Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 830 Search Team (Second Update)

"This is the third search team."

A man with short, graying hair and a stern face transmitted a report to temporary headquarters through an earpiece mounted inside a lightly armored helmet. This was an intelligence team stationed on the outskirts of the battlefield; their armbands featured red shields and gold steel gauntlets with silver skulls embedded in the backs of their hands, signifying that this force belonged to Victoria Hand's intelligence agency. This five-man team consisted entirely of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had followed Victoria Hand during the Hydra rebellion, and were later taken in by the Immortal City to evade official U.S. warrants.

There are many such teams, and they are now scattered around the Finnbowent Mountains carrying out exploration missions.

The loyalty of these individuals was guaranteed because the Hand agents had established a system that used the resources of the Immortal City to provide for their families. Even their children's education was entirely handled by the Immortal City, without them having to pay a single penny. It could be said that the Immortal City controlled their loyalty by controlling their families, but this kind of job—with no mortgage payments, timely retirement, no risk of being forced into unwitting human experiments by their superiors, no pension deductions, and a substantial compensation package—was far better than their previous treatment. As for the Immortal City's requirement to renounce superstition, that was relatively easy to accept. After all, this was the age of science; simply verbally renouncing religious beliefs was sufficient. Their boss's boss's demands weren't particularly stringent.

"We found a refugee at the church location. Male, between twelve and fifteen years old, with unusual hair color. He was unconscious."

"Roger that." The agent's emotionless voice sent a chill down Joel's spine. He'd met those agents before; he knew they seemed to have undergone partial brainwashing to combat the mental pollution of their more horrific missions. This change had occurred after the Retribution participated in a mission on the US East Coast. Joel wasn't sure what happened then; he and his team were on leave in New York at the time, but he instinctively felt that the mission was definitely related to the East Coast earthquake earlier that year.

"Transferred to the chain of command," the intelligence analyst said. "Take cover and await support."

Joel waved his hand, and the team immediately dispersed.

Instead of engaging their target, they pointed their guns at the boy. The Immortal City had already evacuated its residents; the appearance of a refugee was highly unusual. However, they didn't take it too seriously. After all, the evacuation hadn't involved roll call or verification; there was no guarantee that a mischievous boy hadn't hidden away and was only being discovered now. "I hate bureaucracy," the only woman in the group said, removing her mask. "I also hate the smell of recirculated air."

"Selena, if I were you, I wouldn't open it. Who knows what kind of contamination is in here." A slightly younger voice came through the squad's communication channel. It was Andreas, who had narrowly escaped the Hydra rebellion by participating in a carrier internship due to his excellent performance. When Victoria Hand was purging the Hydra agents on the carrier, Andreas was also pulled into the ranks of the Immortal City.

Compared to the rest of the team, Andreas was much younger and followed the rules of the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy in everything he did. Veteran Selena often teased him. The others didn't object much, because it was obvious to everyone that the red-haired woman had some interest in the young man, Andreas.

"Biological contamination? Don't make me laugh, that's an excuse we used to use." Selena, holding an experimental plasma rapid-fire rifle, said with a laugh, "We all know this mission has nothing to do with biological contamination, we're fighting the devil."

“Scientifically speaking, they should be extradimensional beings,” Andreas said sullenly. He was in charge of precision shooting, so his weapon was longer, heavier, and more sophisticated than the others. He didn't always work as a sniper, but due to manpower shortages, he had to fill in temporarily. “Orders require us to have full protective gear,” he said. “Orders from above always make sense.”

"It's also possible that they wanted to be lazy and didn't modify the protection procedures. That's what we did when we were at S.H.I.E.L.D." Selena revealed the truth without hesitation. "If we were fighting werewolves or vampires, I would have done the same. I remember you took sick leave during that mission, Andreas."

Selena ignored Andreas's words and, with the leisurely air of a veteran, began to lecture him, "Back then, there were women in power armor as assault troops. We just had to clean up the battlefield. But if even a single drop of enemy bodily fluid got on someone's skin, they were done for. The werewolf virus was incurable, and those women would kill the unfortunate guy on the spot. But look at our mission this time. We're just on the edge of the battlefield. Even if we encounter the enemy, are we going to grow feathers?"

"Really?" Andreas asked, half-believing.

The rest of the team burst into laughter. "If only I had feathers," Victor, the assault soldier, exclaimed cheerfully. "Then when I go to the hair salon to pluck the hair from my butt, I can give those women a good scare."

"I think they'll choose to use a blowtorch to pluck your feathers, just like they would a turkey."

"Alright, quiet! Selena, put on your mask!" Squad Leader Joel didn't smile. He had been monitoring the communications channel for orders from his superiors, using his clearance to track the movements of squads of his rank. As a veteran of the Gulf War, Joel had been plagued by nightmares and was later recruited directly from the military into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Victoria Hand. That was why he had brought his squad to the Immortal City.

"Stay alert, reinforcements have arrived."

Joel had considered who might come to his aid. Would it be the nearby Second Search Team, or the sorority's young women in power armor who never showed themselves? But when the aid actually arrived, he realized he was terribly wrong. It was a three-meter-tall giant in ornate golden armor who rode into the church in a high-tech hovercraft. The search team was utterly dumbfounded by this unexpected support.

"Joel, captain of the third search team of the intelligence department?" The golden giant lowered his head, his blood-red visors fixed on Joel. Although the giant's tone was gentle, Joel couldn't help but feel a physical fear, as if all his attention was being filled by this golden giant. He knew this man was a super soldier of the Immortal City, a super soldier even more powerful than Captain America, directly under the monarch's royal guard.

He removed his helmet and winked at the rest of the squad, fearing that Selena, that reckless girl, might fire on the Royal Guard. He had witnessed the Royal Guard's prowess during their arena training; if he wanted, they could wipe out everyone here in the blink of an eye, without them even having time to pull the trigger.

Joel mustered his courage, swallowed hard, and said, "Yes...yes, sir."

"I am Constantine of the Royal Guard, here to receive the refugees."

"It's right there, sir." Joel pointed to the marble floor in the center of the church, which was covered with a thin layer of water. "We didn't get too close."

"You did a good job, Joel. Your squad did a good job too, including that sniper who kept aiming at me," the Guard praised. "Continue your mission; I don't want to disturb you."

"Yes, sir!"

Only after the guards had taken the boy away from the church did Joel realize that his heart was beating incredibly fast.

"Jesus, who is that person?" Victor leaned closer. "How can someone be so tall? Is he a robot?"

"That was a Royal Guard." Joel took a deep breath as if he had just been rescued from drowning. "That boy... the boy we found is no ordinary person."

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(End of this chapter)