My family runs an adventurer's guild.

After an emergency analysis of air samples collected by drones over New Orleans, S.H.I.E.L.D. experts reported to Director Nick Fury, "...ordinary gas masks cannot block this hallucinogenic substance, but citizens can regain their senses after a period of time as long as they are taken out of the danger zone."

"...So, New Orleans is hosting a record-breaking super drug party?"

Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., scratched his bald head, looking puzzled. "...And it's some kind of new drug that hasn't been released to the market yet? Could it be that there was an accident and a leak at some drug lord's private drug lab? I've heard that there are many drug lords in the southern states who produce synthetic drugs like this..."

"...Even the most powerful drug lord couldn't possibly have enough drugs to incapacitate a city of a million people, could he?"

Nick Fury's adjutant, Hill, gave his superior a strange look, sensing that the bald man had been acting strangely lately.

"...In fact, we are not yet able to confirm whether this unidentified component is a substance or a form of energy?"

The expert continued in his report, "...according to a nearby resident who had studied otherworldly magic, the situation there is very similar to that of a large-scale magic spell."

"...So you're suggesting I consult the orange cat at the interim UN headquarters?"

Nick Fury sighed, "...But, if we rashly ask the messengers from another world for help, won't it damage Earth's image?"

"...However, according to our drone reconnaissance, the unidentified components erupted from New Orleans and continue to spread in the air. If we don't control it immediately, our entire Gulf Coast will be affected," Hill said, implying that they didn't care about saving face now. If tens of millions of people in the southern states turned into zombies, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't afford to take the blame!

So, with no other options available, Nick Fury had no choice but to bite the bullet and call Phil for help.

"...New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River? A biohazard outbreak with zombies roaming in broad daylight? Wait, I seem to remember that..."

After listening to the description from the charcoal-headed director, Phil suddenly felt that this matter was somewhat familiar. After thinking hard for a while, he suddenly realized that this was the Marvel spin-off series "Cloak and Dagger" that was "made with heart but made with feet" and made the audience exclaim that they could not understand it.

"...Hmm, I see. Roxon Oil Company has been holding back this for twelve years, and now it's finally letting it out..."

Chapter 265, Cloak and Dagger (Part 2)

Correction: I just searched on Baidu and found that New Orleans only has 500,000 people, which doesn't even meet the standard of a metropolis with a population of over one million.

"Cloak and Dagger" is a relatively unknown and obscure Marvel TV series with low audience ratings. Its most notable feature is its excellent background music, which is also its only redeeming quality. As for the rest... if you don't pay close attention to every line of dialogue, you probably wouldn't even guess it's a Marvel series!

Not only is it hard to tell that this is Marvel, but it's also unclear what the show is trying to say: many viewers were confused by the first episode and still didn't understand it by the last episode... and quite a few careless people even thought they were watching a spin-off of American Gods.

The reason this TV series is so obscure is mainly because the director and screenwriter, suffering from a bout of pretentious intellectualism, crammed in far too much "politically correct" content, and the pacing is extremely slow and dragging, making the main storyline a complete mess—just like those Chinese "critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful" and "award-winning but unwatched" stream-of-consciousness art films, made to deliver feel-good platitudes, not for the audience to actually watch...

However, although it's portrayed as "the mundane daily life of a teenage superhero," according to the established setting, *Cloak and Dagger* is still a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its main storyline takes place after the Battle of New York in *The Avengers* and before the "Tony and the Extremis Virus" arc in *Iron Man 3*. Therefore, to help readers unfamiliar with this lesser-known series, here's a brief overview of its main plot.

The story of "Cloak and Dagger" doesn't take place in the already bustling Manhattan of New York, but rather in New Orleans in the South. The main characters are two teenagers: Tyrone, a poor black boy known as "Cloak," and Tandy, a former rich and beautiful young woman known as "Dagger."

Twelve years before the story begins, around 2000, one of the main villains in the Marvel universe—the oil tycoon Roxson Oil Company, which has been a mainstay of many Marvel series since the era of "Agent Carter"—built an oil drilling platform on Lake Born in New Orleans. (The natural landscape of New Orleans is similar to a not-yet-fully-developed Shanghai, full of mudflats, swamps, and lagoons.)

However, just like any villainous organization, the oil drilling platform of Roxon Corporation on Lake Born is not actually mining oil or natural gas, but a mysterious energy hidden underground, which is claimed to be a new energy source more valuable than oil.

The protagonist, Tandy's father, was a wealthy business partner of the Roxson Oil Company in New Orleans. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by Roxson in a dispute over the Lake Born oil rig, which detonated, killing hundreds. Tandy's father, who was driving at the time, was so startled that he swerved, causing the car to crash through a roadside barrier and plunge into Lake Born with Tandy in tow. Ultimately, Tandy drowned, but she miraculously survived. She was also struck by the mysterious energy emanating from the rig, which unknowingly granted her superpowers.

To make matters worse, this business failure not only cost Tandy her family their breadwinner but also bankrupted them—Roxon Oil Company directly shifted all the blame onto Tandy's father, causing the Tandy family to fall from the upper class to poverty. Tandy's mother, devastated by this, underwent a drastic personality change, constantly changing boyfriends for thrills. Tandy herself, too, became self-destructive, transforming from a wealthy heiress into a street hustler who frequently used drugs, hooked up with rich men, drugged her victims, and committed robberies… she seemed every bit the prototype of a supervillain.

The male protagonist, Tyrone, is a Black man with a kind older brother. However, due to racial discrimination, he was shot without cause by a white police officer and fell into Lake Born. Tyrone, who was also present, jumped into the water to save his brother, only to find him dead. He also experienced the energy shock from the Roxon Corporation's blasting of the drilling rig and, unknowingly, gained superpowers, just like the female protagonist.

At the time, he first rescued Tandy, who had fallen into the water with his father in the overturned car, and then angrily told his family that he would sue the policeman who had disregarded human life. However, the actual result was that the local police covered for each other, falsely claiming that the policeman who fired the shot did not exist, that Tyrone's brother had drowned after taking drugs, and even turning the tables and accusing Tyrone of being a thief... Tyrone's parents seemed to believe the police's story more, which caused Tyrone great distress.

However, the Talon family soon became wealthy and middle class, and Talon went from a poor boy to a "rich and handsome guy".

Then, Talon and Tandy awakened the superpowers they gained from the impact of the mysterious underground forces.

—Tandi, the "Dagger of Light," can create indestructible daggers of light that can easily cut through and pierce most substances like peeling tofu. He can also see the greatest hope in people's hearts through light, and even take that hope away with his own hands…

—Talon, the "Cloak of Shadows," can easily move through the shadows, teleporting to any place he desires at will. He can also see the deepest despair in people's hearts through the shadows and even effortlessly erase that despair...

What makes these teenage superheroes so special is that, because their superpowers are from the same source, when their skin comes into contact, a magical chemical reaction occurs, unleashing an immense and limitless power!

And so, these two teenagers, one black and one white, one evil and one good, meet by chance in a cemetery in New Orleans and discover that their superpowers seem to be strongly connected and complementary. Then, they experience many mundane everyday events together, slowly exploring their own abilities and the various dark secrets hidden beneath the surface, such as collusion between capital, racism, police corruption, religious conflict, and so on…

Just as the show was about to turn into a story about the innocent daily lives of teenagers with superpowers, Roxon Petroleum Company made another foolish mistake. Ever since their last attempt to extract mysterious energy from Lake Born ended in a massive explosion, Roxon Petroleum Company was still unwilling to give up. They actually violated a bunch of environmental protection laws and secretly started drilling for mysterious energy underground in New Orleans again from eleven locations, including the basement of their downtown office building.

Kudos to Marvel's silent drilling technology—they can drill exploratory wells thousands of meters deep in the city center without anyone noticing!

However, just like with "Agent Carter," Roxson Corporation, while exploring mysterious energy sources, completely disregarded the warnings of scientists. After a series of haphazard operations by the company's top management, the entire drilling pipeline system in New Orleans exploded spectacularly yet again due to excessive pressure. Evil energy, seemingly from hell, gushed out from eleven drilling points, resulting in an effect similar to a gaseous version of the "bath salts" drug.

Then, the chicken burger turned into instant noodles… uh, no, New Orleans turned into Raccoon City. Tens of thousands of citizens were caught off guard and infected by fel energy, turning into bloodthirsty zombies who only knew how to fight and bite, ultimately creating a world-shaking news story…

Chapter 266, Cloak and Dagger (Part 2)

In short, due to Roxson Oil Company's violation of a series of laws and regulations, their unplanned, unapproved, and unlicensed underground project in New Orleans exploded. The evil energy they unearthed erupted, turning New Orleans Chicken Burger into Raccoon Noodles and the citizens of New Orleans into zombies in Raccoon City... Having caused such a huge mess, what should Roxson Company do?

It's worth noting that even the Battle of New York, where the Chitauri aliens attacked, only resulted in 40,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of people being left homeless.

If this biohazard crisis in New Orleans were to spread, the death toll could reach hundreds of thousands, even millions—far exceeding the total number of American deaths in World War II. Such a massive liability would be unbearable for even the most powerful and influential conglomerate!

Don't assume that America's major financial groups will necessarily "live and die with the nation." It's important to remember that financial groups also experience generational changes. The renowned Morgan and Rockefeller groups were relatively minor players before the Civil War. And many of the dominant figures in American high society at that time have since passed away.

However, at this most critical moment, the level of incompetence among Roxon Petroleum's top management was comparable to that of TEPCO during the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

—In fact, the New Orleans disaster was not a sudden, unannounced event like the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. Dozens of hours before the disaster struck, when the pressure in the underground pipelines began to rise abnormally and rapidly and became completely uncontrollable, scientists and technicians at the New Orleans construction site were already frantically sending a series of calls and emails to company headquarters, urging the bigwigs to quickly come up with a plan.

However, at this critical moment when every second should have been precious, what were those ambitious senior executives at Roxon Petroleum doing? Knowing that disaster was imminent, most of Roxon Petroleum's top management were busy engaging in verbal battles to shirk responsibility, rejecting each other's proposals, and then doing nothing themselves, naturally shirking all responsibility—not even bothering to perform the superficial act of bowing and apologizing to the public.

One group of high-ranking officials pressured those at the front lines, forcing them to lie and deceive unsuspecting workers and staff into staying put instead of fleeing. Ultimately, the first group to be exposed to the fel energy emanating from the ground turned into zombies. Meanwhile, another group of officials were busy sending assassins to silence them—such as certain scientists who couldn't keep their mouths shut, and outsiders who had discovered the truth (the protagonist, Tandy, and her mother)... as if silencing them would solve everything.

Or are they just fantasizing about disguising the New Orleans incident as a natural disaster to shirk responsibility? Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. is just sitting around doing nothing?

Although there are Hydra members in the upper echelons of Roxon Oil Company, they are not the same as the Hydra in S.H.I.E.L.D. Why would the Hydra in S.H.I.E.L.D. go through all that trouble and even spend a lot of resources to cover up for Roxon Company?

Therefore, Roxon's attempt to cover up the incident was futile—just like how, even if Gottu of the Kremlin had sent the KGB to clean up the Chernobyl nuclear power plant before the explosion, what good would it have done if it couldn't prevent the explosion and subsequent nuclear contamination?

As a result, even the "real business" of bribing the media for crisis management was largely neglected by Roxson from beginning to end. They probably knew deep down that if hundreds of thousands of zombies were actually created in New Orleans, then no amount of crisis management would be effective. Of course, it's also possible they believed Roxson was "too big to fail," and that even if things went wrong, the White House would have no choice but to cover it up.

Finally, a Rockxon executive with a modicum of responsibility couldn't stand it anymore and said that the truth about the situation in New Orleans couldn't be covered up any longer. He suggested going to Stark Industries in New York to ask the Avengers for help (at the time, Tony's Malibu, California villa address hadn't been made public yet). However, he kept dragging his feet until the incident was over, and he never brought Iron Man—making people wonder if he was just putting on a show and hadn't actually done anything...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

However, in Phil and his timeline, although the executives of Roxon Petroleum continued to bury their heads in the sand after the incident, ignoring S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inquiries and the White House's fury, Iron Man Tony finally managed to make contact by chance.

Therefore, when Phil and Princess Katherine (Silver Dragon Lady Lulutia was injured and in hibernation) landed slowly outside New Orleans in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet, Tony was already there anxiously waiting, wearing his gold and red Iron Man suit.

However, faced with a disaster that cannot be suppressed by fists and light cannons, this "hero of two worlds" also had no good solutions.

"...The city is in complete chaos. Fires and smoke are everywhere, dozens of streets are burning, but no one is putting out the fires..."

Tony said to Phil with a hint of helplessness, "...Even with a gas mask, it can't stop the corrupting influence of fel energy on the body. The rescuers on the perimeter don't dare to go in—of the rescuers who went in before, eight out of ten went insane, and the remaining two couldn't even save their own people. Although I'm not afraid of fel energy, I can't save many survivors even if I work myself to death, and the fel energy's reach is still expanding..."

So far, all Tony and the rescue team have been able to do is set up a temporary refugee camp on the outskirts of New Orleans to house citizens who have fled the city or those rescued by Iron Man.

Not everyone will be infected by the evil energy beneath New Orleans and turn into a violent madman. Some people are not sensitive to it, or rather, they are immune. Others hide in places protected by mysterious forces, such as churches and witches' huts.

Therefore, amidst the chaotic energy permeating the entire city, they remained rational.

However, in a modern metropolis, even if one-fifth to one-quarter of the population were to riot, it would be enough to destroy all order. Moreover, in New Orleans today, the vast majority of the insane, or rather, drug-addicted zombies, make up the majority.

In this situation, these people can only find a house and wait for rescue, just like when there's a zombie apocalypse.

"...You should be able to sense it, Mr. Stark. This isn't a gas leak, but rather the effect of some kind of evil magic. How could a gas mask possibly filter out energy? This is the time to use magic! Purification or dispelling evil would be just the way to go!"

Phil replied, "...Didn't you receive the divine grace of the Goddess of Magic? I remember you were already able to use seventh-level spells over there!"

Tony sighed awkwardly, "...Well...to be honest, after coming back, I found that I couldn't cast spells again."

Chapter 267, The Sound of Sleep Resounds Through New Orleans

As a hero of two worlds, the eternally chosen one blessed by the seven gods, and the incredibly lucky Tony Garfield Stark, with his outstanding and omnipotent talents, mastered the use of seventh-level magic and various divine spells in just a few dozen days in the other world.

However, upon returning to the Marvel universe, Tony Stark, no longer Garfield, finds himself without the ability to cast spells.

—Even though I remember all the spells, understand all the principles, and know the gestures and postures by heart, and the divine grace and endless knowledge bestowed by the goddess of magic still resonate in my soul, and I can feel the flow of magic when I recite the spells... I can never use it when I try to cast a spell.

Well, it's not that he can't cast magic at all. At least those level zero tricks, like conjuring a flame or a ray of light from his fingertips, are still possible for Tony Stark, Iron Man, back in the Marvel universe. However, spells that consume even a little more magic power are unusable.

Then, the special abilities bestowed upon him by the other gods, such as the divine grace of the god of craftsmen—a magical 3D printer—also became ineffective.

Naturally, with his own mysterious powers completely malfunctioning, Tony Stark's idea of ​​rebuilding a magical version of the Arc Reactor in the Marvel universe could only vanish into thin air.

This greatly troubled and puzzled Tony. Especially now, when magical power was so desperately needed—if he were still Garfield, blessed with sevenfold divine grace and capable of using seventh-level spells, the chaos in New Orleans could be resolved with a mere wave of his hand.

"...In your current condition, it's certainly difficult for you to use magic! How can you learn magic well without a healthy body?"

Phil pointed to the miniature arc reactor emitting a soft blue light on Tony's chest, answering Tony's question in this way, "...Besides, magic is ultimately just a form of energy. Having such a large energy source crammed into your body is bound to cause significant interference!"

"...Hmm, just like how electromagnets can affect the operation of televisions and radios? If that's the case, I really need to find a time to have surgery as soon as possible. Thinking back, there are quite a few renowned doctors with very high success rates when I look carefully."

Tony glanced down at the Arc Reactor in his chest, his expression shifting rapidly. The reason he had been delaying surgery to remove the Arc Reactor was partly due to his fear of complications during the operation: informed consent was required for this type of heart surgery, and while it didn't completely absolve him of liability, what good would it do to sue the doctor if the surgery failed and he died?

On the other hand, it was also because of Tony's secretly passionate desire to show off and be cool—what could be cooler than having a reactor embedded in his chest? Even if those hippies wore so many tongue rings, earrings, and belly button rings, and pierced themselves from head to toe, turning themselves into a living palette of colors, they still couldn't compare to the reactor on Tony's chest! Anyway, a safe and non-toxic new element had already been developed, so there was no need to continue using the toxic palladium metal, so having a reactor on his chest wasn't a big deal, right?

But now... in order to continue using the magic he has cultivated to level seven on Earth, and to look cooler and more stylish, Tony has finally made up his mind to find a reliable doctor after this is over and dismantle the Arc Reactor!

Of course, just in case, Tony felt it was best to get himself some insurance.

"...By the way, could you keep an eye on things while I'm having surgery? If things don't go well, could you perform a full recovery procedure?"

"...I'd be delighted, Mr. Iron Man, but you still need to pay me a fee!"

"...No problem, Stark Industries can definitely satisfy you when it comes to money..."

Just then, another member of the Avengers, Captain America Steve Rogers, arrived from his small apartment in Washington, D.C. This "righteous man of God" had been diligently studying the magic textbook Ferry had given him, and was making rapid progress. He was now able to cast the third-level spell "Purification"—however, the Captain could only heal a few citizens who had fallen into madness, not purify the entire city.

On the contrary, the spread of chaotic evil energy continued to expand, forcing rescuers to retreat with the entire refugee camp.

In short, unless the evil energy continuously gushing from those eleven damned wells drilled by Roxon Oil Company is plugged, even purifying the entire city of New Orleans will be futile. However, with chaotic evil energy permeating the city and ordinary people having a high chance of turning into zombies upon entering, how can an engineering force be dispatched to seal the wells and save New Orleans?

"...The Russian representative to the World Security Council claimed that nuclear bombs could be used to seal the well, and said that they had experience using nuclear bombs to extinguish fires, well, oil well fires, during the Soviet era. He seemed quite enthusiastic."

After contacting the World Security Council, Tony said to everyone with a sour look on his face, "...In my opinion, those gloating frozen bastards are just really interested in dropping nuclear bombs on American soil, right? If there's an accidental bombing, that would be even more interesting!"

"...If we really can't think of any feasible solutions, then using nuclear weapons to seal the well is an acceptable option. At least it's much better than turning the entire Gulf Coast into a zombie apocalypse," Captain America replied. "...Every minute we delay here, more people will die in New Orleans due to infighting. If this drags on, it's not impossible for it to become a city of death."

"...It's not like I intentionally wanted to delay. Besides, Captain, you didn't rush in all by yourself," Tony said, pursing his lips.

"...Well, to thank Mr. Stark for his contributions to my father, let me help resolve this matter!"

Princess Catherine of the Golden Dragon suddenly interrupted, and took out a Dormouse Girl statue formed from magic, activating the secret spell on it.

The next moment, accompanied by a beautiful and soothing melody, Dormouse's supreme divine punishment, the [Lullaby of the God of Sleep] sealed within the statue, was activated!

"...Sleep well, sleep well, my dearest baby...Mommy's hands are gently rocking you..."

"Cradle rocking you~~ Sleep soundly~~ The night is quiet~~ It's so warm in the blankets~~..."

Chapter 268, Black Boy and White Girl

"...Sleep well~~Sleep well~~My dearest baby~~~~~"

Mom's hands gently rock you.

Rocking you gently~~ Sleep soundly~~

The night is quiet... and it's so warm under the covers...

The song that was once played in Fuyuki, Japan, is now echoing in the skies above New Orleans.

Just like that time in Fuyuki City, it was as sweet as honey and as soft as cotton, with a touch of childlike innocence and naivety.

Although the singing voice sounds soft and gentle, it has an incredible penetrating power.

It pierced through the smoke and fire, through the concrete slabs and brick walls, through the evil and chaotic energy that permeated the entire city, and seeped into the very soul of every person in the city. It made them feel as if they were bathed in the comfortable warmth of the autumn sun, utterly devoid of any strength.

Ah—I'm so sleepy!

Whether they were the zombies tearing and smashing things, or the survivors trembling in their rooms, they all felt so sleepy that they couldn't keep their eyes open for a moment. Then they were quickly defeated by fatigue and sleepiness, and one after another they fell into the deepest sleep.

While this won't immediately restore the infected person's consciousness, it at least prevents them from harming each other.

Unfortunately, divine punishment like "Hypnotic's Lullaby" is an indiscriminate, blanket attack. Not only were the mentally unstable individuals in the city temporarily put to sleep, but the rescue workers in the suburbs were also snoring loudly and sprawled out. Even the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn't resist the sleep demon.

Ultimately, in this world temporarily ruled by Hypnos, only Phil, Catherine, Tony, and Captain America—a dragon and a cat—remained conscious and able to move thanks to magical protection.

"...The infected with evil energy are all asleep for now, but the city is still very dangerous. Cars are all wrecked, there are fires everywhere, and there are also electrical leaks and explosions. Several ships have collided at the port, and the oil depots on the shore are leaking badly..."

Tony used an unmanned Mark suit as a reconnaissance aircraft, circled over New Orleans, and then, while watching the video footage (with Jarvis assisting in the analysis), muttered, "...some buildings may have automatic fire suppression systems, but most residential buildings don't."

"...In other words, even if they stopped fighting each other, they could still be burned to death or suffocated by the smoke in their sleep..."

Captain America looked distressed. "...There are half a million people in this city waiting for rescue, and we only have four people..."

"...and there's also the possibility of drowning—don't forget, New Orleans is a city below sea level, and only God knows the current state of the city's seawalls and sluice gates!" Ignoring Captain America's grim expression, Tony added.

"...So what should we do next? Seal off the eleven wells that Roxson Company illegally drilled?" Captain America asked.

"...How can you so easily plug a gushing well? Do you think it's a leaking water pipe? There's such immense pressure underground, and there's no main valve to shut it off... Otherwise, why would the Soviets use nuclear bombs to plug oil wells?"

Tony sighed and said, "...Moreover, the evil energy spewing from beneath New Orleans is not matter. Roxon Petroleum Corporation broke through a barrier here, releasing the evil hidden deep underground. Now, that place is probably already corrupted by evil interdimensional space, somewhere between the material world and the dark world. Physically sealing it off probably won't be very effective—just like a wooden board can't block radio waves."

—Although his spellcasting is now severely hampered by the Arc Reactor, Tony's perception is still at the level of a Grand Wizard and a Chosen One of Gods. Therefore, he can easily discern certain truths… yet he is still helpless.

However, Tony's thinking was still correct: technology was powerless to solve the chaos in New Orleans; only magic could.

"...I just tried using divination magic and discovered a clue that could help us solve this case, located within the city..."