On a dark and windy night, inside a secluded manor.
The master bedroom door slowly opened, and a figure swaggered in.
He was wearing a thick floral padded jacket, death-barbie-pink shorts, and a pair of shit-yellow Crocs.
This outfit couldn't be described as particularly ugly; it was uniquely ugly.
The most striking feature was the large yellow dog-head mask he wore, its mischievous expression conveying a strange sense of mockery.
The dog-headed man walked directly to the desk, opened the computer, pulled a USB drive from his pocket, and plugged it in. A progress bar immediately appeared on the screen.
While waiting, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Hello?"
"Daniel, it's Fury. What's your status now?"
"Infiltrated the target location, currently acquiring mission items."
"No one discovered you, right?"
Just as Daniel was about to answer, the master bedroom's bathroom door suddenly clicked open, and a bearded man wrapped in a bathrobe stared at him in horror.
"Damn it! Who are you? How did you get in?!"
"Bodyguards?! Bodyguards! Bo—"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, crisp and clean.
The dog-headed man calmly put away his pistol and said into the phone, "Don't worry, no one will find out."
"..."
Fury was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line, his voice dropping, "After the mission, return to Headquarters."
"Okay!"
Daniel hung up the phone, and the loading bar on the computer screen also finished. He deftly pulled out the USB drive.
The next moment, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
"Daily Mission 'Steal Important Intelligence' settlement complete!"
"Rewards: Experience +500, S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation +10, C4 Explosive * 1"
"Tsk, just this garbage reward again."
Daniel pouted, his gaze sweeping over the corpse on the ground. He couldn't help but exclaim, "But this game is truly amazing. Look at the death feedback of this NPC; it's just like the real thing. I wouldn't believe the game designer hasn't killed anyone."
In fact, he was immersed in a holographic virtual game called "Marvel World."
In 2065, holographic virtual game technology was already widespread, allowing players to experience a virtual World that was almost 100% real.
As a veteran player with millions of followers, Daniel had completed countless games and had a small reputation in the international gaming community.
Two months ago, a gaming company under Marvel approached him, inviting him to test this new game, touted as having "unprecedentedly high freedom," and promised a ten-million-dollar bonus if he completed it in one go.
To be honest, Daniel didn't know much about Marvel.
After all, in his era, Marvel stories had gone through countless updates and generations, and the original characters had long since disappeared.
The hottest superhero at the moment was Iron Man VII, named Iron Black Heart, a Black single mother with gender identity disorder, severe alcoholism, morbid obesity, multiple sex changes, three divorces, and five children.
She formed a family with Captain America VIII, who was gay, a vegetarian animal and environmental activist, a pioneer of the feminist movement, a Catholic, and one-eighth Native American, and they constantly shouted "family."
This kind of politically correct, buffed-up superhero combination was only enjoyed on the other side of the ocean; Daniel simply had no interest.
That being said, Daniel still signed the agreement without a second thought and lay down in the top-tier virtual game pod provided by the company that very day.
He couldn't help it.
They offered too much!
At the beginning of the game, the system offered several identity options: HYDRA Spy, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Stark Industries Employee, Hell's Kitchen Resident, Midtown High School Student.
Daniel randomly clicked an option and began the game.
After two months of playing, Daniel had to admit that the game's freedom was indeed absurdly high.
There was no Newbie tutorial, no guidance whatsoever; all operations and plot developments relied on the player's own exploration.
The most absurd thing was that after so many days, he hadn't even seen a hint of a main quest!
If the game system hadn't repeatedly guaranteed a main quest, Daniel would have suspected he was playing a spy simulation game.
"Speaking of which, this game doesn't seem to have an exit game button," Daniel wondered.
The system's voice chimed in at the right moment:
"We apologize, a small issue occurred at the start of the game, causing a system bug. We are currently working hard to fix it."
"So I won't be in any danger, right?"
Daniel's heart skipped a beat.
"Please rest assured, the game virtual pod monitors the player's vital signs 24 hours a day. Any abnormality will trigger an immediate forced awakening."
"Additional note: The time flow ratio between the game and reality is 362:1. The top-tier virtual pod and highly efficient nutrient solution you are using can ensure stable basic metabolism for over ten years. There is no need to worry about time or safety issues."
"If the player insists on exiting the game, they can do so at any time, but will permanently lose the qualification for the one-time completion bonus."
"Does the player wish to exit the game?"
"No!"
Daniel decisively refused.
Are you kidding? He would absolutely not exit the game until he completed it and got the ten-million-dollar bonus!
Just then, dense and hurried footsteps came from outside the door, clearly the gunshot had alerted the manor's bodyguards.
Daniel dismissed his lingering doubts, quickly pulled up the game map, and locked onto the "S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters" coordinates.
Click, teleport!
By the time the bodyguards arrived, there was only a cold corpse in the master bedroom and a beeping C4 explosive.
"Holy sh*t!"
Boom!!!
Triskelion, Director's office.
At this moment, Fury sat behind a large desk, reviewing a thick stack of documents.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. budget transfer report?"
A voice suddenly spoke.
Fury sharply looked up and saw a large yellow dog head peering at the documents.
Daniel: (乛 乛)
"Motherf*cker!"
Fury shivered, instinctively shouting.
But he quickly recognized the person and said with a dark face, "Daniel! How many times have I told you! At Headquarters, dress normally, at least like a human!"
Daniel immediately became unhappy, "This outfit is clearly very cool, and it's quite strong too."
Fury's mouth twitched.
Did you leave your sense of aesthetics in the embryo when you were born?
He was about to explode when Daniel suddenly pointed at a spot on the document.
"Speaking of which, Director, this report seems off. How come there are several large, unaccounted-for expenditures? Could it be that someone in the agency is secretly embezzling public funds?"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Fury suddenly coughed violently a few times, slammed the document shut, and stuffed it into a drawer, saying sternly, "This is top secret, and I am personally handling it. It's not something a Level 5 Agent like you should inquire about."
"Oh."
Fury maintained a stern face and forcefully changed the subject, "I have an important mission for you now."
With that, he took out a file from another drawer and pushed it in front of Daniel.
On the first page of the file was a photo of a flashy mustachioed man, with his name and identity below.
Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries.
"Three months ago, Tony Stark was attacked by unidentified armed militants in the Middle East. His whereabouts and condition are still unknown."
"I need you to immediately depart for Afghanistan to ascertain Tony Stark's whereabouts. If he is still alive, bring him back safely."
As Fury's words fell, the system's voice simultaneously rang out.
"NPC Fury has issued you a new mission."
"Mission: The Birth of Iron Man."
"Objective: Go to the Middle East to find Tony Stark and bring him back safely."
"Player has triggered a main story mission! Upon completion, the player will receive generous rewards!"
Main mission!?
Daniel's eyes widened excitedly.
It's here!
His long-awaited main mission had finally arrived!
"Iron Man? Sounds like a superhero title. Is he an important character?" Daniel guessed.
Although he knew very little about Marvel, he knew it was a superhero comic company, and its core was naturally focused on superheroes.
However, Daniel hadn't heard of any superheroes since he started playing, let alone seen one.
It was Fury in front of him who had a bit of that superhero vibe.
What was his hero title then?
One-Eyed Man?
Or Motherf*cker Man?
"Daniel! Are you even listening?!"
Fury looked at the dazed Daniel, feeling his blood pressure rising.
Daniel snapped back, "Officer, what did you just say?"
"I said..."
"Never mind, it's not important. Skip the cutscene!"
Fury: 😡😡😡