"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Ms. Romanoff?"
"Speaking."
"There's been a problem. You need to come to Office Ten."
Office Ten was a room Nick Fury had commissioned for temporarily storing supernatural objects or clues.
At the dining table, Natasha frowned slightly.
A problem?
And they needed me?
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll head over now."
Natasha stood and said goodbye to Krillin, whom she had no hope of recruiting.
She left Stark Industries and headed toward the base.
Looks like talking about ideals doesn't attract much talent these days.
"The magnetic field is covering Laboratory T10 now. Has there been any unusual activity?"
Nick Fury stood with his arms folded across his chest and asked with a grave expression.
"Sir, after the X-1 magnetic field enclosed it, the [Whispers] seemed to disappear, but the affected agents haven't returned to normal."
Ding.
"Welcome, Agent Romanoff."
A mechanical voice rang out.
"Did the recruitment plan go smoothly?"
Natasha shook her head.
"Jiang Xiang turned down our offer, and Krillin was recruited by Stark Industries."
Nick Fury nodded without looking surprised. "Take a look at this first."
He handed Natasha several sheets of paper.
"A statue? A statue worshipping an octopus-headed figure."
Natasha paused, then knitted her brows tightly and looked toward the glass partition.
"What the hell is this thing?"
"Agent Romanoff."
"Yes, sir."
"I need you to investigate this location. It's one of the first places where a statue was discovered."
Natasha took a slip of paper and left.
Nick Fury continued staring at the glass partition.
"What does this statue represent?"
His eyes kept shifting slightly from side to side.
Jingle-
Jiang Xiang settled into his room at Stark Industries.
He shook the bell, both to train and to pray for good luck.
It was time to reap his rewards again.
Preparing to open more boxes, Jiang Xiang went to the bathroom, picked up the hand soap, and washed his hands clean as he stared at the intangible system before him.
At some point, the system had gained a temporary storage function.
There was only one item inside.
[Item: Evil Eye Demon Seed] [Grade: B] [Effects: advancement material, evolution material...] [Description: from an Evil Eye Lord with the potential to become a dimensional god.]
"Good stuff. Its potential reached grade B. With a little fusion and cultivation, I can get a powerful avatar card."
Jiang Xiang suddenly seemed to think of something.
He searched his card collection.
[Incomplete Character Card-Zhang Fei (Twin)]
"This looks like it can fuse with the Evil Eye Demon Seed. He's the one, then."
That familiar flash of light shone again.
[Character Card-Zhang Fei (Evil Eye Demon Seed)] [Grade: B] [Skills: Transformation, Spear Technique, Art of War...] [Description: in human form, he stands nine chi tall, with a panther-like head, round eyes, and a square face. After transforming, he gains demon seed power and an atavistic form, taking on an appearance resembling a gorilla...]
"Why does this card look so familiar?"
Jiang Xiang felt as though he had seen a description like this somewhere before.
"Too bad it's a Character Card."
Jiang Xiang stopped dwelling on such trivial details and turned to his emotional value.
[Emotional Value: 32215]
"Pretty fast. After more than a day of building up, this much is reasonable."
He had gained so much emotional value thanks to information spreading through S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military.
Thousands had been killed or injured in an incident of such magnitude.
The American public could be fooled, but those capitalists and members of Congress weren't so easy to deceive.
After asking around among themselves, they would know roughly what had happened.
"Come on, three [Gold Boxes]. Open!"
Familiar ripples of light spread out.
[Item: B-grade fragment ×2] [Item: B-grade fragment] [Item: B-grade fragment ×2] [Item: Silver Ring Book] [Item: B-grade fragment ×2]
[Character Card: Jack the Ripper] [Grade: C] [Skills: High-Speed Movement, Dissection, Concealment, Marksmanship...] [Description: the specter looming over the City of Fog!]
[Item: Yes-or-No Coin]
"All done. Nine B-grade fragments. System, you've really outdone yourself."
Jiang Xiang silently grumbled about the system's antics, then turned his attention to the Character Card and items.
Jack the Ripper!
He'd fit right into the City of Fog.
After all, supernatural incidents couldn't happen only here. It would be good to give other places a little exposure too.
The Silver Ring Book!
Every gain came with a loss, and every loss came with a gain.
"It can reveal some information about the past and present, to a certain extent. Interesting."
Jiang Xiang put the book away.
Then he examined the Yes-or-No Coin.
"A coin that can determine whether something is right or wrong?"
It couldn't predict the future, though. It could only provide answers about the present and past.
And it could only give one of two answers: yes or no.
Not bad.
The results of opening the boxes were pretty decent.
"Next up should be the street brawl between Hulk and the military, right?"
"I'll have to make some arrangements for that."
S.H.I.E.L.D. moved quickly.
Natasha arrived at the address on the paper.
In the gloomy, dimly lit village, the distinctive fishy stench of rotting fish rushed into Natasha's nostrils. Had she not undergone professional training, she would have felt almost suffocated. She checked the address and calmly investigated.
In the darkness, Natasha's gaze was as sharp as a blade.
Suddenly, cheerful music drifted out.
"One day, I found it~"
"I took it home and gave it to my mama~"
"Mama was so happy, she danced with joy~"
"When I came home again~"
"Mama began to speak~"
"What god could this be~"
"That let me, deaf as I was, hear someone speak~"
Natasha sprinted over to a dilapidated house and searched the ruined wooden building materials for anything useful.
As time passed, the melody grew increasingly distorted and strange.
Increasingly-piercing.
Natasha spotted something beside her that resembled the opening of a well.
She immediately lifted the lid and leaped inside.
A foul stench of decay hit her in the face.
Natasha suppressed the instinct to retch, forced herself to regain her composure, and listened carefully to the sounds outside.
Natasha had never been so panicked.
She had thought she would never feel that kind of panic again after graduating from the damned Red Room.
But today, panic, fear, and a racing heartbeat had returned.
Natasha didn't notice that a shadowy shape seemed to be faintly appearing in the depths of her eyes.
She took out her communicator and tried to contact the team that had come with her.
An operation like this couldn't possibly involve just one person. It wasn't an infiltration or undercover mission.
Aside from the beeping alerts, there was almost no other sound.
With no other choice, she took out a syringe and drove it into her waist.
At that moment, she felt more clearheaded than ever before.
She panted, breathing in the foul stench, then hurriedly blocked her ears as realization struck.
"I hope this works."
Natasha leaned against the wall and slumped weakly to the ground.
Before you continue