Memory

The safehouse fell deathly silent.

Chen Tian's plan was like a massive spiderweb, enveloping S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, and the Red Room alike. Natasha was the spider walking across those threads, while all around the web raged violent storms. One misstep, and she would fall into an abyss of eternal damnation.

Melina's fingers tapped unconsciously against the table as her gaze shifted back and forth between Natasha and Chen Tian. As the Red Room's tactical commander, she understood the danger of this plan better than anyone—it was not a simple infiltration, but a desperate gamble with lives and the Red Room's future at stake.

Alexei's heavy breathing was especially pronounced in the silence. The usually bold red giant now wore a deeply furrowed brow. He abruptly rose to his feet, the metal chair legs scraping sharply across the floor.

"I object!" he shouted. "Nat is only fifteen! Even if she trained for a few more years, you'd still send her to be a double agent? Damn it! Nero Sparda! No! Chen Tian! Tell me! How much psychological pressure will Nat have to bear?!"

Chen Tian did not answer immediately. He merely sat back down, folded his hands over his abdomen, and lowered his gaze slightly.

He knew. Of course he knew. But if he did not do this, what would become of the Red Room's future? And how was he supposed to deal with the future timeline?

Thinking of all that, his folded hands slowly clenched. He was still too weak—too weak to shatter everything with sheer strength alone.

2B held Yelena in her arms, her eyes flickering faintly beneath her silver hair. As a combat android, she should not have possessed an emotion such as "worry," yet her core processor was experiencing abnormal fluctuations. This was the first time she had felt something akin to unease.

When Natasha and Yelena had been in Ohio, 2B had been the one accompanying them. She could not bear to see Natasha shoulder such immense pressure.

Everyone's eyes turned toward Natasha.

The red-haired girl sat quietly there, her emerald eyes lowered and her long lashes trembling slightly. Her fingers gently stroked the edge of the table.

Am I afraid?

Yes. How could I not be?

Chen Tian's plan is ruthless, but if it succeeds, the Red Room will become the largest intelligence organization under Chen Tian's command.

No, the strongest secret organization in the world.

But can I do it?

I can! Because I chose agent training precisely to help Chen Tian and Melina. So I can do it.

When she raised her head, there was not the slightest hesitation left in her eyes.

"I accept."

Her voice was very soft.

Melina shot to her feet. "Nat! You don't have to... accept..."

"I can do it." Natasha looked directly at Chen Tian. "It's just acting, isn't it? The Red Room taught me—'Lies are more lethal than bullets.'"

Natasha stood up. "I can become the 'defected Black Widow' Chen Tian spoke of."

"But," Natasha said after taking a deep breath, "this plan still has a weakness."

The air inside the safehouse seemed to freeze.

Natasha's words were like a heavy hammer, smashing viciously into everyone's hearts.

"I want to undergo brainwashing different from the Puppet Protocol." Her voice began to tremble as she slowly lowered her head. "The kind... that replaces memories."

Her voice was soft, yet it was like a sharp dagger piercing through everyone's psychological defenses.

Melina's face instantly turned pale, her lips trembling. "Nat... do you know what you're saying?"

Alexei slammed his palm against the table and rose. A section of the wooden tabletop shattered beneath his hand. "No! Absolutely not!"

Yelena, held in 2B's arms, seemed to sense the heaviness in the atmosphere as well. Her little hands clutched tightly at 2B's collar. "YoRHa sister... what is brainwashing?"

Chen Tian's pupils contracted slightly as he slowly stood. "Nat, you know what that means."

"I know." Natasha raised her head, determination gleaming in her emerald eyes. "It means I'll forget everything I shared with all of you."

"But only then will S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lie detectors believe that I really am a 'controlled Avenger.'"

Melina rushed in front of Natasha and gripped her shoulders tightly. "Have you gone mad? The side effects of the brainwashing procedure are irreversible! Even if we remove the control later, your memories could be permanently damaged!"

Natasha felt her adoptive mother's trembling hands, yet a faint smile rose to her lips. "Melina, you taught me that the most perfect lie is one even you believe."

"But you have to remember, okay?"

Natasha still smiled. "Remember to bury my mission deep within my memories. I don't want to forget our Blood Bag Mission while forgetting all of you."

The room sank into a terrifying silence, broken only by the faint hum of the ventilation system.

Chen Tian's gaze searched Natasha's face, trying to find even the slightest trace of wavering. But the girl's eyes remained as firm as ever, just like that little girl in 1995 who had insisted on becoming an agent.

"Are you sure?" His voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

Natasha took a deep breath. "I have only one condition."

"Say it."

"Before the procedure begins..." Her eyes swept over everyone in the room. "I hope... we can spend this time properly."

2B suddenly spoke. "Master, perhaps there is another option." She did not want Natasha to become like that either. "I can develop a neural interference device that simulates brainwashing, allowing Nat to display symptoms of being controlled while retaining her core memories."

Chen Tian shook his head. "The risk is too great. S.H.I.E.L.D. has the most advanced brainwave scanning technology. Simulated signals will be easily exposed."

Madara's figure appeared soundlessly in the corner. "Sharingan genjutsu can create a perfect simulation."

"But it cannot be maintained long-term." Chen Tian rejected the suggestion. "Nat needs to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. for years. There will always be a risk of the genjutsu failing."

Amid the argument, Natasha suddenly smiled.

It was a smile that retained a hint of childishness, yet was exceptionally mature.

"See? That's why it has to be me," she said softly. "Because only a true Black Widow can deceive everyone."

Yelena suddenly broke free from 2B's arms and threw herself at Natasha. "I don't want big sister to forget me!"

Natasha crouched down and hugged the little girl tightly. "Silly girl, I'll remember. I definitely will."

Her gaze passed over Yelena's shoulder and met Chen Tian's.

In that moment, Chen Tian saw something flickering in her eyes—

It was not fear, nor was it hesitation.

It was an almost devout trust.

"Fine." Chen Tian finally nodded, his voice hoarse. "But we'll develop a memory trigger mechanism."

He walked toward the holographic projection console and brought up a complex set of neural diagrams. "We'll bury a 'key' in the deepest part of your subconscious. When you hear a sound at a specific frequency, it will activate your true memories."

Melina still gripped Natasha's hand tightly. "At least... at least wait three years before doing it."

"No." Natasha shook her head. "On the day Sky Red Room is completed."

She rose to her feet, her red hair dancing like flames beneath the lights. "Before then, I will become the Red Room's most perfect weapon."

"And after that..."

A sly curve formed at the corner of her lips.

"I will become S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra's most perfect fuse."

After the meeting ended, the safehouse lights seemed dimmer than usual.

Melina was the first to leave. Her back was as rigid as a steel plate, and even her footsteps were heavier than usual. Alexei chased after her, and the metal door slammed heavily behind him.

2B watched Natasha help the little girl tidy the loose strands of hair by her temples, then suddenly spoke. "Master, I can optimize the memory trigger algorithm."

"Do it, 2B. You must make sure Natasha does not get hurt because of my..." Chen Tian paused. "Because of my plan."

Madara's figure flickered in and out of the shadows, the red glow of his Sharingan flashing briefly. "Are you sure you want her to go this far?"

Chen Tian did not answer. His gaze passed through the translucent streams of data and landed on Natasha, who was teasing Yelena. The red-haired girl's eyes curved with her smile, as though the person who had just decided to undergo memory erasure was not her.

Is she really not afraid?

Or...

Has she already learned to hide her fear inside a smile?

On a night in Moscow, the wind was far colder than in other cities. Natasha sat at the edge of a rooftop, looking down at the brightly lit city.

"Can't sleep?" Chen Tian sat down beside Natasha.

"I was thinking about my Memory Key." Natasha turned to him with a radiant smile.

"Do you think I'm cruel?" Chen Tian looked into the distance.

"Yes, very cruel. But I think I understand you a little." Natasha followed his gaze into the distance.

"Because of that guy in Kathmandu, you disappear from time to time. But as the Red Room's commander-in-chief, you have no choice but to consider the Red Room's future—especially whether it can withstand a joint assault from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra after you suddenly disappear."

"So you had no choice but to make a long-term plan, sending out a spy like me so we can survive in the cracks while growing stronger."

Natasha's smile bloomed. "Hey, when I think about it that way, my role is pretty important!"

Chen Tian did not smile, because there was nothing amusing about it.

"I'm sorry, Nat."

"You should never have had to bear this. I pulled you out of Dreykov's mire, only to push you into another one with my own hands."

Natasha tilted her head and looked at Chen Tian. "Chen Tian, I've decided."

Chen Tian turned to look at Natasha. Smiling, she said, "My Memory Key."

"Let it be the sound frequency of you smiling as you call me 'Nat.'"

Chen Tian's eyes widened. That sentence—Let it be the sound frequency of you smiling as you call me 'Nat'—directly completed the timeline's closed loop.

[2009, Stark Industries Charity Gala.]

["I thought we were already quite familiar, Nat."]

["At least three minutes ago, you said you wanted to 'teach' me a lesson."]

["Quit running your mouth!"]

["There's no one like you in our database. Talk. Who exactly are you?"]

[Chen Tian smiled faintly. "Nat, before we continue this interesting interrogation—"]

In 2009, on the rooftop of the hotel hosting the Stark Industries gala, Chen Tian stood with his hands raised and a smile on his face. Natasha stood before him, wariness in her eyes. When she heard Chen Tian call her Nat with a smile, the hand holding her gun trembled ever so slightly, the movement almost imperceptible.

Chen Tian's expression relaxed. Still smiling, he looked into the distance once more.

"Fine. We'll use that."

Natasha also smiled as she looked into the distance.

In the distance, a birch tree stubbornly extended its branches from a crack in the concrete, its tender green leaves swaying gently in the night wind.

(Birch trees can grow tenaciously even at temperatures of minus thirty to forty degrees Celsius. They are pioneer species, meaning they can rapidly grow in burned areas or barren soil and create a living environment for other plants.)

Sky Red Room had originally been one of Dreykov's major research projects. Over the years, he had been developing the project to varying degrees.

Therefore.

After Chen Tian announced that the Red Room would go completely dormant, all funding and resources were redirected to continue developing the project.

In only two months, Sky Red Room was fully completed.

That meant Natasha would become the Black Widow in Chen Tian's plan in the time to come.

The metal walls of Sky Red Room's core laboratory glinted coldly. Natasha lay flat on the operating table, a silver-white neural link device spread across her temples like a spiderweb.

"Final confirmation." Melina's voice echoed through the sterile room. "Neural link completion at ninety-eight percent. Memory encryption program ready."

Chen Tian stood before the observation window, his knuckles tapping unconsciously against the reinforced glass. "What about the emotional stabilizer?"

"Injection complete." 2B's fingers flew over the control panel. "But Master... do we really have no other choice?"

Natasha suddenly opened her eyes on the operating table, her emerald pupils like two deep pools beneath the surgical lamp. "YoRHa sister, this is the path I chose."

Yelena pressed her little face against the observation window, her breath fogging the glass. "Big sister looks like a robot from a science fiction movie..."

Alexei's large hand rested on his younger daughter's shoulder. The usually rough man spoke in a hoarse voice. "Nat, it's not too late to change your mind."

Natasha gently shook her head, her red hair spreading across the pure white surgical pillow like blood. "Begin."

Melina took a deep breath. The instant she pressed the activation button, the laboratory's emergency lights abruptly turned dark red.

[Multilayer Memory Reconstruction Program Initiated]

[Countdown: 30 Minutes]

One month later, S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

Fury's single eye stared at the intelligence report in his hand, his fingers tapping out a rapid rhythm on the desktop.

The projection displayed murder scenes across seven different locations—every victim was a S.H.I.E.L.D. informant, each with the same knife wound across the throat.

"Seven already." Fury's voice was hoarse. "Seven intelligence sources precisely eliminated in two weeks."

Coulson quickly swiped across his tablet. "The way these victims died was highly professional." He enlarged a photograph. "These wounds... it's as though they were made by a machine."

"You should know, none of the people giving us intelligence were good men." Fury sneered. "They were either government officials from some country or major arms dealers."

The office door suddenly slid open, and Barton entered with the night wind, rainwater still clinging to his tactical uniform. "You called me in this late just to look at murder scene photos?"

Fury tossed the file onto the desk. "Clint, hand over the mission you're currently handling first."

His finger tapped a blurry photograph, where a vague streak of red could be seen.

"Find this red-haired person."