The revolving doors of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion welcomed a visitor who turned every head that day. The great hero who had saved Tony had returned aboard a Stark Industries private jet!
Wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses, Lin Xiao strode into the lobby carrying a bulging red plastic bag. The jacket stretched over him like a sausage casing, but the style was certainly good—the same jacket worn by the Governator in Terminator. He swaggered along, pulling handfuls of White Rabbit Creamy Candy from the bag and handing them to everyone he saw.
"Have some candy! A specialty from Dragon Country. It's really sweet."
The receptionist blushed and said, "Good morning," then watched him set a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candy on the counter and turn toward the elevators. In the corridor, a female intern carrying documents approached him. Lin Xiao casually offered her a handful of candy. She looked up, saw his face, and instantly flushed, nearly dropping her documents.
"Careful, careful." Lin Xiao steadied the documents for her and tucked in two more candies. "Eat more. You're too skinny."
The intern stood there holding her documents and candy, watching him disappear into the elevator, her heart pounding for a long while.
Coulson's office was on the eighth floor. When Lin Xiao pushed the door open, Coulson was reading a report with a coffee cup in hand. He looked up, raised an eyebrow at Lin Xiao's outfit, then let his gaze settle on the red plastic bag.
"Boss! I'm back!" Lin Xiao set the bag on Coulson's desk and emptied enough White Rabbit Creamy Candy to cover half of it with a rustle. "Brought you a local specialty. You can't buy these in Afghanistan, so I specifically had Tony send someone to Dragon Country for them. They're delicious."
Coulson set down his coffee, picked a candy out of the pile, and turned it over to examine the white rabbit on the wrapper, his expression peculiar. "...You went on a mission to Afghanistan, and the local specialty you brought back was milk candy from Dragon Country?"
"That's not the point." Lin Xiao plopped into the chair opposite Coulson, which let out a familiar groan. "The point is-the mission's complete. Tony's safe, and those Ten Rings guys were wiped out by me-no, by me and the military working together. You should've seen it. Talk about thrilling."
Coulson leaned back with his trademark gentle smile and gestured for him to go ahead with his performance.
Lin Xiao immediately perked up. He rose and paced around the office, gesticulating as he described his heroic exploits in Afghanistan: charging into enemy lines single-handedly, dismantling a heavy machine gun with his bare hands, carrying Tony several kilometers through a hail of bullets. Every detail was vividly recounted. Coulson simply listened with a smile. When Lin Xiao began describing the Ten Rings' female spy and her plot, he failed to notice the amusement that flashed through Coulson's eyes.
"Then I turned the tables on that flight attendant." At this point, Lin Xiao's tone suddenly became righteous. "Boss, you have no idea how good that woman's acting was. She started seducing me on the plane, offering me blankets and leaving her phone number. But who am I? I've trained at S.H.I.E.L.D.-uh, not officially yet-but I'm naturally alert. I knew something was wrong with her at a glance."
Coulson raised an eyebrow again but said nothing.
"I pretended to take the bait and followed her into the room. Sure enough, she'd installed a camera, and five fully armed militants were hiding next door, just waiting to film my sex tape." Lin Xiao slapped the desk, brimming with righteous indignation. "Right then, I thought, my own reputation is one thing, but if they pulled this off, how would S.H.I.E.L.D. ever live it down?"
"So what did you do to her?" Coulson asked, his tone as gentle as ever, though the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch.
"Took her down on the spot!" Lin Xiao declared firmly. "Five militants, all down in under a minute. I tied the woman to a chair and waited for Hawkeye to take custody. Clean and efficient from start to finish. I didn't disgrace the organization."
Coulson lifted his coffee and took a sip. His expression was strange-as though he were holding back laughter, or setting the stage for what came next. He put down his cup and spoke slowly. "Lin Xiao, that flight attendant you just mentioned. Do you know who she is?"
"A Ten Rings spy, obviously." Lin Xiao waved dismissively. "Pretty good-looking. Shame she took the wrong path."
"She did infiltrate the Ten Rings." Coulson's tone suddenly became rather peculiar. "But she isn't one of them."
Lin Xiao's smile faltered.
Coulson turned his laptop around to face Lin Xiao. A surveillance recording played on the screen. The footage was a little blurry, but he could make out a blue-skinned, red-haired humanoid-definitely female, judging by her curves-climbing over the wall of some prison, moving as nimbly as a lizard.
"This is surveillance footage from an Afghan military prison last month. This blue-skinned woman is codenamed Mystique, a core member of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Her ability is-to look like anyone."
Lin Xiao's smile froze.
Ding-Mystique, real name Raven Darkhölme. Mutant. Ability: molecular-level shapeshifting, allowing her to perfectly replicate any human's appearance, voice, and even fingerprints. Extremely capable in combat, proficient in multiple fighting styles. Her standing in the Brotherhood of Mutants is second only to Magneto. Incidentally, Mystique's actual current age is 200.
Lin Xiao looked down at the screen, then back up at Coulson, opening and closing his mouth.
"Wait." Lin Xiao's voice grew a little dry. "You're saying that woman... the one I tied to the chair... what does she have to do with..."
"Cross-checking Hawkeye's report against subsequent intelligence confirms that the woman was Mystique." Coulson closed the laptop and folded his hands on the desk, wearing an extremely suspicious smile that had no place on a professional agent's face. "She was indeed infiltrating the Ten Rings. Her objective was to use Tony Stark's kidnapping to get inside and obtain certain intelligence. Simply put, you exposed a top mutant operative on an undercover assignment and treated her as a Ten Rings spy, then... ahem."
Coulson did not finish, but Lin Xiao understood.
The office fell silent for a full five seconds.
"So that night, the one who..." Lin Xiao's words caught in his throat.
"Hawkeye left that part out of his report." Coulson's voice was as level as if he were delivering a briefing, but he could no longer keep the corners of his mouth down. "His exact words were-'I couldn't bear to write it.'"
Lin Xiao's face went from normal to red, from red to white, and from white to green. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to salvage the situation, but his mind was filled with images from the hotel room that night-the blond, blue-eyed flight attendant standing at the foot of the bed in a bath towel, asking him, "Aren't we moving too fast?"
Mystique. That was Mystique.
The Brotherhood of Mutants' second-in-command, someone who had lived for over two hundred years and stood on equal footing with Magneto.
Lin Xiao slumped back into the chair as though half his soul had been sucked out.
Coulson finally lost his battle. He pressed his fist to his mouth, his shoulders shaking suspiciously several times.
"Stop laughing." Lin Xiao looked at him resentfully.
"I'm not laughing." Coulson's voice was a little distorted. "Lin Xiao, professionally speaking, your counterintelligence awareness certainly deserves recognition. Identifying and single-handedly dismantling an infiltration operation in such a short time, and even protecting critical intelligence from disclosure-I included all of that in my report. But personally-" He removed his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes, whether from laughter or something else was unclear. "-your luck really is something else."
Lin Xiao lowered his head and covered his face with both hands. He remembered boasting about this "achievement" to Tony, and Tony asking, "Are you sure she was just an ordinary spy?" He had confidently replied, "A professional spy, but I saw right through her." If Tony learned that the woman was actually Mystique, he would probably turn it into a joke and keep telling it at parties until next year.
Lin Xiao peered up through his fingers. "Where's Mystique now?"
"She escaped from the Afghan military prison. That was the footage I just showed you." Coulson put his glasses back on and returned to professional mode. "According to our intelligence, she's already returned to the Brotherhood of Mutants. Oh, and she had someone pass along a message for you. Want her exact words?"
"...Go ahead."
"She said, 'Tell that big guy that the next time we meet, I'll give him a proper taste of what real disguise means.'"
"Sounds like she wants another round with me." Lin Xiao gave a dry laugh.
Coulson glanced at him with a look that roughly translated to: Are you missing the point?
Just then, the internal phone on Coulson's desk rang. He picked it up, listened for two seconds, then put it down. "Lin Xiao, Director Nick Fury wants you in his office."
Lin Xiao paused. Since joining, he had only seen Fury a few times from a distance and had never been summoned alone. The office of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was practically the stuff of legend to ordinary agents, but he was not afraid. He stood, straightened the collar of his leather jacket, and strode out of Coulson's office.
Fury's office was on the top floor of the Triskelion, behind an unmarked door at the end of the corridor. Lin Xiao knocked, and a deep voice came from inside. "Come in."
Pushing the door open, Lin Xiao got his first close look at the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury sat behind a broad black desk, his black trench coat draped over the back of his chair, revealing a tactical sweater in the same color beneath. Bald and one-eyed, he scrutinized Lin Xiao without moving, his good eye like a cold glass marble.
"Sit," Fury said.
Lin Xiao did not stand on ceremony. He pulled out a chair and sat down, moving naturally, neither deliberately restrained nor deliberately arrogant.
Watching him sit, Fury's lone eye flickered with something almost imperceptible. He had seen all kinds of reactions from people entering this office-nervousness, feigned composure, flattery, even attempts to intimidate him. But this big fellow simply sat down without a care, even crossing his long legs.
"In Hawkeye's assessment report, you're the first person he's ever upgraded from an A to an A+. He also added a comment-'loyal and devoted.'" Fury's tone carried neither praise nor criticism; he was merely stating facts. "But I don't entirely agree."
Lin Xiao said nothing, only tilting his head slightly.
"It's not the conclusion I disagree with. It's the perspective." Fury leaned back and tapped the desk twice. "Hawkeye only saw your performance in Afghanistan. He saw a rookie who risked his life for a friend and would do anything to complete his mission, a warrior who single-handedly wiped out a Ten Rings stronghold. But he didn't see the other person."
Fury pressed a button on his desk. A screen beside him lit up, displaying a photograph of a rusty iron door. A crooked line of words had been scratched into it with a stone: "Search of the mountains east of Bagram complete. No results."
Lin Xiao's expression did not change, but his pupils contracted slightly.
"This photograph was taken at an abandoned militia outpost in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Local villagers said a masked giant calling himself 'Super Earthling' tore this iron door out of the wall, scratched these words into it, carried it to the roadside, and walked away."
He looked at Fury with an outrageously sincere expression. "Besides, I don't know any Super Earthling. Do you?"
Fury fell silent, fixing his lone eye on Lin Xiao. The office was quiet enough to hear plaster fall from the walls. That stare would have made ninety-nine percent of agents lower their heads, but not Lin Xiao. He simply sat there calmly, legs crossed, wearing a harmless smile.
After a long silence, the corner of Fury's mouth moved almost imperceptibly.
He leaned back, folded his hands over his stomach, and suddenly adopted a businesslike tone. "Lin Xiao, your performance in Afghanistan was good overall. You saved Stark and uncovered an infiltration plot-though the process was somewhat unexpected. Overall assessment: you passed. S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided to make an exception and formally recruit you as a level-six agent. You're the only person in history to enter S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inner circle after less than four months on the job. This is both an honor and a responsibility..." Fury wanted to continue, but seeing Lin Xiao merely looking down and fiddling with his fingernails, his face darkened, and he changed tack. "Eight hundred thousand dollars a year, with insurance."
He watched Lin Xiao afterward, waiting for surprise or overwhelming gratitude to appear on the rookie's face. Two seconds later, Lin Xiao spoke.
"Level-six agent works." Lin Xiao nodded, then changed the subject. "But I'd still like a desk job. See, I've been doing a pretty good job organizing files for Coulson, and all my coworkers like me. How about this? Six hundred thousand a year is enough. I don't mind losing two hundred thousand, but my main job will be monitoring surveillance."
Fury's expression stiffened.
Six hundred thousand? Was this kid haggling with him? He had offered eight hundred thousand, and instead of asking for more, the kid was voluntarily taking two hundred thousand less, just for-a desk job?
"You think I'd have someone who can dismantle a tank with his bare hands monitor surveillance?" Fury's voice was steady, but his tone carried a subtle pause that said, Are you kidding me?
"What's wrong with monitoring surveillance?" Lin Xiao countered righteously. "Surveillance is the first line of defense in security work. A good surveillance operator can spot trouble before a crisis happens. Besides, I have good eyesight, strong concentration, and can sit still-those are all core qualifications for monitoring surveillance."
Fury fell silent. He stared at Lin Xiao with his lone eye, and Lin Xiao gazed back with two sincere ones. The office grew quiet again, as though a silent contest were underway. Both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
"Six hundred and fifty thousand." Fury broke the deadlock first. "You can have a desk job, but you must participate in any major incidents. You'll also attend agent training-according to Hawkeye, your fighting skills and tactical proficiency are like an unbridled rhinoceros."
"Can we skip the train-"
"No."
Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and quickly did the math in his head. Six hundred and fifty thousand, mainly desk work, participation in major incidents, and training-he instinctively resisted that last part, but he had to admit his agility and mental power really did need work. Besides, what if the instructor was some beautiful female agent?
"Fine. But I have one condition."
"Name it."
"I decide what counts as a major incident. If I say it's major, it's major. If I say it isn't, it isn't."
The corner of Fury's mouth twitched again. He had negotiated with countless people in his life, but never encountered a demand like this-a rookie agent negotiating with him over "the right to define major incidents."
"...At least eight assignments every six months," Fury finally said. "It can't be entirely your decision, but the agency will respect your personal wishes."
"Deal." Lin Xiao nodded decisively. "Oh, boss, aren't you forgetting something else? I saved Tony Stark, too. That reward..."
Fury was prepared for that. He took an envelope from a drawer and slid the black card inside it across the desk. "Tony Stark's personal token of gratitude. Eight million dollars, plus an apartment in Manhattan. He asked me to tell you it's in the building beside Stark Tower. Excellent views, and you can change the decor yourself."
Eight million. Plus an apartment in Manhattan. Lin Xiao's heart trembled for an instant. He had never seen so much money in his previous life and this one combined, but his expression remained remarkably steady. He hesitated, then finally asked, "Is the reward before or after tax?"
Fury sucked in a sharp breath, his lone eye widening considerably. His hand involuntarily gripped the armrest as though suppressing some extremely powerful impulse. He had seen hagglers and people who pushed their luck, but never anyone who asked whether an eight-million-dollar reward was before or after tax. That instinct, that fixation on tax reporting, was nothing like a super soldier with off-the-charts combat power. He seemed more like an old accountant who had been audited by the tax authorities.
"I'm just asking." Lin Xiao raised both hands, his expression outrageously innocent. "Last time, you said all agency bonuses had to be reported in full for tax purposes. I wanted to check whether that rule still applied."
Fury closed his eye and took a deep breath.
"...After tax. It's all fucking after tax."