Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1670 Project Pegasus

When Laura Crawford first heard about Milia's background, she could hardly believe that the adorable girl splashing around in the pool like a duckling was the so-called "Devil's Child." At the same time, she understood the girl's strangeness and why the woman she occasionally saw in the drawing room of Oxfordshire Manor, who claimed to be Milia's blood relative, had such a complicated attitude towards everyone in the manor, including Milia.

As the fog lifted, Laura Crawford saw that Bayonetta and Joan of Arc's shadows were elegant women with butterfly and moth wings growing from their backs, while Milia's shadow was a gigantic monster with goat horns and bat wings. This shadow, submerged in the pool water under the night lights, had one claw resting on Milia's shoulder while the other, wet and thrashing, scratched towards the shore. In a fleeting glimpse, she noticed a glowing ring around the neck of the greasy, dark figure.

Before Laura Crawford could recover from her shock, Bayonetta waved her hand, and the strange sight vanished.

According to Joan of Arc, Milia's so-called mischievous tendencies are actually a shallow, childish malice—the influence of the psychic energy surging in her veins on her brain. This energy compels this incredibly cute girl to unconsciously attempt behaviors that are extremely dangerous for ordinary people, harming others and herself. Without proper guidance, Milia's intellect will gradually degenerate under the influence of psychic energy; she will lose all empathy for any living being, becoming cruel, cunning, promiscuous, and unscrupulous. This is why this girl needs to spend so much time with him and the witches; only he and the witches can tame the malice within her soul.

The Cheshire Cat lay on a lounge chair by the pool, its round eyes fixed on the girl.

The female archaeologist had long known that the Cheshire Cat was a summoned pet—as for magic, she had long since given up on investigating the logic and details. Previously, she hadn't suspected anything about the Cheshire Cat following the girl closely, simply assuming it was a pet cat that liked children. Only now did she suddenly realize that the island's owner had actually been watching Milia closely, and that the seemingly cute cat was actually a tattletale fairy cat. She wouldn't be surprised if she saw this cat flying in the sky one day. Strangely, compared to the bizarre magical glow, this phenomenon made her feel more strongly that supernatural forces truly existed.

She wasn't unaware of the reputation the manor's empire held in the world—anyone with a sound mind would immediately connect the dots upon seeing the golden-armored demigod who had once appeared on television now in the manor—but it was too late to say anything now. She could only believe it was all for a noble purpose. Before this, the Balkans were a notorious black market for arms and human trafficking in Europe. Now, many of those criminal organizations had been wiped out, and groups like the Romanian sewer children had received aid. The tense atmosphere of war and ethnic and religious conflicts had eased considerably, because all those forces that had once possessed armed power had fallen to the guns of the emperor's genetically modified warriors.

Today, no organization in the Balkans and Europe dares to undermine the system established by the Emperor, because those genetically modified warriors will shoot armed rebels in the head with 20mm caliber guns, and the aircraft carriers in orbit are also patrolling all over Europe with strategic bombers. The mortal auxiliary army that has just finished training is eager to test the results of its training, and is using armored vehicles and gunships to capture religious terrorist organizations in the vast mountains.

At this time, the whole world was quiet, as if peace was just around the corner. The International Monetary Fund made no mention of Romania's debt, which had once reached 37% of its GDP and was now a province, and instead began to discuss investment and production. Even intelligent people knew that such peace would not last long, but no one had yet been able to break the emperor's hegemony in terms of personal military power—which led to some very bad consequences—some Syrian and Libyan refugees who were crossing the Mediterranean in rafts began to choose the Balkans as their destination because they had seen the emperor's genetically modified army there, and even seen his figure on television or in their dreams (later investigations proved that this was a psychic phenomenon generated during the Latvian liberation war, which was basically harmless). For those poor people living in war and hunger, this was nothing short of divine revelation, inspiring them to bring their families and risk a death rate far exceeding that of war to cross the Mediterranean.

"Since you've agreed to officially become this girl's governess, you should know these facts. At least you can teach the child something useful, instead of whistling, imitating saxophone playing with your mouth, and feeding raccoons. You can guess who taught her these things. Ever since Milia learned them, our dining table hasn't been quiet for a minute, until Ceresa gave her a good scolding."

Joan of Arc's face broke into a stunning smile, as if she had cast off a heavy burden. In her delight, she also enthusiastically gulped down high-proof distilled spirits. She could be considered an education expert, but Milia's problem was giving her a real headache.

"So now..." Laura Crawford asked cautiously, "he's going on a long trip. Is it dangerous?"

“Milia’s a good girl, at least for now. Her strength is very weak compared to ours, so don’t worry about her hurting anyone. You don’t need to worry about this turning into something like Carrie’s horror story. As long as you don’t take off the collar around her neck.” Jeanne blinked, exhaling breath that smelled of alcohol. “Oh, so you’re asking about him. No, there won’t be any danger. I’m used to him being prepared. He won’t joke around with his life unless necessary… Now you know why there’s that whack-a-mole game in the garage; he takes it out at least once a month.”

"So, are you planning to let Milia receive a normal education?" Laura Crawford, now back in her swimsuit, asked tentatively. "Without contact with peers, I'm worried about her mental health. She needs to know how to interact with people, doesn't she?"

"Her association with children her own age is irresponsible towards other children."

Bayonetta stretched out a finger and poked the Cheshire Cat's round head.

"Common sense in modern human society doesn't apply here. She's a cub; you can't use the rules of human society to restrain her hunting instincts. No one can guarantee she won't harm young human individuals. You'll understand what this means later. Now, let's discuss your compensation." Bayonetta pulled down her glasses, staring at the female archaeologist from above. "I can promise to pay your tuition at the University of London, plus all the cars in the garage, a room in the manor, all the haute couture and luxury clothing you could want, swimsuits you could wear here or not, an endless supply of wine, a stable, and everything else necessary to maintain a respectable upper-class lifestyle. You'll also have enough money to renovate Croft Manor. This is a generous reward, and I'd also like to invite you to participate in equestrian competitions."

"That's too much, Bayonetta."

The female archaeologist blushed, for the reward was simply too generous. She had earned her tuition at the University of London through part-time work, and even without this job, the archaeological grant alone would have freed her from the hardship of working in restaurants to pay for her studies. Before receiving the grant, her first archaeological expedition could only be described as frugal, even impoverished; high-quality outdoor gear was no cheap, and she was nearly malnourished at that time.

"The witch clan's accumulated wealth over millennia is far greater than you imagine, not even counting their incalculable psionic assets. We've reclaimed the witch clan's property through various means, but now it's just me and Jeanne d'Arc. We can dispose of all the property at will, without needing anyone else's permission. As for Jeanne d'Arc... she's always held the power to dispose of all the assets of Sun Island and its affiliated church. Everyone knows that religion is the most lucrative means of accumulating wealth," Bayonetta said. "Accept my reward. You have 1.3 billion dollars in assets, but those are in trust funds, assets belonging to the Croft family. You also have many troublesome relatives, and as far as I know, you're not qualified to dispose of all the family assets right now. So accept this reward, and we will continue to support your archaeological expeditions."

Joan of Arc nodded. "So, you accept?"

“I agree. Your assessment might be spot on, Bruce Banner.” Nick Fury straightened the edge of his beanie and pulled a long, thin chip from the folds of the fabric. He deftly clipped the chip into his wallet and placed it behind the fake identification. The Quinjet, while not exactly comfortable, was enough for him and Bruce Banner to get a few hours of rest. “Pierce’s defection didn’t stop the project. It’s still jointly managed by the U.S. Air Force and NASA. Ever since Thor arrived in New Mexico, the Security Council has demanded that Project Pegasus be restarted until Loki arrived and destroyed the facility. However, the project is still proceeding in secret. Even without the Tesseract, we still have other technologies that we can’t fully control yet to analyze.”

"You think you can just walk in like that?" Bruce Banner looked at him in disbelief. "You're still wanted worldwide! The Security Council members haven't calmed down their hostility towards you!"

"I know they want me to hand over everything from S.H.I.E.L.D., and that's unacceptable." Nick Fury calmly shifted gears. Night was fading, sunlight streaming across the desert from the other side, making the dark green bushes look like black ghosts, densely covering the hillside. "But I have friends, loyal enough. I'm an agent, Dr. Banner. If I'm powerless without S.H.I.E.L.D., how can I be called the King of Agents?"

"You couldn't even handle the patrol officer checking your DUI," Bruce Banner said angrily, lifting a small flask from the glove compartment. "You almost got caught that this car was stolen!"

"That was an accident!" Nick Fury waved the black wallet and pass impatiently. "That's settled. We're now agents of the Pentagon's Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Our mission here is to assist Congress in investigating potential irregularities and corruption within Project Pegasus during its time at S.H.I.E.L.D., and, more privately, to ensure that Project Pegasus's accounts match those of the Treasury Department—a well-known unspoken rule. You're my auditor, Dr. Banner, and I think your mathematical talent is enough to pick out some minor errors from the ledgers. Even if you can't see them, I can point them out for you."

"I never knew you could get such high marks in math class," Bruce Banner said. "The last time I saw you getting change at the store, you even miscalculated the cost of the gas."

"Those financial loopholes were my doing, but it was mainly Agent Hill who carried them out; she always manages to find the best accountants," Nick Fury shrugged. "I couldn't just let that money sit in accounts and breed; it had to be used to build safe houses and secret bases, to launch dangerous items into the sun. Besides, the Pentagon has over $5000 billion in untraceable assets and wouldn't even notice Project Pegasus's billions of dollars. You have no idea how much jet engine technology Project Pegasus has; some of the technology used in the engines on the F-35 comes from there."

"Your plan will lead us to meet with the person in charge of this base!"

Bruce Banner sat listlessly in the passenger seat. He tried to calm himself, but anger proved ineffective. He strongly suspected that his presence there was solely because Nick Fury wanted to use his existence to threaten everyone at Project Pegasus. If the Hulk were here, the base leader would likely choose a more peaceful solution, and Nick Fury would get what he wanted.

Nick Fury kept asking him about that person, but he really didn't know anything.

The only information he could remember was that General Ross, who had transformed into the red giant, was mercilessly dismembered by chainsaws.

"You're still a wanted criminal, Fury."

“I have reliable friends, very reliable.” He repeated, “We had to get here. I suspect he sent the Imperial Guard to meet with Tony Stark for the New Territory. I think the same as you; there must be something he wants on that ship, and I suspect it’s the hyperspace engine. But I don’t think his purpose in acquiring the hyperspace engine is simply for technological monopoly. I suspect he knows my movements, so there must be some information we don’t know that prompted him to risk revealing his purpose to Tony Stark.”

Nick Fury rolled up the car window, shutting out the wind from the desert and canyons.

He wanted to discuss secrets that even the wind spirits worshipped by the Native Americans could not hear.

"A few months ago, NASA's lunar probe captured an image: numerous landers and signs of activity on the far side of the moon. After that, the probe was destroyed. I'm pretty sure what caused the destruction, but the question is, why?"

(End of this chapter)