Her smile remained unchanged as she spoke in a casual tone, with fluent American English: “You’re the technician who came to fix the system?
I heard from the technical department that you fixed in half an hour a problem we couldn’t solve in three days?” Her voice was gentle, with just the right amount of curiosity, but her eyes were like a hawk’s—sharp enough to see through people, silently observing every micro-expression of Mio, not missing a single trace of abnormality.
“I just happened to be familiar with this type of database vulnerability.” Mio looked up, face expressionless, her tone flat, carrying the shyness a student should have, yet with just the right amount of technical pride: “It wasn’t difficult; they just looked in the wrong direction for the fix.” “Oh?” Natasha raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and leaned against the server cabinet beside her, shaking the coffee in her hand.
“I thought that someone who could fix such a complex financial system vulnerability would at least be a seasoned engineer with years of experience.
I didn’t expect it to be such a young girl.
You’re still a student?” “Mm, a student at Midtown High School.
I take some freelance work in my spare time to earn living expenses.” Mio zipped up her backpack, stood up, nodded slightly at her, didn’t say another word, and turned to walk toward the door.
She didn’t want any unnecessary contact with Natasha.
Black Widow’s interrogation and probing abilities were top-tier in the entire Marvel Universe.
One extra word meant an extra risk of exposure.
She could use her computing power to perfectly simulate the micro-expressions of an ordinary high school student, but she couldn’t withstand Natasha’s prolonged probing.
But Natasha didn’t intend to let her go just like that.
“Wait.” She called out to stop Mio, smiling and shaking the tablet in her hand.
“Our company happens to be hiring a part-time cybersecurity consultant.
The salary is quite attractive, much more stable than taking these scattered freelance jobs.
I see your skills are very impressive; are you interested in learning more?” Mio paused, a cold laugh in her heart.
Hiring a cybersecurity consultant?
It’s probably S.H.I.E.L.D.
wanting to put her on an observation list.
She turned around, her face showing just the right amount of hesitation, then shook her head, her tone apologetic: “Sorry, I still have to go to school and don’t have much time for full-time part-time work.
Besides, I’m not very familiar with the financial industry and am afraid I wouldn’t be qualified.
Thanks for the offer.” After she finished, she didn’t give Natasha another chance to speak, bowed slightly, turned, and walked quickly out of the server room.
Her pace was neither fast nor slow, without the slightest panic, perfectly fitting the demeanor of an ordinary high school student facing an invitation from a company executive.
Not until she entered the elevator and the elevator door slowly closed, blocking Natasha’s line of sight, did Mio quietly let out a sigh of relief, feeling a thin layer of cold sweat on her back.
The elevator descended, and Mio leaned against the car wall, her brain working at high speed.
Was it a coincidence?
Natasha happened to be executing a mission at this company and happened to run into her coming to fix the system?
Or was this company itself a front for S.H.I.E.L.D., and this commission was aimed at her from the start?
No.
If it were aimed at her, S.H.I.E.L.D.
wouldn’t have sent only Natasha, nor would they have used such a casual way to probe.
It was highly likely a coincidence; Natasha was here executing a different mission, happened to run into her—a student with abnormally outstanding technical skills—and out of curiosity, casually probed her with a few sentences.
But whether it was a coincidence or intentional, one thing was certain—Black Widow had noticed her.
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar had already scanned her, this inconspicuous “variable.” Mio walked out of the office building, blended into the after-work crowd, pulled up her hoodie to cover her conspicuous white hair, and walked quickly toward the subway station.
She still wanted to stay low, still didn’t want to get involved in the messy business of S.H.I.E.L.D.
and superheroes.
But she also knew that from the moment she made eye contact with Natasha, some things were no longer things she could avoid just by wanting to.
In an office on the top floor of the office building, Natasha looked at the information about Mio that had just been pulled up on her tablet.
Her fingertips tapped gently on the desk, and a playful smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
The information was clean, but too clean.
Mio, sixteen years old, a student from China, arrived in the United States three months ago with a full scholarship, enrolled at Midtown High School, with top school grades upon entry.
No bad records, no relatives in the United States, living alone in an apartment in Queens, taking some scattered computer repair freelance jobs in her spare time—that was all.
Nothing abnormal, no outstanding experiences, just like an ordinary, talented international student.
But who was Natasha?
She was a top Agent who had walked out of the Red Room, and what she was best at was finding the flaws hidden beneath perfect appearances.
A teenage high school student, capable of fixing a complex encrypted database vulnerability in twenty-five minutes, which even S.H.I.E.L.D.’s technical department would take half a day to solve?
Capable of being under her gaze without the slightest panic, with micro-expressions so perfect that not a single flaw could be picked out?
Even when she probed, there was no flattery or excitement in her eyes as a young person should have, only just the right amount of aloofness and vigilance.
This was definitely not an ordinary high school student.
She picked up the encrypted communicator and dialed a number.
The call was quickly answered, and Fury’s deep voice came from the other side: “Agent Romanoff, is the mission complete?” “The mission is complete, and the target has been controlled.” Natasha’s gaze remained on Mio’s ID photo on the tablet, her tone smiling: “But Fury, I discovered a very interesting young girl here.
A sixteen-year-old international student, whose technical level far exceeds that of seasoned industry engineers, and whose psychological quality is ridiculously good; facing my probing, she didn’t even blink an eye.” Fury on the other end of the line paused, his tone becoming a bit more serious: “What’s her background?” “Currently, I can’t find any abnormalities; her background is as clean as a blank sheet of paper.” Natasha smiled, “But I’m sure this young girl is definitely not simple.
Should we put her on the observation list?” The other end was silent for a few seconds, then Fury’s order came through: “Don’t alert her yet; keep observing.
New York hasn’t been peaceful lately; any abnormal variables must not be let go.” “Understood.” Natasha hung up the phone and looked again at the ID photo on the tablet.
The silver-haired girl in the photo looked at the camera expressionlessly, her sea-blue eyes clear and calm, like a bottomless sea.
The smile at the corners of her mouth deepened.
Mio, right?
We will meet again soon.