Negotiation

Nick Fury's expression turned 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 this day forward, she is forbidden from using her body to seduce enemies."

Apocalypse smiled. "Good."

The reason Apocalypse had hurried to S.H.I.E.L.D. was precisely because of this.

After all, Black Widow came from the Red Room, a Soviet Union spy organization that exploited women's advantages to the fullest.

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

She acted pitiful and instead extracted information from them.

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

They would definitely do whatever they wanted!

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

After all, when men were happiest, their guard was at its weakest.

Apocalypse could not control what had happened before, but now that she was with him and her fortune was bound to his through the system, he would never allow Black Widow to use her body for 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 settled, please answer a few of my questions as well."

"Go ahead."

Fury's expression turned serious. "I want to know why the Eastern powerhouse sent someone as strong as you to infiltrate the West. Aren't they afraid of starting a Superhero War between the two nations?"

Apocalypse was startled inwardly, 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 small 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 powerhouse looks down on us in the West and thinks we lack the ability to handle global threats. But we have an agreement. We do not need your interference. Moreover, we are forming a team ourselves, one fully capable of protecting the Western Hemisphere."

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

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

No, it was not merely non-aggression. Each side protected half of the Earth.

Apocalypse quickly recalled the plots he had watched 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 fighting nation or the Eastern powerhouse.

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

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

If ancient, vast nations like the East and the fighting nation had no superheroes at all, that was simply impossible.

In Norse mythology, there was Asgard and Thor. The Eastern powerhouse was even more ancient, so its myths might well contain hidden experts.

In fact, later plotlines vaguely revealed some clues.

For example:

In 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 on the border of the Eastern powerhouse.

Her various supernatural abilities resembled Eastern mysticism more than Western magic.

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

This showed that the East did not lack superheroes or gods similar to Thor. On the contrary, there might be even more of them, and they might be stronger, suppressing the Eastern Hemisphere!

For example, Great Firmament had suppressed a Dark Dragon for thousands of years, leaving it unable to move.

If Shang-Chi's father, Wenwu, had 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 about it. Rather, it was likely because it was too strong, and dark villains from across the heavens could not cross its threshold.

By common sense, if a place was frequently invaded, then its defenses must be the weakest.

The Western world was precisely Earth's weak link!

He was an Eastern man, and his strength far exceeded Fury's imagination. No wonder Fury's first reaction had been to suspect that the Eastern powerhouse had sent him.

After thinking for a moment, Apocalypse decided not to act mysterious. He said calmly, "I can assure you that I do not belong to any faction. I am a free man."

Apocalypse had weighed his words carefully before saying that.

First, Fury would definitely contact the Eastern powerhouse. 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.

Second, he needed to follow the plotline to grow stronger, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s trust was essential.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. regarded him as a threat, that would be equivalent to opposing the entire Avengers.

The following plotlines might all change, and he would lose the advantage of foresight.

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

"Really!"

Director Fury let out a long sigh, 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 Eastern expert who had slipped out.

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

Logically speaking, an expert of this level could have any beauty he wanted.

If he had not taken a liking to Natasha, why would he come to S.H.I.E.L.D. just to demand such an order?!

If the two of them could become a real married 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 the Eastern man before him possibly know it?

Apocalypse smiled. "I also know that the name came from Carol Danvers's fighter jet. It's a pity she isn't here, or 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 4, she had a brief confrontation with Thanos.

Thanos tried to snatch the Infinity Gauntlet back from her, but could not move it. He then slammed his head into Captain Marvel's forehead.

Thanos, towering like a tower, could not budge Captain Marvel. Instead, he was left dizzy from the impact.

In the end, Thanos removed the Power Stone from the Infinity Gauntlet and used its power to blast Captain Marvel away with one punch.

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

By now, who knew which planet in the galaxy she was on, playing superhero?

Compared to Captain Marvel, who could easily cross the stars and ram through an interstellar warship with her bare body, Apocalypse felt that the power he had gained truly paled in 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 you no ill will. Besides, I have my own matters to handle. I don't have that much time."

Fury did believe that he bore no ill will.

During last night's battle, even the military had not 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 one reason. No one knew that the system also rewarded him for saving people.

Fury said, "Since Mr. Tang is unwilling to join, how about we compromise? Become a consultant for us. You will not be restricted normally. Only when we encounter difficult matters, like last night, will we ask Mr. Tang to act."

Seeing Apocalypse hesitate, Fury added, "This is a win-win cooperation. For trivial but troublesome matters, Mr. Tang can ask us to handle them, so you won't have to waste time. And... it will also make it easier to stay in contact 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 there was behind the system sharing her fortune with him.

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

"Please, go ahead."

"First, give me five hundred million dollars as a deposit..."

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

The moment money was mentioned, Fury could no longer maintain his cold demeanor and began bargaining with Apocalypse in agitation.

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

"That still doesn't require five hundred million. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funding is limited. There are so many people to pay, and we need to purchase a lot of equipment..."

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

"Even so, it doesn't need to be five hundred million... You just destroyed many of our tanks and armored vehicles. Those cost money too..."

You really did not understand the price of daily necessities until you ran the household yourself.

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

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

Fury agreed to give Apocalypse thirty million dollars.

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

Director Fury revealed a smile as if his scheme had succeeded.

Recruiting a superhuman expert for a few tens of millions, one who might even 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 destroyed alone was worth far more than thirty million dollars.

As for Apocalypse, he did not truly need five hundred million. He had simply named an outrageous price so they could bargain down.

Thirty million was enough for the time being. If it was not enough later, he could think of something else.

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

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

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