Asia

There was too much nationalism in this Chapter so I translated it and edited the China part to make it look like more about Asia as whole rather than China solely.

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Nick Fury's team moved quickly. In less than an hour, a folder appeared in Black Widow's email. It contained evidence of Obadiah secretly selling weapons to terrorists and a video clip sent by the terrorists showing Tony Stark tied to a chair.

"It looks like you guessed right. It is indeed related to Obadiah. However, finding Tony Stark will still take a little more time."

"Once we locate Tony Stark, we will rescue him immediately. Wait for my good news," Black Widow said, looking like she was about to leave.

"I want to go with you!" Blake quickly grabbed her.

Blake knew that with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, rescuing Tony wouldn't be a problem. But he had a mission, and points were valuable.

"No, this isn't your job. Trust us!" Black Widow flatly refused.

"Tony is my friend, and I provided the lead. From any perspective, I have a reason to go. Besides, I'm not just an ordinary civilian," Blake insisted, looking directly at Black Widow.

Suddenly, Black Widow's phone rang. It was Nick Fury, and she naturally reported the situation to him. To her surprise, Nick Fury agreed to Blake's request to join the mission, but with the condition that Blake must join S.H.I.E.L.D.

While Blake was hesitating, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

[Mission: Join S.H.I.E.L.D. and become an Agent!]

With points as a reward for the mission, Blake couldn't pass it up. However, he couldn't help but ask, 'System, why do I have to join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Wouldn't I be freer outside?'

The system responded, [To better facilitate the host's completion of subsequent tasks. Don't worry, you won't be working for S.H.I.E.L.D. indefinitely.]

Reassured by this, Blake agreed. "I agree. I'll join S.H.I.E.L.D. You can take me to Afghanistan."

Black Widow was puzzled by Blake's sudden change of heart. "Why? Didn't you say you didn't want too many constraints?"

"I need a job!" Blake replied cheekily.

Black Widow didn't believe him, but since Blake wouldn't explain further, she had no choice. "Alright then! Get ready to head to Afghanistan and complete your first mission, rookie agent!"

Southern Afghanistan Desert.

A Quinjet soared through the sky and slowly landed at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The rear hatch gradually opened, lowering a metal ramp. A civilian off-road vehicle, bearing Pakistani plates and made in China, rolled out slowly.

Black Widow and Blake, dressed as backpackers, sat in the front seats of the off-road vehicle. Black Widow, in the driver's seat, gave a thumbs-up towards the plane. The Quinjet's three jet exhausts on its tail and wings flared with blue flames, taking off and swiftly leaving the area.

"We know the location. Shouldn't there be several planes and a bunch of special forces with real guns and ammo coming over, doing a bit of 'rat-a-tat-tat', and then rescuing the person directly?" Blake mimicked firing a gun with his hands, puzzled.

"First of all, doing that requires extensive reconnaissance first: the number of enemies, their weapons, and geographical location. We need to ensure the safety of the hostage. Secondly, they are not in Afghanistan but in Pakistan. Although this desert is a no-man's land, we can't directly enter their airspace. It's very dangerous," Black Widow explained casually, driving with one hand.

"Why?" Blake didn't understand. In movies, not just the United States but even the Avengers could go anywhere without any concern for national borders.

"Because Pakistan has an ally behind it called China. There's a saying: don't walk around with weapons near a nuclear power." Black Widow said calmly.

Blake understood what Black Widow meant. It was no big deal for the two of them to drive in, but flying in with fighter jets was a different story. Even though it wasn't the same universe. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jets didn't dare to cross Pakistan's border even a little. How much must they fear nuclear power?

Seeing Blake's proud expression, Black Widow laughed. "I almost forgot you're Asian. Do you know? There's a saying in the intelligence community: no matter if you're an international spy, agent, or mercenary, never, ever enter Asia without caution! Do you know why?"

"Oh? Why?" Blake was very interested.

"During the Cold War, Soviet and American spies were everywhere, in every single place. But all most of those who entered Japan,India and China mysteriously disappeared. Just the ones I know of, the Soviets and Americans each sent no less than three groups of over a hundred people in total, all of whom ended up missing. It's said that both countries' intelligence agencies eventually received a note from the these authorities, with just four words: 'Strangers, Keep Out!' I used to think it was a myth until I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and saw that note with my own eyes. It was unbelievable!" Black Widow recounted some stories about Asia to Blake as their vehicle headed south into Pakistan.

The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a vast desert, an uninhabited area with no stationed troops from either side. After the terrorists who called themselves the Ten Rings kidnapped Tony Stark, they cleverly moved directly into Pakistan, knowing that the U.S. would turn Afghanistan upside down searching for him.

By doing so, they avoided U.S. military searches. As long as they didn't get too close to the edges of the Pakistani desert, no one would search for them in the desert. However, they hadn't expected their video to fall into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands.

They had been cautious when sending the email, using servers in different countries to forward it. The terrorists in the video had also covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. But with Afghanistan being the location, that was enough for S.H.I.E.L.D.

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