"This is a rare occasion, you actually sought me out." Nick Fury, in a black trench coat, walked into Frank's safe house, sat down on the sofa, and spoke with some surprise. "I'm very busy; I have a ton of things at the agency. If you have something important, hurry up and say it."
"I asked you here because I want you to investigate something," Frank said calmly, ignoring Nick Fury's mannerisms.
"What is it... wait, who is this guy?" Nick Fury suddenly spotted a person who shouldn't have been there. He stopped mid-sentence and pointed to Raul, who was tied up, lying on the ground, and unconscious.
"The leader of a New York gang," Frank replied.
"That's genuinely surprising. A gang member falling into your hands and you actually left him alive?" Nick Fury shifted his gaze. "Is this guy related to the matter you want me to investigate?"
Frank nodded and described the details of his battle with Raul, who had transformed into the Beast Dopant.
Nick Fury's expression also grew serious upon hearing this, and he couldn't wait to ask: "If this guy couldn't be killed by a warehouse explosion and a Barrett armor-piercing round, he's beyond what ordinary weapons and equipment can handle. How did you capture him?"
Frank glanced at Nick Fury for interrupting his narration, took out the Accel Driver and Memory, and recounted the rest of the events completely.
"Gaia Memory? Dopant?" Nick Fury's solitary eye narrowed slightly, his expression extremely grave.
It truly was a period of turmoil. First, there were the mysterious monsters born from the Bugster Virus, and now the so-called Gaia Memories.
"This is the Beast Memory that I destroyed." Frank took out a cloth bundle, opened it, and revealed the shattered Beast Memory inside.
Nick Fury took it in his hand and examined it. He couldn't discern anything; it looked no different from a broken USB drive.
"Stop looking. If you could figure out the problem just by looking at it, I wouldn't have needed to find you. Take this Memory and the guy lying there back with you for research and analysis," Frank said with a dismissive shrug to Nick Fury.
Nick nodded, rewrapped the shattered Memory, and put it in his pocket: "Can I see the Driver and Memory given to you by that mysterious person who called himself Eternal?"
Frank was silent for a moment, then handed the Accel Driver and Memory to Nick.
"You can use this just by inserting this Memory into the Driver's slot?" Nick Fury asked after observing the structure of the Driver and Memory.
"You can try it," Frank said, a flicker of light in his eyes.
Nick Fury stared at Frank fixedly: "Then I'll have someone try it."
Frank sighed helplessly, making a gesture of do what you want. Nick Fury truly had no absolute trust in anyone.
"Coulson, come in for a moment," Nick summoned Coulson, who was waiting outside, via the communication device on his collar.
"Director, is something the matter?" Coulson asked Nick, glancing at Frank sitting nearby.
"Try out this equipment." With that, he handed the Driver and Memory to Agent Coulson, his test subject.
Coulson took them, looking left and right with some confusion.
"Put the belt around your waist and insert the Memory into the slot," Frank prompted.
Coulson nodded, acting as instructed. He put on the belt and inserted the Memory, which instantly let out the roar of an engine.
Nick Fury clearly felt a blast of scorching wind pressure hit him. Then, the Accel Memory suddenly flared with brilliant red light. Coulson cried out in pain and staggered back two steps.
The Accel Memory was instantly ejected from the Driver, flying directly into Frank's hand.
"What was that?..." Coulson was a bit lost.
"It seems that guy didn't lie to you," Nick said thoughtfully: "This thing called the Gaia Memory indeed needs to select a specific person to use its power; it has a so-called compatibility requirement."
"Coulson, what did you feel just now?"
Coulson recalled and then answered: "When I inserted the Gaia Memory into the slot, I felt a scorching energy spreading from my waist throughout my entire body. Then it felt like my whole body was on fire, and just as I felt I couldn't bear it anymore, it automatically ejected."
"I see..." Nick murmured. "Take the guy lying over there to the car first. Then we'll transport him back to the agency for a full examination and research."
Coulson nodded, returned the Driver to Nick, and carried Raul out of the room.
Nick gently stroked the Driver: "Can I borrow this Driver for a period to research it?"
Seeing Frank only looking at him coldly and remaining silent, Nick forced a wry smile: "Then you'll at least cooperate with me to do some tests and collect some data, right?"
Frank stepped forward and took the Driver directly from Nick's hand, saying: "I will not go to the S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory."
Nick nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "That's perfectly fine. We'll conduct the tests at one of my own safe houses."
Over the years, Nick had diverted a significant amount of funding from the World Security Council's allocations to S.H.I.E.L.D. to secretly build several secret bases.
Fisk Group subsidiary, Kingpin's private warehouse.
Kingpin was receiving the Gaia Memories from Evolto.
"Mr. Utopia," Kingpin suddenly spoke.
"What is it?" Ebolto asked casually, leaning on his cane.
"I previously found a candidate who could adapt to the Gaia Memory and sold the Beast Memory to him through a reliable channel. However, the user of the Beast Memory disappeared last night, and the gang under his command was also destroyed. The Beast Memory is missing. Will this affect the Foundation's plan?" Kingpin asked.
Kingpin did not want to be targeted by major powers like the government and military before he had fully developed his strength. If the guy named Raul, who used the Beast Memory, had indeed met with an accident, it would be ideal if this mysterious Foundation X could handle the aftermath for him.
Evolto laughed heartily upon hearing this: "I thought you were going to say something important! The Beast Memory has already been destroyed."
"Destroyed?! You already knew?" Kingpin was slightly astonished. His mind raced: Is the Foundation constantly monitoring all Gaia Memories?
EVolto nodded slightly, his tone carrying profound meaning: "You should be able to see that the Memory used by Lord Eternal is a bit different, right?"
Kingpin nodded. The Eternal Memory clearly looked different from his own Memory and the commercially sold items.
"The Memory with a completely smooth surface is a Pure Memory and can be used with a Driver to transform into a Kamen Rider. The Beast Memory was destroyed by Kamen Rider Accel," Ebolto explained.
"Why?" Kingpin did not understand: "Why would you destroy the Beast Memory?"
The Foundation X was selling the Memories, yet they were also destroying them.
"It's not the Foundation that wants to destroy the Beast Memory, but the person the Foundation selected to use the Accel Memory who destroyed the Beast Memory," Ebolto corrected.
Kingpin reacted: "This person using the Accel Memory was selected by the Foundation, just like me?"
"That's right," Evolto smiled and nodded. He saw Kingpin looked a bit nervous and added: "Actually, you don't have to worry. Apart from the Eternal Memory, a Pure Memory is not necessarily stronger than yours. The Utopia Memory I use is also not a Pure Memory. How much power a Gaia Memory can unleash still depends on the user."
Kingpin's expression was complex: "Since you saw everything, why did you let the Beast Memory be destroyed?"
Evolto chuckled softly: "The power of the Gaia Memory comes from the Earth's intelligence and memory stored within it. The Memory is ultimately just a carrier. Even if it is destroyed, the information stored within it merely returns to the Earth. The Foundation can manufacture the same Memory again. It is not a loss at all. The fact that the Beast Memory was destroyed so easily only indicates that the user lacked the necessary aptitude to unleash the Memory's potential. It is not regrettable at all that the Beast Memory was destroyed by the user of the Accel Memory."
"I see," Kingpin's eyes shifted, full of meaning.
This must be a battle deliberately designed by Foundation X to screen for the strong—a competition between the so-called Kamen Riders using Pure Memories and the general Memory users like himself. The stronger one wins, or rather, the victor is the strong person, the candidate the Foundation needs, who can unleash the potential of the Gaia Memory.
"I will definitely become the strongest user of the Gaia Memory," Kingpin said with a determined tone.
He secretly resolved that one day he would obtain the power of the strongest Gaia Memory and stop being a pawn manipulated by others.
Evolto smiled noncommittally: "I hope so. I have high hopes for you. The merchandise has been delivered, so I'll take my leave now."
(End of this chapter)