Just after noon, Lin Xiao walked into the Triskelion carrying a case of milk. The girl at the front desk looked up at him, then at the case of milk. She opened her mouth as if to ask, "What is Agent Lin Xiao doing going out and buying a case of milk? Visiting relatives? Visiting relatives at S.H.I.E.L.D.." But she swallowed her words back.
Lin Xiao nodded to her as a greeting, the milk carton tucked under his arm, and stepped into the elevator. The carton of milk had Three Deer printed on the packaging; it cost 16.9 yuan a carton in the Chinese supermarket, and was three days past its expiration date. He had deliberately searched half the city to find it. It was all Fury 'Black Baldy idea to make him apologize to Sitwell. Well, if he had to apologize, going empty-handed wasn't in Lin Xiao's nature.
When the elevator reached the sixth floor, Hill was already waiting for him at the entrance of the corridor. She noticed the box of milk that Lin Xiao was carrying under his arm, and her eyebrows twitched slightly.
"You're going to take this to apologize?"
"This is a well-established brand from Dragon Country, Three Deer." Lin Xiao weighed the box in his hand. "It's nutritious, has a rich flavor, and even Coulson said it was good! Sitwell, drink this to nourish your body; it's much more practical than sending a fruit basket. Those fruit baskets are all show and no substance; the bananas turn black in two days, and the apples are full of foam at the bottom. I call this pragmatism."
Hill stared at him for three seconds, her tone flat. "Where's Kara? She heard you're back, and she's coming over this afternoon too."
"We'll be there soon." Lin Xiao tilted his head and glanced towards the elevator. "I told her we'd meet at 2:30, what time is it now?"
"Two-fifteen." Hill glanced at his watch. "Five more minutes. Okay, let's not wait any longer, let's go."
Lin Xiao nodded and followed Hill to the door of Sitwell's office. Lin Xiao stopped, switched the milk carton to his chest, took a deep breath, and in a fraction of a second, his expression shifted to one of "deep apology and earnestness." Hill glanced at him, her eyes clearly saying, "What are you trying to act now?"
Lin Xiao ignored her and knocked on the door three times. Sitwell's voice came from inside, a little weak, probably still recovering. "Come in."
The door was pushed open. Sitwell was sitting at his desk, a stack of documents spread out in front of him, his small round glasses perched on his nose. When he saw Lin Xiao come in, he subconsciously leaned back, then forced himself to sit up straight. The expression on his face changed from surprise to wariness, and then from wariness to a very forced smile.
" Agent Lin Xiao, you've arrived! Please come in!" he said, his gaze falling on the box of milk in Lin Xiao's arms, his eye twitching slightly.
"Just came to see you." Lin Xiao strode in, placing the milk crate on the corner of the Sitwell table with a soft thud. "This is Dragon Country brand of pure milk. I specially traveled across most of New York to buy it. You're feeling weak right now, drink more of this, it'll help you recover faster."
Sitwell glanced at the box of milk, then at Lin Xiao, her lips twitching, probably unsure what expression to make. Hill also came in, closing the door behind her. She didn't sit down, but leaned against the filing cabinet by the door, looking like she was watching a good show.
Before Sitwell could speak, Lin Xiao pointed at his face again. "Does it still hurt? Before I came back from recovering, I kept thinking about how I felt I had let you down. You know, that place is so hot you could bake rocks into pancakes, and I made you guys move things there, it was so inhumane. Agent Sitwell, I came here today specifically to apologize to you."
Sitwell's lips twitched, and he quickly waved his hand. "It's all in the past, Agent Lin Xiao. It was necessary for the mission at the time, I understand."
"I understand, but I still have to say what I need to say. I was too eager to give orders that day and didn't consider your physical condition. I really shouldn't have done that." Lin Xiao sighed, walked over to Sitwell, and casually picked up the box of imported chocolates on his desk. The dark blue tin box had French labels, and it looked expensive. Lin Xiao opened the lid, picked out a truffle chocolate wrapped in gold leaf, flipped it over, and popped it into his mouth.
"Mmm, this is delicious." Lin Xiao chewed a couple of times, his eyes lighting up, and he grabbed another piece. " Agent Sitwell, did you bring this chocolate back from Switzerland? I had the same kind at Tony's house last time, and his box only had eight pieces. Yours is such a big box, so generous."
Sitwell's eye twitched even more violently. He had just asked someone to bring that box of chocolates back from Geneva last week, and there were only a few pieces left, which he hadn't been able to bear eating. Now, Lin Xiao was standing in front of him, putting one piece after another into his mouth, and even sharing one with Hill.
"Here, Hill, try this. It's really good." Lin Xiao walked up to Hill and handed him the chocolate. Hill glanced down at it, didn't take it, but her lips twitched slightly.
"I don't eat sweets," she said.
"That's a pity." Lin Xiao stuffed the piece into his mouth as well, turned around and walked back to Sitwell's desk, picking up another one. " Agent Sitwell, you have quite a few good things on your desk. Is this tea set custom-made? I think the blue and white porcelain on this cup looks like it's from Jingdezhen, Dragon Country."
"It was... a gift from a friend." Sitwell subconsciously shrank back in his chair; hidden inside was half a box of his treasured Danish cookies.
Hill leaned against the door, watching this scene with a mocking expression. Lin Xiao turned back and winked at her, but she looked away, pretending to study the fire evacuation map on the wall.
Lin Xiao chatted with Sitwell for a while longer, asking him how many people were in his family, where his children went to school, whether he had taken his medicine on time after suffering from heatstroke, and whether he had been going out on fieldwork recently. Sitwell answered each question, until he was numb with responses. Lin Xiao finished off the box of chocolates on the table.
Lin Xiao pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, then suddenly stood up straight, patted his shoulder lightly, and said, "Take good care of yourself, brother."
Sitwell, still wearing that stiff smile, nodded without saying a word. Lin Xiao turned and walked towards the door, Hill had already opened it first. Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, followed by a small face peeking in through the doorway.
" Instructor Lin Xiao! Deputy Director Hill! I'm late, I'm sorry. There was an old lady selling flowers on the subway who kept trying to sell me flowers, but even after I told her I didn't want any, she wouldn't let me leave."
Kara Lynn Paramas stood in the doorway, her cheeks flushed, wearing a dark S.H.I.E.L.D.. training uniform, her hair tied in a ponytail, looking like she had run quite a distance. Seeing Sitwell inside, she immediately swallowed the rest of her sentence, adopted a respectful expression, and bowed to him. "Good morning Agent Sitwell."
Lin Xiao walked over and lightly patted her on the head. "You certainly know how to pick your time. You only come after you've finished all the important business."
Kara stuck out her tongue sheepishly, then looked at Lin Xiao with bright, sparkling eyes, as if she had a lot to say. She followed behind Lin Xiao and whispered, "Instructor, how's your recovery going? I heard you were injured, is that true? Agent Coulson wouldn't tell me the details, so I had to check your travel report myself..."
Lin Xiao turned his head and gave her a half-smile, "You're checking my reports? Do you even have the authority?"
Kara's face turned even redder. "I borrowed an account from an intern in the tech department. I didn't do anything, I just looked at two pages."
Lin Xiao let out a long "Oh." Kara waved her hands anxiously, "Really, I only saw the words 'severely injured arms,' but I didn't have enough permissions to open the rest. Are your arms alright now? Can you move them? I brought some ointment; my mom sent it, it's really effective..."
"Alright, alright," Lin Xiao interrupted her, pointing to the row of benches opposite. "Go sit over there for a while. I have something to discuss with the deputy director. Wait for me a bit, don't wander off."
Kara opened her mouth, clearly wanting to say something, but seeing Lin Xiao's gaze, she obediently said "Oh," and jogged over to sit down. She hugged her small bag to her chest, her legs neatly together, her back ramrod straight, but her eyes kept glancing this way.
Lin Xiao pulled Hill to the corner of the corridor and lowered his voice. "See? I told you it wouldn't have mattered even if she came. A girl like that can't sit there for ten minutes before she has to start memorizing the code of conduct."
Hill glanced over there and said casually, "She listens to you quite a bit."
"I taught well," Lin Xiao said earnestly.
Hill's lips twitched, which meant he didn't refute her.
Lin Xiao glanced at the time; it was almost dinnertime. He leaned against the wall, one hand in his pocket, the other pointing downstairs. "Want to have dinner together tonight? Don't get me wrong, I wanted to ask about the recovery of those agents who were hospitalized for heatstroke a while ago, and also give you an update on my own recovery experience. There's a new Thai restaurant near the station; their Tom Yum soup is pretty good."
"Does reporting on work and asking about the situation really warrant having a meal together?" Hill looked up at him.
Lin Xiao smiled naturally, leaned forward half an inch, and lowered his voice, "I asked the hospitalized agent about things in front of Sitwell, that shows my work ethic. I'm a practical person who doesn't do superficial work. You see, it's after work tonight, you have time and need to eat, so let's ask while we eat, isn't that perfect? Just tell me if you want to come or not."
Hill leaned against the wall, his expression strange, then sighed softly.
This will not be repeated.
Lin Xiao smiled, his brows and eyes relaxing. "Then it's settled. I'll bring my secretary along, so you won't feel awkward, okay?"
Hill didn't say anything and walked towards the elevator. Lin Xiao snapped his the Snap Kara on the bench, "Let's go, let's grab some dinner together after work."
Kara jumped up as if a switch had been flipped, slung her bag over her shoulder, and jogged to catch up, asking, "Instructor, where are we going? What are we eating? Is it your treat?"
Lin Xiao sighed, "Of course, I treated you to Thai food, and you didn't say a word."
The little girl's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.
At 5:30 PM, the three entered the elevator. Lin Xiao stood in the middle, with the two women on either side. The elevator was quiet for a few seconds, then Kara suddenly whispered, "Instructor, you and the deputy director look quite good together."
Hill's expression changed slightly, but he remained silent. Lin Xiao clicked his tongue, turned to look at Kara, and gave her an extremely kind smile, "Speak less, eat more. After dinner, I'll test you on the anti-grappling moves I taught you last time. If you can't pass, you'll have to practice for three more hours."
Kara's face immediately fell, and she muttered under her breath, "Then you might as well punish me by making me memorize the code of conduct..."
The elevator dinged and stopped on the first floor. The doors opened, and Lin Xiao stepped out first, his steps light as if he were going to some kind of celebration party. Hill followed behind him, her high heels clicking on the ground, the corners of her mouth curving up very slightly before disappearing in an instant. Kara followed at the back with her head down, her mind already going over the moves she was going to practice that night three times.
A newly changed sign hung outside the Thai restaurant on the street corner, a wind chime rang, and the three of them went inside one after another.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, 600 kilometers northwest of São Paulo.
On the boundless grassland, several armed helicopters are flying close to the ground in search formation, the wind whipped up by their rotors blowing the waist-high grass blades this way and that. Further away on the dirt road, a convoy is advancing at full speed, the dust kicked up by the vehicles like a yellow dragon that stretches across the entire scene.
A giant green shadow galloped across the grassland.
With each step Hulk took, the ground felt as if it had been slammed by a hammer. He ran at an astonishing speed, tearing blades of grass to shreds behind him, and cracking the hard tropical earth beneath his feet into a spiderweb pattern. Sweat rolled down his dark green skin, mingling with grass clippings and dirt, and he breathed heavily, letting out broken, Beast -like growls from his throat.
A helicopter's machine gun had locked onto him. The gunner pulled the trigger, and a dense barrage of bullets swept across Hulk's front. Hulk neither dodged nor evaded, but simply lowered his head, letting the bullets strike his back with a series of metallic clanging sounds. Enraged, he suddenly pushed off with his legs, launching himself into the air like a cannonball.
The helicopter had no time to dodge. Hulk jumped below it, grabbed the landing gear with one hand, and pulled it down hard. The helicopter lost its balance, the rotor blades screeched in the air, and the nose pointed down as it spiraled toward the ground.
Hulk released his grip, using the recoil to continue rising. At his highest point, he raised his arms high and slammed them down, striking the top of another helicopter that was also gaining altitude. The helicopter, along with its cabin and beams, snapped in two, its fuel tank burst open, and a fireball exploded into a black and red flower on the grassland.
The third helicopter immediately pulled up, and the pilot's voice came through the communication channel, shrill and trembling. "The target is in the air! He's jumping! He's chasing us by jumping! My God, he's jumping higher than we are flying!"
In the command center, General Ross stared at the live feed, his face ashen. The pen in his hand was clenched so tightly it was deformed, his knuckles white. The green figure on the screen rose and fell between columns of smoke and flames, like a maddened Beast, tearing apart the encirclement network that had been deployed for three days and three nights as if it were paper.
"Move all the drones over there," Thaddeus Ross said, his voice chillingly cold. "And the armored vehicles, all of them, to that valley ahead and block him."
"General, our armored vehicles are still forty kilometers away, and it will take them at least..."
"I said, move them all over there!"