CHAPTER 169:The Role of Hubby

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There was a small mishap during the search for Loki.

According to the coordinates provided by Jeanne, the gamma signature of the Cosmic Cube—known here as the Universe's Rubik's Cube—was nowhere to be found.

However, this wasn't a major setback.

The almighty Jeanne could locate more than just people. Even when it came to tracking something as elusive as the Cube, Shen He simply had Jeanne offer another divine prayer to pinpoint its new location in the universe—and this time, they received an entirely different trajectory than before.

Clearly, Loki had become separated from the Cube.

A worse issue arose: even in this new direction, satellite scans for gamma radiation yielded nothing.

"This is clearly not working," said Dr. Banner, the one currently managing the Cube-tracking efforts. He stood with Shen He, Coulson, and Fury. "The Cosmic Cube does emit gamma radiation, yes. But gamma rays can be completely blocked by lead plates thicker than 20 centimeters and concrete over 1.5 meters. That's basic high school physics."

"So," Shen He blinked slowly, "you're saying you can't trace the Universe Cube?"

"If those coordinates are right, then it means the Cube is being heavily shielded," Banner looked at the others with calm resignation. "Is there anything else I'm needed for?"

"…"

"Apparently, your Chaldean savior education didn't include the basics of Earth physics," Fury muttered, his stare at Shen He intense enough to make it seem like he'd just lost a lover.

"Looks like you and Coulson have already caught up?" Shen He raised a brow.

"I don't know how you convinced my most loyal agents to defect," Fury snapped, his voice low and dark. "But if it were the old S.H.I.E.L.D., we could track every Wi-Fi-enabled camera, phone, or computer. As long as it touched the internet, we'd have eyes on it."

He clearly still resented how Chaldea dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s infrastructure. More than that, he hated seeing Chaldea fail to replicate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s omnipresence.

"If Hawkeye hadn't sided with you," Shen He replied coolly, "we'd have located the Cube by now."

A single elite agent might not change much—but one who intimately knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s covert operations could easily plug the gaps in Loki's Earth knowledge.

"You knew the Cube would cause problems," Fury's voice was tight.

Clint Barton was now the only loyal agent left to him. If something happened to Barton, Fury truly would be a commander without troops.

Shen He remained silent.

There was no point arguing with Fury. Time would prove that Chaldea was better suited to protect this world.

Looking around at the group, Shen He waved over Hubby.

Hubby stepped forward obediently.

"Hubby," Shen He reached out and drew her closer, "can you detect wireless signals in the air?"

"Signal?" Hubby's eyes flared briefly with radiant data streams, then returned to normal. "Why use such a primitive communication system? It's easily compromised."

"There's no enemy strong enough in this world to exploit that." Shen He's eyes narrowed. "Can you infiltrate it?"

"Learning required." Hubby's small frame trembled slightly, her head tilting. "Initiating adaptive learning. Master, what do you wish me to do?"

"That fast?" Shen He blinked, startled. Then he composed himself. "Monitor every camera, smartphone, and laptop connected to a wireless network. If it connects to the internet, I want to trace a few people through it."

Exactly what Fury claimed Chaldea couldn't do moments ago.

Fury, however, was no longer gloating.

He stared at the seemingly teenage girl before him.

Her hamster hoodie was down now, revealing intricate mechanical adornments along the right side of her head. Metal segments curved along her cheeks, and dual tubes snaked from her back like stylized exhausts. But it wasn't the hardware that shook Fury—he'd seen cybernetics before.

What unsettled him was that Hubby had used the word learning.

She had just cracked the entire human wireless system… in mere seconds?

"Learning complete. A few access points remain." Hubby's body hummed faintly, a soft glow building beneath her suit as processing power ramped up.

Meanwhile, across the globe in Tony's lab, Jarvis suddenly blared a warning.

"Sir, an unidentified data entity is breaching the global network. The algorithm is unlike anything I've ever cataloged—it's learning autonomously, as if alive."

"Alive?" Tony's brows rose. "Jarvis, patch me through to Shen He."

Tony likely hadn't realized it yet, but the first person he instinctively reached for when something went wrong… was now Shen He.

When Shen He received the ping, he instantly understood what Hubby meant by "a few access points." She was far more capable than he'd imagined.

"Hubby is incredible." Shen He gently ruffled her hair. "Forget those final few spots for now."

Hubby reached up and placed her small hand over his, her gemstone eyes gleaming slightly, as if processing something emotional.

"Is this action… a reward?"

Shen He froze momentarily, then smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's a reward. Hubby is adorable."

"Adorable?" she echoed, confused.

"It means… it makes people like you."

"'Like' as in: emotional attachment, closeness, avoidance of harm… Does Master like Hubby?" Her palm curled slightly, as if grasping something invisible.

"Of course I do." Shen He smiled, then flicked her forehead lightly. "Alright, I'll answer your 100,000 questions later. For now, I need you to scan those monitoring terminals and find a few people for me. I'll provide visual data."

"There are many humans," Hubby murmured as she gazed at Shen He's open palm. "Hubby will work hard. But I want a reward."

"Alright." Shen He nodded.

He still didn't understand where Hubby's unusual attachment came from.

In the original works, her emotional bond with Rick didn't stem from logic. Understanding "heart" clearly wasn't a behavior expected of a cynically rational AI.

But perhaps that's what made it real.

"Coulson, you should have a rapid facial recognition algorithm. Share it with Hubby—she learns instantly. But we can't rely solely on her. Loki still has Barton, and they're resourceful." Shen He paused thoughtfully. "We can't wait around forever. Jeanne, take Mikoto Alter and One Side. Begin the search directly."

Regardless of Loki's scheme…

Jeanne would find him. And once she did, his tricks would crumble under the combined might of Misaka Mikoto Alter and Yifang Tongxing.

"Understood," Jeanne nodded, already setting out.

Even though she was Shen He's lover, when acting under her Master's command, she was always the perfect knight.

"In addition…" Shen He continued once Jeanne departed, "Banner, you're a quantum physics expert. If Loki intends to use the Cube to stabilize a space-time bridge, he'll still need critical components to make that happen."

Even if the plot diverged, the laws of this world's science remained consistent.

It's like the Rocky Club needs the energy output of Stark Tower to heat the Cosmic Cube, thereby activating the interdimensional channel.

"He needs to heat the Cosmic Cube to over one hundred million degrees," Banner pointed out. "In addition, iridium is required—a rare metal used to stabilize the energy fluctuations during channel formation. They also have Dr. Selvig, who was a pioneer in wormhole theory even before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. No one knows whether he's secretly made breakthroughs in the field since then."

"Coulson, that's your lead. Natasha will investigate. She's worked with Hawkeye for years—she knows his patterns, his instincts." Shen He turned to Coulson with calm authority. "If you find something, get Steve to assist you."

"Understood, sir." Coulson nodded and turned briskly to leave.

Shen He's gaze shifted again. "Now, Fury."

"What, you want me to run errands too? I thought I was just here for a friendly visit."

Fury met Shen He's eyes with the intensity of someone who had already lost too much. Even with one eye, he could see it clearly—at this moment, the fate of the world truly rested with Chaldea.

"You think too highly of yourself," Shen He replied coldly. "I only have one request: keep the government, the military, the World Security Council—everyone—out of this unless absolutely necessary."

"That's your aim?"

Fury finally caught on. "You never told us about this crisis in advance because you want us to rely on you. You're using this disaster to position Chaldea at the center of global power. You want the world to compromise."

"Not entirely wrong."

Shen He didn't refute him. Instead, he let a cold smile tug at the corner of his lips.

"Even if I had revealed everything ahead of time, do you think the leaders of this civilization would've backed off from studying the Cube? You know better than anyone how their ambition outpaces their caution. It's not just politics—it's human nature. In this world, the desire for self-destruction is particularly... expressive. If they interfere, I won't hesitate."

In another world, perhaps one more functional, Shen He would've let the World Council participate. He might've even shared some of the benefits—offered a stake in world-building and order preservation.

But here?

The so-called global authorities had proved themselves repeatedly: nuclear strikes ordered in New York during the alien invasion; covert infiltration by Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D.; the disastrous Superhuman Registration Act that led to the Civil War.

"Incompetent bunglers," Shen He murmured under his breath.

He still couldn't understand how, when Asgard first appeared as a friendly realm, Earth's first response had been to treat them like a threat. Rather than build trust with Thor, the future King of Asgard, they tried to manipulate him—made him a glorified Earth-side hero without even attempting formal diplomacy.

Odin might've refused cooperation, sure. But they didn't even try. Not a single official ambassador. No treaties. Just threw Thor at Fury's feet and hoped for the best.

So Shen He had given up on them.

He didn't expect help—he just didn't want them ruining everything.

"So, you're hoping I'll mediate the conflict between Chaldea and the world governments?" Fury asked with narrowed eyes.

"No," Shen He replied, tone unreadable. "I just want to avoid the inconvenience of rebuilding another regime from scratch."

There was something ominous in Shen He's voice, something that made Fury straighten. "Believe me—we've done it before. In Academy City, we rebuilt the system. If we could use the full power of true god-level beings like Qi Mu Kusuo, it would only take seconds."

Fury held his gaze—and saw the truth in Shen He's words.

The strength Chaldea had already shown was enough to dismantle world governments. Their control over energy, psychic warfare, and technological superiority—just one digital strike from that child assassin could collapse a nation's infrastructure.

And who knew what else they hadn't shown?

Still...

"I've wanted to get rid of those crusty old bureaucrats for years," Fury muttered. "But are you sure you won't harm civilians?"

Shen He blinked. "What?"

"Just kidding," Fury said, smirking. He'd gotten the answer he needed.

"We're not the same. I may disagree with the world's leaders, but unlike you, I don't think adopting Hydra's playbook is the answer. Guess I won't be retiring just yet."

Shen He almost raised his middle finger at him.

Still... if Fury could act as a buffer between Chaldea and the old world order, it might just prevent unnecessary chaos.

This Earth—the Marvel 'main world'—was built on the illusion of stability.

Without dimensional travel cards, they couldn't simply abandon it.

Shen He had no desire to live long in another collapsed world.

After Fury left, Shen He turned to Banner. "Put your current project on hold. I want you working in the Chaldea lab for now."

Banner didn't question him. He knew the truth: his transformation could be a risk, and keeping it isolated was the safest move.

Elsewhere, with Enlightenment's support, Jeanne d'Arc closed in on Loki aboard a stealth jet.

But before she could confront him, another event unfolded.

A leading tech company—known for its iridium reserves—was attacked.

The entire operation was over in under twenty minutes.

There was only one attacker.

"Nebula," Shen He murmured, massaging his temples.

A butterfly effect.

In the original timeline, Loki acted as bait so Hawkeye could steal the iridium unnoticed.

Now? With Nebula's post-cybernetic-enhancement strength, there was no need for subtlety.

She just broke in and took it by force.

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