Chapter 34: So ~ will Stark really be kidnapped?
"Yes, Officer, I'm very sure!"
"Just a few minutes ago, it made me act like a psychopath."
Meeting Coulson's gaze, Black Widow nodded heavily, giving a definitively affirmative answer.
"So ~ you're telling me…",
"You kept your mouth shut earlier because of that 'Pending 084' that I couldn't see?"
Coulson stared intently at Black Widow, seeking confirmation.
"Exactly."
"When I tried to speak about information regarding that 084, an inexplicable force would choke my throat."
"Making me unable to make a sound."
Black Widow described the situation to Coulson in detail.
"Is that how it is?"
Coulson responded noncommittally, then fell into thought.
Normally, no one would believe Black Widow's explanation, as it sounded a bit absurd.
But as a senior Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson had encountered some supernatural events, so his reaction was relatively calm.
He didn't dismiss Black Widow outright, but of course, he didn't immediately believe her either.
He still needed to make a judgment on the specifics.
"Wait a moment."
Coulson had another thought.
He recalled Black Widow's actions earlier and glanced towards the diary.
Of course, Coulson couldn't see anything.
To him, his desk was still empty, with nothing on it.
"Also, you placed that 'Pending 084' here?"
"But I can't see it?"
Coulson slapped his hand on the diary.
More precisely, he slapped it on the "projection" of the diary.
Black Widow saw clearly that at this moment, the diary had actually become a holographic projection.
There was no physical object in front of Coulson.
Coulson's hand passed right through the diary and landed directly on the desk!
But when Black Widow reached out, her hand met something solid, and she easily picked up the diary.
No problem at all, the diary was still a physical object!
084!
This was definitely a 084, no doubt about it.
"Yes, Officer, that's exactly how it is."
"Just now your hand was actually pressing on that 084, but for some reason, the 084 became illusory."
"And now, I'm holding it in my hand."
Black Widow said, shaking the diary in her hand at Coulson.
But to Coulson, Black Widow was still just making the motion of holding something, nothing more.
Her hand was empty.
There was nothing there.
Not only that.
Coulson also pulled up the office's surveillance camera for a more detailed look.
But it was still the same; nothing could be seen.
Here's a side note.
Jarvis was able to see the diary because the diary actively allowed him to see it.
Jarvis, like Tony Stark and Black Widow, was a holder of the diary.
Otherwise.
An AI program of Jarvis's level would not be able to see the diary.
"OK."
Coulson simply gave up.
After a brief thought, he refocused his gaze on Black Widow, "So, regarding this 'Pending 084', is there anything you can tell me?"
"I'm not sure, I'll try."
Black Widow organized her thoughts and formulated her words.
She tried to tell Coulson the content of the diary.
"The 084 told me some important information. It said that very recently ~ ha ha ha…"
Black Widow was trying to describe the content of the diary, but as soon as she opened her mouth, that inexplicable force choked her throat again.
She couldn't make any sound no matter what.
Well, she couldn't even reveal the content of the diary!
"Natasha ~"
"I'm fine!"
After going through it several times, Black Widow was quite calm now.
She immediately stopped trying to reveal spoilers and instantly returned to normal.
Then, Black Widow made some other attempts, all of which failed.
"I'm sorry, Officer, it seems I can't reveal anything at the moment."
Black Widow said to Coulson with a slight sense of frustration.
"Is that so?"
Coulson felt a bit of a headache.
If you can't say anything, what am I supposed to do?
Coulson wasn't even sure.
Was all of this Black Widow's explanation, or did she truly possess the 084 she described?
It wasn't that Coulson doubted Black Widow.
Even if Black Widow was one of his most capable and trusted subordinates.
But you have nothing concrete from beginning to end, just a "performance."
How can one be convinced?
"How about this, Natasha, you hold onto that 'Pending 084' for now and go to the technical department."
"See if you can find anything."
"We'll talk about the follow-up matters when I get back."
After a brief thought, Coulson made this decision.
"Understood!"
Black Widow could only nod.
At this point, besides that, she couldn't do anything more.
After leaving Coulson, Black Widow didn't hesitate.
She went directly to the technical department with the mysterious diary and subjected it to various tests and analyses.
But the result remained unchanged.
All of the technical department's cutting-edge equipment and top-tier methods could not detect this diary.
Aside from Black Widow herself, this diary was nonexistent to anyone else or any other object.
Black Widow completely gave up.
As things stood, she really had no way to reveal this diary.
So ~
Black Widow's expression began to turn incredibly solemn.
Whoever the person behind this was, why would they give such a strange diary to her?
What was their purpose?
Besides that.
Black Widow's attitude towards the information revealed in the diary was also very different from before.
Previously, Black Widow was half-believing, half-doubting, with "doubt" far outweighing "belief."
But now.
Black Widow had a certain degree of trust.
After all.
The person behind it had delivered a 084-level item right to her, surely not just to deceive her, right?
"Which means… Tony Stark really might be kidnapped?"
"Very soon?"
Black Widow's brows furrowed slightly.
If this matter was true, then theoretically, S.H.I.E.L.D. could not stand idly by no matter what.
After all, it truly involved significant implications.
But the key problem was that Black Widow couldn't reveal the contents of the diary to anyone!
Not to mention.
The diary's description of this kidnapping was also brief, not providing any more detailed information.
So, after much deliberation, Black Widow realized.
Aside from closely monitoring Tony Stark privately, she currently couldn't do much more.
Thanks to book friend 08a for the repeated tip!