Nick Fury might have always acted as though he alone could save the world, and he hid far too many secrets no one knew about.
But he still had one outstanding virtue: he was decisive and dared to take responsibility.
After receiving Hawkeye and Black Widow's report.
No one knew what means Nick Fury had used, or what deal he had struck.
Before long, a Quinjet landed at the American military base in Afghanistan.
Along with the pilot came a permit allowing entry into Pakistan.
Of course, it applied only to this one S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft, and military personnel were forbidden from entering.
Black Widow and Hawkeye naturally had to come along. Rhodey had originally tried to stop Tony Stark, but Tony was simply too adamant.
With Black Widow and Hawkeye dropping hints as well.
In the end, Rhodey had no choice but to come along.
On the way, Hawkeye drove the pilot straight out of the pilot's seat.
He practically forced the Quinjet to fly like a helicopter.
They scouted all the way across the desert, almost hugging the ground.
At last, they discovered the trail left by the bearded man's convoy and followed it to the place where Qin Xiao had been stopped.
"What the hell happened here?"
As soon as they stepped off the plane, the group was shocked speechless by the scene before them.
The traces left by Hulk's battle made the place look like a disaster site.
Severed limbs, off-road vehicles torn into parts, and shell casings covering the ground.
All of it meant that some utterly horrific fighting had taken place here.
"Tony, did that combat instructor of yours do this? Are you sure he needs us to rescue him?"
Rhodey stared at everything before him, his face full of shock.
"This doesn't look like something Qin could have left behind. It looks more like King Kong came through."
Black Widow was equally bewildered. Others might not know how destructive a super soldier could be, but S.H.I.E.L.D. knew very well.
Peggy Carter and Howard Stark had kept Captain America's physical data after his successful enhancement.
It was still in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret archives.
"Hey! I'm over here!"
While everyone was privately speculating about what had happened.
Qin Xiao emerged from behind a sand dune at some point.
He waved repeatedly at the group.
Seeing Qin Xiao emerge, they hurried toward that dune.
After finally making it up the dune, they saw Qin Xiao looking completely unconcerned, with a man lying on the ground behind it.
A stark-naked man.
"Did you find true love out here?"
Seeing that Qin Xiao was all right, Tony was in a great mood and teased him with a smile.
But the moment Black Widow and Hawkeye saw Bruce Banner, their expressions changed drastically.
"Bruce Banner? Qin, why is he here? Did you knock him out? And I don't mean the him lying on the ground."
"No. I did meet him, but I just made friends with him!"
Qin Xiao smiled slightly as he spoke to Black Widow.
Qin Xiao was in quite a good mood at that moment. His mission had been completed successfully, and if Black Widow and the others hadn't come.
He would already have drunk the bottle of glowing green serum in his pocket.
Heaven knew how much talking it had taken him to win Hulk over.
Not only had he promised to take him to fight monsters, he had also had to promise to get Dr. Banner to let him out for a stroll from time to time.
"If Banner won't agree, just beat him to death, and I can come out!"
"Remember, don't lie to Hulk! Or I'll tear you apart!"
That was the last thing Hulk, that brat, had said to Qin Xiao.
He had originally come here to save Tony, only to end up gaining a Banner as well.
With someone on Hulk's level, a walking nuclear weapon, S.H.I.E.L.D. naturally didn't dare let him return on a military plane.
So they could only have Tony return with Rhodey, while the rest of them chose to fly straight back to the United States in the Quinjet.
Nick Fury was waiting at a certain secret base to meet Qin Xiao.
"Qin, let's talk over drinks when we get back!"
Tony had plenty of questions for Qin Xiao, but he also knew this wasn't the place to talk.
He reminded Qin Xiao before leaving.
"Get yourself a thorough checkup when you get back!"
Qin Xiao smiled slightly and tapped the reactor on Tony's chest as he spoke with a smile.
New York was one of the largest cities in the world.
It was also the famous city of destruction in American movies, a gathering place for superheroes and villains.
How could a city like this not have a S.H.I.E.L.D. branch?
But no one knew that, besides its publicly known locations.
Nick Fury also had a secret base here.
This secret base, which few people even within S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about, was actually beneath the Hudson River.
Following Hawkeye and Black Widow, Qin Xiao entered an abandoned subway tunnel from the subway lines.
After winding around for ages, they entered an abandoned sewer pipe, then went around several more bends.
Only then did they enter the secret base through a concealed doorway.
They were already near the mouth of the Hudson River.
In the base's main hall, Qin Xiao even saw a huge floor-to-ceiling window, with the bottom of the Hudson River right outside.
Not only could he see the river water, Qin Xiao could also see several freshwater fish drifting along with the current.
Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window was none other than Marvel's Director Nick Fury.
He stood before the window in his classic pose of trying to look cool, presenting them with the back of his bald head.
"Aren't you afraid someone will discover this base like this? Not only do you have a window, you've even got underwater searchlights on outside?"
Qin Xiao ignored Nick Fury's attempt to look cool and asked about the floor-to-ceiling window instead.
"First, from outside, this looks like nothing more than a concrete slab. You can ask your good friend Stark about the technical details. As for the lights, there are plenty of explanations for those."
Nick Fury slowly turned around.
His single eye fixed on Qin Xiao as he reached out, picked up a stack of documents from the desk, and tossed them to him.
"Most importantly, it's 'we,' not 'you.' Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., super soldier Mr. Qin."
Qin Xiao caught the documents and opened them to find his own information.
There was also the position S.H.I.E.L.D. had assigned him. Agent, probationary agent?
"Am I reading this right? As far as I know, your agents rank from level one to level ten, with the director being the only level ten. I've never heard of this probationary business."
"This is a new position Director Fury created for you. The report indicates there's no issue with where you stand, but your personality isn't particularly suited to working in intelligence. We need to observe you for a while."
Black Widow came over to Qin Xiao and explained.
"What report?"
"A psychological evaluation and personality analysis report. Also, I wrote it."
Smiling, Black Widow took the documents from Qin Xiao's hands and formally made the introduction.
"Nick Fury, director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. My boss, and of course, yours from now on."
Second chapter. Another chapter tonight at eight thirty!