After Coulson found Salomon's address, he planned to visit him alone. But despite his kindness, he was still a SHIELD agent, a professional.
Facing a target that could lose control at any moment, he had already notified the task force to stand by. Coulson took another deep breath, filling his lungs with the cold air, raising his blood oxygen level and energizing his nerves. This time, he had to be prepared for the target to lose control. If necessary, he had to draw his gun and neutralize the target as quickly as possible, even if it was a child.
"It's a small museum, there's no need to be so serious," Agent Sitwell said into the headset. "Perhaps the goal is to put the ring in the museum and make up a good story to attract tourists, so as to save the appalling attendance. Do you know what I saw? The museum's attendance is almost zero! Even from a distance, we didn't see many people coming in or out. Coulson, there are many private museums like this in London, and some are even in attics. You might see an old woman reclining in an easy chair the moment you open the door. Are you sure you don't need to come with me?"
"Sitwell, this is the first time I've heard you joke so much. Don't worry, I've been through many missions like this. You know, we all have Level 6 clearance," Coulson replied with a smile. He knew his colleagues wanted him to relax because the target's abilities were dangerous and there was a risk of them getting out of control.
But Coulson still planned to visit alone. "I know how poorly run this museum is," he said. "That's why I didn't conduct a preliminary reconnaissance. I'm concerned about the target's emotional instability, and the possibility of multiple strangers suddenly visiting might cause a stress reaction. If a peaceful resolution is possible, I prefer not to resort to violence."
"Okay, if you insist," Sitwell said, giving up his persuasion. "But remember, beware of old ladies. Old ladies are always the final bosses in horror games."
"I'll remember that," Coulson said, his natural friendliness evident even through his dark sunglasses. But an agent couldn't be defenseless. He gestured behind him, signaling the team to prepare, and then carefully pushed open the door to the old museum.
The museum was small and bare. There were no booths, no exhibits, not even a single person, and no sign of life. The only suspicious thing was the incredibly smooth brown wooden floor, as if it had been waxed only recently. Coulson was now certain that the building was quite old, and even the best-maintained floors would inevitably show some signs of wear. He walked softly, the sound of his leather shoes hitting the floor muffled by his specially designed heels. An eerie silence filled the building.
Coulson looked around, slipping a hand into his suit jacket and quietly grasping his pistol.
He was certain his target, Salomon Damonette, lived here, as information from a London adoption agency indicated he had been adopted there. But now, he had a far worse suspicion—that an organization here was deliberately collecting mutant children and cultivating them for their own profit. They even had the technology to identify mutants before they awakened, and this museum might just be a temporary rendezvous.
This speculation startled Coulson even more. According to the British government, Salomon Damonette had been adopted, but the adopter's information was unavailable.
What did this mean? It suggested that this organization had some influence within the British government!
Humph! The decadent British Empire, reeking of the old landlord class! Coulson felt compelled to investigate whether British child rights agencies were collaborating with these shady organizations to persecute more innocent children. In that instant, a sense of mission seized Coulson. He resolved to pursue this organization for the long term. For the sake of the mutant children who had been persecuted, and those yet to be persecuted, he had to continue this investigation. He thought of someone.
Saving mutant children might bring a sense of redemption to Melinda, allowing her to recover from the events in Bahrain. In a brief moment, Coulson pondered many things. He relaxed his guard slightly, still holding the gun, but he placed his free hand on his earpiece.
"Let the task force search. There's no one here."
Of course, Coulson couldn't find Solomon. He was currently wandering the streets of Hong Kong, completely unaware that, because of him, some people had mistaken Kamar-Taj for a den of thieves.
The street near the Hong Kong Temple was one of the most vibrant places he'd ever found, and the food was perfectly suited to his taste. It was obvious why he hadn't gone to London or New York: there wasn't much to eat there! Where could you find bamboo noodles in London or New York? There were also shrimp dumplings, siu mai, and other snacks—foreigners wouldn't understand these. Of course, the more important reason was that Wu Guiyue, the guardian of the Hong Kong Temple, had heard that Solomon had been attacked by a dark wizard. Although the Sorcerer Supreme had rescued Solomon, it took a hundred days for his injuries to heal, so he definitely needed some chicken soup to replenish his body.
"How can a foreigner make chicken soup? They use a pressure cooker!" Wu Guiyue became excited at this. "Soup, soup, you have to use a clay pot! Oh, Auntie, I'm not talking about you. You don't need to understand what foreigners mean."
"..."
Salomon didn't know where to start his rant. He could only gently pinch Wu Guiyue's daughter, Alice Gulliver's cheek, and Alice looked at him helplessly. As an otaku, he knew this was the pinnacle of his life.
Back to Coulson, the museum he discovered was actually Kamar-Taj's London Temple.
The reason he couldn't see anyone was simple: when he opened the door, he had already entered a mirror dimension. Kamar-Taj's spatial control magic is unparalleled in the universe. When non-Kamar-Taj members open the door, they automatically enter a pre-created mirror dimension. This mirror dimension can be revoked and regenerated at any time to prevent unauthorized access to the London Temple.
This is equivalent to the London Temple having two doors, and Coulson just pushed open the wrong one.
As for why Solomon's status is "adopted" in the information from the Child Rights Protection Agency, it is even simpler. A simple enchantment spell can allow people from the agency to fill in information on the form. Even if it is false, as long as they don't go back and check carefully, they will never find the suspicious points on the form.
So Coulson's attempt to track down the organization he guessed was collecting mutant children is doomed to fail, because such an organization does not exist at all. Most of those who left the museum were apprentices of Kamar-Taj. They were accompanied by formal wizards when they left the temple, and all they had to do to return to Kamar-Taj was open a portal.
S.H.I.E.L.D. can't catch Kamar-Taj's tail.
-End Chapter-
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