Wang's True Name

"By the way, I still don't know what to call you two." As Robbie worked on the car, he struck up a conversation with Skye, who was sitting cross-legged on the hood of a Porsche, intently tapping away at her keyboard.

He rather liked this beautiful woman around his age.

A mixed-race East-West beauty, blond hair and dark eyes, about 168 centimeters tall—the standard build of a female star. Pretty in a way that grew on you, gentle and generous, considerate and understanding. She combined the strengths of both ethnicities and was attractive to both Eastern and Western men. Just talking to her made him happy.

But Robbie was only making conversation. He didn't dare get any ideas.

The two of them were obviously close. They were probably boyfriend and girlfriend.

What if that guy got mad and decided to beat me up?

Even if I turned into Hellfire, could I really take him?

Probably not.

Better forget it.

"Call me Skye."

Without looking up, Skye casually said, "His name is Wang..."

"Wang Jingze." Old Wang walked over and casually tossed Skye and Robbie each a bottle of water, his face perfectly straight.

Mineral water—purified, not natural. Healthy and thirst-quenching, and most importantly, cheap.

"Jingze Wang," Robbie called out.

He had no idea what it meant, but it sounded pretty nice.

Skye froze for a moment, then the corner of her mouth twitched. She lowered her head, holding back her laughter until her face turned red.

Don't laugh, don't laugh. Otherwise, tomorrow's training will definitely double!

"Pfft!"

No, no, I really can't hold it in anymore!

Wang, that obviously isn't your name. Is it fun fooling people...

Three years ago, after you beat up those Black guys, they asked what your name was, and you told them it was "Wang Aotian."

When I kept pestering you to teach me kung fu, you said your name was "Wang Yanglu." I actually believed you, until I started studying Tang poetry a year ago...

When I asked what your name really was, you told me it was "Wangzhe Rongyao"—surname Wang, given name Zhe, courtesy name Rongyao.

Go on, then. How many names have you given yourself in this lifetime?

How many more do you plan to make up?

"Just call me Wang, the way you Americans do." Old Wang smiled.

I let it slip again. I actually wanted to say my name was Wang Bu Liu Xing. Even though I'm not an herb, much less a magician, and my eyesight is pretty good...

Still, my favorite title is Neighbor Old Wang. It has such a warm, familiar ring to it.

Of course, Wang works too. It suits Western habits, sounds smooth and imposing, and most importantly, lets me take advantage of people.

"Wang." Robbie nodded and continued fixing the car.

The woman's boyfriend had shown up, so it wouldn't be appropriate to keep chatting her up.

As an experienced driver, two-legged ones were boring. Four-wheeled ones were his true love.

Old Wang leaned in beside Skye and stared at the laptop, though his eyes were less than obedient, focusing on something far more impressive. "How's it going?"

"Agent Romanoff left Los Angeles Prison. She's probably contacting S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate Eli. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s phones are specially made. I can't hack into them."

Skye stopped laughing and frowned. Her skills still weren't good enough.

Although she had joined Rising Tide and become one of the better hackers, compared with the experts in the organization, she was still a novice.

More importantly, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cybersecurity system was among the best in the world, and they had a whole army of hackers under their command. Even Rising Tide couldn't breach their core database, so she had no way in either.

Wang had told her that S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed files related to her, files concerning her origins. That was one of the two reasons she had begun diligently studying computer technology three years ago and become a proud hacker.

The other was earning enough money to support herself.

"Forget about her."

Old Wang made an effort to raise his gaze and fixed it on the laptop screen. "What about Coulson?"

"He went to see Eli."

Skye opened a small video window. It was a live feed.

Ten minutes later.

Outside the gates of Los Angeles Prison.

Coulson met up with Natasha.

"That was faster than I expected. Your expression tells me you hit a wall—hard." Natasha glanced at Coulson.

"Am I that obvious?"

Coulson's face drooped, and he looked somewhat dejected. "He doesn't want to talk, even though I promised to let him out."

"Then he has a secret, one more important than freedom. My experience tells me he's the breakthrough in this entire case."

Natasha's bright eyes shifted, eager to act. "Do you need me to handle it? I'm proficient in 137 methods of torture and interrogation. Give me an hour, and he'll confess how old he was when he first started taking care of things by hand."

"...I have no idea what you're talking about."

Coulson stared at Natasha for two seconds. "Your expression tells me you got a lot more than I did."

Natasha's expression turned grave. She opened her phone and handed it to Coulson. "There wasn't much available at Level Seven clearance. Director Fury gave me a top-secret file with Level Ten classification."

The file was long. Coulson spent a full three minutes reading it.

"The Darkhold, also known as the Book of Sins and the Book of Spells, contains limitless knowledge—knowledge that can make someone a god."

"Red Skull searched for it. A man named Daniel Whitehall searched for it. Even Director Fury has been searching for it, but no one has found it."

"They say the Darkhold is connected to Zero Matter and Dark Matter. Back in the forties, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, Peggy Carter, and the Howling Commandos under her command encountered a company that researched Dark Matter."

"That company was later acquired by Roxxon Corporation, and the deed to The Laboratory where Eli worked is also held by Roxxon Corporation."

Coulson rubbed his temples, his head aching. "What a tangled mess."

"To put it simply, the Darkhold is connected to that laboratory."

Natasha summed it up, then asked, "What do you plan to do? Go to The Laboratory?"

Coulson made the call. "We go now!"

The repair shop.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is pretty efficient. Looks like we can't rest either."

Old Wang smiled and stretched. "We're going to The Laboratory now!"

"But the car isn't fixed yet." Skye pointed at the busy Robbie... and the wrecked truck beside him.

"Isn't there another car?" Old Wang jerked his chin and headed toward the Dodge Charger.

Skye hurried after him.

That's my car, you know... Robbie sighed, tossed aside his wrench, and patted the dust off himself.