GUARDIAN OF THE MARVEL REALM

Qimu Nanxiong remained silent.

No one had ever said something like that to him before.

But that wasn't surprising. As the protagonist of a gag manga, normal people rarely surrounded him. And beyond that, he had spent his life meticulously hiding his psychic powers.

"It's ready. Give it a taste."

Shen He placed a cup of coffee pudding in front of him, grinning. "There's even quick-chill tech here. Should be pretty good."

Qimu Nanxiong snapped out of his thoughts, took the cup under Shen He's expectant gaze, and took a spoonful.

…

His eyes widened slightly.

"It's delicious. Better than the 2,950-yen coffee pudding."

"Uh."

Shen He glanced at the premium ingredients scattered across the counter—top-tier, world-class materials.

Forget it. As long as it tastes good.

"I'll pack some for you to take back." Shen He turned back to the counter, adding casually, "Oh, by the way, the dungeon refreshes every night at 1 AM. Since you still have school, the timing is up to you. Also, unless it's an emergency, I'll give you a heads-up before summoning you. Wouldn't want you vanishing in front of a crowd…"

His words were thoughtful, entirely considering Qimu Nanxiong's situation.

Shen He was already settling into his role as the Master.

"No problem."

Finally, with a bag full of coffee pudding in hand, Qimu Nanxiong followed the mental instructions to teleport back.

Shen He's system interface displayed a confirmation prompt. He waved his hand, approving the return.

The kitchen fell silent.

Such a big house. Yet empty.

"Jarvis." Shen He headed to his room.

"Guest, do you have any instructions?"

The voice of the AI butler, Jarvis, echoed through the space.

Being Tony Stark's residence, the house was far more than just a luxury home—it was packed with hidden high-tech systems. Jarvis monitored everything, ensuring nothing went unnoticed. That was precisely why Tony had no reservations about letting Shen He stay.

"I need to search for something online. Can you assist me?"

"Of course, guest."

Shen He's eyes flickered slightly.

First, he needed to determine exactly which Marvel universe this was.

A key feature of Marvel, in his original world, was its vast multiverse—movies, comics, and animated series all had different plotlines and sometimes entirely different world-building.

Based on everything he had seen and heard so far, this seemed most likely to be the movie universe.

---

Elsewhere in the World…

Shen He's appearance had already started a ripple effect.

A heavily armed SWAT team stormed Brooklyn's most notorious crime hub. The Skeleton Gang, already crippled from previous events, was not the only target—other gangs found themselves under relentless assault as well.

For all their bravado, these criminals were nothing compared to a fully equipped black-ops task force.

The intense gunfight lasted only half an hour before a suited field agent approached Coulson outside the crime scene.

"Sir, the Skeleton Gang's leader is dead—cyanide suicide. No useful intel recovered."

"One step too late again…" Coulson's expression darkened.

Hydra.

Captain America's nemesis. The very name carried a reputation for being ruthless, fanatical, and impossibly elusive.

"From what we gathered from the younger captives, their weapons may have been supplied by Brooklyn's police chief."

"The police chief?"

Coulson's eyes narrowed, but his mind worked quickly.

"Forget the search warrant. Bring him in."

The agent hesitated. "Sir… we just received word. The police chief is also dead. Suicide—cyanide."

"...They're cutting off loose ends without hesitation." Coulson exhaled sharply. "Fine. Wrap it up and let the SWAT team take credit."

By the time Coulson reported back to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Fury was already aware of the situation.

"Director, your thoughts?"

Fury sat motionless in his chair, his face unreadable. But Coulson, who had worked under him for years, knew better. This was anger. A cold, simmering rage.

"Brutal. Clean. No loose ends. This reeks of Hydra," Coulson admitted. "But we can't rule out other groups mimicking their tactics… or even the possibility that Shen He orchestrated all of this himself."

"Self-orchestrated?" Fury scoffed.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a file onto the table. "We interrogated the Hydra agent we captured. Used Veritaserum. Take a guess at what we found?"

Coulson opened the file.

His blood ran cold.

The captured Hydra agent…

Was a Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Silence filled the room.

Fury's tone was sharp. "So tell me, Coulson. Are we running a spy agency? Or are we running a goddamn day-care center for double agents?"

Coulson flipped through the pages, scanning the details. The agent had been raised in a Hydra-controlled facility from childhood, before successfully infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.

And yet, according to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own records, his background did not show any discrepancies.

This meant one of two things:

1. Hydra's cover-up was so airtight that even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vetting system couldn't detect the deception.

2. There was another Hydra operative embedded deep within S.H.I.E.L.D.

One with enough influence to manipulate official records.

"I'll take a Veritaserum test immediately," Coulson said without hesitation.

He understood the implication of this—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s credibility had been shattered.

Fury's single eye locked onto him for an unnerving amount of time.

Then, slowly, he exhaled.

"No. If I can't trust you, I can't trust anyone."

His fingers drummed against the desk. "For now, keep this under wraps."

Coulson nodded. "...Understood. You're planning something, aren't you?"

Fury leaned back. "We never officially interrogated the Hydra agent. As far as S.H.I.E.L.D. is concerned, we don't know about the mole. We only have suspicions. We need time—to investigate quietly."

He rapped his knuckles against the desk. "As for those two from Chaldea—they aren't Hydra. If they were, they wouldn't need to expose themselves like this. But that means we need to move forward with our contingency plan."

---

Back at the Stark Villa…

Four days had passed.

Shen He spent his time living the life of a salted fish.

Grinding dungeons.

Enjoying the luxuries of Tony's billionaire lifestyle.

But leveling had become exponentially harder. After reaching Level 7, grinding through the tenth floor of the dungeon wasn't enough anymore.

Meanwhile, Qi Shen—Shen He's summoned companion—was constantly fed dog food EXP, eventually reaching Level 4.

The issue? Enhancing weapons required mana, and Shen He's daily mana regeneration was only 60 points.

As a result, he had a stockpile of strengthening materials but no mana to actually use them.

Summoning Stones? One per day. He was saving for a ten-pull.

And so, life continued peacefully…

Until the moment Pepper Potts stormed into the villa, visibly furious.