"What do you think?"
Facing Nick Fury's question, Natasha Romanoff crossed her legs and fell silent for a moment.
"I hope it's fake. Even though this diary is full of strange things…"
"But if it's real, I'm not sure whether the future described in this parallel universe diary will become our reality."
"So you believe it?" Nick Fury pressed.
Natasha shrugged lightly. "I don't know. I really don't know whether to believe it or not. After all, the first entry is just… hopeless."
"But if the Hawkeye Barton mentioned in the diary is the same one we know,"
"Then that Natasha Romanoff must be me."
"So, if what's written in the diary is true, then I'll either be the first of these so-called Avengers to retire… or the first to die."
She looked at Nick Fury with a wry smile. "So, Director—would you prefer I die in battle, or retire early?"
Nick Fury was silent for a moment.
"The Avengers has always been a concept of mine—a team of superpowered individuals assembled to protect the world and face crises together."
He met Natasha's gaze seriously. "I haven't put this idea into action yet. In fact, aside from me, no one else knows the name 'Avengers.'"
"Director, does that mean you believe what's written in the diary?"
"Whether I believe it or not isn't the point."
Nick Fury's tone was firm. "Natasha Romanoff, from this moment on, you are to suspend all other missions."
"Your only task is to find the owner of this diary. This is crucial."
"If what this diary says is true, then its author—Su Che, who seems to know the future—is of extreme importance to us."
Natasha spread her hands. "I understand that, Director. But there are seven billion people on this planet."
"1.4 billion of them are in China alone, not even counting other regions. We only know his name is Su Che and that he has some kind of superpower."
"We don't know his ability, his identity, his appearance, or his location. As the Chinese say, it's like 'looking for a needle in a haystack.'"
"More importantly, if he's in China—under the jurisdiction of the Divine Spear Bureau—given the comparative strength between Divine Spear and our S.H.I.E.L.D.…"
"Let's just say if our shield clashes with their spear, our shield might break before their spear even gets scratched."
(In the comics, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Divine Spear are not on the same scale—whether in numbers of superpowered agents, aerial carriers, or overall manpower.)
Hearing this, Nick Fury leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. "It really is difficult."
"Take it step by step. Since the first diary entry has appeared, the second probably isn't far off."
"At the very least, as more entries appear, we might be able to piece together clues about this Su Che."
Manhattan, Inside an Apartment Building
"So, Nick Fury is actually the one who trusts the diary the most out of the three?"
Su Che was slightly surprised to see that Nick Fury's trust level had reached 57%, while Wanda's was only 40% and Natasha's was 35%.
After all, he had thought that Wanda, being only fourteen, would be the easiest to convince—still young, focused on avenging her parents.
And Nick Fury, who doubted everything, should have been the hardest to win over.
Unexpectedly, the most skeptical one was now the one with the highest trust.
Tsk…
Looking over the first diary entry he'd composed, Su Che suddenly understood.
Right—Nick Fury hasn't even proposed the Avengers Initiative yet.
In other words, the concept of the Avengers exists only in Nick Fury's mind.
That's probably why he's the most convinced among the three.
Su Che stood up and walked to the window, watching the people coming and going outside.
Damn… This is New York—the most dangerous city in the Marvel universe, where aliens and villains love to cause trouble!
If it weren't for the system's requirements…
If it weren't for needing to connect with Avengers members and make them believe he was from a "parallel universe" to gain stronger abilities…
He would've already found a way to leave this place and return to the safety of the Divine Spear Bureau's territory.
Tsk. And the system had to set his identity as a "superhero from a parallel world."
Otherwise, how cool would it be to be like Homelander—unrestrained, free to "launch the moon into the sky" without a care!
Thinking this, Su Che chuckled to himself.
Then he opened the system interface to claim the rewards from his first diary entry.