On a dark and windy night, inside a secluded manor.
The master bedroom door slowly opened, and a figure swaggered in.
This person wore a thick floral cotton-padded jacket on top, but had on death Barbie pink shorts below, with a pair of shit-yellow Crocs on his feet.
This outfit couldn't be called particularly ugly—it could only be said to be uniquely ugly.
But the most eye-catching thing was the huge yellow dog head mask on his head, with a sly expression that carried an inexplicable sense of mockery.
The dog-headed person walked straight to the desk, turned on the computer, pulled out a USB drive from his pocket and plugged it in. A progress bar immediately appeared on the screen.
While waiting, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Hello?"
"Declan, this is Nick Fury. What's your status?"
"I've infiltrated the target location and am currently obtaining the mission item."
"You haven't been discovered, have you?"
Just as Declan was about to answer, the master bedroom's bathroom door suddenly clicked open, and a bearded man in a bathrobe stared at him in terror.
"Damn it! Who are you? How did you get in?!"
"Security! Security! Secur—"
Bang!
A clean, crisp gunshot.
The dog-headed person calmly put away his gun and said into the phone: "Don't worry, no one will discover anything."
"..."
Nick Fury was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line, his voice becoming low: "After the mission is complete, come back to headquarters."
"OK!"
Declan hung up the phone, and the progress bar on the computer screen had just finished loading. He nimbly pulled out the USB drive.
The next moment, a cold mechanical voice rang in his mind.
[Daily mission "Steal Important Intelligence" settlement complete!]
[Rewards obtained: Experience +500, S.H.I.E.L.D. reputation +10, C4 explosives x1]
"Tch, these trash rewards again."
Declan curled his lips, his gaze sweeping over the corpse on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh: "But this game is really well-made. Look at this NPC's death feedback—it's just like the real thing. I wouldn't believe the game developers haven't killed anyone before."
In fact, he was immersed in a holographic virtual game called "Marvel World."
In 2065, holographic virtual gaming technology had long been popularized, allowing players to experience virtual worlds that were nearly 100% realistic.
As a veteran player with millions of fans, Declan had completed countless games and had quite a reputation in the international gaming circle.
Two months ago, a gaming company under Marvel approached him, inviting him to test this new work that claimed "unprecedented ultra-high freedom," promising a ten million reward for a single completion.
To be honest, Declan didn't know much about Marvel.
After all, in his era, Marvel stories had been updated and changed through who knows how many generations, and the original characters had long since disappeared.
The most popular superhero of the time was the seventh-generation Iron Man, called Iron Black Heart—a black single mother with gender identity issues, severe alcoholism, severe obesity, multiple gender transition history, three divorces, and five children.
She formed a family with the eighth-generation Captain America, who was gay, a vegetarian animal rights and environmental activist, a feminist movement pioneer, a Catholic believer, and had one-eighth Native American heritage. They would shout "family!" every day.
This kind of politically correct buff-stacked superhero combination might be entertaining to those across the ocean, but Declan really couldn't muster any interest.
That said, Declan still signed the agreement without a second thought and lay down in the top-tier gaming virtual pod they provided that very day.
No choice.
They were paying way too much!
At the start of the game, the system provided several identity options: Hydra spy, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Stark Industries employee, Hell's Kitchen resident, Midtown High School student.
Declan randomly clicked an option and began the game.
After two months of playing, Declan had to admit that this game's freedom was ridiculously high.
There was no tutorial, no guidance whatsoever—all operations and plot development had to be explored by the player themselves.
Most ridiculous of all, after so many days, he hadn't even seen a shadow of a main storyline quest!
If it weren't for the game system repeatedly assuring him there was a main story, Declan would have suspected he was playing a secret agent simulation game.
"Speaking of which, this game doesn't seem to have a quit game button," Declan said puzzledly.
The system's voice responded timely:
[Very sorry, there was a small problem when the game started, causing a system bug. We are currently working hard to fix it]
"I won't be in any danger, will I?"
Declan's heart skipped a beat.
[Please rest assured, the gaming virtual pod monitors player vital signs 24/7 and will immediately force awakening if any abnormalities are detected.]
[Additional note: The game-to-reality time flow ratio is 362:1. The top-tier virtual pod and high-efficiency nutrient solution you are using can ensure stable maintenance of basic body metabolism for over ten years. Time and safety issues need not be worried about.]
[If the player insists on quitting the game, they may do so at any time, but will permanently lose eligibility for the one-time completion bonus.]
[Does the player wish to quit the game?]
"No quit!"
Declan firmly refused.
Are you kidding? Before completing the game and getting the ten million reward, he would absolutely not quit the game!
Just then, dense and urgent footsteps came from outside the door—clearly the gunshot had alerted the manor's security.
Declan dismissed the doubts in his mind, quickly brought up the game map, and locked onto the "S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters" coordinates.
Click, teleport!
When the security arrived, there was only a cold corpse in the master bedroom, along with beeping C4 explosives.
"Holy shit!"
Boom!!!
...
Triskelion Building, Director's Office.
Nick Fury sat behind a large desk, reviewing a thick stack of documents.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. budget allocation report?"
A voice suddenly rang out.
Nick Fury looked up sharply to see a huge yellow dog head leaning close to the documents.
Declan: (ᵔᴥᵔ)
"Motherfucker!"
Nick Fury jumped, instinctively shouting out.
But he quickly recognized the other party's identity and said with a dark face: "Declan! How many times have I told you! When you're at headquarters, dress normally! At least look human!"
Declan immediately became unhappy: "This combination is clearly very handsome, and the stats aren't low either."
Nick Fury's mouth twitched.
Did you leave your sense of aesthetics in the womb when you were born?
He was about to lose his temper when Declan suddenly pointed at part of the document.
"Speaking of which, Director, this report seems off. How come there are several large expenditures with no source? Could it be that... someone in the bureau is secretly embezzling funds?"
"Cough cough cough!"
Nick Fury suddenly coughed violently, snatched the document, closed it, and stuffed it into a drawer, saying seriously: "This is top secret. I'm handling it personally. It's not something a Level 5 agent should be asking about."
"Oh."
Nick Fury maintained a stern face and forcibly changed the subject: "Now I have an important mission for you."
With that, he took out a file from another drawer and pushed it in front of Declan.
On the first page of the file was a photo of a flashy man with a small mustache, with his name and identity noted below.
Tony Stark, Chairman of Stark Industries.
"Three months ago, Tony Stark was attacked by unknown militants in the Middle East and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day."
"I need you to immediately go to Afghanistan, find out Tony Stark's whereabouts, and if he's still alive, bring him back safely."
As Nick Fury finished speaking, the system's voice rang out simultaneously.
[NPC Nick Fury has issued you a new mission]
[Mission: Birth of Iron Man]
[Objective: Go to the Middle East to find Tony Stark and bring him back safely]
[Player has triggered main storyline mission! Upon completion, player will receive generous rewards!]
Main storyline mission!?
Declan's eyes widened with excitement.
It's here!
The main storyline mission he'd been eagerly awaiting had finally arrived!
"Iron Man? Sounds like a superhero title. Must be an important character?" Declan speculated.
Although he knew little about Marvel, he knew it was a superhero comic company, so naturally the core would be superheroes.
It's just that throughout his gameplay so far, Declan hadn't heard of any superheroes, let alone seen one.
The Nick Fury in front of him did have a bit of that superhero vibe though.
So what would his hero title be?
One-Eye Guy?
Or Motherfucker Man?
"Declan! Are you even listening!"
Nick Fury looked at the daydreaming Declan and felt his blood pressure rising.
Declan snapped back to attention: "Chief, what did you just say?"
"I said..."
"Never mind, it's not important. Skip the cutscene!"
Nick Fury: ಠ_ಠ