Oaks's Attitude

"Black Baldy sent people."

Goose licked her lips. After finishing her snacks, she reported her work to Oaks.

"Two people. This is what that man left behind."

Oaks communicated with Goose more on a mental level, so the spherical bug had recorded nothing but a string of meows.

"This is the flaw in not personally checking things over."

Oaks sighed. Sure enough, only those agents would come up with something so tasteless.

But it was easy enough to guess. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had come for Goose, at least one agent must have noticed her existence.

And that agent was of no low rank, at least high enough to meet Nick Fury directly, which was why they had alerted him.

Given Motherfucker-Man's level of vigilance, even a single sentence like "That orange cat is called Goose" would be enough to make him want to investigate Oaks.

And all of Oaks's information was no secret before a behemoth on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s level.

Then everything followed naturally. By sending two senior agents directly, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had likely already investigated him thoroughly.

However, Oaks was now prepared to face S.H.I.E.L.D. head-on.

This day would come eventually. Even if Goose had not drawn their attention, they would certainly take action once the scale and effectiveness of the Recovery Serum became known to the public.

So, was it Sharon Carter, or someone else?

"Having discovered such a regrettable little device in the home of a law-abiding, honest businessman and good citizen like myself, I reserve the right to pursue legal action."

Oaks spoke slowly, but anyone could hear the dissatisfaction beneath his words:

"If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, I believe plenty of top lawyers will be interested in this lawsuit. After all, the things I have here would interest the entire world, wouldn't they?"

He pinched the spherical bug between his fingers. A cluster of emerald light enveloped it, and moments later, a crackling sound rang out as its flashing indicator went dark.

A clump of cat grass seedlings sprouted from the sphere's seams, making Goose lick her lips.

"Play with it however you like."

Oaks returned the cat grass ball to Goose, and she happily began chewing on it.

Oaks did not have to wait long. The next morning, just after Zhang drove away, a white man wearing a trustworthy smile walked straight into the shop.

"Dr. Oaks Lin, I've heard much about you."

Coulson's mouth twitched as he walked up to the counter—Oaks did not acknowledge him at all.

"Phil Coulson, Level 7 Agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Dr. Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you. What happened before was a misunderstanding."

Coulson regretted it somewhat. He had originally planned to retrieve the bug without Oaks noticing when he paid another visit after Oaks returned, allowing them to gather as much information as possible.

But who knew that most of the device's recordings consisted of rolling noises, meows, sounds of a cat eating, purring, and the noise of crashing into walls and furniture.

Once Coulson realized Goose had discovered the bug, he did not dare come back and look for a chance to retrieve it.

When Oaks's voice reached Coulson yesterday, he had actually felt rather relieved.

Because Oaks was clearly very rational, and he did not seem to know who had planted the bug.

"A misunderstanding?"

Oaks sat behind the counter reading the newspaper. A week ago, the New York Times had published an article about Tony's New York environmental foundation, and Zhang had promptly subscribed to a month's worth of newspapers.

After a week of brewing, the major media outlets had dug up almost everything about Oaks, Tony's mysterious "partner."

He had made a bet with Tony Stark and won, earned the man's recognition, and ridden Stark's enormous popularity as his partner. Oaks was now a well-known environmentalist in New York and even across the United States.

And one with especially solid credentials, whether in terms of technology or economic influence.

Although he had not expected Tony to provide such a huge assist, the current situation undoubtedly meant that S.H.I.E.L.D. was no longer facing a low-profile scientist, but a public figure in the spotlight.

"So you mean that, as a senior employee of a high-level government department, you accidentally left a listening device in a shop that treated you so hospitably, then spent a week listening to everyday life without ever thinking to come retrieve it?"

Oaks narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"Though I'm not a law major, I am at least a doctor. I don't think I look like an idiot."

"Of course not."

Coulson's gentle smile had always improved his mission success rate, but he found that it did not seem particularly effective with Oaks.

"Dr. Lin, we are not an ordinary government department. Well, in terms of authority and the level of incidents we handle, we rank above the FBI, the CIA, and the U.S. Military."

"Mm. The name's just too long, but I'll remember it."

Oaks raised an eyebrow. The other party had revealed his identity outright, which meant, You're in serious trouble.

"Many people have said that about the name. We've been considering improvements."

Coulson extended his right hand and offered a business card.

"Dr. Lin, shall we talk inside?"

"Don't bother thinking about coffee."

Oaks stared at Coulson until even the Level 7 Agent began to look slightly uncomfortable. Only then did he take the card, rise, hang a resting sign on the shop door, and head for the lounge.

"I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer, Agent.

After all, in this country that shouts the loudest about human rights, a little necessary window dressing is still required."

Human rights? The Afghanistan War was not even over yet.

Coulson thought silently, then followed Oaks into the lounge.

When he saw Goose jump straight into Oaks's arms to demand pets, he nearly lost control of his expression.

Fine. Before a Flerken, human rights absolutely had to be protected. The only difference was that these were his own human rights.

"Dr. Lin, let me apologize again for the earlier misunderstanding. Since you have made your stance clear, I'll get straight to the point."

Coulson considered his words for a moment before speaking seriously:

"Dr. Lin, both I personally and our Director hold your professional achievements and sense of social responsibility in the highest regard.

"Due to certain coincidences, we learned that you adopted this orange cat not long ago—and certain signs indicate that this orange cat is a creature posing a significant threat."

"Not here, she isn't."

Oaks scratched Goose under the chin and gave a cold laugh.

"As far as I'm concerned, even a drug-addicted junkie poses a greater threat than Goose. Instead of wasting time on this, you'd be better off taking down a few drug-dealing Mexican Cartels."

"It seems you understand very well that she is not an ordinary cat."

Coulson had already prepared himself. He took out a file and handed it to Oaks.

"Although we do not know how you learned of Goose's unusual nature, this file contains the truth as we understand it. Please read it carefully."