Shadow of the Beautiful World

As the last plane transporting prisoners landed on the runway of the ghost base, the first phase of the clearing operation hosted by S.H.I.E.L.D. in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Agency was officially launched 72 hours later. declare the end.

In Merlin's office, the commander-in-chief of the s.d.o.l.d. was standing in front of the window, looking down at the radical prisoners who were being escorted out of the aircraft cabin. He had a preliminary mission report in his hand. In total, more than 4,500 radical mutants were captured in the arrest operation.

The vast majority of them are peripheral forces of the Brotherhood of Mutants, and a small part of them belong to the backbone force of that organization.

Most of these prisoners are followers of Magneto's dangerous ideas, and many of them have planned and participated in more than one interference activities against human society.

The arrest of this group of people represented that the Brotherhood of Mutants, a dangerous organization, had been completely defeated on the surface.

But the matter is not over yet, this matter cannot be ended simply by arresting people.

This operation did not end perfectly, because the smartest and most cunning group of radical thugs sensed the danger after Magneto disappeared, hid in the shadows in advance, and were still fighting the Brotherhood The banner continues to call for mutants who don't know the truth to confront humans.

The retreat of the organization will make the remaining radicals who are not firm will fall to the moderates, and some guys who don't want to cause trouble will be forced to maintain neutrality, but not everyone will give up.

Standing in front of the window, Merlin withdrew his gaze. He turned his head, threw the mission report in his hand on the table, and said to the commanders in front of him who had been exhausted for three days:

The complex social form of mutants determines that there will always be extreme people like Magneto among them. Magneto is not even the first, he is just the most dangerous one. In these modern nomads, they really find themselves in the world. Their so-called 'resistance' will not stop until they are positioned.

He played with the golden pocket watch in his hand, and said to the agents in front of him:

This arrest operation is just the beginning, it is only part of our mission to combat the radical forces of nature, and in the process of officially pushing the leader of the moderate faction, Professor Charles, to the fore, we still need to continue to combat those mutants that are still active radicals.

It's not an easy task.

Merlin said softly:

We've just done the easiest part of the mission. What I want you to know is that after the largest militant group has been defeated, the extremists who narrowly escaped this raid will only operate more carefully, They will go underground, they will try to become ghosts that linger in the shadows, they will become more cunning, more cruel, and our conflict will become more dangerous.

But, I think it's a good thing.

Merlin spread his hands and said to the commanders in front of him:

After all, the shadow zone is our territory. I don't think we will be defeated by a group of naive thugs full of extreme ideas in the struggle on this battlefield, what do you think?

Melinda and Sharon nodded. They agreed with Melin's statement. Coulson, who hadn't slept for 72 hours, took off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and said worriedly:

Sir, what you said is very reasonable, but we still have to guard against those radicals who escaped and launched retaliatory actions in the recent period.

The Brotherhood of Mutants has this tradition of revenge, and while losing the organization would deprive those extremist lunatics of a lot of power, a lone wolf attack would be much harder to defend against.

Coulson moved his fingers, and he said to Merlin and the other companions:

Those mutants have all sorts of abilities. They don't even need guns or bombs. They are their own weapons. It's impossible to guard against. Once innocent people are injured, the pressure of public opinion only needs to be guided a little bit, and it will be over again. Transfer to us.

Those fearful media will accuse us of starting a war.

The people don't really care much about the truth, they've always been blind, especially in this day and age where they really believe in everything, just a few fake pictures and we're going to be targeted. It's like trying to infiltrate North America all the time They're pretty good at turning things around like the Ten Rings did.

Coulson's question silenced the other agents.

Thinking about the problem from the perspective proposed by Coulson, the current situation is indeed not optimistic.

The conflict between humans and mutants has been going on for a long time. Some people don’t like mutants, but some people will support them in pursuing their own rights. Although the government has begun to solve the problem of mutants from a higher level, it will take time .

Before the problem is really solved, a period of pain is still necessary.

Coulson's concerns are justified, sir, what I mean is, what if other people, or other forces, try to seize this opportunity and deliberately provoke conflicts between mutants and civilians?

Sharon said:

All it takes is a bewitched dumb mutant, a slogan, or even a detonated bomb, and the conflict between the two will likely become acute again.

Merlin nodded, Coulson and Sharon's concerns were correct.

Putting the issue of mutants within the framework of human society will involve a series of very sensitive issues such as human rights, racial discrimination, democratic power, etc., and once the wandering mutant thugs are a little more flexible, then a few seeds hidden in the crowd The bomb in it will completely detonate this big trouble.

When you feel that the problem is getting more and more difficult, it means that the problem has entered the stage of solution.

Merlin didn't seem to care about this question, he looked at the pocket watch in his hand, and said:

It's a tough situation, but it's not a bad thing.

He said meaningfully:

It's not just them manipulating public opinion, Agents. Once Magneto's followers lose the banner of freedom and begin to indulge in planning dangerous terrorist actions, that means they will truly become public enemies.

Director Fury is better than us at guiding the thinking of this kind of social issue. I believe that as long as those schizophrenic public opinions dare to jump out and try to muddy the water, then Fury will let them have a good memory. As long as those people The bastards who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic will no longer be restrained

At that time, I don't believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be able to solve even a group of naive wanderers.

Besides, these are actually not issues we need to care about, Coulson, and Sharon.

Merlin knocked on the table, he said slowly:

If the moderate mutants can't even solve this little thing, I don't think it's the right choice for us to vigorously support them. Give Professor Charles a little confidence, I believe he is already prepared in this regard.

Okay, let's talk about s.d.o.l.d.'s tasks for the next period of time.

Merlin coughed lightly. He flipped through the documents on the table and said to his subordinates:

The Trident Headquarters has approved our application to establish a mutant affairs monitoring and management team within the department. This team is code-named x and is used to be responsible for any matters related to mutants.

Barbie and Trip, as well as your team, will be transferred to this team. As for the commander...

Merlin took a look at the three generals under him, and finally found that both Coulson and Sharon had other jobs. The only one who was free was Melinda, who was still serving as a long-term instructor of fighting courses at A.I.E.L.D.

He once again felt the lack of manpower. In the end, he could only say:

For the time being, let me take over. : :

In the next few months, the two squads of Trip and Barbie and the X-Men will continue to arrest the die-hard members of the Mutant Brotherhood who are fleeing, and the three branches in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Miami will cooperate with them.

Merlin said in a cold tone:

The focus of your work has shifted to the mutants for a while. I need you to maintain a high-pressure situation and arrest everyone who dares to show up until they dare not act with any fanfare!

Sir, and those hidden guys, how do we find them?

Merlin's assistant, Agent Babbitt frowned and asked:

If we also have to take into account intelligence work, then our manpower is somewhat insufficient.

No, we are only responsible for arresting. In addition to the sources of SHIELD itself, we also have special channels for information collection.

Just as Merlin finished speaking, his cell phone on the table rang softly, indicating the arrival of a text message.

Merlin picked up the phone, and saw a list full of names and addresses, as well as the characteristics of various mutants.

At the bottom of the text message list, there is an arrow icon composed of interlaced sharp blades.

This is the symbol of the League of Assassins, and this list is a gift sent to Merlin by Ms. Thalia, who is far away in Europe and is currently recovering.

Information, names, characteristics, addresses, and even past experiences and family relationships of 284 radical mutants.

Merlin waved his mobile phone to his subordinates, and said in a relaxed tone:

That's what you'll be working on next week.

Follow the map, I believe, it shouldn't be difficult, right?

—

The time that is busy with work always passes quickly, in the blink of an eye, Merlin has been in the 'ghost' base for almost half a month.

In the past half a month, the thugs who were caught were sent here every day, and then they were imprisoned and reviewed. After that, he was sent to a special court for trial.

That is a mutant law enforcement agency composed of the World Security Council, the North American government, and moderate mutants, which is equivalent to a jury that changes directions.

The establishment of this mutant court also represents that the mutant group, which was previously excluded from the social order, has returned to the category of human society in terms of jurisprudence.

Professor Charles is very supportive of the establishment of this court. He serves as an advisor on the issue of mutants. The good old man is very active in the discussion of the trial procedure. He is very inclined to set a layer of rules for his own ethnic group at the legal level. shackles.

He's a real smart guy.

The professor is very clear that these shackles that seem to be diametrically opposed to freedom, these legal rules are not a bad thing for mutants.

This is a framework, and only within this framework can mutants realize the freedom that truly deserves to be supported.

Just like Merlin said to Raven before.

In the big framework of human beings, all problems are internal problems, which can be resolved through mutual contact and negotiation.

Once separated from the big framework of human beings, internal conflicts will turn into external confrontations. After the mutants recklessly cut themselves off from human society, the freedom they want to pursue will only be regarded as the greatest by all the regimes in this world. threat.

By that time, mutants will really be enemies of the world.

Merlin had been keeping an eye on the matter until another event arrived that took him out of mutant affairs for a while.

Is everything ready?

In Hell's Kitchen, at midnight, in the living room of the House of Blood, Merlin said to Elsa who was packing the package:

Have you figured out where to go?

I might go to my father.

Elsa tidied up her brown backpack, she stood up, looked back at the night outside the window of the House of Blood, and said:

But it's also possible to walk around. After all, my father must have a reason for not letting me participate in Dracula's affairs.

Um.

Merlin nodded. He seemed a little silent tonight, as if he had something to say in his heart and wanted to say it, but he couldn't. Computer side::/

He took something out of his pocket and put it in Elsa's hand.

Take this.

He said the girl in front of him said:

In my absence, it can protect you.

Elsa looked at the blue steel cube in her hand, she was a little surprised and said:

Isn't this your weapon? I remember, you told me, it was locked.

Su Rui helped me unlock my identity.

Merlin said to Elsa:

You put your finger on its surface for 10 seconds, and it will re-lock the user identity.

Are you concerned about me, Merlin?

Elsa held the slightly heavy weapon, she stared at Merlin, and said in a relaxed tone:

Why can't you just say it directly? It's always so awkward.

Looking at Elsa's green eyes, Merlin turned his head slightly, and after a few seconds, he said in a weak voice:

Can you stay?

Do you want me to stay?

Elsa looked at Merlin with a smile in her eyes, as if she was deliberately teasing him, she asked:

I want to hear the truth.

Um.

Merlin nodded, and said softly:

I'm used to having you by my side. If a piece of my life is missing, I will feel uncomfortable.

No.

Elsa opened her arms and hugged Merlin gently. She kissed Merlin on the cheek and said in his ear:

That's not the answer I wanted to hear, Merlin, but don't worry, I'll be back soon

Just like you hate me, I also hate you but you always don't take the initiative.

Come on, let's have a drink

Go to my room