Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 524 The Old-Fashioned Man (First Update)

No matter how much information Salomon revealed, this most skilled female spy in the world couldn't fathom his true nature. But Agent Romanoff, seasoned with years of experience on the front lines, possessed a far more acute intuition than Nick Fury; an entire underground city was enough for her to understand that the situation had reversed. Unbeknownst to her, Salomon's intelligence network was expanding—this was the biggest difference between Salomon and the Avengers; he wasn't acting alone. In his system, everyone acted according to collectivist principles, rather than flaunting individual heroism.

Agent Natasha Romanoff realized this when she interacted with those girls.

To be precise, she greatly appreciates the concept of teamwork, but she doesn't particularly like the idea of ​​sacrificing everything for the collective. This is related to her personal experience; she encountered ambitious individuals who abused public resources for personal gain during her childhood, which led her to have a significant misunderstanding of the concept of a collective.

The bureaucratic privileged class that emerged during the Brezhnev era, through nepotism and self-interest, betrayed the founding principles of the nation, embezzling state assets, engaging in corruption, bribery, and other malfeasance. Later, during the Gorbachev era, this bureaucratic privileged class even colluded with pro-Western "social elites," completely negating the ideas of Lenin and Marx. The shameful Belovezh Accords represented the desecration of the achievements of the October Revolution; the collective betrayal of the bureaucratic class manifested itself in the later political elites who held power in Russia and the economic elites who amassed great wealth.

Salomon told this story to Agent Romanov.

This is certainly not something you should discuss with women while sunbathing, but Salomon continues to do as he pleases.

He told Agent Romanoff that the people who had shaped her destiny in her youth were the pro-Western bureaucratic class who had betrayed the success of the revolution. Her defection from the Red Room to S.H.I.E.L.D. was simply jumping from one quagmire to another. "Your life has a rather dark humor to it, my dear," Salomon said. "You thought you were saved, but you just jumped from one corrupt system to another, from one tool of a corrupt system to another."

“You know I don’t care, Salomon. I’m a spy,” Agent Romanoff said. “I only work for S.H.I.E.L.D., not for the United States.”

"The biggest source of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget is the United States, and all members of the system come from capitalist societies. Do you see any difference?" The sorcerer turned a page with a gentle expression. This book was assigned to him by his Oxford professor, and he would be studying its contents next semester. "Based on my rudimentary understanding of social science, I guarantee you've encountered the same things in S.H.I.E.L.D. as you have in the Red Room. You've seen your fair share of corrupt officials. Tell me, what's the difference between the corrupt officials on both sides?" His eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, gleamed with interest. "You're not just a spy, Natasha. The title of spy is too much of a waste for you. You're a living specimen of sociology; no one understands the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the corruption of the bureaucracy better than you."

"What do you want to do?"

"I just wanted your help with my editorial, honey. It's my material for next semester." Salomon pushed up his sunglasses. "Let's have a conversation full of hearsay. Don't worry, I'll omit some key information so no one will think of you."

"So you asked me to come here just to help you with your political assignment?" Agent Romanov, encountering this situation for the first time, sat up in surprise from the beach chair. "That's novel," she said, pushing her sunglasses up to her forehead, "but I must say, your nerdy attitude is starting to take hold of me."

"I don't have big glasses, braces, or high-waisted pants. I've watched the 1970s sitcom 'Youthful Days'... I am a bit obsessive-compulsive, but I assure you, no one has ever rejected me for these reasons, and I am definitely not a nerd."

Who sings the song "Telephone"?

"Uh... Linkin Park?"

"It's Lady Gaga! What about 'She is My Sin'?"

"I don't know." Salomon shrugged. "You might as well ask me how to play 'Riding the Valkyrie'! I can play 'The Ring of the Nibelung' on the piano! I also know Michael Jackson! I can sing 'Sugar, Sugar'!"

"My God, that's a 1969 GG song! Even Rogers wouldn't listen to it!"

Salomon pouted, looking aggrieved. Seeing this, the female spy couldn't help but kiss his cheek, but he seemed even more upset. She burst into laughter and lay back down on the beach chair.

"I've also heard of Joan Jeter!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. You never listen to pop music, do you, you adorable nerd? You know Britney Spears? Westlife? Good heavens! You're more old-fashioned than Steve Rogers!" she said with a laugh. "Tell me, have you been sleeping since 1874?" [Note: The completion date of *The Ring of the Nibelung*.]

"Love The Way You Lie! Oh my god, honey, what are you trying to tell me through this song?"

Samun Shaw rolled his eyes, giving Groves a rather unfriendly look as he casually settled into the passenger seat. This shameless woman had demanded that Samun Shaw come to her, and even said it shouldn't interfere with Harold Finch and John Reese's mission. Absolutely not! Since the last attack on the bank by that woman in power armor, the terrorist organization "Always Vigilant" had completely spiraled out of control—with the Hydra rebellion raging, all US intelligence agencies were busy vying for the ill-gotten gains from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s corpse and for black market funding, leaving them no time to deal with domestic terrorist organizations. Coupled with the covert confrontation between the Samaritan and the machine, "Always Vigilant" had completely transformed into an indiscriminate terrorist organization.

Not long ago, Harold Finch and John Reese also thwarted a bombing plot orchestrated by "Always Vigilant".

Samun Shaw hadn't slept well for over a month, so naturally she wasn't going to give Ms. Groves, who had come looking for trouble, a friendly look. "Don't be so nervous, darling," ROOT said with a smile, handing the document to Samun Shaw and gesturing for her to open it. "There's no anthrax in here."

“If you had it, you'd die too.” Samun Shaw opened the file and quickly glanced through it. “Where did you get this?” she asked, turning to him. “Where did that machine give you this classified document?”

"He's a mutual friend. Don't worry, his purpose is the same as ours, only his thoughts are a bit deeper, which I can't quite figure out yet," ROOT said. "From what I've seen so far, he seems to want to guide the struggle between Him and the Samaritan, to limit the Samaritan's actions beyond the bounds. I don't understand why he's doing this, but I'm sure He agrees with this approach, and the advantage is on our side."

"You even call that machine God? What a freak!"

Samun Shaw conjured a dark figure standing behind two servers, but the figure was indistinct; she could only make out his long black hair through the faint sunlight streaming in through the small window. "We're all freaks, Shaw," ROOT leaned closer to her. "Don't you think so?"

Samun Shaw pushed away the somewhat clingy Groves. She snorted.

"Never!"

"Hmm~ Let's be honest, I know you like it this way."

"Damn it!" Samun Shaw yelled with a laugh, "Stop tickling me, I'm driving!"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)