Chapter 8: The SHIELD Agent's Shadow
Three days laterLocation: Midtown, ManhattanTime: 3:14 PM
Adam walked slowly, eyes casually scanning the reflective windows of shopfronts. Not for his reflection.
But for hers.
She'd been following him since Monday.
Always at a distance. Always a different coat. Sometimes a hat. Today, it was a sleek leather jacket and a scarf that tried too hard not to look like government issue.
Agent Sharon Carter.
S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't making a move yet. That meant she didn't have enough on him to escalate—but enough to be very curious.
[Medium Intrigue Detected – Sharon Carter]Reward: +1 StaminaEmotional Anchor Deepened – "Player or Pawn?"
Adam sipped his coffee, stepped into a small alley behind a laundromat, and disappeared through a side entrance of a shared work loft he'd rented for system-fueled R&D.
Inside, the lights flickered to life.
Blueprints of his gauntlet were scattered across the workbench. He moved to a side table, lifting the cloth off a stack of freshly printed documents—retrieved from a dark web drop earlier that morning.
"Let's see what secrets old Erskine kept from the world…"
[Data Acquired: Fragmented Research Logs of Dr. Abraham Erskine]
Contents: Pre-serum gene therapy notes, blood stabilization trials, prototype metabolic boostersLegitimacy: 74% VerifiedRequired Skills: Advanced Biology, Genetic SynthesisTalent Fragment Gained: Bioengineering (6%)Intelligence +1
Adam frowned as he skimmed through the old German. His system offered passive translation, but even then, it was complicated. Erskine had been meticulous… and cautious.
"No chance I recreate this fully without an actual lab," he muttered. "But… if I can mimic the metabolic enhancements alone—get that stamina regen and muscular adaptation—I'm golden."
He opened his notebook again.
Outside, Sharon leaned against a lamppost, pretending to scroll through her phone, eyes subtly trained on the alley.
He hadn't come out.
That made her even more curious.
[Medium Suspicion Detected – Sharon Carter]
Reward: +$400
System Prompt: "Double-stacked emotion detected: Intrigue + Suspicion = x1.5 Reward Multiplier"Bonus: +1 Charisma, +1 Stamina
Progress Toward Luck: +1/10
Adam's smile twitched.
That was four emotional hits from her in a single week.she is a gold mine.And she hadn't even talked to him yet.( now that i think about it if i interacted with a crazy women how much emotion i could harvest from here i hope i find a piecefull one or i wont be the one doing the harvesting)
Later that eveningLocation: Brooklyn, Secret Warehouse
Adam paid two grand in untraceable cash to gain access to a black-market science archive guarded by ex-Soviet goons.
The archive wasn't digital. Too risky. Just dusty crates and moldy files.
He got lucky.
[Item Acquired: Hydra Memory Card – Labeled "Zola Prime"]
[Item Acquired: Degraded Formula Page – Marked with "Vita-Ray Inversion"]
[Minor Hate Detected – Black Market Dealer]
Reward: +$200Talent
Fragment Gained: Biochemical Weaponry (3%)
He exited unnoticed, just another customer to the muscle at the gate.
Except one of them stared just a bit too long. A flicker of familiarity in his eyes.
A Hydra remnant?
Interesting.
Back home, Adam carefully hid the memory card inside a reinforced hollow of his gauntlet, then leaned back on his couch and opened the system overlay.
[New Talent Fragments:]– Bioengineering (6%)– Biochemical Weaponry (3%)– Reflex Engineering (6%)– Miniaturized Tech Design (4%)
He tapped the armrest, deep in thought.
"Super soldier enhancements, StarkTech R&D, a growing SHIELD obsession… what I need next is a magical edge."
He opened a tab on his burner phone: Nepal – Monastery Rumors – Kamar-Taj.
A soft grin tugged at his lips.
"It's time to find the sorcerers. come out come out where ever your are ."
But first—let Sharon confront him.
And then impress her.
[Current Stats:]
Strength: 13
Intelligence: 19
Stamina: 11
Charisma: 12
Luck: 0 (Progress: 5/10)
[Talent Fragments:]
Astrophysics – 12%
Cooking – 1%
Emotional Insight – Basic
Streetwise – Basic
Negotiation – 7%
Intimidation – 4%
Advanced Engineering (3%)
Urban Combat (4%)
Lie Detection Resistance – 6%
Prototype Design (5%)
Miniaturized Tech Design (8%)
Strategic Thinking (8%)
Reflex Engineering (6%)
Bioengineering (6%)
Biochemical Weaponry (6%)
Reflex Engineering (6%)