Don't Overthink It, Thanks

In a noisy café, in a corner occupied by just one person, a handsome, tall, dashing, imposing, and beautiful young man gazed out the window. His brows were tightly furrowed, his sorrowful expression carrying a trace of hope in his eyes.

When he wasn't making a fuss, he was surprisingly pleasant to look at...

Hill, captivated by Jack's world-famous painting, "Contemplating the Future," had actually forgotten to take her coffee for a moment.

It was only when the proprietress at the register urged her with a strange expression that Hill snapped out of it. After taking her coffee, she ran out the door with slightly flushed cheeks.

Watching Hill leave, the proprietress cast a sidelong glance at Jack. Had the handsome young man she had nurtured with American coffee for three years finally been discovered by someone else?

That wouldn't do!

She had raised this dish for three years. How could she let someone else snatch it away?!

Time for an on-the-spot price adjustment!

Customers from that office building across the street would be charged a 40% service fee!

Leaving aside the proprietress and Hill's wild imaginings, after a long and complicated internal struggle, Jack ultimately decided to face the challenge head-on.

Quietly skipping work outright was impossible. If he failed to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters for thirty days, Fury would probably be alerted.

A Level Six Agent cutting off contact with them unilaterally for thirty days without any reason—

Even if it wasn't agent defection, it would most likely be something S.H.I.E.L.D. did not want to see, with an outcome that would ultimately require humane extermination.

So Jack, who had temporarily lost all four of his skills, could only report in first—blow past everyone like a gust of wind, but absolutely avoid getting involved with anyone.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was often cruel.

The moment Jack entered the first floor of the office headquarters, he ran into Garrett, who was clocking in for work.

Enemies meeting were naturally especially hostile.

Jack also wondered, while he was at it, whether this guy was a little too idle compared to other field agents, or even members of assault teams.

Jack came to the office headquarters every day because he had transferred into a desk job and was now practically an office worker.

Yet this guy, whose actual job should have involved running around outside, kept showing up at the office headquarters every day. What the hell was he trying to do?

Noticing Jack looking at him, Garrett's eyes widened. His fairly good morning mood felt as if someone had set it on fire, making him deeply uncomfortable.

That little bastard is brimming with ambition. Does he really think that just because he has some accomplishments, and Pierce's daughter is backing him, Hydra's top seat belongs to him?

He really doesn't know his place...

But... that determination to make a name for himself while he's still young really does remind me of my younger days!

I really miss that restless, passionate youth, when every day was full of fire.

As Garrett thought, his train of thought began to slide downhill. He directly began reminiscing about his youth, and the look in his eyes as he watched Jack gradually softened.

When Garrett overlapped his younger self with the current Jack, he realized that he seemed to have become just like Agent Jadwin back then.

He had been equally annoyed by ambitious juniors, equally convinced that Hydra's top position belonged to him.

And in the end, that handsome youth had endured until middle age, grown fat, and gone bald, yet still had not outlived Pierce...

Instead, Senior Jadwin had died several years ago.

Fortunately, Jadwin had died in a hospital bed. Before dying, he had even told Garrett that if Pierce finally died one day, Garrett absolutely had to visit his grave and tell him.

With our BOSS's absurdly long-lasting life, even after I, Garrett, die, he might still be hopping around full of energy...

Maybe it was because he had reached middle age. Maybe it was because his adopted son Ward had grown up and could take over for him. Maybe it was because the thing in his stomach would eventually fail to hold up one day.

Touched by the high-spirited Jack today, Garrett recalled his younger days and suddenly felt that he had been far too narrow-minded.

Young people were ambitious, like huskies—endlessly energetic and prone to trampling rules from time to time. Naturally, middle-aged people found them irritating.

But as middle-aged people, it wasn't as though they had never been young themselves.

After simply putting themselves in the other side's shoes, they just needed to understand each other.

Perhaps Hydra's next new era really should be handed over to them...

We have given a great deal, and we have received our due rewards. But if we want more, the young people will have nothing left to eat.

It seems Hydra needs another round of expansion to satisfy more people's desires.

As Garrett stood there contemplating Hydra's grand cause, every hair on Jack's body stood on end.

Because this bastard's expression had gradually softened from its initial displeasure, and then that nostalgic look made Jack's heart skip a beat.

No way! No way! We haven't even said a word to each other! Did you seriously interpret my expression on your own and forcibly downgrade our relationship from mortal enemies to friendly?!

Although Jack desperately wanted to go over and beat Garrett up, so that this bastard would keep hating him, reason told him that the office brawl last time had already been Fury and Hill's limit.

If they fought again in public, it would no longer be just a temporary demotion.

After all, no leader of any organization would want to see their mid-level cadres fighting every day.

With that thought, Jack no longer hesitated. He lowered his head and squeezed into the elevator. After reaching his office floor, he rushed inside, ignored Marian—who had resumed making out with the beauty the moment she returned—grabbed the file folder he wanted, and hurried toward the door.

"Hey! Jack?! What are you doing?!"

Jack ignored Marian and walked out without saying a word, but a pair of scissors directly blocked his path.

Bang!!!

From less than six meters away, the sharp tips of the scissors plunged straight into the doorframe.

"I said, Jack! Would it kill you to stop for a second!!!"

Jack turned back to look at the furious Marian. He took a deep breath, turned around, walked over to her, kissed her on the forehead, left behind a single sentence, and vanished without a trace.

"I love you. Once this is over, let's be together."

One looked astonished, the other bashful. After watching Jack run out of the office, the female agent teased, "Not bad, Marian. You've really prepared two contingencies. No wonder you're the most cautious among us Level Five Agents."

With flushed cheeks, Marian glared at the female agent. She immediately pounced on her and pinned her onto the desk, but when she was about to go further, she stopped. The excitement on her face vanished.

"You call me cautious, but what I'm about to do has nothing to do with being cautious..."

"Where exactly is Bullseye, the person Jack wants me to find?"