Chapter 1280: Starry Stage (Part 4)

In the psychiatrist's office of the Anquan Bureau, Shiler looked at the assessment report in his hand and said to Seeing Natasha, who was sitting opposite: "Madam, your mental health assessment report has no problems. All indicators are very normal, showing that you are mentally healthy. However, in terms of anxiety, there seems to be a bit of fluctuation recently. Have you had any annoying things lately?"

"Ah..." Seeing Natasha uttered a syllable absent-mindedly. The beautiful female agent tucked her hair, turned her eyes back to look at Shiler, and said: "It's nothing, it has nothing to do with the work of the Anquan Bureau. It's my personal problem. Is this within your scope of duty?"

"Any psychological problems of any member participating in the solar system development plan are within my scope of duty," Shiler replied. He held the paper with both hands and said to Seeing Natasha: "Any communication and conversation you have with a psychiatrist fully follow the principle of confidentiality, so you can talk about your private affairs, and I am also very happy to listen."

Seeing Natasha's face didn't reveal any obvious emotions. Clearly, this female agent was still immersed in the work state, but she seemed to have an extra trust in Shiler, so she lowered her voice and said:

"Recently, the Security Bureau has been paying attention to the protest activities of the aerial transport lines in New York. The edge of Brooklyn district and the Bronx district have broken out more than 50 large and small protest activities in one month."

"But this should be the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, right?" Shiler moved his eyes away from the file, put down the things in his hand, let his body lean on the back of the chair, and asked in a relaxed tone as if having a private conversation.

"That's right, it was precisely the Federal Bureau of Investigation that discovered traces of super-powered people active in the protest activities. They didn't dare to act rashly, so they contacted the Anquan Bureau."

"Are you responsible for this work now?" Shiler asked.

"My subordinate," Seeing Natasha looked away, as if thinking of something, and said: "Or rather, the subordinate of my subordinate. There are too many big things on Earth now. Protests occurring in a certain country, a certain city, a certain region—even sesame-sized small things don't count."

"The Anquan Bureau is extremely short of people. It's short to the point that this kind of thing only takes up 1/5 of an agent's workload. We pay attention to it, but we haven't started dealing with it. After all, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation there, the situation won't spread very seriously."

"Then why do you say this is your private affair? As far as the current situation is concerned, it should still be work, right?"

Seeing Natasha nodded, and her face became more serious. She pursed her lips lightly and said: "Just the day before I went for the psychological assessment, Banner found me. He said a friend of his was beaten and injured by the police during the protest activities in the Bronx district."

"Have violent conflicts already broken out?" Shiler leaned his body forward slightly and asked.

"It belongs to a pushing incident," the female agent didn't even wrinkle her brows, and a series of intelligence flowed out of her mouth: "The protesting crowd was crowded on the streets of the Bronx district. When the local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrived at the scene, they discovered that a small group was rushing into a local convenience store to smash, loot, and burn."

"The police used Taser guns, subdued the ringleader, and as a result, a young man suddenly rushed up, wanting to grab the policeman's neck. The Federal Bureau of Investigation agent fired directly, but he dodged it. His companions covered his escape, and within a few seconds, they were all pressed to the ground."

"They even fired shots, and it's still considered a pushing incident?"

"Didn't hit anyone," Seeing Natasha shook her head and said: "Similar events are only divided into two types: one is a pushing incident, and one is a bloody incident. There is no middle value. The specific difference is whether the police caused real bloody casualties after firing warning shots. Clearly, they didn't, so it belongs to a pushing incident."

"Is Banner a friend of that young man?"

"Far from it," Seeing Natasha shook her head again and said: "One of the companions who covered that young man's escape has a father who is the parking lot manager of the community where Banner lives. After this father's son was arrested, he was accused of six charges and needed high bail."

"His father was hiding in the security booth crying during work hours and happened to meet Banner, who was off work. You also know that Banner is actually a delicate person, exceptionally gentle and sensitive, but at the same time has the problem of being too introverted and not good at socializing, which is typical of the scholar personality."

"He has been soaking in the laboratory recently and couldn't figure out who was in charge of this kind of thing. When he found me at the Anquan Bureau, he heard others say that my group was paying attention to this matter, so he found me directly."

Shiler also shook his head helplessly and said: "Serious cross-level reporting, and also finding a private friend to talk about public affairs that might have confidential information. Fine, who let him be Bruce Banner? Every genius scientist is Nick's big baby."

Seeing Natasha laughed out loud, seemingly hearing the deep punchline of this joke by Shiler.

But she still reached out and smoothed the hair on her forehead, saying with some sorrow: "It's good for superheroes to be full of sympathy, or rather, precisely because of their abundant sympathy, they are superheroes. But their excessive pity for the weak affects rational judgment."

"I described the real situation to Banner, but he still thinks the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police did wrong. Facing impulsive young people, they should focus on persuasion. He hopes everyone can talk well."

"In a sense, that's not wrong, but it's completely impractical," Seeing Natasha evaluated. "Facing this kind of situation, one must prioritize subduing or even killing; hesitation will only cause the bloody conflict to escalate further."

"A typical conflict between research personnel and security personnel," Shiler pointed out. "Ma'am, I think you should be able to see that this group of top-tier researchers is more or less idealistic and romantic, because only these magnificent fantasies can soothe the depression and frustration brought about by day after day of dry research data."

"They want to think of this world as a bit more beautiful so they can have the motivation to devote their entire lives to it. They won't, like you, realize through personal experience that the weak don't just have the attribute of being weak; they can also be evil, violent, and unreasonable."

"Exactly so." Seeing Natasha nodded and said, "Perhaps there are indeed unjust bloody conflicts. Among these 50-plus protests, there must be people who were wronged and injured. I admit this, but I have long since ceased to feel any sympathy for it; this is the basic training of an agent."

"What is noble is the person, not the profession, nor the social status. The poor have saints and villains, and the rich are the same. Every group is a mix of good and bad people."

"And when two groups clash, good and bad are intertwined. Everyone sees the good side of their own group and deliberately avoids looking at the bad side."

"But I don't want to break this point to Banner." The female agent's head shake was so slight it was almost invisible. She continued, "He has no need to realize this point either. He is a genius scientist. Even if the world were to be destroyed, he would be among the first to board Noah's Ark. Being idealistic is quite good, too."

"They are the protected ones, so they feel they have the spare capacity to protect others." Shiler relaxed his eyebrows and said, "Compassion is very precious. If a person can live in an ivory tower for their whole life, why isn't that a kind of happiness?"

"Alright, ma'am, I have already understood the specific situation of the matter and the debate over right and wrong. Now, what about your personal feelings?"

"Banner is expecting me to give him a result." Seeing Natasha's mouth was tightly pursed into a line, and she said, "But obviously, there won't be any result for this kind of thing, but I don't want to let him down."

"The current fact is that S. H. I. E. L. D. simply has no spare capacity to focus on this matter because of the speculation of a groundless superhuman. The FBI is fully capable of handling this."

"I also don't want to put personal matters before public duty and delay other work to satisfy my personal feelings. Perhaps that's why I'm a little anxious, but I think the problem is minor. I can regulate it myself, or you can prescribe me some placebos; make them mint-flavored."

"In your personal opinion, are there any suspicious points worth noting in this incident?" Shiler asked, gently squinting his eyes.

"You mean someone inciting protests and intensifying the conflict?" Seeing Natasha said indifferently, "That doesn't count as a suspicious point. Every protest in every country has these."

"Perhaps in the early stages, it was indeed some people freely expressing their dissatisfaction, but once the flame is lit, there will inevitably be people adding fuel to it, leading to a situation that gets out of hand. Sometimes it's more than one person or one force, so the way the vast majority of countries handle this is to nip it in the bud."

"As for why we didn't do that, you'd have to ask what the FBI is doing for a living." Seeing Natasha's tone revealed obvious dissatisfaction. She said, "The current FBI seems to think everyone in New York is a superhuman or a potential superhuman. Anyway, as long as they throw it to S. H. I. E. L. D., they have no responsibility."

"Do you think, with your current psychological state, you still have the ability to catch the shadow of a superhuman?" Shiler asked again.

Only then did Seeing Natasha understand the hint in his words. The female agent changed her posture; she no longer leaned so relaxedly against the back of the chair, but instead braced her arms on the tabletop, her muscles becoming tense, clearly having entered a working state.

"I think I'm not up to the task. You've seen my psychological evaluation report. Severe anxiety has engulfed my heart. I feel very sad and distressed, and I have almost no ability to continue in this job. Doctor, I need a rest."

"However, ma'am, you must understand that we are very short-staffed right now." Shiler changed the subject, as if he had instantly swapped positions with Seeing Natasha, and said, "Although this work is less than one-tenth of an agent's workload, we really can't find an extra 100 agents to handle it."

Seeing Natasha sighed with great regret and said, "Doctor, I can only say that the mental health assessment system you and Director Nick established is truly far-sighted. If not for that, I might have worked at my post until I had a mental breakdown."

"But you have made me understand the importance of resting and regulating my own psychological state. So now, I will go to the department to hand over my work and put my current tasks on hold."

"It seems Coulson will have to take over." Shiler stood up, shook hands with the female agent, and said, "Don't feel worried or guilty about this. After all, Coulson has over 600,000 agents backing up the 30,000-plus tasks on his plate."

"No, Doctor, I am still very worried about this. If you don't want my condition to worsen, you must agree to my request."

"Go ahead, ma'am, I will certainly do my best."

Seeing Natasha raised her head, lifted a hand, and said in a theatrical tone, "Although my colleague Coulson has extremely strong working ability and can implement every matter, paying attention to every detail of every piece of data, obviously, 30,000-plus tasks will inevitably distract him, and the personnel transfers of over 600,000 agents are also a heavy burden he has to carry on his shoulders."

"Since that is the case, I implore you, Doctor, to please help him pay more attention to the mental health of the agents in my department. Please, do not let them collapse like me due to excessive work pressure."

"Rest assured, ma'am, I will go to your office right now to understand the psychological and mental state of your subordinates in detail, without omission, and in every aspect."

"Then I can rest easy. This way, I will have spare time to recuperate my spirit."

"And handle your personal relationship issues while you're at it."

"... While I'm at it."

The two hands gripped each other firmly. The female agent smiled and left with light steps.

Three minutes later, in the office of the Emergency Affairs Response Team where Seeing Natasha was located, Shiler expressionlessly slapped the documents onto the table and folded his arms, looking around. All the agents below were silent, not even daring to raise their heads.

"You have failed to work with your full effort." Shiler first set a tone with a cold voice, then continued, "The Black Widow keenly sensed this and pushed the work on her hands to me, wanting Nick to reprimand me. She certainly played a good move."

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense. A middle-aged female agent stood up and said, "She kept it from all of us. We didn't know her plan."

"Saying more is useless." Shiler didn't even look at her, starting to pace within the room, occasionally sweeping his cold gaze over everyone's face, and everyone who made eye contact with him lowered their heads in fear.

"You can certainly slack off under Seeing Natasha's command; this female agent is just physically here but mentally elsewhere, but Hydra only needs results."

"Now, while ensuring that your current work is not disrupted, investigate the specific details of the protests that have broken out in the Brooklyn and Bronx districts with full force."

"In two days, I want results! Don't pile a bunch of dry, uninteresting data in front of me; I want core solutions!"

Shiler said loudly:

"Start working. Remember, Hail Hydra."

"Hail Hydra."

After speaking, Shiler left the room. After closing the door, he walked quickly to the next room, exchanged a look with a man sitting in the front row, immediately walked up to shake hands with him, and said directly in Russian:

"Comrade, you've heard about the protests by the lower-class masses that broke out in the two major districts of New York, right? I knew it, these lackeys of capital are absolutely unreliable. They want to suppress the people again."

"Yes, comrade, of course I've heard. Ever since humanity stepped into the universe and made substantial progress, we relics of the past era have seen hope again, but besides the distant starry sky, we must also pay attention to the people on the ground."

Before Shiler could speak, another lady walked up, looked at Shiler, and said, "This is Seeing Natasha's scope of work. We were just planning to contact her."

"No, don't do that. That would be putting her in a difficult position." Shiler replied to her with rapid speech, "It's not easy to gain a foothold here; we cannot put another comrade in an unjust position."

"Nick intends to establish a new organization to handle interstellar intelligence work, so he has no time to pay attention to this. I have already completed the work handover with Comrade Seeing Natasha. Next, I will arrange the investigation matters for the protests."

"Of course, Comrade Shiler. We unanimously believe that only you in S. H. I. E. L. D. can take on this heavy responsibility. You have already proven this with your actions. We are all able to come here because of your credit. The comrades within the KGB will fully support you."

"Please don't say that. All credit belongs to the people. Since everyone has no objections, let us begin."

Shiler shook hands with them in turn, scanned them with a sincere gaze, and said, "Devote yourselves to the great labor, comrade."