"Don't try your spy tricks on me. Besides, I'm a married man—I need to keep an appropriate distance from women."
Li Chuan shifted his footing and easily dodged Natasha's seductively approaching body.
"I know what you want to ask. Hydra never disappeared, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by Hydra long ago. You agents are actually working for Hydra.
Do you know why Nick Fury came to see me?
He was assassinated by Hydra agents today and nearly died, so he wanted to learn from me about the Hydra agents hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D."
"What!"
For the first time, Li Chuan's words caused a dramatic change in Natasha's expression.
As one of the greatest spies, controlling her emotions no matter what happened was paramount, and Natasha was among the very best at it.
The earlier fight, being captured, even the prospect of interrogation and torture—none of that had caused much change in her emotions. But what Li Chuan had just said threw her heart into turmoil.
What unsettled her was not that Hydra still existed, nor the crisis S.H.I.E.L.D. was about to face, but his claim that she had actually been working for Hydra.
Why had she left the Red Room and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. all those years ago?
It was because she believed S.H.I.E.L.D. was an organization truly founded to protect humanity. She had done far too many terrible things as a spy for the Red Room and killed far too many innocent people. She wanted redemption.
But if she had been working for Hydra all these years, how was that any different from working for the Red Room before?
Maybe none of what he said was true!
In the end, Natasha could only comfort herself with that thought as she followed Li Chuan into the car.
The corners of Li Chuan's mouth