Colson, on the other end of the phone, was left speechless. His brain nearly short-circuited.
What the hell was this guy?!
Putting Black Widow's video on an international porn site—was that really something a person could come up with?
Hanging from the ceiling nearby, Black Widow couldn't help shuddering when she heard Alvin. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the search officer's gruesome fate in those videos.
For the sake of her missions, she'd watched a few of those works.
At the thought of becoming someone's plaything—and quite possibly the only agent ever posted on a porn site—she would rather bite her tongue off and die!
This wasn't how you were supposed to humiliate someone!
Black Widow struggled with all her might, trying every trick she knew, but the ropes didn't come undone. They only tightened around her.
Of course she couldn't break free. This was the pinnacle of Rope Art, refined through hundreds of works!
Setting everything else aside, when it came to rope bondage, Alvin would call Little Japan the strongest!
Colson was silent for a full half-minute before finally managing to speak. "Mr. Valshus, you may not know much about us. S.H.I.E.L.D. is an organization authorized by the International Security Council to protect global security and handle anomalous incidents. What you're doing is a challenge to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Are you threatening me?" Alvin naturally heard the implied threat in the other man's voice.
"I'm just stating the facts, Mr. Valshus."
Colson tried using negotiation tactics, deliberately lowering his voice to increase the psychological pressure. "Very few people know we exist. To put it in terms you can understand, we have a great deal of authority. We can arrest you directly without going through the state or city courts. Even the Department of Defense can't interfere with us."
That was somewhat exaggerated, but there was no denying that S.H.I.E.L.D. did have a great deal of authority.
"Fine. I'll wait."
Alvin gave a cold laugh and hung up.
Right now, he was the one who had nothing to fear. Did they really think they could bluff him?
If S.H.I.E.L.D. could arrest anyone they wanted, Alvin wouldn't be the first person eager to take them down. That would be the members of Congress and the capital groups behind them.
Everyone was playing by the unspoken rules. But if you insisted on stepping outside them, weren't you just asking to get beaten up?
Sure enough, after a brief silence, the landline rang again.
But this time Alvin had no intention of answering. He slowly walked toward Black Widow, who stared at him in terror, and said leisurely, "Miss Natasha, I'm sorry. It looks like your so-called organization isn't willing to spend a hundred million dollars to get you back. So I'll just have to find a way to collect a little interest myself."
No, please don't. Black Widow screamed inside, wishing she could strangle that damn bald egg, Fury!
If she found out who made that call, she'd kill the bastard when she got back. They'd asked for a hundred million; whether he agreed or not was one thing, but couldn't he at least have stalled for time?
Ring! Ring! Ring!
This time, it wasn't just the landline. His personal cell phone was ringing, too.
It was clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. was really panicking.
Alvin calmly answered the call and put it on speaker. Before the other person could say a word, he spoke first. "What, are you going to tell me your missiles are locked on to me this time?"
"No, no, you're joking, Mr. Valshus."
Colson sounded utterly helpless. "That was a misunderstanding. We'd like to talk to you."
"Sure. A hundred million dollars, not a penny less."
Alvin glanced at his watch and kindly reminded him, "Half an hour's almost up. There are only twenty minutes left."
"You're extorting me, Mr. Valshus." Colson's mouth twitched. He felt he'd run into a tough one this time.
"Am I?" Alvin picked at a fingernail and said coolly, "Why don't we talk about how you sent a female spy to seduce me and planned to interrogate me instead?"
"Mr. Valshus, we're S.H.I.E.L.D. We did that to avoid any security risks." Colson was getting a headache. He could only try to explain. "Please believe us. S.H.I.E.L.D. would never hurt you. Agent Romanoff's actions were entirely meant to scare you."
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Alvin asked.
There was no answer from the other end for a long while.
"Listen carefully. I don't care whether you're S.H.I.E.L.D. or Bird Shield. You have nothing to do with me."
Alvin's eyelids flickered. Black Widow, hanging in midair, suddenly felt as if a hand had closed around her throat. She couldn't draw any air, and her face turned red, then purple.
"You should be able to see what's happening in this room, right?" His fingers curled slightly. Black Widow's body convulsed, and her eyes even rolled back. "Don't say I'm being unreasonable. You were the ones who attacked me first. So you have to be ready to pay the price for losing, don't you?"
"Stop!"
Colson saw Black Widow nearly strangled to death through the surveillance feed and shouted in shock, "Mr. Valshus, please calm down!"
Alvin released his psychic power and said calmly, "The next time you call, I expect to hear that the hundred million dollars has arrived. Understood?"
With that, he hung up.
Black Widow coughed violently. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of oxygen as she stared at Alvin, shocked and terrified.
How ruthless. He'd attacked without a second thought, without the slightest hesitation!
It suddenly dawned on her that she must have been exposed long ago. That damn devil had been deceiving her the whole time!
She'd spent her whole life hunting geese, only to have one peck her in the eye!
She'd thought the mission would be easy and that the kid had taken the bait quickly. Turns out she was the one who'd fallen into his trap!
"What the hell!"
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top executive office, Nick Fury was so furious that he hurled his cup across the room. "A hundred million? Why doesn't he just rob a bank?"
Colson stood beside him, looking aggrieved, and said quietly, "Chief, this is a lot faster than robbing a bank."
"Do you think I need you to tell me that?!" Fury glared at him, his anger still burning. The veins on his face bulged. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around for decades, and this is the first time anyone's extorted us!"
"So what do we do now, Chief?"
Colson sighed helplessly. "Whatever else you say, Romanoff was on a mission. That kid has a hell of a temper. I'm afraid if I say another word, he'll strangle Romanoff to death."
Fury closed his eyes and thought in silence for a long while. Then he opened them and narrowed them slightly. "Colson, based on your description, does that kid have superpowers?"
"That's right. From what we saw on the surveillance footage, Alvin seems to have some kind of superpower that lets him control objects from a distance." Colson didn't understand why he was asking, but reported the facts anyway.
"Fine. It's only a hundred million. Give it to him!"
Fury seemed to have thought of something. A mysterious smile appeared on his face, as if everything were under his control.
"We're really giving it to him?"
Colson wasn't sure. This was no small sum!
"Of course. If he dares to ask, why shouldn't I dare to give it to him?"
Fury struck a confident pose, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them. He looked like a cunning, crafty old fox. "Don't forget our plan. A mere hundred million is nothing."
"But how are we supposed to explain it to the people upstairs?" Colson asked, troubled.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s money didn't grow on trees. They had to account for every expense. Otherwise, how could they explain it to the Security Council?
"See that cup?"
Fury looked at the cup he'd smashed in the corner and said coolly, "Go to the storeroom and file a claim for a thousand of them."
"And then?"
Colson still didn't understand. What did this have to do with the cup?
"This cup is worth a hundred thousand. Got it?"
As Colson stared at him in shock, Fury walked over and patted him on the shoulder, speaking earnestly. "You've got a lot to learn, Agent Coulson."
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