A Little Benefit for You

Although he was not a host of the Phoenix Force, the Phoenix Force had indeed descended upon him. It was under the guidance of that fragment of the Phoenix Force that his Phoenix Devil Fruit underwent a qualitative change.

Where had that fragment of the Phoenix Force come from?

The Phoenix Force had countless hosts, but as things stood, Jean Grey should have been the only one on Earth, right?

Could it really have been her?

"What if?"

Kino turned to look at the unsettled Phil Coulson. The tiny white flame in his palm danced even more energetically.

"What is that?" Coulson wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.

"Nirvana Flame!"

"What?"

"Phoenix Flame."

Coulson shook his head, clearly unable to make sense of it.

Maria Hill began explaining, her expression as cold as ever.

"Far beyond the Pacific Ocean lies an ancient nation. There is an extraordinary divine bird there, and legend says they are immortal and indestructible. Whenever they are severely wounded and near death, they transform into a cocoon, uh... an egg. Once they absorb enough fire, they are reborn."

Kino gave her a thumbs-up. "Miss Hill knows quite a lot about my homeland. Still, that is only a legend. I did not get my Phoenix in my homeland. To be honest, it was right here in New York... and there is another host of the Phoenix Force here as well."

Nick Fury's eyes widened.

He said that mainly because Kino did not want S.H.I.E.L.D. running off to his homeland and messing around. Even though this Earth was not his original Earth, Kino still did not want to watch his "homeland" be destroyed.

Coulson froze. Of course he wanted power; no one would refuse power. But at the same time, he was deeply concerned. Would there be any side effects?

Kino did not wait. His time was precious. The tiny white flame flew from his hand... and shot into Coulson's chest, vanishing at once!

Nick Fury hurriedly asked, "You... do you feel anything?"

"No, nothing at all." Coulson shook his head.

"What would you feel? This is only one ten-thousandth of the Nirvana Flame! When you are on the verge of death, it will heal you and save your life. Even if your intestines are ruptured and your belly is torn open, you will still recover. Even if your brain is blown apart, it can still work. Though you might lose some memories, since it is the brain. You know!"

Well, Coulson was quite a decent man, and Kino liked him too. Better not let him die.

"Also, remember this: if your head gets cut off, it cannot be restored! The same goes for severed limbs. You have to reattach them immediately, otherwise, once the Nirvana Flame expires... they will not grow back on their own."

In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson had his hand chopped off by that big black guy with an axe. It was not because the writers had forgotten about the Kree DNA in his body, or because they feared he would turn into a mud statue and die. It was because, as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, Coulson could not be transformed into an Inhuman by the Terrigen Mist. There were already deep conflicts with the Inhumans, and under those circumstances, an Inhuman could not possibly serve as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

If Coulson had transformed back then, there would not have been several more installments afterward.

The director had become an Inhuman, after all. Well, appoint a new director... then hunt down the former director?

"Hey, bald guy, don't get any crooked ideas." Kino suddenly looked at Nick Fury and said something that left everyone baffled.

But the director quickly became angry. His single eye widened. "Who are you calling bald?"

"Oh, sorry. You are just losing your hair!"

Nick Fury really wanted to pull out his gun and put a round into him, but he was not sure whether a gun would work.

"You just said—crooked ideas?"

Kino pointed at his own temple. "Charles is not the only one with psychic abilities!"

"!!!"

The three of them were instantly shocked!

As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top brass, how could they not know who Charles was?

Charles, the renowned Professor X, whose full name was Charles Francis Xavier. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters had been founded by him.

Nick Fury naturally knew that he was a Mutant, as well as the truth about Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. However, the Mutants there were relatively peaceful, so both sides had remained on good terms.

Of course, that did not mean he had given up monitoring them.

He had merely been "warned." Most of the agents sent to monitor them had spent over half a month in psychiatric hospitals.

His ability was extremely powerful!

Coupled with Charles's considerable backing, Fury could only leave him alone for the time being!

But he had not expected another psychic to appear before him now. And from the looks of it, he was a versatile one at that!

Lightning!

Super regeneration!

(For the moment, it was unknown whether the Phoenix was truly immortal, but its regenerative ability had been confirmed.)

Telepathy!

Oh, right, and that color thing!

Damn it!

A real monster had shown up.

"I am not a Mutant. My abilities do not exist in my blood. Even if you want to experiment on Coulson and produce some kind of super-healing drug, you will only be wasting your time."

Noticing Coulson's probing gaze, Nick Fury smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "Let us discuss the matter of your 'part-time job'... uh, I prefer to call it a 'consultant position.'"

Damn, he really did have psychic abilities!

"Whatever."

"I prefer part-time job."

Nick Fury's face darkened.

"I have already told you my salary requirements. Money means nothing to me. As long as I have enough to eat and spend, that is fine."

Nick Fury's face darkened again, because he understood the hidden meaning behind those words—if he did not treat money like dirt, did they really think 500,000 dollars would be enough to hire him?

"I am a man of integrity. During the first year, I will help you handle two matters for free! Think carefully before asking me. Preferably, bring me things that are somewhat difficult! You understand, make reasonable arrangements! As for anything beyond that, if you come to me again, I will charge according to the difficulty! Prepare yourselves mentally—it will be very expensive!"

Nick Fury's mouth twitched. Five hundred thousand dollars, no... 1.7 million dollars, for only two matters?

"If you do not make use of those two matters, they will not carry over to the next year. They expire immediately!"

"Once the next year begins, it counts as the second year, and the part-time fee remains unchanged! Of course, you can pay monthly or pay the entire part-time fee at once. Then the two free matters become one."

"What? That is impossible!"

Nick Fury trembled with anger. Two had already been a stretch!

"I can advance you one important piece of intelligence first, free of charge. It will not count toward the two matters."

"What intelligence?"

Kino lazily placed both feet on the conference table and looked teasingly at Blackhead. "When I was browsing through your memories just now, I read a word. What was it called..."

As he spoke, he frowned.

"Oh, right. It was called Hydra!"

Boom!!!

A thunderclap that could split the heavens exploded in the minds of all three.

Nick Fury's mind buzzed violently. He shot to his feet, his face filled with boundless shock. "What did you just say?"

"Was it not called Hydra, but something else?" Kino asked deliberately.

"Do not joke with me!" Nick Fury slammed his palm against the table, endless flames blazing in his eyes!

S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been devoted to eliminating Hydra's threat. They had thought Hydra had already been destroyed, yet now they had heard that name again.

"I swept through the Helicarrier just now and discovered that... S.H.I.E.L.D. has long since been infiltrated by Hydra and corroded into a sieve!" Kino sneered.

Clang!

Nick Fury's face turned pale as he dropped back into his seat!

S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra? Impossible, that was impossible!