Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 125 16. The Daily Life of the Merlin Group 【48100】

Melinda's self-introduction didn't last long.

Because Merlin asked her a very sharp question.

"Melinda, I'm curious, what did your parents do?"

Merlin put down Melinda's file, put his hands on the table, stared at the girl in front of him with his eyes behind the glasses, and asked softly:

"And, why did you choose to be an agent? Your file shows that you have won an international figure skating award. For a beautiful girl like you, becoming an athlete or an actor is obviously more promising than becoming an agent. "

"Can I not answer this question?"

Melinda's expression was a bit tangled, which made Coulson who was sitting beside her a little surprised and curious.

The two are good friends from the secret service academy. During the special training that was extended to 8 months, Coulson had never seen Melinda, who has a generous personality and strong execution ability, show such a tangled expression.

"No, you must answer."

Merlin said with a straight face:

"You may not be very clear about the special affairs that my operation team is responsible for. Agent Coulson should know something about this."

"In the face of the particular events we deal with, there are many unexpected situations that arise, and I have to make sure that I really know my subordinates... You can say no, Melinda, but I will send your file Return it to Commissioner Fury."

"plum."

Coulson patted Melinda's arm with some concern. The latter gritted her teeth, raised her head, and looked at Merlin's sharp eyes that seemed to touch people's hearts.

After a few seconds, she whispered reluctantly:

"My father was a businessman and my mother ... was a senior field agent in the Strategic Science Corps and served under Ms. Carter for more than 25 years. I chose to become a special agent when I graduated from college and Ms. Carter approached me After chatting, she said that I have some kind of talent, so she persuaded me to join S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I see."

Merlin's inner doubts were resolved.

He nodded and asked again:

"Do you know Miss Sharon?"

"know."

Melinda said blankly:

"We grew up together in a community. Sharon took the entrance exam for the SHIELD Agent Academy this year. Maybe next year or the year after, she will also become a member of SHIELD."

"very good."

Merlin picked up the file in his hand and returned it to the two newcomers in front of him. He looked at the watch on his wrist and said to them:

"Now go through the entry procedures. It happens that there is a new mission at 3 o'clock this afternoon. We will meet at the gate of St. Agnes Abbey in Hell's Kitchen by then. Remember to bring a gun when the time comes."

"You two, is there a problem?"

Merlin drank the water in the glass at hand, stood up, took out his handbag, and looked at the two newcomers in front of him.

There's nothing wrong with them of course.

"Then see you this afternoon."

Merlin waved to them, then pushed open the door, and just walked away.

Watching Merlin leave, in the office, Agent Melinda turned to look at her friend, she whispered:

"He is the Merlin who took you on a mission before? You said he participated in the war with the Kree? I don't look like it... He is too young, and, like other agents we have seen no the same."

"That's what you've never seen him look like when he was on a mission."

Coulson recalled what he saw in Pegasus Base and Louisiana. He said to Melinda:

"Our trainees could have graduated in 6 months. Why did we have another 2 months of special training? It was because Chief Merlin defeated nearly 40 trainees by himself... so Director Fury thinks that our training It's not nearly enough."

"Also, he personally captured a Kree Interstellar Agent Captain. Many people know about this. Finally, Mr. Merlin...how should I put it? I think he has some other weird abilities."

Coulson frowned, packed his files, and said to Melinda:

"I have seen with my own eyes the scene where he disappeared in front of my eyes. Natasha and Instructor Barton also highly respect Commander Merlin and think he is a very good field agent. I think this already explains a lot of problems gone."

"Great is great."

Melinda pursed her lips, and the young girl said:

"But he still feels a little weird."

"No matter how strange you are, you never told me that your mother is also a secret agent."

Coulson said to Melinda somewhat unexpectedly:

"I always thought you were an ordinary girl, but I didn't expect you to have a background."

"Come on, Coulson."

Not wanting to talk about it, Melinda tossed her short hair and said:

"In this line of work, background is not a good thing. It means you have to work several times harder to get your peers to look at you. I didn't hide it on purpose. My mother said that before I became a senior agent, She didn't want me to get special treatment for her reasons."

"why?"

Coulson asked like a curious baby, and Melinda's face changed, and she said:

"Because of the bullets flying, they won't bypass you just because you have a background. Ms. Carter also said that it's better not to be too famous as an agent."

"Let's go, hurry up and go through the entry procedures, and then go to have a meal to celebrate our entry. I don't want to miss the first official task in the afternoon."

-----------------------

Merlin picked up little Eric from St. Agnes Abbey, and asked Father Paul about his recent grades.

Although the 14-year-old child adopted by him is not a genius, he is still a very good student.Although Merlin neglected to take care of him due to various emergencies in the past, he took good care of himself and achieved excellent results in the 5 exams he contacted.

This satisfied Merlin, so he took little Eric to a lobster feast, and bought him several newly released games as a reward.

He dropped Eric off at his cousin May's house just before three o'clock and drove back to St. Agnes Abbey.

Coulson and Melinda were already waiting for him at the monastery gate.

They came by car.

Merlin saw the car that had not been seen for 6 years at a glance.

That's Lola.

Red, 1962 classic Corvette, license plates on, and well maintained.

Merlin stepped forward, he stretched out his hand, stroking Lola's body as before, under the glasses, a touch of nostalgia flashed away.

"The car is nice."

He said something to Coulson who was standing by the car, then took out two magazines filled with holy silver bullets from his pocket, and threw them to Coulson and Melinda:

"Put this on! Then follow me."

Coulson didn't hesitate, and quickly changed the magazine.And Melinda looked at the strange silver bullet in the magazine, and she asked Merlin in front of her:

"What is this, sir."

"Holy silver bullet."

Merlin gave a brief answer, then waved to them, signaling them to get in the car.

Lola is an old-fashioned two-seater sports car, which can't seat three people, so for this mission, Merlin will drive his own car.

After Fury became the director, Merlin also got benefits.

He got a brand new Ford, black body, streamlined design, full of power, and most importantly, low-key enough.

Merlin started the car, turned a corner on the streets of Hell's Kitchen, and drove towards the depths of the most chaotic neighborhood in New York.In the backseat, Melinda was still asking:

"What is the holy silver bullet? Sir, is this bullet a special bullet?"

"This is a weapon against aliens."

Merlin turned the steering wheel and said to the newcomers behind him:

"You should have been told some things when you joined the job, and I won't repeat them. What I want to tell you is that my team deals with troubles that ordinary people can't handle. Those heterogeneous people hidden in the crowd , those creatures born in the dark, and some weird supernatural events, etc., these are the things you will face in the future."

"It's hard for ordinary bullets to hurt them, but the Holy Silver Bullet can. This time the Holy Silver Bullet is my support."

Merlin said softly:

"Next time when you collect bullets, remember to show your ID and explain the reason. The logistics department will distribute a certain number of holy silver bullets to you at the same time. But the holy silver produced by those machines is very formulaic and has no soul... Therefore, it is best for you to spare some time and learn to make holy silver weapons by yourself."

"Isn't this a bit too idealistic?"

Melinda curled her lips, and reached out to put the holy silver bullet clip into the gun.

Hearing her complaint, Merlin smiled and said:

"You can all accept that there are aliens in the world, why can't you accept idealism? Listen to me, newcomers, when you are facing those aliens, it is difficult for materialism to protect you."

Ten minutes later, Merlin's car stopped in front of the famous Josie's Bar in Hell's Kitchen.Merlin led Coulson and Melinda into this slightly dilapidated bar.

It would be mid-afternoon, and the bar was light and quiet.

Merlin looked left and right, and then walked straight to the corner of the bar. In the booth there, there was a guy in a yellow windbreaker, drinking alone.

"Tell me, Zhakang, what trouble do you encounter?"

Merlin sat across from the guy who was drinking, and he looked at Constantine who looked haggard in front of him.

This guy is now a mysterious matter consultant of S.H.I.E.L.D. He receives a monthly allowance from S.H.I.E.L.D., and from time to time he tries to cheat some funds from Fury.

His half-dead detective agency is still in business. I heard that the business has been pretty good recently. This guy has solved several rather tricky supernatural cases in the past few months, so at least in Manhattan, he has already gained some fame. .

Some people call him "The Exorcist Detective", and of course more people call him "Zhakang". I have to say that this nickname is really appropriate.

And because of Constantine's habit of spending money lavishly, and because this slutty guy always likes to provoke some troublesome women, whenever Merlin sees him, he will feel that he is quite down and out.

The two had been married before, but after the Banmo incident, they became colleagues.

Although the relationship between each other is not friendly, it can be regarded as a true acquaintance.

"It is you."

Constantine picked up his wine glass, glanced at Merlin, and quickly lost interest.His gaze landed on the two newcomers behind Merlin again, and then quickly gathered on Melinda's face. His gaze went all the way down, stayed on the chest for a few seconds, and then rested on the girl's slender waist. superior.

This kind of impolite gaze immediately attracted Melinda's glare.

"I said Fury would send someone to solve the trouble...it turned out to be you."

Zha Kang withdrew his aggressive gaze, he reached out and fumbled in several pockets of the windbreaker, finally found a crumpled note, and threw it to Merlin.

Merlin picked up the note, spread it out in his hands, and found that it was a strange symbol.

A dark red ring dotted with an inverted pentagram.

This is the mark of the devil from hell, and in magical lore, the pentagram is often associated with these things.

"I found it on the edge of Hell's Kitchen."

Constantine waved his hand and ordered another glass of wine. He said to Merlin:

"A group of punks tattooed this thing as a symbol. I guess those idiots don't understand the meaning of this symbol. But it is not accidental that it appeared in Manhattan, especially after the death of Mad Dog Morris, the ghost forces in Hell's Kitchen have already It was a huge blow...the appearance of this logo probably represents that some big figures are eyeing this place."

"This is your job, Constantine!"

Merlin frowned and said:

"We don't pay you every month to let you push your work to other people. You can't just throw me a clue, and other information?"

"Damn it, you're asking too much!"

Zha Kang cursed, and then said:

"There's a warehouse at the intersection of 13th and 7th Streets. It's the base camp of those punks. You can go and have a look. Maybe you can find something. As for why I put this job out..."

He glanced at Merlin, and said:

"Your ancestral home is 'hell', Merlin. Shouldn't the matter of dealing with your fellow villagers be left to you?"

What Constantine said made Coulson and Melinda behind Merlin look bewildered, but Merlin's expression became silent and serious. After a while, he said to Constantine:

"Okay, I'll take care of it. But your attitude makes me very uncomfortable, so I won't pay for your drink this time, you can figure it out."

"Hey Man! Don't be so stingy!"

Zha Kang's expression suddenly became richer, and he said to Merlin:

"I'm a little tight lately, how about...you pay for my drink, and I'll tell you something you're sure to be interested in, okay?"

"..."

Merlin looked suspiciously at Zha Kang who was smiling, and after a while, he put some money on the table.Zha Kang glanced at it and shook his head:

"I'm in debt for several drinks, and that's not enough."

"Damn it!"

Merlin cursed, took out some money and put it on the table.

Zha Kang nodded in satisfaction, looked around, lowered his voice, and said to Merlin:

"Be careful recently...don't use magic if you can, or just go out and hide."

"The Magic Congress is following you."

(End of this chapter)