I Became a Knockoff Arms Dealer in the Marvel World

If Nick Fury had known in advance that this man and woman possessed superpowers, he certainly wouldn't have let Tony Stark charge headfirst into the Umbrella Corporation headquarters so recklessly. In fact, he would most likely have tried to recruit this super-powered couple.

After all, the Avengers Initiative that Nick Fury had been obsessing over for over a decade needed these kinds of extraordinary individuals with superpowers.

Unfortunately, after Tony had gone into battle and made a mess of things, it was clear that recruitment was likely out of the question.

To make matters worse, Tony had lost the fight, which left Nick Fury in a very difficult position.

Despite the current situation, however, he still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that it was just a little misunderstanding. As long as they could "convince" this super-powered couple to "turn from evil and return to righteousness," S.H.I.E.L.D. would still be willing to accept such talents.

Even though this couple had some troubling pasts, including selling illegal arms and using nuclear weapons, these were not major concerns for S.H.I.E.L.D.

After all, Black Widow's own past wasn't exactly spotless. Having been trained in the Red Room, she had carried out countless assassination missions, yet S.H.I.E.L.D. still accepted her.

Nick Fury tapped on the desk and looked at Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) in front of him, saying, "Let's put aside the issue with the couple for now. What do you think about where Umbrella Corporation's nuclear weapons came from?"

"I've already had people look into the flow of uranium from major uranium mines worldwide. What's clear is that Umbrella Corporation didn't secretly purchase uranium ore. Moreover, there are no traces of high-concentration uranium materials leaking out from major countries."

Hawkeye and Black Widow both frowned at the question and fell into silence.

After a long pause, it was Black Widow who broke the silence, speaking up with suspicion, "I suspect that Umbrella's advanced weapons, including the nuclear weapons, might be the product of some sort of superpower!"

Nick Fury's forehead furrowed deeply at this shocking speculation.

"Natasha, do you have any evidence? What kind of superpower could create nuclear weapons?"

Black Widow thought for a moment before slowly explaining, "A few months ago, when I infiltrated the Umbrella Corporation, I found that their surface-level arms factories could only produce light weapons at most. I searched for a long time, but I couldn't find any source for their heavy weapons. So, I boldly speculate that the boss of Umbrella Corporation has some sort of weapon-manufacturing superpower."

It had to be said that Black Widow was truly an elite agent, able to piece together clues from the smallest details to deduce the source of Umbrella's weapons.

After hearing Black Widow's explanation, Nick Fury became more intrigued by Carl.

Though the woman known as "Scarlet Witch" had a mysterious and almost invincible superpower, she didn't compare to the original Captain Marvel.

After all, Carol Danvers could cross space with her own body, punch through a spaceship, and single-handedly repel an entire alien fleet.

Thus, no matter how strong Scarlet Witch's powers were, Nick Fury wasn't worried. If things got out of hand, he could always call Carol back.

But if that man named Carl had the ability to create advanced weapons—even nuclear weapons—that kind of superpower was, in some ways, far more terrifying.

After all, nuclear weapons were already a serious problem for S.H.I.E.L.D. What if Carl could create a planet-destroying cannon or even interstellar weapons?

Nick Fury lightly ran his fingers over an old pager, which was his last resort—a communicator to call Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, from space.

Clearly, the idea that Carl could manufacture weapons left Nick Fury a bit unsettled.

After thinking for a few moments, Nick Fury felt that he could still maintain control of the situation, at least for now. After all, Carl and Scarlet Witch weren't beyond negotiation.

The reason the pager was a "last resort" was that it had to be saved for the most crucial moment.

Nick Fury put the pager back into his jacket pocket and then spoke about another matter.

"Let's set Carl and Scarlet Witch aside for now. What do you think of that bald woman in a monk's robe who appeared in the video?"

He paused before adding, "By the way, this woman, who seems to have teleportation magic, has no trace of existence in the global database after facial recognition."

Hawkeye thought for a moment about the video and the mysterious mage who had walked out of the golden circle. He felt like his whole worldview was about to collapse. With a self-deprecating smile, he said, "I can't believe there are actually magicians in this world. That mysterious mage appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Not being able to find her makes perfect sense."

Black Widow raised an eyebrow and said, "If such a mysterious magician could be easily tracked by S.H.I.E.L.D., we wouldn't have just discovered their existence today."

Nick Fury was silent for a while. Hawkeye and Black Widow were making valid points.

But the key problem right now was that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have the power to confront these super-powered individuals or mysterious mages.

"For now, S.H.I.E.L.D. can only monitor the Umbrella Corporation. Clint, your main task from now on is to keep watch 24/7 on the perimeter of their headquarters. As for you, Natasha, I want you to go talk to that big green guy," Nick Fury ordered.

Hawkeye gave a nod of understanding.

Meanwhile, Black Widow looked puzzled. "Big green guy?"

---

Six months later, December.

The Arctic Region.

Warm sunlight spread across the vast snowy expanse, which was usually enveloped in bone-chilling cold. The Arctic is the northernmost continent on Earth, with a total area of about 14.245 million square kilometers, almost entirely covered by glaciers.

The climate here is extremely harsh, with the lowest recorded temperature reaching -89.2°C, and wind speeds reaching 17-18 meters per second. It is the coldest, stormiest, and windiest place on Earth—a deserted wasteland.

Apart from scientists and fearless explorers, almost no one dares to venture into this death zone.

However, half a year ago, Quicksilver Pietro had been convinced by Carl to come to the Arctic.

Every day, he walked across the vast, white snowy fields, often traveling for dozens of kilometers without seeing a single human being.

Desolation, loneliness, and coldness weren't even the biggest problems here.

"The biggest problem is that I've been stuck in this hellhole for eight whole months!?" Quicksilver Pietro cursed.

Even though he was bundled up tightly, the heavy, ultra-cold clothing couldn't provide him with any warmth.

The biting cold winds always found their way into the gaps of his clothes.

"Damn Carl. I knew he couldn't be trusted, talking about finding some ancient artifact from the last century in the Arctic. He said we could discover the key to the super-soldier serum from the world's first superhero. All lies! It's all bullshit!"

Quicksilver's resentment had reached a boiling point. If not for the twenty elite soldiers accompanying him, he would've given up long ago.

Because in the Arctic, aside from ice and snowflakes, the only living creatures were polar bears, Arctic foxes, seals, and other cold-weather animals.

---

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