In the archives, Howard specifically reviewed all abnormal incident reports from the last ten years.
He wanted to find any clues that might be related to Skrulls activity, such as sightings of unidentified individuals, inexplicable technology leaks, or key figures whose behavior patterns had suddenly changed...
But unfortunately, there was nothing.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records were terrifyingly clean; all anomalies had reasonable explanations, and all incidents were handled according to standard procedures.
The Skrulls infiltrating Earth were clearly well-prepared; their operations were professional and covert, leaving no obvious traces.
Howard sat in front of the archive terminal and rubbed his eyes wearily.
He turned off the terminal, leaned back in his chair, and felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
If that Skrull weren't currently being locked up in his own home, he might have suspected that everything that happened yesterday was just an absurd dream.
An alien race perfectly infiltrating Earth, while Earth's top security agency remained completely unaware—this fact was both ironic and terrifying.
"Did you find the information you needed?" a voice suddenly rang out.
Howard was startled again.
He turned his head and saw Fury standing at the archive entrance, holding a folder.
"Yes, although it took me quite a while," Howard said as naturally as he could. "How about you? You look quite busy."
Fury walked in and placed the folder on the table. "A report from the Mexico border. It might be another drug smuggling operation, but some details don't seem right. I plan to go check it out myself."
He looked at Howard's pale complexion and urged him again, "Mr. Stark, you really should go back and rest. You don't look well."
This time, Howard did not object.
He truly felt exhausted, both physically and mentally, under the heavy pressure.
Every minute spent in suspicion and vigilance consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy.
"You're right..." Howard stood up. "I'll head back now."
On the way out of S.H.I.E.L.D., Howard went through layers of security checks again.
This time, he paid special attention to the subtle movements and reactions of every security officer, but still found nothing.
Getting into his car, he sighed heavily, started the engine, and drove toward home.
It was already afternoon when he returned to the Villa.
Maria was reading in the living room; seeing him return, she immediately put down her book and came to greet him.
"How did it go?" she asked with concern.
Howard shook his head and took off his coat. "Nothing. If the Skrulls have really infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., they've done it seamlessly."
Just then, Mavuika walked down from upstairs.
He had changed into comfortable modern casual wear, his long golden-red hair draped casually over his shoulders. He didn't look like a thousand-year-old goddess at all, but rather like an ordinary woman resting at home.
"That's not surprising," he said calmly after hearing Howard's words.
"If they were so easily discovered, it would be underestimating the Skrulls. Having risen in the cruel Universe, their ability to lurk is unquestionable."
The three returned to the living room. Maria brought hot tea for her husband. Howard accepted it gratefully and took a large gulp, feeling his tense nerves relax slightly.
"I am truly at a dead end now," Howard said with a wry smile.
"Facing this copy-paste-like disguise ability, I don't even know where to start investigating. We have no detection means, no identification methods, and we can't even find any suspects."
Mavuika looked at Howard. "Actually, there is a simplest and most direct way."
"What is it?" Howard asked immediately.
"Take me to your Base for a walk," Mavuika said. "If I'm face-to-face, I can see through their disguises."
Howard couldn't help but smile bitterly upon hearing this.
He certainly knew this was the simplest and most effective method, but as a founder, he also understood what kind of organization S.H.I.E.L.D. was.
"Ms. Marvica..." he smiled bitterly. "You know this is impossible. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not an amusement park. I cannot take you in for a tour like visiting a museum. Under what identity? For what reason?"
He stood up and paced in the living room, his cane making a rhythmic tapping sound on the floor.
Furthermore, Mavuika's identity was impossible to explain. To S.H.I.E.L.D., there was no essential difference between Mavuika and the Skrulls.
Both were visitors from beyond the sky, and both possessed powers that transcended human understanding.
If they were to know of Mavuika's existence...
Compared to the Skrulls hiding somewhere unknown, they would likely be more interested in the 'myth' before them.
Once Mavuika's existence was made public, S.H.I.E.L.D., various governments, all intelligence agencies... they would surely try every possible way to contact him, study him, and even attempt to control him.
That would be a more direct chaos than the Skrulls.
Howard had thought of all this, but he didn't say it directly.
The investigation seemed to be at a stalemate.
However, Mavuika didn't seem to care much about it.
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the bright afternoon sunlight outside the window, looking relaxed.
The reason was simple: first, the Skrulls had been infiltrating Earth for some time. If they truly had the goal of immediately threatening Earth's safety, they would have acted long ago. From the current perspective, their plan obviously required long-term infiltration and would not stir up too much trouble in the short term.
Secondly, since the Ancient One had long ago sensed the existence of the Skrulls but chose to let it be, she must have seen the subsequent possibilities through the Time Stone and knew that things would not develop to an unmanageable point.
Therefore, compared to the Skrulls hiding in unknown places, Mavuika was now looking forward more to the motorcycle that Howard had promised to give him.
"Speaking of which, Howard," Mavuika suddenly spoke, his voice steady but carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Do you often come into contact with some research object that possesses immense energy? Or have you spent a long time near some special energy source?"
Howard looked up, somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Mavuika would suddenly ask this. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you are stained with quite a bit of this energy residue," Mavuika explained. "That light is quite conspicuous in the eyes of someone like me."
Hearing this, Maria asked with some concern, "It won't have any effect on his body, will it?"
Mavuika shook his head, a reassuring smile appearing on his face. "That won't happen. It's clear that Howard hasn't directly touched the thing itself, but has only been in the energy field it radiates. This little bit of residual energy won't have any effect on an ordinary person."
At this point, Howard also guessed what Mavuika was referring to.
It was definitely the miraculous object that had always been listed as top secret by S.H.I.E.L.D., codenamed "Hypercube", or by its more widely known name, the "Tesseract".
That azure, perfect cube had been secretly studied by the Allies, and later by S.H.I.E.L.D., ever since it was discovered by Red Skull during World War II.