Shadow of the Beautiful World

Currently, the initial restructuring of the New York vampire society is almost complete.

The Supreme family controls most of the Bronx area, and they are extremely low-key. Our communication with them is very smooth, and any maintenance orders can be effectively implemented.

In Staten Island and Manhattan, the resurgent Blood Clan Presbyterian Church is secretly accumulating strength. They are at an extreme disadvantage. In the next few years, they will all choose to go dormant. Even better, several members of the Blood Clan Presbyterian Council A new leader, at this stage, needs to rely on the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. to stabilize their position.

According to this trend, in about 5-10 years, the transformation of the order of New York vampire society will be completely completed. Although these bastards are wild and unruly, the future situation is destined to be better than the situation we faced before. Many times.

On the 4th floor underground of the 21st Century Bell Telephone Company, in the conference room of sl.d., Phil Coulson, who had just been promoted to a level 5 agent a few days ago, put down the laser pointer in his hand, and accompanied him The summary of the vampire mission was completed, and the projection of the screen dancing behind him slowly dissipated at this moment.

The lights in the meeting room were turned on again. In front of his eyes, on both sides of the long table in the meeting room, were Melinda, Sharon, who were also Level 5 agents, and Mr. Level 4 agent Jimmy Wu, and Ross, and two observers, one is Maria Hill, who is the assistant to the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who came to inspect the results of the vampire war. friends.

Beside Hill was a capable soldier with a standard military posture, wearing a black combat uniform, short hair, and a beard.

He is sharp-eyed and taciturn. From the beginning of the meeting to the present, he sits like a statue in a chair with his back straight.

Hill did not introduce this soldier to everyone, but he was allowed to enter the base camp of sl.d., which has a very high level of secrecy, which proves that he is also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Directly opposite Coulson's agent, on the chair at the end of the meeting room, Merlin, wearing a gray casual suit and wearing rimless glasses, didn't seem to pay too much attention to Coulson's summary report, he kept his head down , looking at several documents placed on the table.

After Coulson finished his summary, Merlin raised his head. He turned to look at Agent Hill beside him, pushed his glasses, and asked:

This is the content and results of our work more than two months ago. Of course, there are some trivial work that have not been included in this summary, but we have prepared a full set of written documents. You can tell the original Ray, or just throw the file at him.

I don't have your authority, sir.

Hill shrugged her shoulders as usual, and while she reached out to take the briefcase full of documents from Sharon, she said to Merlin:

I wouldn't dare just barge into the chief's office, throw the papers on his desk and walk away.

So he still regards an excellent agent like you as a secretary who handles documents?

Merlin complained:

Too talented, Hill, why don't you apply to sl.d., I urgently need an all-round assistant, and you can also go out with Coulson and the others. I mean, in Ferry's hands Here, you can't show your talents at all.

But I also learned a lot from Commissioner Fury.

Hill brushed her short hair, and she declined:

The job of s.d. may not be suitable for me. Of course, I will keep the invitation from the officer in mind. If one day I get tired from sitting in the office, I will also consider whether to change my way of life.

After finishing speaking, Hill nodded to the other agents. She stood up and said to Merlin:

Then let's stop here today, Chief Merlin, I'm going back to the Trident Building. The director is still waiting for my report.

She looked back at the unsmiling warrior beside her, and said to Merlin:

Also, Director Ferry approved sl.d.'s recruiting plan a few days ago. Considering that sl.d.'s current intervention force is indeed insufficient, the director dispatched an elite action team affiliated to the headquarters as a Your backup team, when needed, sir, you can use me to mobilize this large-scale operation force of 120 people.

This is the commander of the No. 1 Quick Response Force, Mr. Brock Rumlow, the fifth-level field agent.

Hill introduced the silent warrior beside Merlin and the others. The latter stood up, gave a military salute to Merlin, and nodded slightly to the others.

Ah, very good.

Merlin watched the taciturn warrior.

In the perception of darkness, he could perceive the very active life activities of Mr. Rumlow, like a burning fire, which represented the strong vitality of this soldier, and also proved that he was a real elite. But still not beyond the limits of the human body.

His temperament is very cold, especially those dark gray eyes, and the few scars on his face, all prove that he is a war-torn veteran.

I believe in the combat effectiveness of the quick reaction force formed by Fury, but the combat method of sl.d. is different from the battles you have experienced before.

Merlin played with the black pen in his hand, and he said to Rumlow:

So in the next month, you and your fighters will have to accept s.d.'s alien combat training. I can't just throw you into the battlefield against aliens, it will easily make you There's been massive damage.

Melinda, Sharon.

Merlin said to his best action specialists:

You two are in charge of the combat training of the quick reaction force, is it okay?

No! sir.

Melinda and Sharon answered in unison.

What about you? Mr. Rumlow, do you have any questions?

Merlin looked at the capable warrior again, who shook his head and said briefly:

No, sir!

Well, so be it.

Merlin raised his wrist and looked at the time. He put away the documents on the table and said to the others:

The meeting is over now, let's go about our own business.

The other agents filed out and left the conference room. The vampire war left a lot of troubles a few months ago. In recent months, these agents have been dealing with these remaining troubles. The entire sl.d. Running, this also made Merlin feel a sense of urgency and stretching, every power under his command was almost used to the extreme.

This has made his department, in recent times, unable to take care of other places other than a few important cities on the East Coast.

But Hill did not leave immediately. On the contrary, after the other agents walked out of the conference room, Hill stepped forward and closed the door of the conference room. This action stunned Merlin for a moment. He looked at Hill and said:

What? Anything else?

have.

Hill's expression became serious. She walked to the projector, inserted a USB flash drive she was carrying into the projector, then turned off the light, and sat next to Merlin with the remote control.

In the darkness, Merlin's sense of smell became sharper, his nose moved, and he whispered to Hill:

Have you changed your perfume?

Um?

Hill hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and said in a low voice:

It was Natasha's suggestion. She said that female agents should use special perfume.

Well, it's quite special.

Merlin replied jokingly:

If I'm not mistaken, there's a bit of an aphrodisiac in this perfume. I mean, it's perfect for an ops specialist and spy like Natasha who needs to infiltrate in disguise, but it's not for you, Hill. It has nothing to do with your temperament. It doesn't fit.

Uh, fine.

Hill's cheeks were a little red at this moment, but luckily she couldn't see her expression clearly in the dark. In order to divert the awkward atmosphere, she picked up the remote control and said:

I'll switch back to the old one, now let's talk about the business at hand.

swish

With the laser pointer of the remote control in Hill's hand shining, in the blue light projected in front of the eyes of the two, an unclear picture appeared in the meeting room.

Merlin's eyes narrowed immediately.

In that picture, there is a dark shadow, which looks like a normal person, but this guy has two wings on his back, and he is holding two short knives in his hand.

This photo should have been taken in a dim environment, and many details are quite blurred. It can be seen that the person who took the photo was very emotional, and the picture was a little distorted.

But even so, from the photo, Merlin saw a silhouette that was very similar to a human face on the monster's head.

This is?

Merlin asked.

A few months ago, when you were busy with the vampire wars, new species appeared in places like Philadelphia and Chicago.

Hill replied calmly:

Over 200 people in both locations witnessed these 'Batmen' swarming in the dark, and they caused sporadic attacks, which caused some panic. At the time, sl.d. No more manpower was available, so the director sent Agent Natasha to collect information. But when Natasha arrived in Philadelphia, these guys disappeared strangely.

You mean, even Natasha missed?

Merlin rubbed his chin, he looked at the weird creature in the photo, and after a while, he said:

Can you identify them?

We found several bodies in some remote areas of Philadelphia that were extremely damaged.

Hill said:

What is certain now is that they are not heterogeneous. The results of genetic research show that the genetic structure of these batmen is based on ordinary humans. Now our internal conclusion is that these batmen were once human, but there may have been some comparisons Sophisticated biological modification made them what they are now.

You say they've been gone for months?

Merlin played with the pen, he said:

Then why are you telling me this news now?

This is the director's request.

Hill was also a little puzzled and said:

The director has been keeping these materials confidential, and he didn't let me pass them on to you until today. He said that as long as you read these materials, you will understand what he means.

To be honest, I don't understand.

Merlin shook his head, he looked at the rapidly changing blurred photos projected in front of him, and said:

What else did Fury say?

The director said that there must be an unknown organization behind these batmen manipulating them. Although their purpose has not been seen yet, this matter must be taken seriously. Today's documents are aimed at The start of intelligence sharing that's been done.

Hill replied, and now, Merlin's eyes flashed with light.

He knew why Fury had to pass around the information to Hill, who didn't know anything, and gave him the information.

He had previously told Fury about the hidden dark forces within S.H.I.E.L.D. At that time, Fury ordered Merlin not to act rashly, fearing that Merlin's personal actions might startle the snake.

And now these transferred documents mean that Fury has affirmed that the organization behind these Batmen is likely to be connected with the ghosts hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

I see.

Merlin nodded, and he said to Hill with a normal expression:

Leave these things, I will take the time to look at them, and if necessary, I will go to those places to see them myself.

Yes, sir.

Hill turned off the projector, and put the USB flash drive in Merlin's hand. She turned on the light, packed her things, and prepared to leave here and go back to the Trident Building.

Merlin looked at Hill's side face, and after a few seconds, he suddenly said:

Sill, do you want to have dinner together tonight?

Um?

Hill was confused by Merlin's sudden invitation. She looked at Merlin, and after confirming that the officer wasn't joking, she thought for a while and replied:

Okay, then after get off work?

Can.

Merlin says:

When will I pick you up?

I'll drive myself.

Hill smiled, and she asked:

where?

Mick's, in Queens.

Merlin gave an address, and Hill nodded, then left the meeting room with the documents and handbag in his arms.

After Hill left, Merlin returned to his office with the USB flash drive sent by Fury. He inserted the USB flash drive into the computer. After searching repeatedly, Merlin found an encrypted file in the last folder. .

He dragged the mouse, clicked twice on the file, and a password lock popped up on the screen.

Merlin looked at the 7-digit combination lock, he thought for a moment, and typed a few characters on the keyboard.

89084-2

This was Merlin's previous identity code in the Strategic Science Corps. With the press of the Enter key, the encrypted file on the screen in front of Merlin's eyes was opened, and a countdown to destroying the file also appeared in the lower right corner of the screen. Fury only left It took Merlin 5 seconds to check the message text in that folder.

But for Merlin, this time is enough.

He glanced at the hundreds of words of messages on the screen, and with a crisp sound, the file was automatically destroyed.

The next moment, Merlin leaned back on the office chair, closed his eyes, and began to recall the contents of the letter.

You are really cautious, Fury.