Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1331 Kappa-2 (First Update)

The location where Supiluliumas and Victoria Hand are situated is named Capa-2, arranged from bottom to top, because the original excavation order was from bottom to top, not top to bottom. It only connects to the ancient observatory that was once located at Kamar-Taj at the highest level. The entire cave, except for the uppermost section, is circular. At the center is the core of a thermonuclear reactor buried within the mountain. High-altitude winds flow through an independent cooling system extending outwards from the mountain like capillaries, cooling rows of data centers and the reactor cooling towers. Some of the excess heat is used to heat the glacial water used in the living and working areas, and to provide heating for the facilities.

Victoria Hand, a former official of the Immortal City, had long noticed the strangeness in its accounts and resource allocation. She had initially linked it to Nick Fury's use of S.H.I.E.L.D. funds to build a secret base, but she hadn't expected the Emperor to build one in the Himalayas. The Capa Layer was a facility combining a weather station, satellite control station, and missile launch control room. Control Room 2 within this layer was specifically used to control and communicate with some of the satellites launched from Latvinia and the Immortal City, including the thirteen deep-space exploration satellites to be allocated to the Defense Intelligence Agency. Victoria Hand needed to assign several specialists to this facility, rather than sending them to the satellite base in the Balkan Mountains of Latvinia.

No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't get used to communicating with the Martian technicians in their robes, their bodies covered in prosthetics. These people guided her through collecting genetic, iris, voiceprint, and fingerprint data, and entered her information into the security system; otherwise, even with the Imperial Guard by her side, she wouldn't be able to enter the control room. The sting of the lancet against her skin didn't make her wince—because her extremities were frozen stiff—but the next procedure made her feel a chill on her fingertips, and then she discovered that a thin layer of gel had been applied to the finger she was using to draw blood.

The gel dries within seconds, and the tiny, invisible gaps on the skin disappear without a trace.

"A byproduct of genetic engineering experiments, it's only effective against small wounds like this." Superuliumas led her through the checkpoint and into the control room. Upon entering, she was greeted by a room crammed with enormous machines, tiny holographic projections and drones hovering in the air, the stench of static electricity filling her nostrils, and smooth, blackish-gray rock walls. A dense network of giant cables stretched like serpents into every corner of the room. All the computers Latvinia used were from Mars—a measure taken to ensure information security. Almost every computer possessed extremely powerful capabilities; for example, the machine in her office had a computing power far exceeding that of the world's most powerful supercomputers today.

However, the computer she was seeing now was on a different level. It was one of the most advanced computers ever produced on Mars, consuming as much as two percent of the power generated by a small thermonuclear reactor. The entire room's heating could almost entirely rely on the machine's active cooling. Without the thick rock layer blocking the heat, this heat would have been enough to melt the snow on the mountainside. But here, the chill from being exposed to the outside low temperatures was completely dispelled from her body, and her heavy winter clothing now only brought her warmth.

Victoria Hand provided a copy of her key, allowing Mars scholars to transfer control of the satellite.

This key was the key to unlocking all the defense intelligence files she possessed, and the backup chip had already been implanted under her neck skin. Although she had been advised to use a more effective implant that could also improve communication efficiency, Victoria had refused; she wasn't ready for a prosthetic implant. "You should know I need more than just this," she said to Supilulius. "There's also a hyperspace entity. Constantine told me that hyperspace transfer would involve the threat of a dangerous pandimensional spirit entity, but he wouldn't tell me directly what that so-called pandimensional spirit entity is."

"The Emperor recently met with General Hale to determine whether he was affected by an extradimensional entity," Superuliumas patiently explained to Victoria Hand while waiting for the Martian technicians to finish their work. "If you want to know what that thing is, you must go to another place. That place isn't far from here, and you can get a general understanding of the existence of extradimensional entities and the basic principles of teleportation attacks there."

"magic?"

"Hyperspace teleportation is a precise scientific experiment, not some mystical witchcraft. It allows you to know about the existence of outer dimensions because it believes you are qualified to know some secrets, but that's all. Harmful knowledge must be strictly controlled, and there are countless precedents demonstrating the dangers of overexploration."

Although she noticed the guards' caution in speaking, she took it as the caution one would show when discussing superiors. Her brief conversation with the guard commander failed to give her an understanding of the guards' unique nature; in some ways, she still projected her preconceived notions of ordinary humans onto them. The guards never worried about themselves; their bodies were filled with duty and ideals. Their only fear was failing to fulfill their duties. All the fame, power, and money that humans crave were merely ashes on their tongues. This quality drove them to continuously learn and improve.

"Who are you referring to? Constantine, or the Emperor?"

"While the commander may be able to share this secret with you, I don't believe it was his own decision."

Victoria Hand was all too familiar with this posture. She scrutinized and assessed, just as she had done with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the past. She knew nothing of the Guardians' hierarchy and organizational structure, and only a handful of Guardians she knew. Now, she couldn't help but guess that the Guardians before her were actually one of the heads of the Guardians' intelligence department.

"Information is only meant for those who are meant to know it. That's a S.H.I.E.L.D. motto, Nick Fury tells us that all the time." Victoria Hand adjusted her glasses, brushed back her long, red-streaked hair, and retrieved the key with genetic verification capabilities from the Imperial Guard. "I already foresaw I might be working overtime today. How do I get to that place? Should I start from here or go back to the helipad?"

The Guards sensed Victoria Hand's impatience and disdain. Supilulius didn't reiterate the dangers of the outer dimensions; words alone wouldn't convey that the so-called hyperspace wasn't the same as the so-called dangerous individuals S.H.I.E.L.D. had dealt with in the past—frankly, Supilulius had no idea why a woman with blades in her fingers could be on that list; she posed no danger other than killing a few people, and any police officer could easily shoot her. The list was almost absurd. It was less a watchlist of dangerous individuals and more evidence of how important S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work was—Victoria Hand needed in-depth training, and the entire process had to be conducted securely, as the Minister of Intelligence now also held the responsibilities of the Department of Justice. Few ordinary people were as important to the Emperor, and Supilulius knew he couldn't waste her life.

"I'll take you there myself." He waved away the Martian technicians trying to approach the power armor, sending them back to their posts. Those half-human, half-machine scholars always seized every opportunity to explore the technological mysteries of the power armor, causing frequent stampedes. "I assure you, Victoria, this isn't just a simple overtime shift."

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(End of this chapter)