General, I Have Good News!

It had finally begun!

The corner of Yu Xian's mouth curled up slightly, and an imperceptible wicked smile appeared.

"Medea, come with me to meet someone!"

New York, temporary command headquarters.

"Did you all hear me clearly?"

General Ross's authoritative voice echoed through the command center.

"I want you to capture Banner alive!"

"Yes, sir!"

Blonsky's squad responded in unison, their voices loud and imposing.

General Ross issued his final orders to the elite squad before him.

Once everyone had dispersed,

General Ross's adjutant jogged inside.

"Reporting, sir, there's a man and a woman outside requesting an audience!"

A man and a woman?

For some reason,

Ross suddenly recalled

the man in black who had made that absurd wager with him in Rio de Janeiro that night.

Could it be?

"Let them in!"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As the sound of high heels striking the floor rang out, Ross's door was opened by the adjutant.

The first person General Ross saw was a black-haired young man.

The young man wore a white suit, with two long blades at his waist. His features were handsome, a faint smile lingering at the corners of his eyes, while his entire body exuded a bone-deep air of laziness.

Behind him was a young woman.

She wore a knee-length purple dress that exposed her toned, fair calves. Purple high heels adorned her feet, and her distinctive purple eyes and hair, paired with her delicate, pale oval face, made her seem cool and noble.

General Ross had never expected

that the "S.H.I.E.L.D. agent" who had spoken so confidently with him and made that wager that night would be so young.

Because they had been directly facing the moonlight that time,

he had only been able to vaguely make out the other person's build, not his face.

"It's you?"

"Yes, it's me, General Ross. Long time no see!"

Yu Xian cheerfully greeted General Ross.

He did not feel the slightest bit uncomfortable or restrained because of Ross's status.

He was as casual and natural as if he were greeting an old man at the gate.

"What are you here for? Are you planning to give up?" General Ross looked irritably at the disrespectful young man opposite him, his tone faintly mocking.

He was fully confident in the Super-Soldier Program.

As long as he could extract the critical blood sample from Banner's body,

he was certain he could win this wager and, incidentally, drag all those elusive S.H.I.E.L.D. people aboard his ship.

"Why would I? I came to bring General Ross some good news." Yu Xian ignored Ross's mockery and stated the purpose of his visit.

"Oh? What good news could you possibly bring me?" Ross eyed the little fox across from him suspiciously, not believing his intentions could be so simple.

Was this fellow secretly setting a trap for him?

A trap that would make him lose the wager?

Thinking of this, General Ross quietly decided that no matter what the other side said, he would only listen and give no response.

"Doesn't General Ross want Dr. Banner?

I can persuade Dr. Banner to willingly cooperate with your experiments!

Isn't that good news for you?

After all, no one understands what is inside Dr. Banner's body better than he does." Yu Xian offered a piece of good news that General Ross would absolutely be unable to refuse.

General Ross's formerly resolute heart was instantly shattered by the information the young man provided.

He abruptly stepped forward, his gaze sharp as a blade. "What? Is that true?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?

If you agree now, I can immediately persuade Dr. Banner to cooperate with your experimental research." Yu Xian met Ross's gaze, waiting for an answer.

General Ross saw only calm in the young man's eyes, a calm without the slightest ripple. "This... I agree!"

Without hesitation, Ross, unable to think of any way this could harm their wager, quickly agreed.

Once Banner was in his hands, he would not be afraid of any tricks Banner might pull!

"Good. Then we'll be taking our leave!"

"General Ross, just wait for the good news!"

"Also, your action squad can stand down for now!"

Seeing that Ross had agreed just as expected, Yu Xian did not linger. He turned and left, beginning the next phase of his plan.

As General Ross watched the two figures gradually walk away, he suddenly remembered something and shouted, "By the way, I still don't know your name!"

A faint voice drifted over from the direction in which the two were leaving.

"Yu Xian!"

"Xian, as in 'idleness,' from 'Osmanthus blossoms fall when one is at leisure; the spring mountains stand empty in the quiet night.'"

On the way back to the laboratory.

Medea, who had remained silent the entire time, finally could not help speaking.

"So, Master, what exactly was your purpose in bringing me along?"

"Heh, can't I bring you out for a walk without any purpose?" Hearing Medea's cool, ethereal voice behind him, the taut string in Yu Xian's heart finally relaxed.

Ever since his battle with the Hulk, he had vaguely sensed that something seemed slightly off with Medea.

He had not thought much about it at first.

But when Skye reported that he had made the news, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.

Could Medea think that she hasn't been much help to me, and that it's affecting her mentally?

No wonder she seems a little colder than before.

That won't do. She's the person I personally designated as the closest to me.

It's time to explore our relationship more deeply.

"Medea, what do you think of the team?" Yu Xian suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked over to Medea.

His gaze burned as he looked directly at Medea's stunning face only inches away. He felt her soft breathing as his eyes locked firmly onto her slightly alarmed purple eyes.

They were so close that she could even sense the faint scent coming from him.

There was nowhere for her to avoid.

The two simply stared at each other in silence.

The air seemed to freeze.

After a long while, Medea's earlobes faintly reddened. Unable to bear Yu Xian's aggressively intent gaze any longer, she lowered her eyes slightly and softly said, "It's... very good. I like it very much!"

"That's good. This will always be your home!"

"I always thought you didn't like this environment!"

Yu Xian stared into Medea's windows to the soul, then suddenly spoke in a very soft voice:

Our relationship is built on value. Dependence without value will ultimately only result in betrayal!

Am I... already useless?

My existence must have value. Otherwise, I'm unnecessary!

An existence that isn't needed will be ruthlessly abandoned. And being abandoned seems to be my destined fate.

"..."

Each word, each sentence, was like a sharp blade precisely piercing the softest and most fragile part of Medea's heart.

The purple pupils of the witch Medea widened.

Waves began to rise in her once-calm heart.

It was the terror of having her thoughts ruthlessly peeled open bit by bit, as though she had been stripped naked before someone else with no secrets left to hide.

It was the embarrassment of having the thoughts and feelings hidden deep within her heart discovered.

"You... you..."