Recruitment (Please Vote)

Before long, James Wesley pushed the door open and walked in, briefcase in hand, still looking every inch the senior white-collar professional. Somewhat irritated, he yanked off his tie, took out a bottle of beer, and gulped it down.

He walked to the desk and pulled out a document to read for two minutes before noticing someone sitting beside him from the corner of his eye.

"Who?!" Startled, he reached for the gun in the drawer.

Daisy fired a shockwave from her hand, blasting half the desk apart, then stepped out of the shadows.

"Mr. Wesley, long time no see." She stood before him in her original appearance.

He was initially puzzled, finding her unfamiliar, but then seemed to remember something. He glanced at the desk before looking back at her. "It's you. You're a Mutant?"

She rejected that outright. "No, just an ordinary superpowered person. Like I told you last time, Mr. Wesley, you're talented. It's truly a pity for someone like you to be mixed up with a gang."

A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of James Wesley's mouth, as though he were looking at a young person who didn't know their own limits.

He had seen plenty of people like her—people who thought gaining powers meant they could control everything.

As if she had guessed his thoughts, Daisy continued casually, "Perhaps you think I'm shallow and ignorant, but I have to say, the ones who truly haven't seen the situation clearly are you and the... Mr. Wilson Fisk behind you, who went to Spain these past few days."

"How did you know that?" He did not deny it, merely asked in return.

Of course I know because of the plot, but Daisy could not say that. She continued to put on an inscrutable air. "Mr. Fisk is your friend. The friendship between you is admirable. You're willing to do anything for him, and Mr. Fisk would help you kill anyone. Am I wrong?"

He neither nodded nor shook his head, so she went on. "But Mr. Fisk has left New York, left Hell's Kitchen. With the NYPD's massive crackdown, he needs to lie low and prepare for his next rise. What about you, Mr. Wesley? Are you willing to retire in the Spanish countryside too?"

The question was entirely unnecessary. If James Wesley had been willing, he would have left New York long ago. He could not bear to leave this place—the flattery and attention of the crowd. He had no desire to live some pastoral life.

"How many years do you plan to wait in New York? The police are currently sweeping the city with all their strength. How many years will Mr. Fisk need before he can return to New York? Are you willing to keep waiting, or do you want to come out and accomplish something?" She stared directly into his eyes.

"I don't believe you."

Daisy smiled brilliantly. "You have to believe me. You've seen my powers, so you can only stand on my side—unless you don't want to live."

"Even if you don't want to live, you wouldn't want to implicate Mr. Fisk, would you?" After saying that, she softly recited an overseas address.

"What? Say that again?" James Wesley's face was full of shock. He even thought he had misheard.

What did they do? They were a vibrant social organization! They had always been the ones threatening others.

So-and-so, if you don't want to drag your family into this, do something for us.

James Wesley had said variations of such lines hundreds of times over his short thirty years of life. He never imagined that one day, he would be threatened in return.

He was so angry he laughed. "Perhaps I have no ability to resist, but Mr. Fisk is different."

Daisy reached out and gave his heart a light vibration from several meters away.

An invisible force gripped James Wesley's chest. He felt as though he would suffocate in the next second. His face turned bright red as he tried to gulp in air, but the oxygen could not reach his heart and was blocked outside.

Daisy withdrew her power. "To me, there's no difference. I'm not asking you to betray him, either. While he hasn't returned to New York, work for me. That doesn't violate your principles, does it?"

"Mr. Fisk hates superpowered people!" James took off his glasses and clutched his chest, barely managing to stand.

"That's because he isn't one." Daisy saw that clearly. Those anti-Mutant senators and citizens, including Kingpin, who had always been hostile toward superpowered people—if they themselves had powers, they would not say such things.

James Wesley lowered his head and thought for a moment. In truth, he himself envied those with powers. He was not particularly hostile toward them.

"I have a few conditions."

"Go ahead."

"I won't do anything that betrays Mr. Fisk."

"What I plan to do is legitimate business. It has nothing to do with him. I can agree to that."

"I'm not a subordinate. I'm a partner."

"You already are. I can agree to that too."

"Once Mr. Fisk returns to New York, I'll leave you and return to his side."

Daisy curled her lips. She felt like Cao Cao, while he was the great general Guan Yu. Still, she agreed to this Marvel version of their three-part pact. Time could change a person's mind. It would be years before Kingpin returned to New York, and the glory of those years would erode James Wesley and his friendship.

At heart, James was someone vain who enjoyed being admired. Would he rather be a glamorous figure in the spotlight or handle the gang's messy bullshit behind the scenes? Daisy thought he would choose the former.

"Fine. Since we're already companions, let me explain the current task." She went on at length about the advantages of big data.

As an elite professional, James Wesley knew a little about many fields. He quickly saw the potential of big data. It was a genius concept. Compared with Kingpin, who only knew how to handle demolition projects, this suited his tastes far better.

He slipped into the role quickly and pondered aloud, "It seems this big data can only be applied by major corporations and government agencies?"

Daisy nodded. "That will be your future task: dealing with government officials and major corporations. As a top graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wesley, you should be quite skilled at communicating with those people."

The vision she painted was excellent. To be honest, Mr. James was somewhat tempted, but when he learned that the company had only a few thousand dollars in its accounts, his heart sank halfway.

"That's why I need you to open doors and get the market to recognize my product." Daisy looked as though it were perfectly natural.

James chose his words carefully. "If some targets are particularly stubborn, would you use unconventional methods?"

Daisy gave him an amused look. "Mr. Wesley, your way of thinking is dangerous. Do you truly think this country has no ability to resist? It's only that those at the top don't want to bother. If they wanted to, sending out a few elite agents would be enough to wipe all of you out."

Daisy glanced at her watch and handed him a note. "It's already late today. If you haven't changed your mind by tomorrow, you can find me at this address. If you have changed your mind, then it'll be time for me to find you."

With that, she gestured at his chest, pushed open the door, and slowly walked out.

There was a seventy percent chance that he would cooperate with her. She had kept her Vibration powers active the entire time. Through frequency sensing, she had detected his initial irritation, then his concern upon seeing her, followed by hostility and finally compromise. The whole process had been very natural.

She opened the door of her secondhand Ford and had just started the engine when a sharp frequency suddenly appeared in her senses. Before she could react, the door on the other side was pulled open, and a tall figure climbed in.

The newcomer was tall, wearing a black leather trench coat and an eyepatch over his left eye, black from head to toe like Director Fury.