Coulson, Natasha

What?

Robbie froze. "What's S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is an abbreviation. Its full name is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. It's an organization specifically meant to deal with people like you. Its director is called Egghead... uh, that's a nickname Wang came up with because his head looks like an egg... Nick Fury, a general. He's a deeply calculating guy," Skye, the considerate young lady, explained.

Robbie was instantly overwhelmed with admiration and nearly gave her a thumbs-up. "You can remember such a long name? You're amazing!"

As soon as he said that, he caught a glimpse of Skye's phone screen, where a long string of text was displayed... What good memory? A good memory was no match for a broken internet connection. She had searched it up on the spot!

Old Wang, on the other hand, was neither surprised nor worried.

So what if they had their eyes on him?

Cowardly... no, he had spent eighteen years training and leveling up. Since he had been running around in starter gear, he had kept a low profile and developed quietly.

Although he had yet to complete his six-item build and was still short six items, he had acquired a Supreme Artifact. One item was worth twelve. There was no need to keep such a low profile anymore. S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, Grandmaster, Grand Lord—did he have to fear any of them?

After thinking it over carefully, Old Wang felt that while he was not exactly afraid, it was still wise to follow his heart.

"Did S.H.I.E.L.D. go to investigate the scene, or did they go to Los Angeles Prison? Was it Coulson or Natasha?" Old Wang asked casually, not particularly concerned.

"How did you know?"

Skye was stunned. She hurriedly handed her phone to Old Wang. "They went to Los Angeles Prison. Phil Coulson and Natasha Romanoff both went, along with a fully armed field team!"

If I said I guessed, would you believe me? Old Wang smiled without speaking, looking unfathomable.

Best not to say too much. The more he said, the easier it would be to give himself away. He could not let his persona collapse...

But why had those two come? Did they have nothing better to do?

A Level 7 Agent and a Level 8 Agent had come all the way out to handle such a minor matter. Was all of S.H.I.E.L.D. on vacation lately?

Old Wang suddenly sensed that something was off.

Could Egghead have sent them specifically?

Right, that guy had been searching for the Darkhold all along.

Besides, if you counted the one who rode a horse, there had been several generations of Ghost Riders. It was impossible for them not to have left traces behind.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had been in this business for decades. Their agents were spread across more than a hundred countries. They might not know every secret in the world, but they surely knew at least half of them. Egghead definitely had relevant files in his toolbox.

The king of spies knew the most secrets. Even his eyepatch and balls were full of secrets. He himself was practically synonymous with secrets.

Could he have identified Ghost Rider's identity from the traces Ghost Rider left at the scene?

Old Wang tapped the hood.

Very possible!

Old Wang had been born in 1989, making him a meticulous, calm, and decisive little Earth Snake. Unfortunately, he had let down his zodiac sign by loving to fantasize... speculate. Bold hypotheses, careful verification—what pure scientific spirit.

What a joke. Old Wang had studied engineering—Goblin Engineering!

"Perhaps it's time to make contact with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Of course, we need to be careful and make sure we're contacting S.H.I.E.L.D. people, not Hydra members embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Egghead doesn't trust anyone, but comparatively speaking, Coulson and Natasha are the two he trusts the most. Neither of them is Hydra, and neither is part of the hardline faction. Coulson has a pretty good personality, and Natasha has a pretty good body. We can get to know them more deeply."

"Although I'm not fond of state machinery, since I live in this world, I'll have to deal with it eventually. There's no need to oppose them, nor is there any need to pretend nothing has happened and ignore them."

"I'm not a Super Hero, and I don't want to be a Super Villain either. The former dies quickly, and the latter dies even faster."

"Limited cooperation is the best approach. Of course, the prerequisite is having enough strength and confidence. Otherwise, it'll end badly."

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't saints, after all."

"That settles it!"

Within twenty seconds, Old Wang made a crucial decision and established the broad direction for how he would operate in the future. He snapped his fingers. "Forget S.H.I.E.L.D. They're too slow to keep up with our pace. We'll do our own thing."

"Do what?" Skye raised her hand like an elementary school student, as obedient as could be.

Don't worry, it's not you... Old Wang decided to act. "Pull as much surveillance footage as possible. Keep monitoring Los Angeles Prison and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field team. Also, find out where that laboratory is."

S.H.I.E.L.D. probably would not find Eli and Joseph that quickly. Once they located The Laboratory, he would take the good stuff first.

Besides, Old Wang had some ideas about The Laboratory and the people inside it.

Even a legitimate PhD like Eli could only do menial work there. The others had to be seriously impressive, scientists all around, and highly valuable. They could not be wasted.

"Okay." Skye obediently got to work at once.

Old Wang headed outside to buy some water.

He had talked for so long that he was dying of thirst. His throat was practically smoking.

"What about me?" Robbie hurriedly asked.

He had thought it through.

An uncle was still an uncle, and his uncle had not intended to harm him. He could not actually run off and report him, especially when he had no evidence.

Joseph was unconscious. There was no need to ask to know that his uncle had done it. Robbie had followed the related reports before; Joseph seemed no different from a vegetable. Evil had met its due reward.

The Spirit of Vengeance had been urging him to kill Joseph all along.

That demon was actually a lot like an angry, edgy teenager. If anyone committed even the slightest wrongdoing, it wanted to kill them. That was pretty excessive—though Joseph truly deserved to die.

But he was in a hospital, the best hospital in Los Angeles, with surveillance cameras everywhere. He needed to prepare properly first.

The real culprit was that book.

Everything else was secondary.

"You? Fix the car!"

Old Wang froze, then turned back with a puzzled expression. "Didn't I say so long ago? We came here to fix the car! If you hadn't made such a huge scene yesterday, we wouldn't have had to flee overnight, and the car wouldn't have broken down... I wasn't even planning to kill anyone!"

You think I believe you... What the hell does my revenge have to do with you... How can you pin this on me? You're going too far... Are you trying to skip out on the repair bill? Believe it or not, I'll transform into Ghost Rider and teach you a lesson... Robbie snorted.

Then he let out an "Oh."

He picked up his tools and began repairing the car.

Three minutes later, he was depressed, his expression strange.

Could this piece of junk even be fixed?

Shouldn't it have been scrapped long ago?

Driving this thing, wasn't he afraid of getting into an accident?

Thinking of how terrifying Old Wang was, Robbie sighed.

That guy really did not seem afraid...

Los Angeles Prison.

After using indescribable threats and inducements to finish questioning the Fifth Street Gang's surviving stragglers, Coulson frowned deeply.

"What do we do next, Coulson?" Natasha asked.

Coulson had a higher clearance level than she did, more authority, more age, and more experience. He was also cleaner—

As a former member of the Russian intelligence organization known as the Red Room, Natasha had been recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Hawkeye, Clint Barton. The stains on her record could never be washed away. Quite a few people in S.H.I.E.L.D. used that against her, and no matter how capable she was, it would be difficult for her to rise through the ranks.

Of course, Natasha did not care about any of that.

This time, she was mainly here as muscle, to deal with unexpected situations. The one truly in charge of the operation was Coulson.

"Eli. Investigate Eli."

Coulson quickly sorted out his thoughts. "My intuition tells me that this matter is connected to Eli!"

Heh, a man's intuition... A woman's intuition is the reliable one... Natasha nodded. "I'll investigate. What about you?"

"Eli is in Los Angeles Prison. I'll go have a talk with him."

Coulson said, "My intuition tells me we don't have much time left. Someone has gotten there before us!"