Marvel: Sign-In System – Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit

A Great Crusade was an inevitable trend.

At that moment, Matthew suddenly realized that the Terran Empire was destined to engage in colonization as well—a darkly ironic thought, to be sure.

Of course, there might be another path—coexistence.

Terra was an empire of humanity, but it could also become an empire for other races.

Inclusion and assimilation were powerful forces.

A gradual, subtle influence could reshape how an entire species viewed the world.

But that was a matter for the future.

In Matthew's strategic vision, the unification of Earth would be completed within the next few years, followed by rapid development and a Great Crusade—not merely across the Solar System, but spanning the entire Milky Way.

In Matthew's strategy, Earth would be unified within the next few years—after that would come development and a Great Crusade.

Matthew had long since designated the Milky Way as Terra's first major strategic objective.

Terra would inevitably become the dominant power of the galaxy.

The problem was that troop numbers and military strength could be expanded quickly—but what about technology?

Magical portals could solve the mobility problem during a Great Crusade, but once Terra occupied a planet and expanded its territory, other problems would immediately follow.

How would they defend it? How would they develop it? How would they deal with resistance from the countless powers scattered across the galaxy?

All of those factors had to be considered.

Terra also needed warships capable of interstellar travel, fleets, and even massive spaceborne carriers.

How long would it take Terra to develop all of that entirely on its own?

Unless Matthew could immediately obtain technology far beyond the current era.

Of course, that depended on luck.

So what Matthew needed to do was leave Earth first and find a way to obtain advanced technology ahead of time.

Asgard might appear to be a realm of myth, but in reality, it was an advanced technological civilization.

Asgardians were a long-lived, higher-dimensional alien species. Their power came from their immense life force, dense physiology, and innate ability to manipulate fundamental cosmic energies.

That ability was closer to a genetically encoded superpower.

Asgardians also used magic, but fundamentally, they relied on runes and Uru metal as mediums to precisely program and guide cosmic energy.

It was an advanced form of energy-manipulation technology.

At the highest level, there was no question that the greatest divine power was the Odinforce—a source of cosmic energy bound to Asgard, the World Tree, and the dimensions of the Nine Realms, inherited only by the ruler and used for interdimensional travel, resurrection, or even reshaping reality.

Divine power also often required artifacts to help focus or limit it, such as Mjolnir or Gungnir—artifacts that were themselves products of advanced technology combined with runic magic.

Even so, Asgard still used space warships during interstellar campaigns, though their designs naturally reflected Asgardian civilization.

That was despite possessing an absurdly powerful teleportation artifact like the Bifrost.

Originally, the Bifrost's most stable destinations were within the Nine Realms. This was based on its connection to Yggdrasil, with anchor points established after Odin led his armies in campaigns of conquest across those realms.

In essence, however, the Bifrost was now capable of transporting people to almost any location in the universe.

That capability had also come from Odin's early campaigns across the cosmos.

Of course, those coordinates still depended on one person—

Heimdall.

Taken as a whole, the existence of something as absurd as the Bifrost made one thing clear—

Asgard was an enormous treasure trove.

Uru metal, runes, and much more.

What Matthew needed to consider was how to extract some of that value from Asgard.

The problem was that Odin was an old fox and would not be easy to manipulate. A direct approach would not work.

Perhaps Thor, that reckless spendthrift, would be an easier place to start. Besides, Odin himself seemed to have developed a different view of so-called destiny.

Matthew fell into thought.

...

Deep within the Himalayas lay an isolated sanctuary unknown to the outside world.

The mountain range stretched for roughly 2,500 kilometers and covered an astonishing total area of around 594,000 square kilometers—roughly comparable to metropolitan France.

That alone showed just how vast the region truly was.

Even in the modern era, the Himalayas had never been fully explored.

Endless snow-covered peaks cut the region off from the outside world, while dense white fog blanketed the deep valleys year-round. The air was dry and bitterly cold, exposed rock covered the mountainsides, and snow remained on the summits throughout every season.

Towering mountains enclosed the area on all sides, forming a natural barrier. The terrain was remote and treacherous, with no roads connecting it to the outside world—an ordinary person could never reach it on foot.

The valley floor itself was relatively flat, covered by stretches of forest and crossed by streams flowing down between the rocks. Simple stone houses and wooden cabins had been built along the slopes.

This was Afterlife, the hidden settlement of the Inhumans.

The entire valley was quiet and isolated, far from any human town. Steep mountains and constant fog concealed it naturally, cutting it off completely from the outside world and allowing its Inhuman residents to live in peace.

The population was small, numbering only a little over a hundred.

Men and women, adults and children alike, lived here. Compared with the modern lifestyle of major cities, life was far more traditional and self-sufficient.

Inside one of the wooden houses, a middle-aged Asian woman with multiple surgical scars across her face sat in the living room, deep in thought.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her.

"Jiaying, I brought back two more of our people."

"Thank you, Gordon."

Jiaying turned and saw a middle-aged man whose appearance was clearly different from that of an ordinary human.

Where his eyes should have been, there was only smooth, unbroken skin—no eyelids, pupils, or any other visible eye structures.

His short hair was streaked with gray, and his face was narrow and lean.

He wore a simple khaki overcoat.

This was Gordon, one of Jiaying's most trusted subordinates.

He served as both her enforcer and protector, and possessed the ability to teleport across great distances.

"You seem uneasy."

Although Gordon had no eyes, awakening his Inhuman genes had granted him an extraordinarily powerful and unique sensory ability.

His heightened senses allowed him to detect the turmoil in Jiaying's emotions.

That surprised him.

Ever since Jiaying had rescued him and helped him become an Inhuman, she had always carried herself with a calm confidence, as though everything was under her control.

"Yes. I have a very bad feeling."

"About what?"

Gordon pressed for an answer—he trusted Jiaying's instincts, and her reaction made him uneasy as well.

"I don't know, but it's strong."

Jiaying shook her head and placed a hand over her chest. Her heartbeat, usually steady, had accelerated and refused to slow down.

She was both confused and alarmed.

Afterlife had been created by her own hand, and its location had been chosen with extreme care. It was completely isolated from the outside world, and apart from Gordon using his ability to bring people in and out, there was virtually no way for outsiders to find it.

As long as Afterlife remained undiscovered, it should have been safe.

If this ominous feeling was not connected to Afterlife, then could it be something else?

A thought suddenly crossed Jiaying's mind, and her expression changed.

There was only one person she still cared about enough to provoke such a reaction—her daughter, whom she had not seen in twenty years.

Daisy.

Had something happened to her?

Jiaying's face darkened.

"What did you think of?"

"I..."

Jiaying drew a breath and was about to explain when Gordon suddenly turned around, cutting her off.

"What is it?" Jiaying immediately stepped closer.

"Someone is approaching—and whatever it is, it feels terrifying."

Cold sweat beaded on Gordon's forehead, and his body had already begun to tremble.

"Quick, we have to leave. Now."

Jiaying had never seen Gordon react like this before, and her heart immediately tightened.

Without waiting for a response, Gordon grabbed her arm.

Gray and violet energy swirled around them, and the two vanished from the house.

A moment later, they reappeared in the open square at the center of the settlement.

"Where are they?" Jiaying immediately scanned the surroundings.

Everything looked peaceful. Young children ran through the village, while older Inhumans worked nearby, tending to chores and drying harvested grain.

There was no sign of an enemy.

Gordon ignored the surroundings and raised his head toward the distant sky.

Jiaying followed his gaze, but all she could see was an endless stretch of blue.

"Jiaying, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"What's going on?"

"Is there an enemy?"

Several adult and younger Inhumans nearby noticed the tense expressions and behavior of Jiaying and Gordon, and they quickly gathered around.

Jiaying raised a hand to stop everyone from asking questions.

Just as she lowered her voice and prepared to say something to Gordon and the others, a deep rumbling sound suddenly reached them.

Everyone heard it.

Was that thunder?

No. It couldn't be—the sky was completely cloudless. If it wasn't thunder, then what was it?

Before long, they spotted the source.

Under the horrified gazes of Jiaying and the other Inhumans, a tiny black speck appeared on the distant horizon, racing toward them at astonishing speed.

As it drew closer, the rumbling grew louder and more frequent—

Sonic booms.

A fighter jet?

Jiaying watched carefully and realized that the object seemed to be heading directly toward them. Without hesitation, she turned to Gordon.

"Gordon, hurry! Get everyone out of here!" Jiaying shouted sternly.

But to her shock, Gordon's body had started trembling. His expression twisted with fear as he struggled to turn his head toward Jiaying.

"I... I can't do it."

"Something is... affecting me."

"I can't control my body."

Jiaying's eyes widened.

Gordon was Afterlife's greatest escape option, and even he had been neutralized—were they about to be wiped out?

Rumble!

The sound exploded overhead as violent winds swept across the settlement, kicking dust into the air and whipping hair and clothing in every direction.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

The sunlight was harsh enough to make several Inhumans narrow their eyes, while others raised their hands to shield their faces.

Nearby, the younger Inhuman children and elderly residents stopped what they were doing and turned toward the commotion.

Some looked frightened.

Others were simply confused.

None of them understood what was happening.

Then Jiaying and the others saw it.

Beneath the sun, a figure hovered high above them, looking down at everyone below.

A person?

At that distance, they couldn't make out the face or even the figure's skin tone, but they could clearly see a striking red coat, its hem fluttering gently in the breeze. Long hair swayed around the figure's shoulders.

It was a woman.

She had crossed the sky at that unimaginable speed, come to an abrupt stop in midair, and now hovered effortlessly above them.

The Inhumans stared in stunned disbelief.

Jiaying was no different.

Her heartbeat grew even faster, but unlike the others, the feeling inside her became stronger with every passing second.

It was something she had never experienced before—

a resonance that seemed to come from deep within her blood.

Suddenly, she became nervous.

Not because she feared the newcomer might be an enemy, but because of the possibility forming in her mind.

Jiaying stood frozen, staring upward with an expression caught between tension and hope.

The figure slowly descended.

As she came lower, everyone gradually began to make out her features—until she finally stopped only five or six meters away.

She had long blonde hair that shifted gradually in tone, a refined Asian face, and a tall figure standing close to six feet.

She wore a red coat over a white shirt tucked neatly into dark blue jeans, with black combat boots on her feet.

She carried the natural allure of a grown woman, but there was also something else about her—a powerful, almost striking sense of physical strength.

At first glance, much of the hostility and caution among the Inhumans faded.

That was simply how human instinct worked.

First impressions mattered. Harsh as it might be, people were often instinctively repelled by those they found unattractive, while a beautiful appearance tended to create a more favorable impression.

Just like now.

Among the Inhumans, a young white man with short flaxen hair stared at her with visible amazement, an involuntary sense of goodwill already forming.

"Who... who are you?"

Jiaying, the leader of Afterlife, looked at the young woman's face and began trembling slightly. Her lips moved as she took a step forward—when she spoke, her voice had turned hoarse.

"My name is Skye."

Jiaying's eyes dimmed at the first answer, but then Skye continued—

"I have another name too. Daisy. Daisy Johnson."

"Daisy... you're my Daisy."

Jiaying's expression wavered between tears and laughter. Her eyes reddened almost instantly as tears streamed down her face.

She didn't doubt it for a moment.

There was an instinctive connection between mother and daughter—a bond that ran deeper than words, born of blood itself.

Unable to hold back any longer, Jiaying hurried forward and pulled Skye into her arms.

"My daughter... You really are my daughter. Daisy, my Daisy!"

"It's been twenty years... I've searched for you for twenty years!"

Jiaying wept as she held her.

Her arms tightened around Skye as though she wanted to pull her completely into herself—that embrace carried twenty years of longing.

For countless nights, she had dreamed of this moment.

She had never expected it to finally happen today.

She could barely believe it and feared that she might wake to discover it was only a dream.

But the warmth and solid reality of Skye's body told her otherwise.

Skye was moved as well.

No matter what else had happened, she had finally found her biological mother—and the emotion of that reunion brought tears to her own eyes.

Seeing this, the other Inhumans finally let go of their remaining caution and smiled with genuine happiness.

"So that's Jiaying's daughter, Daisy."

"Haha, we've always heard that Jiaying had a daughter who disappeared twenty years ago. She's been searching all this time—I never thought Daisy would be the one to find us."

"That's incredible. She's beautiful."

"Yeah, and she has such a strong presence. She can fly too—has she already awakened her Inhuman ability?"

"She must have. What a wonderful day."

...