Hearing the Clairvoyant's voice, Po glanced over at Raina.
"She's here," he said, "Understood."
He removed the communicator, then looked at Raina and said, "The Clairvoyant wants to speak with you."
Raina's face lit up with excitement as she took the communicator from Po.
"This is Raina."
"Yes."
"I agree, thank you."
"I'll pass the call back to him."
Po took back the communicator and placed it to his ear, smiling, "It's me."
Suddenly, the communicator emitted a special audio signal, instantly ending Po's life.
Raina glanced at his lifeless body and calmly stepped over it, continuing onward.
…
Meanwhile-
At Charles's base.
Charles looked at Skye, who had just signed the mission contract, and thought with a smile, "The Quake is now ours."
Skye handed the signed contract to Charles Doyle and asked, "How long before I get what I want?"
Charles replied, "Right now, actually."
"But the answer may not be what you're hoping for—are you ready to learn the truth about your past?"
The prospect of finding out immediately brought tears to Skye's eyes. She was stunned by the power of Charles's agency; even Coulson had struggled to uncover her background, yet Charles had everything so quickly.
'Is this really the strength of Konoha, the greatest ninja village?' she thought.
"I've waited so long for this moment, I'll accept whatever the truth is," she said, her voice trembling.
"Please, Charles."
Charles nodded, "Katherine Shane, the SHIELD agent, is not your mother."
Skye was momentarily stunned; she hadn't expected her previous line of investigation to be so far off the mark.
"You were born in a village in Hunan Province, China. Everyone in your village gave their lives to protect you."
In disbelief, Skye whispered, "What?"
"The entire village died because of me?"
Charles nodded.
"Then a SHIELD team arrived and took you from the village," Charles continued.
"Katherine Shane was a member of that SHIELD team."
Skye stood frozen, piecing together Charles's words, which hinted that SHIELD might have been responsible for her village's demise.
Without further explanation, Charles went on, "Your father's name is Calvin Johnson, and your mother's name is Jiaying."
"Your true name is Daisy Johnson."
Hearing this, Skye repeated softly, "Jiaying… Calvin Johnson."
"They're my parents?"
"And my real name is Daisy Johnson."
Tears streamed down Daisy Johnson's face as she asked, "So… are my parents also gone?"
Charles shook her head, "No, they're both still alive."
"In fact, your father has been searching for you all these years."
"However, SHIELD Agent Katherine Shane arranged for you to be in SHIELD's internal foster system."
"That's why you never stayed with a foster family for long; every few months, they would move you again." At that moment, Daisy finally understood.
No wonder she, as an orphan, was constantly returned to the orphanage, only to be sent to a new family, again and again.
As a child, she had hoped for a happy family. She'd always made an effort to please each new set of parents, trying to be cute, well-behaved, and helpful with chores.
Yet, the result was always the same—she was only ever allowed to stay a few months.
She had thought for years that it must have been her fault.
After all, the orphanage workers would say that if only one family sent her back, it might be the family's problem; but if several families rejected her, the problem must lie with her.
However, the truth was neither with the families nor herself—it was SHIELD all along.
Charles continued, "Because of SHIELD's actions, your father could never find a trace of you."
Daisy's feelings toward SHIELD grew conflicted. Coulson had always given her a sense of safety and warmth, yet the SHIELD that Charles described was entirely different.
"But why did they take me?" she asked.
"What special meaning did I have?"
"What about Katherine Shane? What did she know?"
Charles replied, "Unfortunately, Katherine Shane didn't know much, and she's been deceased for quite some time."
"But I know why they needed you."
Skye's voice choked up, "Why?"
Charles explained, "You know you're classified as an 0-8-4, but you don't know the reason for it."
"Your mother, Jiaying, is a superhuman."
"However, her ability isn't what you'd expect. It isn't an offensive power or a precognitive one—it's related to longevity."
"Your mother possesses extraordinary longevity and self-healing abilities. That's her power."
"SHIELD discovered her and took her in for experimentation."
"In the end, they dissected her, drained her organs and blood."
Charles wasn't lying; SHIELD and Hydra were intertwined, and Whitehall, a member of Hydra, held a high-ranking position within SHIELD.
Daisy's eyes widened in shock, "No, that's impossible. SHIELD wouldn't do that—Coulson wouldn't…"
Charles continued, "I know it's hard to accept, but that's the reality. Perhaps in time, you'll get the chance to see the files yourself."
"SHIELD, as a world-renowned intelligence agency, doesn't consist solely of people as gentle as Coulson."
"When it comes to researching superhumans, you should understand—they will do anything, whether dissection, experiments—whatever it takes."
Daisy suddenly looked at Charles, "So, Katherine Shane was also interested in my body…"
Charles shook his head, "Katherine Shane was a conscientious agent. That mission was her first assignment after graduating from SHIELD Academy."
"When she learned of your circumstances, she hid the fact that you survived. She used loopholes in SHIELD's system to create a fake level-8 clearance fostering rotation program."
"While this prevented your father from finding you, it also saved your life, keeping you out of SHIELD's hands."
"So you don't need to hate Katherine Shane, but SHIELD isn't as pure as you once thought."
Now, Daisy finally understood. SHIELD had discovered her mother's abilities, dissected her to understand them, and then sent agents to capture Daisy in her village.
Katherine Shane, out of conscience, had protected her.
Her entire life had been deeply entangled with SHIELD.
And in that moment, any remaining admiration she had for SHIELD vanished.