NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8. Exposed?
At the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, in one of the offices in the Triskelion Tower, Nick Fury was reading reports handed over by Black Widow. He had sent her to Iron Man to carry out the next phase of his plan—the Avengers Initiative.
"Knock-knock!"
"Come in."
There was a knock on the door, and Agent Coulson entered, carrying a tablet. He approached Fury's desk.
"Coulson, what's going on?" Fury asked, setting aside the documents.
"Sir, you might want to see this."
Coulson handed over the tablet and played a video. The footage showed Noah, running at high speed, captured by surveillance cameras the night before. He was dressed in black, wearing a mask and a beanie. If it weren't for the exposed areas of skin, Fury might have thought this person was another African-American like him.
But the speed at which this man moved exceeded human limits—about 20 meters per second. In some parts of the video, his speed even increased. Fury suspected this man might have received the Super Soldier Serum or some other mysterious power.
"Where did this footage come from, Coulson?" Fury asked, crossing his arms under his chin.
"Sir, this footage came from a police station on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. One of the officers spotted it during a routine check. We started an investigation and found this man on other recordings. Additionally, our agents discovered signs of a battle and gunfire at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Hell's Kitchen. Some of the traces could not have been left by a human. Judging by the footage, this man's target was the factory, where one of the gangs was conducting illegal activities yesterday."
"So, you think this is a man with a sense of justice, possessing supernatural abilities, who is fighting crime?"
"Sir, that's just a hypothesis. Our agents also noticed Daredevil in the area, so I think this person could be someone similar to him."
Fury nodded, listening to the report. Daredevil was already under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s observation, and Fury had been considering adding him to the list of superheroes.
"Coulson, send people to Hell's Kitchen and the Upper West Side. Have them keep an eye on the situation; this man might show up again."
"Understood, Director. I'll take care of it right away."
Coulson left the office, while Fury continued reviewing the recordings.
...
In the evening, Noah opened the door and entered, sighing heavily. He had just completed his daily quest, taking down a group of gangsters.
But it was only a Class C quest, for which he received 100 Essence points, a paltry amount compared to the previous day's results.
Initially, he hadn't planned on taking on Class C quests. He wanted to find a major gang deal on his own, like yesterday, to score another Class B quest. But, as it was his first time doing this, he couldn't find anything suspicious, despite all his efforts.
"Phew, running around all night. I'm exhausted like a dog."
Noah lay on the couch. Physically, he wasn't tired thanks to the Resolve Rune, but he was mentally drained from the fruitless search.
"Maybe I should reach out to Daredevil? He's an expert in this area and probably knows where the gangs' deals are happening," Noah thought. Daredevil had been operating in Hell's Kitchen for a long time and was likely aware of all the underground dealings.
"But why was yesterday's Class B quest so easy yet so highly rewarded? Maybe high-level quests are tied to characters from the Marvel universe," Noah pondered, recalling novels he had read in his previous life.
"Perhaps the system assigns high-level quests if they somehow alter the storylines of the Marvel universe. That's entirely possible," he mused, but he needed further investigation to be sure.
"Whatever, I won't overthink it. School tomorrow," Noah said. He had already gone through school in his past life and wasn't eager to do it again.
But he knew that in this life, his parents had wanted him to graduate from university and become a successful person. It had been their final wish.
Even though his parents were often away on business trips and had been distant, he had seen them for the last time before they left. A month after their departure, he had received news of a fatal car accident. It had been a devastating blow, leaving Noah an orphan.
"Alright, I'll stick with school for now, and we'll see," Noah decided. He understood the importance of honoring his parents' last wish, but he knew he might have to change his plans when the time came to save the world.
Besides, if the system provided him with templates for heroes like Heimerdinger, Jayce, or Viktor, he could become a genius and wouldn't need school at all.
Noah nodded resolutely, deciding to put more effort into finding quests tomorrow, so he could quickly accumulate 10 summon attempts and strengthen himself for the upcoming challenges.
"Sleep" Noah said and closed his eyes.