Exploring the Shop, Exploring the Cat

Coulson's expression became incredibly colorful, while Melinda, who was pretending to admire the greenery, felt her pretty face flush slightly.

Even as experienced S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, they were caught slightly off-guard by Zhang's remark.

The scandal caused by the famous playboy Tony Stark had already spread across all sorts of news media.

As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, how could they not know about it?

It was just that they never could have imagined there was such a twist to the story!

No wonder Tony Stark had left the shop in such a rush earlier, and with his female assistant in tow!

However, as high-level agents with iron wills, Coulson and Melinda quickly regained their composure.

Melinda shot a look of feigned annoyance at the chuckling Zhang, then took the opportunity to head toward the lounge area with a perfectly valid excuse.

Coulson, meanwhile, gave Zhang a look that only men would understand, his face then showing approval:

"It seems there are unexpected gains... the price won't be going up, will it?"

"Of course not. Five thousand dollars, the price remains the same. This is just a method of use that wasn't previously disclosed, after all..."

Zhang rubbed his chin, looking earnest:

"The boss likes to give customers a few surprises. Since this is pure natural plant essence, it won't cause any harm no matter how you use it."

"That is certainly a big surprise."

Coulson took out his credit card, hesitated for a moment, then held up another finger:

"I'll take another bottle."

In any case, he was currently on a mission, and these mission expenses were reimbursable; only a fool would pass that up!

"Straightforward!"

Zhang took out another bottle of Recovery Serum, placed it alongside the first one in an exquisite small box, tucked in a small card, wrapped it up, and pushed it across the counter to Coulson.

"That will be ten thousand dollars. The instructions are on the card. I look forward to you discovering new effects!"

"..."

Coulson's mouth twitched. He would have to hand one bottle over and use the other for a personal human trial; otherwise, there would be no way to get it reimbursed.

"By the way, is Dr. Lin not here? I would very much like to meet him in person."

In fact, for this mission, Nick Fury had granted Coulson the authority to reveal his identity directly to Oaks if the face-to-face assessment went well, in order to obtain... detailed information about the cat.

However, if Oaks was out, there was nothing he could do; he would just have to look at the cat first.

"Oh, Mr. Oaks went to the Amazon Rainforest three days ago for field research. He probably won't be back for another week."

Zhang efficiently swiped the card and pushed the POS machine toward Coulson. As the latter entered his PIN, he raised an eyebrow:

"The Amazon? Ah, the samples Dr. Lin posted on the forum last time also piqued the interest of quite a few botanists."

Coulson hadn't expected him to go so far; their investigation indicated that Oaks hadn't even stepped out of his door in the last few days.

"Are you a botanist as well?"

Zhang felt a sense of reverence; he was only a graduate student, while the person before him might be a long-renowned scientist.

"Heh, I just heard it from a friend."

Coulson glanced at Melinda, who seemed to have already succeeded, and smiled slightly:

"It seems Mel really likes your cat. May I go take a look?"

"Of course. Goose is very well-behaved, and she's especially smart—a lovely girl."

Seeing Coulson stroll toward the lounge, Zhang guiltily touched the spot on his face where Goose had scratched him earlier and hurried off to prepare Oaks' special coffee.

In the lounge, Melinda was teasing Goose; the woman and the cat looked quite harmonious together.

"Mel, where did you get that cat teaser?"

Coulson saw the item in Melinda's left hand and his mouth twitched. What exactly was so special about this cat?

"It was just lying on the sofa. For an unknown target, it's safer to use tools, right?"

Showing the micro-camera in her right hand to Coulson under the cover of her movement, Melinda's smile remained constant:

"Director Fury only told us to observe? Nothing else?"

"That is correct."

Coulson held the small box containing the Recovery Serum in his left hand, glanced at Zhang, who was preparing the coffee, and sat down on the sofa. He brushed his right hand casually over the edge of the sofa and whispered:

"It seems this Dr. Oaks Lin is not as simple as the files suggest."

"Did you find something?"

Melinda didn't stop her movements, but she frowned slightly, because she noticed that when she mentioned "Director Fury" just now, the orange cat seemed to pause for a split second.

Perhaps she had seen it wrong?

But the camera wouldn't be wrong; she would know once she went back and checked.

She had no intention of repeating herself, as Zhang was already walking over with two cups of coffee.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, this is a special blend of coffee prepared by the boss, exclusively for customers who purchase the Recovery Serum~"

The marvelous aroma caused Coulson and Melinda to shift their gazes over in unison.

"Is the coffee for sale?"

Taking a sip, Coulson's eyes lit up; compared to this, the coffee at S.H.I.E.L.D. was just...

Glancing at Goose, he reached the same conclusion as Tony.

"It's not for sale, but if you like it, we have 100-gram complimentary packs."

"Thank you so much."

Coulson smiled, while Melinda, being of Asian descent, wasn't as obsessed with coffee as Coulson was:

"Dr. Lin is truly multi-talented, and besides, it's said that people who keep cats are very kind-hearted."

"Yes, Mr. Oaks is very kind. If he hadn't saved me back then, I'm afraid I wouldn't have even found a place to stay by now."

With a self-deprecating laugh, Zhang spilled the dark history of his struggle to find housing when he first arrived. Perhaps finding Melinda relatable, he couldn't help but add:

"I suppose I don't understand why, after all these years, there are still shadows everywhere beneath this glamorous surface."

"..."

Coulson looked blank:

"What did he say?"

"He agrees with me; that bunch of guys at the NYPD should all resign collectively."

Melinda couldn't help but laugh. This student-turned-clerk was actually quite interesting; it was a good thing she hadn't let her Chinese skills slide.

"Goose~ there's something yummy upstairs~ on the table in brother's room!"

Zhang broke into a light sweat, as he saw that Melinda, likely enjoying the conversation, was no longer satisfied with just the cat teaser and was planning to reach out directly.

But that wasn't the point; the point was that he saw Goose looking somewhat impatient...

Although he found Goose's unusual attitude today strange, he had seen her unleash her terrifying power with his own eyes, so he hurried to send her away.

"Meow~"

Goose glanced at Zhang, let out a yawn, and sauntered toward the stairs.

Zhang breathed a secret sigh of relief, but his supposedly perfect acting was no different from having "I have something to hide" written on his face in the eyes of two Level 7 agents.

Their eyes were capable of analyzing information frame by frame.

Exchanging a look, Melinda gave a slight nod, and Coulson downed the rest of his coffee, stood up, and reached out his hand:

"We should be going as well. While it's a pity we didn't get to see Dr. Lin, you are undoubtedly an excellent clerk. Also, the coffee was great."

"Ah, thank you."

Zhang stood up and shook hands with Coulson:

"Please wait a moment, I'll go get the coffee beans."

Carrying the small box of Recovery Serum and the small bag of coffee beans, Coulson said goodbye to Zhang and walked out the door with Melinda.

"Mel, it seems the mission isn't over yet. A week from now is when the real focus begins."