Old Wang Goes Fishing, Those Willing Take the Bait

Hong Jie's full name was Ruan Qinghong. She was three years older than Old Wang, a third-generation rich kid. The entire apartment building Old Wang rented in belonged to her.

So did the dozen or so buildings nearby.

Who knew how many shops in Chinatown, or even New York, belonged to her?

Though she was not qualified to make the Forbes Rich List, her assets could at least rank among the top hundred Chinese people in the United States. The truly wealthy one was her grandfather.

Old Wang and Ruan Qinghong... had grandparents who were on good terms.

In fact, he was on good terms with many elderly men and women in Chinatown, a true "friend of the middle-aged and elderly."

The business card he had handed Melinda earlier had been casually printed at a roadside copy shop. The introduction on it looked ridiculous, like something a con artist would use, but Old Wang really was a well-known folk healer in Chinatown. He was not afraid of S.H.I.E.L.D. investigating him.

He had never studied medicine, had no diploma, and possessed no medical license, so Old Wang could not open a clinic. But that did not mean he had no way to treat people.

Medicine and martial arts were inseparable. Even without using True Qi, Old Wang was a qualified doctor. Pediatrics and gynecology were difficult to treat—mainly because he could not casually treat them, and people would not want Old Wang treating them anyway—but when it came to loosening tendons, setting bones, therapeutic massage, and the like, Old Wang was an expert. Older folks who had tried him all gave him glowing reviews.

That was how his reputation slowly spread.

Old Wang did not take money. What he earned was favors.

Once he had good connections, naturally he would never worry about finding work to support himself.

Hong Jie was still studying at Caltech.

With one call from Old Wang, and without asking many questions, Hong Jie quickly secured a small storefront. The rent was neither high nor low, exactly the market rate.

There were no special favors. Being able to free up a storefront for him was already a tremendous favor. That was true respect for Old Wang.

The shop was small, and the rent was temporarily deferred. Hong Jie was not short of money.

Since it had originally been a grocery store, it did not even need renovations. They changed the sign, completed the paperwork, and opened for business.

Old Wang did not act like protagonists in certain novels, refusing to sell low-end goods and only selling expensive Azeroth specialties.

There were certainly expensive items. In fact, there was only one: "Signature Essence Wine." Its price was absurdly high, enough to make anyone lose all desire to buy it.

There was still plenty of merchandise left in the shop. Old Wang bought it out at cost and continued selling it.

Skye had provided the money.

She actually still had money. Old Wang had not known that!

What a good woman, capable of managing the household and hiding away private savings...

Half the people on the street knew Old Wang, and business was no different from before.

Skye ran the shop, Robbie handled purchasing and deliveries, while Old Wang moved a recliner to the entrance to bask in the sun. At the same time, he used True Qi to help Gabe absorb the essence of the Well of Eternity Water and taught him things like horse stance training and meditation.

And honestly, this handsome, intelligent high school student was also a top student. He had always gotten good grades in school, and now he trained seriously under Old Wang as well. Who would not like a student like that?

Old Wang did not.

Because he kept asking questions and interrupting his sunbathing...

Robbie watched with envy. Encouraged by the Spirit of Vengeance, he began practicing martial arts whenever he had time as well, so Skye ended up doing most of the work alone...

For ordinary people, living like this was not bad. Work for a few years, save up money, get married, and have a happy family.

The problem was, Old Wang was not an ordinary person!

One day, Robbie walked over and handed his phone to Old Wang. "Boss, my uncle wants to talk to you."

Old Wang took the phone and froze for a moment.

Only then did he remember that he seemed to have a Darkhold Laboratory?

And a group of scientists crying out to be fed?

The moment he took the call, Eli's cautious voice came through. "Boss, of the thousand dollars you left us, only two hundred and fifty remain. We don't even dare buy hamburgers now. Hugo says being human is too painful, and it's better to be a ghost—at least ghosts don't get hungry. Lucy says maybe we should buy a bag of rice and cook it. It should last us a week..."

The instant Old Wang heard that, he was stunned. "Is rice in Puerto Rico that expensive? Or do you people eat that much? Two hundred and fifty dollars isn't enough for a week's food?"

Pfft!

Standing beside him, Robbie nearly popped his Hellfire out of his eyes.

Boss, that is not the point!

"You have to eat some vegetables too..." Gabe, who was diligently holding his horse stance, could not help speaking up for Eli.

Skye was busy using her clumsy Chinese to deal with an old lady haggling over prices. She heard nothing.

On the other end, Eli was so exhausted that he did not even want to speak.

Boss, boss... I've lived for over forty years, and this is the first time I've met a boss like you. The first time I've joined a laboratory this broke.

A thousand-dollar startup fund...

Other people had at least a few million, even tens of millions or hundreds of millions, okay?

"Fine, I'll remember this." Old Wang's old face reddened.

This was not the old era, when people researching atomic bombs earned less than those selling tea eggs.

It was already the twenty-first century. How could he let scientists suffer?

"Gabe is right. Besides rice, you can eat some vegetables. Meat is fine too. Don't go hungry... The money will arrive soon." Old Wang patted Robbie's chest as he made the guarantee.

Eli, who had been about to ask for an exact time, could only sigh.

They had no money and did not even dare buy hamburgers.

As wanted criminals, they did not dare pass in front of police stations, and had to be cautious whenever they went out.

The equipment brought into the laboratory had been installed, but things had been too rushed at the time, so they had not brought much. They still lacked a great deal. Altogether, it would cost at least several million dollars, and that was with every effort to save money. They did not even dare use good equipment, or tens of millions would not be enough.

Not to mention that laboratories consumed a lot of electricity. If it really began operating normally, they could not even afford the electricity bills.

When would this life ever end...

After hanging up, Old Wang waved his hand, lay back in his chair, and counted on his fingers.

Hmm.

It had already been several days.

The real customer should be arriving soon!

Old Wang beckoned toward the shop. "Skye, come here. I'll tell you a story today."

"Huh? But it's not lesson time?"

Skye trotted over and, following their usual routine, naturally began massaging Old Wang's shoulders. "Wang, I've heard your Super Hero series—the Havoc in Heaven story, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, and the Calabash Brothers. Which one are you telling today?"

"Jiang Taigong Goes Fishing!"

Old Wang narrowed his little eyes, took a sip of wine, and spoke in a vast, distant voice. "Those willing take the bait..."

Natasha had been very busy lately.

The director's orders had to be carried out, and she herself wanted badly to find that "Kunlun Iron Fist." That mysterious Eastern power, Qi, held a fatal attraction for her.

If she could learn Qi, her strength would surely rise to an entirely new level. That would be a tremendous safeguard for both mission completion and her own safety.

For the past few days, she had been investigating The Hand.

This mysterious organization seemed connected to K'un-Lun. Its members came from different parts of the world, and it was said to have spheres of influence in dozens of countries across the East and West, such as Japan, Russia, and the United States.

The leaders of The Hand were the Five Fingers. Every one of them was mysterious, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. did not know their exact identities.

Of course, that was mainly because The Hand had not deliberately provoked S.H.I.E.L.D., so it had not been investigated in depth.

Now that she had looked into it, Natasha realized The Hand ran deep!

Its members, especially those from those Eastern countries, were basically all martial arts experts. They were proficient in Muay Thai, taekwondo, karate, judo, and Chinese martial arts. They were highly capable.

Several dojos and martial arts schools in New York seemed to be connected to The Hand.

But there were very few who could master Qi.

According to the limited records, one of them was "Madame Gao."

Unfortunately, Madame Gao was Chinese, and her main operations were in China. Though she also had a sphere of influence in New York and had subtle connections with the famous Rand Corporation, she was not currently in New York.

Natasha decided to investigate another direction.

Chinese people.

Chinese people lived throughout New York, but Chinatown had the largest concentration.

According to the business card Melinda had given her, that Mr. Wang lived in Chinatown.