" Chen Tian countered. "Remember, you won't be the only one acting in this play. You'll be the lead, while the Red Room will be the production crew behind you."

"What's the benefit of doing this?" Melina still did not quite understand why they had to go to such lengths.

Chen Tian leaned back slightly in his chair. "It's simple. Because we're going to latch onto S.H.I.E.L.D. and suck its blood."

"?"

"?"

"?"

"?"

Seeing question marks appear on everyone's faces, Chen Tian laughed. "Haha, did you forget what I just said?"

"Alexander Pierce. This former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is now a representative of the World Security Council. Do you think Hydra never infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. while he was director?"

Everyone was stunned.

"So after Nat enters S.H.I.E.L.D., she can begin looking into Hydra's and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s financial sources."

"When Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. discover problems with their finances, every clue will point to the other side. Yet behind it all, it will actually be us."

Chen Tian stood up, both hands braced against the table. "When they fight each other to the bitter end, Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. will have become our blood bags, constantly replenishing us and strengthening us."

"Until... the day they collapse... everyone will discover..."

"The Red Room has become the strongest intelligence organization..."