"Fifty years passed when you disappeared."

When Nick. By the time Fury said this again, the rain had subsided, the haze in the sky had cleared, and the clear sky was re-revealed.

By this time, they had entered an office building in eastern Manhattan, which was the New York branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. in New York. The reception room was small but cozy, with a view of the spired Chrysler Building in the distance, and behind the world's tallest brick building, the Stark headquarters he used to frequent.

Ignoring the voices behind him, Eric walked to the window and stared intently in the direction of the setting sun for a moment before sitting down on the couch.

The guests were seated one by one, lined up on his left and right sides, some were familiar faces - Hill, Natasha and Coulson, others were relatively strange, and Fury introduced them to him one by one, it turned out to be Hawkeye Clint who was good at archery. Barton, nicknamed Barbara. Morse and Carter's niece, Sharon, among others.

Eric didn't speak, but watched quietly, he could tell that these were people Fury could trust, and perhaps the One-Eyed Director didn't want him to come into contact with people from other factions within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Originally, Howard's son Tony also served in S.H.I.E.L.D., and even once held the position of commander, but with his extremely arrogant and habitual character of making trouble, it was really unbearable, so he was forcibly removed not long ago after a unanimous cry, and now he is still staying in his seaside mansion to ponder new equipment technology.

Although the guests were a little reticent, but the people here were all old, and they chatted casually, making the atmosphere seem neither cold nor noisy. Fury didn't participate in his men's conversation, and instead of sitting on the couch opposite, he moved a chair and sat down on Eric's side with his back to the window.

The golden glow of the setting sun passed over his spine. Cast in Eric's direction, his calm face was clearly revealed in the bright light, while Fury himself hid in the dark of the backlight, silently observing his expression.

The female agents talk as they go into a deeper conversation, referencing the past, both intentionally and unintentionally, and from their words, Eric learns about what has happened since he left the previous era—Howard, Steve, and the other mutants, and of course, more importantly, Sharon's aunt, his ex-girlfriend Peggy.

All in all, most of them have become a thing of the past, except for a few who are still fighting. Most of the rest are out of sight.

The first director, Howard, died in a car accident.

The second director, Carter, retired due to illness.

Charles and Mora started the Academy.

After a brief spell with the government, Magneto quickly came to the fore and continued to fight for the living space of his compatriots.

……

It may sound as if nothing has changed, human society stubbornly relies on its own inherent inertia to move forward, so that all efforts have come to naught, and the only good news is that Steve has finally been discovered, fished out of the thick ice, and has recently recovered to work in an institution founded by old friends, if not to go on a mission in the Mediterranean. He should be in front of Eric by now.

The news was logical, anything could happen in fifty years, and Eric just listened, and after a brief inquiry of concern, he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. The agents had a hard time discerning what was going on inside him, at least on the surface, and from Fury's point of view, there was nothing worth mentioning. The other party could say that his face was expressionless, but his eyelashes drooped, and he couldn't tell whether his eyes were sad or shocked.

In fact. Eric was neither sad nor shocked, and his heart was even more relaxed than when he first regained consciousness, from what he saw by the window.

Those things let him know that his past efforts were not all in vain, but due to the oscillation of time and space, there were some minor adjustments, and with this understanding, he could temporarily relax and slowly understand what happened in the future.

As the sun set, the voices of the outside world gradually disappeared, and the agents never provoked the guests to talk, Natasha's eyes were meaningful, Peggy's niece Sharon was somewhat curious, and the others exchanged glances secretly and quickly, and the reception room was a little deserted for a while.

After a brief silence, Fury finally broke the silence.

"Remember me?". He asked, rubbing the patch over his left eye.

"Of course." Eric replied lightly, this was the first time he had spoken to Fury since entering the reception room. "If I hadn't had amnesia, we would have met in Brooklyn in the winter of '42."

"That's right, your memory is still excellent." Fury looked at each other with blazing eyes, and although he was missing an eye, the remaining one seemed to take on the obligations of his companion and looked doubly sharp. "We met in Brooklyn, and I was saved from being arrested thanks to your help, and then I polished your shoes in the square in front of the Stark Exposition Pavilion, and that was the last time we met."

He doesn't care about the past troubles, for the tenth-level agents, there is only the difference between those who need to be kept secret and those who don't need to be kept secret, and everything else is not in the scope of consideration, but all of his subordinates may not have such a good cultivation, hearing that the director who has always shown himself as a mysterious image once polished people's shoes, the bionic bird Barbara and Hawkeye Barton's eyes lit up, and they pricked up their ears with interest.

But Eric didn't talk about the past.

"I don't think you need to be in the service industry anymore." He gestured to the reception room.

"It's true that although there are no special achievements compared to you, there is still some progress, and when I heard the news that you woke up, I postponed a few meetings and rushed here." Fury lifted his chin and suddenly clapped his hands again. "By the way, I haven't congratulated you on becoming the only living national hero who has saved America twice. After you disappeared, Congress posthumously recognized you with the rank of Brigadier General, so we have to call you 'General.'" ”

"That's a good name." Eric narrowed his eyes and commented. "But I prefer the word 'living' to heroes and ranks, and that lets me know I'm alive."

There was a bit of ridicule in his indifferent tone, and the atmosphere in the reception room was finally no longer so awkward.

"There is no need to doubt it, we can prove it for you." The corners of Fury's mouth twitched, and he smiled. "But 50 years later, the world situation has changed dramatically, and it is completely different from what it used to be."

Mr. Director said, and Commander Hill took out the holographic projection equipment at the right time to show the scenes.

There were steel men flying in the air, as well as all kinds of bizarre superpowers, and in addition to the characters he came into contact with regularly, Eric even saw thousands of hairy creatures gathering in the square waving their arms and roaring.

"The world is a different place, Eric." Fury said, looking at the image. "In the past, only human nations killed each other, but since you destroyed the giant monsters that attacked New York fifty years ago, the whole world has not been settled. The Magneto you recruited was once a national hero, but his attitude was too radical, and after resigning, he established a brotherhood of superpowers, as well as the remnants of the Nazis, and the Hydra that we thought had been eliminated has also revived, and in addition to these old rivals, there have been many new forces recently, evil scientists, legendary werewolves...... If you go for a walk in West New York now, you might even see robots with souls on the streets -- an Air Force test pilot who took control of the last machine he piloted after his death and now openly walks the streets every day -- I guess you wouldn't have imagined it. ”

Eric raised his eyebrows and didn't speak, these things actually have something to do with him, but others don't know.

The future he had imagined in the past - in addition to ordinary humans, there are also worlds where blood, werewolves, and robots coexist, mutants have become superpowers, and the boundaries between those who have developed abilities are no longer clear, but they will still be ostracized.

This is also unavoidable, after all, human beings are accustomed to being hostile to dissent.

The scene passed quickly, showing off the major changes one by one, and finally stopped at a group of people with heavy gray hair, led by Rucien, the werewolf king that Eric had brought back from the other world. After lurking for so long, he finally made his voice heard and is now seeking to establish his own nation in Scotland.

"The whole world is in turmoil, the superpowers want more, the living space of the Puneng people is getting more and more crowded, we are like sitting on a volcanic crater, we may be destroyed by the erupting magma at any moment, in order to protect the peace, we need your strength."

Fury said earnestly, one eye glittering.

However, in the end, Eric still did not agree to Fury's request, he is not Steve, he does not have the love to give everything for the country and mankind, he is most concerned about his own affairs now, and until these things are clarified, Fury's request is noncommittal.

Fortunately, Mr. Director also understood this, and did not hope for a success, and after a while of communication, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents said goodbye one after another, and now Eric is temporarily living here, and the rookie agent Zhenma, who used to take care of him. Simmons was transferred over to continue to accompany him.

As he was leaving, Eric suddenly mentioned something.

"How did you find me?" He asked casually, vaguely feeling that he hadn't fallen into the sea like Steve.

"We were experimenting at the time...... It was a fortuitous event. Fury didn't elaborate, but with the help of the electromagnetic waves flashing through his head, Eric vaguely saw a cube glowing blue.

So he smiled, didn't ask any more questions, sent the other person out the door, and then returned to the window to look at the scenery.

In Eric's eyes, he crossed the Stark Mansion and headed west, near the banks of the distant Hudson River, where a floating palace reflected the last rays of the setting sun. (To be continued......)