Chapter 262 – Business Trip

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"What? You're going on a business trip? Leaving right now?"

Hearing Clark's words, Mike was a bit surprised, but he still asked, "Where to? Do you need anything prepared?"

"New Mexico. As for preparation…"

Clark glanced at Lois beside him and said, "No time. We have to leave immediately."

"Alright, take care on the road."

After giving a quick reminder, Mike hung up the phone. Noticing Gwen next to him with a hopeful look in her eyes, he said, "Don't look at me like that. When summer vacation starts, Daddy will take you on a trip."

Gwen gave Mike a kiss and said cheerfully, "Then I'm off to school!"

"Go on, go on!"

Mike waved his hand.

After sending Gwen off, just as he was about to head to the shop to prepare a batch of mildly salty dried fish, his phone rang again.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw the caller ID.

Raven?

He picked up the call, and Raven's lazy voice came from the other end.

"I don't have any classes today. Let's go shopping."

"Shopping?"

Now that wasn't a pleasant task—physically relaxing, but mentally exhausting.

Rolling in bed for a moment, Raven got up and headed to the bathroom. "I need to buy some clothes. Yours are totally out of style."

"Are they?"

Mike looked over himself and scratched his head in confusion.

"I need a little time to wash up. How about you pick me up in a bit? Use a portal," Raven muttered. "Everything's great here except the distance from you."

"I—"

"It's settled."

Raven hung up with a sly grin spreading across her face.

Shopping, lunch together… and if there's time, maybe a little workout too…

Ah, she really was getting indulgent.

Raven smiled gleefully.

…

Meanwhile, Clark and Lois were rushing to the airport.

After they boarded the plane, Clark couldn't help but ask, "So what's this all about? Why are we in such a hurry?"

Lois adjusted her seat, settled in comfortably, and pulled out her phone. She showed Clark a few pictures.

The first was a photo of an enormous crater.

The second zoomed in on the crater, revealing a small object in the center surrounded by a crowd of people.

The third zoomed in even further, showing the outline of an object in the middle of the crater.

It looked like… a hammer?

Clark was still confused. Lois gave him a mysterious smile and pulled up the last photo.

A clear shot of the hammer.

"What is this thing?" Clark asked, puzzled. "We're going there just for that?"

"Yes," Lois nodded, putting away her phone and lowering her voice. "The person who sent me the photos said the hammer is really strange."

"Strange?"

"Yeah," Lois said with intrigue. "No one can lift it—not even with a car. It won't budge."

"That's it?"

"That's not enough?" Lois gave Clark a baffled look and said, "My gut tells me this is something major. And no one's reported on it yet."

"Mr. Kent, as a journalist, you should have a nose for news. If everyone could see it, it wouldn't be news anymore."

Clark shrugged. "Alright, let's check it out then."

Lois asked for a blanket, pulled it over herself, yawned, and said, "I'm going to get some sleep first."

Clark nodded and casually picked up one of the in-flight magazines to read.

At the same time, while Clark and Lois were still in the air, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already dispatched agents to the site.

By the time their plane was still en route, S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived at the mysterious crater where the hammer lay.

Agent Coulson stepped out of a vehicle, looked at the massive pit in the distance, made a quick call to Nick Fury, and then tapped the communicator in his ear.

"Begin the operation."

He was in charge of this mission.

Following Coulson's command, a fleet of black SUVs raced toward the crater. They swiftly dispersed the crowd that had gathered around, many of whom had been throwing "hammer parties." A portion of the agents remained to guard the site, while another team followed Coulson to begin collecting intel.

They summoned construction crews, built fences, and rapidly erected a makeshift base—research equipment was even brought in immediately.

S.H.I.E.L.D. worked with practiced precision and unbelievable speed.

By sunset, when the last light dipped below the horizon, Coulson returned with the notes and equipment from a female scientist. The makeshift research facility was now fully operational.

Coulson walked into the site and approached the mysterious hammer. He looked around at the others, then reached out and gave the hammer a tug.

It didn't move at all.

He shook his head and sighed, then hesitated for a second before gripping the hammer with both hands and pulling like he was yanking up a stubborn carrot.

Still, not even the slightest budge.

Face turning red, Coulson gave up.

"Hey, Chief, that expression just now reminded me of a certain part of a monkey's anatomy."

Coulson's mouth twitched slightly as he looked up. At the highest point of the base, in a metal container suspended by a crane, a sharp-eyed man was gazing down. When he saw Coulson looking up, he waved in greeting.

"Barton, you planning to stay up there all night?"

"Not a bad idea. It's closer to the stars."

"Weather report says there's heavy rain coming soon."

"I didn't see anything."

Coulson nodded in satisfaction and headed into the nearby research lab.

At the moment, the lab was filled with various equipment, all collecting environmental data. A bald-headed researcher nodded to Coulson and asked, "Sir, where did you find those notes?"

"Why?"

"They're very helpful to us."

"That's good, then."

Coulson responded simply.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside.

"What's going on?" Coulson asked softly through his comms.

"Sir, we caught two reporters trying to sneak in."

"Reporters?"

Coulson was surprised.

That was fast. These reporters were well-informed.

Now curious about the pair, he said, "What should we do with them, sir? Hand them over to the local police?"

"I'll go take a look."

Coulson stepped outside.

When he saw the two reporters, he paused briefly. Then, looking at one of them, a smile spread across his face.

"Clark!"

Hearing his name, Clark, who had been struggling with a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, turned around and lit up with surprise. "Uncle Coulson!"

Lois, standing nearby, looked visibly relieved. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents glanced toward Coulson.

"I'll take it from here," Coulson said with a wave of his hand.

The agents nodded and quickly retreated.

"Long time no see, Clark."

Coulson greeted him warmly and patted him on the shoulder before glancing at the woman next to him. "And this is?"

"My colleague, Lois."

"Hello," Lois greeted him, her eyes darting between Clark and Coulson with curiosity.

What's their relationship?

(End of Chapter)