Coulson's expression became extraordinarily colorful, while Melinda, who was pretending to admire the greenery, blushed faintly.
Even experienced S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were slightly thrown off by Zhang's words.
The things the famous playboy Tony Stark had gotten up to had already spread across every kind of news outlet.
How could S.H.I.E.L.D. agents like them not know about it?
They just never could have imagined there were such twists and turns involved!
No wonder Tony Stark had practically flown out of the shop earlier, with his female assistant in tow!
But as expected of high-ranking agents with iron wills, Coulson and Melinda quickly recovered.
Melinda shot Zhang, who was chuckling away, a seemingly embarrassed glare, then naturally made her way toward the lounge area.
Coulson, meanwhile, gave Zhang a look that said, "Men understand," before showing his approval.
"Looks like there was an unexpected bonus... You won't be raising the price, will you?"
"Of course not. Five thousand dollars, same price. It's just a usage method that hasn't been made public before, after all..."
Zhang stroked his chin, his face utterly serious.
"The boss likes giving customers little surprises. Since it's pure natural plant extract, no matter how you use it, it won't do any harm."
"That really is quite the surprise."
Coulson took out his credit card. After hesitating for a moment, he held up another finger.
"Another bottle."
They were on a mission, after all. Everything needed for the mission could be reimbursed. Only an idiot would turn that down!
"Great!"
Zhang took out another bottle of Recovery Serum, placed it together with the previous one in an exquisite little box, slipped in a small card, wrapped it up, set it on the counter, and pushed it toward Coulson.
"That'll be ten thousand dollars~, and the instructions are on the card. I look forward to you developing new effects!"
"..."
Coulson's mouth twitched. One bottle would be turned in, and the other would have to be personally tested on a human subject if he wanted it reimbursed.
"By the way, isn't Dr. Lin here? I'd really like to meet him in person."
In fact, Nick Fury had given Coulson authorization for this mission. If his in-person evaluation of Oaks passed, he could directly reveal his identity in exchange for... detailed information about the cat.
But if Oaks had gone out, there was nothing to be done. They could only 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 swiftly ran the card and pushed the POS terminal in front of Coulson. As the latter entered his password, he raised an eyebrow.
"The Amazon? Ah, the samples Dr. Lin posted on the forum last time attracted the interest of quite a few botanists."
Coulson had not expected him to go so far. Their investigation had shown that Oaks had not even left home these past few days.
"Are you a botanist as well?"
Zhang looked at him with solemn respect. He was just a graduate student, while the other man might be a scientist who had been famous for years.
"Heh, I heard about it from a friend."
Coulson glanced at Melinda, who seemed to have already gotten what she wanted, and smiled faintly.
"It seems May really likes your cat. May I go take a look?"
"Of course. Goose is very well-behaved, and especially smart. She's an adorable girl."
Watching Coulson stroll toward the lounge area, Zhang guiltily touched the spot on his face that Goose had scratched before, then hurried off to prepare Oaks's special coffee.
In the lounge, Melinda was playing with Goose. The woman and cat looked remarkably harmonious together.
"May, where did you get that cat teaser?"
Seeing the object in May's left hand, Coulson's mouth twitched. What exactly was so special about this cat?
"It was on the sofa. When dealing with an unknown target, it's naturally safer to use a tool, right?"
Melinda discreetly showed him the miniature camera device in her right hand, her smile never fading.
"Director Fury only told us to observe her? Nothing else?"
"That's right."
Coulson held the little box containing the Recovery Serum in his left hand. He glanced at Zhang, who was making coffee, sat down on the sofa, casually brushed his right hand along the underside of the couch, and murmured.
"It seems this Dr. Oaks Lin is not as simple as his files suggest."
"You found something?"
Melinda's hands did not stop moving, but she frowned slightly. She had noticed that when she said "Director Fury" just now, the orange cat in front of her seemed to pause for an instant.
Maybe she had seen it wrong?
But the camera would not be wrong. They would know once they reviewed the footage back home.
She had no intention of saying it again, because Zhang had already brought over two cups of coffee.
"Ma'am, sir, please. This is the boss's special coffee, exclusively for customers who purchase Recovery Serum~"
The wonderful aroma made Coulson and Melinda turn their gazes toward it at the same time.
"Is the coffee for sale?"
After taking a sip, Coulson's eyes lit up. Compared to this, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s coffee was just...
Glancing at Goose, he reached the same conclusion as Tony.
"Not for sale. But if you like it, we have a complimentary hundred-gram package."
"Thank you very much."
Coulson smiled. Melinda, being Asian, was not as obsessed with coffee as Coulson was.
"Dr. Lin really is a man of many talents. And they say people who keep cats are very compassionate."
"Yes, Mr. Oaks is very compassionate. If he hadn't saved me back then, I probably still wouldn't have found a place to live."
With a self-mocking smile, Zhang brought up the embarrassing story of his struggles to find housing when he first arrived. Perhaps because Melinda felt familiar to him, he could not help himself again.
"I suppose I simply don't understand why, after all these years, shadows still cover the ground beneath all this glittering splendor."
"..."
Coulson looked utterly bewildered.
"What did he say?"
"He agrees with me. Those people at the NYPD ought to resign en masse."
Melinda could not help laughing. This international student clerk was actually quite interesting. Good thing she had not let her Chinese get rusty.
"Goose~ There's something tasty upstairs~ On the table in big brother's room!"
A little sweat appeared on Zhang's forehead. Seeing that Melinda seemed to be enjoying the conversation, he realized she was no longer satisfied with the cat teaser and was planning to reach out and touch Goose directly.
But that was not the main point. The main point was that Goose seemed to be getting impatient...
Though he found it strange that Goose was acting differently today, he had personally witnessed her incredible power. He quickly tried to lure her away.
"Meow~"
Goose glanced at Zhang, yawned, and padded toward the stairs.
Zhang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but what he considered flawless acting was no different from writing "I have a problem" directly across his face in front of two Level 7 Agents.
Their eyes could analyze information frame by frame.
They exchanged a glance. Melinda gave a slight nod, and Coulson drained the rest of his coffee in one gulp before standing and extending his hand.
"We should be leaving as well. It's a pity we didn't get to meet Dr. Lin, but you are undoubtedly an excellent clerk. And the coffee is wonderful."
"Ah, thank you."
Zhang stood and shook Coulson's hand.
"Please wait a moment. I'll get the coffee beans."
Coulson took the little box of Recovery Serum and the small bag of coffee beans, bid Zhang farewell, and left with Melinda.
"May, it looks like the mission isn't over. A week from now will be the important part."
Before you continue