A Fake Marvel Universe?

Kino left, having gotten what he wanted.

To be honest, he hadn't wanted to get tangled up with S.H.I.E.L.D. so quickly.

If he had transmigrated into some insignificant little place, he would have simply controlled some big shot and successfully moved into a hotel. Then he would have dealt with the chief of some police station and gotten himself a household registration, ID card, bank card, and everything else.

Then he would have quietly built up his strength.

Unfortunately, he hadn't landed in the right place.

He had actually dropped straight into Scarlett... uh, "Black Widow" Natasha Romanoff's room. He had no choice but to approach S.H.I.E.L.D. first. After all, their efficiency was far greater than the police department's.

He had even taken on the identity of a "consultant" to intimidate them.

Only the "Iron Triangle" remained in the secret room—Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Maria Hill. Grant Ward had gone to carry out the director's orders. Well, the plan to secretly destroy Hydra.

That had been Kino's idea as well.

Grant Ward had originally been a troublemaker, stirring up chaos everywhere. Well, in the first three seasons! That bastard had nearly brought down S.H.I.E.L.D. Now he could turn around and bring Hydra down instead.

Kino had only singled out Grant's branch. He did not care about the other Hydra big shots. After all, this was merely a five-hundred-thousand-dollar deal.

What the hell did the rest have to do with him?

"Other than the three of us, a fourth person cannot be allowed to know about this," Nick Fury said gravely.

"I'm afraid the fourth person already knows," Coulson said bitterly.

"Huh?" After thinking for a moment, Nick Fury knew who he meant. His face darkened. "That bastard doesn't count!"

Coulson: "..."

"Hill, I think his 'proposal' is well worth considering!" Nick Fury said, turning to her.

Maria Hill was no fool. She understood immediately. "Aren't you afraid I'll become a second Grant Ward?"

Remembering the Soul-Eating Bug, Nick Fury felt a chill run down his spine.

"Obviously, that won't happen!"

"Oh?"

"He's clearly interested in you. I can tell that he's the sort who cherishes women. And he insisted on making you his Watcher. Hmph, it's obvious he doesn't take S.H.I.E.L.D. seriously at all."

Maria Hill nodded. "Are you sure... I'll be able to obtain intelligence if I go?"

"Since he asked you to go, it's obvious he won't hide things from you. If he had truly wanted to force himself on you, I couldn't have protected you at all just now, so..."

All three of them understood that the "information" Kino had been willing to reveal was definitely unimportant. Well, at least unimportant to him. But S.H.I.E.L.D. could not simply ignore it. Even the smallest scrap of intelligence was extremely valuable to them, since it came from another world.

They had to confirm that Kino truly posed no threat to this world.

Obviously, a "Watcher" was indispensable.

However, against a powerful "superhuman," agents lurking in the shadows were pointless. Professor X had already given them enough experience with that.

So the most straightforward approach was to do as Kino said and assign him a personal Watcher.

An open scheme—knowing there was a tiger on the mountain, yet walking toward it anyway.

After hesitating again and again, Maria Hill still shook her head. "I rarely go into the field. Perhaps Natasha would be more suitable."

"NO! NO! NO!" Nick Fury shook his head. "Hill, you are the most suitable candidate."

"Why?"

"Setting aside the fact that Kino personally chose you, there are three other reasons."

"First, Kino is clearly interested in you. You can try to draw him out a little, but you must judge the limits yourself. I'm not telling you to take off your clothes. I'm telling you not to anger him."

"Second, that Book of Kino is very dangerous. Even if it isn't the Darkhold... it probably isn't far off. I'm not asking you to steal it. You must make sure he doesn't use that book to harm this world."

"Third, I have a feeling that he... doesn't like Natasha very much."

"What?"

Maria Hill froze. The first two reasons were at least reasonable, but what was that third one supposed to mean? If he did not like Natasha, would he have held her all the way here and refused to put her down? Besides, according to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, Natasha had never failed to seduce a man.

Would any man not like such a fragrant, stunning beauty?

"Director, are you joking with me?"

"No!... It's just my own feeling." Nick Fury shook his head. "I hear Easterners have very strict requirements for their other half. They demand absolute fidelity. No cheating!"

Maria Hill: "..."

They had gotten to "other half" already? Director, were you serious?

Sure enough, the older the ginger, the spicier it was.

Kino really did mind that sort of thing. Call it male chauvinism or an intense possessive streak, but in any case, he did not like Natasha very much. Of course, taking a little advantage was fine, but sleeping with her was out of the question. He had no desire to become one of the countless men she had been with.

Natasha should have been ninety years old. Though her appearance had not aged, she was still a ninety-year-old ageless beauty! Setting aside her first fifteen years as a minor, she still had seventy-five years of youth! How many male creatures do you think had fallen into her endless pit during those seventy-five years?

Captain America, Hawkeye, Stark, even Hulk—never mind those superheroes rumored to have been her lovers. She had also been carrying out spy missions for over half a century. The men she had hooked up with probably had to be counted by reinforced company.

Compared to Black Widow, Kino preferred Maria Hill. Though she had a cold personality, she was absolutely the perfect woman to marry and make a housewife.

She could cook, she could handle social occasions, and most importantly, she would not cheat so casually!

"So, you... Of course, I won't force you if you refuse," Nick Fury said.

Maria Hill thought for a while, then nodded. "All right!"

"Good! Coulson, come with me. We need to formulate a plan to reel in the big fish, Garrett."

"Okay."

After leaving the secret room, Maria Hill ran into Natasha and hurriedly stopped her. "I'm going to monitor him. Can you tell me what kind of person he is?"

Him?

Who?

Who else could it be?

At the thought of that man, Black Widow's teeth ached with anger. "He's an asshole! An asshole with sick tastes!"

Without caring whether Maria Hill understood or not, she stormed off angrily.

"Sick tastes? Asshole..."

After mulling over those two words, Maria Hill shook her head. The description was far too vague. It looked like she would have to rely on herself.

Walking down a New York avenue and taking in the atmosphere that was both unfamiliar and familiar, Kino felt completely bewildered.

Did I fucking transmigrate into a fake Marvel Universe?

Look at those flashing neon screens in Times Square. Who was that woman on them?

What... Gal Gadot?

That was a Wonder Woman movie poster?

Did I fucking transmigrate into a fake Marvel Universe?

"Hey, buddy, give me a Marvel comic."

Though it felt absurd, Kino still walked over to a comic stand.

The middle-aged bald man inside had been dozing off. Hearing him, he rubbed his bleary eyes. "Marvel... what's that?"

What?

You didn't know Marvel?

Were you even American?

"You don't know it? Such a hugely popular comic, and you don't know it? The kind with X-Men and the Avengers."

"X-Men? Avengers? Hey, buddy, are you messing with me? Get lost, get lost! Stop disturbing my sleep!" The middle-aged bald man seemed annoyed and waved him away.

After being chased off, Kino was dumbfounded!

Holy shit!

He had definitely transmigrated into a fake Marvel Universe!

Refusing to believe it, he went to another newsstand.

"Marvel? Never heard of it."

Then another one.

"Hey, yellow monkey, this is the great United States. How could we possibly have your backwater little comics here? Get lost, get lost!"

Damn it, yellow monkey?

Forget it. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life!

"Marvel? No! Buddy, we only have DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, IDW Comics, Valiant Comics, Archie Comics, and so on. Never heard of Marvel."

"All right, thanks!"

Kino turned and left. On the giant screen across the street, a Fast & Furious 8 trailer starring Charlize Theron, known as the "South African Diamond," was playing in spectacular fashion.

From the information he had read from the memories of countless pedestrians, everything here was the same as Earth except that there was no "Marvel."

Of course, while Marvel did not exist, Mutants, Inhumans, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the like had appeared in this world.

The comic market here was practically dominated by DC alone.

Those Hollywood stars and everything else were all present too. Not a single one was missing.

Kino smacked his lips. Something about this world's style felt off, but it also gave him a strange new interest. At the very least, when he had nothing to do, he could still try his luck with Hollywood actresses!

Though they were a little far away.

"Forget it. Finding somewhere to stay is the priority."

Kino shook his head and stopped thinking about all that nonsense. He should buy a phone first.

In this world, aside from the clothes on his back, he had nothing.

Ten minutes later, Kino looked at the 5.8-inch iPhone X in his hand. Though he had more or less accepted this world's setup, it still felt rather surreal.

Apple? There really was Apple?

Iron Man had not appeared yet, and Tony Stark was still a playboy. Based on Earth from his previous life, filming should have begun on March 12, 2007, and the movie should have premiered on May 2, 2008.

The first-generation iPhone, meanwhile, had officially gone on sale on June 29, 2007.

If that timeline held, it should currently be 2007. Iron Man had not yet been born, and iPhones should not have existed either.

But what about now?

When he transmigrated, Earth had already gone through ten years of Marvel. Yet judging from the current situation, it was probably only Marvel Year One?

And Apple? It had actually released the iPhone X from ten years later!

"Uh?"

There was nothing more to say.

--

"Hello, Gelt Housing Agency. Sir, are you looking to buy a house or rent one?"

"I want to rent a..."

The beautiful agent's smile gradually faded. Damn it, another poor beggar. Renting brought nowhere near the commission that buying did! However, his next sentence made her smile again.

"A detached two-story or three-story house, preferably with a basement. It needs to be spacious, and I can rent it for a year at a time!"