Goodbye Coulson (Part 2)

"He really never tires of this, you know. Aren't you going to do something about him?" Inside the Stark villa in New York, watching Stark flit between different beauties, Shen Fei said to Pepper, who was nearby.

"That's just how he is." Pepper's smile remained unchanged.

Stark's villa had an extremely spacious hall, one that could double as a ballroom. Every so often, Stark would invite a crowd of beautiful women over for a party.

"So, what brings you here today? Something up?" Pepper asked.

"I want to buy a villa. Seaside location, on Staten Island, about the same size as this place." After acquiring the Red Queen, his original Small Villa no longer had enough space.

"You finally decided to move out. But why not buy here?" Pepper looked at Shen Fei with a smile. By American standards of living, Shen Fei should have bought a luxury villa, luxury cars, and a private jet long ago.

That was basically the standard for the ultra-wealthy. Stark, for example, had several luxury villas, a mountain of luxury cars—at least one of every model on the market—six private jets, a number of private yachts, and two private islands.

Some things, like those luxury cars, Tony had never even driven.

"You know how I am. I prefer the quiet over there." Shen Fei smiled.

New York had five boroughs. Manhattan was the most populous and affluent, home to the headquarters of many Fortune 500 companies, including Stark Group.

Owning a villa in Manhattan was also a symbol of wealth. Stark had several villas, but the one in New York was second only to his villa in California—that was Stark's true home, accessible only to a select few. Pepper had authority there second only to Stark's.

Unlike Tony, who spent most of his time there after becoming Iron Man, the current Tony spent most of his time in New York. After all, Manhattan was far more bustling than California, especially with its abundance of beautiful women.

Only when he needed quiet contemplation would Stark go there. To him, there was no difference between the two places—both had Jarvis.

"I'll keep an eye out." Pepper nodded.

"Thanks."

Buying a villa in Manhattan now, before the Battle of New York, might be possible, but what a shame if it got destroyed during the battle.

Shen Fei hadn't known exactly where in New York the Battle of New York would take place before, but now he was certain. After all, Stark Tower was too obvious—only someone as flashy as Tony would carve his name onto the building.

Of course, he couldn't say that to Pepper.

It had to be said that the life of the ultra-wealthy was leisurely. As the CEO of Feifei Group and Stark's secretary, Pepper wasn't busy most of the time. She mostly just steered the company's direction.

There were plenty of excellent managers below her to handle the tasks she assigned.

"Hello, long time no see."

"Yeah, come in."

Shen Fei waved and gestured for Coulson and Melinda to enter. From the moment these two showed up, he knew Rebecca must have reported his situation to higher-ups.

He had been considering how to handle it if Hydra agents came instead. Now that it was Coulson and Melinda, it saved him a lot of trouble.

"What would you two like to drink?"

"No thanks. I think you know why we're here. Don't blame Rebecca—it's S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol." True to his reputation as the ever-friendly nice guy, Coulson immediately defended Rebecca.

Though Shen Fei had said he didn't mind, when it actually came down to it, it was impossible not to feel a little bothered.

"Don't worry, I understand. You two are here to register me." Shen Fei poured them both coffee as he spoke.

"Right, but there are also a few things we'd like to ask." Coulson asked with a smile.

"Go ahead."

"According to Rebecca's report, she said you're a sorcerer. We'd like to confirm that again." This wasn't the first time Coulson had encountered superpowers being mistaken for magic. He'd even met people who called themselves sons of God or gods.

It was common for those who gained power to think they were special.

Hadn't some thugs, after getting their hands on the Berserker Staff, dared to call themselves gods?

So even though they'd confirmed it with Rebecca several times, they still needed to verify it again.

"I think you've got one thing wrong. I'm not a sorcerer—I'm a mage." Shen Fei raised his index finger and wagged it at the two of them as he spoke.

Ever since Rebecca said she'd report the matter, Shen Fei had been thinking about how to handle S.H.I.E.L.D. After careful consideration, he had prepared a set of talking points.

"What's the difference? Aren't they the same?" Coulson and Melinda exchanged a confused glance before Coulson asked again.

"The difference is huge. First, let me clarify something: real-life mages are nothing like the ones in movies."

"Hold on. How do you know your ability isn't a superpower, but definitely magic?" Melinda suddenly cut in.

"Simple. Because my abilities were obtained through study." Shen Fei smiled, unbothered by her interruption.

"Study. That part is like in the movies." Coulson nodded.

"Then can you demonstrate your power? Like, shoot a fireball or something?" Melinda pressed on.

Seeing Coulson and Melinda looking at him as if they expected him to suddenly conjure a fireball, Shen Fei shook his head with a helpless smile. Kamar-Taj's spells were incredibly powerful, but they were all close-combat. Fireballs weren't something you could just whip up.

"Like I said before, don't judge real mages by movie standards." Shen Fei sat up straight and continued, "First, you need to understand what a mage is. A mage pursues the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, the rules of the universe. We are completely different from sorcerers who only know how to fight."

"Wait, what did you just mean by that?" Coulson looked completely lost as he interrupted Shen Fei. He then stared at Melinda, hoping she could explain. Melinda wasn't usually assigned to field work, but because Shen Fei was Chinese, she had come along.

"Don't look at me. I don't know either." Melinda said, a bit annoyed.

"Can you explain it simply?" Coulson's tone was very polite, but the implication was clear: speak in plain English.

"Simply put, a mage is a modern-day scientist." Shen Fei said bluntly.

"You're joking, right?" Coulson wore an expression that said, You've got to be kidding me.

"So-called magic is nothing more than unproven science." Without waiting for Coulson to retort, Shen Fei directly picked up the lighter on the table, lit it, and continued, "If you saw this in the Middle Ages, what would you call it—science or magic? And the same goes for modern medicine. Don't let your fixed notions cloud your judgment."

Coulson clicked his tongue, unsure of what to say.

Melinda beside him was the same.

"The only difference between us and modern scientists is that they observe the world through various instruments, while we observe it through our own means." As Shen Fei spoke, he brought his hands together, and when he parted them, a golden beam of light appeared before him. With his continued movements, the beam transformed into a golden disc, and slowly, magical runes emerged on its surface, finally bursting into fireworks that scattered into the air.

"Among mages, there are all kinds of people. For example, my specialty is biochemistry and medical fields."

"So that's how you were able to produce the virus vaccine so quickly." Melinda said thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Shen Fei nodded with a smile.

"So, in a sense, your company's products count as magical products." Melinda continued.

"You could say that."

"From what you're saying, there are other mages." Coulson finally snapped back to attention.

"Of course. I have a teacher too."

"I wonder if we could meet them." After exchanging a knowing glance with Melinda, Coulson said this.

"I'm sorry, but no." Shen Fei shook his head with a smile.

"You might not know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission. We—"

"I know exactly what S.H.I.E.L.D. is, and I know exactly what your mission is. What you don't know is yourselves." What Shen Fei found most detestable about S.H.I.E.L.D. was their presumption of knowing everything, all in the name of world peace, while being completely unaware that Hydra had already parasitized them.

"Do you think Dr. Abraham Erskine invented the Super Soldier Serum by accident? That Newton discovered gravity by chance?" As the two of them changed expressions and were about to speak, Shen Fei continued.

"You mean they were mages?" Coulson immediately exclaimed.

To Coulson's question, Shen Fei smiled without answering. "Those are your words, not mine."

"It's not that I don't want you to meet the Sorcerer Supreme, but even if I told you where he resides, you wouldn't be able to find him."

"There's no place S.H.I.E.L.D. can't find." Coulson said with confidence.

"Is that so?" Shen Fei formed another hand seal, and a golden magic circle appeared once more, projecting a space map of Planet Earth in the middle of the three of them.

"Do you know what this is?" Shen Fei pointed at one of the azure-blue planets.

"Earth." Coulson nodded.

"Its official name is Planet C-53. Do you know what that means?"

"This—" Both Coulson and Melinda's expressions shifted instantly. They were both very sharp people, and from that number, they immediately connected many dots. Don't forget, in America, aside from main streets that have their own names, other streets are usually named by numbers.

"What proof do you have that what you're saying is true?" Melinda challenged.

"Apologies, but we'll take our leave now." At this point, Coulson abruptly stood up, pulling a stunned Melinda toward the exit.

"Take care." Shen Fei smiled as he saw them out the door.

"This should make Nick Fury restless now." On Earth, there was no way to bypass S.H.I.E.L.D., so Shen Fei decided to leak some intel to get Nick Fury's attention.

It might seem like the information he leaked was critical, but in truth, Fury was already well aware of these things. With Captain Marvel as a friend, Fury definitely had some knowledge of extraterrestrial affairs.

Only by getting Fury's full attention could Shen Fei take the initiative in the events to come.