Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 760 Standards and Regulations and Destruction (Second Update)

Silence prevailed for most of the time. Computers and small engineering machines were brought in, and everyone had to wear protective suits and undergo several rounds of disinfection before entering or leaving the research area. Even the equipment had to be covered with a plastic film. Coulson and Salomon stood behind the glass of the temporary command post, watching the busy crowd below and constantly checking the data reported by the staff. Agent Coulson realized that these procedures were actually standard procedures for dealing with biological threats, but with the high technology of the Immortal City, these procedures were more complicated. Hunter swallowed hard. He felt he had come to the wrong place—neither he nor Barbara wore protective suits. If that boulder was indeed a biological threat, then anyone who had come into direct contact with it could potentially be infected. He gestured upwards, signaling Agent Coulson to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"What about the symptoms of infection?" Coulson asked.

"They'll be eaten, eaten from the inside out, and the infected will suffer immense pain," Salomon said. "Every time the boulder is opened, the risk of infection increases, which is why we need to be prepared. As for a worse scenario, it's that the source of infection has actually arrived at the base but we have no idea."

"You should have told me this sooner, Salomon! May, prepare to seal off the base!"

"If the source of infection can escape so easily... don't panic, even if it does, we can handle it." The sorcerer didn't continue. If the Hive really did escape, then the conservative Hydra wouldn't need to go to such lengths to hold the sacrificial ritual. The reason this giant rock fell into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands was because Alexander Pierce promised the conservatives that he would use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources to study it and try to pull the Hydra god out of it. However, before he could fulfill his promise, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra were both destroyed, leaving only remnants who couldn't accomplish anything.

He put his helmet back on, concealing his facial expression.

"The bomb is ready, my lord," Tita's voice rang out in the communication channel.

This work lasted for four whole days.

On the fourth day, Leopold Fitz, the current science director of S.H.I.E.L.D., finally arrived at the research site, albeit belatedly. "It's because you're always chasing after things that don't exist that I locked that broken rock and wouldn't let anyone in," the kind-hearted Mike lectured him before Fitz could even voice his thoughts. "I like your persistence, but you're a scientist..."

"Sorry, sorry, Mike." Fitz, covered in soot, tried to squeeze past Mike, looking like a kitten being carried by its mother. "I have a lead, I have a lead... Who are they?" He pointed to researchers in hazmat suits walking down the corridor. "What's Lincoln doing here? Did something happen at the base?"

"Lincoln came over to help study the stone. Fitz, this isn't the first time. You're a scientist, not a folklorist," Mike sighed. "Besides, you came back at the worst possible time; the base is currently screening for infectious diseases."

"Could it be...?"

"Yes, it's still related to that rock. Coulson ordered the base sealed off. You wouldn't believe it, Melinda and Coulson had another fight just to let you in; they haven't been getting along lately." Mike stroked his beard. "We have some reinforcements, but I don't know much about the guy leading them, except Coulson seems to be an old friend of his."

"What does he look like? Or rather, how tall is he?" Fitz felt his heart skip a beat. He had considered contacting the man, but since magical matters were just as unreliable as the leads he was pursuing, he had left that option as a last resort. "I can't waste any more time, Mike," he said. "I have to tell them what I've got!"

"I've considered every possibility!" Fitz burst into the command room without even taking off his filthy suit.

"Except for being trapped inside a boulder, or shrunk to a microscopic scale..."

"Coulson! Coulson! I think I'm right this time!" Fitz shouted. "She's not here! I suspect that boulder is a black hole!"

"Do you have any proof?" Coulson stopped Fitz from rushing towards the arcane mage. For four whole days, he had watched the armored figure grow increasingly cold. He didn't scratch, didn't sleep, didn't eat, standing like a steel statue in the command center. While the others were exhausted, he noticed Salomon watching motionless as the scientists below examined the boulder. If it weren't for the faint "beep" of the communication system, Coulson suspected he didn't even need to breathe.

Coulson had seen this kind of extreme calm before, a state often seen in extremely cold-blooded agents. At this moment, Salomon gave him a rather dangerous feeling.

that's the truth.

Salomon didn't tell Agent Coulson that his reason for keeping the SkyCallergy on standby at high altitude wasn't for convenience on the return journey. The SkyCallergy Retribution was already equipped with a bunker-buster nuclear bomb with a high-yield nuclear warhead. If things went awry, Tita, who remained on standby on the SkyCallergy, would not hesitate to drop the nuclear bomb, completely erasing the Hive. Those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Immortal City militants, and scientists who couldn't evacuate in time and were infected would be considered necessary sacrifices, and even Salomon himself would be subjected to the nuclear bomb's blast.

Dita was absolutely certain that her monarch would not perish in the nuclear explosion. Therefore, when Salomon gave the order, she readily agreed, her speed of response even surprising Salomon. Only after repeatedly confirming that Dita indeed posed no danger did he allow Stephanie to begin arranging the transfer of supplies, loading the remaining bunker-buster bombs intended for the bombing of Pym Technology onto the assault transport ships.

"No, but I..." Fitz was speechless. He had proposed many theories, but without exception, they all lacked supporting evidence. "Then why..."

"We now suspect that the boulder contains ancient pathogens, so..." Agent Coulson paused as he said this. He couldn't recall why he had invited Salomon for help; it seemed his mind had gone blank before that video call. He turned to Salomon, wanting an explanation from the arcane mage.

Just then, the black steel statue raised its head. "You've deduced this far without any evidence. Your brain is extremely important to human development, Leopold Fitz." Salomon's voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, carried an unnatural quality. "Gemma Simmons is indeed alive, I swear by my real name."

This was nothing short of a delightful Christmas gift for Fitz.

"But only for now," Salomon said. "If we don't resolve this quickly, she won't live much longer."

"What do you know?" Agent Coulson released Fitz, needing to recall what had gone wrong with his memory. The knight's helmet, adorned with bright red visors, did not meet Fitz's gaze in response to his question.

"This boulder is not unique. It is not a creation of humans, nor of the Inhumans," Salomon said calmly. "What lies within this boulder needs to be destroyed."

"And what about Gemma?" Fitz gripped Salomon's arm guard tightly, so tightly that the ornate gold-plated decorations on the guard cut his fingers. He could feel the energy lines beneath the steel armor pulsating gently like veins, as if the armor itself were a living, breathing steel creature. This monster needed blood, needed killing; that was the only thought in his mind besides dealing with Gemma.

"We can only do our best." Finally, those blood-red goggles looked down at him. Fitz struggled to stand, trying not to let his knees buckle to the ground. "If she's infected, we can only follow standard procedures."

"What... standard regulations?" Fitz asked in a trembling voice.

"destroy."

There is nothing else.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)