Negotiation

Nick Fury's expression was grave. "Go ahead."

"From now on, Natasha is forbidden from using her beauty for any reason or in any way. Otherwise, I'll hold S.H.I.E.L.D. accountable!"

Fury let out a breath of relief. "Reasonable. I agree. I'll give Natasha an order: from now on, she is forbidden from using her body to seduce enemies."

Apocalypse broke into a smile. "Good."

This was why Apocalypse had rushed to S.H.I.E.L.D.

After all, Black Widow had come from the Soviet Union's Red Room spy agency, where women's advantages were exploited to the fullest.

In the original plot of Avengers 1, she pretended to have been captured by a group of underground arms dealers. Several large men tied her to a chair and interrogated her.

She acted pitiful and instead drew intelligence out of them.

But in a real world, how could a few arms smugglers who captured such a stunning beauty merely tie her to a chair?

They would definitely do whatever they wanted!

Given Black Widow's personality, for the sake of intelligence, she really might let them touch her.

After all, a man's guard was at its weakest when he was happiest.

Apocalypse could not control what had happened before, but now that she was with him and the system had bound their Fortune together, he would never let Black Widow use her body on missions again.

As for whether the two of them could truly end up together, that would depend on the future.

"Since Mr. Tang's issue has been resolved, please answer a few questions of mine as well."

"Go ahead."

Fury's expression turned serious. "I want to know why the Eastern power sent someone as strong as you to lurk in the West. Aren't you afraid of starting a Superhero War between our two countries?"

Apocalypse was startled inside, but his face remained calm. "You're overthinking it. I'm just an ordinary person. If I hadn't met Natasha, I might have opened a little shop and retired in the City of God."

Upon hearing that, Director Fury actually became somewhat exasperated. "Mr. Tang, let's not beat around the bush. I know your Eastern power looks down on us in the West and believes we lack the ability to deal with global threats. But we have an agreement. We do not need your interference. Besides, we are also assembling a team fully capable of protecting the Western Hemisphere."

Those few sentences contained a great deal of information. Apocalypse's expression did not change, but his thoughts raced.

From Fury's words, it seemed the Eastern power also had superhuman experts, and the two sides even had an agreement not to interfere with each other.

No, it was more than simply not interfering. They each protected half of the Earth.

Apocalypse quickly recalled the plots he had seen in his previous life.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avengers' activities were basically all in the West. They never entered the territories of the warrior nation or the Eastern power.

At most, they went to Hong Kong—but it had once been a colony of the British Empire.

Yet the territories of the warrior nation and the Eastern power were peaceful. He had never heard of any supervillains appearing there.

If ancient, vast countries like the East and the warrior nation had not produced a single superhero, that was simply impossible to believe.

Norse Mythology had Asgard and Thor. The Eastern power was even older, so its myths might well conceal powerful figures.

In fact, later plots vaguely revealed some clues.

For example:

Within the Ancient One's sanctuary, there was the Asian Wong, as well as a one-armed Taoist cultivating there.

Moreover, the Ancient One's Kamar-Taj was located in the Himalayas, right along the Eastern power's border.

Her various supernatural abilities were closer to Eastern sorcery than Western magic.

There was also the later-era Shang-Chi after Thanos. Shang-Chi's mother came from the mysterious Great Firmament, which was filled with Easterners and countless Eastern divine beasts, including the Eastern people's totem—the dragon!

This showed that the East did not lack superheroes or gods comparable to Thor. On the contrary, they might have had more of them, and they might have been stronger, suppressing the Eastern Hemisphere!

Great Firmament, for instance, had kept a Dark Dragon sealed for thousands of years, leaving it unable to move.

Had Shang-Chi's father Wenwu not used the ancient artifact—the Ten Rings—to forcibly open the sealed gate, the Dark Dragon would have remained suppressed.

So the East was too quiet not because no one cared to target it. On the contrary, it might have been so powerful that dark villains from across the heavens could not cross its threshold.

By ordinary logic, if a place was frequently invaded, then its defenses had to be the weakest.

The Western world was precisely Earth's weak link!

He was an Easterner, and his strength far surpassed Fury's expectations. No wonder Fury's first reaction had been to suspect that the Eastern power had sent him.

After considering it, Apocalypse decided not to play mysterious. He said evenly, "I can assure you that I don't belong to any faction. I am a free man."

Apocalypse had weighed this carefully before saying it.

For one thing, Fury would certainly communicate with the Eastern power. If he pretended to be an Eastern superhuman expert, it might bring unnecessary trouble.

If both East and West distrusted him, he might attract pursuit from even stronger people.

For another, he needed to follow the plot to grow stronger, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s trust was indispensable.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. saw him as a threat, that would be no different from making an enemy of the entire Avengers.

The upcoming plot might be completely altered, and he would lose the advantage of foresight.

Fury stared into Apocalypse's eyes. "Really?"

"Really!"

Director Fury let out a long breath, and his expression immediately relaxed.

Experts at Apocalypse's level generally disdained lying.

According to the intelligence, Fury knew that Apocalypse had been brought to the City of God by an elder when he was very young. Perhaps he was the descendant of an expert who had slipped out from the East.

Since he was a free man, could he be recruited?

Logically speaking, a powerhouse of this level could have any beauty he wanted.

If he had not taken a fancy to Natasha, why would he come knocking on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s door just to demand a prohibition order?!

If the two of them could become a real couple, would that not make him S.H.I.E.L.D.'s son-in-law?

Thinking of this, Fury secretly rejoiced. "Mr. Tang, are you interested in joining S.H.I.E.L.D.? We are preparing to form a team here."

Apocalypse said, "The Avengers?"

Fury's expression changed. "How did you know?"

That name existed only in the files. He had never told anyone. How could this Easterner in front of him possibly know?

Apocalypse smiled. "I also know that the name came from Carol Danvers's fighter jet. It's a pity she isn't here. Otherwise, I would have liked to ask her for some combat tips."

Carol Danvers was Captain Marvel, the most powerful woman in the Avengers!

If Thanos did not have the Infinity Stones, he might not even have been able to defeat her.

In Avengers: Endgame, she had briefly confronted Thanos.

Thanos tried to snatch the Infinity Gauntlet back from her, but he could not move it. He then rammed Captain Marvel's forehead with his own.

Thanos, as huge as a tower, could not budge Captain Marvel. Instead, he left himself dazed.

In the end, Thanos removed the Power Stone from the Infinity Gauntlet and only managed to blast Captain Marvel away with one punch by borrowing the stone's power.

However, her storyline had taken place in the 1990s, more than twenty years before now.

At present, no one knew on which planet in the Milky Way she was playing superhero.

Compared to Captain Marvel, who could easily cross interstellar distances and smash through starships with her physical body, Apocalypse felt that the power he had gained was truly inferior by comparison.

Apocalypse said, "You don't need to care how I know. Everyone has their own secrets. You only need to know that I bear no ill will toward you. Besides, I have my own matters to attend to. I don't have that much time."

Fury did believe that he had no ill will.

During last night's battle, not even the military had taken the initiative to save civilians. Only Apocalypse had tirelessly carried people out of the danger zone one by one.

How bad could someone with such kindness be?

Of course, Apocalypse's kindness was only part of the reason. No one knew that he also received system rewards for saving people.

Fury said, "Since Mr. Tang is unwilling to join, how about we compromise? Become a consultant for us. You won't be restricted in ordinary times. Only when we encounter something difficult, like last night, will we ask Mr. Tang to act."

Seeing Apocalypse hesitate, Fury added, "This is a win-win partnership. If you have minor troublesome matters, Mr. Tang, you can ask us to handle them without wasting your time. And... it will also make it easier for you to keep in touch with Natasha."

Being able to contact Black Widow more often? That did tempt Apocalypse.

Without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help, he would not even be able to find Black Widow on his own.

Apocalypse also wanted to know what special meaning the system had in sharing her Fortune with him.

So he said, "That could work. However, I have a few conditions."

"Please, go ahead."

"First, give me 500 million dollars as a deposit..."

Fury jumped to his feet. "500 million dollars?! Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. is a bank? No, absolutely not. At most, 5 million."

The moment money was mentioned, Fury could no longer maintain his cool demeanor and began haggling with Apocalypse in exasperation.

"How can 5 million be enough? I promised Natasha a home. That money would not even buy a decent house."

"That still doesn't require 500 million. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget is limited. There are so many people to pay, and we need to purchase all sorts of equipment..."

"If you don't have enough funding, apply to your superiors. Can't hiring a superhuman expert justify additional funding?"

"It still doesn't need 500 million... You also smashed many of our tanks and armored vehicles just now. Those cost money too..."

You never knew how expensive daily necessities were until you ran a household.

In the original plot, Iron Man said S.H.I.E.L.D. could not afford him. It was not only because Iron Man was expensive, but also because S.H.I.E.L.D. had not yet demonstrated its importance at this time, so its funding had little surplus.

After a round of verbal sparring, the two finally reached an agreement.

Fury agreed to give Apocalypse 30 million dollars.

If there were missions in the future, payment would be determined according to the difficulty of each mission.

Director Fury revealed a smile like his scheme had succeeded.

Recruiting a superhuman expert for tens of millions, with the possibility that he might become S.H.I.E.L.D.'s son-in-law in the future—no matter how he looked at it, this deal was worthwhile.

Over the years, the equipment Hulk had smashed alone had cost far more than 30 million dollars.

As for Apocalypse, he did not truly need 500 million. He had simply named a high price so they could bargain it down.

Thirty million was enough for now. If it was not enough later, he would find another way.

He had just recruited Dr. Sterns and needed to establish a laboratory. That alone would cost a great deal.

Besides, he also needed to buy a house. As an Easterner, how could it feel like a home without a house?

The moment Apocalypse left, Fury began a holographic video call with Black Widow.