It Really Was Hard Not to Give Spoilers

Yang Bo and Coulson sat together on a park bench.

Visitors came and went around them, unable to resist casting curious glances at the odd pair.

Yang Bo pulled a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Coulson, then lit one for himself.

"Coulson, could you wear some regular casual clothes next time you come to see me? That black suit really stands out. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were filming Men in Black!"

Coulson took the cigarette, paused at Yang Bo's words, and looked down at his black suit before glancing at the visitors around them.

"All right. I'll change before I come next time!"

"Right, what was it you said you needed?"

"Mostly some sand. Glass bottles would work too. I'll make you a list of the other things later. None of it is particularly rare. I just can't be bothered getting it myself!"

Coulson nodded without asking what Yang Bo needed those things for, making a mental note of the request.

"Coulson, I've got some gold. Could you help me sell it? Being broke in the United States really is hell..."

"You need money? I can give you two hundred thousand to start with!"

Rather than directly agreeing to Yang Bo's request, Coulson offered to give him two hundred thousand-not lend it, but give it to him.

Yang Bo shook his head at Coulson's offer. "I'm not exactly short on money. I just don't have any contacts here for selling gold!"

As he spoke, he took a gold nugget out of his backpack and tossed it up and down in his hand. Its golden gleam immediately drew Coulson's gaze. The nugget was the size of a baby's fist, but what left Coulson a little stunned wasn't the amount of gold. It was Yang Bo's utterly casual attitude toward it.

"Is... is that gold?"

Yang Bo nodded and tossed the nugget to Coulson, humblebragging, "I don't have much of this right now. Only a few hundred nuggets!"

"I'll find some more when I have time!"

He expected Coulson to look shocked, but to his disappointment, Coulson showed no surprise at all. Instead, he looked at him gravely and asked, "Can you conjure gold?"

For a moment, Coulson's mind filled with thoughts of turning stone into gold, alchemy, and the like. If gold flooded the market, it would become the ultimate weapon, capable of killing without spilling blood. It could easily destroy a country's financial system, especially one on the gold standard.

"No, not that. I dug all of this up through my own hard work!"

Remembering how effortlessly Yang Bo had dug through a wall in the surveillance footage, Coulson nodded slightly and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

What he didn't know, however, was just what sort of world Yang Bo mined his gold in. Had he known, he certainly wouldn't have been so calm.

Coulson suddenly remembered something Yang Bo had said in Hawaii and asked quietly, "Yang, what did you mean last time when you said the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division wasn't safe?"

Since Yang Bo had been able to provide information about Captain America, Coulson naturally took his other remarks very seriously, especially those concerning S.H.I.E.L.D.

At Coulson's question, Yang Bo raised an eyebrow slightly and gave him a meaningful smile. He actually wanted very much to spill everything he knew. It felt just like giving spoilers, bringing a peculiar sense of satisfaction that was all too easy to get addicted to!

But when he considered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current situation, Yang Bo shook his head. There were simply too many undercover agents in S.H.I.E.L.D... no, there were simply too few undercover agents in Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. Yang Bo only knew of a handful: Nick Fury, the Motherfucker Man; Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow; Hawkeye; Maria Hill... and a few others.

"It's not time yet, Coulson!"

"When I feel like giving spoilers... ahem, when I feel like telling you, I'll tell you. Otherwise, I'm afraid you might suddenly end up sacrificing your life for the organization!"

Yang Bo shrugged and spoke lightly, but Coulson's heart sank. His expression barely changed, yet the smile on his face vanished.

There are bad guys among us!

The thought flashed through his mind, then began to take root. He kept running through his colleagues at the agency, but couldn't find a single lead.

Yang Bo's words had driven into his heart like a nail, leaving him at a complete loss for what to say.

"Ah... FU-"

He cried out and instinctively started to swear, but years of self-discipline made him swallow it. Coulson shook his hand rapidly. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he'd accidentally burned his finger with the cigarette.

Yang Bo watched his misfortune with amusement. "You Americans really are pitiful, Coulson. You can't even say 'wo cao'!"

He left the Chinese swear untranslated, but Coulson still understood the teasing in Yang Bo's words.

Ignoring his burned finger, Coulson asked with a wry smile:

"Yang, can't you just tell me? Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

"No. I'm afraid you'd sleep even worse if I told you!"

Yang Bo smiled and shook his head. Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller's number and told Coulson, "Hold on. It's Blade!"

He answered the call, and Blade's voice came through.

"I'm here! Where are you?"

Yang Bo turned and spotted a truck parked at the park entrance. He immediately knew Blade had driven it over. With Bor's size, there was no way to bring him without a truck.

"Hang on. I'll be right there!"

He hung up, stood, and headed toward the truck. Coulson followed him.

Blade opened the door and jumped out of the truck, launching straight into a complaint:

"Those veggie-eating guys were marching again today. I really don't see the point! They had all the roads blocked!"

Yang Bo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. That was how people in the United States were: they were always marching over some trivial nonsense in the name of freedom. It certainly looked very free. They were free to eat vegetables, but he was free to eat meat too. What right did they have to interfere with his freedom?

Yang Bo couldn't understand how those people's minds worked, but a question suddenly popped into his own.

Come to think of it, would someone in a vegetative state count as vegetarian food to a vampire?

Dismissing that pointless thought, Yang Bo hugged Blade and said with a smile, "Thanks for going to all this trouble!"

"Is Bor in the back?"

Blade nodded, but at the mention of Bor, his dark face grew even darker. He turned toward Coulson and asked in surprise, "Coulson, what are you doing here?"

Coulson smiled. "Yang needed my help with something. Long time no see, Erik!"

The two greeted each other and started chatting. Although they had known each other for a long time, they rarely met.

Meanwhile, Yang Bo examined the truck's cargo compartment. The sun hadn't set yet, so he didn't dare open the doors. If Bor melted in the sunlight, wouldn't all this have been a waste of time?

"Blade, let's go buy a few things first, then come back tonight!"

"Sure!"

Blade nodded in agreement. All three climbed into the truck and headed for the nearest mall.