She raised her weapon, fixing him with a cold gaze.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The man kept his head lowered, his hood adorned with golden, arcane patterns that obscured much of his face, leaving only his sharp jawline and the faint curve of his lips visible.
After several of Amanda's insistent questions, he slowly raised his head, revealing a strikingly handsome face.
For an instant, even the steadfastly patriotic Amanda found herself momentarily taken aback. She snapped herself back to caution, though—she'd encountered superhumans who weaponized their looks as a form of manipulation before.
"There's no need for such hostility, Ms. Waller," the man spoke calmly. "There's no conflict between us. I came only to discuss a matter of mutual interest, so please forgive the intrusion."
But Amanda kept her guard up, her gaze fixed as she held the gun on him. "If you know who I am, you should be aware of what I do. For a superhuman to appear here unannounced and then tell me not to be on guard?"
The man gave a resigned sigh before adding with a hint of irony, "Had I sent a formal request, I imagine your welcome would have been more than just that firearm."
In all likelihood, it would have involved a small arsenal and a team of agents prepared to take him down on sight.
Knowing all too well how these things worked, the man gave a slight smile and suggested, "Perhaps it would help if you took a look at what I've brought before you make up your mind?"
With that, he placed a thick file on the coffee table between them.
Amanda didn't speak; the moment he had appeared, she had pressed a silent alarm button hidden in the remote. Yet, curiously, no one had arrived… not one person had responded.
Realizing this, Amanda's gaze grew sharper as she cast a wary look his way. She then seated herself cautiously, picked up the dossier, and began leafing through the papers.
As she read the first line, her brow furrowed, showing confusion and a touch of disbelief. But by the end of the first page, Amanda could tell this was no ordinary report.
She continued flipping through page after page, her expression darkening with each one. If her skin tone hadn't already reached its limit, her face would have visibly darkened even further—a stark testament to the shock within.
At the last page, she slammed the file shut and glared at the man opposite her, her eyes sharp as knives.
"Is all of this true?" she demanded, her voice steely with authority.
The man shrugged lightly, saying, "Do I have any reason to lie about something like this?"
In truth, Amanda had already been convinced the moment she'd asked the question. There was no room for deception in a report like this; they would have no trouble verifying it. It was just that the contents were so explosive she could hardly accept them.
The dossier opened with a record of the Department of the Interior's recent losses in national resources over the past few years.
A little background knowledge was all it took to know that the Department of the Interior was responsible for managing and safeguarding the nation's mineral and oceanic resources—a pillar of the U.S. economy.
And now, someone was telling her that the head of this critical department had been secretly selling off these resources? She was beyond appalled.
Did Alexander Thompson, that wretched man, have no fear that he might not live long enough to enjoy his wealth?
Amanda clenched her teeth.
Avery—who had adopted his old appearance to seek out allies—watched her with a faint smile.
This, in fact, was the true aim of the mysterious organization's incursions into these worlds.
Looking back on his past life, Avery realized they must have operated covertly in his world as well. But because they'd taken meticulous care to hide their tracks, and because his society at the time had focused more on exploiting resources than conserving them, no one had ever discovered it.
No! It wasn't that no one had noticed; at the very least, Avery—who had been focused on studying forbidden magical arts—had begun to suspect something was amiss when he noticed a number of sneaky individuals popping up in his territory. He thought that perhaps someone had sent spies to deal with him, so he personally began to investigate.
However, before he could uncover the truth, he was ambushed by the overly cautious organization and ultimately ended up dead, only to awaken in this new world.
The reason he sought out Amanda was rooted in the years he had spent wandering across various parts of the world, gaining insight into many superhumans. He had also observed the U.S. government's covert activities from start to finish, which made him aware of the existence of such a department. This knowledge ultimately led him to decide to cooperate with the government.
After all, this wasn't a matter he could handle alone. It wouldn't be fair to expect him to deal with everything by himself. Moreover, that organization was undermining the country, and once the government caught wind of it, they couldn't possibly remain indifferent. Perhaps in that case, the legislation concerning superhumans would need to be put on hold while this issue was resolved first.
Avery pondered this expressionlessly.
At that moment, a composed Amanda had regained her calm. She looked at the man before her, scrutinizing him without revealing much. After a moment, she said, "What's your purpose in handing me this information?"
He didn't seem like a patriot; his cold demeanor was all too apparent.
Avery shrugged with a smile. "I believe you can see for yourself. Those people do not belong to this world; they are a group of despicable invaders. As part of this world, shouldn't we drive them out?"
Amanda regarded him with an inscrutable look. Still, she wasn't particularly interested in his true intentions. What mattered now was getting rid of those intruders.
"What else can you offer beyond this dossier?" she asked.