Nick Fury's people worked fast. In less than an hour, a folder arrived in Black Widow's inbox.
It contained not only evidence that Obadiah had secretly sold weapons to terrorists, but also a video sent by the terrorists showing Tony Stark tied to a chair.
"Looks like you guessed right. Obadiah really is involved. It'll just take a little more time to find Tony Stark."
"Once we locate Tony Stark, we'll rescue him right away. Wait for my good news."
With that, Black Widow looked ready to leave.
Qin Xiao hurriedly grabbed her.
"I'm going with you!"
Qin Xiao knew that with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, rescuing someone certainly wouldn't be much of a problem.
But he had a mission to complete, and points were good stuff.
"No. This isn't your job. Trust us!"
Black Widow flatly refused Qin Xiao.
"Tony is my friend, and I provided the lead. No matter how you look at it, I need to go. Besides, I'm no ordinary civilian."
Qin Xiao looked at Black Widow without giving an inch.
Suddenly, Black Widow's phone rang.
The call was from Nick Fury, so Black Widow naturally reported the situation.
To Black Widow's surprise, Nick Fury agreed to Qin Xiao's suggestion that he come along.
But there was one condition: Qin Xiao had to join S.H.I.E.L.D.
While Qin Xiao was hesitating, the system's voice sounded in his mind.
"Mission: Join S.H.I.E.L.D. and become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!"
The mission offered points as a reward, so Qin Xiao naturally wouldn't pass it up.
But he still couldn't help asking.
"System, why do you want me to join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Wouldn't I have more freedom outside it?"
The system's answer was:
"To help the host complete certain later missions more effectively. Rest assured, the host won't have to keep working for S.H.I.E.L.D. forever."
With that assurance, Qin Xiao felt much more at ease.
"I agree. I'll join S.H.I.E.L.D. You can take me to Afghanistan with you."
Qin Xiao had still been hesitating a moment ago, yet he had suddenly agreed.
Black Widow was a little puzzled.
"Why? Didn't you say you didn't want too many restrictions?"
"I need a job!"
Qin Xiao said with a cheeky air.
Black Widow naturally didn't believe that, but since Qin Xiao wouldn't tell her, there was nothing she could do.
She could only say, "All right! Get ready to go to Afghanistan with me and complete your first mission, rookie agent!"
The desert in southern Afghanistan.
A Quinjet streaked across the sky and slowly came to a halt at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Its rear slowly opened, lowering a metal ramp.
A Chinese-made civilian SUV with Pakistani license plates slowly drove out of the aircraft.
Dressed like backpackers, Black Widow and Qin Xiao sat in the SUV's front seats.
Black Widow gave the aircraft a slow thumbs-up from the driver's seat.
The three thrusters on the Quinjet's tail and wings spewed blue flames, and it shot into the sky.
It left the area in an instant.
"Now that we know where they are, shouldn't we bring in several planes and a bunch of special forces troops with live ammo, go rat-tat-tat, and rescue him directly?"
Qin Xiao mimed firing a gun with both hands as he asked in confusion.
"First, doing that requires extensive reconnaissance beforehand: their numbers, weapons, geographical position, and so on. We have to ensure the hostage's safety."
"Second, they aren't in Afghanistan. They're in Pakistan. Although this desert is uninhabited, we can't fly straight into their airspace. That would be very dangerous."
Black Widow spoke with easy confidence as she drove one-handed.
"Why?"
Qin Xiao didn't understand. In the movies, never mind the United States itself-even the Avengers went wherever they wanted. When had territory or national borders ever been an issue?
"Because Pakistan has an ally standing behind it called China. There's a saying: don't walk around beside a lion carrying a weapon."
"Every country knows that China can do without the rest of the world, but the rest of the world can't do without China!"
Black Widow said calmly.
Qin Xiao understood exactly what Black Widow meant. The two of them driving in was no big deal, but flying in a fighter jet was another matter.
And although this wasn't the same world, Qin Xiao still felt a little excited by his country's strength.
Even an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't dare fly its fighter jets the slightest distance across Pakistan's border.
Just how wary must they have been of China?
Seeing the pride on Qin Xiao's face, Black Widow said with a smile.
"I almost forgot you're Chinese. You know, there's a saying in the intelligence community too: whether you're an international spy, an agent, or even a mercenary, never, ever enter China! Do you know why?"
"Oh? Why?"
Qin Xiao was very interested.
"During the Cold War, Soviet and American spies were spread across every corner of the world. Every corner. But everyone who entered China mysteriously vanished."
"Just from what I know, the Soviet Union and the United States each sent in at least three groups totaling over a hundred people, and in the end, contact was lost with all of them."
"Rumor has it that both countries' intelligence agencies eventually received a note from the relevant Chinese authorities. Written on it were four bold characters: no strangers allowed!"
"I used to think it was just a legend, until I joined the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division and saw that note with my own eyes. It was simply unbelievable!"
As Black Widow told Qin Xiao a few things about China, the vehicle traveled south and entered Pakistan.
The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was a vast, uninhabited desert.
Neither side had troops stationed in the desert.
But after those Ten Rings terrorists who called themselves freedom fighters kidnapped Tony Stark,
they knew the Americans would turn Afghanistan upside down, so they very cleverly took him straight into Pakistan.
This not only let them evade the US military's search, but also meant that as long as they stayed well away from the edge of Pakistan's desert, no one would enter the desert to search for them.
But they had never imagined that their video would fall into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands.
They had been very cautious when sending the email, routing it through servers in different countries.
The terrorists in the video had also covered their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed.
But combined with the location being Afghanistan, that much was already enough for S.H.I.E.L.D.