Upon hearing the system's judgment, Nick Fury, Captain America, and Iron Man all couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, there had definitely been an element of gambling involved in answering that question.
Even though the answer came from Captain America's analysis, it still felt like way too much of a coincidence.
What were the odds that The Winter Soldier just happened to have something on him that could identify him to Captain America?
Even if they were from the same era, that chance was slim.
Luckily, Nick Fury had bet right—he answered correctly.
[Congratulations to respondent Nick Fury for obtaining the skill: Clairvoyance!]
The system's prompt continued, and Nick Fury instantly felt a slight change in his body—like something new had been added.
There was no doubt about it: the system had just bound the Clairvoyance skill to him.
At the same time, his mind was suddenly flooded with all the necessary information about the Clairvoyance skill: how to use it, what its limitations were, and so on.
"This is practically a god-tier ability!"
Going over the skill information, Nick Fury was momentarily stunned, unable to stop himself from marveling internally.
"Nick Fury, you've already got Clairvoyance? What kind of skill is that?"
Iron Man immediately rushed over, curiosity practically sparking from his eyes. Captain America also glanced at him, clearly intrigued.
But Nick Fury hesitated. He really didn't want to disclose too much about this skill—after all, it was now one of his trump cards.
And a trump card? The deeper you hide it, the better.
"Nick Fury, let's just be open with each other," Captain America spoke up.
"If you choose to hide your rewards, then in future questions we'll all start hiding our rewards too. That's a vicious cycle, don't you think?"
After a brief moment of thought, Nick Fury had to admit that Captain America had a point.
From these past rounds of questioning, Nick Fury had already seen the pattern: not a single respondent here was a villain—or even a normal person, for that matter.
Sharing reward info with this elite group wasn't that big of a risk.
None of them were going to go blabbing around or treat him like a lab rat to poke and prod.
"With Clairvoyance, I can ignore spatial barriers and see any person—or object—I want to see."
He finally complied with Captain America's advice, explaining the skill while Iron Man and Captain America stared at him.
The two were shocked.
Clairvoyance was totally busted!
"So, Nick Fury, starting now your eyes are more powerful than radar? That's straight-up cheating!"
Iron Man exclaimed on the side.
"But there are still major limitations," Nick Fury continued.
"It doesn't transcend planetary boundaries. For example, if I'm on Earth, I can only see things on Earth. I can't see the Moon or other planets."
Iron Man: "..."
Captain America: "..."
Are you serious? That's what you're calling a limitation?
Dude, shut up with your humblebragging!
"Of course, the biggest limitation is that I can only use Clairvoyance once a day, and each time it lasts a maximum of 30 seconds."
"Also, I can't see people or objects I'm unfamiliar with. I must have seen them before, or have a mental image of them."
"For example, if the Winter Soldier is still wearing his full Arctic get-up and mask, I can find him with Clairvoyance. But if he takes off the mask, then Clairvoyance is useless—because that would be a completely different face I've never seen before."
Nick Fury added this final note. These two conditions were the real limitations of Clairvoyance.
But even so, both Iron Man and Captain America found it reasonable.
Because if Nick Fury could use it unlimited times to spy from his couch—well, he might as well just ascend to godhood.
Poor Heimdall would be out of a job!
Still, even with its limitations, Clairvoyance was an absolutely overpowered skill.
It meant that as long as Nick Fury had a photo of someone, that person could never truly hide again.
You had to admit: this skill was tailor-made for the master of intelligence operations.
[Answer session complete. Now playing the explanation segment.]
While they were still discussing, the system's voice interrupted, prompting the trio to fall silent and focus on the big screen.
Under their watchful eyes, new footage began to play.
First to appear was a highway, busy with cars streaming back and forth. At the same time, a voice came through:
"HYDRA hates leaks!"
Iron Man didn't think much of it, but Captain America and Nick Fury both twitched noticeably.
HYDRA?
Wasn't that organization supposed to be long gone?
A group that had become history—why was it still being mentioned now?
Just that one sentence wasn't enough to draw a solid conclusion, but the two already felt a growing sense of unease.
The scene then shifted to the interior of a black Chevy.
Inside were four people—three men and one woman. Two of them were instantly recognized by everyone watching: one was Captain America, and the other was the bald commander from the earlier footage who had ordered Captain America's arrest.
As for the remaining two—Black Widow was recognized by Iron Man, but the Black man driving the car was unfamiliar to him.
Captain America didn't recognize any of them.
But Nick Fury instantly did.
The driver was none other than Sam Wilson, the man he had been tracking, the one who fought in the Endgame battle wearing mechanical wings.
As the footage continued, the trio quickly identified the earlier speaker—it had been that bald commander.
"Then why are you so loose-lipped?"
Sam, with a touch of sarcasm, clapped back, leaving the bald commander speechless.
"If I'm understanding this correctly… that Black guy is saying the bald commander is a HYDRA agent?"
Iron Man turned to Nick Fury, baffled.
"Nick Fury, wasn't HYDRA wiped out long ago?"
Captain America stared at Nick Fury, eyes locked.
Back when he first woke up, Nick Fury had told him HYDRA was dead and gone—a fact that had greatly comforted him. But now… it didn't seem so simple.
....