Coulson: I Refuse to Accept This—Why Am I Always the Unlucky One?!

At last, the agent sent to buy food came running back, drenched in sweat and carrying two large paper bags!

"What happened to you? Why were you so slow?!"

Rubbing his empty stomach, Deputy Captain Ward was visibly dissatisfied.

"Captain Ward, it's not that I didn't want to hurry. The place was just insanely popular—there were tons of people in line.

Even then, I had to pay out of my own pocket to trade places with several people before I could buy it early!"

The agent felt utterly wronged.

Not only had he received no praise, but surely the organization would reimburse the money he had spent out of pocket, right?

Hearing that, Captain Ward grew even angrier.

"What do you mean, 'not that you wanted to'? You still dare to argue?!"

As a secret Hydra agent embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D., he had spent over an hour on something as trivial as buying food. If he were ever told to kill someone in the future—say, Coulson on the left—would he need several days to prepare?!

What a disgrace!

Coulson was so hungry his face had gone pale. Slumped in the passenger seat, he waved a hand, signaling them to stop talking nonsense and hurry up with the food.

Naturally, he had no idea what Ward was saying about him in his heart.

He accepted a lunch box with both hands and impatiently opened it.

Buzz~

A golden glow flashed forth, and a rich fragrance filled the air. Coulson swallowed hard, feeling as though every golden grain of rice was plump, exquisite, and brimming with vitality.

Green scallions were scattered across it in just the right amount, while the red shrimp kept stirring everyone's appetite.

"Gulp."

Coulson swallowed and instinctively rubbed his eyes.

"What the hell is this? Am I hallucinating?"

"Pinch me, quick! I think I just saw a firebird flying!"

The two agents in the back cried out one after another. Grant Ward on the right was equally stunned, wearing an expression as though his entire worldview had collapsed.

When had he ever seen fried rice this badass?!

Was all Eastern cuisine this awesome?

Or had all the food he used to think was delicious been fake?!

Growl, growl...

Inside the cramped vehicle, everyone stared at the fried rice as saliva rapidly filled their mouths and their stomachs protested in succession.

Their bodies were calling out to them: "Don't hesitate. Go for it!"

So, they obeyed that instinct.

One bite, two bites, three bites.

They wolfed it down, sweating profusely. By the time they came back to themselves, the lunch boxes had been scraped so clean that not even a single grain of rice remained.

Their entire bodies felt pleasantly warm, as though they had received a massage.

Listening to the wind outside the car windows, they lazily leaned their heads against the seat cushions, narrowed their eyes, and simply did not want to move at all.

The night was dark and the wind was high.

There were no pedestrians on the road. Constantine was most likely flirting with women in some bar again; he usually did not return until the early hours of the morning.

Coulson led several agents in a light jog, quietly arriving outside the Hellblazer Exorcism Agency.

Grant Ward had long been prepared. He made a hand signal, then pulled two thin wires from his bag and inserted them into the lock.

His hands trembled for a moment, and his whole body shuddered.

Click.

The door opened.

Everyone held their breath at once. Without making a sound, they quickly entered the room.

The whole place did not look very large: three bedrooms and a living room.

The innermost bedroom had been converted into an office. Of the two bedrooms on the right, one served as the master bedroom while the other was a study.

The living room contained a water dispenser, a table, and a sofa. It was clearly where business was discussed.

The home was not lavishly decorated. On the contrary, it looked rather simple, with nothing unusual in sight.

Standing in the living room, Coulson silently made a hand signal.

The agents nodded to show they understood, then split up to search each room, feeling around here and looking over there to see whether there were any hidden compartments.

Finally, they arrived at the office, where they found Captain Coulson gently stroking a black beckoning cat ornament.

"..." Everyone: (￣﹌￣)

Coulson's expression stiffened, and he hurriedly explained.

"I'm inspecting important items!"

Impressive. As expected of the captain—he had found something so quickly.

The team members expressed their admiration, regretfully informing Coulson that they had found nothing.

"Captain Coulson, it seems Constantine doesn't have a habit of keeping important items at home."

As a member of Hydra, Grant Ward had been assigned a secret mission by Alexander Pierce before joining this operation: find something that looked like a compass.

Unfortunately, that compass was nowhere to be found.

Coulson held up the black lucky cat in both hands. He had already searched every item in the office.

Was this what one should expect from Constantine?

There was not even a single file in his drawers, which showed just how "hardworking" he had been lately.

The only thing worth noting was this lucky cat in the room!

"Maybe this is a magical item."

Watching Coulson mutter quietly to himself, Grant Ward's gaze sharpened, and even his breathing caught.

[Emotion Value from Grant Ward +307]

Carefully putting the lucky cat back where it belonged, Coulson took out his phone and snapped several photos before letting out a long breath.

"Let's call it here for tonight."

Compared to magical items, what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted most was knowledge about magic.

Given the current situation, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no need to offend Constantine over a magical item they did not understand.

The team members exchanged glances and raised no objections, following Coulson outside.

Grant Ward deliberately fell behind, slowing his steps to widen the distance between himself and the others.

He discreetly signaled his subordinates. Watching them adjust their positions to block Coulson's line of sight behind him—

Grant Ward's eyes flashed. He quickly stepped back, snatched the lucky cat off the desk, and stuffed it into his bag.

When they reached the door, Coulson subconsciously looked back and saw Grant Ward following behind with a smile on his face, carrying his bag.

He did not think much of it. They left the same way they had come.

Ward made another gesture and discreetly swapped bags with one of his subordinates.

Later, he casually found an excuse to arrange for that subordinate to get out of the car and run an errand.

Through Hydra's secret channels, the lucky cat was escorted all the way into Alexander Pierce's hands.

At S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce was delighted.

After fiddling with the magical item for a while, he personally sent it to the research lab and ordered people to study it.

Little did he know that the curse attached to the lucky cat had already begun spreading from person to person through everyone who touched it.

Over the next few days, Coulson and the others responsible for monitoring Constantine were shrouded in terrible misfortune.

Grant Ward wore a bulletproof vest, a bulletproof helmet, and carried a riot shield, arming himself to the teeth as he nervously watched the surroundings.

They had been unbelievably unlucky these past few days.

Three subordinates had been injured in succession by all manner of misfortune and sent to the hospital.

Just earlier, he and Coulson had gone out for a meal. They had been chatting pleasantly as they walked down the street when a flowerpot suddenly fell from above and struck Coulson squarely on the forehead.

Ward had been so terrified that he immediately called 911 and had him rushed to the hospital.

He had heard that even after being admitted, Coulson had not found any peace—a fall had broken one of his arms. It was truly miserable.

Their vehicle had not escaped either. All four tires had gone flat one after another, and the engine would not start. Of the original five-man team, only Ward remained standing.

Standing alone on the street, the fully armed Deputy Captain Ward trembled.

His eyes were weak and helpless.

[Emotion Value from Grant Ward +477]

When I woke up, the favorites had exceeded three hundred. Thank you all for your support!

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