Black Widow had already noticed the changes in her body when she got up that morning, but they had not been very obvious then, so she had not thought much of them, dismissing them as an illusion.
But as time passed, the changes in her body became increasingly obvious.
Her strength was three times what it had been, and her hearing, vision, reflexes, perception, and physical condition had all improved enormously.
More importantly, she was still growing stronger, which briefly left her frightened-a fear of the unknown.
But Black Widow soon figured out the reason.
"Food Cultivators can make the most delicious food in the world and give it certain special abilities. Is this one of those special abilities?"
After a moment's thought, Black Widow punched a nearby tree.
Something terrifying happened. Her fist left a deep imprint in the tree, which was roughly ten centimeters thick. That was only possible when speed and strength reached a certain level.
Then Black Widow stepped back and took a preparatory stance for a side kick. After gathering herself for a few seconds, she swept her leg viciously across the trunk with a terrifying whistle through the air.
Bang! Crack!
As though struck by a cannonball, the tree snapped outright, its upper half flying sideways.
Excited, Black Widow inspected the broken end.
The break was jagged, but it looked as though it had exploded. The splinters on it were so finely crushed that they looked as though they had been ground down.
Then Black Widow walked over to her car, hooked one hand around one of the sports car's tires, and exerted a little strength. She lifted half the car straight off the ground as though it were made of plastic.
Setting the car down, Black Widow got back inside.
At that moment, Black Widow's heart was far from calm, because, for the first time, she felt deeply reluctant to tell Nick Fury about the changes in her. She did not want Ling Yi to be affected by S.H.I.E.L.D.
But in the end, she still sent Nick Fury a video. It was her duty.
Yet Black Widow was unhappy. Extremely unhappy. She had never felt this way in all her years as an agent.
She knew her heart seemed to be in something of a turmoil.
And just then, several young people driving past spotted Black Widow. Instantly drawn in by her charm, the unlucky fools stopped their car right in front of her sports car...
Half an hour later, Black Widow clapped her hands, feeling refreshed, got into her sports car, and headed back the way she had come.
On the ground, those unlucky fools were already beaten beyond recognition, covered in blood-a sight too horrible to look at.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury stood straight up after watching the video Black Widow had sent him.
He muttered to himself, "Food Cultivators, Food Cultivators... There really are Food Cultivators. No, I have to bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D., no matter what. If everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. could eat food made by a Food Cultivator every day, wouldn't that..."
At that thought, Nick Fury could no longer sit still. Without notifying anyone, he hurried downstairs, got into his Hummer, and drove toward the outskirts of Great America City.
Meanwhile, in an office on the top floor of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce was watching the same video. As for how he had gotten his hands on it... Well, this was Hydra's S.H.I.E.L.D. Intercepting a video behind Black Braised Egg's back was child's play.
"Tell Rumlow to come over." If Nick Fury could recognize Ling Yi's value, Pierce naturally could too. At that moment, Pierce was no less excited than Nick Fury.
But our friend Pierce had no idea what sort of existence he was about to face.
When Black Widow returned to the villa, Ling Yi was a little surprised-not that she had come back, but that she had come back so quickly.
"I'm very sorry!" Those were Black Widow's first words upon seeing Ling Yi.
"Huh?"
"My name isn't Natalie Rushman. I'm Natasha Romanoff, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Oh!"
"I'm sorry I deceived you earlier. I was ordered to investigate you."
"And?"
"...I'm an agent. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Aren't you angry?"
"Why would I be angry?"
Black Widow instantly understood. He had probably known her background all along.
"Shouldn't you be angry?" Black Widow could not help asking.
"Beautiful, your mind works in strange ways. Am I supposed to be angry just because you're an agent?" Shouldn't he be angry? Black Widow still could not wrap her head around it.
"I know who you are, and I know your past. I even know your future. And precisely because I know everything, I admire you a great deal. I've even started to like you a little."
"You have no idea how excited I was when I first saw you appear. But I didn't dare tell you I already knew your identity. What if I scared you off?"
"So you just played along with me?"
"See? If I'd told the truth, wouldn't it have been awkward for everyone?" Ling Yi said, spreading his hands. "So what exactly is your real identity?"
"As for me, in this world, I'm a Food Cultivator. Although I made that name up, the identity can be real."
"This world? Are you an alien?"
"An Earthling. Hmm... How should I put it? You can think of me as an Earthling from a parallel world."
Black Widow was somewhat dumbfounded. This revelation had quite an impact on her.
"I kept traveling from one world to another, and suddenly realized that traveling alone always seemed to leave something missing. It wasn't until I met you that I understood. I was missing someone who could experience different worlds with me."
"Traveling through different worlds? That sounds pretty interesting. If it's true, then have you said the same thing to other women in other worlds?"
Damn, how was he supposed to answer that? Say no? Big Sister Dongfang Bai from the Smiling, Proud Wanderer world was still waiting for him. If he said yes, would Black Widow run off?
"So you have?" Seeing Ling Yi remain silent, Black Widow immediately understood.
"Yes. One!" Ling Yi chuckled, raising one finger.
"Are you sure it's just one?"
"Come on, I'm not some loose guy. I'm very picky."
"I'm hungry!" Black Widow brought the subject to an end.
Ling Yi scratched his head and wisely dropped it too.
When they reached the living room, Ling Yi snapped his fingers, and an enormous seafood feast appeared on the dining table.
"Such wonderful cooking skills!" Seeing this, Black Widow could not help rolling her eyes. Food Cultivator, my ass. Sure enough, it was all a lie.
"Hey, what does it matter? As long as the effects are real. After we eat, I'll give you some cheats. This world is still very dangerous, and you're still far too weak."
Drawn by the delicious aroma of the food on the table, Black Widow ate with no concern for appearances, as though she had completely cast off her restraints.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two sat down on the sofa quite naturally, shoulder to shoulder, leaning against each other.
"I'm sorry. I told our director about you."
"It's fine. It's not like he can do anything to me." Seeing that Black Widow still looked worried, Ling Yi understood that she would not feel reassured until he showed her his true strength.
And so, Ling Yi began giving Black Widow cheats.
Various cultivation techniques went without saying. A spatial ring, a teleportation watch, an other-dimensional world, robotic puppets, Senzu Beans, large quantities of Capsules... She got a full set of everything.
Ling Yi armed Black Widow to the teeth, inside and out, from head to toe.
Black Widow finally understood what Ling Yi meant by giving her cheats.
"I feel like destroying a world or something would be a breeze for me now," Black Widow said with a wry smile. Everything Ling Yi had given her exceeded his understanding. Taking any one of those items out into the world would probably cause enormous chaos.
It was different with Strange. Ling Yi had only given Strange a magical inheritance and some "basic" equipment. Strange needed to cultivate to increase his strength.
But with Black Widow, Ling Yi had taken her straight to the finish line, directly consuming a vast amount of Power of Faith.
It made Black Widow feel so spoiled that she could fly.
When Nick Fury arrived and saw Ling Yi and Black Widow sitting together holding hands, he felt rather unwell.
"I think I need an explanation."
"What you see is the explanation," Black Widow said.
"Natasha will be leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. As compensation, I can help you or Hawkeye Barton grow stronger," Ling Yi added.
"Are you serious?" Nick Fury asked Black Widow earnestly, while also judging whether Ling Yi was controlling or threatening her.
"Stop coming up with wild theories. You're fine in other respects, but your mind is just too dirty. Destroying this world would only take me a snap of my fingers."
The corner of Nick Fury's mouth twitched. He did not believe that. Even Hulk, the strongest being he had ever seen, could at most tear apart a city. Destroy the world with a snap of his fingers? Who was he trying to scare?
"Looks like we'll have to demonstrate the process of destroying the world for Director Fury." Ling Yi gave a wicked smile,
and snapped his fingers...
In outer space beyond Earth, Nick stared down at the blue planet beneath his feet, utterly bewildered.
"This is an illusion, isn't it? You think a trick like this can fool me? If it isn't an illusion, how could a human breathe in the vacuum of space without any equipment?"
"Make a call and check. Your satellite phone should work, right?"
Frowning, Nick Fury pulled out a highly advanced phone, dialed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal line, and turned on the video connection...