Chapter Seven: The Time Vessel

"Sir, Agent May reporting in."

The person who entered was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Iron Cavalry, Agent Melinda May.

Yang Xin was tactful enough to immediately vacate the driver's seat. After receiving Nick Fury's orders, Melinda sat down, and exclaimed in surprise, "So this is the vehicle that shot Coulson out."

"Strictly speaking, it's called the Dino Express Kusei. From now on, you're its designated chauffeur, and I will become Kusei, the Warrior of the Era," Coulson explained.

At that moment, Yang Xin's expression shifted, for the wretched Treasure Distribution System had just issued another artifact. He was starting to realize that this abominable system was utterly unrestrained, bestowing treasures upon everyone it saw.

This time, the artifact was a Time Ship. The user requirements: a calm, meticulous, and strong-willed female warrior, to be found within three minutes.

Hell, was there even a need to look? Wasn’t the calm, meticulous, and strong-willed female warrior standing right here—Agent Melinda May?

The Time Ship originated from the Japanese anime "Time Ship." While Yang Xin barely remembered its plot, he vividly recalled its irresistibly catchy theme, especially whenever the villains appeared—two fools would sing, "Woo-ha-ha, woo-ha-ha..."

The system had once again modified the Time Ship, stripping it of its offensive abilities and leaving only the power to travel through time, with the caveat that it could not disturb the timeline. The ship could only travel to the past, not the future, and upon arrival, it existed in a different dimension; it could observe but not interfere with the past.

Even if you shouted into someone's ear, they wouldn't hear you; if you tried to strike them, your fist would pass through their image like air.

The Treasure Distribution System was clearly tailoring gifts to its audience. Still, Yang Xin couldn't just hand the Time Ship to Melinda May outright—that would be far too crude. He couldn't just stride up and say, "Hey, gorgeous, I’ve got a treasure you might want to see."

That would surely end in a beating. As Yang Xin mulled over possible excuses, he caught sight of Nick Fury itching to take action out of the corner of his eye.

"Our esteemed Director seems to be getting carried away..." An idea flashed through Yang Xin's mind.

"Uchiha Obito—no, Director Nick Fury," he said.

"Just call me Fury," Nick replied, genuinely elated today. With the Sharingan in his possession, Natasha blessed with cosmic power and sacred armor, Coulson transformed into a Warrior of the Era and gifted with time-stopping abilities—this was a windfall. And all these treasures had been exchanged for decommissioned weapons, which would have been costly to dispose of. Now, they’d simply been handed over to Yang Xin. The only minor issue was the expense of daily supplies, but overall, it was a huge profit—anyone would be grinning in their sleep.

It took all of Nick Fury’s self-control not to burst out laughing.

"Director Fury, even though you have the Sharingan and can use illusions to distinguish who’s a Hydra agent, I’d still advise you not to make any big moves."

"Why?" Fury was planning to act discreetly, as always, but he was too used to Yang Xin’s uncanny insights not to listen, even if just for amusement.

"You’re short-handed. Besides the people here, the only S.H.I.E.L.D. members you can trust are Hawkeye Clinton Mart, Maria Hill, and Sharon Carter," Yang Xin replied calmly. In truth, S.H.I.E.L.D. was deeply infiltrated by Hydra, yet many lower-level members remained loyal at heart.

Like that admin who would rather die than give Crossbones the password—but these people held too little power to matter, and Yang Xin couldn’t even recall their names...

"So, Mr. Xin, any brilliant ideas?"

"Nothing brilliant. If you’re short-handed, recruit more people."

"Who? Do you have anyone in mind?" Fury was curious.

"Steve Rogers."

"Who did you say?!" Not only Fury, but everyone present stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Steve Rogers—the American legend, history’s first true superhero, Captain America."

"He’s still alive?"

"Medically speaking, yes," Yang Xin replied nonchalantly.

"Where is he?" Fury pressed.

"I don’t know."

"You don’t know?!" Fury’s voice shot up by eight decibels.

"That’s right—I don’t know."

"So what’s the point?" Fury grumbled.

Natasha’s eyes, however, gleamed. Like an octopus, she clung to Yang Xin, whispering in his ear, "I know you have a way to find Steve Rogers. Take us—please?"

"Alright, alright!" Yang Xin struggled in Natasha’s arms, half enjoying her embrace, half resigned. "I may not know where Captain America is, but I have a treasure that can take us to where he’s located."

Accustomed to Yang Xin’s miracles, everyone except Melinda lit up at the mention of a "treasure."

"The price?"

"Five times the usual!" Yang Xin held up his hand.

"I’ll give you ten times the supplies," Fury replied at once.

Yang Xin was taken aback. "Seems Captain America means a lot to Fury," he thought.

"Isn’t most of the supplies here already cleared out?"

"This is the District of Columbia, where the White House stands. Beyond the district, there are dozens of weapons disposal—no, weapons and equipment reserve depots, stocked with arms and essential supplies—more than enough for your needs. You can give your pocket to Natasha; she’ll handle the transfer," Fury said with the air of a wealthy man patronizing the poor.

Not wanting to make the trip himself, Yang Xin simply handed his dimensional pocket to Natasha. She gave him a tight hug and said, "Baby, wait for me," before departing to collect the goods.

To save time, she took a helicopter.

"Mr. Xin, can you bring out your treasure now? I can’t wait to find Steve—I'm his number one fan," Coulson said with a smile.

With a flick of his wrist, Yang Xin produced a small mechanical grasshopper.

"Is that a grasshopper?" Melinda asked in perfect Cantonese.

"It’s not a grasshopper. It’s a Time Ship. By riding it, we can traverse the timeline to the moment Captain America crashed, see where he went down, and then return to rescue him."

"Can’t we save him right then?" Coulson asked, curious.

"No. The Time Ship only allows observation—it cannot disturb the past or change anything that has happened. You can watch, but not intervene."

"How do you ride such a tiny thing?"

"It requires an incantation. Agent May will pilot the ship, but the chant must be recited by two people—let’s have Coulson and Director Fury do it," Yang Xin said, pointing to May.

"What’s the incantation?"

Without answering, Yang Xin pulled up an episode of the "Time Ship" anime, fast-forwarded to the villains’ entrance, and as the absurdly catchy "Woo-ha-ha, woo-ha-ha..." started to play, he said with a theatrical air, "That’s the incantation—complete with gestures. Don’t get a single move wrong..."

"Let Coulson and May handle it," Fury objected, unwilling to make a fool of himself singing and dancing.

"The treasure is unique, and I designated Melinda as the Time Ship’s owner and pilot—she can’t recite the incantation herself. So you two will have to do it. Don’t even think about calling in outsiders; God knows if any of them are Hydra, and I’m not about to let these treasures be exposed too soon."

Fury pondered grimly for a long moment. Perhaps his hope for Captain America was too strong; after sending all other agents far away, he and Coulson, faces dark, began to sing the ridiculous "Woo-ha-ha, woo-ha-ha..." song and perform the foolish dance.

When Natasha returned and saw Fury and Coulson singing and dancing so absurdly, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

And in Yang Xin’s hand, the Time Ship glowed brilliantly in the midst of the ludicrous song and dance...