As Black Widow anxiously waited, the seconds ticked by.
She was truly afraid that the kind and handsome-looking young man would strip her naked in a moment, then turn out like the captured investigators in those videos.
Ring, ring~
Suddenly, the desk phone rang again.
Alvin set down his glass and picked up the phone. "Well? Have you made up your mind?"
Unlike last time, a different person was on the other end. His voice was low and resonant. "Mr. Valshius, I'm Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I sincerely apologize for sending an agent to violate your privacy, and I'm prepared to offer you a hundred million dollars in compensation."
Well, look at that. The big fish had finally taken the bait. All that effort hadn't been for nothing.
"There's no need to apologize." Alvin snapped his fingers, and Black Widow, who had been tied to the ceiling, dropped to the floor with a thud. "I've released your agent. We're even."
"Wait, Mr. Valshius!"
As if he'd sensed what Alvin was about to do, Fury hurriedly spoke up. "We'd like to talk with you, Mr. Valshius."
"If I refuse, are you going to threaten me again?" Alvin shot back.
"No, no, Mr. Valshius. You may have misunderstood." Fury had the gall to act as if nothing had happened. "It was all a misunderstanding. We meant no harm. If you don't mind, you can set a time for us to meet and talk things through. Perhaps we can clear up the misunderstanding."
"Not interested. Goodbye."
Alvin hung up without hesitation.
The big fish had taken the bait, but it wasn't time to reel them in yet. He'd keep them hungry until the moment was right.
As he mulled it over, he looked up at Black Widow, who had freed herself from the ropes. "Miss Natasha, your boss put up a hundred million dollars. I kept my word. You can leave now."
Black Widow had freed herself, but the ropes had inevitably left marks on her skin.
The insides of her thighs and her chest were especially sore, the burning pain a constant reminder of the humiliating scene that had just unfolded.
The agent was furious and mortified. Her beautiful eyes seemed to spit fire as she glared at Alvin.
"What is it? Have you gotten a taste for it, Miss Natasha? Planning to stay and play a little longer?" Alvin eyed Black Widow, his gaze roaming freely over her. "If so, I don't mind helping you out. I've got quite a bit of experience in that department."
"Shameless bastard!"
Black Widow clenched her teeth, wishing she could kill him.
But she knew perfectly well that even if she charged at him, she wouldn't be a match for him. So she forced herself to calm down. "I hope you'll give our proposal serious consideration, Mr. Valshius."
"Sure. Give me a hundred million dollars, and I'll think about it." Alvin put on a shameless, money-grubbing grin. "That so-called Department of Homeland Security of yours can afford that much, can't it?"
Faced with Alvin's refusal to budge, Black Widow snorted and turned to leave, swaying her hips as she walked out of the room.
Yet her steps were uneven, and the way she tried to avoid her thighs rubbing together made her gait look rather comical.
This had been S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first tentative probe, and things had gone more or less as Alvin had expected.
He'd never planned to keep his abilities secret. There was little point in trying to hide a power as extraordinary as "psychic energy" from S.H.I.E.L.D.
There were too many people with superpowers in the Marvel Universe, and he wasn't the only one. There was no need to keep it secret.
Instead, using "psychic energy" as "bait" to lure S.H.I.E.L.D. in fit Alvin's plans better.
Alvin sat alone in the room, taking a small sip of wine as he sorted through his thoughts and assessed his progress.
"First, Norman's a long-term project. I can't expect any returns from him just yet."
"Second, Tony Stark's armor should already be in its second generation. I just don't know how things are going on Obadiah's end. I hope he's making good progress."
"Finally, there's S.H.I.E.L.D. It doesn't look like I can expect any returns from them in the short term, either."
Alvin massaged his temples, suddenly feeling a little dejected. Among the important supporting characters he knew about, there didn't seem to be any promising opportunities to gain Source Power.
He could always just kill Black Widow. Surely a future member of the Avengers would provide plenty of Source Power.
But there were two things he wasn't sure about.
First, could he kill Black Widow with the world's will protecting her?
Second, killing Black Widow would undoubtedly land him in the "villain" camp, which would pose a significant obstacle to his future plans.
After weighing it all, Alvin decided it wasn't worth it and decisively abandoned the idea.
"Hell's Kitchen."
Suddenly, Alvin thought of the perfect place. "If I really have no other choice, then I'll have to apologize to you, Mr. Kingpin."
If he remembered correctly, Hell's Kitchen was a gold mine.
Kingpin, Bullseye, The Hand—weren't they all just bundles of "Source Power"?
Ah, well. He could let Hell's Kitchen suffer a little more and shoulder all the blame himself!
"Hmm, it's about time. I should go check on Tony."
Once he'd stalled long enough, Alvin decided to get up and leave.
He'd never admit that he was afraid of going downstairs too early and getting teased by Tony for "finishing too fast," which was why he'd been deliberately wasting time in the room.
At that moment, over at S.H.I.E.L.D., in the top-floor office, Coulson leaned toward the director, full of curiosity, after the call ended. "He turned us down?"
"Yes, but it doesn't matter."
Fury didn't seem concerned. He smiled with a mysterious, confident air, as if everything were under control. "It's normal to be turned down on the first approach."
Actually, Coulson had been holding a question in for a long time.
Seeing his subordinate's expression, Fury guessed what he was thinking and smiled. "If you have something to say, just say it. Are you afraid I'll yell at you?"
"Not at all, Director."
Coulson hesitated, but finally spoke up. "I don't understand why you want him to join that program."
"Because he's a good fit. It's that simple." Fury instinctively reached for his glass, but his hand found nothing. He remembered it had been smashed, awkwardly pulled his hand back, cleared his throat twice, then continued, "I understand your concerns. You're worried about his loyalties and background, right?"
"Just as you said, I really don't understand."
Coulson's expression turned serious. "We investigated Alvin Valshius and found that he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. There's no trace of him ever existing. Isn't that suspicious?"
"It's settled."
Nick Fury, usually so cautious, now showed his autocratic side. "You'll take over from Agent Romanoff and approach Alvin Valshius as amicably as possible. When the time is right, I'll meet with him and discuss things in person."
Coulson was an eighth-level agent. No matter how many questions he had, he could only obey the director's order.
After Coulson left, Nick Fury sat in his chair, lost in thought for a long while. He took a gleaming golden medal from his desk drawer and stared at it for a moment before murmuring to himself, "Whether he's the answer will soon be revealed, Alvin Valshius!"
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