At this moment, Brother Blackfly possessed him.

Let’s set aside Jos’s heart, which had nearly been twisted out of shape by the system; he had far more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. The person he’d transmigrated into was no ordinary man, but a S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit still in training. And today, he was required to participate in the so-called quarterly assessment—those who passed would officially enter S.H.I.E.L.D., while those who failed would be reassigned to the military as ordinary soldiers.

That explained why Jos had spent the past two weeks desperately completing system tasks. Unfortunately, the abilities granted by the system were practically useless, which left him feeling quite hopeless.

Truthfully, Jos didn’t much want to stay in S.H.I.E.L.D. at all. After all, according to the plot, there were just as many Hydra agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. as there were undercover operatives in the Men in Black; you could throw a stone into a crowd and hit two Hydras. Under circumstances like these, no matter how hard Nick “Gin” Fury worked to manage the organization, it was only a matter of time before S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed from within.

But in this matter, Jos really didn’t have much say. “I must admit, this system’s mission style is exactly as unreliable as I expected,” Jos sighed, his gaze drifting once more to the system panel.

[S.H.I.E.L.D. is about to collapse! Nick Fury is escaping with his sister-in-law! So, of course, you must become a proud member of S.H.I.E.L.D.!]

[Mission Objective: Successfully pass the quarterly assessment and become an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.]

[Success Reward: Acquire a randomly selected ability or item of at least SR rank.]

[Failure Penalty: Guess what~]

[Side Mission: Dazzle everyone in the S.H.I.E.L.D. quarterly assessment—the higher your risk level, the richer your reward.]

[Current Risk Level: 0]

“Other people’s systems do everything to help their hosts grow, so why does mine seem hell-bent on getting me killed???”

The reason Jos cared about this mission was not because he still had any expectations for this dreadful system, but because he had absolutely no desire to experience whatever bizarre penalty failure would bring. The rewards were already this ridiculous—who could guarantee the punishments wouldn’t be even worse?

He could imagine things like erasure or permanent system departure—if that really happened, Jos would be so happy he’d never sleep again. But given the system’s temperament, the punishment was more likely to be something like “transform into a magical girl who always encounters tentacle monsters”—which sounded fun for a moment… No, not at all—he’d have nowhere to cry!

“Even though I have no motivation, it seems I have no choice but to try my best…” Under the system’s coercion, Jos made a declaration that was anything but heroic.

…

The quarterly assessment was scheduled to begin precisely at ten in the morning. Since being late meant instant disqualification, most people had arrived more than half an hour early.

But relying on his mighty Time Lord ability, Jos strolled in with just one minute to spare, stepping into the testing hall right on the dot.

Time Lord, indeed a worthy title!

The testing venue was inside a building much like a sports stadium, lacking the mysterious and impressive aura one might expect from S.H.I.E.L.D. But Jos wasn’t surprised—after all, they weren’t yet official agents, so it was natural they wouldn’t be allowed access to the real headquarters.

“Didn’t expect so many people,” he remarked.

Because Jos arrived at the last possible moment, nearly everyone else was already there.

“Just judging by appearances, ninety-five percent of them are probably ordinary people,” Jos thought. Contrary to his expectations of a gathering of monsters and mutants, most of the new recruits looked entirely unremarkable.

Of course, looks could be deceiving. Jos’s memories told him that at least a dozen of his fellow recruits had some special qualities. Special, in this context, didn’t necessarily mean superpowers—it could mean someone like Hawkeye, who excelled in a particular skill, or someone like Iron Man, who had developed unique equipment.

Naturally, there were also a few with genuine superhuman abilities—mutants and the like.

“Well, well, Jos! You actually showed up? I thought you’d chicken out for sure, always so hopeless,” came a voice thick with mockery from beside him as he waited in line.

Jos turned to see a tall white teenager, his handsome face framed by clean, neat hair, his broad-shouldered build exuding the aura of a high school football team captain.

Rummaging through his memories, Jos recalled the name—Jason—a fellow recruit from his batch.

Unlike Jos, who was scraping the bottom of the barrel, Jason was a star among the new recruits, ranking in the top ten. He was a mutant with enhanced physical abilities, making him a powerhouse in direct combat and the perfect candidate for assault missions. Aside from being somewhat arrogant, he was nearly flawless—one of the few in this group with the potential to become a true superhero.

“What’s the matter? So scared you can’t even speak?” Jason sneered again when Jos didn’t respond. “I told you losers ages ago—you should quit the training team early and stop being an eyesore.”

Normally, Jos would have just ignored such provocation to avoid escalating the conflict. But after a moment’s thought, he stretched his neck toward Jason, grinned, and made a face that was the very picture of mischief.

“Eat shit, you!”

He figured, if he was going to provoke someone, why beat around the bush? Direct insults were so much more satisfying!

Though Jason couldn’t understand the words, the look on Jos’s face and the tone left no doubt—the mockery was palpable.

Instantly, hot-tempered Jason exploded, ready to fight Jos right then and there. But this was the testing hall, and while the examiners could ignore their bickering, they would never let them actually come to blows. A soft cough from the side was enough to make even Jason restrain himself.

Still, the veins bulging on Jason’s forehead and arms showed his anger was at its peak. He growled, making no effort to hide his fury, “Jos, you little bastard, after today’s test I’m going to kill you!”

[Congratulations, Host! Risk Level increased by 2 points. Current Risk Level: 2.]

“So… picking a fight with a top ten recruit only gives me two points… What exactly does this system want from me? Am I supposed to grope Black Widow in front of everyone or something???”