Chapter 3: You Can't Call Someone Bald Just Because They Have a High Hairline

On a secluded side street in Midtown Manhattan, a place long famous for its culinary delights, one could find a variety of gourmet foods capable of satisfying the cravings of most foodies in the world. Of course, the prices were certainly not something the average person could afford.

The area was relatively safe, and its unique commercial and financial investment environment ensured a relatively dense population. It was now the lunchtime rush; the street benches and restaurants were filled with all sorts of people. These elites, taking a break from work, or high-level executives from various companies, were enjoying their superior, prosperous lives.

However, in contrast to the crowding of other establishments, one small ice cream shop appeared quite anomalous.

Currently, there was only a single little girl in the shop, buried in a large cup of ice cream. Even when a few pedestrians occasionally passed by, hoping to enjoy some summer coolness inside, they were met with the shopkeeper waving his head in refusal, informing them that his small shop had been fully booked for the day and would not be accepting any more customers.

"Hi, hello! Is there anything unusual about the target?"

On a roadside bench not far from the shop, three people were sitting: Phil Coulson, Melinda, and an unnamed SHIELD agent—don't pay too much attention to the extra's name.

It was Coulson speaking. At this moment, he was fiddling with two exquisite gold coins, which were supposedly "exchanged" from the ice cream shop owner. Regardless, the exchange process did not seem to have been particularly pleasant for the shopkeeper.

"Sir, so far, nothing! From nine this morning until now, the target has been eating ice cream! Um, and some small snacks. Yes, if I remember correctly, she should be on her fourth cup now," the surveillance agent replied. He had just done a quick mental calculation; combined with the local cost of living, he felt that this little girl had eaten through the equivalent of his weekly salary in a single morning! It seemed she was truly a spoiled child from a wealthy family; an ordinary household simply couldn't afford to raise her!

"By the way, have you investigated these gold coins as well?"

Coulson toyed with the coins, unable to discern their origin. Well, in truth, he didn't recognize a single pattern or character on them, so he helplessly handed them to Melinda, who was leaning in with curiosity.

"Yes, they were scanned as soon as we obtained them this morning. The data models and material analysis have already been transmitted to the Intelligence Analysis Department at HQ. However, according to the latest update we just received: through comparison, these coins do not belong to any type that has appeared in human history—at least, there are no matches or similarities in the SHIELD database. Furthermore, even our linguists are at a complete loss regarding the text, though it is clearly not fabricated."

"Most importantly, after sample testing, their age is incredibly vast! It even far exceeds the recorded history of human civilizations using gold coins, which is clearly impossible! So... you should see for yourself!" After speaking, the agent handed Coulson a tablet-like communication device displaying the latest intelligence report.

"Alright, perhaps we can have a proper talk with the little girl. Has she shown any signs of emotional instability or violent tendencies?"

Coulson thought for a moment, deciding to attempt direct contact with the target, which was the primary reason he and Melinda had come here. Looking at the dense crowd around them, he was somewhat worried; if the contact went poorly and the target became uncontrollable, it would be a massive problem.

"No! From the moment I received orders to track the target until she entered this shop, she has done nothing but eat ice cream! And even the ice cream was paid for," the agent answered truthfully, glancing at the coins in Melinda's hand.

"OK! I think I know what to do!" Coulson stood up and walked toward the ice cream shop. Melinda frowned thoughtfully and quickly followed.

"Wow! This ice cream is delicious! Tibers? Do you want some too?"

Annie took a large bite of ice cream. This one was strawberry; she had already finished taro, chocolate, and vanilla flavors! Supposedly, there were many, many more varieties, but Annie wasn't in a hurry because she had already given the shopkeeper a handful of gold coins. The shopkeeper said that all the ice cream in the shop belonged to her today!

This was great news! When she left later, she had to pack some to go—maybe about... a hundred cups or so would be enough! Delicious food could soothe Annie's anxiety. As for going home, she could put that thought aside for a while.

"Oh! Sorry, Tibers, I forgot. You can't eat food." Annie looked at Tibers, the teddy bear she had tossed onto the chair beside her.

Indeed, on the surface, it looked like a mere teddy bear. At least, that's what the shopkeeper thought. It was perfectly normal for a little girl to talk to her toys; even if this girl was a bit older, who cared, given the gold coins?

*The children of the ultra-rich are truly wealthy!* The shopkeeper thought, feeling the coins in his pocket. To his annoyance, two had just been forcibly taken by some law enforcement agency called "SHIELD," but the remainder were enough to exchange for a fortune! Perhaps he could even sell them as antiques? His only current worry was: would the little girl's parents send him a lawyer's letter once they found out?

*(Master! That bald man and that human female elder are coming! I noticed them long ago! They were just whispering with that bad guy outside who has been watching you; they must be bad guys too! Let me out so I can deal with them!)*

Sensing the telepathic communication from Tibers, Annie glanced at him but ignored him, continuing to eat her favorite ice cream.

"Little girl? Do you mind if we sit here?"

Just as Annie finished talking to Tibers and was about to take another large spoonful, she realized a man and a woman had sat down next to her. The woman sat in the empty chair to her left, but the man sat in the chair on her right where Tibers was, casually picking up her teddy bear to play with it. He even grabbed the bear's arms and shook them, performing a gesture he deemed amusing.

*(Ah! Master! Let me out! I want to eat him! Eat him! Even though he's ugly, I can still have a little snack if I strip him down!)*

*Huh?* Annie was a bit surprised by this. What was this somewhat bald, strange uncle doing? He! He actually dared to grab Tibers and play with him like that?! One must know that Tibers was a powerful Shadow Bear! When grown, he could swat an old dragon to the ground with a single claw, leaving it unable to get up for a long time, and his shadow flames could incinerate everything around him.

Aside from Annie, no one had ever dared to grab Tibers to play! Not even the Archmages of the Gray Order! No mage would be stupid enough to let a Shadow Bear within ten yards of themselves, let alone hold one in their hands. Of course, the Archmages of the Gray Order knew exactly what Annie's teddy bear was; they wouldn't commit such suicide.

"Uncle, are you a bad person?" Sensing the emotional fluctuations coming from Tibers, Annie felt a bit uncertain. She looked at the strange, bald uncle and asked cutely with a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

"Oh! Of course not. Do I look like a bad person?" As he spoke, Coulson tugged at the teddy bear again, making an even more exaggerated movement and making a funny face at Annie.

"I see. That's a pity!" Annie carefully sensed the increasingly intense emotions from Tibers and decided to ignore him.

She scooped up another large bite of ice cream and put it in her mouth. Her mother had told her: she couldn't just let Tibers out, nor could she just burn people alive, unless they were bad people! Hmm, this strange, bald uncle had a bit of a devious smile; although he didn't look like a particularly good person, he hadn't reached the level where he absolutely had to be burned to ashes.

"What? What's a pity?"

Coulson and Melinda felt they were struggling to keep up with the little girl's train of thought. However, since they had come to contact the target and had successfully started a conversation, they had to continue. Sometimes, important intelligence is revealed through inadvertent remarks; the unfiltered words of a little girl might yield more than expected.

"Tibers said he hates you. He told me to let him out, saying he wants to bite your head off in one bite!"

Annie took another bite of ice cream and turned to look at the strange, bald uncle, suddenly feeling that he was quite pitiful. If she hadn't been restraining Tibers, his head would surely have been bitten off by now, wouldn't it?

"Tibers? Who is Tibers? Why would he want to bite off my... head?"

Coulson was a bit bewildered. If this were an ordinary little girl, he would have assumed she was talking nonsense or joking, but with this girl, Coulson felt it was better to be cautious. Beside him, Melinda's body was already tense, as if she might launch an attack at any moment, but Coulson signaled with his eyes for her to relax. The contact was going smoothly; things were far from reaching a point where an attack was necessary.

"Tibers is what's in your hand!" Annie gave Coulson a disgruntled eye-roll, thinking, *Holding Tibers and asking me who Tibers is? How annoying!* With that thought, Annie lowered her head and focused back on the ice cream in her cup.

"Uh, this teddy bear is named Tibers? Haha, you certainly have a sense of humor. Teddy bears don't bite."

Coulson breathed a sigh of relief. How could a teddy bear bite someone? Perhaps she just didn't like people touching her toys, much like how he didn't like people touching his cars? Even so, he carefully set the girl's toy down, not wanting to overstimulate her.

"I'm not lying to you! Tibers really can bite your head off in one go! But I won't let him out." Annie thought for a moment and reached out to pull Tibers into her arms, lest they truly provoked him.

"Haha..." Coulson felt it was best not to dwell on these things with the little girl and quickly changed the subject.

"So, little lady, can you tell me your name? We've met now, haven't we? My name is Coulson, Phil Coulson! And the lady next to me is Auntie Melinda."

"Mhm, Annie! My name is Annie!" Annie found this strange uncle a bit annoying and bothersome.

*Doesn't he know he's interfering with my ice cream?!* However, since the other party had introduced himself, Annie still said her name; she had always considered herself a polite, well-behaved girl.

"Nice to meet you, Annie! So, where are your mommy and daddy? Why is no one with you? You haven't been home since last night, have you? Perhaps we can help you find them, and then have them come to take you home?"

Coulson quickly shifted the topic to the girl's parents. His intuition told him this was a breakthrough; if they couldn't find her origins, knowing her parents' names might lead to specific information.

"Can I tell you their names?"

"Is that so?" Annie tilted her head in thought. She had been in this strange place for a day and a night. She had clearly activated her coordinate-positioning spell, yet her mom and dad hadn't come looking for her. Perhaps these two strange people who suddenly appeared could help?

"My dad is Gregory Hastur, and my mom is Amolin!"

*Finally, useful intelligence!* Melinda secretly gave Coulson a thumbs-up and quietly activated her device, intending to record the rest of the conversation in full.

"And what do they do? Where do you live?" Fearing the girl might not understand, Coulson used gestures. "For example: are they teachers, lawyers, drivers, or something like that?" However, Melinda inwardly disagreed with Coulson. How could the parents of a little girl who wore exquisite, finely crafted clothes and paid with gold coins be ordinary people like that? They should be chairmen or CEOs of some major corporation or conglomerate.

Annie frowned. Teacher? Lawyer? Driver? What were those? She clearly had a permanent language-comprehension spell active on her; why couldn't she understand what he meant? Were they asking about occupations? Oh! She remembered!

"My dad is a Mystic Warlock! My mom is a Shadow Witch! We live in the Voodoo Lands." Annie bit her finger, feeling as though that was all she knew! "The Voodoo Lands of Valoran! You must know them, right?"

"..." Coulson and Melinda momentarily wondered if they had misheard. Mystic Warlock? Shadow Witch? Voodoo Lands? What on earth were these? But thinking back to the photo of the little girl setting fire to three thugs, Coulson and Melinda subconsciously felt that she might be telling the truth.

"Alright, let's put it another way. Where do they work?" Melinda took over the conversation, inquiring.

"Work?" Annie suddenly felt that the effect of her language-comprehension spell was quite poor; the words of these two strange uncles and aunties were so hard to understand! "Mhm, Daddy is a leader of the Gray Order, and Mommy seems to be one too... um, they work in the Gray Order? Oh, right! Daddy is the most powerful warlock on the Valoran continent! And Mommy is the most powerful witch on the Valoran continent!"

*Gray Order? The name of an organization?* It seemed this was important intelligence! This part was somewhat understandable, but *the Valoran continent*? What was that? Does such a continent actually exist on Earth? Coulson and Melinda suddenly felt that if what this girl named Annie said was true, SHIELD absolutely could not treat her like they did mutants—simply grabbing her and locking her in a cryo-chamber. If they did that, they would likely invite catastrophic trouble!