Nick Fury

Daisy knew him even without studying Marvel materials. Nick Fury, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—why had this guy come looking for her?

Had she been too active lately and drawn S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention? She didn't think so.

She instinctively assumed a guarded stance, her Vibration powers already poised to strike.

As if he hadn't noticed her wariness, Fury gestured with his chin toward the house not far away. "That guy in there has eleven lives on his hands. Is someone like that worth trusting?"

Daisy couldn't quite figure out what he was after, and she didn't know whether Fury had heard the conversation between the two of them. If he had, then he knew she had powers. If he hadn't, then naturally he didn't...

Did he know or not? She wanted to read Fury's expression, only to discover that his face was so dark it could blend into the night. There was nothing to read!

Daisy didn't answer directly. She believed he had his own judgment, so she asked instead, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"I'm Nick Fury, from S.H.I.E.L.D. I came looking for you because you're talented. You shouldn't waste away in a place like this."

Daisy pointed at James's house with an amused smile, testing him. "That sounds a lot like the lines I just used to persuade that guy. Couldn't you come up with something else?"

Nick Fury didn't take the bait. He neither asked what they had said earlier nor denied anything. Instead, he smoothly changed the subject. "We're a global organization. We have information about your parents."

Daisy didn't care about any parents. That was what she thought, and what she said. "Not interested."

Nick Fury wasn't surprised by her refusal. Forget eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girls—even a grown man in his thirties like Tony Stark looked disdainful whenever his parents came up.

They clearly cared deep down, yet their words were full of defiance and dissatisfaction. Acknowledging their parents' path meant being a sissy and a weakling; looking down on their parents was what made a real man. It had practically become a social issue for an entire generation. Fury assumed Daisy was the same.

"We have some information about your parents. You're very talented and should receive more education, rather than entering the business world so early. That would wear down your gifts."

Nick Fury's words gave Daisy pause. It didn't sound like he wanted her to become an Avenger or an agent. It sounded more like he wanted her to go to school.

She didn't mind learning more. Her brain had been enhanced, and her learning ability had improved considerably. She had already muddled her way through a small portion of quantum mechanics on her own. With someone teaching her, she would master it faster.

"I know that at your age, you're rebellious, proud, and look down on schools. But as an old man, I still have to advise you: learning more is good for you." Nick Fury continued persuading her.

Daisy scratched her head. "Are you recommending a university for me?"

Nick Fury first shook his head, then nodded. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has its own academy. You can learn anything you want there. But it won't be recognized by the outside world. I don't think you still plan to come out and look for a job afterward, do you?"

Daisy rather agreed with that. There was no way she was going to work for someone else! A S.H.I.E.L.D. diploma wasn't recognized outside. When S.H.I.E.L.D. dissolved and Maria Hill faced unemployment and reemployment, she could only coast in Stark's HR department through connections. That said it all.

Just as she had done with James before, Fury handed her a magnetic card. "Your identity information is on this. If you want to, you can enroll within a month. As for the academy's exact location, you'll need to find it yourself."

It was an obvious provocation. He seemed convinced that young people would fall for this sort of thing, as if he were waiting for willing fish to bite.

Still, Daisy accepted the card and examined both sides. There was no explanatory text and no special card reader. Even if she lost it, it wouldn't be much of a loss.

"Just studying? I won't have to do any spy work, right?" she asked tentatively.

Fury snorted. "We don't just train spies. Maintaining world peace involves all kinds of work. Your concerns are unnecessary."

Daisy didn't quite believe him, but after staring for a while, with the dark night and Fury's dark face, she really couldn't make out any expression. The King of Agents' heart was as unmoving as solid steel, beyond the reach of her half-baked probing ability.

After thinking it over, she still asked an awkward question. "What about tuition...?"

Fury stared at her with his one eye. It took him quite a while to understand what she meant, and he nodded speechlessly. "Your tuition will be waived."

Daisy was overjoyed. University tuition was expensive, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s had to be even more expensive. Though she had painted a wonderful picture when persuading James, she still had doubts about the sales ability of her little group. No matter how good big data was, it was useless if nobody used it.

She was actually very poor.

She wanted to ask whether room and board were fully covered too. Even her food expenses frightened her now.

Her body was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much she ate, it could all be absorbed. Ever since gaining her powers, she had never once felt full. Thinking about it, she was truly disgracing all transmigrators.

Seeing her embarrassment, Fury added another incentive. "Room and board, firearms, and protective gear will all be provided free of charge. The most professional training methods, the most authoritative scientific guidance, and we can even assign you a car."

Daisy's eyes lit up. She looked at her who-knew-how-manyth-hand Ford. If they assigned her a car, could she sell this one?

But she hadn't lost her necessary caution. "With so many benefits, what do you need me to do?"

"Serve S.H.I.E.L.D. when the time comes."

"What exactly would that involve? And how long would I have to serve?"

"All kinds of things: providing intelligence, covering for personnel, gathering information, analysis, treatment, and so on. Once you believe you've repaid what S.H.I.E.L.D. has invested in you, you may leave."

The two of them exchanged a few quick words. The terms were actually quite lenient: no mandatory missions and no fixed term.

"Treatment...?" Daisy immediately realized something. "Oh, so that's it. Frank told you about me, didn't he? I think he's the only person I've ever treated."

Fury nodded. "He's my comrade. On a personal level, I'm very grateful that you saved him."

"You're close friends?" Daisy asked curiously.

"Comrades and friends. The kind you can entrust your life to."

Daisy punched her fist into her palm. "That's great. Treating him cost me some money, and afterward I left him a sum for his daily recovery. Do you think that money could...?"

Fury was dumbfounded. He really didn't know how much Daisy had spent treating Frank. As for the so-called "sum" she had left him, as a big shot who handled hundreds of millions or even billions every day, the numbers he could think of were all huge.