With MUSIC to break into Marvel

"You actually placed the item near the police station, that's indeed a good idea!"

Seeing Mindy pointing at a vending machine and saying the item was there, Clark couldn't help but recall a scene from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." However, after looking around, he still gave Mindy a thumbs up, praising her idea.

Approaching the vending machine, Clark looked through the glass, scanning the shelves for something resembling a USB drive, but found nothing.

He wondered if someone else had taken the USB drive. Looking towards Mindy... where was Mindy?

"Damn, the USB drive is gone!"

Following the sound, he saw Mindy hiding behind the vending machine, searching for something on the ground.

Hesitating for a moment, Clark couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you put the item inside the vending machine?"

Mindy looked up, annoyed, "If anyone could just put things inside a vending machine, then its contents would've been stolen by homeless people long ago!"

Shaking his head, Clark became more vigilant, looking around. Irrelevant people wouldn't go through so much effort for a USB drive without knowing its purpose, so it must have been taken by someone from the Hand or someone else.

If it was taken by someone from the Hand, then the drive was definitely gone. If it was someone else, they might still be nearby!

Indeed, as Clark looked around, he saw a black man in a black trench coat walking towards them. With his attire and skin color, he would blend perfectly into the night, becoming nearly invisible unless he spoke. Taking a closer look at the man's attire and features, Clark involuntarily blurted out a Chinese word: "Lǔdàn?" (Marinated Egg?)

Received +2333 impression points from Nick Fury!

It was indeed him!

"Nicknaming people upon first meeting isn't the style of your so-called 'land of etiquette,'" Fury said with a dark face, reminding them, "I understand your language."

Clark chuckled awkwardly, then swiftly changed the subject, "Did you take the USB drive?"

Fury didn't deny it and even took out two USB drives from his coat pocket, handing them to Clark. While Clark looked on puzzled, Fury explained, "One of these was left by Officer Marcus. I doubt he found much, but the other is a gesture of goodwill from me, containing a lot of secret information about the Hand."

Clark was startled, "Why would you help us?"

Although getting firsthand internal data was a good thing, Clark didn't want to be used by others.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. itself wanted to strike against the Hand but wanted to use them for this dangerous task, Clark would need to negotiate terms with them.

Fury scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, I'm not helping you. Frank Castle was one of my closest comrades in arms. I'm doing this for him."

He paused, then added, "Due to my current job, I can't directly intervene. Providing this information is the most I can do."

With that, Fury turned and walked into a parked black sedan, then drove away.

Turning his gaze back, Clark noticed Mindy staring at a poster on the wall near the vending machine. Following her gaze, he saw a photo of Marcus in his police uniform, highlighting his commendable deeds over the years.

Patting Mindy's shoulder, Clark suddenly noticed another poster beside Marcus's. It wasn't Mindy's father Damon, but a photo of a kindly old man with white hair.

Received impression points from the cosmic will, unlocking the new system feature "Free Play"! Free Play:

The host can choose to play any piece of music from your memory, not only for personal enjoyment but also to share the charm of music with others. However, playing music other than the activated BGMs does not provide any auxiliary effects.

The cosmic will!

It's the cosmic will again!

As Clark pondered this, the scene before him suddenly blurred. The mysterious poster with the white-haired old man disappeared, leaving only Marcus's poster on the wall beside the vending machine.

Does it always have to be this mystical?

Although the newly awakened feature seemed rather useless, Clark had a hunch about the true nature of the so-called cosmic will.

...

December 23rd, New York City experienced heavy snowfall.

People dressed in uniform black suits attended Marcus's funeral.

The attendees were primarily Marcus's colleagues from the police department, with non-police individuals like Clark and Mindy making up a very small part, standing out as somewhat unusual.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, silently bidding farewell to this man who had helped them immensely, Clark walked home in silence.

The soft crunch of footsteps on snow seemed to be the only sound in the world, the city's noise filtered out from Clark's ears, leaving a profound silence and solitude.

Mindy, understandingly, followed closely behind Clark, silent, adjusting her pace to match Clark's swift strides.

The two walked in silence, like unrelated passersby coincidentally sharing the same path.

Turning down another street, Mindy suddenly stopped, breaking their silent understanding.

Pausing, Clark asked without turning, "Tired of walking?"

Though Clark couldn't see her, Mindy shook her head, "I'm wondering where I should go next."

Clark responded, "You need a guardian."

Mindy's eyes lit up, and she immediately suggested, "How about you become my guardian?"

Before Clark could respond, she quickly added, "I have three million dollars. I can give it all to you to cover my living expenses. Plus, I can take care of myself and won't cause any trouble."

Being a superhero could indeed be lucrative if done right.

Like Mindy and her father, targeting drug offenders and doing good while also redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor.

Robbing drug dealers to alleviate their own poverty.

Very few "perfect heroes" like Spider-Man worry about living expenses.

Three million dollars was a considerable sum in 1998 America. However, Clark only smiled lightly at the mention, "Keep your three million to buy candy. My monthly royalties are more than three times that amount."

Mindy's face fell at his response, "Is that not okay?"

At that moment, Clark turned around, walked over to her, ruffled her hair, and said with a smile, "What are you thinking about?"

"Let's go home!"