Marvel: Sign-In System – Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit Chapter 48 48: The Black Widow Lowers Her Guard

Natasha was a complicated person.

Her appearance was alluring, yet like her codena—Black Widow—she was dangerous and lethal.

And yet, beneath all of that, her true nature wasn't entirely so.

She had once been a normal person.

At the age of eleven, she had been assigned to an undercover mission, posing as part of a family alongside three others on the sa assignnt.

Back then, even though it was all fake, it was the most peaceful and happiest period of her life.

She had foster parents, and a lovely younger sister.

She longed for family.

She wanted to go to school, to have friends, to go shopping with them and laugh and play.

But in the end, it was only a fleeting and illusory dream.

Eventually, she returned to the Red Room to undergo brutal training, surrounded by gazes that were cold, heartless, and vigilant.

Dreykov had lied to her, saying her mother had abandoned her. Natasha had hated her mother, wondering why she could be so cruel—why she had given birth to her only to throw her away.

But now, it turned out that wasn't the case.

Her mother had searched for her relentlessly, only to be silenced by Dreykov without a trace.

Pain and anger overwheld Natasha, nearly driving her out of control. She cast aside all composure and rushed forward, striking Dreykov again and again.

The previously unconscious Dreykov was jolted awake by the blows.

He cried out in agony, trying to struggle—but his pampered, frail body stood no chance against Natasha, who had been tempered through countless life-and-death battles.

Every attempt at resistance was easily suppressed.

As for Reacher, Neagley, and Roscoe, the three simply stood by and watched, with no intention of intervening.

"Spare , Natasha! You were my most valued operative!"

"I've confessed everything! I have massive assets; I can give them all to you!"

"Just let go! Spare !"

Natasha had forgotten the techniques she had learned. She fought purely on instinct, driven by rage. In this frenzied state, the pain broke Dreykov's will, and he cried out in desperate pleading.

Dreykov had never been a man of strong resolve.

Or rather, in the face of death and pain, very few people truly are.

The three exchanged glances. Neagley shrugged, picked up her laptop, and walked out.

Reacher and Roscoe followed behind, leaving only Dreykov and Natasha in the living room. As they left, they thoughtfully closed the door.

Standing outside the villa, the cold wind made Neagley shiver slightly. She nudged Reacher with her elbow.

"Five minutes."

"Three minutes."

"Thirty seconds."

Neagley and Reacher both turned to look at Roscoe. Under their gaze, Roscoe shook her head. "She isn't what you think she is."

Sure enough, less than twenty seconds later, a gunshot rang out.

The villa door opened.

Natasha stepped outside. The sorrow and hatred on her face were gone, replaced by a calm that was hard to read.

"Thank you." She spoke sincerely to the three of them.

She understood clearly—Dreykov alive would have been more useful than dead, especially with the unusual ability Neagley had demonstrated.

Yet they had still chosen to leave, allowing her to decide his fate freely.

Compared to the cold, rciless Red Room, this kind of sincerity and respect felt far warr.

Natasha couldn't say she had completely let down her guard, but at the very least, the frost around her heart had begun to lt away.

A team like this… its leader, Matthew, must be soone warm as well.

"A scumbag rotten to the core like him deserved to die. Don't worry—even without him, we can handle things just fine." Neagley was as straightforward as ever. She stepped forward, slinging an arm around Natasha's shoulders, pulling a playful expression.

As if recalling sothing, she hurriedly added, "Next ti, call us to go shopping. Our boss is very generous."

With that, she quickly left the villa.

Natasha raised a brow slightly and looked at Reacher. eting her gaze, he replied simply, "She likes you."

"Hey." Roscoe smacked Reacher on the shoulder in annoyance.

Then she added, explaining, "Neagley has other missions. She rushed over this ti because of Dreykov."

Natasha nodded. "Will there be trouble because I killed Dreykov?"

"No. His value is already with ," Reacher replied, referring to the data Neagley would later transfer—information extracted from Dreykov's mories.

He added, "This operation was led by you. The boss made it clear—we won't interfere with your decisions."

"Including them?"

Natasha turned to look at Dreykov's daughter, Antonia, and the servants being held nearby.

"Including them." Reacher nodded firmly.

"I want to let them go."

After a brief hesitation, Natasha spoke.

"That's fine. We'll find her a suitable adoptive family. We'll also erase her mories—she'll be able to live a normal life."

"Thank you."

"That's what being a team ans."

Reacher didn't make much of it. As a soldier, the team ca above all else to him—this was simply what he was ant to do.

A warmth stirred in Natasha's heart.

As a top-tier spy, she was an expert in reading micro-expressions. She could tell Reacher was being sincere.

Just then, Reacher's expression shifted as a voice ca through his Bluetooth earpiece.

"We have to go. Soone will be here to clean up the aftermath."

"Where to?" Roscoe asked.

Natasha answered imdiately, "We're going to find soone. With her help, we can take over the entire Red Room quickly."

"Then let's move out."

…

While the others were working overti, was Matthew slacking off?

Of course not.

He had traveled to Yakutia, a small territory in northeastern Russia.

This place is bordered by the Krasnoyarsk Krai to the west, Magadan Oblast and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug to the east, and the Laptev and East Siberian Seas to the north.

The most distinct feature of this place was its extrely harsh environnt.

In January, the average temperature ranged from -28°C to -50°C, while in the eastern mountains, it could drop as low as -70°C—making it one of the coldest regions in the Northern Hemisphere with the longest winters.

At its lowest, it could even be colder than parts of the Arctic and Antarctic.

The land was almost entirely permafrost, with an average depth of 300 to 400 ters.

Such brutal conditions were often the best for tempering both body and mind.

Over the past few days, Matthew had made many moves, even recruiting the future renowned superhero, Natasha the Black Widow.

But none of that was his true foundation.

Matthew understood one thing deeply—everything he possessed ca from his own strength.

His own power was the core.

He never forgot that.

At present, Matthew's physical strength alone already rivaled that of a top-tier Vice Admiral. Combined with advanced mastery of the three forms of Haki, the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, and his training being just one step away from achieving Life Return (Seii Kikan), he was already extrely formidable.

But for him, it still wasn't enough.

He intended to use the harshest environnt at this mont in ti to further temper himself.