Shadow of the Beautiful World

On the second floor of the Continental Hotel, in this decently decorated suite, the kids sit on the sofa and watch cartoons, while the adults sit at a table on the other side and they talk.

This is Agent Hill.

Merlin introduced to Talia who was sitting opposite him:

She is Fury's assistant and is here on behalf of Fury. If you want to further cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D., you can contact Hill in the future. Of course, you may have to meet with Fury.

He said:

It's not that easy to persuade Fury to accept your existence. Fury is different from me, he is not a talkative person.

I believe there must be a lot of topics to talk about between Director Fury and I.

Thalia didn't care. This woman exuding femininity leaned lazily on the chair. She said:

Our happy cooperation with sl.d. has proved this point. The League of Assassins and S.H.I.E.L.D. have many areas that can cooperate. Of course, this is not the right topic to talk about tonight, I just want to catch up with old friends,, By the way, let me introduce my new industry to you.”

She looked at Bruce, then at Merlin, and said:

You two are one of my few friends, tell me, what do you think of my Continental Hotel?

Bruce shrugged, but he didn't answer.

But from the slightly critical eyes of the super rich man, it can be seen that Bruce doesn't seem to be very interested in this place.

And Merlin glanced at the surrounding furnishings, and he said slowly:

From the hotel's point of view, this place is not perfect. However, I guess, you must not only really plan to run it as a hotel, you are going to let the League of Assassins change its way, from the shadow of your long life Out in the sun? That's not a good idea.

No, you're only partially right.

Thalia stood up, took out a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet next to her, poured a glass for Bruce, Merlin, and Hill, and said softly:

It's a try, Merlin.

The Assassin's Alliance under the leadership of my father was very successful. In the past few hundred years, it has always been a pivotal force in the dark world. It is feared and feared by people, but the times have changed after all.

My father's theory is no longer applicable in this information age. Deathstroke's raid on Nandarbat proves this. The ancient inheritance has become exhausted in the face of the power of modern science.

Thalia picked up the wine glass and raised it to the others, and the remaining three also raised their wine glasses. After Merlin took a sip of the wine, Thalia continued to speak eloquently:

The fiasco of Gotham, the attack on Nandalbat, the mutiny of several branches

The League of Assassins suffered heavy losses one after another, and almost fell apart. We fell from the highest peak to the valley. If it weren't for the help of noble people, I'm afraid we would have existed in name only.

She glanced at her former lover, and she put her hand on Bruce's palm, and Bruce subconsciously tried to break free, but in the end, he gently held Talia's hand.

This action made Thalia show a smile. The charming woman turned her head and shrugged at Merlin. She said:

After the death of my father, the dynasty he established has collapsed. No one can save the fall of tradition. Those of us who survived can only learn from the painful mistakes.

The League of Assassins needs a new model to allow itself to regain its place in the new era.

Cooperating with officials is only one part of this new model.

Thalia put down her wine glass, she said to Merlin and Hill:

Whether you want to believe it or not, under my leadership, the Assassin Alliance still follows the ancient ways of assassins. Our existence is to protect order and freedom, not to destroy it. Both of us have a common purpose, which is basis of our cooperation.

As for the Continental Hotel, Merlin is right. This is a new survival mode I planned for the League of Assassins.

Thalia reached out and tapped a small black box on the table. The next moment, a blue holographic projection appeared in front of the four people.

It was a rotating model of the earth, and there were many red dots on the map.

The Continental Hotel in New York is the first, then London, Rome, Tokyo, Cairo, Casablanca, etc. We will have a large hotel chain all over the world, it does not serve ordinary people, the system will become the League of Assassins A new frame of existence.

Each hotel will be a place for the assassins under my command to recuperate and give feedback. It will become their base of operations, providing them with weapons, living resources, rewards and other various requirements.

Once they receive the order, they will come to the hotel to prepare, which means they are about to start their mission, and when the mission is completed, they will leave the hotel, which means they will return to their lives.

Thalia brushed her beautiful long black hair, and she said to Merlin:

Facts have proved that the ascetic lifestyle is not suitable for this era. Assassins also need to have their own life and communication. I will not ask them to sever their ties with society. I want them to truly integrate into this world. Blending into the crowd, only by being familiar with this society can we better protect it.”

You said the mission.

Agent Hill was not tempted by Thalia's statement of protecting the world. She asked calmly:

What mission? Assassination?

Assassination is just one part of it. It's more about intelligence gathering. At this stage, we have to keep a low profile to avoid being targeted by other colleagues.

Thalia waved her hand, she said indifferently:

The dark world has its own set of rules, Agent Hill, I know that as a public official, you instinctively hate any crime, but believe me, many times, we can do many jobs that you are not convenient to come forward for.

boom

A strange gold coin was bounced in Thalia's hand and finally fell into Hill's finger. She said to Hill:

It only takes one or two such gold coins, and those vicious guys will fall into your information network. If we can pay more, we will be happy to help you solve those difficult troubles.

You let S.H.I.E.L.D. hire assassins?

Hill said to Talia with a strange face:

With all due respect, ma'am, your ideas are a bit too wild.

You mean I'm naive?

Thalia chuckled lightly, she glanced at the silent Merlin, and then said to Hill:

You think S.H.I.E.L.D. can solve all problems? Yes, maybe you can, but is there a difference between the bullets that shoot from the muzzles of your agents and the bullets that shoot from the muzzles of my assassins?

If a criminal is sentenced to death by you, it is actually meaningless to worry about who will execute it.

Look, Agent Hill, I'm telling you all the secrets of the Continental Hotel and how it works, just to let you pass on my description to Mr. Director behind you.

Thalia says:

I believe that Mr. Director will make the right judgment.

That does sound like a big change.

Merlin didn't pay attention to Thalia and Hill's argument, he said:

It seems that you intend to completely transform the Assassin's League into another look. The ancient tradition is abandoned. It's hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I believe that not all members of the Assassin's League will adapt to this change. ?”

yes.

Thalia also said with some headaches:

When an organization exists for too long, some internal ideological debates will evolve into a bad separatist regime, and there will always be some people who accept traditional growth and are not willing to keep up with the times, but it doesn't matter, the establishment of the Continental Hotel It doesn't mean we're going to be divided again.

she says:

Tradition and modernity can coexist. The previous decline may not be a bad thing. At least at this stage, everyone can still abandon conflicts and work together to rebuild the organization.

All right.

Merlin nodded, but he remained silent.

He had no more questions to ask, and he had no objection to the fact that a group of assassins were planning to open the door for business.

Thalia’s open and honest presentation to S.H.I.E.L.D. also satisfied Merlin. She could build the Continental Hotel without notifying anyone, but she invited people from S.H.I.E.L.D., which meant that Talia was willing to Enter the big frame set by S.H.I.E.L.D.

She is willing to follow the rules.

Merlin welcomes this.

It seems that Mr. Merlin has no objection, which is very good.

There was a smile on Thalia's face. She glanced at Hill and didn't say anything. Instead, she turned her gaze to Bruce beside her. She said:

Bruce, tell Merlin about the troubles you have encountered. You are friends and should help each other.

trouble?

Merlin raised his head and looked at Bruce. Because of Hill's presence, neither he nor Thalia revealed Bruce's true identity.

He said to Bruce:

What's your trouble again? About 'business'?

right.

Bruce glanced at Hill, nodded, and said softly:

In terms of 'business', not long ago, I received a weird invitation. I don't know how to describe it to you. In short, the other party sent someone to sneak into my manor without alarming anyone. at the head of my bed.

Bruce said emphatically:

I was resting in my bedroom at the time.

Um?

Merlin narrowed his eyes.

Although Bruce is just an ordinary person, he is Lars Al Ghul's most proud disciple. He fought righteously in Gotham City and became known as Batman, making those criminals very timid, which proves that He has the ability to act in the dark.

Bruce's perception is very keen, Merlin knows this, and there are all kinds of monitoring equipment hidden in Wayne Manor, but if he can not disturb him and those monitoring equipment, put a letter on his bed Head, which also proves the strength of those 'visitors'.

Tell me about that invitation and, why didn't you tell me about it earlier?

Merlin stared at Bruce, and he said:

You always seem to like to face all troubles alone, but I want to remind you that you have friends.

I think I can handle it.

Gotham Rich shrugged. He raised his glass and said to Merlin:

But it turns out that the waters in this matter are much deeper than I thought Thalia, why don't you take Miss Hill to see your new clothes? I think you will become very good friends.

Bruce turned his head and said something to Thalia, who immediately stood up and said to Bruce:

OK, dear.

She looked back at Hill, and she made a please gesture:

Please come with me, Miss Hill, let the men continue to talk about boring topics, let's go and see my collection, I have a dress that is very, very suitable for you.

Of course Hill understood that Thalia wanted to take her away from here and create a separate communication environment for Merlin and Bruce. What they wanted to talk about was definitely something that she was not suitable to hear.

She glanced at Merlin, who nodded to her, signaling that she needn't worry.

So Hill stood up, straightened her skirt, and obediently followed Thalia out of the suite.

After the lady left, Bruce's disguised gentle expression of a business tycoon disappeared immediately, and his face became serious. He took out a silver badge from his pocket and placed it in front of Merlin's eyes.

This one was placed next to my bedside with that invitation letter.

Looks like the logo of the League of Assassins.

Merlin picked up the badge, on it was a sharp white logo, like the Hidden Blade when it popped out, very similar to the logo of the League of Assassins, but when Merlin looked carefully, he found that the color logo was slightly different from the logo of the League of Assassins. something different.

It has less cumbersome details and maintains a simple and simple style.

Brotherhood of Assassins

Merlin clenched the symbol in his hand. He remembered the stories about the assassin's legacy that Lars Al Ghul told him when he died. He looked at Bruce and said:

They sent a call to you. Lars Al Ghul told me that there are few real assassins in this era. Now it seems that he is wrong. Maybe even the self-proclaimed Assassin Brotherhood is the last Ra's al-Ghul himself has been misguided. Perhaps those haughty assassins don't bother to admit that the Daemon Chief is one of them.

The Assassins have always been in the shadows and they never died.

Merlin touched his arm, and he said softly:

Bruce

You have been called, and you must answer.

PS:

Today's National Day ceremony, add more! Add more! There are 7 updates today, and the rest will be on the 10th~Happy birthday to the motherland~Happy holidays, brothers~And, last month's results were so dismal, I hope this month's results will be better~Please support me brothers! Thank you everyone~