Why was Agent Ward targeted by a demon? It's a tragic story.
Perhaps Ward's posture during reincarnation wasn't quite right, leading him to be born into an abusive family. This resulted in a miserable childhood and inevitably shaped his personality.
As he grew older, unable to endure the abuse any longer, Ward decided to take drastic action—like setting his own house on fire.
Unfortunately, lacking experience, he was caught and imprisoned.
During his sentence, Ward was discovered by John Garrett, a Hydra mole embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D. Under Garrett's careful grooming, Ward became an expert assassin—officially a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, secretly a Hydra operative. Later, due to his outstanding marksmanship, he was selected to carry out the Mephisto mission alongside Li Ming.
At first, it didn't seem like a big deal—just playing bodyguard to some researchers. At worst, he'd have to take a few potshots at some demons from a distance and call it a day.
So initially, Ward thought the only real danger was the minor shock of seeing what a demon actually looked like.
But just as the mission was about to conclude, he had the misfortune of running into Mephisto, who had come to collect a debt.
Ward would remember until his dying day how Li Ming had introduced himself to Mephisto—using Ward's name and identity.
That was it. Just like that, he'd inexplicably earned Mephisto's attention.
The problem was, more than one agent knew he'd been marked by Mephisto. As a result, his colleagues began subconsciously avoiding him afterward, even spreading rumors in secret that he was actually a Hydra spy planted by Mephisto within S.H.I.E.L.D.
What nonsense! I'm obviously a Hydra spy, okay?
Originally, to keep his true identity as a spy from being exposed, Ward had crafted an image of himself as a socially awkward, introverted young man who struggled with teamwork and communication.
This already left him with few friends to talk to. But once the rumors spread, he didn't even have a single person left to confide in.
Even John Garrett, who had discovered and mentored him, treating him like a son, began distancing himself—intentionally or not.
Talk about rotten luck. What had he even done to deserve this?
Now, hearing Fitz ask why he'd been targeted by a demon, Ward felt like his heart might explode from rage.
But since Ward knew he was no match for Li Ming, all he could do was glare at him with wide, aggrieved eyes, gritting his teeth as he spat out each word: "Ask. Him."
Fitz was baffled: What's going on here? Everyone's telling me to ask this or that—are they messing with me?
Nearby, Melinda—who had also participated in the Mephisto mission—saw Ward's twisted expression of resentment and fury directed at Li Ming. She didn't need to think hard to guess the poor guy was reliving that traumatic memory.
Shooting a helpless glance at the oblivious Li Ming, she shook her head slightly and stood up, heading toward the cabin. "Get some rest early. Tomorrow, we still need to track down the hacker group that infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D."
Coulson nodded, signaling Fitz and the others to return to the cabin while he remained seated by the campfire.
Clearly, Coulson had something to discuss with Li Ming—a private conversation not meant for the team's ears.
Only after the others had entered the cabin did Coulson lean in and ask quietly, "Has Stark reached out to you for help?"
"Asked for my help?" Li Ming blinked in confusion, shaking his head. "No, nothing like that. What's happened to Stark?"
After a brief hesitation, Coulson replied, "Stark's recently purchased a large quantity of materials—all for manufacturing Armor Suits. Our estimates suggest he's stockpiled enough to build at least ten suits."
"Only ten? That's nothing," Li Ming said dismissively, waving his hand and pointing to the pile of wood behind him. "Everyone has their own little hobbies. Why can't Stark have his? The man's rich and enjoys playing around like this—what's it to you?"
Coulson shook his head, signaling that it wasn't that simple, and whispered, "We suspect Stark is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."
Li Ming looked utterly confused. "The hell is that?"
Coulson casually explained to Li Ming that post-traumatic stress disorder was a war-related condition and elaborated on their reasoning: "In the past, Stark at least had the title of a weapons manufacturer, which somewhat connected him to war."
"But now Stark is just an inventor, a philanthropist—someone completely unrelated to war. Yet ever since the Chitauri invasion, the materials Stark ordered for his Armor Suits have skyrocketed several times over and are still increasing."
"We've also learned that Stark hasn't had proper rest for days," Coulson said with some concern. "Even the Iron Man Armor Suits need energy replenishment. Does a flesh-and-blood Stark not require rest?"
Hearing this, Li Ming was puzzled. He remembered that in the movies, Stark did suffer from severe anxiety, but that was caused by carrying a nuclear missile into space toward the Chitauri mothership during the Battle of New York.
Now that the Chitauri invasion had turned into a farce, and Stark's role in the war was practically insignificant—how could he still develop anxiety? Was the cosmic force of narrative correction a bit too strong? This was practically cheating!
Stark's paranoia must have been pushed to a terminal stage by the Chitauri.
Still, Li Ming asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with me? I'm not a psychologist, nor do I have any spells to treat whatever syndrome that is."
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short," Coulson added.
Li Ming shrugged. "I didn't even know what PTSD was until just now." As he spoke, Li Ming suddenly realized that Coulson's conversation with him seemed to have another motive—Stark seeking help was just an excuse.
Glancing at the sailboat behind him, Li Ming stroked his chin and speculated, "Stark isn't sleeping and is building Armor Suits, while I'm here constructing a sailboat..." He paused, then said irritably, "You don't think I've got that PTSD thing too, do you?"
Seeing that Li Ming had already guessed his intention, Coulson decided not to hide it further. After all, he was the only one present, and even if Li Ming had any extreme reactions, it wouldn't matter.
At worst, he'd just resurrect again.
Coulson nodded and said, "Among those who participated in the Chitauri invasion, Natasha and Barton are seasoned S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They have their own ways to quickly adjust their mindset—they could even return to work normally the next day."
"As for Thor, I don't need to explain much. His life circumstances ensure PTSD has nothing to do with him. Thor has probably experienced more battles than any veteran on Earth."
"As for Dr. Banner, it was the Hulk who fought. Dr. Banner was just taking a break inside the big guy. He might not even know the details of the battle, so he wouldn't develop PTSD."
Coulson composed himself and looked seriously at Li Ming. "Only you and Stark are different. Both of you grew up in peaceful times and have never witnessed the brutality of war. Now that Stark is showing symptoms of PTSD, Fury is concerned about your mental health."
"Never witnessed the cruelty of war?" Li Ming pointed at his own nose with a wry smile, rolling his eyes. "Please thank 'Mom Fury' for his concern. I'm perfectly fine—I just wanted to build a ship for fun. For 'Mom Fury' to jump to PTSD conclusions, does he have nothing better to do than obsess over me?"
Coulson paused, narrowing his eyes. "You've been in a war?"
The world of 'Western Heroes' was Li Ming's first close encounter with death, followed by the sight of corpses everywhere in 'Season of the Witch.'
And though he mostly played a minor role in 'Demon Slayer,' it wouldn't be accurate to say he hadn't witnessed small-scale battles.
But how could he explain any of this to Coulson? There was no way.
If he tried, Fury would likely show up in person the next second to discuss otherworldly matters—or even hijack Kamar-Taj's mission by drafting a 'Plan for Defending Against Otherworldly Invasions.'
Knowing Fury, he might even launch a scheme to exploit other worlds for profit.
And when that happened, would Kamar-Taj blame Li Ming or Fury?
Li Ming doubted he could reason with the Ancient One—he'd probably get beaten up first before any explanations.
Not wanting to answer, Li Ming simply gave Coulson a 'figure it out yourself' look and walked toward the lounge chair, making it clear he wasn't interested in elaborating.
By the campfire, Coulson watched Li Ming's retreating figure thoughtfully. A war? Whose war? A war in the magic world?
After a moment, Coulson decided the information was too much for him to handle alone. He pulled out his phone and called Fury. "Sir, I don't think Austin has PTSD. He might have been involved in some kind of war."
On the other end of the line, Fury rubbed his temples wearily after hearing Coulson's report. "I know. By the way, inform Austin that I'll hand Alexander over to him first thing tomorrow."
Coulson stiffened in shock. "Sir, you mean former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Alexander?"
"Yes, him," Fury said, sounding exhausted. "But we've hit a snag."
Before Coulson could ask what went wrong, Fury continued, "Alexander was attacked and killed tonight—his bones were blown to pieces. The worst part? No explosives were found at the scene. It's like he was killed by magic."
Hearing this, Coulson instinctively glanced at Li Ming. "Sir, I can confirm Austin hasn't left my sight tonight, not even for a second."
"I know," Fury replied after a pause, his voice dark. "A man calling himself 'the Mandarin' later claimed responsibility for Alexander's death."
Alexander had just died, and the higher-ups were in a hurry to deliver the body to Austin? That doesn't follow protocol. Coulson tilted his head in thought before saying with partial certainty, "You want Austin to confirm whether the deceased is really Alexander and whether the explosion was caused by magic?"
Fury didn't deny Coulson's assumption. If possible, Fury would have even wanted to deliver Alexander's body to Li Ming right then and there.
However, collecting bone fragments took time—especially charred remains. Some parts had been completely incinerated in the explosion. That the agents had managed to gather enough remains overnight was already the result of them scouring the area with wide-eyed diligence.