GUARDIAN OF THE MARVEL REALM

Coulson knew this situation was bad.

It wasn't his first time dealing with people who had special abilities, but he had never encountered someone who could read minds so effortlessly.

Still, his training as an agent kicked in immediately—he emptied his thoughts of classified information, focusing only on neutral subjects.

"I can only read surface thoughts, not your true heart."

"Oh… that's so reassuring," Coulson muttered sarcastically. He wasn't sure which was worse—that his thoughts were being read or that the guy could casually clarify how it worked.

But the mission had to continue. He had already classified these two as high-priority individuals.

"Gentlemen, I'm from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division—"

"Phil Coulson, right?" Shen He interrupted, his mind racing. "I know who you guys are."

Coulson blinked. They knew about S.H.I.E.L.D.? That wasn't standard.

"I wasn't planning to make contact with you guys so soon, but since we've crossed paths, let's cut to the chase—I need two legal identities."

"Sir, that would be illegal," Coulson replied with a professional smile. "If you're here undocumented, I'm sure we can assist with the proper immigration process."

Shen He raised an eyebrow. "Alright, if you're not willing to help, I'll find someone else. Qi Mu, let's go."

Without hesitation, Saiki Kusuo placed a hand on Shen He's shoulder, ready to teleport.

"Wait." Coulson's mouth twitched. "Actually… I just remembered that we do have some jurisdiction over immigration matters. Perhaps we could help."

With the teleportation ability they had just demonstrated, letting them walk away wasn't an option. Coulson didn't dare order his snipers to fire at unknown variables of this caliber. Besides, they clearly knew about S.H.I.E.L.D., which meant they might know more.

S.H.I.E.L.D. operated in secrecy. Mutants and enhanced individuals didn't typically know about them—so how did these two?

"Don't worry so much." Shen He casually patted Coulson's shoulder as if they were old friends. "Let me formally introduce myself—I'm Shen He, a Lord from Chaldea. My ancestral home is China. This is my Servant, Saiki Kusuo."

"Chaldea?"

Coulson searched his memory, but the name meant nothing to him. Was it an organization? A place?

Still, these two weren't acting hostile. If they were this cooperative, it was best to gather more intel first.

"Would you be open to visiting our headquarters?"

"Maybe next time."

Shen He refused without hesitation.

No matter how confident he was, he wasn't dumb enough to walk into someone else's base on day one.

His eyes drifted toward the dungeon system interface.

"We have more important matters to handle. But if you need to find me, just monitor the bench where I first appeared. I'll meet you there next time."

With that, he pressed the button on the dungeon interface.

Dungeon Activation

In an instant, both Shen He and Saiki Kusuo shattered into tiny fragments and disappeared.

Coulson stared, stunned.

"…What?"

No teleportation light, no energy signal, no portal—just shattering into bits and vanishing.

"HQ, this is Coulson. We have a situation."

Minutes later, a cloaked Quinjet descended from the sky. Agents poured out, deploying advanced scanning equipment and setting up a perimeter. Coulson headed back to headquarters, processing the event.

Who was Chaldea?

What were they after?

And why did he have the distinct feeling that his career as an agent was about to get a lot more complicated?

---

Inside the Dungeon

Shen He was not feeling great.

This system's teleportation sucked. It was like being strapped to a roller coaster with nonstop 360-degree spins.

Compared to Saiki Kusuo's teleportation, this was downright garbage.

"Is this the dungeon?" Saiki Kusuo's voice echoed in his mind.

Forcing down the nausea, Shen He looked around.

The scenery was breathtaking yet ominous—light blue walls stretched endlessly, forming an intricate labyrinth that looked both medieval and otherworldly. Forking paths, towering walls, crumbling stone bridges…

It felt real.

Shen He pressed his hand against a wall. The cold stone texture was damp, covered in moss. The air was thick with dust.

"This… this isn't just a simulation," he muttered.

Grrr…

A growl echoed.

A goblin-like creature with the head of a dog emerged from the shadows.

Shen He jumped back. "What the hell is that?!"

The monster lunged—

WHAM!

Saiki Kusuo kicked it mid-air.

The creature slammed into the wall and disintegrated into black dust.

At the same time, a gentle energy flowed into Shen He's body.

"No corpse left behind… This really is like a game," Saiki Kusuo remarked.

He bent down and picked up a small, glowing gem from where the creature had disappeared.

"Wait." Shen He swallowed. "If the system is following that kind of logic, then we might be in trouble."

More growls.

More monsters.

All around them, dog-headed creatures emerged from the walls, the ground, even the ceiling.

Shen He quickly pulled up his summoning interface.

There was only one thing displayed: Dungeon—Time Remaining: 1 Hour.

"We have to survive for an hour," he muttered.

He extended his hand, summoning a weapon—a sleek, black pistol with glowing blue runes.

Weapon: Dominator

Origin: Psycho-Pass

Evaluation: Looks cool, mostly useless.

"…Wait, mostly useless?"

Still, it was a ranged weapon, and that was better than nothing.

"They're coming!"

Shen He aimed and fired.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots. Three misses.

"…Oh."

"You just stand back," Saiki Kusuo deadpanned.

He stepped in front of Shen He and effortlessly kicked away three more monsters.

A small, rare smile appeared on his face.

Shen He froze. "Wait. Did you just smile?!"

He dramatically clutched his chest. "I—I just witnessed the legendary 'Smile of Saiki Kusuo'?! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event!"

Of course, he was mostly exaggerating… to cover up his embarrassment.

He had never even held a gun before. This thing was way harder to aim than he expected.

But still…

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Saiki Kusuo said nothing, but his small smile lingered.

For the first time in a long time…

This wasn't so bad.