The Death Knell

Coulson let go of the belt in his hands and lightly dusted the non-existent dust on his hands.

"The target cut off the restraints with a knife, and it seems that he escaped through the back door." He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the mental hospital nurse standing by the wall. Although he had another guess in his mind, he didn't make it without evidence. He said, but then asked: "When was the last time you noticed the blond man? Has anyone else come into this room?"

"I found that he was missing during the ward rounds at noon. If an outsider really came in, it was definitely not through the front door." The nurse replied.

Colson glanced at the footprints on the ground. In addition to the footprints of the caregiver and the strong man, there was also a series of strange small footprints. The man seemed to have been walking on tiptoe. Could he be a thief?

"How's it going? Agent Coulson, you know we're not lying this time, right? When can the car be returned to us?" Jane asked anxiously. There are astronomical research materials of the three of them in the car, and there are many more. Expensive instruments, many of which are on loan, cannot be damaged by these men in black.

It was bad enough that I went to the police station to record a statement after running into someone last night to save someone. But this morning I was picked up by a group of CIA agents. They kept asking who they saw last night? What is special about that person? Did he mention the hammer?

A lot of weird questions.

Next, some hairless agents seized the RV of the three people and forced them to take him to find the man who was hit. So they first went to the hospital, and then they found out that the long-haired man had been transferred to the hospital, and the group went to the mental hospital again. At the hospital, they found that the target was missing.

Colson smiled and nodded to the three of them: "Your vehicle and on-board equipment have been requisitioned by the state. If you have any objections, please call the State Department."

"Do you know what kind of equipment is on the car? The gamma ray deep space detector! A precious relic of Dr. Dai Yin. There are less than ten such vehicle-mounted instruments in the world. It is a priceless treasure! And those data, you It must be returned to us!”

Jane's patience reached its limit, she grabbed her hair manically and yelled at Colson.

That piece of equipment is valued at hundreds of millions. It was borrowed by Professor Schallvig through a favor. If it is damaged by someone else...

She herself was originally a doctor, and astronomy was purely a hobby.

But I didn’t expect that I would go to night school to study casually, write a paper casually, and be valued by the industry. I would be recruited by industry leaders. I would publish several papers in a row in a few years and get a Ph.D. in one go. All of this was due to the persuasion of my mentor Schallvig. He brought his own student - Daisy.

She does not teach at the school, but only has the honorary title of associate professor. She is dedicated to helping Professor Salvig, an expert in astrophysics, and she receives the salary the school gives her as a private doctor, not a teacher.

He was getting older, and astronomy often required him to travel around the world to stargaze. Is there anyone more suitable than Jane Foster, an assistant who knew both medicine and astronomy?

Colson acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He smiled and took out a business card with only his phone number and his name on it, and inserted it into the hands of Dr. Foster, who was showing his teeth:

"I also know something about gamma rays. They can make you turn green or blue, or get cancer. I suggest that you don't play with cosmic rays in the future. Optical telescopes are sometimes safer. Of course, after the inspection, the vehicle and The instruments will be returned to you. If the losses incurred during the period are borne by our CIA, are there any questions?"

"We're going to sue you! You don't have a search warrant..."

Daisy showed her head from behind Jane and spoke quickly in a stern voice. When she saw the agent's eyes turning to her, she retracted her head like a little squirrel and hid behind the teacher without finishing her words.

"Excuse me, I am Agent Coulson of the Caribbean Division of the CIA. Feel free to report this to my superiors at Langley. Thank you for your cooperation." Coulson remained calm and walked out the door with a smile. Go and press the intercom next to your ear: "Eagle Eye, lift the siege and gather the team. Mockingbird, go check the road surveillance. Someone has beaten us one step ahead and found a means of transportation."

....................................

Where are Wade and Thor at this time?

They were hitchhiking on the roadside.

The United States is known as a country on wheels, not only because of its high per capita vehicle ownership rate, but also because this country has a unique road culture.

During the era of Western Development, horse-drawn carriages were still used. Coachmen and escorts were responsible for moving materials between the east and west coasts, and some of the transportation hubs along the way gave birth to many small towns that relied on logistics routes.

After entering modern times, carriages turned into large trucks, coachmen turned into long-distance drivers, and the rest basically remained unchanged.

A long Gobi road seems to be as far away as the skyline. Maybe it started out as a roadside fast food restaurant somewhere along the way, the kind that used old trailers converted and the food was surprisingly unpalatable to entertain long-distance drivers.

Some people like to eat and sleep instead of sleeping in the car, so some businessmen will build a hotel next to the restaurant.

If a person sleeps empty, lonely and cold, then naturally there will be enthusiastic ladies to help these drivers solve their problems.

Girls will spend money when they make money, and then there will be a market for bars and shops. These huge profit industries promote the development of villages and towns.

Of course, these places must be black at first, but such natural settlements will soon welcome police stations and official agencies stationed by the government, so villages and towns along the highway are formed.

Many towns will change due to the construction or abandonment of highways. There are many "ghost towns" in the interior of the United States. Modern people are more likely to drive or fly by themselves.

But no matter how many years have passed, when you stand on the side of the interstate, you can always stick out your thumb and try your luck.

Which car will stop? What happens if you stop? What kind of person is the driver?

Like a cat in a vacuum box, you never know whether it's dead or alive.

It might be a sleepy driver looking for someone to chat with during a long journey, or it might be a serial killer disguised as a good Samaritan looking for a new target, but life has to be full of unknowns to be fun, right?

And this is really economical. Wade is very generous in food, drink, prostitution, gambling, and smoking, but he only saves money when he can choose transportation when going out.

At this time, he was holding a piece of cardboard with the word "hit the road" written on it and eating dust on the roadside.

If you want to return to New York from New Mexico, you need to cross about three-quarters of the United States. This task has no deadline, so you can teach this mentally ill person while walking.

It's just that Thor has been standing on the side of the road like a stake. Wade himself was smiling so hard that he still didn't stop the car. The drivers were completely uninterested in seeing the two men stopping the car.

The midday sun made both of them sweat profusely. Wade's hair stuck to his face, and his lips were dry and white.

"Is this how mortals travel?" Thor also wilts. He doesn't even care about the pretentious Old English. He just holds up his sign above his head to block the sun: "Can't we fly to New York? ?”

Wade glanced at him angrily and spat on the roadside: "Are you paying for the air ticket? Those who can't afford to fly are called poor people, not mortals. I think you are like a god."

"I am God! I am Thor, the God of Thunder!" Thor's eyes were as wide as those of a cow.

"Okay, okay, is it a miracle? Don't get excited." Wade quickly comforted him. It was all because of the hot sun. He was so heated that he lost his mind. He almost forgot that the man next to him was a fanatic. It would be bad if it stimulates him to get sick.

He took out a children's telescope, the kind made of colorful plastic, from his small school bag, and then looked into the distance along the road that was twisting in the heat.

A pink Stark car, a luxury version, drove up in the distance. Wade instantly selected his target. He put away his binoculars and said to Thor:

"Undress!"