"What price?"
Faced with Oaks's question, Fury's lips curved slightly as he folded his arms and leaned back on the sofa.
"You should know that while people with special abilities are few, they are not that few—especially worldwide.
"The reason they remain unknown is because we handle the messes they cause, or handle them.
"So what gives you the right to bargain with me, Dr. Lin?"
He pointed at the potted plants on the shelf. "Those?"
Then at the three little ones. "Or those?"
Then at Tony. "Or him?"
"None of them."
Oaks gave a soft laugh and shook his head.
"Myself."
"..."
Fury frowned.
He did not mock Oaks for overestimating himself.
Because those words clearly meant that he had the power to flip the table.
It seemed Fury's repeated investigations and hard-line attitude had already made him dissatisfied.
Those with special abilities naturally had some pride, and it was precisely because of that that their side had always taken a hard-line stance toward them.
But...
"What do you want?"
Indeed, Oaks had been highly cooperative from the start. He had even left word that he wanted to see Fury's attitude.
The unknown was the hardest thing to deal with, so he might as well hear what Oaks wanted to do.
"I need the Benevolence Society to be affiliated with your Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
The moment Oaks spoke, he startled Nick Fury.
"What did you say?!"
Had this guy been drinking too much?
What was the Benevolence Society? A newly established, insignificant environmental charity whose members were all impoverished people with criminal records!
It would be generous not to shut it down, and now he wanted it affiliated with their world-protection organization? What was he trying to do?
Have all their agents plant trees for him?!
"You think what I said is absurd, don't you?"
Oaks was still smiling, but not only Fury—even Tony and Zhang looked at him with admiration.
That was insane. Cooooool~
"I've always liked win-win arrangements, whether in research or in making friends.
"If Director Fury investigated me, then he should know that anyone who has collaborated with me on research projects has gained enormously."
As Oaks said this, Fury, Tony, and even Zhang all silently nodded.
The first two had investigated Oaks's academic record, while Zhang had seen all kinds of media analyses of Oaks's academic achievements back in China.
Otherwise, how could he have raised Cornell's biology department from the top ten in the country to the top three all by himself?
And how could six senior professors, one after another, have invited him to join their research projects even after he had left the school for two years and had somewhat faded from academia?
There was no other reason: his academic standards were exceptionally high, and his character was even better.
As Oaks's "friends," Tony and Zhang had felt this especially deeply when it came to the idea that making friends was also win-win.
"So you mean this request of yours is also win-win?"
Fury wore his habitual mocking smile.
"I don't see what your charity can help us win. Holiday fruit benefits?"
"Director Fury, I've also looked into your organization."
Fury nodded. Their organization was not some reclusive secret society, so naturally quite a bit of information could be found.
"Although you act with the goal of protecting the world, a lot of the time, you seem to go too far."
Under Fury's strange gaze, Oaks launched into a lengthy, sweeping criticism of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s methods.
"Look at the weapons and agents under your command. Violence, violence, and more violence. After which one of your large-scale operations have you not left behind a field of ruins?
"Yes, you usually protect people. I won't even bring up the times you kill more people to protect some people. Just the areas affected by your operations under all that firepower become uninhabitable.
"You've been around for decades, haven't you? I can't find the data, but Director Fury should know best how much destruction you've caused over those decades.
"That's right, you have money. You're a world-class organization, after all. Your budget can't be small. But how much of that budget goes toward restoring the environment you destroy?
"Usually, the governments of various countries are the ones cleaning up after you, aren't they? Anyone could guess that with a little thought.
"Damage from all kinds of weapons, lingering pollution... just one or several senior agents can destroy facilities and environments that cost tens of millions of dollars to build and maintain.
"In short, there's no problem calling your various operations a model example of environmental destruction, right?"
Nick Fury looked somewhat stunned.
Over the years, people had questioned him from the perspective of national security, questioned the reliability of his intelligence, questioned his way of employing people, and, of course, more often questioned his excessive budget...
But no one had ever questioned him over the environmental friendliness of his operations!
Never!
For several seconds, Nick Fury even wondered whether the brain of the special-powered doctor before him was stuffed full of grass.
"You consider environmental damage more important than our operations to safeguard world security?"
He drained the coffee in front of him in one gulp. Mm, it really did taste damn good.
"Dr. Lin, do you even understand the importance of our work?!
"If not for our—our 'environment-damaging' work, who knows whether you would even have a safe, stable environment for your research right now!"
"Yes, that makes perfect sense."
Oaks clapped lightly.
"Director Fury, you should win the Nobel Peace Prize. But the issue I raised is becoming increasingly serious today, as global environmental awareness gradually awakens.
"Believe it or not, if the president said what you just said, impeachment proceedings might even be initiated against him."
"...Fine, but I'm not the president. I don't care about that crap. What does this have to do with what we're discussing?"
"Aha, of course it has everything to do with it!"
Fury's mouth twitched, because Tony had said that.
With a delighted expression, Tony winked at Oaks.
"Well done, buddy. I've already invested in the Environmental Protection Foundation. Looks like I need to put more money into environmental public service ads too... How about a million?"
Then, looking thoroughly satisfied, he tugged at his collar and turned his fire on Fury across from him.
"Your whatever bureau..."
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division!"
"Fine, your whatever bureau is extremely unfriendly to the environment just by name alone!"
Tony smugly raised an eyebrow.
"You have no idea how annoying those environmentalists' protest marches are, do you? Every few days, they'll probably go surround your office building!"
"...Motherfucker!"
Nick Fury slapped a hand to his forehead.
The method was shameless, but based on what he knew, he was ten thousand percent certain that it would work.
Extremists were disgusting. Those extremist animal rights organizations were exactly like that.
Once Tony threw in that million dollars for advertising, radical environmentalists would probably welcome their carnival.
"Which weapon produced by Stark Industries is environmentally friendly?!"
"But I invest in environmental protection now!"
Tony lifted his coffee and took a leisurely sip.
"Throwing money around to farm reputation is what I'm good at!"
Before you continue