*Chapter 232: An Enhanced Black Widow*

The buckle of a seatbelt is usually made of aluminum alloy, which is impact-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and tensile-resistant.

Keep in mind that the pulling force of a civilian seatbelt (shoulder strap) starts at around three tons, which is over 20,000 newtons.

Not to mention that the seatbelt components used on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Quinjet are definitely top-notch.

Black Widow is a standard human-level special agent. There’s no record in her file of any enhancements, nor has she shown any extraordinary abilities.

Yet, she just crushed the buckle with one hand, which immediately caught Captain America’s attention.

“Nats!” Cap shouted, using Black Widow’s nickname. Only close friends call her ‘Natasha.’ “You didn’t inject yourself with anything weird over at Vought, did you? I heard something about Compound V being unstable.”

Black Widow was momentarily stunned.

Nothing happened at Vought, but she did spend the whole night playing pool with Kratos, and she did get injected—quite a bit!

As an elite agent, she had excellent control over her facial expressions and calmly replied, “No comment! If I did, I’d write it in my report and leave it on Director Fury’s desk.”

Cap raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not trying to interfere with your business. This is just friendly concern. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit... sleep-deprived, but it won’t affect the mission,” Black Widow responded, then carefully sat down next to Cap. This time, she was cautious not to crush the seatbelt buckle.

At that moment, Brock Rumlow boarded the plane with the rest of the strike team.

Subtly, Black Widow sensed a faint hint of hostility from Rumlow. Though he hid it well, she could still pick up on it.

This wasn’t normal for her. This level of perception exceeded human capacity.

Black Widow felt puzzled but remained calm, greeting her teammates and listening to Cap and Rumlow’s mission briefing after the jet took off.

As usual, she paid close attention to the battlefield report, but she noticed that her senses had reached a ridiculous level. Not only could she clearly hear the mission details, but she could also extend her awareness, even feeling the wind flowing outside the Quinjet.

No, she now preferred to call it a wind element.

The most shocking part came when she reached out to the wind with her senses and realized she had made a subtle connection with it.

Unable to resist the temptation, she gave the air an experimental grab.

The next second, the Quinjet suddenly dipped, causing everyone inside to lurch.

The pilot immediately apologized over the headset. “Sorry about that, folks. Just a small air current that didn’t show up on radar. I suggest everyone hold on tight.”

“Got it,” Cap replied.

No one paid it much attention.

Encountering turbulence while flying at high speeds in a military jet was routine.

Only Black Widow was secretly shocked. She realized she was no longer just an ordinary human operative.

One wild night seemed to have ‘unlocked’ something inside her.

The most incredible thing was that she could now switch to a special kind of vision—she saw a blue aura surrounding Cap, representing a teammate. Some of the other strike team members had it too. But Rumlow and three others were shrouded in a bright red color, representing enemies.

Black Widow made a mental note of this.

However, she decided to wait until after the mission to address it.

The Quinjet was fast, and soon they were flying over the Indian Ocean.

The mission this time was to rescue a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel hijacked by terrorists.

The operation itself wasn’t particularly novel: Cap would take down the leader, Black Widow was assigned to stop the ship’s engines, and the strike team’s main task was to rescue hostages.

The opening of the mission turned into a personal showcase for Cap. With his superhuman physique, he leaped from over a hundred meters into the freezing sea without a parachute, swiftly climbing the ship’s hull and onto the deck, silently taking out several armed terrorists with expert precision.

By the time Cap had almost cleared the deck, Black Widow and the strike team, led by Rumlow, parachuted down under the cover of darkness.

But this time, something was slightly different from history.

When Black Widow was about twenty meters from the deck, she silently called a name in her mind: “Kratos!”

Kratos hesitated for a moment before faintly replying, “I’m here.”

This soul-level connection intrigued Black Widow. “Did you enhance me?”

“A small gift, without side effects.”

“How strong am I?”

This question stumped Kratos. He had casually given Black Widow some Red Orbs, and according to the system, this would enhance her to about twice a regular human’s strength. But it was just the initial enhancement—how far she would ultimately go was hard to say.

Kratos answered, “Not as strong as Captain America, but your agility and strength have been greatly enhanced.”

“Thanks! I like this gift.”

During the Battle of New York, facing the Chitauri army, Black Widow had felt powerless.

A mere human could only kill a few foot soldiers.

She hadn’t been able to affect the larger battle at all.

Although she remained cautious about Kratos’ gift, she was eager to find out what she was now capable of.

Suppressing her excitement, Black Widow descended to the deck, pretending to be an ordinary agent. It wasn’t until she was alone that she revealed her new strength.

It was a speed beyond human imagination.

The moment a terrorist reported in to his boss, she appeared behind him like a ghost, extending her slender fingers.

“Crack!” A dull snap.

A swift neck twist!

The terrorist dropped dead instantly.

Previously, her arm strength had been insufficient, forcing her to use her flashy but exhausting scissor-kick technique to take down large men.

Now, there was no delay. She dove headfirst down into the ship’s engine room.

Before, she would have needed a rope to lower herself safely, reducing the impact of her fall.

But not anymore.

She free-fell through the air, executing a powerful leg sweep as she passed through a suspended walkway.

“Thud! Thud!” Two necks snapped instantly, the guards dead before they knew what hit them.

Black Widow could even change direction mid-air, landing all of her momentum on the last terrorist’s shoulder in the engine room.

“Crack!”

Like a car crash, the weaker object absorbs the impact.

The guy’s bones shattered to pieces.

He died without ever knowing what killed him.

With everything settled, Black Widow reported through her earpiece, “Engine room secured.”

Cap was mildly surprised, as his enhanced hearing hadn’t picked up any gunfire. “Wait, is it just me, or did you not use a gun this time?”

“Just some worthless grunts,” Black Widow replied casually.

Meanwhile, a certain Winter Soldier somewhere had no idea that he was about to face one hell of a beating.

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