There was nothing S.H.I.E.L.D. could not investigate. Whenever necessary, they could uncover every detail of anyone's information in a very short time.
As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury had always believed that.
Now he needed S.H.I.E.L.D. to put that ability to work and bring him some detailed intelligence.
Whatever the reason, whenever mutants, a group that wielded extraordinary powers, made even the slightest unusual move, S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to know every detail.
He had been keeping an eye on the X-Men's movements all along.
To be honest, he was not particularly worried that they would cause any damage to society.
After all, he knew Professor X very well. A man who had upheld pacifism his entire life would never agree to let the X-Men he had formed do anything to harm human society.
Still, their recent efforts to collect living organisms everywhere struck him as a little strange.
The X-Men did not seem to be joking around. Surely they could not have eaten all those organisms that had vanished into thin air?
Besides, they were not collecting only specific species. They gathered some of every organism they could collect.
It was as though they were deliberately trying to collect every kind of organism.
He thought it over carefully. Could they be trying to establish an independent ecosystem?
But according to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence, there had been no major activity among mutants recently.
Establishing an ecosystem would also require a sufficiently large space. If the mutants made any such move, S.H.I.E.L.D. would certainly pick up traces of it.
Yet so far, they had found nothing.
Based on the information he already had, the X-Men had started collecting organisms without any warning.
Clearly, that was not something he, as an agent, could accept.
As someone who never trusted anyone, he had always understood one thing: behind every strange occurrence lay a secret, large or small.
Even if he believed the X-Men would not do anything to harm society, he still had to know why they kept collecting organisms.
Protecting the world, preventing any unforeseen incidents, and controlling all dangerous powers had always been S.H.I.E.L.D.'s duty.
They could choose to do nothing, but they had to know the reason behind it.
Nick Fury sat in his office, dressed entirely in black, waiting for the investigation report on the X-Men's activities.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in!"
Click!
"Director, we have the results of the investigation into what happened at Xavier's School a while ago."
A beautiful woman who looked sharp and capable pushed open the door and walked in, her posture straight and her clothes professional.
"Hill, tell me what you found."
Nick Fury spoke calmly as he took the file the woman handed him.
Hill glanced at the file Nick Fury had taken, inwardly speechless. Don't you already have the file? Can't you read it yourself?
As a competent subordinate, however, she would certainly not openly embarrass her superior.
After a moment's thought, Hill began her account:
"Magneto visited Xavier's School a while ago. Not long after he left, the X-Men began collecting organisms."
"Our investigation found that Magneto fought Cyclops at Xavier's School. They caused quite a commotion, and many mutant students saw it."
"Cyclops also seemed to use an ability he had never used before. Even Magneto suffered a considerable setback at his hands."
"We don't know what they discussed afterward. After Magneto left, someone also saw Professor X apparently standing up."
"However, there was a new face among them, probably a newly awakened mutant."
"This new mutant is a sixteen-year-old boy of mixed Asian descent named Li Ge."
After quietly listening to Hill's account, Nick Fury showed no expression. His gaze remained fixed on a photograph in the file.
The person in the photograph was a boy who looked only in his teens, with black hair tied in a simple ponytail, bright, confident blue eyes, and a handsome face.
The boy was none other than Li Ge.
Beside the photograph was detailed information from the investigation into Li Ge. From his school life as a child to the reason for his current transfer, all his friendships and his parents' circumstances, everything was laid out clearly.
But after carefully reading through all the information, Nick Fury found nothing about what ability Li Ge had awakened.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as though something had occurred to him.
"You didn't find any information on this mutant boy Li Ge's ability?"
Nick Fury did not look up. He continued staring at Li Ge's photograph, as though trying to discern something from it.
"That's correct, Director!"
"Although our intelligence capabilities are very strong, on Professor X's turf, there's little we can do if he doesn't want us to know someone's information."
"I think there must be something different about this mutant boy named Li Ge for Professor X to protect his information so carefully."
Hill merely nodded lightly and voiced her thoughts.
"Hill, do you think this mutant boy could be the reason the X-Men are collecting organisms?"
"My intuition tells me he's the reason behind all of this."
"Why did Magneto go to Xavier's School? Perhaps it was for him!"
"Cyclops's new ability and Professor X being able to stand might also be because of this boy!"
Although Nick Fury was voicing guesses, his words carried unmistakable certainty. He had great faith in his intuitive judgment.
"Hill, pass the word down. I want to know exactly what ability this mutant boy named Li Ge has. I need to know everything!"
"As for the X-Men collecting organisms, we don't need to interfere as long as they aren't harming society."
After Hill left, Nick Fury carefully looked through Li Ge's information again.
A typical genius who had now become a mutant, and whose very appearance had prompted the X-Men's strange behavior. Even Magneto had made a move.
There was no telling whether he would have any impact on the world in the future.
Click!
"Director, I think you need to see this. Magneto has done something big again."
Before Nick Fury could finish his thoughts, a hurried voice interrupted him.
He looked over with a stern expression. Hill, who had only just left, walked in again with another file.
Doesn't Magneto, that terrorist among mutants, cause trouble all the time? What's so surprising? he thought.
Surely he's just destroyed another mutant laboratory somewhere?
But when he saw the information in the file, even someone as rational as he was felt a surge of surprise.
It was not that Magneto had caused too much destruction, but that he had caused too little.
He had merely led the Brotherhood of Mutants in raiding a sizable seed bank and stolen all the plant seeds inside.