"Lieutenant Leon Coulson, Deputy Company Commander of the First Battalion, Third Company, Ranger Corps, reporting for duty!"
A young, resonant yet steady voice, accompanied by a gentle breeze from his movement, echoed in the spacious office.
Phil Coulson, pulling himself away from the heavy documents on his desk, looked up at the young man in uniform standing ramrod straight before him, and a sudden feeling of relief welled up inside him.
Dressed in a gray-green army uniform, its form-fitting design made the young man's tall stature stand out even more.
His slightly upturned eyebrows, set against his neatly trimmed short brown hair, made his pale blue eyes appear particularly deep.
However, at this moment, the young man's handsome face was filled with astonishment, seemingly very surprised by the current situation.
Coulson rose from his chair, returned a salute to the surprised young man, and then smiled, "Long time no see, Leon!"
The young man in uniform, still in a daze, instinctively returned a salute.
Then, as if waking from a dream, he blurted out, "Uh? Uncle Phil?!"
Coulson merely smiled without speaking, pointing to the opposite seat and saying, "Why are you still standing? Have a seat."
"Yes, sir!"
Although still very confused and puzzled, the young man in uniform nevertheless took off his military cap, held it under his arm, took a step forward, and sat down facing his uncle, or perhaps his future superior.
"Welcome to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. I'm Agent Phil Coulson."
After introducing himself, Phil Coulson didn't forget to playfully wink at Leon.
However, Leon wasn't amused by his uncle's actions. Instead, he frowned, his face filled with confusion. "What's going on?"
"Uncle Phil, weren't you working at an accounting firm? How did you suddenly become an agent?! And for this super long-named department?"
Leon clearly knew that Uncle Phil was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, yet he still put on a shocked expression, as if he knew nothing.
If there were an Oscar ceremony in this world, Leon Coulson's acting could definitely be nominated for Best Actor!
Phil Coulson naturally didn't realize that his nephew had known his secret identity three years ago.
"Haha, I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long." Phil Coulson chuckled triumphantly, revealing a set of white teeth, and continued to explain, "Due to the special nature of this job, I needed to keep it a secret, so I couldn't tell you in advance."
Leon maintained his surprised expression and said, "Was it you who transferred me to this department?!"
"That's right." Phil Coulson snapped his fingers and added, "However, Director Fury also agreed..."
Fury knew too?
Leon's heart tightened, then relaxed.
Of course, as the observer of the entire world and for reasons of organizational loyalty, Fury would pay some attention to everyone who joined S.H.I.E.L.D.
Moreover, he was Coulson's nephew... "By the way, how do you like your new accommodation arranged by the agency?"
"Uh, it's alright..."
...After a brief chat about family matters, Coulson interlaced his fingers, seemingly transforming into a different person: "I imagine you're very curious about what this department actually does, aren't you?"
Although he already knew it was a special department for handling strange occurrences, Leon still feigned ignorance and curiosity on the surface, nodding and replying, "Yes."
"The full name of this department is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. However, I prefer its acronym, S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
"This is a secret intelligence department established by the World Security Council, with a history dating back to World War II..." After briefly introducing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history, Coulson looked into Leon's eyes and asked again, "Do you know the meaning behind this name?"
Leon shook his head.
At this, Coulson rose from his seat, came to Leon's side, placed his right hand on his shoulder, and said earnestly, "This name means that we are a line of defense, soldiers who resist any unknown enemies, things beyond human imagination, and guardians who strive to keep this world from being destroyed!"
It has to be said that Phil Coulson's ability to become Fury's confidant and be regarded as a friend by the Avengers had its reasons.
His excellent eloquence and humorous personality were important reasons why he could secure a place in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Even Leon, who was familiar with this world, was stirred by his words, wishing he could immediately throw himself into the arduous task of protecting world peace... After saying some inspiring words, Coulson returned to his seat and continued to explain to his nephew:
"I've reviewed your report. Based on your mission achievements and training results during your time as a Ranger, the higher-ups have decided that you don't need to accumulate experience in the Operations Department and can directly be deployed into missions. Therefore, you will be directly transferred to the Special Operations Department, which is my department."
"Also, your clearance level is 4. This is your agent ID."
With that, Coulson took a black badge from his drawer and handed it over.
Leon took it and saw that besides his name and photo, the badge also had a "level4" designation.
Level 4, huh?
S.H.I.E.L.D. is an intelligence agency with a clear hierarchical structure, originally established by the U.S. government and now affiliated with the United Nations.
Within S.H.I.E.L.D., there's actually a very interesting agent ranking system.
However, this agent ranking has little to do with official rank or strength.
S.H.I.E.L.D. assesses the security clearance level of each S.H.I.E.L.D. agent based on various factors such as job content, performance, ability, and length of service in their file. This also means that some frontline field agents might have a clearance level as high as, or even higher than, some branch leaders.
However, in most cases, an agent's security clearance level does not affect S.H.I.E.L.D.'s chain of command.
This agent level is both S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence access permission and security certification level. This means that the higher the level, the more confidential information you can access, and the higher S.H.I.E.L.D.'s trust in you.
Different numerical levels correspond to different levels of access permission. There are a total of ten levels in this classification, with level 1 being the lowest and level 10 being the highest.
In short, agents from level 1 to 6 can only access ordinary classified information, while agents from level 7 and above can access top-secret information.
Currently, there is only one level 10 agent in all of S.H.I.E.L.D., and that is Director Nick Fury.
Generally, newcomers who just join S.H.I.E.L.D. can obtain an agent level no higher than 4.
Therefore, when Leon saw "level4" on his name tag, he was quite satisfied.
The higher the level, the more classified information he could access, which would be more helpful for him to participate in various major events.
Thinking of the superheroes who were about to appear, Leon wished he could immediately upgrade from level 4 to level 7.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Go report to the department later. Agent Barton will help you get acquainted with the work. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him."
"Okay." Leon nodded.
Just as Leon rose from his seat, still not fully processing everything, Coulson gave him a big hug.
After releasing him, Phil Coulson spread his arms and gave Leon his brightest smile,
"Well then, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.!"