Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1355 Election Day (First Update)

Acrid water droplets dripped from the gaps between the steel beams. The liquid, primarily composed of bleach, failed to fade the mechanical soldiers' robes, as this fire-resistant material also offered some resistance to corrosive liquids. Led by the equally soaking wet and pungent-smelling Martian Sage, the group of mesmerizing mechanical soldiers headed towards the black-painted Pegasus super-heavy assault transport ship on the helipad. At the rear of the column followed a four-meter-tall automated combat robot; all the mechanical and flesh-and-machine hybrids moved with a synchronized, almost human-like precision. They were indeed under the command of a single person; all their thoughts converged within a regional network command chain. The mechanical soldiers' movements were entirely controlled by the Martian Sage, who could even connect to their mechanical implants, seeing what they saw and hearing what they heard.

This fortress-type Automated Combat Robot was a result of Epsilon-Rodney-Ray 223's negotiation with Constantine—at least that's the truth in her circuitry—she told Constantine that she had performed extremely complex calculations for the mission. Through the Laplace Divination System, she determined that adding another fortress-type Automated Combat Robot would increase the mission's success rate by 7.4%, so she requested the deployment of a fortress-type Automated Combat Robot used for security near the royal castle, placing control under her chain of command. Whether to avoid this annoying Martian sage or because Constantine actually believed her, he actually deployed the fortress-type Automated Combat Robot to her.

"The probability of this happening shouldn't exceed 0.1%," warned Alpha-Bronze 02, the captain of the mechanical soldiers. "Possibility one: As flesh and blood, the Royal Guard is inevitably prone to errors, and metabolic byproducts may cause the Royal Guard Commander's thought process to contain broken code; possibility two: The Royal Guard has other purposes. According to publicly available information in the database, the Royal Guard is a great miracle of genetic alchemy, a creation of genetic engineering, and their creator is the Emperor himself... Sage Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223, you must be wary."

"I have gained overriding control of the Alpha-121 Domination Protocol, a fortress-type automated combat robot," Epsilon Rodney Radium 223 said through her modified voice. "I prefer to see it as flesh and blood submitting to mechanical precision." Alpha-Bronze 02 said nothing more; he archived and marked the conversation, waiting for another opportunity to debate it. He did this because his combat visors had already caught sight of the Royal Guard. Even through his prosthetic eyes, which used neural synaptic sensors, the Royal Guard's capabilities caused Alpha-Bronze 02's implants and remaining flesh to scream silently.

Mars has long promoted the idea that machines are far superior to flesh and blood. Machines are sturdy, flesh and blood are fragile; machines are stable, flesh and blood are prone to error, and so on. But this rule seems to break down when it comes to the Royal Guard.

Alpha-Bronze 02 had no idea of ​​the miracles the Emperor had created in genetic engineering. The flesh and blood of the Imperial Guard possessed precision and violence comparable to machines, and even their most sophisticated and complex brains had extremely strong information processing capabilities and memory. Alpha-Bronze 02 did not want Constantine to hear his conversation with Epsilon Rodney Radium 223, after all, everyone knew that the relationship between Mars and the Emperor was not as close as it appeared on the surface.

A large group of First Class soldiers, clad in Void Combat Suit and armed, entered the cabin. Constantine stood at the foot of the ramp, waiting until all personnel were in position before boarding last and manually closing the rear ramp. As the outside light gradually faded, only the stark white of the ambient light illuminated the cabin. No one spoke; even the First Class soldiers, forged solely of flesh and blood, remained silent. If it weren't for the whooshing sound of their breathing filters on their black helmets and the clearly visible fleshy fingers on their combat gloves, the Martian mechanical soldiers would appear little different from the First Class soldiers.

The exoskeleton of the all-environment combat suit was embedded beneath the bulletproof armor plates, with auxiliary power entirely dependent on the contraction and traction of several interlocking robotic arms. This technology wasn't particularly impressive to the Martian visitors; it could even be described as rudimentary, but it was perfectly suited for mass deployment to ordinary soldiers. During its flight to its destination, Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223 observed the soldiers of the First Class Regiment, occasionally nodding and conveying its observations to Alpha-Bronze 02 via binary code packets.

On a small island in the Southern Hemisphere, Agent Maria Hill, impeccably dressed, finally boarded the familiar Quinjet. However, the information shared by her former colleague left her utterly unhappy, the joy of reuniting with the Quinjet instantly turning to ashes. Meanwhile, the newly established S.H.I.E.L.D. appointed Jeffrey Mays as its director, with Secretary of Defense General Tabbot present to express his support. Mays was the most suitable candidate appointed by the president before the end of his term to take over S.H.I.E.L.D.

To make matters worse, Agent Maria Hill, unaware of Agent Coulson's motives, allowed Daisy Jensen to appear on television. The new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. even called Daisy Jensen S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most dedicated undercover agent, praising her heroic deeds in protecting ordinary citizens and earning the young super-powered agent a wave of applause from the media and the public.

"This is political propaganda. Congress needs the public's trust, and the people need confidence to compensate for the impact of the Avengers' split and Captain America's defection. The CIA, Homeland Security, and FBI are now synonymous with evil; Congress won't let them take on the roles of the Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D., which is just a name, is the best choice." The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent calmly retrieved the data panel. "Now the whole world knows that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not dead, and Hydra has been eliminated. Many former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents like me may proactively contact the US government, hoping to rejoin."

"This is a trap," Maria Hill stated simply and directly. "The new S.H.I.E.L.D. would never hire agents from the past. In Congress's eyes, any former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is Hydra... or they themselves are Hydra. They know many people have been wronged, which is why they refuse to hire those agents."

"Anyway, we don't have the right to investigate this kind of thing anymore. The Security Council won't support a Balkan Federation defense intelligence agency composed of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents investigating the U.S. Congress." The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent chuckled self-deprecatingly. He held up a data panel, pointing to the new S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Jeffrey, on the video, and said, "Information on Jeffrey Mays. Before this, we've never seen him possess the potential to be an agent. He has a pilot's license, has had military training, that's all. At least his appearance fits people's image of a soldier—upright, brave, honest, without elitist arrogance—the kind of person who's well-suited to be a politician. See, everything can be related to the upcoming presidential election."

Maria Hill did not answer; she seemed to be thinking about something.

"Where is that 0-84 item now?"

"It might be in Dr. Radcliffe's possession, given to him by Agent Coulson. It could also involve the second known Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes. The intelligence analysis department controls the cameras near Dr. Radcliffe's house and has information on everyone who entered that house. Robbie Reyes appeared once in human form."

"So our opponent has 0-84 items, an AI robot, and a monster from hell?"

The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent shrugged. "What's so strange about that? It's exactly the same as before."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)