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Alex Ray, who had just returned to the restaurant and was about to take a break, received a series of system notifications in his mind.
"Ding."
"Congratulations to the host, George Stacy's favorability has increased."
"..."
"Congratulations, Officer A has successfully added the host as a friend."
"Congratulations, Officer B has successfully added the host as a friend."
"Congratulations, Officer C..."
"Congratulations, Hell's Kitchen resident A has successfully added the host as a friend."
"..."
Alex was visibly annoyed by the relentless stream of system alerts. "System, can you turn off these notification sounds?"
"The host has been put into silent mode." The system responded in its usual mechanical tone.
Alex stared at the long list of new friend notifications in his mind, confused.
Why is the format different this time? Why are these people adding me as a friend? Wasn't it always me who had to send the friend requests before? Can friends now be added passively?
He asked, "System, I didn't initiate these friend requests. How come a bunch of people suddenly became my friends?"
"Host, the system never stated that friendships could only be formed through active requests. If someone believes you're a friend worth having, they can naturally become your friend. Sometimes, friendship is that simpleâit could happen through a glance, a gesture, or a shared moment." The system explained calmly.
"However, these passively-added friends can only be one-star friends. If the host wants to improve their level, you'll need to spend time with them and deepen the bond."
After hearing that, Alex's mind went into overdrive with possibilities. If he became a celebrity or a superhero and appeared on national television, wouldn't millions of people become his friends?
The system, almost as if reading his thoughts, chimed in: "Only people you've actually met are eligible to become friends. Think of it this wayâyou've seen the President on TV, but since you haven't met him in person, you aren't qualified to be his friend. The reason you gained so many friends this time is because you did something meaningful for them. The conditions for passive friendship are much stricter than active ones. Please focus on genuine interactions."
"System, how many friend points do I have now?" Alex asked, hoping the influx had yielded enough points for a ten-pull draw.
"You currently have 227 friend points, which can be exchanged for two family points. Would you like to redeem them?"
"No exchange," Alex immediately declined. He could only afford two draws right now, and if he got "Thank you for your patronage" as a result, it would be a total loss. He'd rather wait and save up enough for a ten-pull. He never believed in miracles from single drawsâthat was for suckers.
He genuinely hadn't expected this outcome just by trying to improve the Hell's Kitchen Police Department and provide a better environment for the people living there. It turned out not everyone in Hell's Kitchen was cold-hearted after all.
Meanwhile, at the Trident Building, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, and a team of agents returned in defeat. Coulson immediately ordered the wounded agents to be treated, then led Natasha and Hawkeye to the Director's office to report to Nick Fury.
It was clear Fury had been waiting.
"Director Fury, I take full responsibility for the mission failure. I underestimated Alex Ray and his group," Coulson offered, stepping forward.
"No, Director. It's my fault. I underestimated Kane because he's blind. I didn't go all out. The failure falls on me and Coulson," Hawkeye quickly added.
"It's my fault!"
"No, it's mine!"
Nick Fury listened to them fall over themselves to take the blame. Despite the failure, the fact that they were so willing to protect each other brought a rare glint of approval to his eye.
"That's enough," Fury finally said, cutting them off. "The fault is mine, not yours. What matters now is re-investigating Alex Ray and the people around him. Why does Caine have superpowers? Was this a failure in our intelligence network? Or did he just recently awaken his abilities?"
He quickly refocused the team on the core issue.
"If it's the former, we need to rework our intel system. If it's the latter, then it means Alex Ray and his associates might be far more dangerous than we thought," Natasha said with a grim expression.
Coulson frowned. "I don't get it. Awakening powers later in life is entirely possible, right? Why is that such a big deal? As long as we can figure out what kind of abilities they have, we can strategize. Next time, we won't be caught off guard."
Natasha leaned forward. "Think about itâthese people were completely ordinary for decades. Then, within a month of getting involved with Alex Ray, they've become mutants. Doesn't that raise some red flags? And haven't you noticed that the number of mutants appearing around Alex is increasing?"
Nick Fury nodded, picking up her point. "According to our data, Alex Ray wasn't a mutant initially, and neither were the siblings or his close associates. That means either someone backing Alex has found a way to activate latent powers, or Alex himself has discovered such a method. Which also means the number of mutants under his influence might be way higher than we realize. John Wick and the others might be mutants too."
Fury's tone darkened. "A force that controls or can manufacture mutants at will? That's a global threat. That's the kind of thing that topples nations."
If this was true, then Alex Ray was not just some lucky landlord with a few unusual tenantsâhe could be a catalyst for mutant proliferation on a massive scale.
"Of course, this is still speculation. Our job now is to conduct a thorough investigation into Alex Ray and whatever organization or power he might represent," Fury continued.
"But we promised not to enter his territory," Coulson said uneasily. "And Hell's Kitchen is already tough for outsiders. It's extremely insular and suspicious of government agents."
"Then don't engage. Just monitor," Fury instructed. "No one said we couldn't observe. Don't act unless absolutely necessary. If we confirm he really does have the ability to generate or awaken mutant abilities, I'll call in outside help. There are still mutants in this world who are stronger than anything he's got."
He turned back to Coulson. "I'm assigning you to long-term surveillance. Monitor Alex and his network 24/7. Use whatever means necessaryâjust stay away from the restaurant. Avoid confrontation and focus on gathering intelligence. We promised not to harass him. We never said we wouldn't watch him."
"Understood, sir," Coulson said, giving a sharp salute before exiting the office.
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đ Enjoying the Story? Get Ahead Now!
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