Caught Natasha's Eye

Honestly, Nick Fury was probably about to lose even his nest egg.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

The name sounded impressive, like some important organization.

But in reality, the government did not favor the organization at all, and ever since the Avengers had been established, there had always been voices of opposition among the higher-ups.

Under immense pressure, Nick Fury had relied on his silver tongue to finally get the Avengers initiative launched.

He had not expected such a huge problem to arise the moment it began.

Well, this was just great.

Road construction—Luo Bai's payment.

At the thought of S.H.I.E.L.D. suddenly having to pay out such a massive sum, Nick Fury's heart practically bled.

The higher-ups definitely would not reimburse it, so it seemed he could only sell weapons.

Of course, another option was to borrow money from Stark.

Just thinking about it gave Nick Fury a terrible headache.

"I'm leaving first," Nick Fury said darkly.

After saying that, he left without looking back, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would end up paying even more.

Once Nick Fury got into the car, Natasha could not help exclaiming, "Luo Bai, you're too interesting. I've worked with Nick Fury for so long, and this is the first time I've ever seen him this frustrated!"

As the "King of Spies," Nick Fury had always been able to leave others speechless while taking every advantage for himself.

Who would have thought he would suffer such a huge loss at Luo Bai's hands?

Thinking of that, Natasha continued, "You may not know Nick Fury well. Throughout his career as an agent, he has almost never suffered a loss. In the past, he was always the one taking advantage of others. I never thought you would actually get payment out of him~~~ I think very highly of you~~"

Seeing her like this, Luo Bai could not help commenting, "You seem very happy?!"

Natasha nodded. "Of course. What employee wants to see their boss happy?"

Natasha was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director was Nick Fury.

So it was no exaggeration to say that Nick Fury was Natasha's immediate superior.

No employee liked their boss, and Natasha was no exception.

Seeing her "boss" unhappy naturally made her happy.

At that moment, Natasha's smile could not have been brighter.

But after her reminder, Stark finally realized something was wrong.

"Wait. Didn't Nick Fury give me any payment either? He was the one who invited me to join the Avengers... Logically, shouldn't he give me something too?" Stark muttered.

Although Stark did not lack money and did not care much about it,

after being reminded by Luo Bai, he realized something was off.

No matter what, Nick Fury was the one who had invited him to join the Avengers.

Not only had he received no benefits at all, he had been running all over the place for Nick Fury every day?!

As he was thinking, Luo Bai explained, "Since Nick Fury was the one who invited you to join the Avengers, logically speaking, he should be paying you."

Stark was speechless and could not help complaining, "Honestly, not only did I receive no payment. I even provided S.H.I.E.L.D. with weapons."

"If you care about it, you can discuss it with him. You may not need money, but you can ask for something else," Luo Bai suggested.

Stark shrugged. "I really should talk to Nick Fury. He still needs to give me my father's things, and my palladium poisoning problem hasn't been resolved yet."

After saying that, Stark looked at Natasha beside him and asked, "Are you going to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Take me with you."

Natasha nodded in response. "Of course. I need to take Dr. Banner back."

The matter had been resolved.

Natasha and the others planned to leave, while Luo Bai intended to return and continue studying magic.

Before leaving, Natasha suddenly invited Luo Bai, "It was nice meeting you, Luo Bai. If you're free, perhaps we could go get coffee later."

Luo Bai did not think much of it and merely replied casually, "We'll talk about it later."

Then he opened a portal and returned to the villa.

When Luo Bai returned to the villa, he found that Polaris had already come back from the supermarket.

She was sitting on the sofa, watching television while eating a hamburger.

When she saw Luo Bai return, she quickly stood up and said, "Mage Luo Bai, you're back? This is the dinner I brought back for you."

As she spoke, Polaris pointed at the food on the coffee table.

Very good... fried chicken and hamburgers.

"You only bought these?" Luo Bai frowned and could not help asking.

"There's also milk, bread, and some frozen food in the refrigerator," Polaris explained.

Luo Bai fell silent.

Seeing his silence, Polaris hurriedly asked, "Mage Luo Bai, don't you eat these? I can make you pasta or a salad? Oh, right. There's pizza too. Do you want some?"

Luo Bai fell even more silent.

He did not object to fried chicken, hamburgers, pasta, and such foods.

But from the sound of it, Polaris seemed to be planning for them to eat these things for the next few months.

With that thought, Luo Bai could not help asking, "You aren't planning to... have me eat these for the next few months, are you?"

"Is there... a problem?" Polaris asked cautiously.

Luo Bai sighed.

How had he forgotten? This was New York.

Eating these things seemed normal here, but...

"I can't eat this stuff for months. I need rice. If you can't cook it, you can buy some from a restaurant outside," Luo Bai said bluntly.

Rice?!

"But... Mage Luo Bai, I don't have that much money," Polaris answered honestly.

Luo Bai: "..."

He had forgotten that this was The U.S.

The prices of the things he had just mentioned really were frighteningly high here. Without some assets, one truly could not afford to eat them.

"People are hardly willing to hire Mutants, let alone me. I'm still a 'wanted criminal' now. If the Mutant Association finds me, I'll most likely be captured." As he was thinking, Polaris complained helplessly.

"Then where did you get money while you were on the run?" Luo Bai asked.

"My friends and I made a little money through certain channels. Um... they weren't legal channels, but we had to live somehow. But the Mutant Association has been searching for us very aggressively lately, so we haven't dared to do much recently," Polaris replied.

"Alright." Luo Bai sighed.

Although he had previously told Polaris to handle the food issue herself,

she had indeed handled it.

But Luo Bai truly was not used to eating this stuff.

For the sake of his stomach feeling better in the future, Luo Bai relented. "I'll pay for my own meals from now on, but only my portion. You pay for yours yourself."

After all, having her work as a housekeeper was her punishment. Luo Bai could not provide her with three meals a day on top of room and board.

Polaris did not seem to have any objections. She nodded and agreed readily. "Alright."

"The money is in the box Natasha brought over. You can take it yourself from now on," Luo Bai said.