77 A New Mission

When Lilith looked at the set of purple bodysuit and a pair of peculiar steel boots, her expression was still rather composed. But when she fished out a small, triangular piece of iron from the pile, the room instantly turned into a scene straight out of a deadly chase, leaving Little Black, who had just returned from outside, shaking his head in disbelief.

In the end, Jos’s request remained unfulfilled, and he received a beating for no good reason (not really), yet the subtle mood that Lilith had displayed earlier vanished without a trace. Instead, she regained her carefree, heartless demeanor and settled in as if nothing had happened.

…

The Hydra incident had passed for several days now. The people of New York were well accustomed to the routines of reconstruction, and everyone managed to return to work and school, cheerful, by the third morning. The name of Stark Industries was uttered countless times during this period.

Over these days, Jos finally decided to use the rewards he’d earned from defeating Apocalypse and tried his luck. Yet after more than thirty consecutive draws yielding only duplicate abilities, he suddenly obtained a powerful weapon, which made him utterly lose faith in his own luck. The remaining points were left unused for the time being.

You ask what kind of weapon? Here it is:

[Name: Zaraki Kenpachi’s Nameless Bankai]
[Rarity: SSR]
[Effect: Greatly enhances combat strength, while guaranteeing the user’s body will explode.]
[Unlocks set attribute “One Hit Kill” upon obtaining Dead Gate Taijutsu]
[One Hit Kill: After this strike, either you or your enemy—one will definitely die.]

“Well, thank you so much, really!”

The system had leveled up twice already: the first time at a thousand points, the second at ten thousand, and, as Jos had expected, the third upgrade required a hundred thousand points. The two upgrades had brought Jos inexplicably useful perks, and compared to the unstable lottery, he was now inclined to save all his points for upgrades.

Jos had also considered helping Steve look into Bucky’s situation, but since he and the Winter Soldier had never had any contact, poking around without reason would only arouse suspicion.

Even if he could bluff his way through with so-called “Unstable Precognition,” it was still best not to rely on lies. If he got caught, the trouble would be considerable, and it wasn’t worth wasting an opportunity for Steve’s little bit of bromance.

Anyway, those two would meet sooner or later… right? With the current chaos in the plot, Jos honestly couldn’t guarantee anything would unfold as it did in the original.

“Hm? Is it already this late?” Checking the time silently, Jos realized it was already the appointed hour for their meeting. After greeting Lilith, he teleported to the Avengers Center.

Today marked the first gathering of the Avengers since the Hydra turmoil.

Over these days, with Stark’s assistance, Jos had successfully set up several temporary “homes” throughout New York, allowing him to teleport freely as he pleased.

When Jos arrived at the Avengers’ meeting spot, all the members were already present. Though he appeared at the last possible moment, the Avengers had long since grown accustomed to his acute sense of timing, so much so that even Nick Fury was still pondering whether Jos’s exam results should count as cheating.

“Yo, yo, everyone’s here now, look over here, look over here—our meeting is about to begin, yo!”

With a gold chain around his neck, sunglasses on his face, and for some reason now sporting an increasingly hip-hop style, Nick Fury spread his fingers as he bobbed his head and spoke to Jos and the others.

“I feel like you’ve somehow corrupted our director,” Hawkeye cast a sidelong glance at Jos, nodding toward Nick Fury.

Who knows what’s going on—S.H.I.E.L.D. now even has Nick’s fan club, splicing his old speeches into tracks and whatnot; it’s truly baffling.

“Jos, why haven’t you hung out with Steve lately?” Natasha blinked at Jos, her eyes sparkling. Nobody wanted to guess what she was thinking.

Jos recalled something, then decided to erase all memories of the time he casually shared some crispy duck literature with the Black Widow.

Yes, if the Avengers have become so strange, it certainly isn’t my fault.

He glanced at Tony and Steve—thankfully, these two still guarded the last bit of dignity for the Avengers, seemingly normal for now…

“Bucky!!!” Steve suddenly sprang up from his seat.

“I told you we’d deal with it later—sit down for now!” Tony’s well-practiced gesture summoned a mechanical arm that pressed Steve back into his seat.

How naïve I was to believe there were still normal people here.

“Bucky was once his comrade. We’d always believed he’d died, but recently, from Hydra prisoners, we learned some news. Apparently, Bucky was brainwashed and transformed into the Winter Soldier to serve Hydra. Steve has been clamoring to find him these past days,” Natasha explained to Jos, conveniently resolving his earlier dilemma.

“In short, Steve and the rest of us will head to Russia in a few days to search for Bucky. Jos, make sure to do your best then!”

Do my best? For what???

Ignoring the increasingly subtle look from the Black Widow, Jos quickly spoke up, “Director Fury, what exactly is the reason you called us all together today?”

“Yo, bro! That’s a great, great, great question! Today, today, we’re here to discuss expanding the Avengers roster—our new goal!”

Listening to Nick Fury’s ever-smoother rap cadence, Jos and the others soon grasped his intent.

In the recent battle, the Avengers’ lack of manpower and high-level firepower had been exposed. Afterward, Nick Fury took the opportunity to establish a relationship with the X-Men, led by Professor X, but ultimately, they were not his own people.

Under these circumstances, Nick realized that his old slow, one-by-one persuasion approach was no longer sufficient. He had to accelerate the expansion process.

“In summary, I hope each of you will recruit potential heroes to join the Avengers.”

Nick Fury cleared his throat and looked at Jos. “Of course, since Steve and some others will be heading to Russia to handle Bucky, and Tony and I have plenty on our plates, the task of recruiting new members will fall mostly to you.”

“So in the end, you’re just dumping everything on me?!” Jos instantly understood the sinister intent.

But complaints aside, even Jos knew he was the most suitable candidate, apart from Steve. No matter how much he tried to avoid the spotlight, that battle had left a deep impression on many.