Faced with Lu Yi's naked threat, Nick Fury wanted to show some director-level authority—wanted to say "no" to Lu Yi.
But the reality was…
"I'll deliver the message."
Nick Fury swallowed his pride. The dignity of the great Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had just been tossed into the trash can in the corner. He felt utterly humiliated.
"Anything else you want to say? If not, then go. I'll be waiting for your news." Lu Yi said, looking at Fury. Fury's expression seemed unchanged—his face, dark as charcoal, made it nearly impossible to read.
From Lu Yi's perspective, even if something changed, he wouldn't notice it anyway.
"I have one more thing."
"Explain."
"Do you know Tony Stark?"
Tony Stark? Fury actually brought him up? Come to think of it, that flashy show-off was indeed dying. So that was the reason?
"Everyone knows he's a notorious playboy, the head of Stark Industries, richer than sin. What—are you trying to introduce us?" Lu Yi joked, pretending to be clueless.
"Not exactly. Introducing him to you is only part of it. What I'm trying to say is—Tony Stark is very rich. Extremely rich. Money to him is just a number, and he can use it to buy a lot of useful things."
"So what? You're not trying to sic him on me, are you?" Lu Yi said expressionlessly.
"Of course not. I'm saying Tony Stark is dying, and right now, someone needs to save him. This is a great opportunity—one that could squeeze a lot of benefits out of him."
The words were addressed to Lu Yi, but Lu Yi knew they weren't meant for him in the simple sense. Fury was tempting him into saving Tony Stark.
Tony's father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, and Tony himself was a top-tier genius. Now he was on the brink of death, and no medicine could save him. It was unacceptable.
So Fury set his eyes on Lu Yi.
According to the intel he'd gathered earlier, Lu Yi was a master of magic. What technology couldn't solve, magic might—like swapping out a dead horse for a living one. Ideally, Lu Yi could cure him. If not, it didn't matter—Tony was already dying anyway.
Either way, Fury didn't need to pay a cent. But Tony Stark—the man overflowing with money—would pay plenty.
Quite the profit, wasn't it?
"This is a good opportunity, but…"
"But what?" Fury asked quickly, cutting him off.
"But what do you think Tony Stark can offer me? What's worth my effort? My time doesn't come cheap."
"I'm well aware of that. But you should also know that, in America, there's pretty much nothing money can't solve. And Tony Stark has a lot of money. So you get what I mean."
"Actually, I don't."
"…"
Fury couldn't help laughing.
We're both smart people—must you force me to spell it out?
"Well, you can extort him a bit. Make a list, if you want, and tell him to prepare what you want. He's rich—he won't care."
Fury had practically sold Tony Stark to Lu Yi, treating him like an idiot with a limitless wallet.
"Sounds very tempting."
Hearing that, a satisfied smile crept onto Fury's face. He knew Lu Yi had taken the bait.
He also knew Lu Yi had seen through him long ago, but that didn't matter. Fury never planned to hide his intentions. He just wanted to lure Lu Yi with benefits—simple as that.
"Then let him come."
Having secured what he came for, Nick Fury didn't stay long. He returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, told Maria Hill to notify Tony Stark, and plunged into a storm of endless arguments and crisis control.
He was the director—he had countless things to handle. Delivering messages for Lu Yi, mediating both sides… he couldn't waste a second.
Fury was exhausted, and Hill wasn't any better. She barely squeezed out a sliver of time from her overloaded schedule just to call Tony Stark.
"So what you're telling me is—this organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. is sending me some wizard who plays with dolls in some dark corner and stirs cauldrons of sewage to cure me?"
At home, Tony Stark felt like he was about to lose his mind.
What was even happening anymore?
Only he knew he was about to die.
But who would've thought he'd get a phone call today telling him that he wasn't the only one who knew—some organization called SHIELD knew as well.
And they even found a wizard to treat him. Pathetic.
"To be precise, he's not a wizard—he's a magician."
Beep.
Tony hung up.
Hill stared at the disconnected call, speechless. But she couldn't give up, so she dialed him again.
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable—"
Tony had outright blocked the call!
Hill did not expect this kind of reaction from Tony Stark.
After several failed attempts, she finally resorted to sending a text message.
"Maybe you think this is a joke. But what if it isn't? If there's even a one-in-ten-thousand chance you survive, you shouldn't choose to die like a coward. You have a better future waiting for you—and someone you love. You owe it to yourself to try."
go to "patreon.com/fatimasoomro123" for more chapter