Change of clothes. ”

"Brought it."

"Wallet."

"Brought it."

"What about personal fixtures?"

"I brought it with me."

"And the lucky charm I gave you?"

"Don't be stupid, I'm a wizard, I don't need that."

"I think you'd better bring it."

“...”

At Merlin's house, as it approached evening, Eric was helping Merlin check what he had brought with him on his long journey. Although Merlin often travels for work, this time was different.

This time, he was not going to a place where people could be reassured.

Eric and Merlin have lived together for more than 6 years, almost 7 years, and Merlin has watched this child grow up with his own eyes, and he is now almost an adult. And Eric also witnessed Merlin's transformation from a rookie agent to the current head of the party.

The relationship between the two of them is special.

Nominally a guardian and a ward, but in fact it is more like an older brother and a younger brother. During the years that the two were strong, they took care of each other, kept each other's secrets, and encouraged each other to live their lives.

They are not related by blood, but there is also a considerable affection between them in the passage of time.

In the living room, Eric was chattering, which gave Merlin a little headache, he didn't realize that this boy who was adopted by himself was actually such a mother-in-law.

He looked at the high school student in front of him who was about to enter college, and he said:

"By the time I get back, you'll almost have received your acceptance letter. Hopefully that's good news. ”

"Do you still think it's bad news?"

Eric asks rhetorically:

"Have I ever let you down when it comes to learning?"

"Hey, what's going on with that proud tone?"

Merlin knocked Eric on the head and said:

"I was a good student back then, and even though I didn't go to college, I had the opportunity to live your life. Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think or think, just don't let yourself down. ”

"I have a plan for my life."

Eric helped Merlin pull up the trolley suitcase, and he said:

"I know exactly what I'm going to do, but you, I think you're just going with the flow, one day at a time."

"Who said that? I'm busy every day, okay? ”

Merlin took the trolley case and said to Eric:

"What do you know, kid? I'm doing a noble job, and I don't want to come back and see an empty house and a report of a missing person. ”

At this point, Merlin paused, and he said to Eric:

"I mean, about Wakanda, I know you've never given up looking for it. But you're also approaching adulthood, and there are some things you should judge for yourself. ”

He said:

"About your father, about your bloodline, about that mysterious country. It's a choice, Erik, and it's going to determine the future of your life, and I've had similar choices. I'm a person from the past, and the advice I can give you is, don't be in such a hurry and think about what you want. ”

"Is it a normal and peaceful life, or is it a headlong plunge into a world that I don't know at all."

"What's wrong with you today?"

Eric sent Merlin to the door with a strange look, and the young man, who had begun to shed his youth, said:

"It's a business trip, how do you feel like entrusting the aftermath? As I said, I have a plan for my life, Merlin, don't be foolish, at least until I graduate from college, I won't take any risks. ”

"That's good."

Merlin glanced at Eric, who pointed to the sofa in the living room:

"Then put that tube back where it belongs. Do you think your careful thinking can hide from me? I'm a secret service director, anyway. ”

Eric's complexion changed a little, Merlin looked at the time of his watch, and he said to Eric:

"It's time for me to go."

"Whatever you want to do, just wait for me to come back. All right? ”

"Hmm."

Eric was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He watched as Merlin sat in the red classic sports car at the door, and was driven out of the neighborhood by his colleagues.

The 17-year-old closed the door, walked over to the couch and took something out from under it.

That was the biggest secret of Eric's young life.

That's the liquid vibranium tube that has been hidden for almost 7 years.

It was supposed to be in Eric's "treasure trove", but now that he had taken it out, it was clear that Eric was planning to do something with it.

Maybe it's a decoy, maybe he's ready to take advantage of Merlin's business trip to Africa, his mysterious hometown. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment, maybe he was tired of waiting for years, but in short, what Merlin said tonight was not groundless, and he had discovered Eric's actions.

He gave his opinion.

It is no longer a persuasion between an adult and a child, but a discussion between an adult and an adult.

Eric believed that Merlin wouldn't stop him if he insisted on taking the risk. The person with a cold face and trust will probably choose to leave his responsibilities behind and go to Africa with him.

But, that's not what Eric wants to see.

He knew the danger of this adventure, and he didn't want another person he cared about to be drawn into it.

Merlin's troubles have been enough.

As a family member and friend, he shouldn't have caused Merlin any more trouble.

In the not-so-bright light of the living room, the liquid vibranium shone blue in the glass tube in Eric's hand. He looked at the glass jar, and in the reflection of the glass, he could see his own face, his hesitant eyes.

After a few seconds, the young man sighed, and he placed the vibranium in a black pocket and wrapped it around the tape several times. In the darkness of the night, he carried the vibranium in his arms and walked in the direction of the St. Agnes orphanage.

Three years ago, when he was in high school, he didn't live there, but it was still a place where he hid his secrets.

In the night wind, Eric put his black hood over his head, and he said to himself:

"Well... All right. It's not time yet. ”

"Wakanda, father..."

"Please wait."

————————————————————————————————-

"Alas, the problem of adolescence is really troublesome."

Sitting in the passenger seat of the speeding Lola, Merlin rubbed his forehead with a headache, and complained to Coulson, who was driving:

"The young people of our time didn't have these problems... Also, can you drive at night without sunglasses? ”

Merlin looked at the sunglasses Coulson was wearing, and then at the dimly lit streetlights around him, and said:

"It makes me feel insecure."

"Uh, sir. You gave me these sunglasses. ”

Coulson Says:

"You know, it allows me to see the road at night, right?"

"I know."

Merlin waved his hand a little irritably, and he leaned back in his seat and whispered:

"But it's just insecure..."

Merlin's complaint caused Coulson to shrug his shoulders, and the latter obediently took off his sunglasses and turned on the headlights, making the road shrouded in darkness in front of Merlin's eyes clear, even a little clear.

"Coulson, you say, why do people have secrets? Why should people hide their secrets from anyone else? Secrecy is followed by suspicion, which destroys cherished friendships and provokes suspicion and confusion. ”

"You say, this world, how good it would be if there were no secrets."

Merlin no longer looked at the road in front of him, he raised his head, looked at the dark sky, and said with emotion:

"I'm starting to hate the secrets that surround me, and the people who keep them."

"Oh, for our profession. Sir, that's a dangerous idea. ”

Coulson seemed to sense Merlin's suppressed irritability in his heart, and he thought for a moment, and replied:

"We're agents, and it's our job to find out the secrets."

"Okay."

Merlin nodded, and after a few seconds, he suddenly said to Coulson:

"Phil, I know a secret, a secret about the top of S.H.I.E.L.D. A dangerous secret that is closely related to you, to me, to Melinda, and to everyone. ”

"Oh?"

Agent Coulson subconsciously turned his head and looked at his superior. His face was full of curiosity and inquiry.

Merlin didn't look at him, but he sensed Coulson's curiosity, and the corners of his mouth twitched, revealing a strange smile, and he said to Coulson slowly:

"But unfortunately, I can't tell you. Because your level of secrecy is not enough. ”

"Oh."

Coulson's face grimaced as he returned his attention to the steering wheel and the road in front of him, apparently a slightly nasty joke.

His mood also became bad.

"Look..."

Merlin noticed the change in Coulson's mood, and in the darkness that galloped by, he smiled strangely, and said:

"These secrets that can only be hidden in the bottom of my heart are such annoying things."

For the next ten minutes, the two did not speak again.

Coulson sends Merlin to a small, remote airport where a postal plane inside S.H.I.E.L.D. is waiting for him. Because this time Merlin has a special mission, his whereabouts are completely secret.

By the time the Ministry of Defense found out that Merlin had disappeared, he was already in distant Central Asia.

And just as Merlin opened Lola's trunk and took out his trolley suitcase, he suddenly reached out and pressed Coulson's shoulder, and he whispered in Coulson's ear:

"From now on... When you're working, keep an eye on it. ”

"Huh?"

Coulson looked at his commander suspiciously, and Merlin shook his head at him, and said:

"Don't trust any strangers..."

Merlin looked into Coulson's eyes, and he said solemnly:

"It's enough to believe in yourself."

"Sir, is something wrong?"

Coulson asked rhetorically, but Merlin didn't answer. He reached out and patted Coulson on the shoulder, as if to say goodbye, and in the darkness of the night, Merlin pulled the trolley and walked towards the plane in front of him, and he whispered without looking back:

"Don't ask."

"Your level of secrecy isn't enough."

A few minutes later, the ready-to-go postal plane, carrying Merlin, a unique passenger, rushed into the dark night sky with a whistling sound.

In the darkness on the edge of the airport, Coulson put his sunglasses back on, and as he watched the plane disappear into the night sky, he shook his head, restarted his car, and headed back towards where he lived.

Coulson could sense that Merlin's words weren't groundless.

Something must have happened.

Perhaps, the reason for Chief Merlin's departure this time is not so simple.

Perhaps, he should find a way to investigate?

Merlin didn't know what Coulson was thinking, and after the plane took off, he quickly fell into a long-lost slumber.

He would follow the plane and, after a flight of several hours, land in Paris.

Then transfer to a plane there, which crosses half of Europe and lands in Dubai.

Finally, from that desert city, through the Arab world by other means of transportation, into Asia, and finally to reach their destination.

It's not a comfortable journey at all, and the madness of traveling halfway around the world to a troubled country in search of some secret clues can only be experienced by agents who walk in darkness and the tip of a knife.

Their lives are so "wonderful".

Three days later, Merlin was sitting in an old passenger car full of people and swaying.

His dress at this time is no longer the gray suit that he did not turn into for 10,000 years, but instead a very ordinary dress. A half-worn suit, a somewhat worn handbag given to him by Harry, a pair of rimless glasses, and messy hair.

It looks no different from the foreigners who are trying to make a living in Afghanistan.

Amid the sounds of exoticism and life around him, Merlin leaned back in his sweat-stained chair with his eyes closed, his fingers feeling the mark of the ten rings on the badge.

After a moment, he looked out the window.

On both sides of the street, there are rows of two-story shops, and in the distance you can see the mosque located in the street. As far as his eye could see, a few lonely high-rise buildings stood out among the slightly backward cities.

Most of the houses were white, the streets were full of trees, and the sky overhead was clear, at least much bluer than the sky in New York.

The sun was blazing, and at this point, the streets were rarely frequented, and the pedestrians walked in the shadows of the buildings to avoid the sun, some wearing blue shoulders, some wearing white robes, and the women of the street wore oppressive black robes, covering their faces and revealing only their eyes.

They are in a hurry, living their own ordinary life in this ordinary day.

There were not a few cars on this street, but there was no feeling of busy traffic that Merlin had become accustomed to, and even made Merlin feel a kind of quiet. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this strange place, this place made Merlin feel strange.

Here, it's Kandahar...

A place away from home.