Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.
For the past two months, Susan Stone's mental state has been extremely worrying. After being rescued by Lin Xiao that day, she hadn't returned to Reed's villa. That very night, she even slipped away before Lin Xiao, who was waiting outside. Susan was frantic, speechless, and deeply hurt. She simply didn't know what to say to Lin Xiao in that situation. She couldn't bring herself to thank him for saving her—he had almost taken advantage of her—or call him a beast, even though he had indeed saved her and driven Doom away... She felt indebted to Reed. So, instead of dwelling on it, she decided to avoid the pain. Now she spent her days with the Thing Human Torch and the Thing, constantly looking for trouble with Doom, trying to rescue Reed. But whenever she was alone, she would recall that passionate night, suddenly clench her thigh nervously, and grit her teeth, cursing, "That lecherous Lin Xiao! And Natasha, that bitch, what right did she have..."
One day, the Human Torch was passing by Susan with a cup of coffee when he was startled by her murderous expression. He turned and exchanged a glance with the Thing, and the two quietly went to a corner. "Ben," the Human Torch said, "Do you think Susan is under too much pressure and going through early menopause?"
Ben stroked his chin, his voice muffled. "She's only in her thirties, what menopause could she be going through?"
"Then why does she keep cursing those two people?"
"I don't know, maybe Lin Xiao deserves a beating."
Susan overheard their whispers. Susan slammed her hand on the table, turned around, and glared at them. The two were so startled they froze, their expressions incredibly strange.
In truth, Susan herself couldn't understand it. She just felt a tightness in her chest. She had gone to such lengths, and that bastard had actually held back? Just like that? Even if he had done something wrong? This was more humiliating than being kidnapped.
Compared to Susan's outburst, Lin Xiao has been remarkably well-behaved these past two months. He's been clocking in at S.H.I.E.L.D.. every day, and not only has he avoided causing trouble, he's even been helping Coulson organize documents.
Coulson stood in the break room, watching Lin Xiao's tall, straight figure in the distance down the corridor. Holding his coffee, he sighed with satisfaction, a benevolent expression on his face. "It seems that with more experience, people always grow up. Lin Xiao finally understands what it means to..."
"Smack!"
A crisp slap interrupted Coulson's thoughts. He turned his head and saw Lin Xiao slap Deputy Director Hill on the buttocks as he passed by. Hill blushed and retaliated by elbowing Lin Xiao in the ribs. Lin Xiao didn't even dodge and instead reached out to put his arm around Hill's waist, bending down to give him a kiss. Then Natasha, who came out from around the corner, grabbed his ear, and the two women sandwiched him between them, whispering a scolding.
Coulson's hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly, and he swallowed the rest of his words. Never mind. This bastard will still be a dog even if he lives to be a hundred.
This daily chaos was quickly overturned by a superstorm codenamed " Loki ".
Top-floor conference room of the Helicarrier S.H.I.E.L.D..
" Hawkeye betrayed us last night, running off with the Tesseract. Barton shot through the logistics chief's bulletproof glass with an arrow, wounding several agents, and left the desert research center. He's now wanted." Coulson slammed a file on Fury's desk, his voice tinged with disbelief, but he quickly masked it.
Fury stood by the window, the bloodshot in his single eye twice as much as usual. Just moments before, the World Security Council's video conference had ended, during which those old men in suits had been spitting at him for a full twenty minutes. He turned around, looking at the draft list of the Avengers Initiative on the table, his expression more contorted than if he had swallowed a whole fly.
"What did Tony Stark say? Have you made contact?" Fury asked in a hoarse voice.
Mr. Stark replied that he was only providing financial support. His actions were currently limited because he had a long-term employment contract with Vought.
Fury's temples throbbed. "Where's Dr. Banner?"
" Dr. Banner is now Vought's chief scientist, and his field operations authorization requires Vought's written consent."
" Natasha is still..." Fury gritted his teeth, "Forget about Natasha, she's completely obsessed with Lin Xiao now, she's practically been worn down by that bastard."
Fury took a deep breath and plopped down in his chair. What do you call this? This is what you call a team that's impossible to lead! The core combatants on the roster have either betrayed him or are recovering from injuries. The one recovering is easy to appease, but what about the rest? They're all trapped by Lin Xiao's " Vought Company "!
He even started seriously going through Dr. Connors' ( the Lizard ) file, wondering if he should also squeeze this biologist, who was working at S.H.I.E.L.D.., into the commando team to make up the numbers.
Just then, there was a knock on the office door.
"Get in," Fury snapped irritably.
The door was gently pushed open, and Lin Xiao slowly walked in.
He was dressed impeccably today, his expression somber, his steps resolute. Reaching Fury's desk, he abruptly straightened up, placed his hands behind his back, and spoke in an extremely righteous tone:
"Director, I deeply regret Agent Hawkeye's betrayal. On behalf of Vought Group and all superheroes, I express my deepest concern and care for the impending crisis! As long as the world needs me, as long as America needs me, I, Lin Xiao, am ready to risk my life at any time!"
Fury had already reached for the gun in the drawer. Looking at Lin Xiao's martyr-like expression, he narrowed his single eye, staring at him with suspicion for a full five seconds. Finally, he released his grip on the gun handle and rubbed his temples.
"Stop putting on an act with me," Fury sighed wearily. "Tell me, what are your conditions?"
Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment, his expression instantly turning to astonishment and indignation. "Director, how can you say that? I was only thinking of the bigger picture..."
"Spit it out." Fury rubbed his forehead with one hand.
"Okay!"
Lin Xiao's expression changed faster than flipping through a book. The next second, he was like a top Wall Street salesman, with a smile that made you want to punch him. He took out several beautifully bound manuscripts from his suit pocket and carefully placed them on Fury's desk.
"Now that the crisis has arrived, I formally recommend to you the [ Superhero Save the World Rental Plan ], specially designed for major crises! For just a small fee, I guarantee S.H.I.E.L.D.. and America will have a bright future!"
Lin Xiao rubbed his hands together and took a step closer. "Look, you might be feeling a bit tired right now, and there might be a shortage of manpower, but I, Vought, have plenty of people. They are all brave and skilled in battle, and you can command them with minimal cost. Moreover, they are fully capable of handling the upcoming crisis! My available subordinates include: Hulk, with top-notch resilience; War Machine, Colonel Rhodes, with military background and formidable firepower; and Tony Iron Man, whom you also know. As for Gwen Stacy and Peter, those kids aren't included in this lease agreement. But I also have a god! Thor, yes, the mythical figure from New Mexico! Thor! You deserve to have him even more! According to my secret channels, he will descend upon Earth in a few days. Just imagine, you can hire a true god to fight aliens with a flick of your finger—how prestigious would that be!"
Fury didn't speak; his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Lin Xiao felt the timing wasn't right, so he leaned closer and lowered his voice, "To tell you the truth, when I went to the Mutants Academy, although Iceman blocked the door, I thought that guy was pretty loyal. I had a cup of tea with the professor and we reached an agreement. Iceman, Omega-level Mutant, is ready to go at any time. And then there's Beast Hank, a top-notch researcher and hand-to-hand combatant. Imagine this lineup: with us, the scavengers, we'll do the dirty work, and you just need to coordinate, and America can become great again! Isn't that a win-win situation?"
Fury stared blankly at Lin Xiao, remaining silent as he looked at the manuscript in Lin Xiao's hand. After a few minutes, he finally spoke slowly, "Let me see your contract."
"Are you sure?" Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.
"Stop talking nonsense, give it to me. This is the contract you were talking about, right?"
Lin Xiao shook his head and sighed, "Director, you may have misunderstood. These few sheets of paper are just for your convenience; they contain the contract table of contents, a terms index, and information on specific hired heroes and guidelines on lease schedules."
Fury raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Lin Xiao's smile widened completely. He turned around and called out towards the door, "Secretary, bring in the official contract!"
The door was pushed open, Kara was carrying a mountain of paper in her arms. It was a stack of contracts, almost half her height, made up of various legal documents, disclaimers, billing standards, and insurance terms. Kara was bent over by the weight of it, and she shakily moved into the office, as if she was about to fall with every step. Finally, with a "bang," she slammed the pile of paper onto Fury's desk, knocking over the coffee Fury had just made.
"Instructor... I put it here..." Kara gasped for breath, wiped her sweat, glanced at Coulson's strange expression in the office, then at Fury's dark complexion, and finally at Lin Xiao's smug look. She stammered a few words and quickly slipped out.
Lin Xiao braced his hands on the table, his mouth practically splitting with a grin. "Director, look, this is the contract. I've summarized it in great detail to ensure you won't get confused. You can take your time reading it. Oh, by the way, the lawyer's letter is in the appendix of Volume Three, mainly to prevent your bureau from delaying the final payment."
The office was deathly silent.
Fury stared at the mountain of paper half his height, then looked up at Lin Xiao's incredibly irritating face. His chest heaved violently, and his one eye bulged out of its socket. He took a deep breath, then another, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, slamming his hand heavily on the table.
"Fuck you! No, Lin Xiao, you cunt!"