The Setup

Donnie instinctively wanted to refuse, but after thinking it over, he figured he might be able to use this chance to fleece S.H.I.E.L.D. hard—if his guess was right. He casually took the file and quickly flipped through it.

Fury picked up a cup of tea, gently blew on it, and took a sip. His movements and expression were exceedingly professional.

Donnie's eyelid twitched instinctively. "You carry tea leaves with you?"

Fury said he had sourced them locally from Donnie's house, having found them on the table.

"I'm warning you, don't touch anything in my house, or I won't be polite. You just walk into my home and rummage through my stuff—next time, I'll definitely tear into you!" Donnie cursed. For some reason, he felt like getting angry right now; even a trivial matter could set him off, let alone Fury making decisions on his own. He instinctively scratched his head... and got even angrier.

Fury agreed, thoughtful inside. This probing had not been in vain. It seemed this Donnie was not truly the sort of person who cared about nothing, as he appeared to be. At the very least, this house was still something he cared about deeply.

A Donnie with attachments was indeed more reassuring.

Donnie continued reading through the information, his frown deepening with every page. Sure enough, the female target was exactly the person he had suspected. No wonder S.H.I.E.L.D. did not dare act rashly.

"You went so far as to find an outsider like me... Let me guess. You suffered badly at her hands, didn't you? More than once, perhaps." Donnie tossed the file onto the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

Given S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nature, the more formidable someone was, the more they attracted its interest. On the other hand, if you possessed some unusual ability but were weak, they would merely monitor you regularly and would not easily interfere with your private life as long as you did not break the law.

Trying to cause trouble in front of that lady was practically courting death. Not to mention, she did not have a good temper. It would be a miracle if she did not beat S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people to a pulp...

"No, we have merely been observing her. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strength exceeds your imagination." Fury remained expressionless, sitting broad and steady with complete confidence, as though this mission was nothing more than a stepping stone for drawing Donnie closer.

Donnie smiled disdainfully. He was growing increasingly unwilling to hide his emotions in front of Fury. Observing? If they had been observing her, why come looking for him? Would S.H.I.E.L.D. hand classified matters over to an outsider?

After weighing it over and over, Donnie ultimately accepted the commission because Fury's offered reward was simply too tempting: a full three million dollars. That was already an astonishing sum to him, and Donnie was shocked by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s generosity.

"Looks like you really got beaten badly," Donnie mocked.

The corner of Fury's eye twitched. The past was too painful to revisit. However many agents they sent, that was how many got beaten up. It had been a complete disaster. That woman was absurdly powerful.

After sitting for a while longer, Fury finally stood to say goodbye. Donnie had been wishing for nothing more than for him to leave.

"You're leaving already? Why not sit a little longer? There's no need to rush off." Donnie offered the polite words with a fake smile, inwardly wishing Fury would get the hell out.

So Fury sat back down, amusement in his expression, and continued drinking tea.

Donnie muttered a curse under his breath. His anger gave him a headache, and he instinctively rubbed his head. It was smooth and bare... which made his head hurt even more. This time, he was close to being angered to death.

Fury slowly finished his tea, utterly lacking the brisk efficiency he had shown while handling the documents earlier. Most infuriating of all, he carefully ate several leftover tea leaves, swaying his head as if savoring their fragrance. The sight made Donnie burn with rage, and he directly urged him to leave.

Fury finally prepared to go. This time, he really meant it. If he stayed any longer to stir up trouble, he would truly push Donnie over the edge.

"Hold it! What about my payment? Pay me my reward, now!" Donnie shamelessly held out his hand for money. He could take the payment first and then drag his feet. As for when he would complete the mission? Donnie would not dare go. That lady's lover had been dead for over a century, after all. With that fiery temper of hers... when she got angry, she had even beaten Superman Clark flat. Terrifying.

"Your reward is all outside, paid in physical goods." Fury pointed to the two cars outside. "The first vehicle holds two crates of silver bullets and one crate of UV grenades. Those should be what you need most. The other vehicle contains a batch of titanium alloy. It's the newest alloy produced by Stark Industries, and it should suit your tastes."

A setup. It was all a setup...

Donnie watched helplessly as Fury coolly got into a car and left. The black-clad agents also streamed away after him, and the place that had been bustling just moments ago instantly became deserted.

Donnie had been played. He was certain of it. They had provided him with a large quantity of weapons to make it easier for him to fight Vampires and clear S.H.I.E.L.D.'s trash, then conveniently shoved another mission at him. It would both bring him closer to them and let Donnie act as their scout to test the target's true capabilities. This was what it meant to shear the sheep with its own wool...

Capitalists were the root of all evil. S.H.I.E.L.D. was even worse than capitalists.

Holding the file in his hand, Donnie had already begun planning how to use this opportunity to fleece S.H.I.E.L.D. mercilessly. He had to make sure the target's blazing fury burned straight onto S.H.I.E.L.D. Thinking of it, Donnie happily prepared to run outside and inspect his new weapons.

He was not especially worried about himself. He had Quicksilver as his muscle! With that astonishing speed, Quicksilver alone could torture that pack of Vampires to death. There was no need for Donnie to take this so seriously; he had an extremely reliable and powerful helper.

His only remaining phone rang at the worst possible moment. It was Fury, who had only just left. Fury formally informed him that according to satellite surveillance footage, Pietro seemed to have run all the way to East Asia just to get a meal...

For some reason, Donnie suddenly felt exhausted, too tired even to get angry. The Old Bartender at the door had woken up by then, clutching his bottle and continuing to drink. Once he got drunk enough, he began singing loudly. His singing was so wildly off-key that it was unbearable. The neighbors had been asleep, but the song woke them. They threw open their windows and cursed loudly, while the Old Bartender sang even more enthusiastically.

Donnie slumped onto the sofa, covering his head in misery. When he touched that smooth, bare patch, he felt even more tired—utterly exhausted.

Not one person around him was reliable. He had to roll up his sleeves and handle everything himself. His heart was so tired. He even suspected Fury had done this deliberately, encouraging him to join S.H.I.E.L.D. for convenience.

Donnie silently kept the plan for that special team in mind. His most urgent task was dealing with the Vampires' threat. The Vampires would not let him go easily, and Deacon, that ambitious bastard, was plotting something as well. No matter what, Donnie had to get involved. He still had not given up on robbing a batch of valuables from the Vampires—gold, jewelry, anything valuable, he would take it all. He was going broke. He felt short of money from head to toe.