Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1354 (Second Update)

Due to prior warnings, all ordinary staff who come into contact with the Martian personnel wear NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protective suits.

Constantine didn't intend to take these soldiers and technicians to the First Class Regiment's base. Instead, he housed them in a hangar. Only there could the high doses of radiation accidentally leaked by the Martian mechanical warriors harm innocent people, and only there could the lightly armored targets made on Mars be placed. To ensure absolute safety, Constantine also ordered Amon to gather people to clean the road from the royal city's helipad to the warehouse, ensuring that no radioactive dust drifted into the Emperor's garden. Even when the Martian sage requested a meeting with the Emperor, Constantine bluntly told her that unless the radioactive dust on the implants was thoroughly cleaned, they would have to stay there until the operation began.

So the Martian sage requested that a sprinkler system be installed in the hangar.

Constantine told the Martian sage that it would take at least half an hour for the equipment and cleaning agents to be ready. The Martian sage looked around at the heavily armed cyborgs hauling materials into the hangar. Their overdeveloped muscles and hydraulic systems allowed each servant to carry loads far exceeding the maximum weight a normal human could bear. It was unaware that the Royal Guard had assigned these servants to protect ordinary people from the corrosive effects of leaked radiation. In the Martian foundry, many failed experiments in the artificial incubation chambers, failed advancement courses, and even criminals who committed serious crimes were transformed into servants to compensate the foundry for the wasted nutrients, electricity, air, and time. On that red, barren land, all resources had to be carefully managed.

"If I were to take over those machine servants, efficiency would increase by at least 15%." The Martian Sage paused for a few seconds, as if considering something. Then it added, "This is a suggestion, not a demand. I didn't expect flesh and blood to be so fragile, unable to withstand even a little radiation."

"It's clear you're well-suited for this mission." Constantine walked out of the hangar without looking back, but he still incorporated the communication between the Sage and the mechanical soldier captain into the temporary communication channel established for the operation. "You will not be allowed to leave the hangar until the residual radiation dose is within an acceptable range for ordinary humans."

"But the equipment we brought needs maintenance; we can't just clean it roughly!" The Sage was almost jumping out of the area Constantine had designated for him. Realizing this, the Royal Guard immediately stopped. The power armor's joint servos received electrical signals from the neural controller and began to conform to the Royal Guard's body, turning accordingly.

"You people don't understand the beauty of machinery..."

"According to the Olympian Power Succession and Motion Agreement 2-2-103, I accept temporary command of the Imperial Guard." The cyborg leader interrupted the Martian sage's attempt to continue, preemptively activating his speaker. "Alpha-Bronze 02 will retain secondary command. The chain of command has been adjusted." He issued a signal pulse, and all the cyborg soldiers behind him gripped their rifles tightly, muzzles pointing downwards. The tilt angles, ground clearance, and other parameters of all their weapons were precise to four decimal places. "Standby."

Constantine hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and directed the staff to close the blast-proof door of the hangar.

"You should obey me," the Martian sage complained in binary language. "I'm just not a full sage yet. Once I complete my studies, I will receive the promotion procedure and the surgery."

The mechanical soldier didn't answer. It had truly entered standby mode unless the Martian Sage exercised overriding control and forced it to power on.

The operation was scheduled to take place ten hours later. During this time, agents from the Defense Intelligence Agency were required to conduct extended surveillance of Dr. Radcliffe's residence and research facility. Meanwhile, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent arrived at the secret overseas prison aboard a specially modified stealth Quinjet and located Maria Hill, who was being held there. Were it not for the ubiquitous cameras and automated weapon platforms, the natural scenery of this uninhabited island, far removed from international cargo routes, would easily lead one to believe it was a resort rather than a prison.

When the agents located their target, Maria Hill was wearing sunglasses, lying on her back enjoying a sunbath, with several bottles of sunscreen and a tropical fruit cocktail filled with ice beside her. A cyborg with only an upper body was enthusiastically trying out various possible cocktail recipes.

"The cocktails that stuff made at first were awful," Maria Hill said, even though she hadn't seen them. "They're much better now, but I still feel like it's learning through trial and error based on my feedback. Stupid brute force."

"Your vacation is over, Agent Hill."

"You found Nick Fury?" Maria Hill pulled down her sunglasses, looking at the agent over the top of her glasses. "About the Skrulls?"

“No, it’s only temporarily over. We’ve found Agent Coulson and his team.” The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent sat down next to Maria Hill. However, she wasn’t willing to share her beach mat, so he had to sit on the warm sand. “Now they’re in trouble. They’re dealing with something they don’t understand, and it could very well escalate the disaster. But you know, Agent Coulson will never trust the Emperor. He’s abandoned the efficiency and the caution expected of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He’s a vigilante now, not an agent.”

"You can solve this problem with force, can't you?"

"Yes, we'd love to resolve this by force; after all, we have the capability." The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's expression was complex. "But the Emperor admires Agent Coulson's humanity and courage, and he doesn't want to kill his old friend. Agent Coulson may have made mistakes, but he doesn't deserve to die yet. Worse still, Agent Coulson may have already sided with the newly established S.H.I.E.L.D. by Congress, and what the Emperor fears could very well be handed over to the US government... Do you remember what happened at the Cold Storage research facility? The Commander of the Guard told me that it was a million times more terrifying than that electronic document stored in the Cold Storage research facility."

Maria Hill didn't speak, but instead hugged her knees and looked at the blue-gray sea in the distance.

Her life here was quite relaxed. The Emperor and her former colleague, Victoria Hand, gave her ample privacy, refraining from installing cameras in the dressing room, bedroom, or toilet to humiliate her. It wasn't that she couldn't sense the entanglement between the Emperor and Nick Fury; she simply didn't want to get involved. Victoria Hand knew this, which was why she was given this vacation-like confinement. Even the food and drinks she received were extremely expensive. Aside from the inability to contact the outside world, it was practically a vacation.

"This satellite phone can only dial one specific number." The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stood up and brushed the sand off his black trousers. "If you've made up your mind, press the button, and we'll send someone to pick you up. But please do it quickly, if you want Agent Phil Coulson, Agent Melinda May, and Agent Daisy Jensen to survive."

As he walked toward the Quinjet that had landed not far away, the transponder on the plane beeped. He turned to look at the nearly white sand beach under the sunlight; Maria Hill had long since vanished, and only the robots at the beach bar were still making one novel tropical cocktail after another.

"The right choice." He stood on the ramp, turning to look at the sea. Who would have thought that beneath the waters near this small island lay a research base and missile launch site belonging to the Emperor? He pressed the communicator in his hand, "I just hope you can change your clothes quickly, Agent Hill."

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(End of this chapter)