Nick Fury's Arrival

"Are you the new butler Ryan hired?"

Annie stood beside the silver-white sports car, sizing up Sebas before her.

He looked to be around fifty or sixty. His bearing and appearance were both exceptional, and there was not a single wrinkle in his clothes. The parts most likely to get stained—his collar, cuffs, and dress shoes—were equally spotless. He seemed like a very meticulous person.

"Yes. My name is Sebas Tian. If Miss Annie needs anything in the future, please feel free to give me your orders." Sebas gave a slight bow.

"I will. Although I don't know why Ryan suddenly hired someone he'd never met before as his butler, I trust him. My first impression of you isn't bad either. Please take care of me in the future!"

Her voice was cool. Annie nodded in greeting, started the sports car, and drove off first. By the time Ryan came over, all he could see were the gleaming taillights.

"This girl!"

Watching Annie leave without waiting for him, Ryan rubbed his brow.

"Did you explain things to Demiurge?"

Ryan asked as he got into the car.

"I have informed him of your intentions. Demiurge has also finished his preparations."

Sebas answered from the driver's seat.

"Looks like everything went smoothly."

Ryan sighed softly and said nothing more. Soon, with the sound of brakes, they arrived home.

"Looks like we have guests, Sebas!"

Still sitting in the car, Ryan glanced at the pitch-black house and smiled.

There were thirty-seven heartbeats within a five-hundred-meter radius. Two people were inside the house, while the rest were positioned around the area, having completely cleared it out and surrounded it.

Judging by the locations of their auras, there were three snipers alone. Those businessmen who wanted him dead did not have the means to mobilize this many people overnight.

Hydra was a possibility, but they were currently focused on staying hidden. If they really wanted to kill him, there was no need to deploy so many people. That would only increase their chances of exposure. Besides, Shadow Demon had not given him any news that someone intended to make an early move.

That meant these people were from the government.

But with snipers and such a tight encirclement, it seemed whoever was inside was extremely, extremely wary of him for some reason!

"Shall I handle them?"

Sebas asked coldly.

"No, don't make a move yet. But it seems Annie hasn't come back?"

After getting out of the car, Ryan looked at the empty parking space beside them, and the vein on his forehead began to throb.

That girl was getting more and more outrageous. She actually dared to stay out overnight without even informing him. Her nerve was growing by the day!

Ignoring the surveillance personnel around them, he took out his phone and called Annie. "Where are you now?"

"I'm not in a very good mood, so I just drove around for a while. Don't worry about me. I'll be back after a bit."

Annie's cool voice came through the phone, and Ryan raised an eyebrow.

In a bad mood? Then why had she refused his earlier invitation to go out and have fun? She was obviously lying to him.

But... Ryan looked around.

"Got it. Come back soon. Why are you wandering around outside in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid of getting robbed?"

Ryan complained in his usual tone. After chatting for a few more moments, he ended the call.

"Ask Demiurge where Annie is right now."

Ryan clenched his phone tightly and turned to Sebas.

"Yes!"

Sebas responded, placing his index finger against his temple as he used [Message] magic to contact Demiurge.

{Hm, Sebas? What do you need?}

In a warehouse in New York that had been modified with Spatial Magic, Demiurge stood on the second floor, watching Annie below as she put away her phone and continued training. Sensing Sebas's call, he asked telepathically.

{Lord Ryan wishes to know Miss Annie's current location.

You have been following Miss Annie this whole time, haven't you?} {Yes, Miss Annie is training here with me. It looks like something has upset her. She's working even harder than usual!}

With a slight turn of thought, Demiurge understood what was going on and immediately answered.

{I understand. I will inform Lord Ryan.}

Sebas ended the Message spell, then turned and relayed what he knew to Ryan.

"She's training?"

Ryan's body relaxed slightly, and he calmed down as well.

"She really is hardworking!"

Ryan lifted his head slightly. With a faint smile on his face, he headed indoors.

Since Annie was fine, it was time to deal with the uninvited guests who had broken into the owner's home.

Click...

The lights illuminated the dark house, and the enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling cast a gentle glow.

Seeing the one-eyed bald Black man sitting on the living room sofa and Agent Coulson behind him, Ryan pretended to be startled and took several steps back.

They really moved fast.

Less than twelve or thirteen hours had passed since the morning meeting ended. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching him all along, being able to decisively investigate a billionaire like him the moment they noticed something wrong was not a decision just anyone could make.

Nick Fury really could not be underestimated in the slightest. He just wondered what had made him create such a huge commotion.

The business matters alone should not have been enough to make this big shot go to such lengths...

"Who are you people?"

Sebas asked coldly, stepping in front of Ryan.

If Ryan had not just told him not to use his power, these people who dared invade the Supreme Being's residence would already have been blasted into scraps.

"Sebas Tian. You suddenly appeared in this world three days ago. Even with our intelligence capabilities, we couldn't find the slightest trace that you had ever existed before."

Nick Fury rose from the sofa, his remaining eye fixed intently on Sebas.

This phenomenon reminded him of something deeply unpleasant, from decades ago, back when he had still possessed both eyes.

The two men gave no response, but Nick was not surprised. He looked at Ryan and said, "You may call us S.H.I.E.L.D. We are an organization with more centralized authority than the FBI and CIA you know..."

"You seem to know who we are!"

Halfway through his sentence, Nick narrowed his eye and asked. As a Level Ten S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he could score full marks in microexpression psychology. Ryan's act might fool ordinary people, but before him, it was riddled with flaws.

"Your eyes really are sharp, Director Nick!"

Having been found out, Ryan sighed and openly spread his hands.

After ten years of practice, his acting could not be called poor, but against an agent who specialized in such matters, it was better not to keep humiliating himself.

"It seems I'll have to make the intelligence personnel investigate you all over again."

Nick's expression darkened as he watched Ryan admit it without the slightest attempt at concealment after being exposed.

That utterly unconstrained behavior, as though Ryan possessed absolute confidence, only deepened the suspicion in Nick's heart.