"What's wrong?" The team members were stunned. Wasn't Coulson Captain America's biggest fan? Why was he stopping them?
Life for the excavation team in the Arctic was hard. After living and eating together for so many days, they had long since seen Coulson's Cap-themed underwear and vests.
'Is he shy because he's seeing his idol?' the team members wondered slyly, suspecting Coulson had a crush on Cap. They had heard rumors that Coulson was British, which would make sense.
"No, look at his shield!" Coulson's gaze pierced through the thick glass of the cockpit. Even with the snow obscuring his vision, he caught the special pattern on the shield instantly.
This pattern had appeared many times in the files the Director had sent him recently—a terrifying skull with six curved tentacles extending from beneath it.
That was the Hydra emblem!
Why was the Captain holding a shield with the Hydra symbol on it?!
A bad premonition rose in Coulson's heart. Combined with the recent string of betrayals within S.H.I.E.L.D., he gasped, a numbing sensation traveling from his soles to his scalp.
*Could the Captain have been Hydra all along?!*
Coulson found it hard to believe, but the facts were right there. To uncover the truth, he had to start with the Captain himself.
"Careful, look at the pattern on his shield! He might be a Hydra agent in disguise!" Coulson didn't believe the Captain was Hydra, so he quickly made up an excuse as he pulled out a specialized cold-resistant pistol. "We'll take him alive!"
"Hydra?!" The team members were shocked. Hearing this, they looked at the shield and indeed saw the emblem.
Most of the people present were French, and gasps soon filled the cockpit.
Everyone agreed that Hydra had to be destroyed. The combat team grabbed their firearms and filed out of the snowmobile.
Because of their bulky cold-weather gear, they looked like little dumplings rolling off the vehicle.
'There are people here?!' Cap was equally surprised. He had been prepared for a long battle against the blizzard, not expecting to encounter a bunch of living people so soon after reaching the surface.
And... they were fully armed, coming with obvious malice!
His peak-human vision allowed him to easily see the guns in their hands. Seeing his own outfit and shield, it was obvious who would greet him with guns drawn without a word.
They were Hydra!
Cap's heart sank. He hadn't expected Hydra to still exist. This was the Arctic; had they been hiding and developing here in secret all these years?
It made sense; only the Arctic could provide them with perfect cover.
The situation was grim, and the enemy was aggressive, but Cap wasn't afraid. He had his shield, and now he possessed internal power. Defeating these people would be a piece of cake.
During his training in the virtual world, Cap had figured out a technique to control his shield with Qi, wrapping it in internal power to fend off enemies. This led to many combat styles, perfect for the current situation.
The bright headlights were blinding. Cap squinted at the crowd and saw they had already raised their guns.
*Good, Hydra's tactics are the same as ever. Next, I just need to raise my shield, and their bullets will automatically hit it, giving me the chance to charge in and use my physical strength to take them down.*
Men understood; just like how one subconsciously aims for the black spot in a urinal, they would aim for the center of a target when firing. It was a trick that exploited human nature—very effective.
The idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.
After raising his shield, Cap crouched behind it and quickly closed the distance.
Then, a series of gunshots rang out.
Puff—puff—puff—
"Aaargh... my legs!" Cap cried out in pain as he fell. His legs were bleeding profusely. The enemy hadn't aimed for the shield at all; their line of fire had swept across his legs in unison. The bullets pierced his skin, only to be stopped by his powerful, Qi-infused muscles.
'What's going on? Why aren't they following the routine?' Cap was shocked, but his scream was actually a way to show weakness. After fighting alongside his friends in the virtual world for so long, he had learned a few dirty tricks.
The enemies took the bait and surrounded him with their guns raised.
Once they were close enough, Cap suddenly released his internal power, enveloping the Vibranium shield. He then controlled it with his Qi, sending the shield flying straight through the blizzard, leaving a trail behind.
A heavy strike sent one member flying. The shield then bounced through the crowd; with its aerodynamic shape, it moved through the air with minimal resistance, losing no power as it knocked down over a dozen people in an instant.
Cap's combat experience was immense. Once the situation turned, he effortlessly neutralized the suspected Hydra agents and dragged them one by one back to the snowmobile.
Afterward, Cap simply bandaged his legs and went back to retrieve his shield. This time, the patterned side was facing up. As he approached, he saw the unique Hydra emblem.
"..." Cap was speechless.
What was going on? Was this even his shield? Or was there supposed to be a star on it? Why had it turned into Hydra?
He recalled the group of people aiming their guns at him, and his expression turned subtle.
*Wait, am I the villain?*
It seemed like a misunderstanding, but... who changed the pattern on his shield?
Cap reached up to touch the helmet on his head. Since the helmet had a built-in warming function, he had been wearing it the whole time.
His intuition told him that the person who changed the shield's pattern was likely the same person who gave him the helmet—probably that mysterious Chairman of Future Technology.
"What a twisted sense of humor." Cap shook his head and applied his internal power to the shield, trying to wipe away the paint.
The internal power struck the shield's surface, but the pattern didn't budge. Instead, the power dissipated the moment it made contact, as if it had met its natural enemy.
"..." Cap fell silent.
The Chairman really did have a twisted sense of humor. What was the point of such a prank?
The world continued to turn.
Nick Fury finally found the Captain America he had been longing for. Although there was a slight misunderstanding at first, it was resolved. Coulson, however, was upset for a long time, believing his recklessness had injured the Captain's long legs.
'At least America's Ass wasn't harmed, thank goodness!' Coulson thought to himself.
Meanwhile, news of success came from Black Widow's side. She had successfully tamed the Hulk. Now, that big green guy listened to her every word; Natasha told him to hit someone, and he hit them.
The only slight problem was that Dr. Banner wasn't very willing.
Dr. Banner was the Hulk—or rather, the Hulk was the form he took when he lost control and transformed out of anger.
Fury was confused at first, not understanding what it meant for Banner to be "unwilling." After a detailed inquiry, he learned that the Hulk and Dr. Banner were now two distinct personalities, full of friction and even hostility toward each other. Natasha had won over the transformed Hulk, but her relationship with Dr. Banner was mediocre, and he was unwilling to work for S.H.I.E.L.D.
But regardless, the honest Banner eventually agreed to go with Natasha.
Fury was very satisfied with Natasha's work. He wanted the Hulk; he didn't care about Banner's opinion. Only the Hulk was a high-end combat asset. Once under his control, S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle many supernatural events.
On the other side, Yinsen and Tony also met the U.S. military search and rescue team in the desert.
Although he hadn't developed the Iron Man suit like in the original story, Tony highly praised Yinsen's idea of fighting in iron armor. Yinsen had internal power, while Tony could rely on technology.
After being rescued, Tony held a press conference. In front of everyone, he announced the closure of the weapons division and hired Dr. Yinsen as his personal doctor.
The scene broke into an uproar. The reporters didn't care who Yinsen was, nor did they care what magic this balding, middle-aged man had to make Tony—who only liked beautiful women—hire him as a personal doctor.
The camera shutters wouldn't stop clicking. The weapons division was the most important, profitable, and lucrative part of Stark Industries. Tony's sudden announcement was catastrophic. Stark Industries' stock price plummeted, and his partner, Obadiah, couldn't sit still.
He arranged for a heavy set of armor to be transported from the desert—the very suit Yinsen had worn. Obadiah sent the armor to the technical department and loudly ordered the bewildered technical director to use it as a reference to create a steel suit that an ordinary person could wear.
The technical director clenched his fists several times. If Obadiah hadn't been so tall and intimidating, he would have punched him.
As the second round of internal testing began, new players joined the Origin Continent, becoming green sprouts growing in Makiya's harvest field.
This time, he deliberately controlled the crowd, specifically choosing plot characters to send invitations to: Spider-Man, Green Goblin, the Green Goblin's son, Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Falcon, and so on. He couldn't remember many of the more obscure characters. The mysterious space now desperately needed a new version of himself who knew all the plots so he could target them accurately.
Previously, Makiya hadn't read the Marvel comics. He had finished all the movies from the first Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame, so he didn't know many of the original superheroes and villains. If a new Makiya from a world with Marvel comics appeared in the future, he could benefit from their plot information.
As Spider-Man and the others joined the Origin Continent, Makiya, who was wandering in the virtual world, felt a strange change. It felt as if the growing Origin Continent was undergoing some transformation, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like a hallucination.
Makiya appeared in a corner of Aincrad and reached out to grab a handful of soil. He felt that the matter here was becoming more and more real.
Especially after many plot characters joined the Origin Continent, he looked at the flowers and grass before him and felt they weren't just data, but actual, existing objects.
The change continued, and the world never stopped turning. One night, after inspecting the field, Makiya stretched, intending to have a long-overdue sleep.
When his consciousness entered the virtual world, his body was resting, but his long-active soul would also feel tired and desperately needed a deep sleep to recover.
He retreated into his little nest and fell into a deep slumber. When he opened his eyes again, a grayish-white land appeared before him.
He had entered the mysterious space once more.
Noisy chatter reached his ears. Makiya looked toward the long table in the center of the mysterious space and found a version of himself he had never seen before standing there.
A newcomer had arrived!
A group of Makiyas were talking all at once, discussing heatedly. After listening for a moment, he found everyone was racking their brains to come up with ideas. It seemed the newcomer came from a very dangerous world.