Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 777 Ideological Conflict (First Update)

The assassin listened intently to Daisy and Barbara's conversation. His optical camouflage cloak and superb stealth skills allowed him to remain undetected, hidden between the weapon case and the seat. He knew S.H.I.E.L.D. had the capability to analyze a bullet to determine its origin, but the assassin wasn't worried. The bullet in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession was merely a fragment; it was impossible for them to deduce the type of ammunition used.

The bullets used by the assassin's sniper rifle were exceptional among all rocket-propelled munitions, and the solid chemical propellant was a high-tech feature unique to the Immortal City. Moreover, S.H.I.E.L.D. knew nothing about the ballistics of the Immortal City's firearms, making it impossible for them to link that bullet to the Immortal City or its owner. All he could do was leverage the autonomy granted to him by the entity he served, steer the investigation in another direction, and report back afterward—the assassin had nothing on him except the necessary items for the mission, so he had to find a way.

"I don't want Fizz and Simmons to be mistreated." Daisy frowned, feeling regretful that she couldn't punch Salomon in the face. Salomon's attitude towards her had never been good in the past, and even now she always felt that the wizard knew many of her secrets, and might even have known that she was an Inhuman before she underwent the Terrigen mutation.

“Don’t worry, Simmons said this is the most relaxed time she’s had since the Hydra rebellion,” Barbara Morse replied with a laugh. “It’s just that she asked Coulson to save Will. Some of the clues she provided did help us track down a secret NASA project from long ago, but it seems that all the data was lost during the Ultron incident due to the AI ​​intrusion. The trail has completely gone cold, and we have to wait for Agent Coulson to negotiate with his old friend. We don’t even know if he’ll make it in time.”

"I'm so glad you haven't left, Salomon." As soon as the arcane connection was established, Agent Coulson's deathly pale face appeared on the screen. "I heard you're transferring Will," he asked. "Can't the quarantine process be carried out here?"

"You've started calling him by his name now, looks like you're getting along well with Gemma Simmons." Salomon tried to push the plates on his desk back as far as possible, avoiding anything unrelated to business. However, this required some skill and patience, as he had completely unleashed his appetite after ordering the chef to get to work, chewing and swallowing all fifteen filet mignons. The plates that hadn't been cleared away were stacked to one side of the desk, kept as far away from paper documents as possible—the highly paid chef must have thought there was a banquet in the office, he even tried to ask Stephanie if she wanted salad and dessert.

"You didn't even thank me before you started carrying out your duties."

"I don't think you'd care about something so trivial," Coulson replied.

"We don't care," Salomon said. "The quarantine procedures are overseen and executed by the Immortal City itself, and there's no room for argument. Fitz and Simmons can end their quarantine early because they spent less time on that planet. As for the astronaut... we'll transfer him to the Sky Carrier."

"Salomon, think more about humanitarianism."

"It's because you're too concerned with humanitarian considerations that Grant Ward has been able to escape repeatedly, Phil Coulson," the sorcerer retorted bluntly. "Right when you and I captured Dr. Whitehall, Grant Ward was already seriously injured. And your female hacker not only didn't finish him off, she didn't even tell you about it, so you could take your men to investigate the scene. I really didn't expect the capabilities of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to have declined to this level; it's practically the level of untrained vigilantes."

"I know that Daisy has never received systematic training."

"But you do, Coulson. I remember you joined S.H.I.E.L.D. right after high school, so you should be the most experienced one. Mentor her, just like you mentor the other agents."

"I'm not here to argue with you about this, Salomon," Agent Coulson said, seemingly also annoyed. "The S.H.I.E.L.D. of today is different from the S.H.I.E.L.D. of the past. Under Hydra's manipulation, the old S.H.I.E.L.D. did many things it shouldn't have done. Now, we're going to do what S.H.I.E.L.D. should do. Besides, I don't think future S.H.I.E.L.D. agents should face the same situation I did."

Salomon knew Coulson was referring to his cello-playing girlfriend; Coulson seemed unwilling to subject his agents to such painful separations again. "Does Nick Fury blame all his past actions on Hydra?" Salomon was now somewhat surprised. "Do you think Nick Fury is unaware of what S.H.I.E.L.D. has done? Do you think his other eye is blind too?"

"No matter what you're thinking, I will absolutely not allow you to compromise the security procedures." The arcane mage placed his finger on the button, ready to press it at any moment. "This concerns the fate of humanity. You'd better think about what Nick Fury would do. Appreciate my mercy; after all, the reason you've survived until now is because I haven't simply and brutally destroyed you all, completely cutting off the risk of the infection spreading. Coulson, when it comes to matters of humanity's fate, there are no sacrifices too great to bear, and no betrayals too small to be ignored."

The warning in those words was so strong that Agent Coulson was speechless for a moment. The arcane mage uttered his last words before cutting off the communication: "Think about whether you can bear the consequences before making a decision. You've disappointed me greatly; I'd rather have worked with Nick Fury!"

"My lord," Stephanie asked, casting an inquiring glance, "what do you intend to do?"

"Prepare an extra bunker-buster nuclear bomb," Salomon replied. "Even if it kills everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D., we must prevent any possibility of infection."

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Coulson shrugged.

“As you can see, I have to tell Simmons this regrettable news,” he said to Barbara Morse. “What Salomon said isn’t without merit, but he’s changed so much in the last few years. The Salomon I remember wasn’t someone who disregarded life… Well, that’s not entirely accurate, because the first lead S.H.I.E.L.D. made about him was a murder case. Although it turned out the victims were all dark creatures, Salomon didn’t harm any ordinary people.”

“I had no idea about this.” Barbara Morse raised her eyebrows with interest. “Maybe he was like this all along, you just didn’t know it.”

"That just means he's good at pretending, or he's undergone some major change. You know, Dr. Garner was actually Nick Fury's assigned therapist to Salomon, but he never actually went for therapy."

"May's ex-husband? Does May also know Salomon?"

Coulson laughed.

“May never liked him. Back then, we were investigating an organization that trafficked minors with superpowers, and May was a member. Interestingly, we thought Salomon was the one being trafficked.” Coulson stood up with great difficulty. Barbara saw that his forehead was covered in cold sweat. “I have to talk to Simmons and Fitz. I think they must have some clues that they themselves are unaware of that they haven’t told us.”

Barbara nodded and said, "I'll go too."

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(End of this chapter)