Shadow of the Beautiful World

Merlin stood outside the hospital room.

From his point of view, Maria Casol was lying on the hospital bed, still in a coma, and hadn't woken up yet.

It was a week ago that the lady was hit by a bullet. Dupont's timely rescue saved her life, but the fragmentation of her spine caused by the bullet grazed her, making it difficult for her to wake up in a short time .

This kind of injury was incurable a few years ago.

That means that even if Maria finally wakes up, the best ending is to lie in bed for the rest of her life.

But luckily, there are now medical treatments for this injury.

Famous neurosurgeon Stephen Strange and his assistant, Dr. Palmer Christine, have successfully completed 15 spinal splicing operations similar to Maria's in the past six months.

Those patients also recovered quite well.

Unfortunately, that doctor is now very hot, and his surgery schedule has been scheduled for an exaggerated 2 years later.

Even if Merlin instructed Icarus to use some personal relationships, Maria's surgery could only be scheduled for 4 months at the earliest.

But that's not the worst.

Frank Castle has been by his wife's side for the past few days. He is a very infatuated man. Apart from being with his children, he stays here and never leaves.

Sharon stood behind Merlin, and she whispered to Merlin who was standing in front of the window of the ward:

After learning that Dr. Stephen could treat his wife's injuries, he went to Dr. Stephen's office with his friend Billy Russo.

Then what?

With his hands behind his back, Merlin asked:

Why did the two of them leave? And why did the plane crash?

Because Dr. Stephen's operation is very expensive.

Sharon looked at Maria Casol, who was unconscious in the ward, and she couldn't bear to say:

Frank's pension alone is far from enough, so he decided to join Billy Russo's security company. He also begged Dr. Moira to repair his calf injury through the relationship of the cloak.

The two went to Europe two days ago to discuss their first business. It was a job introduced to them by a general of the army they served before. On the battlefield in the Middle East, it was a military outsourcing task.

The two of them and a group of veterans recruited by Russo were flying through the war zone in a helicopter, but encountered an unexpected skirmish and unfortunately, a rocket hit their helicopter

Merlin fell silent.

As the deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he knows very well that in some hot spots in the Middle East and Central Asia, the military will indeed outsource some peripheral military projects to private military contractors.

It was deadly, dangerous, but highly rewarding.

The military has always been generous in this kind of thing of spending money and hiring people to do their best.

Both Frank and Russo are retired veterans. If they don't want to make money by doing bad things, then returning to the battlefield to exchange their lives for money is indeed a very good job for them.

Especially since Frank is in dire need of money

Anything can happen on the battlefield, and it all seems reasonable.

Perhaps, Frank and Russo were just unlucky.

Can you find the body?

Merlin asked.

Sharon shook her head:

That's a hot spot, sir, and a new round of war has broken out there since a few days ago.

Perhaps sending out witch hunting agents can indeed travel across the war zone to find the remains of Frank and Russo, but I don't think the director will approve this operation.

Um.

Merlin nodded.

Indeed, neither Frank nor Russo are employees of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he cannot ask S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to take the risk of intervening in the war to find two people who have nothing to do with their job responsibilities.

What's more, the nature of those two guys entering the battlefield is more similar to mercenaries.

Apart from their loved ones, not even their employers care about the loss of a team.

Where are his children?

Merlin looked at the unconscious Maria in the ward. He moved his fingers and said to Sharon beside him:

Is someone taking care of them?

After the news of Frank Castle came back, Lisa and Little Frank were taken back to their home by the magical man. Cage and Jessica have been taking care of them these days.

Sharon says:

The two children are very well-behaved. They visit their mother every day, but they don't know yet, their father will always be

shh

Merlin suddenly made a silent gesture.

A moment later, Frank's eldest daughter, Lisa, walked out of the elevator with her younger brother, Frank Jr.

Luke Cage, who was wearing a suit and sunglasses, accompanied the two of them. The hero was still holding some fruit. He should have accompanied the child to visit the patient.

Cage saw Merlin and Sharon standing outside the ward for the first time, and his expression changed a bit.

But before the supernatural man could speak, Merlin walked up on his own initiative.

He stopped in front of the two children looking at him, took out his wallet, fumbled in it, and finally took out a faded photo and handed it to the two children.

It was a photo taken with a group of soldiers who came to drink when he opened a bar in Kandahar.

Also pictured are young Frank and Russo.

I'm your father's friend.

Merlin looked at the two children in front of him. He stretched out his hand and touched little Frank's head with the medical bandage on his face. He smiled and said to the two children:

You can call me Uncle Merlin.

Uncle Merlin, hello.

Frank's youngest son was very polite. He called Merlin, grabbed the photo, and looked for his father and Uncle Billy with great interest.

The kid was not old enough to know what was going on in his own family.

And his elder sister Lisa seemed taciturn, the little girl must have felt the heavy pressure.

At this time, she was looking at Merlin with a slightly strange gaze. After a while, the big girl asked softly:

Uncle, my father he

Your father went to make money.

Merlin said to the girl:

As you can see, your mother's condition is very bad. I made an appointment with a doctor for him and paid for the medical expenses in advance, but your father is a very strong person, as you know, Lisa.

Anyway, that stubborn guy doesn't want to owe me a favor.

Merlin shrugged, pretending to have a helpless expression, and said:

He may be away for a long time, after all, it is a lot of money, but he will always come back, believe me, little girl, when your mother recovers, he will definitely come back.

Remember at all times, your father really loves you, and he will give everything for you two.

So don't blame him for leaving you for so long.

No matter what happens in the future, you must be a good boy.

He stretched out his hand, patted Lisa and Little Frank on the shoulders, and said to Luke Cage:

Cage, take good care of my two children, and tell me if you have any difficulties.

Nothing, sir, er, Merlin.

Luke touched his big bald head, and he said to Merlin:

Jessica also likes these two children very much. Lisa is very good and can help her clean up the room. She is happy to let the two children stay for a while until their mother recovers.

Well, I'm relieved to hand them over to you.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, he stretched out his hand and pushed his glasses, waved goodbye to the two children, and then left the hospital quickly with Sharon.

Sharon, make an appointment with Fury for me.

At the entrance of the hospital, Merlin said to his assistant:

About the virus variant, I'm going to meet with him this afternoon, so it's best for the director to spare some time in advance.

Yes, sir.

Sharon nodded, she got into her car and left here quickly.

Meanwhile, Merlin stood at the entrance of the hospital. He looked back at the place where he was saving lives and healing the wounded. A trace of gloom flashed in his eyes.

Icarus, send Thalia the location where Frank and Russo's plane crashed, I need her to do me another favor.

You think Frank Castle is not dead?

Icarus asked:

Is this thought based on rational judgment? Or is it from your instinct?

instinct.

Merlin lit a cigarette a little annoyed, and said:

I still remember the first time Frank and I met, he was fighting a bunch of Ten Rings gangsters, and everyone died except him.

Those corpses were on top of him, and he had only one breath left. If I hadn't passed by there, he might have died in that ghostly place.

The Frank Castle in my memory is a tough man, Icarus.

Merlin raised his head, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said:

It was he who rescued me from the collapsed cave. Although the collapse of the cave was caused by him throwing bombs indiscriminately, but he saved me and I have to do something for him.

If he really dies, I will take care of his wife and children.

But if he's not dead, then I must find him!

In the afternoon, in Nick Fury's office, Merlin and Fury sat opposite each other on the sofa.

Fury was still wearing the same turtleneck sweater and cool black leather jacket, with a big bald head, black eye patch, some scars on his face, high-top marine boots, and a pistol on his waist.

Judging from his speech, speech and pace of action, it is really hard to believe that he is already an old man who is almost 60 years old.

How about the talks in Switzerland?

Fury leaned on the sofa and asked:

I heard you were there talking to some politicians about the later stages of the Omnic Project?

It's just a preliminary plan.

Merlin says:

The power of the fire source has begun to decline globally. It is estimated that after the fifth impact, the energy of the fire source will completely dissipate, and the original omnic will no longer be a problem.

However, the omnic industry has already taken shape, and it has been integrated into the civilization process of this world, so everyone is very concerned about some things in the future.

But I was there for a week, and I wasted a week. That long meeting didn't lead to a productive outcome.

Merlin shook his head:

I now seriously suspect that Pierce also let me go there for him because he hates wasting time.

He's supporting you, Merlin.

Fury said:

Let you show your face in that circle and make some connections, which will be very helpful for your future career planning.

My career plan?

Merlin snorted:

Don't tell me I'm going to run for president if I don't work as an agent in the future?

Don't be kidding, Fury, those things in my mind determine that even after I retire, I will not be able to show my face, let's not talk about it.

He reached out to caress his glasses, and the blue projection projected from Icarus's frame appeared in front of the two of them.

Merlin pointed to a double helix image similar to the biomolecular structure rotating in the projection, and said to Fury:

This is the purpose of my visit today. Let's take a look at the preliminary research results of our biologists on that variant.

this thing

Fury rubbed his one eye, he looked at the rotating molecular structure, he said:

Looks like some kind of virus

Yes, a virus that can genetically modify a virus in a biological form.

Merlin said seriously and seriously:

Although the mutant seemed to trigger some kind of 'self-destruct mechanism' after being killed, causing most of its cell samples to self-dissolve, the biologists still found something useful in it.

Out-of-control mutants look dangerous, but they're actually easy to deal with if you find a weak point.

Merlin pointed to the rotating virus molecular diagram, and said to Fury:

But this, this is the real danger.

I consulted with our biologist, and she told me that this thing is infectious and super infectious, but the virus in the mutant body is locked in a 'biological lock' method.

But since the behind-the-scenes mastermind who made the mutant can lock the infection ability, then I think they must have a way to unlock it.

Having said that, Merlin stopped talking, and Fury narrowed his one eye.

He looked at the structure of the virus on the projection in front of him, and then at the simulated projection of the tyrant, he said:

So if necessary, they can use this new type of biochemical weapon, and it can set off a um, biochemical crisis in a short time?

Yes! That's what I want to say.

Merlin snapped his fingers, sat up straight, and said:

The accident caused by the mutant is only on the surface, and the investigation of this new virus has just begun.

Um.

Fury nodded, Merlin brought enough evidence to prove his point of view, the pursuit of the virus is already a certainty,

But the chief rubbed his chin and said:

I've seen the report on this accident, and your subordinates suspect that it was done by some remnants of Abstergo Pharmaceuticals. Are you going to investigate in this direction?

No.

Merlin shook his head and said:

I don't want to discourage my subordinates from their work, and there are certain things that cannot be told to them. But I can assure you, Fury, that this has nothing to do with Abstergo

This virus only seems to be related to Abstergo's field of expertise, but in fact, what the drug company was researching before its downfall is completely different from this virus.

Merlin lowered his voice and said:

Abstergo, who fell the tree and scattered the monkeys, took the blame for the mastermind behind the scenes.

Or, someone is deliberately misleading our attention to Abstergo to protect the real mastermind.

But they didn't anticipate that I myself might be one of the few people in the world who know the most about anything related to Abstergo.

Um?

Fury's eyes jumped, he looked at Merlin, and he said:

This thing is getting more and more interesting. It's like a pit that can constantly dig out new things. Do you have anyone you suspect?

have.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. He put away the projection in front of him, picked up the teacup, took a sip of the tea, and said:

Colorado, Raccoon City, currently the hottest pharmaceutical company in North America, Ann Labrador, the umbrella.

The timing of their convoy passing through New York coincided so well with the timing of the out-of-control object. My instincts were telling me it might not be a coincidence.

So you're going to check?

Fury also picked up the teacup, and he asked:

Start now?

No, I'll leave this matter to Coulson and the others.

Merlin took out his pocket watch to check the time, and he said to Fury:

I may not have time to pay attention to this matter recently, and there is a more difficult matter to deal with.

I mean, Fury, if Coulson and the others find anything, they will report it to you directly.

Um?

Fury frowned, and he asked:

What is it, is it more important than the imminent Resident Evil?

Yes.

Merlin shrugged helplessly, and said:

A few years ago, during the Cybertron War, I made a contract with a very dangerous person who has the ability to destroy the world, and now the time is coming

There has been urging, I have to hurry up and finish it.

In short, I'll leave it to you to track down the umbrella, Fury.