As Lucas's gaze grew increasingly dangerous, the Watcher felt a prickling sensation on his back.
Fortunately, he did not sense any killing intent.
Remaining silent, the Watcher tried his best to minimize his presence, hoping Lucas would treat him as an invisible entity.
However, things did not go as he wished, and Lucas still spoke to him. Moreover, he emphasized the word 'late'.
"Watcher, we were late. Mephisto escaped, and the clues are gone. What do you think we should do now?"
The Watcher sighed inwardly.
Although Lucas's words hinted at shifting blame, what could he do?
He couldn't win in a fight, nor could he escape.
"Lord Lucas, Mephisto sealed off his Hell and fled with it. In the vast Multiverse, it's almost impossible to find him again."
"We can only wait for him to resurface. How about we go back first and quietly await news?"
The Watcher suggested, explaining to Lucas.
In the Watcher's opinion, waiting was the best solution.
When Mephisto seals his Hell, it's almost impossible to find him. But Mephisto cannot keep his Hell sealed forever. He will eventually have to open Hell, ferry souls, and acquire energy. Otherwise, he would eventually run at a deficit.
Lucas shook his head, not favoring the Watcher's suggestion.
Given Mephisto's cautious behavior just now, he would surely flee very far before reopening Hell. Over such a long distance, news would be difficult to transmit.
Even if by chance some news did arrive, who knows how many years would have passed?
Lucas now lacked the patience to quietly await the passage of countless years, just for a low-probability event to occur.
Lucas asked, "Watcher, your species is spread throughout the Multiverse. Do you normally share information, and how is it transmitted?"
The Watcher remained silent, contemplating how to refuse Lucas.
On the surface, Lucas was asking about the Watchers' affairs.
In reality, he was asking if he could use the power of his species to help him find Mephisto.
The answer was obvious: no.
In principle, the Watchers do not participate in universal affairs and are absolutely neutral beings. Naturally, he could not take sides, be used by Lucas, and help him find Mephisto.
But he worried that if he answered directly like that, Lucas would beat him up on the spot.
At this point, the art of language was needed.
"Lord Lucas, Watchers usually share the images they record with each other. If Lord Lucas is interested, I can share some of the images I've collected with you."
Just images, no coordinates included.
"Then, Watcher, if you see any images related to Mephisto, could you share a copy with me?"
"No problem."
"Hmm?" Lucas was surprised.
He had only asked casually, yet the Watcher readily agreed.
Could the Watcher really help him find Mephisto?
But this didn't fit the Watchers' set up.
Is he trying to trick me?
Thinking this, Lucas's tone turned unfriendly. "Watcher, are these images of yours problematic?"
Seeing cold sweat seep from the Watcher's forehead, Lucas became even more convinced of his guess.
"Was I too gentle just now, making you think you could deceive me at will?"
The Watcher's body trembled slightly, and he began to regret his cleverness just now.
The Watcher quickly explained, "Lord Lucas, listen to my explanation. The images are absolutely fine, it's just that these images might not be able to help you."
"These images are merely what the Watchers have seen and heard, and do not include specific Universe coordinates. Relying solely on images, it's difficult to pinpoint which Universe and which Planet an event occurred in."
Lucas questioned, "I don't believe you don't know the Universe numbering rules and don't number these Universes."
The Watcher said, "Lord Lucas, not all Universes have numbers. Moreover, a Universe number is not equal to a Universe coordinate. Various Universes and dimensions are constantly in motion, their coordinates are not fixed."
"It's just that usually, this change is very slow, and the deviation is very small in a short time, which can be ignored."
"Is that so?"
Seeing Lucas nod thoughtfully, the Watcher slowly relaxed.
However, Lucas's next sentence made him nervous again.
"If I hadn't asked just now, Watcher, were you not going to say anything? So, were you trying to deliberately mislead me just now?"
Watcher: "..."
Bang!
The Watcher transformed into a streak of light and flew backward into the distance.
"Forget it, I won't bother with you anymore. Let's part ways here."
Shaking his head uninterestingly, Lucas also transformed into a streak of light and left.
Lucas didn't like this Watcher.
It was one thing not to want to help, but he also tried to deceive. Since that was the case, there was naturally no need to waste words with him.
With this time, he might as well go back and think of a way to track down Mephisto himself.
Queens, New York, Lucas's bookstore.
As soon as Lucas returned to the bookstore, brewed himself a pot of tea, and took a couple of sips, someone came knocking.
"Good afternoon, Coulson. Congratulations on your promotion to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Seeing a familiar face, Lucas greeted him politely.
"Please sit, and have a taste."
With that, Lucas poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Coulson.
Coulson thanked him, picked up the teacup, carefully sniffed the aroma, and then slowly savored it with a calm mind.
This was tea personally poured for him by the strongest combatant on Earth, Lucas.
"Excellent tea." Coulson praised with a thumbs-up.
As for what made it excellent, those who knew, knew.
"Then this cup of tea will be my promotion gift to you."
"Uh..."
Coulson laughed wryly.
"That won't be necessary, Lucas. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be disbanded soon."
Lucas was surprised.
On Earth-199999, in the timeline of Captain America 2, because HYDRA infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and completely overturned it, S.H.I.E.L.D. lost public trust worldwide. Therefore, S.H.I.E.L.D. was declared no longer a national agency and formally disbanded.
But on Earth-404, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cleanup of HYDRA was relatively easy this time, and the chaos caused was not significant. It wouldn't lead to its dissolution by the World Security Council.
"Why? Is it because of the HYDRA incident that S.H.I.E.L.D. is falling apart? But I remember your actions were quite swift, and the commotion wasn't that big, was it?"
Coulson shook his head with a bitter smile. "The HYDRA incident was only a small part. More importantly, with the emergence of extraordinary powers, various countries have begun to establish their own extraordinary organizations, taking responsibility for handling supernatural events themselves."
"This led to S.H.I.E.L.D. being stripped of its law enforcement powers within various countries. S.H.I.E.L.D. is already defunct in name."
"I see."
Lucas patted Coulson's shoulder comfortingly and said, "I believe that even outside S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson, you'll find a good job."
Coulson said with a smile, seemingly not at all saddened by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dissolution, "S.H.I.E.L.D. was originally a special product born in a special historical era. If it's disbanded, then so be it."