The midday sun in the desert can make you question the meaning of life.
Heat waves rolled in from the sand, one after another, like someone holding a torch to your face. The air was thick and dry, burning your throat when you breathed it in. The distant sand dunes were distorted, appearing crooked and twisted in front of you.
Just moments ago, Sitwell had received orders from Lin Xiao to lead his agents to collect the remains of the Destroyer. Sitwell's smile froze; upon hearing Lin Xiao's order, he thought he had misheard. Working in such high temperatures? Anyone would be roasted alive. He stood still, adjusted his glasses, and tried to make his voice sound calm, " Agent Lin Xiao, my orders are to investigate and collect evidence, not to move debris. According to procedure, these remains should be handled by the technical department, not us in the internal affairs department—"
"Procedures?" Lin Xiao interrupted him, taking half a step forward and looking down at him. " Agent Sitwell, look around. Who else but you could move this? The technical department? By the time they flew in from New York, the wreckage would have been buried in sand long ago. I'm the highest-ranking agent on site. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Just follow orders. Why all the procedures?"
Sitwell's lips twitched. He wanted to say something, but then he saw the three Asgard behind Lin Xiao staring at him intently. Volstagg put the axe down from his shoulder, weighed it in his hand, and his expression was ambiguous, neither friendly nor threatening. Sitwell swallowed the words he was about to say, gritted his teeth, and led his men toward the wreckage. As he walked, Sitwell thought to himself, "Let them move it. Anyway, once this batch of metal enters S.H.I.E.L.D.., my people will have the opportunity to study the material. Let's see how long they can be so smug."
The sun was blazing, sweat poured down his forehead, his shirt was soaked and dried repeatedly, and rings of white salt stains formed on his back. Two agents had taken off their ties and wrapped them around their necks like scarves. A younger one was pouring mineral water on his arms, steam rising before the water even reached his elbows. Sitwell's bald head was sunburned red, beads of sweat rolled down his temples, and his knees were starting to feel weak from standing for so long.
Lin Xiao hid behind a rock about half his height. He unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and poured it over his head. The water droplets evaporated before they even hit the ground. The sand under his feet was so hot that he stomped his feet. His lips were covered in dry skin, and when he licked them, they tasted salty and bitter.
"Hurry up! What are you all dawdling about!" Lin Xiao squatted down on the ground with his hands on his hips. "At this rate, you won't finish moving them even after sunset. And that one over there, the biggest breastplate, what are you two doing lifting it? Three of you should do it! Can your little bodies handle it?"
The Asgard's Warriors Three stood beside Lin Xiao. Fandral had just taken a sip of water when Hogun stood ramrod straight, staring expressionlessly at the group of disheveled agents in the distance. Volstagg slung his axe over his shoulder, his chubby face rosy from the sun, his eyes constantly glancing at the agents.
" Lin Xiao," Volstagg swallowed and nudged Lin Xiao with his elbow, "Look at them, how about I lend a hand? I can lift that breastplate with one hand, and it'll save those three from sitting there like boiled shrimp."
Lin Xiao turned to look at him, his expression immediately turning serious. He grabbed Volstagg's arm and said earnestly, " Volstagg, who are you? You're a warrior of Asgard, a hero of the Nine Realms, our honored guest. If you go up to help, aren't you depriving them of their opportunity to grow? You're also wasting my good intentions. Look at them, sitting in their offices all day, their bellies are almost as big as yours. Today's opportunity is so rare, high temperature, sandstorms, heavy physical exertion, it's like an aerobic training session. If you start helping, they'll have come all this way for nothing."
Volstagg looked down at his stomach, then at the group of agents in the distance who looked like shrimp, and nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. I won't go then."
Lin Xiao patted his shoulder and handed him half a bag of sunflower seeds. "Eat. They probably won't be finished moving things over there by the time you finish."
So the four of them stood behind the rock, some cracking sunflower seeds, some fanning themselves, and others watching the show. Lin Xiao, still not satisfied, took out his phone and snapped a picture of Sitwell working in the distance, muttering to himself, "This look is perfect for the cover of S.H.I.E.L.D..'s annual Outstanding Individual award. Look at him, drenched in sweat, now that's what you call being on the front lines."
Sitwell was carrying a piece of metal about half his height towards the center when he looked up and saw Lin Xiao taking pictures. He loosened his grip, and the metal fell to the sand, sending Mars flying. He strode towards Lin Xiao, a bitter smile on his face from the sun, trying to keep his tone calm. " Agent Lin Xiao, we've been moving things for over two hours. Could you let my men rest for a bit? In this temperature, they'll get heatstroke if they stay in this heat any longer."
"Heatstroke?" Lin Xiao put away his phone, his face filled with disbelief. " Agent Sitwell, look at you! You've only been working for a short while and you're already complaining of heatstroke? Didn't your instructors tell you during training that heatstroke is caused by an imbalance of water and electrolytes in the body? There's water over there, whose fault is it if you don't drink it? Besides—" He leaned forward and lowered his voice, "There was a reason I had Coulson send you here."
Sitwell's expression froze for a moment.
"Think about it, who is Agent Coulson? Director Fury's confidant. When he said he needed to send reinforcements, you were the first person I recommended. Why? Because I told him that Agent Sitwell is reliable, hardworking, and has potential. I said if this mission goes well, I'll write him a letter of recommendation first when he gets promoted. Now you're complaining to me about being tired, isn't that a slap in my face? Isn't that a slap in Coulson's face? You should think about it carefully."
Sitwell opened his mouth, only to find his head buzzing with the weight of the label. He gritted his teeth, swallowed the words that were rising in his throat, and turned to walk towards the breastplate. After taking a couple of steps, he heard Lin Xiao shout behind him, "That's right, if the leader takes the lead, the subordinates will respect you. All those fragments will be gathered at the central office later; nobody should slack off!"
Sitwell gave Lin Xiao a cold look, thinking to himself, "Let's see how long you can be so smug. Once this batch of alien metal enters S.H.I.E.L.D.., it's up to us. A little hard work now is no problem." So he joined the moving team without looking back, forcefully lifting a fragment as tall as a person. The scorching metal burned his chest through his shirt, but he didn't utter a sound, carrying the fragment to the designated location, then going back to carry the next one. Seeing Sitwell working so hard, the agents around him felt embarrassed to dawdle any longer, and they all gritted their teeth as they carried the metal, making the scene look like a concentration camp.
Lin Xiao watched with satisfaction, then added another handful of sunflower seeds to Volstagg's plate.
"You Midgardian are quite interesting," Hogun suddenly said, his tone as flat as plain water.
"This isn't just interesting, it's called optimal resource allocation." Lin Xiao spat out a sunflower seed shell onto the sand. "They get physical work done, and I develop leadership skills while directing. Both sides grow, and I don't even have to spend any money. What do you call that? A win-win situation."
Hogun glanced at him but said nothing more. Fandral laughed out loud, only stopping after being glared at by Hogun.
Just then, a deep engine sound came from the southern sky.
A large, silver-gray transport plane emerged from the clouds, the Stark Industries logo emblazoned on its side. Before it even landed, the dust it kicked up sent Sitwell's group tumbling about. Debris that several agents had just lifted was blown back to the ground by the wind, eliciting a chorus of curses.
Sitwell's expression completely changed. He looked at the plane, then at the pile of wreckage that had just been gathered up, and then at Lin Xiao, his voice rising several octaves. " Agent Lin Xiao, what does this mean? Why is Stark Industries plane here?"
"Oh, don't be nervous, don't be nervous." Lin Xiao emerged from behind the rock, beaming. "I figured it would be too much trouble for you to move all this junk around, so I called a professional team to handle it. You can take a break now. Don't worry, I've arranged everything."
" Agent Lin Xiao!" Sitwell took a step forward, his smile completely gone. "These wreckage pieces are evidence from S.H.I.E.L.D..'s investigation! According to procedure, they must be transported back to S.H.I.E.L.D..'s technical department! Your unauthorized contact with an external company to receive them is a serious violation! As the person in charge of this investigation, I have the right and the obligation to stop this!"
Lin Xiao looked at him, his smile gradually fading. He tilted his head, his tone as cold as ice water melted by the sun. " Agent Sitwell, you seem to have misunderstood something."
"What's up?"
"Whose remains these are is neither for you nor for me to decide." Lin Xiao turned his head and beckoned with a finger into the distance. "The person in question is here; ask him."
Thor approached from the other side. He held Mjolnir in his hand, his cloak billowing slightly in the heat, his expression more serious than ever before. He stood before the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the wreckage, his voice like a rumble of thunder. "These are creations of Asgard, not to be dealt with by the Midgardian. I will decide their fate."
Sitwell opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but Thor merely glanced at him indifferently. There was no anger in that glance, but Sitwell's words seemed to melt away in the sun, and he swallowed them back completely.
Lin Xiao immediately understood, and looking troubled, walked up to Sitwell, spreading his hands. " Agent Sitwell, this isn't my fault. The person in charge has spoken, saying that outsiders can't touch these things. You know, that's God, not my downstairs security guard. You want to talk to him about procedures? If he strikes you with lightning, you and your car will be burned to ashes."
Sitwell's face went from white to red, from red to blue, and finally to a deep liver color. He looked back at his twelve men covered in sand, then at his palms blistered from metal shards, his chest heaving. But when he saw Thor's face, he couldn't utter a word.
Seeing his expression, Lin Xiao secretly gave Thor a thumbs up in his heart, while his face showed a pained expression. He stepped forward, took out a few crumpled bills from his pocket, a total of five hundred dollars, folded like vegetable leaves, and stuffed them into Sitwell's hand.
" Agent Sitwell, I know you're not happy. Here's what we'll do: I'll treat the guys to dinner later at that barbecue place in Puente Antiguo. Five hundred dollars, twelve people, one signature set meal and a bottle of soda each, should be enough. May and Betty's been keeping a tight rein lately, and I'm a little short on cash, so you can pay for this first, and I'll make it up to you guys when we get back to New York."
Sitwell looked down at the five bills in his hand, his fingers trembling like a leaf. He looked up, his eyes red, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, " Agent Lin Xiao, thank you so much."
"Of course, of course, we're all comrades." Lin Xiao patted his arm, turned to the twelve agents behind him, and raised his voice a few decibels, "Brothers! You've worked hard today! Follow Agent Sitwell and do a good job, I won't forget you. I'll write a report when we get back, and you'll all get promoted sooner or later! Don't be shy about the five hundred dollars from Agent Sitwell, eat as much as you want!"
The twelve agents looked at each other, their expressions incredibly varied. One of the younger agents couldn't hold it in any longer and coughed twice, forcing his laughter back down his throat.
The transport plane finally landed. Stark Industries ' haulage team was extremely efficient, gathering and loading the wreckage in less than half an hour. Sitwell and his men stood by, watching as the treasures that could be refined into Asgard alloy were loaded into special containers and sent into the cargo hold. One of his crew-cut agents whispered, "Boss, should we call Coulson?"
Sitwell stared at the slowly closing cabin door, remaining silent for a long while before finally uttering a few words through clenched teeth. "We'll talk about it back at camp."
His voice was calm, so calm that even he felt a chill.
Lin Xiao stood at a distance, watching the transport plane take off again, unable to suppress the smile on his lips. He turned to Thor, his tone light. "See, it's resolved. Are you satisfied?"
Thor watched the disheveled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents retreating, then glanced at Lin Xiao, who was grinning like a fox. He opened his mouth, but ultimately only managed to utter, "Don't make me the bad guy next time."
"You're meant to be an adjudicator; that's the kind of high-class position you deserve," Lin Xiao corrected.
Thor rolled his eyes. "I learned that from you."
After finishing their work, Lin Xiao and the Asgard's Warriors Three brought out the barbecue grill and half a frozen lamb that Tony had brought. Lin Xiao thought to himself that Tony was still quite sensible. The sun was already setting, and the heat of the desert was gradually dissipating. The evening breeze blew from behind the dunes, carrying a cool breeze.
A campfire crackled to life, the aroma of meat mingling with cumin wafting far and wide. Volstagg, clutching half a leg of lamb, ate until his beard was slick with oil. Hogun sat by the fire, cutting pieces of meat with a knife, his movements as precise as if he were performing surgery. Fandral, while eating, recounted his legendary raid on the Frost Giants' supply lines in Jotunheim, his spittle flying as he spoke. Sif sat next to Lin Xiao, tearing small bites of lamb, a flask of liquor clutched in her hand, occasionally glancing up at the starry sky.
Lin Xiao leaned against the sand pile and suddenly turned on the blue light screen that only he could see.
"Ding--Six-and-a-half-star mission: Stop the Destroyer, completed. Mission rating: SS. Rewards being calculated..."
"Free allocation points +20. S-grade upgradeable item: Heartsteel, has been issued to System Space."
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes and clicked on the item details. A semi-transparent golden panel unfolded before him, displaying the following text:
" Heartsteel, an S-tier upgradeable item from League of Legends. Passive Effect 1: When equipped, all damage dealt to the host by enemies will be partially converted into the host's defense and maximum health, with a conversion rate of 15%, which can stack infinitely. Passive Effect 2: When the host suffers fatal damage, Heartsteel will forcibly lock the last bit of health for three seconds. During this period, any damage absorbed will be converted into the host's recovery energy. Cooldown: Seven days."
Lin Xiao stared at the line of text for several seconds, the corners of his mouth gradually curling up, his eyes widening little by little.
"This thing," he muttered under his breath, "Combined with my muscles, isn't it a bit unfair?"
This means that the harder he gets beaten, the tougher he becomes. In a sense, he's starting to follow the same path as the Destroyer, a monster that gets stronger the more you beat him.
He suddenly felt that he should find an opportunity to give Thor a good beating before he returned to Asgard.
Sif noticed his odd behavior and turned her head to ask, "What are you grinning about?"
"Nothing, I just suddenly felt that this beating wasn't for nothing." Lin Xiao turned around with a smile, raised his beer can, and gently tapped it against Sif's can. "Here, wishing you all the best after you return to Asgard."
Looking at his face, half-lit and half-shadowed by the campfire, Sif felt for a moment that she didn't really want to go back to Asgard anymore.