Nick Fury

Chapter 4 Nick Fury

Late at night, Washington D.C. was still a place of glitz and glamour.

After the White House was vacated, this area was occupied by nearby states and gangs. Perhaps because everyone wanted to experience how great the place where the President once resided was, dozens of gangs took root here, and various shootouts erupted every single day.

There was no law to speak of here; all order had been shattered. This was a paradise for criminals and a cradle of evil. Countless addicts and lowlifes gathered here, and compared to this place, Gotham City might even be considered bright and sunny.

President X had originally intended to manage Washington, but the Avengers kept his nerves constantly frayed, leaving him no time to send troops to suppress the area. By the time he reacted, it had already turned into an unmanageable black zone.

Zhang Ye drove through the area, one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other tightly clutched the handgun tucked against his chest.

Honestly, having lived two lives, perhaps that had given Zhang Ye strong self-confidence, preventing him from being as socially anxious as he was in his previous life. However, the fear and tension caused by uncontrollable chaos were things that could not be diminished no matter what.

Entering the city center, the number of pedestrians on the road increased, but at a glance, Zhang Ye felt as if he had arrived in hell. Some of those people were skin and bones, others were rolling their eyes back in their heads while leaning against corners. Trash and vomit were visible everywhere on the streets, which made Zhang Ye's brow furrow deeply.

If it weren't for the fact that there were too many people here, Zhang Ye wouldn't even have wanted to slow down; he would have just slammed on the gas and charged through.

Zhang Ye's arrival attracted the attention of some people, but no one made any extreme moves, which was barely good news for Zhang Ye. After looking around, Zhang Ye turned the car into a small alley.

Opening the car door, Zhang Ye quickly shouldered his messenger bag, then opened the trunk and let Pietro out.

"Put on your clothes. This is a place that eats people without spitting out the bones. I have things to do, and you need to ensure my safety."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you well." Pietro wore a fisherman's hat to cover his silver hair, and he was draped in a long trench coat. He nodded seriously at Zhang Ye, giving his word.

"There are quite a few mutants here. Under their cover, using your abilities here won't be noticed by President X. But still, be careful. Remember, your speed is not invincible." Zhang Ye gave Quicksilver a word of caution, and then the two walked out of the alley one after the other.

Texas bordered Mexico and was a very chaotic place, and since it was too far from New York, Zhang Ye had to get everything ready as soon as possible. On this route, there was no place easier to get fuel and weapons than Washington D.C.

Once out of the alley and truly integrating into the crowd on foot, Zhang Ye felt the chaos of this place more intuitively. The foul odors kept drilling into his nose, making his stomach churn with nausea.

Passing by a bar, the crowd suddenly became restless. Two burly men were seen dragging a scrawny man and throwing him out of the bar.

The man was tossed into the filth, but he quickly scrambled up, stumbling toward the two burly men, pleading with a hoarse voice, "Give me a little more, please, I beg you! I'll get the money, I promise!"

One of the burly men sneered and took a step back, seemingly disgusted by the filth on the other man. Then, he pulled out a handgun and pressed it straight against the man's forehead.

"Wade, this isn't the first time. You shouldn't have done it; you shouldn't have gone to steal my boss's goods."

"...No, I didn't mean to, I beg you." The man called Wade trembled, stuttering for a long time without being able to say a complete sentence.

"The big talk doesn't work anymore? Haha." The burly man couldn't be bothered to tease him any further. He lightly pulled the trigger, shooting Wade dead. Then, as if remembering something unpleasant, he fired a few more shots into Wade.

The surrounding crowd didn't have a single person step forward to speak from beginning to end, as if it had nothing to do with them, just like watching a movie. This reminded Zhang Ye of the execution scene involving Hawkeye earlier.

"What's wrong?" Pietro couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing." Zhang Ye shook his head and headed toward that bar.

In a place like this, a bar was undoubtedly the best way to gather intelligence. Moreover, compared to the outside, the inside of a bar was actually safer; with those gangs backing it, no one would dare to cause trouble inside.

Lifting his feet, stepping over Wade's corpse, the two walked straight into the bar. The two burly men at the entrance were chatting and laughing; they didn't pay much attention to Zhang Ye and his companion. Perhaps to them, discussing which street's women were sexier was more important.

The interior of the bar was dim and noisy, but the environment was much cleaner than the streets outside. At least Zhang Ye didn't smell anything that made him want to retch.

"New faces, what would you like?" Just as Zhang Ye was about to find a seat, a black girl walked over with a bright smile on her face.

The girl had white hair and a great figure, but the scent of her perfume made Zhang Ye frown. "Find a quiet spot, and bring two drinks."

"As you wish, honey, follow me." The girl blew a kiss and then led Zhang Ye and his companion to a corner of the bar. It was indeed one of the few quiet places in the bar, though a man whose life or death was unknown was lying on the floor next to the table.

"The drinks will be here in a moment. You two sit first. Do you need me to provide some service for you? It's only 20 dollars." The girl leaned down, showing off her good figure.

Zhang Ye didn't react to the girl's actions, instead asking a seemingly unrelated question.

"What is your name?"

The girl was stunned for a moment, then assumed this was some kind of quirk of Zhang Ye's. She smiled and said, "You can call me Ororo. Of course, you can also give me a name."

"Forget it." Zhang Ye waved his hand. "I'll call you if I need anything."

Hearing this, the girl felt a bit dissatisfied, but she didn't say anything more and turned to leave without a word.

At this moment, Pietro couldn't help but ask from the side, "This girl, do you know her?"

"I suppose I do, but she isn't the person from my memories. On the contrary, this makes me even more determined about our operation this time." Zhang Ye picked up the delivered drinks, hesitated for a moment, and then placed them back on the table.

Although Zhang Ye was thirsty, thinking about the environment here, he didn't dare to drink or eat anything casually. Who knew if someone had added some hellish substance to the drinks here.

"You said we needed to prepare some gear here. How do we prepare it, and who should we look for?" Pietro was somewhat repulsed by the environment here. He asked while scanning the surroundings.

"We don't need to look for them; someone will come looking for us." Zhang Ye said calmly.

Sure enough, after turning down the nth woman who came to solicit her services, a one-eyed white man walked over.

He sat directly in front of Zhang Ye and, without any courtesy, picked up the untouched glass in front of Zhang Ye and downed it in one gulp.

"What, are you here to ask if I need service too?" Zhang Ye stared at the man and asked.

"Heh, I just didn't want to waste these two drinks." The one-eyed man grinned. "I know, you're here to do business. Tell me about it; perhaps I can help you out."

"How are you so sure I'm here to do business?"

"It's simple. Coming here not to have fun but to sit quietly, not even drinking the alcohol—you must be some big shots. Although I'm blind in one eye, I'm a very good judge of character."

"Interesting. I suppose you're right. Let's find a place to talk." It seemed the goal for this trip had been half-achieved. Zhang Ye stood up and followed the man toward the back door of the bar.

On the way, Zhang Ye also learned the man's name: Nick Fury. He didn't seem to want to keep anything secret.

Unlike the black Nick Fury known to the public in his previous life, this Nick Fury was a white man. Likewise, he was also a member of the Howling Commandos established by Captain America. However, what was puzzling was that this guy had actually fallen into such a state.