Once the surroundings returned to silence, Locke looked up and glanced at the no less than ten cameras in the corners and edges of the area, a playful smile playing on his lips.
The next moment, he fixed his gaze upon the void.
"It should be about time. Initiating the Dimensional Trade interface."
Immediately after, a light screen that only Locke himself could see slowly presented itself before his eyes.
Following a moment of flickering snow-like patterns, the screen connected, and what appeared on the other end was none other than a cat, a blue cat.
With big, round eyes, conveying an aura of absolute clumsy adorableness.
But if you truly think this is just a silly cat, then you are too naive, because this cat is named Tom!
Tom of Tom and Jerry, an extraordinary cat capable of rivaling that Gray Wolf from Green Green Grassland.
"Tom, is what I asked for ready?" Locke asked directly.
Tom nodded, showing his big teeth.
Locke's eyes suddenly lit up.
Unlike that Gray Wolf who seemed to have mastered mechanics to a divine level, Tom's expressive power wasn't that exaggerated, but he was actually much more versatile, mastering almost every skill in the world. His invention and creation abilities were also top-notch, the kind who could easily hand-craft an Iron Man suit. Tony Stark was a junior compared to him in this aspect.
Tom's profile picture instantly disappeared, with a speed comparable to teleportation, and reappeared in just one second. This time, Tom held a box. The box contained vials of a milky white reagent; a rough count showed twenty to thirty.
Seeing these potions, even Locke couldn't help but feel a burning desire in his eyes. This stuff was the 'mouse poison' that Tom created in the original series, but it was actually a strengthening potion, capable of increasing Jerry's strength to a terrifying degree. A guaranteed increase of several hundred times, able to blast open an alloy safe with one hand.
Although eager, Locke wasn't in a rush; instead, he calmly asked.
"Tom, is it the modified version with extended effect time, as I instructed?"
Tom nodded repeatedly and then, showing his big teeth, gave a thumbs-up.
You can always trust Tom!
Locke became even more satisfied: "So, how long is the effect time now, roughly?"
Tom disappeared from the spot again, and moments later, he held a clock. Tom inserted one hand into it and began pressing the minute hand repeatedly, pushing it for a full ten circles.
Ten minutes! Not too long, but Locke was already very satisfied, because he remembered the original version of this stuff only lasted about ten seconds.
"Good kitty, Tom, you are the most excellent kitty in this world!" Locke didn't hesitate to give encouragement.
"A good kitty should get a reward."
His gaze fell, and the dried fish snacks that Natasha had prepared earlier vanished from their spot, appearing beside Tom.
At this moment, however, Tom didn't pay attention to the dried fish snacks. Instead, he stared blankly at Locke, his throat choked up, wiping away tears in handfuls. The tears were gushing, like a faucet had been turned on.
Locke's eyes grew warmer and warmer; he knew why. Tom was awesome, heaven-defying, but at the end of the day, he was still just a cat.
Tom was once the mouse-catching champion, yet he was decisively abandoned by his old owner when there were no more mice in the house. Later he got a new owner, but then encountered an equally heaven-defying mouse. Tom worked very hard to catch the mouse, but unfortunately always failed, was blamed, was constantly toyed with by that mouse, and was scolded and complained about by the owner.
Ah, Tom, at the end of the day, he was just a pathetic little kitty who longed for his owner's recognition.
It was also at this time that, next to the Dimensional Trade interface, a red heart-like symbol suddenly shot up to nearly maximum value. If expressed as a percentage, it was at least 95%.
Seeing this scene, Locke's breathing couldn't help but quicken.
This thing was the friendliness level between the trading parties, which can also be understood as affinity. As long as the affinity reached the maximum value, Locke could open the dimensional channel and summon Tom from the other side to his side.
Tom's manual ability was certainly good, but what was even stronger was Tom himself! Tom was a subjective existence; his fighting power was entirely equated with his self-perception. When he felt weak, he was beaten by the mouse, by other cats, but when he felt strong... let's just say Tom Superman.
"Alright, Tom, I won't talk anymore. I need your help, give me those medicines first."
Tom casually wiped away his tears and nodded with some reluctance.
"Don't worry, Tom, in a few days I'll have a chat with your owner."
Tom's eyes immediately lit up, and then, with some distress, he hammered his own head. Tom actually quite liked Locke, but he also had loyalty to his owner, which caused him some conflict.
At this moment, Locke no longer paid attention to Tom, but instead looked at the cameras outside with a rather playful expression.
The next moment, a box of potions appeared out of thin air!
...…
Meanwhile, within SHIELD.
The stern and expressionless 'Egghead' Director stared intently at the screen. The screen clearly showed footage related to Locke. The entire large screen had twelve different views, displaying every angle of Locke with extreme clarity.
Beside him, Agent Hill, with her straight long legs and heroic and spirited demeanor, asked with some confusion: "Director, aren't you paying a bit too much attention to this guy?"
"Although his combat power is very strong, compared to certain extraordinary individuals hidden in the dark world, he's still somewhat lacking."
The 'Egghead' Director shook his head: "No, Hill, you don't understand!"
"Those monster-like guys may possess stronger power, faster speed, but ultimately they are only strong in certain aspects. Their abilities are not balanced, those guys also have weaknesses. As long as you understand their weaknesses, those guys aren't difficult to deal with."
"This guy is different. Like Frank, he is an existence that can be defined as a Level 10 agent!"
"Frank? The Punisher?"
"Mm!" The 'Egghead' Director nodded.
"Locke and Frank are very similar. They not only possess peak physical attributes, but more importantly, they possess skills that completely match their strength, with almost no weaknesses. They can use anything, at any time, to unleash the maximum lethality!"
"As long as you give them a gun, or even a handy wrench, they will instantly turn into terrifying killing machines!"
A hint of solemnity appeared on Hill's exquisite face.
"Then, Director, why...?"
Some things were hard to say directly, but the meaning was obvious.
However, the 'Egghead' Director shook his head, with a somewhat peculiar look in his eyes.
"I've actually always had an idea. Truly peak humans like Locke and Frank are very rare, even rarer than those extraordinary monsters. If, and I mean *if*, if guys like this also possessed that kind of extraordinary power..."
Hill was startled immediately. The Director's idea was truly bold. However, if it actually succeeded, for SHIELD, it would mean adding a true strategic-level ultimate weapon to their resources. Hill had absolutely no doubt about this.
"I've always had a plan, to form a..." The 'Egghead' Director hadn't finished speaking when his expression suddenly changed drastically.
On the video feed, the dried fish snacks next to Locke suddenly disappeared, replaced by a box of vials similar to milk.
The 'Egghead' Director didn't know what that thing was, but it was clear that something that appeared so inexplicably was definitely not actual milk!
"Quick, have all the guards on the third level head to cell 70 with the utmost speed!" The 'Egghead' Director's voice was almost a roar.