Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 956 Pasadena Energy Laboratory (Second Update)

As her hazy consciousness began to regroup, a sharp pain in the darkness struck her like lightning, jolting Daisy Jensen back to reality. Her throat was parched and sore, but she continued to gasp for air, like a drowning person breathing fresh air. She couldn't see anything, and every part of her body was wracked with pain, as if every bone in her body was broken, especially her arms. It felt as if all her nerves were connected to high-voltage cables, the relentless pounding pain in her brain almost driving her mad. She felt herself sitting in a chair, her hands bound behind her back by some heavy metal device, her feet bound in the same way. The coldness of the metal sent shivers down her spine.

Daisy Jensen gasped for breath, struggling to open her eyes to make sure she hadn't lost her sight or had her vision blocked—she smelled the familiar, pungent musty odor, just like the temporary lodgings she'd stayed in for a while, which helped her pinpoint her location. She forced herself to ignore the sandpaper-like metallic taste of blood in her throat, to ignore the recurring pain that threatened to make her scream, and focused her attention to gradually calm her chaotic thoughts. "I'm trained. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," she told herself. "I have a way to break free. Nothing in this world can stop me."

But just as she struggled to figure out what was holding her, the high-voltage current from the device immediately paralyzed her nerves, causing her strength to leak out like a punctured balloon. The intense pain finally broke her down; she couldn't help but squeeze out a scream through her teeth, her body reflexively squeezing tears from her tear ducts, blurring her black eye makeup. But she quickly suppressed the screams that seemed to tear at her lining, sniffling and letting out a low growl like a wounded wild animal.

Perhaps her movement caught the guard's attention; the light-blocking object was moved aside, and intense light poured in through the gaps in the fabric. Daisy Jensen had to close her eyes and turn to shield herself from the sudden glare, but she quickly forced herself back, squinting to try and make out the person casting the shadow—the golden figure she hadn't been able to see clearly at all. Only then, through her blurred vision, did she realize how tall the figure was—compared to her handcuffed to the chair, the golden figure seemed taller than the ceiling, like a giant from mythology. The giant's weapons were equally enormous; even a cursory glance revealed that the building's floor could hardly support the giant's weight.

"What are you?!" she blinked, asking in a hoarse voice, "Why did you attack me?"

"You don't need to know." Constantine removed his helmet, and Daisy Jensen was surprised to find that the Metal Titan also had a human face. However, this face was expressionless, and its black eyes looked down at her, filling her with a strange fear, as if that gaze could penetrate her body and uncover all her secrets. Nevertheless, she calmed herself, her gaze sweeping over the Metal Titan's armor. She could see the mechanical structures and reliefs of human civilization on the armor, indicating that its creator was likely human.

“You just need to tell me what I want to know; you don’t need to know anything else,” the guard said. He had created a darkroom using his city camouflage cloak to put psychological pressure on his interrogation target. This technique didn’t seem very effective now, perhaps because the target had received professional training. Constantine planned to try it again next time with a target who hadn’t received counter-interrogation training. “Are you ready to tell me?”

"What are you going to do to me?" Daisy Jensen straightened her back and shifted back, barely managing to stay upright before falling off her chair. She adopted a negotiating stance, trying to glean information from the other person's words to save herself—a skill she'd learned at S.H.I.E.L.D. However, neither any S.H.I.E.L.D. textbook nor any S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's experience mentioned how to obtain information from a moving statue. Constantine stared intently into Daisy Jensen's eyes, then took a step forward.

It's difficult for most people to remain calm in the face of a massive, rapidly approaching three-meter-tall creature, much like a pedestrian facing a speeding car on the road. Even knowing they should step back or forward, the brain struggles to instantly command the body to act. Daisy Jensen felt like she was suffocating—literally suffocating—because she forgot she needed to breathe.

"I've looked through your notes." Constantine's tone remained unchanged. "What do you know about the Pasadena Energy Laboratory?"

Daisy Jensen smiled defiantly. "If you come any closer, I'll tell you."

The guards approached expressionlessly, and Daisy Jensen clenched her teeth and trembled all over again.

"These devices can prevent you from using your powers," Constantine said calmly. "I've examined your health. If you try to use your powers to break free from these devices, the recoil will cause shattered bones all over your body, including your skull. I advise you not to do that, because you can't die now—but even if you die, you won't escape interrogation. I'll remove your brain and keep it active, then use inducing your neural recollections to examine your memories. So I suggest you don't do that. Just tell me what you know, and I'll let you go."

Daisy Jensen felt her heart pounding in her ears, and it took several minutes for her to recover. Perhaps the other party had taken her physical condition into consideration, as the electrical current from the device did not stop her heartbeat. However, the words of the Imperial Guard made her heart sink again; those plain words revealed bloodshed and brutality, and a sense of normalcy about it.

"Will you let me live?"

"My orders were only to obtain intelligence, not to kill you. What happened to the contents of that energy lab? What information did you give Robbie Reyes when you contacted him? Where is he now?"

"It's with the skinheads. They stole the weapon from that lab, but I don't know where they hid it!" Daisy glared at Constantine. "I don't know where Robbie Reyes is, all I know is that he knows about that energy lab!"

"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am."

"You're quite polite, big guy," Daisy chuckled coldly. "While I don't know what you're up to, you seem to know something about that lab. Do you know what the skinheads stole? Do you want it?"

“As an apology, I’m allowed to tell you some information.” Constantine blinked, but didn’t seem particularly willing. Daisy Jensen assumed someone had given her an order she couldn’t disobey. “It’s not a weapon, but it’s more terrifying than any weapon. My mission is to prevent anyone from obtaining it, lest it bring destruction to the human world.”

"If you hadn't handcuffed me, I might have been interested in asking where you came from!"

"In fact, you know my master," Constantine said softly. "He asked me to tell you that your wound-stitching skills are still very poor."

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(End of this chapter)