Harvey's Attitude

Harvey left the press conference and headed to his luxury car.

"Come on. Let's go somewhere I consider safe, and I'll hear you out."

Harvey Anberaka looked at Coulson, who had caught up with him, and directly gestured for him to get in.

Coulson did not stand on ceremony. He opened the door and got in.

Harvey drove away, heading for his estate.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

Harvey asked casually along the way.

"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka."

"Our Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division is a special force established by the International Security Council specifically to deal with all kinds of unusual incidents."

"First, I can assure you that our department bears no ill will toward a high taxpayer like you."

"It is simply that your rise has been extraordinarily rapid and smooth. Based on our assessment, you may possess certain superhuman abilities."

"Therefore, we would like to speak with you. If possible, we hope you can join us and do your part for Blue Star."

Coulson did not hide anything upon hearing this. He formally introduced himself and stated his purpose.

"So you have no evidence whatsoever. You merely suspected that I had superpowers, so you sent that crazy woman to test me?"

"The kind of test involving gunfire?"

"That hardly seems like a wise way to talk to me and recruit me into joining you."

Harvey did not give Coulson any friendly looks just because of Coulson's amicable attitude. Instead, he continued criticizing the terrible impression Black Widow Natasha had left on him.

"Something happened that day, which made that agent act a little hastily."

"However, other than giving you a fright, she should not have actually harmed you. Please try to understand."

Coulson's expression turned somewhat awkward when he heard Harvey's blunt attitude.

If Harvey had been an ordinary person, Coulson could have taken a firmer stance. But Harvey Anberaka was a high taxpayer with no scandals or leverage against him.

He could not be too harsh, lest he leave an even worse impression.

Even if Harvey Anberaka was not a superhuman, based on everything Harvey Anberaka had accomplished over the past two years, given a little more time to rise, he might someday become an investor in some of their projects.

"She didn't hurt me, but she scared me badly enough that I barely dared to leave the house for a while."

Harvey's expression softened slightly, though his words still carried complaint and dissatisfaction.

"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, I sincerely apologize for that."

Coulson honestly apologized to Harvey on Black Widow Natasha's behalf.

"The ideal of doing one's part for Blue Star is great, provided your original intentions never change and you do not become tools of certain politicians."

"However, I doubt it is possible for you to avoid being controlled by those politicians."

"After all, your department was established by the International Security Council. You must have been under their control from beginning to end, unable to act freely in many matters, right?"

"And I am merely an ordinary civilian with some money, someone who does not need to worry about work or money."

"So please do not come disturb me again."

"If I truly receive help and protection from you in the future, I will sincerely express my gratitude."

"But you should know that the time is definitely not now."

Harvey stopped the car, voiced some of his thoughts, and finally drew a clear line between himself and them.

He could accept missions and work for money, but joining the Avengers Initiative and being restrained and ordered about by others was absolutely impossible.

What he wanted to do depended entirely on his own wishes. If others wanted to order him around, they would first have to see whether they truly had that kind of power.

At the very least, S.H.I.E.L.D. under the Hydra Division did not, and American politicians certainly did not either. Public condemnation was even less capable of affecting him.

The reason he did not want to reveal his identity yet was that the time was not ripe. He did not want to disrupt his comfortable life or affect the speed of his evolution.

But if S.H.I.E.L.D. went too far, he would teach S.H.I.E.L.D. and America a proper lesson.

Seeing the car stop, Coulson heard Harvey Anberaka's disgust toward politicians and his unwillingness to be controlled by others.

He could not deny that Harvey Anberaka was speaking the truth.

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, for taking time out of your busy schedule to discuss your thoughts with me."

After remaining silent for a while, Coulson showed a hint of apology on his face and spoke.

Then Coulson opened the door and got out.

Although this conversation had not been particularly pleasant, Coulson had undoubtedly confirmed Harvey Anberaka's thoughts and attitude.

He still could not fully determine whether Harvey Anberaka truly possessed superhuman abilities.

But based on his attitude, Coulson could be certain that whether Harvey Anberaka was a superhuman or not, he would not agree to join them.

Because no matter how noble the founding purpose of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division sounded, it was fundamentally still an organization influenced by politicians.

This was indeed one of the difficulties and obstacles they would inevitably face later when attempting to recruit others.

It was impossible to completely remove such obstacles, so they could only find ways to blur and diminish other people's concerns over such matters.

After seeing Coulson tactfully take the initiative to get out, Harvey did not waste any words and simply drove away.

Coulson sent a message asking someone to pick him up.

It was not wise to approach Tony Stark directly right now, because Stark Industries was about to enter a period of plummeting stock prices.

That would certainly leave Tony Stark entangled in trouble. If he was not in a good mood, there would be no way to have a proper conversation with him.

As for his contact with Harvey Anberaka, he had no intention of reporting it, because even if he sent the details back, it would only make the others in the department unhappy.

Harvey, meanwhile, drove all the way back to his luxurious estate.

After meeting Coulson, Harvey could finally return without worry to the estate he had been away from for months.

Because someone came to clean it regularly every week, no dust had accumulated inside the estate.

Harvey returned home and turned on the television in the living room.

The television was flooded with news about Stark Industries.

Countless people said Tony Stark had lost his mind, while some hosts put on outrageously exaggerated performances.

Stocks could rise or fall at any time due to rumors and events.

Not to mention that Tony Stark's statement about ceasing weapons production was practically a bombshell.

Harvey opened his stock app and, as expected, Stark Industries' stock was glowing green as it continued to fall.

Countless small retail investors and major holders with even more shares were frantically dumping their stock.

They feared that even one second later, the value of the shares in their hands would fall further.

Harvey knew that once Tony Stark announced his transition into the energy industry and demonstrated results, the stock's value would rise dramatically.

But the decline had only just begun, so it was not yet time for him to buy stocks in large quantities.

Three updates today. This was the first.