Let the Bullets Fly

A great wind rose, and clouds soared! Where could I find valiant men to guard the four corners of the land!

Bandits! They had to be wiped out at all times!

There was no way around it!

Just think about it!

You leave the city with your wife, eating hot pot and singing...

--

Then suddenly, bandits rob you!!!

That was why days without bandits were good days!

That was the point Leon had expressed during this conversation.

More specifically, every gang member deserved to die. Leon had merely offered some insignificant assistance.

And the S.H.I.E.L.D. representative on the other side of the table, Mr. Phil Coulson, clearly did not agree with that view.

"How did you find me?"

That was what Leon was curious about.

Leon's actions were highly random and unpredictable. Showing up on this street tonight had been an unplanned coincidence. Unless he was being watched every second of every day, this should not have happened.

Though Leon had mocked him for being bald in front of so many subordinates and acquaintances earlier, Coulson was a consummate professional. He still wore the same standard, official smile. "Sir, I must say, this was a coincidence." His words were unhurried, gentle yet firm, instinctively making people feel that he was trustworthy.

That was Coulson's charm!

"Oh! It's fucking a surprise too!"

"Translate that."

"Translate it: what the hell is a surprise?"

Coulson showed no nervousness at the "doctor's" sudden burst of excitement. He merely lowered his assessment of this man's mentality and personality a few notches, while also worrying whether S.H.I.E.L.D.'s usual methods of "proactive recruitment" and "forced cooperation" were suitable for this particular individual.

"Whatever the reason, you don't seem to have gone to great lengths to conceal your whereabouts."

Hm?

Don't talk nonsense! I cared a lot! Didn't you see that I only ever came out in the middle of the night?!

"So, you know my real identity?"

Though he did not care that much.

Still, having his real identity exposed—especially to an official organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.—would have a huge impact. Leon neither wanted to work with Hydra nor could he turn against them while he was still this weak.

This was troublesome...

Leon could not help feeling the slightest bit of regret. Was his peaceful night-shift life about to be shattered?

How fucking ironic!

He had just been lecturing Daredevil nonstop! The guy was fine, yet Leon had ended up exposing himself instead!

Don't eat pickled radishes!!!

Coulson continued, "We have not been monitoring you, nor do we possess any information regarding your identity."

That did not sound very believable.

"Our knowledge of you mainly comes from gang members' statements and testimonies."

Oh. Got it!

He had not been ruthless enough.

"Today, we were originally carrying out an arrest operation, but we suddenly received word that a shootout had broken out at the Southwest Docks. Based on the previous incidents, since the victim was always Mr. Fisk, we suspected that this incident was also your doing."

Those were some extremely careful words!

The victim, Mr. Fisk~

And was this one of those cases where an error accidentally hit the mark? Though he really had planned to go there, someone had beaten both him and Kingpin to it! He had even saved that kid!

Yet in the end, the blame still landed on him!

Though a turbulent storm raged through his mind, outwardly Leon remained perfectly still, listening intently. Sitting cross-legged in midair, he hid his expression behind the mask of shifting ink and silently watched Coulson.

"When we arrived, we found nothing. Our search also proved fruitless. Just as we were preparing to withdraw, we detected an emergency call."

Smiling at Leon, Coulson did not finish his sentence, but the implication was already obvious.

Ah~~...

It really fucking... was a surprise!

Leon scratched his head and said awkwardly, "What happened at the docks wasn't my doing. I just came here to look at the moon."

Coulson responded with the same smile.

This was awkward. Leon had always been quite cautious. He had only acted on a whim once, and who could have guessed the odds of winning the jackpot would be so high!

His body turned in the air as Leon slowly spun in a circle under the tense stares of the mobile unit personnel holding rifles and heavy weapons. He met every one of their eyes—at least, that was how it seemed to them.

He had no interest in wasting words with them anymore. Reinforcements would arrive if this dragged on any longer!

"Let's speak plainly. What do you want?"

Coulson was still smiling, but Leon found that smile rather hateful now.

"Doctor Lister, perhaps we could talk inside over coffee?"

Coulson extended a hand behind him in an inviting gesture.

Leon considered what he had done, considered his own strength, considered Coulson's character, and considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s—Hydra's—usual bullshit...

It was fine. He would just go.

"Do you have fennel beans?"

Of course they did not, so only one person at the table drank coffee.

While wondering whether "fennel beans" were worth including in his report, Coulson silently sampled... instant coffee.

No matter how resourceful S.H.I.E.L.D. was, it could not haul around hand grinders and coffee machines everywhere. Fortunately, there had already been a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house nearby that could temporarily serve as a meeting room. Otherwise, evacuating personnel and sealing off information alone would have been a huge problem.

"So, what are your thoughts—or rather, your objective? Just say it. There aren't even fennel beans here. I can't feel your sincerity. I'm about to go home and sleep, so say what you have to say."

Before Coulson could speak, Leon skipped past the pleasantries and probing, directly pushing the conversation into its final thirty percent.

And so, that led to the scene at the beginning.

From S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perspective, gangs would always exist. They would be born alongside humanity and perish alongside humanity.

In the current situation, one gang being able to control and consolidate the entire underworld was something S.H.I.E.L.D. was happy to see, from the standpoint of stability.

Leon clearly did not see it that way, so the negotiation between them reached a deadlock.

No matter what Coulson said, Leon put on the shameless act of, I don't care, I'm not listening, you're heartless, immoral, and unreasonable.

At this point, there was not really anything left to discuss. Barbara, who had been standing behind Coulson the entire time, had already prepared herself for battle. The agents outside were also waiting for the command to swarm in!

At the crucial moment, Leon, who had been speaking casually and absentmindedly all along, suddenly said, "Maybe we can make a deal."

Coulson was in a difficult position as well. Today had originally been just a routine mission. Out of caution, he had brought Barbara, a beautiful agent with both a sharp mind and formidable combat skills.

Unexpectedly, their honey trap had failed first. Then Coulson realized that their assessment of the target's combat capability had been seriously wrong.

Though Coulson himself was not much of a fighter, years in the field had given him a good eye.

Barbara clearly could not cause Doctor Lister any trouble.

Fight?

Leaving everything else aside, at this distance, there was no question that he would be the unlucky one!

Let him leave?

That would make the report difficult to write!

At that moment, Leon's words were like heavenly music, saving what little hair Coulson had left.

Leaning forward and clasping his hands on the table, Coulson adopted the posture of a devoted listener.

"Doctor Lister, what kind of deal are you proposing?"

The contract has been signed. Please vote! There should be another chapter tonight. Please vote and add it to your collection!