The Adjudicator

(The rest of Black Widow's story would not be described. According to Chen Tian's plan, it was more or less the same as in the movies: Black Widow grew up, met Hawkeye at the right time, awakened her consciousness, blew up Budapest, and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. The difference was that she collected Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds and intelligence, allowing the Red Room to grow stronger.)

"Chen Tian, look at this." Wanda smiled as she used her Chaos Magic to weave flowers of different colors into a wreath and place it on her head.

"It's beautiful, Wanda. Your control over magic is getting better and better." Chen Tian stroked Wanda's head, and she narrowed her eyes like a kitten.

"Hey, Chen Tian, don't make me run so far next time, okay? I really can't speak German." Pietro suddenly appeared beside Chen Tian and handed him a bag containing the signature Grillhaxe roasted pork knuckle from Zum Alten Markt in Dortmund, also known as the Old Town Square Restaurant or the Old Market Tavern.

"Hehe, I was training you." Chen Tian grinned at Pietro.

"Thanks. Next time, let someone else do this kind of 'training.'" Pietro rolled his eyes, recalling with disgust how he had waved his arms around while trying to order food in a German restaurant.

2B took the bag from Pietro and gently opened it—the rich aroma of roasted meat immediately spread through the air.

"Fine, fine, but next time, send me somewhere they speak English, okay?" Pietro answered Chen Tian, but his eyes kept drifting toward the pork knuckle in the bag.

2B unwrapped the package and cut the golden, crispy pork knuckle into small pieces. She handed Wanda a piece with crackling first. The little girl happily accepted it, then puffed on it because it was too hot.

"Eat slowly," 2B softly reminded her. Then she handed Pietro a piece. "You ran so far. You worked hard."

Pietro immediately beamed. "YoRHa big sister is the best!" He took the meat and deliberately bit into it in front of Chen Tian as if showing off.

Chen Tian smiled at the two children's cheerful antics. Everything he had done before seemed worthwhile. As for why they would later join Baron Strucker, he was probably the one who had meddled in that as well. But they were still so young now. He should let them enjoy their childhood first.

A piece of meat floated up and wobbled over to Chen Tian's mouth. Wanda opened her little mouth wide and said to him, "Ah—"

Chen Tian smiled and caught it in his mouth, then rubbed her brown hair. "Thank you, our little magician."

Sunlight gently spilled across the garden. Wanda and Pietro's laughter danced among the flowers. 2B sat quietly nearby, her silver hair lightly brushing in the breeze, while her gaze remained fixed on Chen Tian in front of her.

"Master, I found him." Madara's voice came through the summoning space.

The smile on Chen Tian's face slowly faded. "Very good."

Chen Tian stood up and patted the grass clippings from his clothes. "Wait here. I'm going to buy some oranges."

Wanda nodded obediently. Pietro waved, his mouth still stuffed with pork knuckle, while 2B looked at Chen Tian thoughtfully.

Chen Tian smiled at 2B, then slowly walked away.

In the woods some distance from the grassland, Chen Tian snapped his fingers. Malada appeared and bowed halfway to him. "Master, the target is in the Arctic."

"The Arctic? No wonder I couldn't find him in Siberia. What about now? Did you complete the task I gave you?"

"Yes, Master. Our Layered Memory Construction Program has deeply entered his mind. We can ensure that even after Steve Rogers awakens his consciousness, the deepest part of his mind will still seek to endanger the world. And he will believe that it is what he truly wants to do."

Chen Tian stretched lazily. "Ha, and did you implant the memory of Steve choosing to save someone else on the train instead of saving him?"

"Yes, Master. I guarantee that once the Memory Key is unlocked, he will remember all of those 'memories.'"

"What is the key?"

"Steve Rogers saying breathlessly: 'I can do this all day.'"

Chen Tian looked at Madara in surprise. "When did you become so wicked?"

The corner of Madara's mouth lifted slightly. "Dante taught me."

"Hahahaha, well done, well done." Chen Tian laughed and slapped Madara on the shoulder.

"Oh, right, Master. There is something else." Madara continued.

"Go on."

Madara's figure suddenly vanished. Two seconds later, he reappeared with a man and a woman in his hands.

They had both fainted, but judging by their clothes, they were wearing matching couple outfits? Sokovia had fashion like that?

"Master, I noticed these two had been secretly watching Wanda and Pietro."

Chen Tian raised an eyebrow. "Use your Sharingan. Extract all the information."

Madara's crimson Sharingan slowly turned. The captured man and woman twitched unconsciously under the illusion's control. Madara rapidly flipped through their memories as though they were pages in an open book—

"Hydra agents under Baron Strucker," Madara said slowly. "They received orders three days ago to monitor these twins. The reason was..."

The scene flashed back to a Sokovian slum one week earlier. Wanda had accidentally used Chaos Magic to save an injured stray cat, while Pietro had demonstrated superhuman speed where no one was around. Hydra's hidden cameras had captured the scene.

"Interesting." Chen Tian rubbed his chin. "Strucker noticed them earlier than expected."

The memories continued to flow—Baron Strucker stared at the surveillance footage in a dim laboratory, his one eye gleaming with fanatical light. "Find them! This kind of talent is exactly what our Human Evolution Plan needs!"

Madara suddenly frowned. "Master, inside their bodies..."

As the Sharingan probed deeper, the outline of miniature bombs emerged beneath the skin on the agents' necks—Hydra's signature death-insurance devices.

Chen Tian waved to Madara. "Don't worry about that yet. Find Baron Strucker's location."

"Norway... Trondheim... underground facility..." Madara recited the information word by word. "Coordinates... 63°25' north latitude..."

Chen Tian stood with his hands in his pockets and quietly listened to every detail. His gaze settled on the Hydra tattoos on the pair's wrists, and a cold smile curled across his lips.

"No wonder I couldn't find Strucker in that Sokovian castle before. So he hadn't come here yet."

After ending the Sokovian war, Chen Tian had cooperated with the Red Room to sweep through the country for Hydra's whereabouts. He had even tried to locate Baron Strucker, who had been staying in the Sokovian castle in 2010.

However, that castle was still in the hands of an old European aristocrat. The old noble was fairly kindhearted and had turned the castle into a refugee shelter. That was why Chen Tian had not seized it, only having the Red Room establish surveillance within it.

Madara's Sharingan slowly lost its bloody hue, and the controlled Hydra agents collapsed limply to the ground.

He asked Chen Tian, "Master, do you need me to deal with Strucker?"

Chen Tian rubbed his chin and thought, Before I transmigrated, Wanda said I died in an explosion. What was that about?

"Master?"

Chen Tian came back to himself and waved a hand. "Not yet. Implant memories into these two agents. Have them report to Strucker—the children are a S.H.I.E.L.D. trap."

Madara's Sharingan began turning again, the tomoe in his crimson pupils slowly rotating. The two unconscious Hydra agents suddenly convulsed violently as their memories were precisely altered—

"Target suspected to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. trap... at least three agents are lying in ambush nearby... requesting immediate withdrawal..."

Chen Tian watched Madara's work with satisfaction, then added, "Give them something extra."

Madara understood. He lightly tapped the pair's temples with his fingers. Their muscles suddenly tightened as if they were enduring a brutal battle. Images of a firefight with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were implanted into their memories, perfectly simulating the pain of bullets piercing their shoulders and knives slicing open their ribs.

"The wounds need to be real," Chen Tian said coldly.

Chakra gathered at Madara's fingertips as he precisely created gunshot and knife wounds on the two agents. Blood immediately soaked through their clothes, but every wound avoided a fatal area.

"Now," Chen Tian said, crouching before the two agents, "go tell your master what you have learned."

Madara formed a hand seal with one hand. The two agents suddenly opened their eyes wide, the Sharingan pattern reflected in their pupils. They mechanically rose to their feet and staggered out of the forest, blood dripping behind them.

Norway... Trondheim Underground Base

Baron Strucker's one eye stared fixedly at the encrypted communications screen. The signal came through in fits and starts.

"Sir... it's a trap..." one of them said with difficulty, his voice hoarse. "S.H.I.E.L.D... ambush... targets... bait..."

Before he could finish, he broke into a violent coughing fit. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and he collapsed. The other agent struggled to raise a hand and entered an emergency code into the communicator.

"Useless trash!" Strucker smashed his wineglass, scattering fragments everywhere. "Cut all outside contact immediately! Withdraw the Sokovian observation point!"

The adjutant hesitated. "But those twins' talents—"

"Are you deaf?" Strucker seized him by the throat. "Fury is fishing! Those two mutant children are his bait!"

At that moment, the groans of the two agents abruptly stopped. They forced out hoarse growls from their throats—

"Hail Hydra."

Strucker heard only a booming explosion from the communicator. Then the transmission turned into static.

Strucker's expression turned utterly grim. He stepped back twice and issued orders at once. "Activate the base self-destruct protocol. Everyone, relocate to the backup site!"

The adjutant immediately carried out the order, but just as he entered the command, the system suddenly displayed a warning—

[External intrusion detected: Communications signal has been traced]

Strucker's pupils suddenly shrank. He yanked out his pistol and fired several shots at the server terminal, sparks flying everywhere.

"Move!" he growled, turning and rushing into the emergency passageway. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will be here any moment!"

Sokovian Outskirts

Chen Tian sat on a hillside as Madara's figure slowly appeared beside him. "The message has been delivered. Strucker is destroying the files and is expected to evacuate the Norwegian base within forty-eight hours."

"Hahaha," Chen Tian chuckled. "Does he think S.H.I.E.L.D. really found him?"

His eyes turned toward Wanda and Pietro playing in the garden, while 2B sat quietly nearby.

"Let him keep running. The farther he runs..."

"...the moment we need him, he'll deliver himself to our door."

Madara frowned slightly. "Master, I do not understand. If you intend to use Strucker, why not control him directly?"

Chen Tian pulled a piece of candy from his pocket. Wanda had secretly slipped it to him earlier.

"Madara, do you know what the most interesting part of fishing is?" He slowly unwrapped the candy. "It isn't the moment you pull the fish ashore..."

The candy reflected a crystalline gleam in the sunlight.

"...it's watching the fish think it has escaped the hook, never realizing the line has been in your hand all along."

Wanda's bell-like laughter drifted from afar. Chen Tian tossed the candy into his mouth, sweetness spreading over his tongue.

Norwegian Border · Hydra's Secret Evacuation Route

Baron Strucker's armored convoy sped through the wind and snow, its tires screeching against the frozen road.

Coordinates flickered across the tablet reflected in the Baron's one eye. It was his final backup location—Hydra's Arctic research base.

"Sir, the tracking signal has disappeared." The adjutant wiped cold sweat from his brow as he reported. "But the system shows... someone has infiltrated our database in reverse."

Strucker clenched the tablet so hard that its metal casing warped in his hand. "The Red Room... or S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Inside the vehicle, where the blizzard howled outside, no one dared answer.

Sokovia, B7 Safehouse, Basement

The projection screen before Chen Tian displayed Strucker's convoy route in real time. 2B stood before the stream of data. "Master, the tracking program has been successfully implanted. Strucker is moving along the expected route."

"Very good." Chen Tian tapped the armrest with his fingertips. "Have Natasha 'accidentally' leak these coordinates to S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Budapest operation."

The projection suddenly shifted to Arctic glaciers, where a broad-shouldered figure floated in blue liquid beneath the ice. Madara emerged from the shadows. "There is no need to worry about Bucky Barnes anymore. As long as Steve Rogers says those words..."

"It will trigger another 'civil war,'" Chen Tian said with a smile. "But this time, the leads of the 'civil war' won't be Tony and Steve. It will be Steve and his best friend."

"Oh, right. Did we get Strucker's Human Evolution Plan data?"

2B brought up encrypted files. "It includes twenty-seven core technologies, including mutant gene grafting and mental-control modules."

Chen Tian's gaze turned colder. "Didn't I tell you to find Charles Xavier before? Send him this information."

Madara raised an eyebrow. "The mutant leader?"

"Let the X-Men play with Hydra." Chen Tian stood and walked toward the elevator. "Hasn't Xavier always been currying favor with the United Nations Security Council? Let him and Hydra beat each other senseless. In the end... Hydra will have no choice but to ask the United Nations Security Council to stop their war."

"Master, why bring the X-Men into this plan?" 2B did not quite understand.

"Because I want the X-Men too, especially that metal-bodied wild wolf."

Chen Tian pulled up a file. Several words were written in its title: The Adjudicator.

Xavier Institute · Cerebro Enhancement Chamber

Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair, one finger lightly pressed to his temple as his consciousness traveled through the thoughts of countless mutants. Suddenly, hurried footsteps interrupted his meditation.

"Professor!" Storm pushed open the door, anger blazing in her golden eyes. "I just received anonymous intelligence."

Charles frowned slightly and took the data tablet she handed him. The moment the file unfolded on the screen, his pupils suddenly contracted—

"Hydra · Human Evolution Plan"

Charles's fingers trembled slightly as he rapidly flipped through the document. Every page came with bloody experimental records and photographs of mutant test subjects.

"This..." Charles's voice was low and cold. "Hydra has been secretly capturing mutants?"

Storm clenched her fists, and static crackled through the air. "Professor, the intelligence also includes coordinates—the Arctic. There is an underground Hydra base there."

Charles closed his eyes, and his consciousness instantly spread across the entire institute. Several seconds later, he opened them, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Gather the X-Men."

Xavier Institute · Tactical Conference Room

Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Wolverine, and the others sat around the projector. Charles projected the intelligence in the center. When Wolverine saw his own experiment number, his claws shot out with a sharp clang, his Adamantium claws scraping harshly.

"These bastards..." Logan gritted his teeth, murder boiling in his eyes.

Jean gently pressed a hand to his shoulder, trying to calm him. "Logan, calm down."

"Calm down?" Logan sneered. "Charles, tell me. Are these experiments still ongoing?"

"We have to act." Cyclops rapped the table. "Our mutant brethren are suffering inhuman torment."

Beast pushed up his glasses, cold light reflecting off the lenses. "Charles, the Superhuman Registration Act passed only three months ago. If we act without authorization, the United Nations Security Council has every reason to revoke its protection agreement for mutants."

Storm shouted, "So we just stand by and watch our people get dissected?"

"Ororo!" Charles raised his hand to stop her. "Hank is right. We need to consider the consequences."

Wolverine's claws slid back in with a clang. He sneered. "Consequences? I'll tell you what the consequences are—" He pointed at the frozen mutant test subjects in the projection. "In another forty-eight hours, these people will become Hydra's weapons!"

Jean looked at the information. "Professor, Hank, those children in the files... the youngest are under ten."

The conference room fell silent.

Charles closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temple. A moment later, he opened them. "Hank, contact the United Nations Security Council. Apply for emergency operational authorization."

Beast swiftly operated the holographic terminal. "On what grounds?"

"An investigation into crimes against humanity." Charles's voice was cold. "Under the Geneva Convention, we have sufficient reason to suspect Hydra is developing genetic weapons."

Cyclops adjusted his visor. "What if they deny authorization?"

Charles's gaze swept over every X-Man before finally settling on Wolverine. "Then we execute Plan B."

Logan grinned, baring sharp canine teeth. "We should've done that from the start."

United Nations Security Council · Emergency Conference Hall

On the projection screen, Beast's image flickered slightly. "...based on the above evidence, we request immediate authorization for a raid on the Arctic Hydra base."

The Council representatives whispered among themselves. The representative from Russia voiced the first objection. "How can the X-Men guarantee that this will not trigger an international dispute? That is the Arctic Circle!"

The American representative tapped the table. "According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest intelligence, this base does exist. But armed mutant intervention..."

"This is not a mutant issue!" Beast suddenly raised his voice, and the holographic image distorted with his emotional fluctuation. "This is a threat facing all humanity! Hydra is using living people—including ordinary humans—for genetic modification experiments!"

The German representative frowned as he flipped through the documents. "The DNA samples on page forty-seven show that the test subjects include African, Asian, and European ancestry."

The British representative suddenly looked up. "Wait. What is the source of this intelligence?"

Beast's image paused for a second. "...an anonymous informant."

The conference hall immediately erupted in uproar.

"Enough." The United Nations Security Council Secretary-General raised a hand. "Put it to a vote: should the X-Men be authorized to participate in this operation?"

Five minutes later, the results were projected before Beast—three votes in favor, two against.

"Authorization approved." The Secretary-General's voice came through the communicator. "But there are two conditions: first, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents must supervise the entire operation; second, all captured Hydra data must be shared."

Beast's claws unconsciously left scratches across the tabletop. "...We accept the conditions."

Washington District, Alexander Pierce's office.

"Strucker! What the hell are you doing?!" Pierce roared furiously into the communicator.

"Why did the X-Men learn about such an important research project of ours?" His chest heaved violently. "Now the United Nations Security Council has approved an X-Men operation to deal with you in the Arctic! And why were the Arctic base's coordinates leaked too?!"

Strucker spoke slowly, his voice carrying the fatigue of constant flight and evacuation. "This wasn't an accident, Pierce... I fell into a S.H.I.E.L.D. trap."

Pierce narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. used two decoys. We walked into their ambush, which forced me to evacuate from Norway to the Arctic."

"Fury did this?" Pierce frowned. As the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council, he held an extremely high position in both the Council and S.H.I.E.L.D. Could Fury have bypassed him and obtained all this?

"I don't know either, but this time, it was indeed my fault."

"All right. The X-Men should be preparing to depart now. You should still have a few hours to prepare." Pierce rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Heh. If it were anyone else, I might be a little worried. Mutants? I haven't spent all these years researching mutants for fun." Strucker sounded somewhat smug. "You, on the other hand, Pierce—why has the funding here been reduced so much lately?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been interfering. Don't worry, I'll resolve this soon." Pierce placed his hand on the communicator's switch. "Strucker, don't screw this up."

After saying that, he shut off the communicator, stood up, picked up the coffee on his desk, and walked to the window.

"You've been a little too active lately, Fury."