After dealing with the warehouse scene, Natasha returned to an apartment in Flushing and began reporting to S.H.I.E.L.D. about her mission tonight. She didn't fully believe Yuma's words, but she felt that since he didn't seem malicious, there was no need for her to take action.
The feeling she had just now was not good. Years of experience as an agent told her that Yuma possessed immense power within him. She instinctively felt danger and was not confident in her ability to subdue him, so she could only let him go.
Besides, in that situation, it seemed like she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to...
...
"Are you sure it's Emil Blonsky, General Ross's subordinate?" A very serious voice came from the other end of the phone. "You know, we can't investigate General Ross without any evidence."
"I'm sure," Natasha confirmed. "I checked, and there is indeed a man named Emil Blonsky under General Ross, but I couldn't find any other information about him. It's all encrypted to the highest security level, which is very unusual!"
"Alright, I understand. I'll have someone investigate," the person on the other end paused and continued. "What about that person's information? Any leads?"
Natasha was speechless. "No, I've checked the files from the past few years, and there's no information related to the Joker. Besides, the comparison shows that that mask has never appeared before."
"Tomorrow, I'm going to try to contact the owner of Surprise Handicrafts. Maybe he knows something."
"Okay, but remember, don't startle him. The files show that he's likely a superhuman, possibly a magician, with unknown abilities." After saying that, the other person hung up the phone.
The Joker? When did New York get another character like that?
Natasha felt that the world was truly different. Ever since Captain America appeared, the world had started to change. Even herself, to be precise, couldn't be considered 100% human anymore, right?
...
The next day, Natasha didn't leave until noon because the owner of the handicraft shop never opened before noon!
She arrived near the shop and saw the owner yawning as he pulled up the rolling door.
The files showed that the shop owner was a Chinese man, 24 years old, and his parents were deceased.
A year ago, some handicrafts sold by this shop exhibited supernatural phenomena.
When they were broken, they would release something similar to magic. Because the power was small and didn't cause any harm, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been observing them, not daring to approach them.
Seeing that the shop owner had opened the door and walked back into the shop, Natasha quickly followed him in.
"Welcome, feel free to browse. The prices are on the tags." Yuma yawned, hearing the door open, and continued to pour milk, looking down.
"Boss, have you seen any strange people around Chinatown recently?" Natasha asked, her eyes never leaving Yuma. She didn't know why, but she felt like she recognized him.
"Yes," Yuma replied absentmindedly, looking at the milk and sandwich in front of him. He was starting to miss baozi and congee. "Last night, someone bought a wife cake from the supermarket and wanted to sue the shopkeeper for fraud. He said there wasn't any wife in the wife cake."
"That's pretty strange," Natasha said awkwardly.
After casually looking at the handicrafts in the shop, Natasha suddenly said to Yuma, "Emil Blonsky is dead."
"Who's Emil Blonsky?" Yuma pretended to be clueless. "What does his death have to do with me?"
"Are you a policeman, here to investigate a murder?"
"Uh, yes," Natasha saw that Yuma didn't seem to be lying and followed his lead. "There was a murder in Flushing, so I'm here to investigate."
"Oh, is that so?" Yuma shrugged and said, "Officer, your way of investigating is really eye-opening. You just shout at everyone you see and try to get the real criminal to answer you?"
He gave Yuma a thumbs up. "That's the best creative way to solve a case this year!"
"Shut up!" Natasha was furious and about to retort.
"Alright, alright," Yuma waved his hand. "Tell me, officer, are you here to buy something or is there something you need?"
"I'm here to ask you something," Natasha said after a moment of silence. "I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. We've discovered that you've sold some handicrafts that exhibit supernatural phenomena, so we're here to investigate. We hope you'll cooperate."
"So, you're a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. I've heard of you," Yuma said with an "oh, I see" expression. He neither admitted nor denied it, but instead asked directly, "What's with this Emil Blonsky you mentioned?"
"He's someone we're trying to capture," Natasha explained. "We suspect he's hiding in Flushing, and you look a bit like him, so I just tried to test you."
I don't believe you!
Yuma thought to himself. You're really good at making things up. If I didn't know what was going on, I would have believed you.
"If you're looking for him, I can actually help you," Yuma didn't expose her, but continued to bluff. "After all, you know, I have some special abilities."
"You might not believe it, but I'm actually a fortune teller!"
"You?" Natasha looked at Yuma with disdain. "If you can make Emil Blonsky appear in front of me now, I'll believe you."
"It's a bit difficult, but I can do it. But it requires a very complex spell and a catalyst." Yuma pretended to be struggling, then gritted his teeth and said, ready to tease Black Widow.
"What's the catalyst?" Natasha was puzzled. She knew spells, but what the hell was a catalyst?
"Money, all the cash you have on you," Yuma rubbed his fingers together. "This is a very mentally draining spell, so I need some compensation!"
Natasha pulled out her cash and threw it on the table, looking at Yuma and warning him, "If you're lying to me, I think you know the consequences."
"Don't worry, my reputation is quite reliable," Yuma said happily, counting the cash. He wasn't worried about whether the situation would be exposed later. He could just give her the money back.
"Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty!" Yuma put away the money, pretending to chant a spell. After finishing, he pointed his right hand at the doorway.
Natasha looked at Yuma dumbfounded. She had been trying to memorize the spell, but what the hell did he just say? His tongue couldn't even form the words properly!
Boom!
Just as Natasha was about to have Yuma repeat the spell, a loud bang came from the door. A huge yellow monster covered in reptilian scales fell from the sky, creating a crater on the ground!
Natasha: "!!!"
Yuma: "???"
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