Ah Xing was privately puzzled.
Since when had S.H.I.E.L.D. been so polite?
Ah Xing flashed an eminently punchable smile at just the right moment and said sarcastically, "Inviting us? Does that mean you'll shoot us dead if we don't cooperate?"
Ah Xing made a finger gun.
Coulson hurriedly waved his hands and said earnestly, "Absolutely not. My invitation is sincere."
Ah Xing had indeed gotten the wrong idea. S.H.I.E.L.D. was currently at a very awkward point in its history.
In the future, with the Avengers at its disposal, S.H.I.E.L.D. would consider itself powerful enough to police just about everything.
After all, it would have Iron Man, a financial heavyweight, and Captain America, a spiritual leader.
The resources they brought would neatly compensate for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shortage of supernatural power.
Beyond that, the supernatural forces Nick Fury had at his disposal weren't really something he could put on display.
Alien forces, for instance-once he revealed them, there would be nowhere left on Earth for him.
Further back in the past, S.H.I.E.L.D.-or rather, S.H.I.E.L.D. before Nick Fury took over, during Peggy Carter's era-had commanded a certain amount of supernatural power.
The Howling Commandos were a team with supernatural elements, led by Captain America.
Its members included werewolves, vampires, and Inhumans.
After Captain America had been "killed in action," they remembered how he had prevented the energy bomb from exploding and, in a sense, saved the world.
They were willing to show some consideration for Peggy Carter, Captain America's "widow."
But only some.
Goodwill could be used to ask for help, but it couldn't be spent endlessly.
Nick Fury had endlessly drawn on that goodwill-or perhaps he simply hadn't trusted those people at all.
Within just a few months of taking office, Nick Fury had repeatedly exploited those supernatural factions.
Those supernatural forces had swiftly withdrawn from S.H.I.E.L.D., one after another.
Of course, it was hard to say whether Hydra had played a part in that.
Nick Fury stood behind the monitoring screen with his hands clasped together, several experts in psychology and negotiation seated beside him.
Suspicion and cool composure showed in his single eye.
Nick Fury narrowed his eye and thought, If it weren't for those miraculous teleportation and concealment abilities of yours, I would have...
Natasha could see that neither man was particularly interested in joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, she hadn't expected them to join anyway.
Based on the initial psychological analysis from their previous encounter, the elderly man appeared to be a rigid, old-fashioned curmudgeon, while Ah Xing was a young man who joked around on the surface but kept his lips tightly sealed.
After organizing her thoughts, Natasha said, "Gentlemen, you should already know that S.H.I.E.L.D. handles unusual incidents, and this Wraith incident clearly qualifies. To protect the planet beneath our feet, and for the sake of all humanity, we hope we can establish some degree of cooperation."
Old Man remained expressionless, plainly unimpressed by that pitch.
Ah Xing laughed outright, his mockery unmistakable.
"If we're talking about cooperation, shouldn't the most basic requirement be that both sides have equal standing and capabilities? How many supernatural factions do you have close ties with? None, I'm guessing. If you did, couldn't you just ask them to handle this?"
"A bunch of ordinary people with no backing actually think they can enter into this so-called cooperation with us?"
"What kind of fantasy are you living in?"
Natasha said, "We do have contact with supernatural factions, but they don't have the ability to banish Wraiths."
"Oh, that's enough. Let's get down to business." Old Man had more or less finished reading the documents Coulson had brought.
A voice came through the earpiece. "Coulson, pick it up."
Coulson immediately took over. "Our investigation indicates that this Wraith has been appearing in New York for at least three years."
Three years? Surprise crossed Ah Xing's face. Had it really been that long?
Jiang Xiang, behind him, was even more shocked.
It seemed he had been very lucky to grow up without running into any monsters or demons.
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s monitoring room.
Several experts noticed the slight change in Ah Xing's expression and offered their advice. "He's surprised by the three-year timeframe. Expand on that immediately. Don't give him time to collect his thoughts!"
Coulson's expression remained unchanged. "We have the Sky Eye Satellite, extensive surveillance coverage, plenty of agents, and sophisticated weapons. All of these make it easier for us to identify potential problems, and they give us something to bring to a partnership."
"If we cooperate, we can provide more support."
Picking his nose, Ah Xing said casually, "But you're too weak." Then he turned to Old Man. "I remember ordinary people bringing misfortune on themselves if they come into contact with Wraiths, right?"
Old Man nodded.
Seeing Old Man's change in attitude, those on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side couldn't help frowning.
In the monitoring room, Nick Fury frowned. "Misfortune? Ordinary people can't casually come into contact with Wraiths?"
"Natasha, find an opportunity to draw out what happens when someone comes into contact with a Wraith."
Natasha stood and said directly, "Sir, aren't you here to deal with these Wraiths? Wraiths that have been around this long should be difficult to handle, especially when it comes to gathering information. We can help with that."
Coulson then added, "It only took us three hours to find all this information."
Surprise appeared on Old Man's face. He had spent an entire day walking around and had barely managed to identify slightly less than a third of the locations listed in the documents.
And that was with the help of the Search Spell.
Yet they had found them so quickly.
Old Man snorted. "Ah Xing, why does this handiwork look so familiar?"
Ah Xing laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha, no way. Hahaha."
Then Ah Xing said quietly, "Probably not."
Everyone present could hear the guilty uncertainty in his voice.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Could the appearance of these Wraiths not be an accident? Try probing further."
Natasha seized the opening. "Mr. Ah Xing, do you have some connection to this Wraith?"
Ah Xing continued laughing it off, raising his hand and declaring with righteous indignation, "Of course not! Evil and I are sworn enemies."
"Wait a moment."
With a swish, Ah Xing turned into particles of light and vanished before everyone's eyes.
Nick Fury leaned right up against the monitoring screen, staring wide-eyed at the scene.
Unbelievable.
"Check the detection equipment now. Did it pick up any anomalies?"
For the first time, Nick Fury lost his usual composure and shouted at the experts around him with a trace of anxiety.
Coulson and Natasha were also stunned. Nick Fury at least had encountered some supernatural races, and even someone as extraordinary as Captain Marvel, but they had never seen anything like this.
Although Coulson had seen how Ah Xing disappeared before, he hadn't witnessed it up close, so it had been hard to feel that same shock.
Swish-
Ah Xing was back.
He said with complete confidence, "It has nothing to do with us."
"Us!"
Although they had already suspected as much, hearing him instinctively say "us" changed things.
That all but confirmed that he belonged to a faction.
An instinctive choice of words was highly credible.
A lousy outcome.
Nick Fury cursed inwardly, then stopped dwelling on it.
Natasha asked tentatively, "Then how should we deal with all these Wraiths?"
Ah Xing said nonchalantly, "I've already reported it. If they have time, more support will come."
"There's more support?"
"Of course. There are too many for me to handle. I'm just a lowly Level Three employee."
"You're this powerful, and you're only a lowly employee?"
"Of course."
"Then where are they?"
"Hehehe." Ah Xing looked at Natasha as though she were an idiot.
Another reason for Ah Xing's delight was [From S.H.I.E.L.D... total emotional value +270].
A dozen or so minutes of conversation had brought in a few hundred points. Once more people received this information, he would probably gain a little more emotional value.
Before you continue