The next morning, S.H.I.E.L.D. Trident Headquarters.
Inside Fury's office.
Tony Stark looked exhausted, clearly having not slept all night. Dr. Banner sat quietly across from him, recommending the black tea in his hand to Russell, who had just arrived from the New York Sanctum; meanwhile, Lin Huai was resting with his eyes closed.
At the head of the desk, Nick Fury's single eye slowly swept over everyone, finally breaking the silence first: "Alright, everyone, overnight, we've handled two crises. Coulson, brief us on the situation in Monaco first."
Coulson stood up and pulled up a holographic screen, which displayed Ivan Vanko's profile.
"The attacker's identity has been confirmed: Ivan Vanko," Coulson's report was concise and precise. "According to internal historical archives, his father, Anton Vanko, was a former partner of Howard Stark. The records state that Anton Vanko was discovered by Howard attempting to profit from selling core technology and was subsequently deported back to his country under the guise of 'clashing ideologies'."
Hearing this, a flicker of complex emotion crossed Tony's face, but he remained silent.
"As for Hell's Kitchen, all the cultists at the scene have been taken into custody, but they are very tight-lipped; the interrogation has yielded no substantive progress," Coulson continued his report.
"No need to interrogate them," Lin Huai spoke calmly, drawing everyone's attention. "That group of Lunatics are just insignificant pawns. The real trouble is the two who stepped out of the rift yesterday."
He stood up, walked to the holographic screen, pulled up the footage captured by Tony's armor, and froze the frame on the Witch holding the bone staff.
"This lady is a Beyonder from the same source as me. She is very strong. Yesterday, she easily turned corpses into Zombies. If it weren't for the ability of the staff in her hand, she would most likely be a Sequence 6 [Spirit Guide]. If she were any higher, we would all have been finished there yesterday," Lin Huai's tone was heavy.
"[Spirit Guide]?" Captain America heard this term for the first time. "What is that?"
"You can understand it as a career path, a Beyonder of the [Corpse Collector] Pathway, proficient in various spells related to death and souls," Lin Huai explained. "As the name suggests, she can easily awaken corpses to fight for her, and can even bypass the protection of flesh over the soul to drive or even enslave souls."
Russell added: "I cannot understand the 'Sequence' you mentioned, but in Kamar-Taj's records, such power does indeed exist. It is cold, deathly silent, and full of desecration of the laws of life. However, I am more concerned about the other one." His gaze turned to the image of the Wind Demon.
"That primal, sulfur-smelling violent power—I wouldn't mistake it. That is the aura pointing towards the Hell Lord—Black Heart Demon."
Fury's single eye narrowed, "What is their objective?"
"Hell and the [Corpse Collector], I can't think of any purpose other than wanting to harvest souls," Lin Huai pointed out incisively. "Furthermore, she mentioned her 'Lord' and said the [Werewolf] in Harlem was just a 'casual act' by her Lord. This proves that behind the Black Heart Demon and the [Spirit Guide], there stands a high-Level existence—the one in Harlem I once tried to observe with Spirit Vision, which severely injured me in just an instant."
"The time your eyes were injured?" Hearing this, Tony's expression became extremely grim.
"You mean our opponents include Demons from Hell, HYDRA, and an unknown entity that can cause injury just by existing?" Captain America's voice was dry. "How has the World become something I no longer understand?"
"Consultant Lin, can't you perform divination? Can you find out that being's objective?" Fury looked deeply at Lin Huai.
"I cannot directly divine that existence." Lin Huai shook his head, his expression more serious than ever. "With my current Level, doing so would be equivalent to suicide. However, I've basically guessed it, so I just need to confirm it indirectly."
Saying this, he took out his deck of tarot cards from his pocket and spread them into a perfect fan shape on the empty space of the conference table.
Under the curious or solemn gazes of the S.H.I.E.L.D. members, Lin Huai closed his eyes, cleared all distracting thoughts, and focused all his mental energy on one name—Johnny Blaze.
His fingertips glided silently over the backs of the cards, finally stopping on one of them.
Lin Huai pulled out the card and flipped it over decisively.
On the card, a skeletal knight clad in pitch-black armor rode upon a pale skeletal steed, ignoring the kings and priests groveling beneath the horse's hooves as it advanced coldly.
The black banner emblazoned with a mysterious rose fluttered in the wind, as if announcing an inevitable end and the complete rebirth that would follow.
[XIII. God of Death].
The moment the image entered his sight, gray-white mist surged up, and Lin Huai's vision was instantly pulled high, piercing through the veil of reality.
He saw a desolate Western town, saw thousands of wailing souls bound by chains, and saw a flaming Skull.
Lin Huai snapped his eyes open, a flash of realization in his gaze.
He spat out two phrases: "zarathos contract! Johnny Blaze!"
He looked at everyone and explained: "My Lord's revelation tells me that the focus of this battle is an ancient scroll called the 'zarathos contract.' Within that contract are sealed the souls of thousands of wicked saints who were deceived and corrupted by Mephisto!"
"Zarathos..." Coulson immediately searched rapidly on his terminal. "Found it! A legend from over a century ago, related to an urban legend called 'Ghost Rider'!"
"Organize a task force immediately!" Fury made a decisive call. "Coulson, dig up all the information related to 'Ghost Rider' and 'Zarathos'! We must find this contract before they do!"
He switched the search command and continued typing: "Johnny Blaze... matched identity information. Johnny Blaze, United States."
"Look for a motorcyclist, the famous one," Lin Huai waved his hand.
Coulson's brow furrowed as he projected the information onto the holographic screen: "The most famous one is a motorcycle stunt performer, renowned nationwide. His record is clean, except... there are several points of suspicion in his life. He himself has suffered several fatal injuries during his career, but miraculously recovered in an extremely short time without any lingering effects. From public records, he just seems like an ordinary person with incredibly good luck."
Fury's single eye lingered on that seemingly "ordinary" resume for a moment, then he issued an unquestionable command.
"Coulson, act immediately!" His voice was cold as ice. "Dig up all the information related to 'Ghost Rider' and 'Zarathos', whether it's myths and legends or top-secret files! At the same time, immediately establish the highest Level of non-contact surveillance on Johnny Blaze. Consultant Lin, it seems you'll need to make contact."
Just as Fury was about to issue further instructions, Agent Maria Hill walked in quickly, her face pale.
"Officer," her voice was low, but it couldn't hide the shock and frustration within. "Something's happened."
Fury's single eye narrowed sharply.
"We've lost track of Ivan Vanko." Hill's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Right on the quinjet transporting him back to the mainland, he... was rescued."