Doctors used various instruments to scan her body, drawing blood, X-rays, even monitoring brainwaves, ensuring she carried no unknown parasites or viruses.
Those medical staff in protective suits had eyes as cold as if they were handling an object, not a living person.
"That's good." Natasha smiled, her gaze not piercing directly into Alice's eyes, but landing gently on the bandage on her face. "Does it hurt?"
"It's already in the past, it doesn't hurt anymore. When will you let me go home?"
"It's just a routine procedure, very soon."
Natasha maintained the posture of a caring big sister.
"I heard you went through some terrifying things on that island. Can you tell me a little about it? For example, how did you survive?"
Alice bit her lip, appearing to be recalling those terrifying days.
"After the yacht crashed, I was lucky and washed up on the island. There were dinosaurs and huge birds there. I hid in trees, ate wild fruit, and drank rainwater. Many times, I thought I was going to die, but I held on."
A flash of approval crossed Natasha's eyes as she continued to guide her: "A fifteen-year-old girl facing those monsters alone—it sounds very brave. Dr. Stephen Strange and Dr. Banner both said you saved them several times. Especially that pterosaur attack; you used some kind of device to fly up and kill it. What was that? It sounded very advanced."
Alice's heartbeat quickened slightly.
She knew this was the key point.
She couldn't talk about the system, but she needed a reasonable explanation.
"I found it in the pterosaur's nest. There were many bones and some Strange metal objects there; maybe they were left by previous explorers. I didn't know how to use it, but the situation was urgent, so I tried. I didn't expect it to actually be useful."
Natasha smiled but didn't press further.
"I've read the report. Your physical condition was normal during the check, with no abnormalities. Of those monsters, what was the biggest one you saw?"
"A giant gorilla, as tall as a mountain. It killed that lizard-like monster." Alice recalled the appearance of Kong, her eyes filled with a trace of awe. "But it didn't hurt us; it just looked at me once and then left."
The conversation lasted for nearly an hour.
Natasha skillfully circled the topic, from details of survival on the island to witnessing the plane crash, to the interactions with Dr. Stephen Strange and the others.
Her questions seemed casual but were layered, attempting to find any inconsistencies.
Alice handled them carefully, occasionally showing emotional fluctuations, such as her eyes turning red when mentioning her parents.
This made her seem more real.
Finally, Natasha stood up and patted Alice on the shoulder.
"You are very strong, Alice. Rest now; you will be able to go home soon."
When she left, the door clicked and locked again.
Alice let out a long breath; she knew she had passed the test.
But this was also just the beginning.
Twenty-four hours later.
With all physical examination indicators qualified and that stack of confidentiality agreements thick enough to drown a person signed, Alice finally regained her freedom.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was not as difficult as imagined, or rather, she was not yet important enough for them to make a huge fuss.
On the deck, a civilian helicopter was already waiting there.
Before boarding, Alice met her three comrades who had also been released; they all looked refreshed.
"Hey, little Alice."
Dr. Stephen Strange, who had changed into a spare S.H.I.E.L.D. suit—which didn't fit well but at least made him look like a person—walked over.
He finally had a complete pair of shoes on his feet.
"Looking at you, those men in black didn't do anything to you, did they?"
"They gave me some terrible cocoa to drink." Alice answered with a smile, regaining a bit of her lively tone.
"That is indeed torture, the kind that violates the Geneva Convention."
Dr. Stephen Strange made a face, then took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Alice.
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