C93: Gather Intelligence
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"
In the antique store, Li Ran stared at the data feed on the glowing panel, one brow arching instinctively.
Although he had anticipated that S.H.I.E.L.D. would eventually approach Ye Wen—the newly arrived martial artist whose presence had drawn attention in the Chinatown incident—he didn't expect them to act so swiftly.
Moreover, from within the martial arts hall through Ye Wen's eyes, he noted how the young Caucasian man, standing tall yet oblivious, remained entirely unaware that his undercover identity as an agent had already been unmasked.
Li Ran muttered to himself with dark amusement.
**Are you sure you're S.H.I.E.L.D. and not Hydra?**
Well, technically, at this stage in the Marvel timeline—post-Battle of New York but pre-Winter Soldier reveal—Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't yet been made public. Until Alexander Pierce and Project Insight surfaced, both organizations shared operatives, unbeknownst even to high-ranking agents.
Still, some loyal agents existed—people like Phil Coulson or Melinda May and Li Ran suspected this operative was likely just another cog in that fractured machine.
"Master, is something wrong?"
Noticing Ye Wen's lingering stare, the agent—who had introduced himself as Mike asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into his tone.
"It's nothing," Ye Wen replied with an unreadable expression. Though Li Ran now saw Mike's true identity clearly, he decided to maintain the ruse. Confrontation wasn't the goal.
With that thought, Li Ran manipulated the Ye Wen clone to assume a calm martial stance. "I've promised to teach you martial arts, and I don't go back on my word. But as the saying goes, 'Before learning to fight, learn to restrain the heart.' Wing Chun isn't just about fists—it's about discipline, focus, and clarity of mind."
"…"
Mike, for his part, only half-listened. His real mission was intelligence, not kung fu.
Unbeknownst to him, Ye Wen had no real intention of teaching either. If Mike had been a genuine student, Li Ran might've passed on a few real techniques. But now that his status as a Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent had been confirmed, there was no reason to invest the effort.
After a short speech on martial virtues, Ye Wen eyed the agent. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Mike, Master. Just Mike."
"Very well, Mike. Since you want to study Wing Chun, your first step is to master the horse stance."
"Horse stance?"
What followed was a lecture on basic kung fu fundamentals, including the **two-character yang ma** stance foundational to Wing Chun. Mike, though trained in espionage and surveillance at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, had no true martial background, unlike specialists like Agent Melinda May—known as "The Cavalry" for her deadly hand-to-hand combat skills.
"Horse stance is the root of all kung fu," Ye Wen instructed. "As the old masters say, 'Train the fist without training the stance, and in old age all efforts are vain.'"
He straightened, fists at his chest, knees bent inward, forming the distinctive stance. "Hold this every day. Endurance is the key."
…
"So this is what you learned in Chinatown?"
In the New York branch of S.H.I.E.L.D., Director Nick Fury sat behind his reinforced vibranium-core desk, one eye focused sharply on the awkward stance being demonstrated in his office.
"To be precise, it's called the Two-Character Pinyin Horse Stance—an essential Wing Chun posture," the agent clarified.
"That's not what I meant," Fury snapped. "I didn't send you to Manhattan to study kung fu. I sent you to find out what really happened in Chinatown. So, Agent, tell me—what did you learn?"
"After interviewing local residents, consulting NYPD files, and syncing with police drones managed by the StarkTech surveillance net, the evidence points to a suspect known only as *Fire Cloud Evil God*."
"Fire Cloud… Evil God?" Fury echoed skeptically, narrowing his eye.
"Yes, sir. It originated from testimony by an Asian male named A Xing. No official ID, but consistent with facial recognition records pulled from the *Manhattan Bridge incident*, where a Chinese man kicked a flying piece of rebar back at a Chitauri-powered vehicle."
Fury nodded slightly—he recalled that incident. The military's cleanup after the Battle of New York was messy, and Hell's Kitchen was crawling with unregistered enhanced individuals, especially after the Defenders' conflict with The Hand.
"What about this Ah Xing? Where is he now?"
"Unknown, Director. He went dark shortly after a confrontation in Harlem with Cottonmouth, the gang lord. According to bystander reports, he claimed to be from *Penglai*."
"Penglai?" Fury leaned forward.
"Our research turned up only ancient references—descriptions from Chinese mythology about an immortal island realm. However, Doctor Strange's file contains passing mention of it as one of the lesser-known nodes of mystical energy similar to Kamar-Taj or the Dark Dimension."
That caught Fury's attention. Unlike most agents, he'd read full Level 10 files, including the **Infinity Watch Archive** and **Multiverse Contingency Reports** maintained after incursions involving the Baxter Foundation and Kang variants.
He sat back, thoughtful.
"And the man in the martial arts hall?"
"He's called *Master Ye* by the locals. When I asked, he identified himself as *Ye Wen*—a transliteration of Ip Man."
"Ip Man."
Fury repeated the name aloud, recalling it from a classified SHIELD-HYDRA crossover file detailing past global martial artists of interest. There had once been whispers that *Shang-Chi's* father, Wenwu—the Mandarin had once sent feelers to a man called Ip Man before establishing the Ten Rings.
Just as Fury was about to comment further, a knock interrupted the conversation.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Maria Hill stepped in briskly, holding a secured tablet. "Director, we've located some critical intel."
She handed over the device.
Fury glanced at the top line, and his expression shifted subtly.
"Looks like things in Chinatown are about to get a whole lot more complicated."
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