Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 686 The Methods of a Top Agent (First Update)

"You're an excellent spy, Agent Romanov, whether you admit it or not." Maria Hill subtly breathed a sigh of relief, but not from obtaining intelligence. Natasha Romanov keenly caught the subtext. Faced with this comment that was neither praise nor slander, she expressionlessly pulled out the earpiece and tossed it into the firing range. The small device bounced a few times on the alloy floor, like a stone skipping across water, from one end to the other. Even though Natasha was somewhat displeased with Agent Hill's attitude, she had to admit her skill.

An hour earlier, Stark and Captain Rogers had another argument, seemingly about mistakes Stark made in his youth—not in arms sales, but in politics and business. After Stark admitted to certain things, Captain Rogers bluntly called him a coward. It was clear to everyone that the rift between the two had widened enough to fit a Hulk. While they were arguing, Dr. Banner wisely retreated to a research lab on the other side of the base, refusing to open the door no matter who came. Agent Hill directed Falcon to lock the room where they were arguing and physically disable the electronic lock.

The room had no toilet, but plenty of bottled water. She deliberately led them into that room as the argument began to escalate, believing it was the quickest way to resolve the conflict. And indeed it did—the agents at the base saw a suit of armor smash through bulletproof glass and crash inside, then Stark quickly donned the armor and escaped, Captain Rogers clinging to his lap. They darted out like their butts were on fire; were it not for the loud crash of the glass shattering, the agents would have only seen their afterimages. This made them appear extremely close, a fact known only to Agent Hill, Falcon, and a select few.

"The Super Soldier Serum is indeed powerful, but that doesn't make a person's bladder bigger, does it?" Agent Hill stood in front of Falcon, who was trying to suppress a laugh, and shoved the tablet into his lap. She put her hands on her hips, let out a long sigh, and looked much more relaxed. "Now get to work. Those two childish little boys have already wasted a lot of time."

"You're still planning to make me deal with that horrible guy?" Sam glanced at the tablet, then his eyes widened in surprise.

"Unlike last time, this time we're just informing him that we'll provide him with assistance," Agent Hill said dryly. "If we had been here last time, the residents of the coastal city could have evacuated in advance, avoiding casualties. Don't try to find out what that mystic is thinking; just ask him what he needs, and we'll prepare it for him. As long as he doesn't cause collateral damage. I don't believe he's just going for a walk."

For Wanda, it was indeed a walk, but it was very different from what ordinary people would call a walk.

Ordinary people wouldn't wander into the woods with a shovel, especially when their target was a corpse. Prophecy, divination, dreams—Salomon had never searched for a witch's body. Returning to Corinth after so many years, he felt little emotion. "This is where I buried the werewolf," he said, pointing with his shovel to a clearing in the forest. Illuminated by the magical orb, the bushes had a nauseating green hue, and Wanda smelled the scent of dark magic—an indescribable feeling, like sticky grease covering her body, extremely unpleasant. He then pointed to two other clearings. "That's a vampire over there, and that's a ghoul that turned out after losing control of its vampire powers. The source is that family's doctor."

Wanda crouched down, gently parting the weeds and pressing her fingers into the soft earth. In an instant, the origins of the werewolves in Collins and the sights and sounds of the family doctor crashed into her brain without restraint, repeatedly clashing with her consciousness. Fragments of chaotic information appeared before her eyes, a sharp pain shooting from the back of her head straight to her eyes. She saw the beautiful witch's disgust for Barthabas, saw werewolves and ghouls hunting hippies in the forest, saw the monsters' terror and subsequent death upon the appearance of a certain figure. This lingering malice permeated the land, the curse spreading between the soil, her consciousness extending deeper and deeper, diving through the thick, black slime. Her intuition told her that something in the deepest part of this dark ocean was drawing her in. Wanda didn't know what she had seen; when she finally remembered where she was, she was already in Salomon's arms.

"You've passed out."

"I saw..." she frowned, trying to recall, but Salomon simply put her down.

The sorcerer waved his hand. "There's no need to force yourself, Wanda," he said. "To ordinary people, this is just a clearing in the woods. Their minds, not yet awakened to their sixth sense, cannot detect the clues and whispers here. For a spellcaster, reading the memories lingering here is extremely dangerous. You haven't received complete training, and carelessly touching certain dark secrets could very well lead to corruption. Opening your mind carelessly means danger; don't do it again."

"I understand." Wanda nodded reluctantly. "Then how do we find the witch's body?"

"Let's just wander around," the sorcerer said. "There were no witch's remains in the vampire's old house; I checked it carefully after the mission. So I'm focusing on this forest. After all, it's a hunting ground for werewolves, vampires, and ghouls. People have been disappearing here for years, and even after the local police broke free from the vampires' control, they haven't found the remains of all the victims. Another possible area is the fishing grounds. The town of Collins relies on fishing, and the witch's body, after being ceramicized, might have been thrown into the bay. Come on, let's stroll through the forest by moonlight and then row a boat on the sea in the night."

“Alright, my naturally romantic mentor,” the young witch said with a smile. The moonlight was so bright that even with Salomon extinguishing his magical orb, she could see her feet clearly through the pale moonlight filtering through the leaves. “Are you planning to get help from others? I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping, it’s just that we were too close. But I think it would be really difficult for the two of us to complete this task alone, especially since we’re wearing such expensive clothes.”

“No.” Salomon took Wanda’s hand and led her to the edge of the forest clearing, their steps crunching on the soft, decaying leaves. Neither Natasha Romanoff’s phone call nor Falcon’s somewhat dryly humorous inquiry could disrupt his walk. He knew his cell phone signal was being tracked, but he didn’t care. “Clothes are a small matter, Wanda. Don’t worry too much about worldly wealth; you should understand that it means nothing to us spellcasters. Whatever worldly wealth you want, I will give it to you without affecting the organization’s operations.” His words made Wanda’s cheeks flush, but he didn’t realize the impact his words had on the witch. He was more concerned about Wanda’s mental state after reading those memories.

"If we find any clues, we'll bring in the Avengers then. Since Agent Hill is so enthusiastic, I don't mind assigning them some less dangerous but still troublesome tasks," Salomon said confidently. "After all, portals and summoning sky carriers cost money and time, and Stephanie is driving me crazy with the logistical work of resupplying the macro cannons!"

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(End of this chapter)