Sunbathing at Ten Thousand Meters and an Uninvited Guest

At ten thousand meters above the ground, sunlight poured down without obstruction, pure and fierce. There was no clamor here, only the eternal howl of the wind and blazing light that seemed capable of shining straight through one's soul. Xiao Han floated above the clouds like a tiny yet unignorable star in the universe, greedily drawing in the sun's gift.

The growth of his strength was no longer a trickling stream, but a roaring river, surging through every corner of his body. Every heartbeat seemed to echo the sun's pulse, becoming stronger and more prolonged.

He could feel his skin becoming tougher beneath the sunlight, his bones like alloy reforged anew, the energy within his muscle fibers rising exponentially. The sensation of constantly growing stronger intoxicated him.

New York City below had shrunk into an exquisite sandbox model. Sirens, cries of alarm, the buzzing of news helicopters... all that noise was filtered through the thick layers of air, becoming nothing more than indistinct whispers by the time it reached Xiao Han's ears. He did not care in the slightest, just as humans did not care about the busyness of ants beneath their feet.

His super-hearing spread like an invisible web across a vast area, filtering through an ocean of information. At that moment, he clearly caught a particular fragment of conversation, thick with tightly suppressed tension and caution.

"...Target confirmed. At the designated coordinates, altitude ten thousand eight hundred meters, hovering in place..."

"...Fury's orders are to make contact and assess with top priority. Natasha, do not do anything unnecessary..."

"...Understood. Quinjet entering silent mode, preparing to approach for observation... Damn it, how is he doing this? There is no propulsion signature at all..."

Xiao Han kept his eyes closed, but the corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc. They're here. A little slower than I expected.

He remained suspended in the same position, as though he had entered the deepest meditation. Time seemed to lose all meaning in the high sky.

After an unknown amount of time, the faint hum of an engine, nearly entirely concealed by the wind, intruded upon this high-altitude domain like the buzz of a mosquito. The source of the sound approached with extreme professionalism and extreme slowness, carefully inching closer.

To ordinary humans, the Quinjet, painted matte black and built with an exceptionally streamlined shape, was practically invisible.

But beneath Xiao Han's super-vision, it stood out like a firefly in the night. He could even clearly see the woman inside the cockpit, dressed in a black skintight combat suit, her fiery red hair and delicate features cold as ice—Natasha Romanoff, code-named Black Widow.

The Quinjet hovered like a ghost roughly fifty meters away from Xiao Han. For a high-speed fighter jet, that distance was practically face-to-face. The hatch slid open without a sound, and powerful airflow instantly rushed into the cabin.

Natasha wore no additional protective gear. Secured only by a safety line, she stood at the open hatch. The fierce high-altitude winds whipped her fiery red hair into a frenzy, while her skintight combat suit outlined her agile, explosively powerful figure.

She carried no weapon, and her posture appeared relaxed, but her sharp green eyes were like the most sophisticated scanners, fixed firmly on the figure floating amid golden light.

"Hey!" Natasha's voice rang clearly beside Xiao Han's ear through a specialized communicator. Her tone carried deliberately cultivated charm mixed with surprise, curiosity, and a hint of laziness, as if greeting an old friend. "How's the view up there? Mind if someone joins your sunbath?"

Xiao Han finally opened his eyes unhurriedly. His deep black gaze turned toward Natasha, calm and unruffled, as though he had known she was there all along. Sunlight scattered flecks of gold in his eyes.

"The view?" he said. His voice was not loud, yet it steadily pierced through the wind and the faint engine noise, clearly reaching Natasha's ears and the Quinjet's internal communications channel. "Not bad. A bit dazzling, though."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across Natasha's carefully crafted pose. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly in an amused smile. "But are you sure you came up here to sunbathe, Agent Romanoff? Dressed like that, you look more like you're about to carry out a mission at a nightclub."

The professional smile on Natasha's face froze for a tenth of a second. He had exposed her identity! And so casually, as though they were discussing the weather.

Fury's intelligence had warned that this person was unfathomable, but facing him in person, the naked feeling of being seen through at a glance still sent a chill through her heart. She swiftly composed herself, and her smile became even brighter. "Oh? You know me? Looks like I'm more famous than I thought. Or... did Director Fury give me some 'advertising' with you?"

She tried to steer the topic toward Fury, probing for a possible connection between Xiao Han and S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Advertising?" Xiao Han scoffed. His body flipped naturally in midair, changing from lying on his back to lying facedown. Propping his chin on one hand, he watched Natasha with interest as though admiring an interesting exhibit. "I'm not interested in that one-eyed boss of yours or his 'advertising.'

But you, Agent, flew all the way up here in this noisy 'iron bird' just to ask whether the scenery was nice? Has S.H.I.E.L.D.'s travel budget become that generous?"

His words were filled with undisguised mockery and contempt for S.H.I.E.L.D. Natasha keenly caught the key phrase—"noisy." Clearly, the Quinjet's prized silent mode was still a source of noise to him.

"Director Fury only wishes to express goodwill," Natasha said, ignoring Xiao Han's mockery. She maintained a professional smile, her voice gentle but carrying unquestionable force. "A... special existence like you is vital to Earth's stability.

We hope to establish a channel of communication and provide necessary support and protection. After all, it is lonely at the top. Friends are better than enemies, aren't they?"

"Goodwill? Support? Protection?" Xiao Han seemed to have heard an absurd joke. Even his shoulders trembled slightly as he laughed, his voice low and faintly mocking. "Don't make me laugh, Agent Romanoff.

Your director is probably staring at a screen right now, calculating whether this 'human-shaped sun' is a controllable asset or a potential threat. He's probably wondering whether to use nuclear warheads or that 'female captain' he has hidden off-world to deal with me."

Natasha's pupils suddenly contracted! Carol Danvers's existence was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secret! One of Fury's trump cards! This man... he even knew about that?! A chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

As though he had not seen the fleeting shock in Natasha's eyes, Xiao Han continued in that careless tone that stabbed straight into the heart with every word. "As for friends? Enemies?" He gently shook his head, his gaze holding the indifference of someone looking down at ants. "I don't need friends, and I have no interest in making enemies.

I just want to sunbathe in peace." His gaze swept over the Quinjet behind Natasha, and obvious impatience filled his eyes. "But you, and those buzzing 'flies' below, are really annoying. Like..."

He seemed to search for an apt comparison. His gaze landed on Natasha's fiery red hair, and a mischievous smile curled across his lips. "...Like trying to tickle a tiger's nose with a feather while it is napping. What do you think the tiger would think?"

Natasha's heart sank. The other party's posture and words made one thing clear: he did not care about S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury's recruitment or threats, or perhaps even the balance of power across the entire Earth!

His definition of "annoying" was any disturbance to his sunbathing! And the consequences of disturbing him... the commander's charred palm beneath the Empire State Building was a bloody example!

"We have no intention of disturbing you, Mr. Xiao," Natasha swiftly changed tactics, her tone becoming more earnest. "It is only that your existence and power are too... dazzling. We need to understand, to ensure..."

"Ensure what?" Xiao Han cut her off. His tone abruptly turned cold, the amusement vanishing from his eyes and replaced by an icy, nearly tangible oppression. It felt as though the surrounding air had instantly frozen solid.

"Ensure I won't suddenly feel like flipping Manhattan Island over and using it as a sandbox? Or ensure that before I 'go crazy,' you can call that female captain off-world back to save the day?"

Natasha felt as though an invisible giant hand had clamped around her throat, making it difficult even to breathe. The pure pressure of power radiating from him made even a top agent seasoned by countless battles feel her heart tremble.

"Listen, Red," Xiao Han's voice returned to calm, though the chill had not faded. "Go back and tell that one-eyed man that I'm not interested in his games.

Don't come bother me, and don't think about testing my limits. I'll sunbathe, and you can play your little games. We stay out of each other's way, and everyone lives in peace."

He paused, glancing at the hovering Quinjet. His tone carried obvious disdain. "Now take this noisy heap of scrap metal of yours, along with that... hmm, agent-grade disinfectant smell on you, and get away from me. You're blocking my sunlight."

It was a naked order to leave! Completely merciless!

The professional smile on Natasha's face finally vanished completely, replaced by gravity and frustration. She had never encountered a target so impervious to persuasion and coercion, yet so powerful it inspired despair.

Fury's "contact assessment" mission looked utterly pale and laughable in the face of his overwhelming power and unpredictable attitude.

"Director Fury won't give up," she said at last. It was both a statement and a veiled warning.

"Oh?" Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, and that playful smile that made Natasha's heart pound returned to his face. "Then let him try. Let's see whether he's faster at calling for help, or whether I am at growing stronger from sunbathing.

Or..." He deliberately drew out the last word, his gaze sweeping over the Quinjet. "...should I help you save some money right now?"

Alarm bells blared in Natasha's mind! She did not doubt for a second that the monster before her could tear apart the Quinjet in an instant! She instinctively took a step back, one hand pressing her communicator. "Retreat! Immediately..."

But she had not finished speaking.

Xiao Han merely casually waved a hand toward the Quinjet.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no energy beam. Yet an invisible, irresistible force appeared out of thin air and viciously "slapped" the Quinjet's side like swatting a fly!

BANG—!!!

A dull boom so powerful it made hearts and souls tremble! The advanced fighter, weighing more than ten tons, was like a toy struck by a giant's baseball bat. Without the slightest ability to resist, it spun and tumbled as that colossal force instantly sent it flying hundreds of meters away! Its engines let out a piercing wail, and alarms shrieked miserably through the high sky!

Natasha was violently flung from the hatch by the massive inertia. Only the safety line kept her from being thrown out entirely. Her entire body slammed into the cold cabin wall, stars exploding before her eyes as though her organs had all shifted out of place.

"Next time," Xiao Han's damned voice clearly entered her ringing ears like a parasite clinging to bone, "if you dare fly into my 'private sunbathing zone' again, I'll crumple it into scrap metal and send it back to your director as a paperweight. Now, get lost."

That final "get lost" pierced into her mind like an ice pick.

Gritting her teeth, Natasha endured the dizziness and churning blood in her chest as she roared into the communicator, "Retreat! Maximum thrust! Get out of here!"

The damaged Quinjet struggled to stabilize itself. Its engines erupted with blue flames at maximum power, and like a spooked wild horse, it fled this terrifying airspace at top speed in a crooked, lurching path, escaping miserably toward the clouds below.

At ten thousand meters above the ground, peace instantly returned.

Xiao Han let out a satisfied breath, as though he had merely chased away a noisy crow. He adjusted his posture, stretched out again, and let sunlight pour over every inch of his body without obstruction.

"Finally quiet," he muttered, closing his eyes and once again immersing himself in the unparalleled pleasure of becoming stronger.

Power flowed ceaselessly through his body like boiling magma.

Trouble? He had crushed it.

The sunlight remained brilliant.

And inside the fleeing Quinjet.

Natasha leaned against the cold cabin wall, breathing heavily. Fine beads of cold sweat covered her forehead, and lingering fright remained in her eyes.

She looked at the flashing red alarms in the cabin and the warped side-wing structure. The pilot's terrified report came through the communications channel. "...The side wing is severely deformed! Engine output is down thirty percent! We almost broke apart! God, he only waved his hand..."

Natasha ignored him. Fury's voice came through her communicator, low in a way that was almost terrifying. "Report the situation, Natasha."

She drew a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound steady, but an imperceptible tremor still betrayed the storm in her heart.

"Director... assessment result: extremely dangerous, completely uncontrollable. He knows everything about us... everything, including Carol's existence.

His power... is unfathomable, far beyond all estimates. His attitude... is extremely self-centered, treating rules as nothing. Contact strategy... has completely failed. Recommendation..."

She paused, watching the clouds race past outside the window. Recalling those cold black eyes that looked at people like ants, as well as the devastating force behind that casual wave, she struggled to force out two words.

"...Stay away."

Deep underground at S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters.

Nick Fury watched the damaged footage transmitted back by the Quinjet on the screen, as well as Natasha's final words—"stay away." His single eye held unprecedented gravity and... a trace of helplessness.

He picked up the ancient pager, his knuckles whitening from the force of his grip. But in the end, he slowly and heavily put it back into his pocket.

He looked at the satellite image of the figure bathing in sunlight like a god ten thousand meters above the ground. In a low voice filled with deep wariness, he muttered to himself.

"A monster that grows stronger just by sunbathing... Xiao Han... what exactly... are you?"