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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Fifty-Four: Silent Ridge
In a sense, Coulson's words were close to the truth; however, Bai Luo did not disappear for twenty years due to serious injuries, but rather because he had become trapped in Sadako's memories.
It wasn't difficult for S.H.I.E.L.D. to guess this layer of the situation. After all, it was a vast organization, and they had even arranged Bai Luo's flight. Perhaps it was also because of the previous incident that they dared not let Bai Luo take a regular commercial flight this time; instead, they provided him with a private aircraft to take him to Afghanistan.
Bai Luo said, "That speculation is pretty much on point."
Coulson merely smiled at this and did not delve deeper into the topic. He simply stated, "Regardless, it's certainly a good thing that you are back. The world has not been peaceful lately—mutants and other entities from beyond the stars are emerging. This world needs you."
Bai Luo rubbed his nose and replied, "When did I become so important? Are you buttering me up now just to send me off to face trouble later?"
Coulson chuckled a couple of times but refrained from responding to Bai Luo's remark. Instead, he said, "By the way, the Director asked me to tell you that we found Steve Rogers—he thinks you might be interested in him."
Bai Luo responded, "Actually, I'm more interested in the Cosmic Cube that was found alongside him."
Coulson could only manage a dry laugh in response.
Bai Luo did not pursue any further aggressive remarks; Coulson was a good guy, and anyone else would have been merciless with their banter.
Moreover, at that moment, Bai Luo's mind was entirely focused on the documents before him.
Coulson understood this and led Bai Luo into a private office where the files were laid out on the only table in the stark room.
"Mr. Bai," Coulson said, "you can only look at these here. I'm sorry—our enemies are everywhere."
The enemies he referred to were naturally Hydra. In fact, Nick Fury had long realized that there were numerous Hydra spies within S.H.I.E.L.D. even before the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier unfolded. However, conducting a thorough investigation within S.H.I.E.L.D. involved too many complications for him to take action.
Bai Luo could certainly understand. With a slight nod, he sat down at the table and opened the file.
There wasn't much information from S.H.I.E.L.D., and what was recorded wasn't about Bai Chu, but rather the Kansas Incident. The Kansas Incident was distinct from the Kansas City Battle, occurring eleven years after Bai Luo's encounter with Kill and the Reincarnator. Witnesses reported seeing a spaceship descend in a town called Silent Ridge in Kansas, where many mutants were involved for various reasons.
Upon seeing the name Silent Ridge, Bai Luo couldn't help but curse inwardly, realizing the gravity of the situation.
In the file, Bai Chu was one of those many mutants. Her reason for heading to Silent Ridge was simple: it was a mysterious town that emerged after the Kansas City battle. According to local rumors, that place was linked to ghosts, and since Bai Chu had experienced Mizumura Memeko's Ghost Call alongside Bai Luo, it was likely that her interest in the haunting there was connected to him, prompting her to rush over.
The file meticulously investigated each individual's motive for going to Silent Ridge. A diligent agent provided detailed analyses of their motivations, yet the specifics of the Kansas battle remained vague. It merely mentioned that the battle erupted near Silent Ridge amidst thick fog, with farmers close to cornfields witnessing what appeared to be a spaceship descending through the mist, followed by explosions and tremors accompanied by deafening roars. Then...
Silent Ridge and those mutants vanished, leaving behind a massive crater. The U.S. government spent nearly six months filling it in. Data from satellites over Kansas indicated that before Silent Ridge disappeared, a large invisible object ascended into space—likely the same spaceship that had landed earlier.
Additionally, there were several blurry images captured from a distance. Bai Luo scrutinized them but found no useful information. At the end of the file, however, the summarizing agent had written his analysis.
According to this agent's speculation, something within Silent Ridge must have attracted that spaceship from space. The giant crater was likely left from a battle between them. As for the mutants, they probably played a crucial role and were all taken off Earth by the spaceship after the battle since no human remains or even fragments were found in the crater—indicating that all humans from Silent Ridge were most likely taken away.
Bai Luo had hoped to glean some useful information from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files because he could usually connect with those who had fallen from space in the Marvel Universe during the 1990s. However, he never expected that after reading the file, he would feel even more bewildered than before.
Silent Ridge had come up; how could he not be confused?
Moreover, most critically, Silent Ridge was tied to spaceships!
Once again, Bai Luo felt an overwhelming sense of malice from this world.
He let out a long breath, placed the file back on the table, and stood up.
The guilt within him weighed even heavier.
He at least had heard of Silent Ridge and what kind of place it was, but Bai Chu—she knew nothing about it yet plunged in headfirst, simply because he, Bai Luo, might be there.
That was his family.
In this strange world he had traversed to, the only true family he had.
At that moment, Sadako seemed to sense something unusual in Bai Luoxin and couldn't help but say, "Trust me, she will be fine, Bai Luo."
Sadako's tone this time was surprisingly gentle. It seemed she was using her own abilities, and the anxious heart of Bai Luo was gradually soothed by a soft and gentle mental force.
He let out a long breath and smiled wryly, "Is this what they call being a burden to my sister?"
Sadako didn't know what "being a burden to my sister" meant, but she understood the essence of Bai Luo's words. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "If she didn't truly care about you, you wouldn't have sent her to Charles' School for Gifted Youngsters first, would you? Caring for each other... perhaps that's how it is... You should feel happy about this; your sister sees you as something more important than herself... No one has ever cared for me like that."
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