070. Looking for a Hammer or Seeking a Thrill

As everyone knows, Coulson is an exemplary employee who has devoted his entire life to his career. Women, to him, would only slow down his reloading speed. He would rather name a car after a woman and sit in it every day than get back together with his ex-girlfriend, even watching her find happiness with someone else because he believes that's what's best for her. So, having children? Impossible, not in this lifetime.

“Hello.” Coulson greeted with a simple, honest smile. To be frank, his appearance is rather deceptive; he looks every bit the good-natured nice guy. “Actually, I'm a government agent, from S.H.I.E.L.D.” Coulson didn't bother hiding much; he took out his credentials and laid his cards on the table. After all, the man before him was merely a Chinese coach at a Japanese dojo—there was no need for secrecy.

“We suspect that a meteorite from outer space may have landed here at the dojo. It could contain a special kind of radiation that ordinary people can't detect, but it might cause significant harm. So...” As he spoke, Coulson produced a document. “This is a search warrant. We need to take a look inside.”

“A search warrant?” Su Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. He'd seen things like this on TV countless times, but it was the first time he'd seen one in person. He was quite curious about what was written on it and which agency's seal it bore.

Coulson, too, was surprised to encounter someone who took the warrant and read it line by line for a full ten minutes. Hadn't he heard that Chinese international students, after finishing high school, were all rather proficient in English? With so few lines, was there really a need to read for so long? Or was he trying to find some grammatical loophole or error?

Before coming, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already conducted a thorough background check on Su Ye and the Shiranui Dojo, including Hanzo Shiranui and Mai Shiranui—everyone’s information had been scrutinized. They knew about Su Ye’s status as a Chinese student and his “bullying” of the local school bullies. He was a Chinese martial artist, working as a coach at the dojo, and had nearly participated in the KOF tournament held in North Town. Clearly, he was an expert, and he had a circle of skilled friends. People like this were best not offended lightly; moving against one could bring trouble from many, leading to unnecessary complications.

At long last, Su Ye finished reading the warrant, folded it up, and tucked it into his pocket. “Can I keep this as a souvenir?” he asked, and without waiting for Coulson’s approval, opened the dojo doors. There, in the center of the courtyard, stood the legendary hammer.

Zhenyuan Zhai, ever mischievous, had placed the hammer right in the courtyard for all to see. No wonder Hanzo Shiranui was so furious he refused to return.

Coulson waved his hand, and soon several men in suits and white lab coats hurried over, setting up simple yet professional monitoring equipment to check the hammer for radiation.

After making a circuit around the grounds, Su Ye approached Coulson, who was standing aside, watching his subordinates at work like a mascot. “It’s not that I don’t want you to conduct your research here,” Su Ye said, “but this really disrupts our business. In fact, with all this going on, we can’t even live here.”

“If we’re occupying your property and affecting your business, you’ll be compensated at the market rate. You have my word on that,” Coulson replied politely.

“Cut the empty talk. How much, and when do I get it?” Su Ye wasn’t particularly concerned about money, but he’d take what was owed—especially when it came straight from the authorities.

Coulson had no choice but to process the transfer on the spot. A substantial sum was wired to Su Ye’s account. Whether this was by the book or not, Su Ye didn’t care; as long as the money came through, he could report to Mai Shiranui and let her, King, and the others know they’d be staying at the bar tonight.

King and Yuri would probably be delighted—after all, they got along so well with Mai.

With the money in hand, Su Ye left, cheerful as could be. Watching him go, Coulson narrowed his eyes. Trusting his instincts as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he sensed that something was off about Su Ye. His composure around the hammer and the agents was almost too calm.

Just then, a female agent in a baseball cap approached. “Sir, that man’s back looked oddly familiar.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow. “Agent 13, are you suggesting...?”

Agent 13 nodded. Her name was Sharon Carter—the same S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who had discovered the Iron-Headed Man at the underground fight club. “He looks similar, but I can't be a hundred percent sure.”

“Good!” Coulson waved her off. “You don’t need to deal with things here. Follow that Su Ye; find out if he really is the Iron-Headed Man. Report to me immediately if anything happens. In any case, don’t alarm him—understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Agent 13 replied, and followed Su Ye out of the dojo.

At the same time, on the West Coast in Los Angeles, Thor was left dumbfounded by the sheer size of the city, which dwarfed Old Bridge Town many times over.

“This place is even bigger than Asgard,” he gasped.

Jane smiled beside him, explaining, “Los Angeles covers about 1,200 square kilometers, with a population of just over four million. It's nowhere near as crowded as New York, and probably not comparable to Asgard either, right?”

Thor was left speechless by her words. He had no real concept of what 1,200 square kilometers meant, but four million people? That was unimaginable—at Asgard’s peak, the population had only ever reached tens of thousands. A single city with four million souls was beyond his comprehension.

Still, quality outweighed quantity. Thor reasoned that if Asgard’s warriors sent just a thousand men, they could conquer this city of four million with ease. The real problem was: in such a vast place, among so many people, how would they ever find the hammer? It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“Since we’re looking for Mjolnir, whoever has taken it is bound to cause a stir. So, there’s no need to worry. We just have to wait for the hammer to reveal itself,” Thor said to Jane with a relaxed smile. He didn’t feel the sting of being unworthy to lift the hammer; his spirits were high, enjoying the sights and the company.

After all, in a city this big and splendid, with a beautiful woman at his side, why bother searching for a hammer? Wasn’t it better to seek out some new excitement?