"Ah, finally back to the world."

In the airport lounge in Bangkok, Merlin drank all the Coke in his hand in one go. He shifted his shoulders and let out a comfortable moan.

He said to Agent Hill beside him:

"Dorys, get me another drink."

Agent Hill did not refuse, but obediently took Merlin's cup, and a moment later, another drink with ice was delivered to Merlin.

"What's wrong with you?"

Merlin took the Coke, noticing the look on Agent Hill's face, and asked:

"Isn't it uncomfortable? Still upset? Shouldn't we be happy when the mission is over, and we're back in the bustling city from that isolated place? ”

"No, no, sir."

Hill sat beside Merlin, she brushed her short hair, and said with some loss:

"I just don't think I'm helping at all this time. Chief Fury sent me to assist you, but you did all the work alone. Perhaps, I'm not really a good agent. ”

"Huh?"

Merlin, who was wearing a baseball cap, took a sip of the cold cold, he leaned back in his chair, looked out the window of the waiting room in front of him, the planes taking off and landing, and he whispered:

"I'm not very good at comforting other people, Dowris... Hill. ”

"But I know a truth, in the face of any work, no matter how well prepared you are in advance, there will always be problems of one kind or another when you actually operate for the first time, and there will always be mistakes. Some mistakes are nothing, but some mistakes are fatal. ”

"What's more, you're doing one of the most difficult jobs in the world."

Merlin Says:

"Your performance this time is really unsatisfactory. I would have liked you to get more news from Vivien, but you're clearly not as shrewd as that scheming girl. But that's nothing. ”

"Fury asked me to bring you with me, presumably so that you can experience for yourself what life is like for an agent on a daily basis. I've also studied at the Secret Service Academy, and I know what the atmosphere is like over there... The restlessness of young people, the childish anticipation of the future, the foolish self-belief that they will become heroes, I know very well. ”

"But actually?"

Merlin looked at Hill beside him, and he said:

"The life of an agent is actually quite exciting, and you see Ratton, and the weird scenery on Skull Island, the creatures, and so on. But there are not so many crises in this world that we need to change against time, and there are not so many crazy bad people who want to destroy the world all day long. ”

"Gathering information, collating information, flying around the world, dealing with all kinds of people, disguising, deceiving, coercing and coercing if necessary. That's what we do every day, it's a bit boring, but it's also a little bit unexpected. ”

Merlin finished his Coke, stood up, patted Hill on the shoulder, and said to the girl:

"Change your mood, think about the gains and losses of the past few days, and then get ready to start working alone. Fury has high expectations for you, and perhaps in this class of newcomers, he values you the most. ”

"Don't let him down."

After saying that, Merlin threw it away without looking at it, and the empty cup fell into the trash can next to it accurately.

He picked up the suitcase, pulled his hat down, and said to Hill:

"Let's go, it's time to board."

"Fury is still waiting for us."

"By the way, tomorrow afternoon, there will be an assessment report in Washington, D.C., and the high-ranking old men and women of the World Security Council are eager to know the inside story and the results of the security assessment of the Imperial Organization... I'm not good at hosting these, so you're in charge of this presentation. ”

"No problem, right? Maria. Agent Hill. ”

"No problem! Sir! ”

Hill's body straightened, and she said in a capable and serious voice:

"I won't let you down again this time!"

———————————————

That night, New York, Hell's Kitchen.

A taxi pulled up in front of Merlin's house, and Merlin, dressed in a gray casual suit, walked out of the car with a handbag. He took out his wallet, handed a piece of money to the driver who was driving, and said:

"Let's not be so loud next time, okay?"

Along the way, the Indian driver kept talking and playing their songs, which made Merlin's head hurt. I can't wait to give this guy a shot from behind.

But for the sake of this little brother's steady driving, he finally held back.

"Yes, sir."

The young Indian driver gestured to Merlin, handed him a business card, and said in an accented voice:

"Next time if you need taxi services, sir, you can call this number and I will pick you up as soon as possible."

"Oh? Do taxi drivers have this kind of business now? ”

Merlin exchanged a few words with the chauffeur's brother, and then watched him leave the street, Merlin glanced down at the business card, and in the darkness he saw the little brother's name.

"Dupende? Quirky name. ”

Merlin shook his head, he wanted to throw the card in the trash, but after thinking about it, he put it back in his pocket.

Merlin took out the key and looked at the long-lost house in front of him, and the messy untended garden at the door, he sighed a little.

But the next moment, Merlin felt that in the room where the lights were out, there was a figure moving in the darkness.

This made him stop opening the door, and in the darkness of the night, his figure suddenly disappeared.

"Smack"

In the dark room, something cold suddenly landed on Nick. Fury's neck made him subconsciously raise his hand.

Fury guessed who the person behind him was, and he whispered:

"You came back a little late... I've been waiting for you here for more than 30 minutes. ”

"I went to my cousin's house, and the invasion of those Kree mongrels some time ago frightened her."

Merlin turned on the light, threw the can of beer in his hand to Fury, twisted one himself, leaned on the refrigerator, looked at Fury who was cutting sausages, and said:

"Are you going to get yourself a late-night snack at my house? Why don't you go home and eat? ”

"I don't have anyone at home."

Fury took a bite of the cut sausage into the hot bread, and while chewing on the food, he turned around and looked at Merlin, and said:

"My wife went on a trip, and I had nowhere to go after work."

"Okay."

Merlin glanced at the black blindfold on Fury's left eye, sat back in his chair, took out a few papers from the suitcase at his feet, and placed them on the table, saying:

"Although I think you must be looking for me for trouble, I don't have any proof... Let's take a look at this first. ”

Merlin pointed to the documents and said:

"All the inside information I've collected about the Imperial Organization, before I show it to those big people, I think it's necessary to show you first."

Fury didn't refuse, he quickly finished his bread, wiped his hands, and sat down in his chair.

He flipped through the shocking photos and documents, and Merlin could feel that Fury's mood and attention were also changing. Obviously, these things also gave him a lot of shock.

And just as the two men were talking about things at night, there was a sudden sound of snapping in the window behind Merlin. Merlin turned around and saw an orange cat with a silver collar lying on the window, staring at him with yellow eyes, its tail still tapping at the closed window.

Merlin waved his hand, and the closed window was pushed open by invisible magic, and the orange cat cooed into the room with a sharp grasp, and then ran quickly to Merlin's feet with its tail upright, rubbing his head against his leg, looking deferential and welcoming.

Merlin took Gollum in his arms and took out a small, shaped bone he had picked up from Skull Island from his pocket and placed it next to Gollum's mouth.

The magical creature disguised as an orange cat sniffed the bone, then stretched out its claws and gripped it as if it had found a new toy.

Ten minutes later, when Fury finished reading the first document, he looked up and saw the orange cat in Merlin's arms playing with bones. Fury was like he had seen some kind of monster.

"Mazefak!"

He took a step back sharply, then subconsciously covered his left eye and screamed at Merlin:

"Hey! Get that thing away from me! ”

"Huh?"

Merlin looked up at Fury, who placed Gollum on the table, then took Gollum's paws and shook them in the air as if he were playing a game with a cat. With a strange smile, he said to Fury:

"Why? Look how cute it is. Right? Little coo, look how cute and well-behaved you are. ”

The orange cat, who was in a good mood because he had got a new toy, meowed twice, as if echoing Merlin's claim. But Fury was one of the few people who knew Gollum's true identity, and he looked at the kitten vigilantly with a hint of fear, and said:

"Seriously! No kidding, Merlin! That thing is dangerous... My eyes are proof, hurry up and let it go! I'm going to talk to you about something! ”

"Okay."

Merlin put Coo-Coo back on the ground, and he patted Coo-Coo's head and said to the kitten:

"Be nice lately, I'll buy you cat food in a few days, your favorite kind of food... Now go back to your room and go to sleep. ”

It meowed, then bit its own bone toy, as if it could understand Merlin's words, and quickly rushed up the stairs. On the balcony on the second floor, little Eric made a cozy cat nest for Coo.

Seeing Goo leave, a frightened Fury sat back in his chair.

He looked at Merlin, and he said:

"You guy, you can get along well with that creature..."

"Just ignore those scary features, Goo Goo is actually quite easy to get along with."

Merlin lit a cigarette lazily, and said:

"This guy lives with me now, and my cousin and little Eric love it. And Carol told me before she left that the Elemental Eater is a cat-like creature that actively protects its nest... So I mean, the next time you come, it's better when I'm home. ”

He glared at Fury, who liked to pretend to be mysterious, and he warned:

"The first thing I don't want to do when I come back is to collect your body from cat feces."

"Speaking of which..."

Fury looked at Merlin, and he asked in a low voice:

"You and Carol? Isn't it between you? ”

"When did you become so gossipy?"

Merlin did not want to talk about it, and in the rising smoke he whispered:

"We're just friends who have been in the same situation."

"Okay, let's not talk about that."

Fury shrugged his shoulders, pointed to the document in front of him, and said to Merlin with a straight face:

"These files, something needs to be deleted."

"Delete what?"

"All detailed research data and results on the Ancient Titans, including the locations of Skull Island and Mona Island, have been removed!"

Fury picked up a very blurry photo and said to Merlin:

"It's this kind of blurry, ambiguous photo that can be preserved."

"Huh?"

Merlin frowned, and he said to Fury:

"I thought you would want the World Security Council to know all the truth?"

"No, what they need is not the truth."

Fury whispered:

"They need peace of mind, they need that feeling of being in control, not things that would make you creepy even to read. If you just hand these things in like that, you're going to scare the big guys. ”

"More importantly, Merlin."

Fury knocked on the table, and he said to Merlin:

"Representation on the World Security Council is not for life, and these things need to be shown to the delegates who will eventually be replaced, do you think they can protect this secret?"

Fury picked up the second document, and he said to Merlin:

"The five tenured directors are the ones who will see the truth. In fact, if we want to keep a secret, the best way to do that is to know as few people as possible. ”

In the dim-bright light, Fury's voice became softer and softer, and he said:

"Secrets are always leaked out of stupidity, and I've seen too many of these things. Fools learn a secret, as if they were pregnant women... Hell-bent on spitting out secrets. Those secrets are hidden in their hearts, and they will not be able to sleep well. ”

"Okay."

Merlin nodded, and he said to Fury:

"I'll let Hill know what's going on with the assessment report."

"Speaking of Ciel."

Fury looked up and looked at Merlin with his remaining right eye, and said:

"How's she doing?"

"It's okay so far."

Merlin shrugged:

"But she is very self-motivated and learns quickly, she has a special talent, as long as she cultivates it carefully, she will soon become a qualified assistant you need."

"Well, that's good."

Fury nodded, he put away the two papers and put them in the suitcase he had brought, he looked at the watch on his wrist, and said to Merlin:

"Then I won't bother you. Come to the office building tomorrow, your new office has been empty for too long. ”

"Oh, by the way, I've got two new assistants for you. You will also be responsible for serving as the Guardian of the two newcomers until they become qualified field agents, and you will continue to liaise with the Imperials for the rest of the day. I'll let you know if there's a new task. ”

Fury stood up, he patted Merlin on the shoulder, and he said:

"Take a good break."

"Wait, Fury."

Merlin called out to Fury, who was leaving, and said to his superior:

"In July this year, I may have to take a long vacation, so I will report to you in advance."

"Long vacation?"

Fury asked suspiciously:

"Where are you going?"

"Take care of some personal matters."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief:

"Something I borrowed from someone else, it's time to return it."