Chapter 36:
As Coulson exited the interrogation room, he caught up with Mark and asked, "So, you're saying someone from Asgard will come looking for him later?"
Curiosity piqued, Coulson pressed further, "Do you know what they're like? Will there be any conflicts or, like, clashes of divine power?"
Mark replied directly, "If you're worried about a fight, then just let him go."
Coulson hesitated, thinking it over. "But will there really be a conflict? The guy seems to have a decent character."
"Look, Coulson, Nick Fury put you in charge of this, not me," Mark said, rubbing his forehead. He was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s benefactor, not their strategist. "Besides, Nick Fury doesn't fully trust me either. Why should I do all this extra work? Am I bored or something?"
Coulson was speechless, unsure how to respond.
"Anyway, I'm going to study magic. Call me if any ancient warrior types show up in town," Mark declared before retreating into his room.
"Ancient warriors?" Coulson stood there, momentarily puzzled.
Before he could figure things out, the door swung open again, and Mark poked his head out. "Oh, and tell your guys to bring me an ostrich that can hatch eggs."
"Huh?" Coulson was genuinely confused.
Before he could ask about the strange request, the door slammed shut.
Coulson sighed and massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on. It seemed that despite the benefactor's generosity, his demands were certainly unusual. Taking a deep breath, Coulson reached for the intercom.
"Calling headquarters, please respond."
"This is Coulson. I know this sounds crazy, but it's an order. Please get an ostrich that can hatch eggs to Town, New Mexico, within half an hour..."
S.H.I.E.L.D. was incredibly efficient.
Despite the bizarre request, when Coulson reported the matter to Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. sprang into action.
Multiple departments got involved, and soon a team of agents located a private zoo in San Francisco. They negotiated with a bewildered zookeeper and quickly transported an ostrich, currently incubating eggs, to the town using a Quinjet.
Meanwhile, Mark had his reasons for wanting an ostrich.
Remember how Mark had been experimenting with bringing Minecraft items into the real world?
He had already tested the Ender Hand and the Essence Berry, both of which had become incredibly useful after being materialized. But Steve's backpack still held several other items waiting to be examined.
One of these items was a "Dragon Egg."
Actually, while Thor was trying to steal Mjolnir at the base, Mark had already materialized the Dragon Egg while listening in on the conversation between Thor and Loki through Steve.
Otherwise, knowing him, he would have gone there himself.
Anyway, it went exactly as Mark had expected. After materializing the Dragon Egg, it turned into a real egg.
Slightly larger than a soccer ball, the egg had a dark shell with purple spots scattered across it.
The dragon egg pulsed rhythmically, emitting faint purple energy dots—a sight that fascinated Mark. But what really surprised him was its connection to the Ender Hand force field.
In this realm of reality, Mark was witnessing the impossible. The collision of the Minecraft world with reality seemed to be the cause. The Ender Hand force, derived from the mutant Enderman, and the dragon egg, originating from the mighty Ender Dragon, shared End attributes, possibly explaining their connection.
The more Mark thought about it, the more curious he became about the dragon egg. In the original Minecraft, the egg was just a decoration, unable to hatch into an Ender Dragon. But in the real world, infused with End energy, Mark sensed life stirring within the egg.
He wanted to hatch the dragon egg, but the idea of a grown man spending his days babysitting an egg was ridiculous. He could just imagine Nick Fury laughing his head off.
So, Mark decided to leave it to the professionals, which is why he asked Coulson for an ostrich that was good at hatching eggs. Thanks to his earlier gift of a gold bar to Nick Fury, Mark now had the full support of S.H.I.E.L.D., and they were incredibly efficient.
Within just half an hour, an ostrich arrived at Mark's room. He stared at the nervous bird, clearly unsettled by the sudden change in environment and the bumpy ride. The ostrich, with its big eyes locked on Mark, occasionally spread its wings, showing a hint of dominance.
Mark hesitated, holding the precious Ender Dragon egg. Seeing how agitated the ostrich was, he didn't dare let it hatch the egg yet. What if it accidentally destroyed it? Getting another Ender Dragon egg would require a dangerous trip to the End.
"Damn, I should have asked Coulson to bring an animal expert," Mark lamented, massaging his forehead.
He decided to wait until the ostrich calmed down. In the meantime, he could experiment with other Minecraft items. He had Steve retrieve a massive purple blade that looked like a door panel from the Alchemy Bag.
This huge blade, called the Hellish Cleaver, was the most powerful weapon in the Tinker's Construct mod. Before coming to the Marvel world, Mark had Steve forge two Hellish Cleavers—one for himself and one for testing.
With a gentle stroke along the back of the blade, Mark initiated the reality test. A flash of white light confirmed the successful transition.
With a resounding thud, the gigantic deep purple Hellish Cleaver hit the ground, startling the nearby ostrich, which squawked in alarm.
"It actually works," Mark exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he picked up the massive blade.
The reality test had made the Hellish Cleaver even more powerful. The blade was almost two meters long, tens of centimeters wide, and as thick as a door panel. But its edge was razor-sharp. And the whole thing was made of pure Hellish Cleaver alloy, making it incredibly heavy.
Even after eating all those Essence Berries, Mark would still need the Ender Hand force field to wield this weapon properly.
With his new weapon in hand, Mark spent some time playing around and testing it out. As the night wore on, Mark got tired and went to sleep. The next morning, while he was still resting, Coulson knocked on his door.
"Mr. Mark, it seems those warriors you mentioned have arrived."