Chapter 237: Trap, Buddhist Kingdom, Superman
At the foot of Mount Fuji, Hawkeye Barton, wearing a light-colored sun-protective trench coat, held a camera, occasionally snapping photos left and right, blending seamlessly into a group of tourists, completely inconspicuous.
"Agent May, are you sure Natasha's last known location was here?"
After taking a photo with two Japanese girls in kimonos at their request, Hawkeye smiled and exchanged contact information with them.
As soon as the two girls left his sight, Hawkeye's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at the middle-aged woman beside him.
"The Quinjet that Black Widow hijacked crashed near the Western Pacific. At the site of the incident, only one cruise ship happened to be passing by. That cruise ship belongs to Japan's Oshima Corporation!"
The Female Agent, known as the Iron Cavalry, answered Hawkeye's question while keeping a close watch on the surrounding environment and suspicious individuals.
Her hands were also busy. One hand reached into her travel bag; from inside the black backpack, the sound of a gun mechanism clicking shut could be heard.
"Oshima Corporation is an international travel agency, and its headquarters are at the foot of Mount Fuji. Before I came, I hacked into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's surveillance system. Black Widow was last seen on surveillance footage joining a tour group heading up Mount Fuji."
"Why would she come to Mount Fuji? Could the Manipulator controlling her be Japanese?"
After hearing Agent May's words, Hawkeye frowned. He and Natasha were comrades who had gone through thick and thin together, and also close Comrade-in-arms, the kind who would sacrifice their lives for each other.
He didn't believe Natasha would betray them without reason; she must have been controlled by someone.
"We can only confirm that by finding her in person!"
Agent May handed the backpack to Hawkeye. Using the backpack as cover, she passed him a black handgun.
"Only two magazines. Use them sparingly. To hide it from the agency, we had to find a Japanese arms dealer!"
*Click-clack*, Hawkeye took the handgun and skillfully racked the slide.
"A Military-issue handgun?!" Although Hawkeye preferred using a bow and arrow, a regular handgun was no problem for him.
Just by listening to the sound of the gun's mechanism a few times, he confirmed that this M9 pistol came from a legitimate Federation Arms Company, not some small workshop product.
*Click-clack!* Agent May was also organizing her equipment. She glanced at Hawkeye.
"I inquired about it. That arms dealer's upstream supplier is the famous arms dealer Yuri. His credit is guaranteed, and he doesn't know our identities!"
"Where do we go next?" Hawkeye tucked the gun into his back waistband and looked at Agent May.
People like Agent May and Phil Coulson were Nick Fury's Confidant. After Nick Fury discovered Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., he secretly separated his Confidant.
This group of Agent had all passed the test of a Mind Reader, so their loyalty was unquestionable.
However, after Nick Fury's death, most of this group pledged allegiance to the new Director, Maria Hill. There were probably only a few who genuinely wanted to avenge their former Director.
Even Hawkeye himself, compared to the truth behind Nick Fury's death, what he wanted to do more now was to rescue Natasha from the unknown enemy.
The two followed the flow of tourists climbing towards the summit of Mount Fuji. Agent May held a tablet computer showing footage from various surveillance cameras on Mount Fuji.
"She went here. The area behind is restricted."
Agent May pointed at the video on the tablet and said to Hawkeye. Hawkeye looked at the footage on the surveillance video. The familiar figure disappeared after rounding a cherry blossom tree.
"Let's go!"
Hawkeye made the decision without hesitation.
Taking advantage of a gap in the tourist crowd, the two turned past the cherry blossom tree and entered a desolate mountain path.
The path was difficult, but both Hawkeye and Agent May were well-trained elites. Climbing this kind of mountain path was not too challenging for them.
However, the further they walked along the path, the more rugged it became. Eventually, it was covered in thorny bushes and weeds, with jagged rocks everywhere, and not even a trace of a path remained.
"There are signs of being stepped on here. Someone has been here. Judging by the force area and the recovery of the bushes, it hasn't been more than two days!"
Agent May squatted down, carefully observing a trampled bush, and analyzed, "Then let's follow the tracks!"
Hawkeye called out and took the lead, with Agent May following closely behind.
The two quickly followed the observed tracks to a rolling mountain ridge. Agent May wiped the sweat from her face. She gazed at the vast green Sea of Trees stretching out below them in the distance.
"That's Aokigahara (Sea of Trees). If she went there, we'd truly be Searching for a needle in a haystack!"
Inside the Monarch Mount Fuji Observation Post.
Dr. Serizawa was reviewing Godzilla's activity patterns over the past few years on a computer.
That Ancient Titan, Godzilla, who lived in the Deep Sea.
In recent years, he had discovered that the activity of this Titan, which closely resembled ancient dinosaurs, had a certain pattern.
Almost every year, Godzilla would travel around the world in the Deep Sea along a fixed route.
Of course, its journey was different from conventional travel. It traveled between continents along the Deep Sea and the possible Hollow Earth beneath the Seabed, as if on Patrol.
This mode of action would usually last for a month, and then Godzilla would mysteriously disappear.
Dr. Serizawa suspected that the Titan had its Lair in the hollow layer of the Hollow Earth, but with the current speed of Earth's technology development, finding Godzilla's Lair in the vast Ocean was almost impossible.
Therefore, he turned his attention back to Godzilla's world tour. And then, he made a great discovery.
Dr. Serizawa first discovered the anomalies in the Titan's journey. When Godzilla traveled around the world, it would stop for very short periods in several places. These places included Mona Island, Skull Island, and Antarctica, as well as a few places in South America, North Africa, and Northern Europe.
The common point of these places was that there were confirmed or suspected signs of Titan activity there.
Godzilla was like a jailer, or like a King inspecting his Territory. It seemed to be observing the activities of other Titans.
This undoubtedly gave Monarch a new research direction.
Monarch had been searching for Ancient Titans worldwide, but they had only collected information on a few observable Titans so far. The rest either came from vague Legends or they had only found Clues.
However, by reviewing Godzilla's activity patterns, they were able to discover some Titans they hadn't found before.
For example, King Ghidorah at Base Zero was observed by them through observing Godzilla's stopping points.
Dr. Serizawa reviewed Godzilla's activity patterns over and over again, trying to find a new Titan.
In two months, it would be time for Monarch to apply for Funding.
If they couldn't find anything of Value, then when facing the World Security Council's questioning, Monarch would have to submit a very poor report.
Although the Politicians had shown sufficient patience towards Monarch due to the potential danger posed by the Titan,
Their inability to produce any results against the Titan, other than defense, would undoubtedly lower Monarch's importance in their eyes. This would directly lead to a series of bad situations, such as a reduction in Research Investment.
After all, scientists are also people, and scientists also need to live.
Especially in the current environment, all Countries and Organization are focusing their attention on Outer Space.
The total amount of funds is limited. Once they use all their money to develop the aviation industry, Monarch's funding will undoubtedly be significantly reduced.
Ishiro Serizawa, who had been facing the computer screen all morning, rubbed his brow with a headache.
He couldn't help but think of the man he had met at the Yashida Family's place.
He had visited Shingen Yashida back then to get a Sponsorship from Yashida Corporation. Unfortunately, not long after he left the Yashida Family, he heard the news that something had happened to Yashida.
However, afterwards, the Huaguo man named Tang Song contacted him, expressing willingness to fund his research.
Uncertain of the other party's Origin, Ishiro Serizawa did not agree at the time. Now, with Research Funds stretched thin, he suddenly felt that having a generous Boss behind him might be quite good! Just as Dr. Serizawa was lost in thought, the Communicator in front of him suddenly rang.
"Doctor, someone has crossed the restricted area!"
"It must be those Passenger again. Notify the nearby forest Police Officer and have them escorted away!"
Dr. Serizawa picked up the Communicator irritably and instructed the Guard.
Being located near Mount Fuji, a famous tourist spot, many Passenger who didn't follow the usual paths tried to climb undeveloped areas and entered the restricted zones they had set up every year.
For such lost Passenger, their observation post already had a complete response plan, which usually involved notifying the nearby forest Police Officer to expel them.
"Doctor! They seem to be carrying guns!"
"Where are you?"
Hawkeye and Agent May searched for Black Widow's tracks along the mountain ridge. Hawkeye held a small military binoculars and scanned in all directions.
"Huh! Is there something there?"
Suddenly, Hawkeye's gaze stopped. In an area after a lava flow, among the volcanic rocks, he saw a Cave about three to four meters in size.
"Agent May! Over there!"
Agent May followed Hawkeye's gaze and also saw the Cave in the valley on the Mountainside.
The two climbed and began moving towards the valley. Out of caution, both kept their guns within reach.
All of this was captured by several hidden cameras in the crevices of the mountain rocks.
"Volcanic rock, hasn't solidified for long. Did Mount Fuji erupt in the last two years?"
Hawkeye and Agent May quickly arrived in front of the Cave. Hawkeye squatted down in doubt, pulled out a dagger, scraped some powder from the rock layer, and rubbed the stone powder with his hand.
Agent May took a searchlight from her backpack and shone it down into the Cave.
The beam of the searchlight illuminated the Cave, and a figure flashed past the beam.
Agent May's eyes widened instantly.
"It's Black Widow, she's down there..."
Hawkeye's heart skipped a beat, and then was filled with elation. Just then, on the mountain wall dozens of meters away from them, a disguised Stone Gate was pushed open from the inside, and several White Person Soldiers holding assault rifles came out.
"This is a military restricted area. Who are you? Drop your guns!"
The Soldiers held their guns, aiming at Hawkeye and Agent May.
"Bang bang--" Hawkeye drew the handgun from his back waistband and fired several shots at the Soldiers.
Several Soldiers were shot and fell to the ground.
"Go!"
Hawkeye called out to Agent May and directly flipped and jumped down into the Cave. He had observed the situation inside the Cave using Agent May's searchlight just now.
The distance to the bottom of the Cave was not deep, at most three to four meters.
But Hawkeye clearly overestimated the sturdiness of the rocks at the bottom of the Cave. As he and Agent May jumped down, a dangerous, faint cracking sound echoed beneath his foot.
Hawkeye looked down in horror and saw that the seemingly stable rock layer had developed dense, spiderweb-like cracks.
"Damn it."
Hawkeye grabbed Agent May and ran, but just two steps after he started running, the rock behind him completely broke open.
Most of his body fell towards the area below the rock layer. At this critical moment, Agent May threw the backpack in her hand with one hand. One of the backpack's shoulder straps hooked onto a protruding rock.
Only then did the two narrowly stop their descent.
After struggling to climb onto a safe rock, they leaned over to look down.
"Oh my god!"
Agent May exclaimed.
Below the Cave was a sea of lava. Hot lava flowed, and several huge snake heads were faintly visible in the lava.
Agent May's body trembled slightly.
"It's Yamata no Orochi, the monster from Japanese Legend. Mount Fuji really hides a monster like Yamata no Orochi!"
Yamata no Orochi? Hawkeye looked at the monster faintly visible in the lava.
Its black body floated in the fiery red lava like driftwood. Hawkeye's vision was excellent; he could clearly see the black scales on the snake body.
Observing a Titan at such close range was a very challenging task for one's will.
"It's a Titan. I didn't expect there to be a Monarch observation post hidden here. Those Soldiers outside looked like they were from Monarch!"
Hawkeye's agent rank in S.H.I.E.L.D. was high, so he naturally knew about Monarch and the Titans they observed. However, the location of Monarch's observation posts was always classified.
He had never seen the true appearance of a Titan before. Now, witnessing a Titan firsthand, even Hawkeye's hands were trembling slightly.
"What should we do now? It gives me a very bad feeling."
Although Agent May didn't know what a Titan was, facing a monster that could swallow her whole in one gulp, she didn't want to stay in this dreadful place for a moment longer.
"A Titan. Why did Natasha lead us here?"
Hawkeye took out his mobile phone and aimed it downwards, wanting to take photos of this Titan and send them to Phil Coulson.
But when he took photos of the giant snake in the lava and tried to send them, he found there was no signal here at all.
"Barton, long time no see!"
Just as Hawkeye was planning to find a way to leave this place, a familiar figure walked out from the Cave's shadow opposite him.
"Natasha!" Hawkeye looked at Black Widow with some surprise, while Agent May beside him immediately pulled out her handgun and aimed it at Black Widow.
"Natasha, assassinating Director Fury was your doing. Why did you do it?"
Hawkeye had searched for so long to find Black Widow's tracks. He looked at his former Comrade-in-arms excitedly, wanting an explanation.
Black Widow shook her head, her delicate face showing a hint of playfulness: "Barton, I remember when we were on a mission, you once said that if the two of us died together, it would be a kind of fate! Did you mean it?"
Without waiting for Hawkeye's answer, Black Widow took out a bundle of cluster bombs glowing with red light from behind her and threw them directly down into the Cave under the horrified gaze of Hawkeye and Agent May.
"Bang bang--"
Agent May instantly emptied her magazine at Black Widow. The first shot hit Black Widow's chest. Hawkeye beside her suddenly raised her arm, causing her remaining shots to hit the rocks above.
Just as Hawkeye snatched the gun from Agent May's hand, a violent explosion roared beneath their feet.
Hot lava shot up into the sky, mountain rocks shattered, and a black-scaled snake head dozens of meters thick crushed through layers of rock, opening its bloody maw and swallowing the three people above.
*Rumble rumble*—
The rock layer at the bottom of this mountain valley all bulged outwards. Amidst the surging rock layer, accompanied by the soaring hot lava, the massive eight-headed, eight-tailed monster completely awakened.
*Buzz buzz buzz*
A Monarch helicopter had just taken off from a flat area on the Hillside not far from the valley. A huge black-scaled snake head suddenly emerged from a cloud of volcanic ash and bit the helicopter in its mouth.
"Boom!"
The helicopter was violently slammed against the mountain wall of Mount Fuji by Yamata no Orochi. The helicopter, carrying four or five Monarch evacuation personnel, instantly turned into a fireball.
South Korea, Seoul.
At Mariko Yashida's urging, Boss Tang, who had just finished a Korean Rice Bowl, got out of bed. He moved the soft, fragrant arm pressing down on him,
Put on his pajamas and walked to the Living Room. Sitting on the sofa in the Living Room, Tang Song spread his hand, and a phantom was faintly visible in his palm.
Looking at Black Widow's soul in his palm, Tang Song smiled slightly. Black Widow's soul turned into a spiritual light and merged into the restriction formation behind him.
Behind him, within the Yin-Yang Fish, streaks of streaking light phantoms appeared. These were the light and shadow of the magic restriction formation he had refined.
Among them was a golden wheel emitting golden Buddhist radiance. Within the layers of golden Buddhist radiance, a fist-sized sarira / relic glowed, and golden lotuses held up a scene of a spiritual mountain.
This golden wheel was the magic arts Tang Song had refined—the Heart Demon Great Curse! The most sinister aspect of this evil magic arts, the Heart Demon Great Curse, was that even after death, the soul of the person subjected to the curse would not find liberation but would become a follower of the caster, offering incense offerings / faith power to him.
Of course, the Buddhist Sect calls this universal salvation. The dwelling place for these cursed souls could also be called a Buddhist Kingdom.
"Boss, the matters are resolved, but that thing is out. Mount Fuji is at risk of erupting!"
Not long after, Storm Shadow's phone call came through to Tang Song's mobile phone.
"I know!" Tang Song replied flatly and hung up the phone.
Inside Tony Stark's Sea View Villa, a group of people were gathered in the Living Room. A recording was playing from the audio equipment in front of them.
"Tang, Nick Fury is investigating you. He got information that you have a batch of goods leaving the Dock in two days!"
"Goods, Mr. President, my company transports a lot of things every day. There are many things I can't do personally. Is there anything illegal about our company's things?"
"It's best if there isn't. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Don't let Nick Fury catch you with your pants down. He's been investigating the terrorist attack case at the State Guest House recently!"
"He really should investigate. Who would have thought Hydra was hidden within their S.H.I.E.L.D.? I even suspect that the original terrorist attack incident was planned by them!"
"I'm just afraid—"
"Alright, Mr. President, don't worry unnecessarily. After the terrorist attack incident, the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA) investigated repeatedly countless times. Even if Nick Fury wants to frame you, he needs to find an entry point."
"That's good! But you also need to be careful not to be targeted!"
"Tang, the election is coming up soon. I need your support, not just in terms of political contribution. Your Tang Group is developing very quickly Within the Federation territory now.
The votes of your employees and their Family Members, and the people you can influence..."
"The rest are just some political deals for the election! How many times have you listened? Can you figure anything out?"
After Tony Stark turned off the audio, he looked at Phil Coulson and Steve Rogers sitting opposite him.
The first to speak was Pepper Potts, who was sitting beside him. She spread her hands: "They are clearly hinting at something. We can confirm there's collusion between them, but it's far from enough to accuse them of being involved in Nick Fury's death."
"Based solely on this audio, even a judge couldn't convict them. In fact, besides the President possibly leaking classified information, we don't have any evidence!"
"From this recording, it seems the President leaked Agent Natasha's actions, leading to the mission's failure. So, it's highly likely Natasha fell into Tang Song's hands!"
"Director Fury's death should also be related to him!"
Phil Coulson was a little emotional.
"But, Agent! We have no evidence. Even this recording is illegal. Stealing the President's call records, if we were to present this recording, we'd all end up in Prison!"
Tony Stark rubbed his brow: "J.A.R.V.I.S., is there any method to crack Tang's private mobile phone?"
"Apologies, sir. Their artificial intelligence's speed exceeds mine. I cannot breach their core firewall!"
"Looks like I need to give you a good software upgrade!" Listening to J.A.R.V.I.S.'s words, Tony Stark stood up and clapped his hands.
"The recording is useless. We can only take action from elsewhere. I have a suggestion. We split up. Captain, you and Agent Phil will secretly collect Tang's criminal evidence, and I will continue researching the anti-Tang Song armor. We'll advance together, how about it?"
"That Ethnic Chinese named Tang Song is very strong!?" Captain America looked up at Tony Stark, hearing that he was going to specifically research iron suit to deal with Tang Song.
"It's not a matter of whether he's strong or not, Captain. Let's put it this way, in Svartalfheim, the strength he showed... well, have you read DC Comics?"
"You, me, plus Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, we're like the powerhouses in the Justice League, and Tang, he's the main force, that god among men!"
Superman! Tony Stark's analogy gave Captain America a clear understanding of Tang Song's strength for the first time. After all, the comic character Superman was born in 1938, and he was a DC Comics fan back then.
(End of chapter)