Kamen Rider ZZZ, the American comic book spiritual mentor

In addition, there are two other personnel who are not part of the regular staff and are on guard duty.

First, Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye.

As one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most elite agents, this person possesses super vision and unerring archery skills.

The success rate of completing the mission goes without saying; the elite of the elite, at this moment, is like a gray falcon, breathing steadily and gently, perched on the steel beam above the research area.

Holding a specially made composite bow, his eyes, sharp as an eagle's, scanned the slightest movement below.

The second is Natasha Romanov, codenamed Black Widow.

He has been brought back from Iron Man's side. This former Red Room graduate is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, assassination, and countless espionage techniques, and has a deep understanding of human weaknesses.

She was standing by the iron railing, arms crossed, rubbing the rings on her hands.

Her ring contained enough nerve gas to instantly incapacitate an adult elephant.

Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. believed that even if the God of Mischief really was a god, stepping into such a trap would only lead to certain death.

Black Widow stretched, the powerful movement highlighting her toned waist and hips. She parted her red lips slightly and asked, "How credible do you think that knight's warning was?"

Workaholic Coulson stood beside her, his eyes fixed on the Cosmic Cube below, and said in a deep voice, "I think it's a perfect score."

"So tall?" Black Widow raised an eyebrow, her alluring eyes revealing a deep interest.

“You haven’t had any contact with him and don’t know him. This person has unknown technological routes, is mysterious and powerful. According to intelligence, a few days ago in Sokovia, he almost destroyed an entire Hydra base by himself. Such a person would not stoop to lying.”

Coulson's tone was complex, and when he spoke of the Cavaliers, there was an undeniable air of admiration in his voice.

This intelligence left Black Widow silent for a long time. She sighed, "To be able to destroy a Hydra base all by herself... that's truly impressive..."

Suddenly, the model worker asked again, "Agent Natasha, have you ever seen Captain America?"

Black Widow paused: "I've seen the footage, but I've never seen him in person. The chief said that since he woke up, he's been locking himself in a room decorated in the style of the 1930s or 40s, and he does nothing but punch the punching bag and look at photos."

"The captain is really pitiful. He's been frozen for seventy years. Everything has changed. All that he knew has disappeared. Only memories remain."

Black Widow nodded and said, "My next mission was to find Dr. Banner, but I was transferred here. I think Barton alone is enough."

“Not enough, Agent Natasha. You didn’t participate in the operation in New Mexico, so you don’t know how terrifying these legendary gods are. The god of trickery that the knight spoke of should be just as terrifying.”

The two were chatting when suddenly, the instrument monitoring the readings of the spatial cube sounded an alarm, sharp and urgent.

The special agents were startled and quickly surrounded the area with pistols and weapons, creating a tense and menacing atmosphere.

Then, all the instruments affected by the energy fluctuations of the Space Cube started flashing with static, and alarms blared throughout the research center.

Hill and Nick Fury were both taken aback by what they saw.

"What happened?!" Fury asked.

Suddenly, a blue crack appeared in front of the spatial cube, and footsteps rang out, piercing through space and striking everyone's hearts.

One, two, three!

Neither too light nor too heavy, neither too slow nor too fast, as if strolling leisurely in one's own living room.

As the sound grew louder, the footsteps came from all directions at the same time, as if the entire space was making way for them.

Hawkeye tensed up, his super vision locking onto the target instantly. His electromagnetic pulse arrow-like point was aimed at the crack, ready to pin anyone who appeared to the ground.

Black Widow drew her pistol from her waist, held her breath, her pupils dilated slightly as she watched every movement, her muscles trembling slightly, ready to fire at any moment.

The footsteps grew closer, and a tall, slender figure emerged from the spatial rift, dressed in a dark green robe, with golden shoulder armor and a helmet gleaming with a cold light.

Loki! He's really here!

The moment he stepped forward, bullets rained down upon him.

Hawkeye's electromagnetic arrow precisely pinned the figure to the ground, arcs of electricity flashing, blood splattering everywhere.

A cold smile flashed across his lips. What kind of god of trickery is this?

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a soft laugh came from behind them.

"Interesting, you're really well prepared. It seems that a certain variable has indeed given you a lot of hints."

As if on cue, everyone turned their heads and saw the god of mischief, dressed in a green robe, with two long horns protruding from his helmet, holding a scepter, standing calmly behind them with a smile on his exceptionally handsome face.

Nick Fury shouted, "Asgardian, what are you doing here? Are you here to declare war on Earth?!"

Loki's lips curled into a sneer: "Since when have mortals been able to question the gods?"

He raised his right hand and gently shook it.

In an instant, all the lights suddenly blazed on, blinding everyone so much that they almost lost their sight.

At the same time, Loki moved.

Hawkeye's super vision was minimally affected, and he recovered in just a fraction of a second. However, he was surprised to find that Loki had left his original spot, his figure turning into a dark green afterimage as he headed straight for the Tesseract.

He quickly nocked an arrow and fired. The arrow pierced through his chest, but without a drop of blood, it vanished without a trace.

Black Widow, with a body like a female leopard, agile and fierce, vaulted over the iron fence and pounced on the Tesseract. She was very calm; this enemy was different from those she had encountered before. Her priority was to ensure the Tesseract's safety.

But as she jumped over the railing, before she even landed, a fair hand gripped her neck tightly.

Loki's figure appeared abruptly behind her, like a poorly edited film. He was a full 1.85 meters tall and had Black Widow's petite yet powerful body firmly in his grasp.

"Natalia Ellianovna Romanova."

"A graduate of the Red Room, General Drake's most prized creation, he defected and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempt to cleanse himself of his past blood debts. What a fascinating life trajectory."

Natasha was having some difficulty breathing and didn't question Loki about how he knew these things.

Her strong composure allowed her to quickly calm down, and she threatened with some difficulty, "Since you know my past, you should know that getting close to me is not a good idea."

Before she finished speaking, her powerful core strength erupted, she bent over and knelt, her legs clamping around Loki's waist, while the ring on her right hand slammed into Loki's forearm.

"You're finished, you bastard!" she snapped.

But Loki didn't even raise an eyebrow, and calmly smiled, "Is that so?"

Black Widow then realized that the ring on her right hand was nowhere to be found; the ring she had just seen was merely an illusion.

Chapter 89 The Prelude to War

Natasha did not hesitate. Her failure in one mission was nothing. As an agent on a mission, the only principle was to complete the mission at all costs.

She drew a dagger from her waist with her right hand and aimed it straight at Loki's throat.

The speed and angle of that strike were almost perfect; even the world's top martial arts experts would not be able to dodge it.

But Loki didn't flinch; he continued to smile at her.

The dagger struck Loki's throat with a crisp sound, as if it had struck a block of iron.

"Mortals are indeed quite amusing. They attempt to slay gods with a small knife. Do you know that I am the ancestor of knife-wielding?"

Black Widow was stunned. She tried to break free from the fair hand, but found that all the strength in her body suddenly disappeared, as if her body was not her own.

Because Natasha was under control, the nearby agents were hesitant to fire and simply surrounded Loki.

Facing the encirclement, the god of mischief showed no sign of tension. He held Black Widow by the neck with one hand, looked around, and smiled broadly: "That's a wrap, everyone. Your performance tonight was truly spectacular."

He pressed the tip of the Mind Scepter against Black Widow's chest and waved to the crowd: "See you next time, soon."

A louder alarm sounded from the Cosmic Cube's field of view behind them. When everyone turned around, they saw another Loki standing there, holding the Cosmic Cube in his left hand and waving to them with his right.

Some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents quickly turned their guns, intending to pull the triggers immediately.

But then several whooshing sounds came, and Hawkeye's explosive arrows arrived. He didn't attack Loki, but instead headed towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"Lie down!"

Nick Fury reacted quickly, tackling Deputy Commander Hill to the ground. Several explosions followed, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries, leaving the area in ruins.

Flames and ash erupted, smoke filled the air, and Loki and Black Widow had long since vanished without a trace.

Fury pulled out a pistol, aimed it at the spot where Loki had disappeared, emptied the magazine, and a sense of despair washed over him.

Is this the god of trickery? He outsmarted a well-trained agent with just illusions, brazenly stole the Tesseract, and even took away his top agent, Black Widow.

Despite such thorough preparation, it was as fragile as ants fighting.

Soon, the combat personnel firmly controlled Hawkeye. At this moment, his pupils were grayish-white and his eyes were dull. He didn't know when he had been controlled by Loki. This outstanding mortal was not even aware of when he was caught in Loki's trap.

Coulson, clutching his right arm grazed by shrapnel, staggered over and said to Nick Fury, "Director, Agent Romanoff has been taken over by Loki, Barton is incapacitated, and he's taken the Tesseract too. What do we do?"

Nick Fury gritted his teeth and said, "Activate the Avengers Protocol. Our war has begun!"

"Also, inform the knights that Loki has arrived, the Tesseract has been stolen, and we need his help."

Coulson nodded silently, then turned and left.

“Be nicer to this knight!” Fury shouted.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Nan was eating mooncakes and admiring the moon with her friends.

The moon in the sky is exceptionally round today, as if carved from white jade, with its outer contours faintly tinged with an almost imperceptible pink hue.

"Lin, is this your Eastern cuisine? It's delicious." Gwen's cheeks bulged out like a hamster's.

Peter nodded repeatedly: "That's right, I definitely want to go to the East sometime and have some fun."

Lin Nan smiled and said, "No problem, I'll be your tour guide then."

Harry and Dr. Otto were also there, sitting on the other side whispering, presumably discussing the final stages of the artificial sun.

Gwen raised her glass: "Come on, cheers to our friendship, Harry!"

Upon hearing this, Harry turned around, quickly picked up his glass, and downed it in one gulp: "To our friendship!"

The group raised their glasses together, creating a lively atmosphere. Even Dr. Otto was caught up in the moment, drinking two large glasses of red wine, his cheeks flushed, as he spoke of changing the world.

"An artificial sun... controlled nuclear fusion... if we can really succeed in this experiment, the world will be changed by us, Harry, come!"

"Lin, although you are not directly involved in the project, your opinions are very valuable. You will receive a share of the profits after the project is successful. We are a team, and no one can be missing!"

"Salute to the future of humanity!"

Lin Nan couldn't help but smile. Dr. Otto's drinking manners weren't very good; after a few drinks, he started talking nonsense. But people say that one's drinking manners reveal one's character, and it was certainly true.