Security consultant

Spotting a rocket flying toward him, Luke instantly covered his entire body in dark energy and used Shadow Form to reach safety.

The rocket exploded inside Luke's little apartment, destroying everything within.

When Luke emerged from Shadow Form, he was unsurprised to find his little home completely destroyed, but a strange smell in the air caught his attention.

Turning his head, Luke's eyes instantly widened. My damn stash!

Anger surged through him, and Ninja Soldiers appeared behind him one after another, their red eyes gleaming dangerously.

It was nighttime, and thugs stood holding various military firearms, with two armored vehicles parked nearby.

Seeing that the single shot had hit home, the leader ordered the thugs to charge, drag out the enemy's corpse, and hang him at the entrance to Hell's Kitchen, so everyone would know that the underworld emperor's authority could not be challenged!

Ninja Soldiers silently appeared behind the thugs instead. Sharp blades sliced through flesh, and thug after thug fell to the ground.

"Enemies!" A thug spotted his companions falling, shouted a warning, and fired at the ninjas who had appeared out of nowhere.

The ninjas swung the katanas in both hands in rapid succession, deflecting bullet after bullet, but the barrage was too dense, and they were shot dead before long.

One thug had just breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the ninjas' bodies had vanished.

A chill spread through him, and a katana pierced his chest.

More ninjas leaped from the darkness, scattering volleys of throwing stars that killed many thugs outright. More blades stabbed out of the shadows, reaping enemy lives one after another.

Watching these grim reapers, the leader was shocked but still tried hard to calm himself.

These guys are still vulnerable to bullets. They can be killed!

The leader told himself this and turned to order the armored vehicles to fire their machine guns, only to discover two ninjas and a young man in a T-shirt standing atop them.

The armored vehicles were silent because the Ninja Soldiers could slip directly inside through the gaps. The people inside were no tougher than those outside; in fact, the cramped space meant they were killed before they could even make a sound.

With a push of his foot, the armored vehicle slowly sank into the Shadow World. There, the metal box would be consumed and assimilated by dark energy, turning into dark energy itself, though the amount was tiny-not even 0.1 points.

The armored vehicle beneath his feet disappeared, leaving Luke and the two Ninja Soldiers standing on the ground.

"Could you tell me who sent you?" Luke asked the leader amiably.

"The underworld emperor won't spare you!" the leader shouted, then fired a shot into his own temple.

The underworld emperor?

Luke did not stop him, but looked thoughtful instead. "So it was him. Then did I accidentally ruin his business?"

What a hassle. Luke shook his head helplessly.

Still, he had a score to settle. Luke looked toward the tallest building in Hell's Kitchen. Then let's try finding him there.

Luke turned back. The Ninja Soldiers had already finished the battle.

Entering the Shadow World, Luke headed toward that building.

Kingpin looked at the intelligence his subordinates had sent and fell into thought.

A superhuman? That wasn't beyond my expectations.

Still, this is a little tricky. I'll have to resort to a few measures.

Luke made his way to the foot of the building. Kingpin had built it to flaunt his status. Even if Kingpin was not inside, it was still his property, so Luke could not go wrong coming here to cause trouble.

"I'll collect a little interest first." Ninjas appeared behind Luke one after another and ran toward the building.

A violent explosion suddenly erupted on the first floor, killing dozens of Ninja Soldiers.

"Heh, you really didn't hold back." Luke shook his head. The Ninja Soldiers could revive, so this had done him no harm whatsoever.

Sensing movement overhead, Luke looked up and saw two people jump straight down from the third floor.

Suicide? Luke raised an eyebrow and took a couple of steps aside, afraid of getting splashed with blood.

Yet neither suffered the slightest injury upon landing. Both wore special armor, though it was not as powerful as Iron Man's and could only assist the body's movements.

One held a massive axe, while the other carried two sharp ninja swords.

Seeing this display, Luke raised an eyebrow. The Marvel World really was full of hidden talent. Although Iron Man's armor had yet to appear, plenty of advanced technology already existed.

Back in his world, this kind of assistive exoskeleton armor was only just beginning to emerge, yet the Marvel World, whose timeline was still ten years earlier, already had such equipment in use.

As the two took their stances, Luke simply ordered all the Ninja Soldiers to attack. Several ninja swords slashed at them simultaneously, their coordination sealing off every escape route.

Facing the flashing blades, the two super soldiers' expressions changed. They had not expected such good teamwork from their enemies.

However, their mission was to draw the enemy's attention. Having all the Ninja Soldiers attack them also created an opportunity for the last man.

Thus, rather than advancing, the two retreated, charging straight into the Ninja Soldier Corps. Ignoring the flashing blades striking their bodies, they cleaved the Ninja Soldiers before them in half as the soldiers made no attempt to dodge, but several cuts were also carved into their armor.

"How could Kingpin be stupid enough to send idiots like you to your deaths?"

Watching their performance, Luke shook his head. He had wondered how strong these guys would be, thinking two minibosses had appeared, only to find they were a pair of reckless fools.

Five seconds passed. Before Luke even had time to summon the next wave of Ninja Soldiers, he watched the soldiers dismantle the two men's armor and shook his head helplessly.

Just then, a bullet flew silently toward Luke's head from an unidentified tall building behind him.

A Ninja Soldier appeared behind Luke and split the bullet with a single slash. Luke turned to look as well.

Looking at the dark building, Luke frowned. Ninja Soldiers appeared beside him one after another, then rapidly ran up the wall toward the upper floors.

Watching the Ninja Soldiers draw closer, the sniper gritted his teeth, quickly reloaded, and kept firing, but his shots were still blocked by the Ninja Soldier guarding Luke.

He watched in despair as the Ninja Soldiers closed in, the ninja swords in their hands flashing coldly as they cut him down on the spot.

After killing the enemy, the Ninja Soldier Corps immediately scattered to search for any other enemies nearby.

Seeing their companion die, the other snipers hiding nearby could no longer sit still. Several shots rang out, and several bullets flew simultaneously at Luke in their midst, but dark energy instantly enveloped him, and he sank into the shadows and disappeared.

The snipers stared wide-eyed at the spot where Luke had vanished. This had not only caused their coordinated attack to miss but also exposed their positions. Before long, several agile ninjas with glowing red eyes leaped into their rooms.

The gunmen drew the pistols at their waists and tried to fight back, but pistols were simply too weak against these Ninja Soldiers. The soldiers split the incoming bullets with two slashes, then reversed their blades and killed the gunmen.

Once the gunmen were dealt with, Luke reappeared in the same spot and watched the super soldiers being pinned to the ground by the Ninja Soldiers and beheaded with two strokes. Now no one remained to bar Luke's path.

Luke looked at the building before him, and Ninja Soldiers charged straight inside one after another.

To his disappointment, however, there was no one inside apart from some ordinary gangsters carrying guns.

After slaughtering the gangsters inside, the Ninja Soldiers smashed everything around them, discovered several hidden rooms, and slipped into the shadows and disappeared, taking some cash with them before leaving.

Luke turned around and spotted a car parked nearby, with Coulson standing beside it.

He walked over. "Are my identity documents ready?"

Coulson took out a file and handed it to Luke, ignoring the building that had descended into chaos.

"The director originally wanted us to give you some help, but clearly you don't need it," Coulson said, taking the opportunity.

"You could still help a little. If you don't mind, I can kill Kingpin for you."

Coulson shook his head. "We'll give you the locations of all his bases. There are many interests tied up with Kingpin. We don't encourage you to kill him, but we won't stop you either."

Luke nodded, understanding S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stance. He opened the file Coulson had handed him, only to find his photograph on an employee ID.

"Can you explain why I've become a security consultant for this whatever bureau?" Luke asked with a frown.

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," Coulson recited fluently before continuing.

"This credential can serve as identification, and it also entitles you to substantial discounts on certain transactions."

"Do those 'certain transactions' include full-service packages?" Luke asked curiously.

Maintaining an awkward yet polite smile, Coulson shook his head, leaving Luke a little disappointed.

"So you're planning to bring me into the fold?" Luke took out the little booklet inside and waved it back and forth in his hand.

"Actually, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have a security consultant position. This position was created for capable people who won't join S.H.I.E.L.D. As long as you don't cause trouble, you can receive a salary that covers basic living expenses even if you do nothing at all in your daily lives. When we need help, we'll ask you for assistance. If you're available, you can come help us, and we'll compensate you according to the circumstances."

"Of course, if you wish, we can issue you a formal employee ID. After training, you'll officially become a S.H.I.E.L.D. employee."

Luke thought it over. Rather than joining S.H.I.E.L.D. without knowing whether he would be working for Hydra or Fury, he might as well become this so-called security consultant and collect a salary for nothing.

"Then this thing will do. I don't really want to run around every day. It's a huge hassle. I'd be better off collecting a little protection money from those gangs."

Luke stuffed the booklet into his pocket, then turned and left.

Coulson nodded, then returned to his car and drove away as well. He still had to go back and report the details of this incident to Fury.

"After he killed at least a hundred people in one building, you're telling me you still believe he's safe?" Fury sat in his executive chair with his eyes closed, making his entire head look even more like a braised egg.

Coulson took out his investigation results. "From the time he appeared until now, he's never attacked anyone uninvolved. And all his neighbors say he's very polite." Recalling how he had carried a pistol and taken the disgruntled Special Operations Team to question Luke's neighbors one by one, Coulson spoke calmly.

Fury took the investigation results. "Does an agency like ours believe this sort of evidence?" The file clearly contained more than the neighbors' statements. After flipping through some other data, Fury thought for a while.

He turned back and checked the websites visited from that IP address. Finding nothing but food delivery and games left Fury somewhat speechless.

Why does this superhuman seem so different from the others? Don't other people think they're second only to heaven once they get superpowers? Why does this guy just like staying home playing games? If he hadn't been going out so frequently, S.H.I.E.L.D. might not even have noticed him.

Nick Fury silently thought for a while. Having witnessed the power of those inhuman beings, he also placed great importance on these superhumans. However, most superhumans were the lawless type. Now that one with a better disposition had finally appeared, they could try winning him over.

"Keep the assessment provisional. I think we can make use of this man. Seal this file as well and set its clearance to level seven."

Fury settled on the decision. Luke had views on good and evil and a set of values that closely resembled those of the general public, as well as ordinary people's hobbies, yet he possessed powerful, controllable strength.

S.H.I.E.L.D. liked this kind of person best.

A sharp gleam appeared in Fury's eyes. His salary would not be that easy to collect.