Legilimency is a special kind of magic that allows one to enter another person's emotional memories—essentially, mind-reading.
Lu Yi could have used Legilimency to enter Stryker's memories, but he chose not to. Stryker's memories weren't particularly valuable—simply extracting the relevant thoughts was enough, and just as effective. After extracting these thoughts, Lu Yi did not store them. Instead, he used his own spiritual power to touch them directly.
A scene emerged in Lu Yi's mind—it was one of Stryker's memories. Lu Yi watched the fragments as though watching a movie.
"What are you doing?" Lu Yi could see Stryker's memory, but Natasha and Coulson could not. Natasha promptly voiced her suspicions.
Her mission of gathering intelligence on Lu Yi had never stopped—and this moment was no exception.
"Extracting memory!"
"Extracting memories? What a unique method!"
Why are you so interested in this?
"Yes. Can I take a look myself?" Natasha said through gritted teeth.
She was planning to experience it firsthand!
"Of course!"
Lu Yi's eyes gleamed as he tossed the strand of glowing thought from his fingertips toward Natasha. The thought sank into her mind.
Natasha felt the world around her shift, followed by a brief moment of weightlessness. When she came back to her senses, she found herself standing in a room inside the base.
People were moving in and out, working in an orderly manner. Stryker—who should have been on the ground—was now standing. He soon sat down in a chair and stared at a screen in deep thought.
"Where is this?" Natasha instinctively placed a hand on the pistol at her waist, scanning her surroundings.
"Something's wrong—very wrong. I just appeared here, yet nothing reacted. Something is definitely off!"
Natasha gracefully walked to a nearby staff member. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and touched him.
Unexpectedly—but logically—her hand passed right through the staff member's head. He wasn't real.
"This is incredible… Maybe this really is Stryker's memory!"
Using the information she had, Natasha quickly deduced the truth. She stopped overreacting and decided to observe silently.
This was an opportunity she couldn't waste.
Natasha carefully observed everything, afraid to miss even the slightest discrepancy. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Until it wasn't.
A bell-like sound interrupted Stryker's work. Stryker frowned and clicked a flickering pop-up window on his computer.
"I told you not to bother me!" Stryker snapped at the screen.
"I'm sorry, sir! But there's a military official here to see you!"
"Really? Then bring him in," Stryker said, expression shifting slightly.
Then the scene changed. A man and a general walked into the room.
"We need your cooperation," the general said bluntly after dismissing everyone else.
"What kind of cooperation?"
"The United States is facing a major threat. Any powerful being—mutant or superhuman—poses a risk to national security. As an expert in mutant research, we've funded you for years. Now it's time you return the favor!"
"Is this your personal opinion or the President's?"
"This isn't the President's idea, nor is it mine—it's from certain knowledgeable people within the military. They're afraid of these beings, so they chose compromise. What about you? Will you compromise?"
"No—I won't compromise. But…"
The general seemed relieved at Stryker's response. "Don't worry, we'll handle it. This operation is highly confidential—your involvement will never be exposed. The President will not trouble you at all. And after, regardless of success or failure, we will fully support your research. You still want to continue your mutant experiments, don't you?"
The general's words deeply moved Stryker. After a moment of thought, he did not refuse.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Provide us with a mutant who can knock out opponents—and a box made of Adamantium!"
"I think I know your plan—that's no problem. But what if it fails?"
"Don't worry, we have a backup plan. The nuclear warheads are already in place," the general said, a hint of madness flashing across his face.
At that moment, the memory abruptly ended.
The general and Stryker dissolved into mist-like phantoms and vanished, along with the entire environment.
Finally, Natasha felt her body rise rapidly, and she found herself once again facing a troubled-looking Lu Yi and Coulson.
Natasha raised a hand to stop Coulson from speaking, then turned and quietly said to Lu Yi, "I didn't expect it to be this serious. Don't worry—S.H.I.E.L.D. will never let them get away with this."
"Your idea is noble—but I don't need S.H.I.E.L.D. to avenge me." Lu Yi said with a half-smile.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Natasha instantly realized her plan had failed. She could only smile helplessly and silently pray for the generals—hoping they could at least die with dignity.
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