Triskelion.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
Director Nick Fury stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, radiating the aura of a powerful figure.
His attire was the same all year round: a black knit shirt under a black leather jacket, a black eye patch covering his single eye, and dark skin that allowed him to blend perfectly into the shadows whenever he stood still.
It suited his identity as an Agent—except for the fact that his office air conditioning was always set to an extremely, unreasonably cold temperature.
Just then, a knock sounded. Nick Fury walked to his desk, sat down, struck a cool pose, and called, "Enter!"
As Natasha Romanoff stepped inside, a blast of cold air hit her immediately.
She was already used to this.
Nick Fury asked, "How was the mission? Was that alien girl cooperative?"
"She was very cooperative, but the results were… quite fantastical."
Natasha carefully chose her words. "Here's the situation: during this investigation, I gathered some very useful information—for example, Rimuru's abilities and her attitude toward Earthlings. Based on my analysis, Rimuru has a considerable fondness for Earthlings, even for S.H.I.E.L.D., so she's basically harmless."
"Basically harmless, and has a considerable fondness for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Nick Fury's curiosity was immediately piqued. An alien civilization capable of interstellar travel and reaching Earth was definitely not something to underestimate.
It was already acceptable if they weren't looking down on humanity. But to have a fondness for Earthlings? Was this what people called a planetary traitor? An alien public intellectual? An alien saint?
"Tell me the investigation process in detail."
"Alright. Rimuru is an alien… but strictly speaking, she isn't."
Natasha concisely explained Rimuru's background, focusing on summarizing facts and avoiding subjective judgment.
When he heard that Rimuru came from a parallel Universe's Earth, Nick Fury froze for a moment.
The concept of parallel Universes had long existed, so that part wasn't shocking.
But hearing that the Earth in that Universe had undergone a 2,500-year 'Wandering Earth' project—and had ended up four light-years away in a system with three Suns…
That went beyond sci-fi.
Moving the entire Earth? What the heck?
Nick Fury's expression darkened so much it practically glowed. If Natasha weren't one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite Agents—exceptionally capable, top-tier in all her missions—he would've already transferred her to go sit on the bench with Coulson.
A brain is a great thing to have!
But then Natasha reached the part about the "evolution" of Earth's descendants, and Nick Fury fell silent again.
To adapt to the unpredictability of three Suns, the people of the wandering Earth had evolved "temperature-change resistance"?
Was that really something humans could evolve?
But evolution adapting to the environment was indeed a natural law.
And the outer-space environment was known to induce mutations.
NASA had once reported that astronauts who spent a year in space showed a 7% permanent gene mutation rate.
That was just one year. If humans had drifted through space for 2,500 years and entered a system with three Suns… maybe they really would evolve a constitution resistant to extreme temperature changes.
For a moment, Nick Fury actually thought, Why does this make so much sense?He hated that it made sense.
But rationality screamed: No, it's ridiculous!
Then Natasha mentioned that, to survive long droughts and waterless eras, these new humans evolved a dimensional stomach capable of storing a lake's worth of freshwater.
Was this a fantasy novel?
Was human potential really that absurd?
Human potential… Wait!
Nick Fury immediately thought of Captain Marvel—Carol Danvers—who could dismantle a spaceship like a toy.
In Binary form, she could traverse the vacuum of space with her bare body.
Most importantly, Carol was an Earthling. Human potential truly was astonishing.
Could Rimuru actually be telling the truth?
Nick Fury's brows tightened until they nearly knotted.
Natasha quietly observed his expression, clicking her tongue inwardly. Before walking in, she had already prepared herself to be scolded.
Honestly, compared to her previous flawless missions, this one was messy. Too much of the information sounded insane.
Even though she was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ace Agent and trusted by the Director, she wasn't as glamorous as she appeared.
As a former Red Room Agent who defected, her margin for error was always razor-thin.
A traitor was always a traitor—she could never fully wash off that label.
Nick Fury asked, "Right. You said Rimuru also has a fondness for S.H.I.E.L.D. Why?"
Natasha replied, "Rimuru said that in her Universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. was once a hidden organization like us, but 2,500 years ago, New York suffered an alien invasion. S.H.I.E.L.D. shined brilliantly by thwarting the alien conspiracy. Because of that, S.H.I.E.L.D. became widely known, some of our Agents became legends, and their deeds were even made into movies."
What?
Alien invasion?Battle of New York?S.H.I.E.L.D. thwarting aliens?Movies?
What kind of nonsense was this?
And yet… if not for something like that, how would Rimuru know Coulson and Natasha?
Were aliens really going to invade Earth?
Had the Kree discovered he was harboring the Skrulls?
Was it still not too late to hand the Skrulls over?
The more you know, the worse your imagination becomes.
Natasha didn't believe a word of Rimuru's story—yet the more Nick Fury thought about it, the more anxious he became.
"What else did she say?"
Was the Director actually taking this seriously?
Natasha found it absurd, but reported honestly, "Our Earth is called Midgard, the younger brother of Asgard. Asgard is ruled by the Allfather Odin, who has two sons: the elder Thor, and the younger Loki—though Loki is adopted."
Nick Fury cut her off, annoyed. "Stop! Don't report these obviously fake mythological stories."
"Yes, sir."
Natasha quietly breathed a sigh of relief. If the Director believed that, she would seriously suspect his brain had sprung a leak.
Nick Fury continued reviewing her report, his brows deeply furrowed.
Undoubtedly, Rimuru's abilities were extraordinary. She even possessed a suit similar to Iron Man's, making her combat potential undeniable.
Should she be added to the Avengers Initiative candidate list?
By ability—yes.By age—far too young.
And Rimuru's story was full of truth mixed with lies. Hard to verify, hard to trust. Hard to determine her intentions.
A Director who believed someone's words at face value would never have become Director.
He needed to observe her further.
"Children shouldn't be idle. Your Ivy Timothy identity is useful—use it to supervise little Rimuru at school. Let her absorb more of the American spirit."
Natasha chuckled. She knew Rimuru hated the idea of going to school.
This would be fun.
"Yes, sir."
After Natasha left, Nick Fury placed all of Rimuru's information into a thick secure safe.
Inside were documents, including one labeled:
0.
0 was a code, a category—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest classification. Only the Director and a few with top clearance could access it.
0 referred to objects or energies of unknown origin.
The first 0 in history was the Inhumans' Terrigen Obelisk; later, the Tesseract was added.
And now, Rimuru had become the first human ever classified as 0.
more power stones!!!!!!
don't hoard it, it will expire