Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1403 The Guidance of History (Part 2)

If Agent Coulson had previously harbored doubts about Enoch's origins, he was now completely convinced of Enoch's identity. If Enoch hadn't been an android sent to Earth 30,000 years ago on an observation mission, he would never have witnessed so much history that modern people only know from legends. As the best way to pass the time, Agent Coulson frequently asked Enoch to show him human history. Even the bloody history filled with famine, war, and plague remained the best way for Agent Coulson to learn and research in this small room.

He learned and witnessed much; after all, there was no better history teacher in the world than Enoch. In this room, Enoch and Constantine provided him with spiced candles to calm his mind and medical equipment to ensure his health, allowing him to study without restraint everything required for his upcoming mission. He witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, wars and plagues, the sparks of invention and the raging fires of superstition. It seemed to be an instinct; Enoch was always present whenever a historical event occurred.

"Wait, pause for a second!"

Upon hearing Agent Coulson's request, Enoch reached out and pressed the pause button. He pointed to the figure in knight's armor on the screen; the smoke of battle had blackened the knight's robes, and the indistinct emblems were covered by old bloodstains, making it impossible to discern his allegiance. The weary warhorse's hooves were covered in mud, carrying spoils wrapped in tattered rags; Agent Coulson could almost smell the weariness and sorrow emanating from the image.

"Where am I?"

"During the Hundred Years' War between England and France, in two minutes you'll see one of the most famous female generals in human history, the special individual you humans call Joan of Arc," Enoch tilted his head. "I experienced that war. To raise supplies for the French king's siege of Paris, my pottery workshop received an order." He honestly offered another piece of information: "At that time, I practically monopolized the pottery business in Paris, and my customers included the English, who needed pottery to store tar. Simultaneously, I also purchased several mills in villages within French-controlled territory, allowing me to supply a large amount of flour to both armies. This doesn't count as interfering in human affairs..."

Even Agent Coulson could detect a hint of panic on Enoch's otherwise impassive face. However, he didn't want to delve into Enoch's mission definition, because Enoch had now decided to intervene in human affairs, and he didn't care about the truth of the past—though Agent Coulson was also curious why Enoch was present at every historical event; his intuition told him it wasn't a simple coincidence. "No, I mean… don't you think this person looks familiar?" Agent Coulson asked, pointing to the knight on the screen. The knight only occupied about a fifth of the screen; if Enoch hadn't passed by him in his carriage, Agent Coulson might not have noticed him at all. "I've seen him in several of the videos you played."

"There will always be people in this world who look alike; it's just a matter of probability in epigenetics. Civilizations around the world are not completely isolated from each other; migrations and cultural integration happen all the time, and genomic characteristics from thousands of miles away can be reflected in another person. There's nothing strange about that. I once saw two people in Jerusalem who were not related by blood but looked alike. At the time, they belonged to opposing camps, and one of them fell in blood that was over the horses' hooves."

Enoch shook his head, showing little interest in the simple topic, as if human warfare had left scars on his soul. "If you keep reading, you'll find that this person is closely related to Joan of Arc, but I've never found his name in any human-compiled history books. He could have been a mercenary, or a spy; there were all sorts of people in military camps back then, so there's no need to worry too much."

"Perhaps, but I don't think so," Agent Coulson insisted. "Could we replay the Trojan War segment? I'd like to watch it again; perhaps I can make some new discoveries."

"Of course, Agent Coulson. My mission now is to educate you; you are qualified to ask questions."

"What were you doing in Troy, Enoch?"

"Observation, just observation," the alien android answered truthfully. "At the time, I didn't realize the necessity of forming an armed group. I just thought my job was to observe, so there was no need for me to interfere in human affairs. That's why I fled the temple when Cassandra questioned me. But Cassandra eventually found me and told me about the future she saw, which is this mission."

"Yes, I've seen that part... but I need you to replay the temple footage, especially the hooded man standing next to Cassandra." Agent Coulson nodded. "Can you perform facial recognition on those images? I don't mean interocular distance, but pupil measurement. Including people who appeared at those points in time..."

“Of course, it wouldn’t take much time, but now is not the time.” Enoch nodded, then shook his head. “Melinda May is getting impatient; she’s very likely to attack here. I need you to guarantee my safety, Agent Coulson, but also her safety. I’m worried the genetically modified soldiers might harm her. If that happens, the mission will have to be postponed, which means it’s doomed to fail.”

"I have one last question, Enoch." Agent Coulson hesitated. He didn't know how the agent riot would end, but he knew his chances of getting answers were slim. "Why were you there? Why did you actively interfere in the course of human history?"

"Because I was contaminated, another body captured by the genetically modified warriors was a member of my race that I had summoned back to Earth to carry out an observation mission after I discovered that I had been contaminated."

"Contamination?" Agent Coulson asked. "Could it be some kind of computer virus?"

"Cassandra, the prophet Cassandra, the bride of Apollo. Her prophetic abilities corrupted my logical thinking engine. She granted me a power I couldn't comprehend, altering the speed and path of photons within it, allowing me to foresee historical events that short-lived species couldn't," Enoch said expressionlessly. "I've conducted countless self-examinations, yet I've consistently failed to detect any anomalies. Even my own kind couldn't correct my blatant logical flaws. For so many years, I've been verifying the abilities she bestowed upon me. Every fragment of my foresight has been accurate. She's guiding me through certain activities, and all of these activities are for one purpose?"

"What's the purpose?"

"Found you, Agent Coulson." Enoch's usually fluent answer faltered, and he stammered out the answer like a shy boy. This would be normal for a human, but Enoch was a cyborg. If even his language skills were affected, then his other functions must be consuming a lot of computing power. After a few seconds, Enoch recovered. "To get me to the Lighthouse base to prepare everything needed for this mission, to allow me to guide your journey."

"Then who's behind this? Cassandra? It can't really be Apollo!"

"No... I don't know, Agent Coulson. I am not omniscient or omnipotent; I am just an android."

The fire sprinkler finally stopped its pointless activity and fell silent, emitting smoke.

A small squad led by Tatiana waded through a waterlogged passage. Blood stained the water, and the stench of bodily fluids released by the dying made every surviving person there wince. Dirty water splashed onto her leg armor and crimson robes, but Tatiana didn't stop. Instead, she quickly traversed the damp area, firing at the figure that had taken cover around a corner.

The First Class Regiment and the Rangers adhered to orders to use non-lethal weapons in most situations, only resorting to lethal force in response to attacks. This was a pact between the Guardians and S.H.I.E.L.D., guaranteeing the rights of captured agents and allowing them to work safely. However, the Sorority was not bound by this rule because they were not on Constantine and Coulson's agreement list. They did not accept any protests, even firing before protesting agents could surrender or utter a sound.

Many of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents come from Europe and America, from the democratic systems and tyrannical states described by Plato in "The Republic." They place great importance on individual freedom—holding pointless protests and other ritualistic acts are common for them. In fact, they believe that expressing an attitude is far more important than solving problems. Many riot agents try to use the complex terrain of the Beacon Base to hide or use the weapons they have finally obtained to fight back, ignoring the Imperial Guard's promise that they will be safe if they lay down their weapons.

It turned out they hadn't forgotten the rule, especially when they realized the Sorority actually intended to use firearms. Some internal agents dropped their weapons, while the combat-capable field agents continued to resist. However, the field agents were eventually tracked down by the Sorority. The suppression operation took the Sorority only 10 minutes, but not every surrendering agent received leniency—the intelligent individual combat systems within their powered armor meant the Sorority had no worries about getting lost; they could even detect information invisible to the naked eye, including those killed. The Sorority's actions seemed to have a purpose incomprehensible to others; each rioting agent they found was first identified through facial recognition before deciding whether to kill them.

Agent Coulson, who remained in his room, watched the entire surveillance footage from the main building of the Lighthouse base. When he saw this phenomenon, he strongly suspected that the Sorority was an accomplice hired by Constantine. All the actions of the girls in power armor after arriving at the Lighthouse base revolved around providing their masters with comfortable living conditions and suitable services, as if the explosive guns and chainsaw swords hanging from their waists were merely decorations. It wasn't until the moment of the riot that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents realized that these girls were not the "beautiful female guards" or "beautiful female bodyguards" portrayed in some news headlines; these girls with Central Asian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern features were outright violent machines.

"May, stop. Don't do anything wrong," Agent Coulson warned. Melinda May didn't respond, but Agent Coulson knew she could hear him. "They possess extremely advanced bionic technology," he continued. "If you continue like this, they are very likely to use maiming force on the agents on the mission list. I believe their bionic technology is definitely not like ours, which can only give me a completely immobile prosthetic hand."

Seeing no response, Agent Coulson then contacted another person.

"I need to speak with Gemma Simmons," he told the officer of the First Secret Group. "It's important."

"Access granted, Agent Coulson." Sergeant Ronald nodded. "But you must know that we will be monitoring every communication exchange within this base."

"When has it not been?" Agent Coulson muttered, and then he heard Gemma Simmons' voice.

"I'm fine, Coulson, they didn't hurt me." Although Gemma Simmons said this, Agent Coulson still heard her sniffle; clearly, she had only just calmed down, and her previous over-excitement had caused her tear ducts to involuntarily release a large amount of tears. "May has gone to find you. I'm worried she's been... and Fitz, he's still in the lab. He's worried that he was responsible for the accident in the chemistry lab, but I still haven't heard from him. The whole base is in chaos, nobody knows where he is."

“Don’t worry, Gemma, we’re all on the mission list. As long as we’re on the list, they won’t hurt us.” Agent Coulson reassured Gemma Simmons with words he himself didn’t believe, while simultaneously asking the question he wanted answered, “Do you remember May telling you about her operations?”

"What?"

"Nothing much." Agent Coulson hung up the communication with disappointment. Although Enoch claimed that Melinda May would rush into the secret room and snap its neck, Agent Coulson dismissed it as a mere android's sense of humor. Melinda May neither knew the location of the secret room nor could she possibly snap a robot's neck with her bare hands—it would be as foolish as trying to suffocate a robot. He completely overlooked the fact that Enoch had no sense of humor whatsoever, nor did Constantine.

"You should remain vigilant."

Agent Coulson was startled. "This can't be. This blast door makes noise when it opens and closes."

"I used to, but now I've put lubricant on this door," Constantine replied calmly. "You're ignoring too many other factors, Agent Coulson. What exactly are you worried about?"

(End of this chapter)