Nick Fury's mind raced at top speed. He was the king of agents—Nick Fury!
Even in the face of blackmail, coercion, or even torture, he could never agree to this kind of soul transaction.
But that did not stop him from using this opportunity to pry out more intelligence. So he said:
"You want my soul? Then what can you offer in exchange?"
"And how do I know whether the information you provide is valuable enough?"
The corners of Lu Xi's mouth rose slightly. He snapped his fingers and spoke with an air of certain victory:
"That is easy. I can first give you a taste of the value of some future information."
"Some of these futures involve diplomatic incidents between advanced civilizations, while others concern invasions of Earth by cosmic overlords."
"As for the consequences of those crises, the mildest could lead to the extinction of human civilization. The worst could destroy Earth itself, or even affect the entire Solar System."
Lu Xi paused, staring straight at Fury before continuing:
"I can give you one piece of information for free. Among these crises, one of them will be caused by your own hands."
Fury's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He instinctively refuted it:
"That is impossible. I would never do something like that! My goal is to protect Earth. How could I personally cause a disaster on that level?"
Lu Xi waved a hand indifferently, a trace of certainty on his face.
"When it comes to transactions, I do not lie. Believe it or not, that is up to you."
Nick Fury had always made a habit of nipping crises in the bud.
Even if he could not do that, he would make all the necessary preparations to deal with them.
But no matter what, he could not accept that one of those terrifying outcomes would be caused by his own hands.
Fury's already pitch-black face turned even more livid. His expression shifted constantly as he struggled fiercely within himself.
At last, he understood why Peggy Carter had been unable to refuse Lucifer's deal.
When faced with certain matters, ownership of one's own soul no longer seemed quite so important.
Lu Xi watched Fury's conflicted expression and asked with a smile:
"Well? Have you decided?"
Fury let out a deep sigh, as if he had made an agonizing decision.
"I am willing to make the deal, but I have several conditions!"
Maria opened her mouth, intending to urge Fury to think more carefully, but when the words reached her lips, she slowly closed her mouth again.
After all, what Fury was doing was atoning for the future version of himself who might cause that crisis. She truly had no standing to stop him.
Lu Xi grinned. Sure enough, no one could escape the law of things always smelling better than expected. He asked:
"What conditions?"
Fury drew a deep breath and said:
"First, I want information on at least three crises. As for the crisis caused by me personally, I want the most detailed information possible."
Lu Xi thought for a moment, then nodded.
"No problem. I agree."
Fury immediately continued:
"Also, this deal will only truly take effect after the truth of two of those crises has been verified."
Lu Xi nodded again and readily said:
"Fine."
As he spoke, he waved a hand through the air. Vast Divine Power instantly gathered, sketching out a new contract in midair.
Only this time, the terms of the transaction had changed slightly. Nick Fury's soul would automatically belong to Lu Xi only after the truth of two events had been verified.
Fury carefully read through the contract. A flash of resolve crossed his eyes, and without further hesitation, he pressed his palm onto it.
In an instant, the contract blazed with light and transformed into two runes, which flew into Lu Xi and Fury respectively. The contract officially took effect.
Fury froze briefly and checked his body. Finding nothing uncomfortable, he slowly said:
"Then please explain the three matters."
Lu Xi's expression turned serious. "The first matter is this: before long, a prince of the gods will end up stranded on Earth. If you do not handle it properly, at best it will trigger an interstellar diplomatic dispute. At worst, Earth may be ruled by another civilization."
He was not making this up. This was precisely the plot of the What If...? series.
If Thor died on Earth, the grief-stricken Loki would lead the Asgardian army to conquer Earth and incorporate it into Asgard's territory.
Fury's expression grew solemn, and he hurriedly asked:
"Then what should we do to avoid that?"
Lu Xi raised a hand, signaling him to stay calm.
"Do not rush. Let me finish all three matters first. The second matter is that, in the future, an alien army will descend upon New York, causing enormous casualties."
Fury's expression became even more severe. He nodded and silently committed both matters to memory.
Lu Xi drew a deep breath and continued:
"Next is the third matter—the disaster you created with your own hands."
Fury's expression sharpened. He took a deep breath, straightened in his seat, and stared intently at Lu Xi as though he wanted to carve every word into his heart.
Maria beside him also could not help but focus with utmost attention, nervously awaiting Lu Xi's next words.
Lu Xi's gaze was piercing as he slowly said:
"The Skrulls you have sheltered will rebel in the future."
"They will replace every human leader one by one, then attempt to alter Earth's environment. Their goal will be to exterminate all humanity and make Earth their new home."
Fury's pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.
Maria Hill looked utterly confused and could not help asking:
"What Skrulls?"
Lu Xi patiently explained, "The Skrull Empire is one of the three great empires of the Universe. Its civilization was once extraordinarily brilliant, but it gradually declined for various reasons. Decades ago, some of them ended up on Earth, and your Director Fury allowed them to stay and sheltered them."
At that point, Lu Xi could not help commenting, "You know far too little about Earth itself, let alone the entire Universe."
"The Skrulls, one of the Universe's three great empires, are being hunted across the cosmos by the Kree Empire, yet you actually dared to shelter them."
"It is like if geese were about to go extinct one day, then fled to South America and sought protection from some cannibal tribe. In that situation, what do you think your supreme leader would do? Would he drop a big mushroom and blast that tribe into the sky?"
Fury frowned tightly and argued:
"But we already drove back the Kree Empire's people."
Lu Xi sneered, his face full of contempt. "Ridiculous. Your friend Carol merely drove back a small fleet."
"Do you think the Kree Empire has no powerful figures? Do you think they truly cannot deal with Carol?"
"They simply felt that deploying a legion-level fleet over a few scattered Skrulls was not worth the cost."
Faced with that string of slaps disguised as questions, Fury nearly lost his temper. He hurriedly said:
"But... all the Skrulls are clearly under my surveillance. Why would this happen?"
Before you continue