Working for a paycheck is supposed to be the natural order of things. But when it came to Li Ming, working for that bastard Fury and still having to pay him?
Since when was that ever the rule? So Li Ming immediately refused. "Why the hell should I? Did I owe S.H.I.E.L.D. in my past life or something?"
Now that Shavig had joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and as a leading researcher on the Tesseract no less, there must be bodyguards lurking around him.
Thinking this, Li Ming turned to scan the area for any suspicious-looking passersby.
Beside him, Shavig noticed Li Ming's searching gaze and guessed what he was thinking. "Don't worry," he said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. knows I came to see you, so they didn't send any agents to protect me."
"And you believe that bastard?" Li Ming retorted irritably, pointing at a man in black sitting on a bench reading a newspaper in the distance. "Want to bet that guy is one of your bodyguards?"
Shavig blinked at the man in black, puzzled. "Probably not. I saw him sitting there before I even came to the plaza."
"Heh," Li Ming rolled his eyes at Shavig, who clearly had no idea what kind of person Fury was. "Before, I wasn't entirely sure. But after hearing that, I'm even more convinced he's an agent."
"Have you ever seen an office worker, during work hours, dressed in a full black suit, leisurely reading a newspaper on a bench for hours—without even turning the page?"
As he spoke, Li Ming grabbed Shavig and strode straight toward the man in black.Li Ming planted one foot on the rest chair, snatched the newspaper from the other person's hands, glanced at it, then waved it in the air and said, "What's so interesting? Are there beauties or money in there that you're staring so hard your eyes might pop out? Careful, or I'll tell Old Brine you're slacking off at work and get him to dock your year-end bonus."
The man in black: "I'm staring because your thuggish demeanor scared the hell out of me."
The man in black cautiously asked, "Sir, do we know each other?"
Clearly, the man in black thought Li Ming was bluffing and took his words as some kind of test.
Li Ming pointed at the man in black's ear and said impatiently, "I'm looking for Old Brine—your Director Fury. Ask him why he's asking for my help but still expects me to pay him? Where's the justice in that? Where's the law? Don't make me sue him in court."
When Li Ming pointed at his ear, the man in black instinctively reached for the communicator inside, only to freeze mid-motion: Damn it, I just gave myself away.
Hearing the nickname "Old Brine" that Li Ming had given Director Fury, the man in black couldn't help but burst out laughing. Though he quickly schooled his expression, he knew he was doomed—because not only were his teammates listening in on the comms, but Fury was too.
Well, there goes my bonus.
The man in black scowled, silently removing the communicator from his ear and handing it to Li Ming.
Li Ming took the communicator with a look of disgust, blowing off the earwax before glaring at the man in black. "Couldn't you have given me a new one?"
The man in black shrugged and wordlessly walked over to stand beside Shavig, adopting a posture that suggested he was ready to take a bullet for him. Shavig's face darkened: What the hell? Does my forehead say "Shoot me for a prize" or "Open fire"? Or are you hoping some rando takes a couple shots at me so you can heroically die and get your family that sweet compensation payout?
Li Ming gritted his teeth and stomped his foot but ultimately gave up on stuffing the earwax-coated communicator into his own ear—he just didn't have the guts.
Left with no choice, Li Ming cast a spell on the communicator under the man in black's wide-eyed stare, enlarging it to the size of a basketball.
He patted the device and said, "Hey~ hey, anyone in there? If so, sing me a song."
On the other end of the line, Fury was silent for a moment before sighing. "Austin, you're not a kid anymore. Can't you be serious for once?"
"Serious?" Li Ming scratched his head and replied in flawless Mandarin, "All I know is Natasha is hot—whether she's 'serious' or not, I wouldn't know."
After a long pause, the sound of a car engine starting came through the communicator, followed by Fury's exasperated voice: "I understand Chinese. I'll translate your exact words and pass them on to Natasha. Also, you and Dr. Shavig stay put—I'm coming to pick you up."
Pick us up? Did I agree to join the research team? Li Ming glanced at Shavig, a vague suspicion forming in his mind.37 He seemed to realize that Fury's true purpose in seeking him out wasn't to study the Tesseract but something else entirely.
First, he'd take advantage of my desire to research the Tesseract to pressure me into making some promise or offering some benefit. Then he'd use that promise or benefit to get me to handle some thorny problem for him.
This way, he'd both get my help with the Tesseract research and solve his difficult issue.
Damn, this is just getting something for nothing. But this is exactly the Fury I remember.
After figuring all this out, Li Ming curled his lips and said disdainfully, "I say Fury, aren't you a bit old for this? Can't you be more mature about things?"
"What do you mean?" Fury asked in confusion.
Li Ming licked his lips and said, "If you're asking for help, you should have the right attitude. Believe me, I can walk out right now with Erik."
Fury's face stiffened as he stubbornly replied, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Hey~ impressive," Li Ming gave a thumbs up toward the communicator, then turned to Shavig and said, "Erik, let's go. Forget about this bastard."
As soon as Li Ming finished speaking, Fury's resigned voice came through the communicator: "Wait, I do have something to ask you. I just didn't want outsiders knowing too much. If you don't believe me, ask Dr. Shavig—if he doesn't mind learning some secrets, I'll tell you right now."
"No," Shavig hurriedly waved his hands, "Please don't tell me any secrets. The whole Thor situation already cost me my job. While I'm grateful S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me work, I don't want to be tied to them for life just because I know something. I'd rather do my own research in the future."
After saying this, Shavig bid Li Ming goodbye and signaled the agents to take him away immediately. He'd realized that staying would only bring him trouble.
Moreover, he'd figured out why Fury had so readily agreed when he'd suggested bringing Li Ming into the research team. It wasn't because Li Ming had studied the Tesseract before—Fury had other motives for seeking him out.
The whole "only letting Li Ming join if he offered benefits" was just Fury's way of seeing what he could get, whether there was anything to gain or not.
Not long after Shavig left, a black SUV pulled up beside Li Ming.
Fury rolled down the window and looked sternly at Li Ming. "Get in," he said.
Li Ming scratched his head, opened the passenger door, and got in, curiously staring at Fury's single eye. "Hey, do you get depth perception with just one eye?"
Fury, his face poker-straight, glanced at Li Ming before stepping hard on the accelerator. "What, worried I can't see the road? Don't be. I'm a great driver, and this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle—its performance is completely reliable."
Li Ming looked around the car's interior and shrugged. "I was just thinking the AC works well." He reclined the seat to get more comfortable and added, "Anyway, why did you want to see me? And where are we going?"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of selling you for cash," Fury said disdainfully, glancing at Li Ming's slouched posture before asking quietly, "Remember when you fought the Destroyer and opened a Portal to Antarctica to save Thor?"
Li Ming tilted his head in thought before replying uncertainly, "Vaguely? What, did the Destroyer melt Antarctica? Then go demand compensation from Asgard, or have Thor figure out how to refreeze the ice. My abilities are too weak to restore the glaciers anyway."
Seeing Li Ming's "I'll fight but won't clean up the mess" attitude, Fury's lips twitched in irritation. "Don't you mages ever consider Earth's ecosystem when you fight? If you had to, you could've opened the Portal into space—why aim it at Earth?"
"You think I wanted to wreck the environment?" Li Ming spread his hands innocently. "The Destroyer was too much of a pain. My Mirror Dimension got wrecked, or else I would've locked that hunk of armor away forever."
"Mirror Dimension? What's that?" Fury narrowed his eyes.
Rubbing his forehead, Li Ming sighed. "Does it matter? We were talking about Antarctica—you're getting off track."
"Fine, back to Antarctica," Fury mused. "During WWII, the U.S. military conducted a secret experiment. A frail young man volunteered, was injected with a super-soldier serum, then led a team against the Nazis on the battlefield—"
"Captain America," Li Ming cut in, sitting up straight for once. "The legend says he was frozen in Antarctica. You found him?"
"Legend?" Fury studied Li Ming. "You already knew where the Captain was? How? And who else knows about this 'legend'?"
Li Ming's lips twitched imperceptibly—I slipped up again.
"Just heard it from a friend of a friend. He claimed he saw the Captain while training in Antarctica. Knew he was alive, but buried too deep—couldn't dig him out safely at the time. My friend and I thought he was full of it, so we didn't take it seriously."
Fury eyed him skeptically. "You've got quite the circle—fake angels, Captain America witnesses, Devil slayers. How about inviting your friends to S.H.I.E.L.D. for tea? Swap some 'legends.' Who knows how many might be real? We could uncover some treasures together." "Heh," Li Ming sneered a few times, curling his lips as he asked, "Let's talk about what happened when the captain and I opened the Portal—" He paused, scratching his head awkwardly before continuing, "You're not going to tell me the Destroyer's high-temperature beam melted the captain, are you?"
Fury shook his head slightly, relieved. "The beam passed right by the captain's legs. Although there's no life-threatening danger, it did cause some issues. The captain's upper body is encased in ice, while the lower half's ice has already melted. His legs bear injuries from the high-temperature beam. These energy-based wounds are taking us a long time to treat, and we might not be able to fully heal them."
"Moreover, we've detected that the captain's cells are beginning to regain activity. If we don't remove the ice covering his face in time, he could suffocate the moment he wakes up."