Chapter Seventy-Six: Coulson’s Request

Tony Stark has been found? Upon hearing this news, Zhong Shenxiu was somewhat surprised. Logically, an event of this magnitude should be all over the television, with endless coverage. Besides, Tony Stark is the type who would hold a press conference the moment he returned, announcing that Stark Industries would no longer manufacture weapons.

By rights, the entire world should be broadcasting this news, but in reality, there was nothing. Even though Zhong Shenxiu was in New York, he hadn’t heard anything of the sort, so…

Zhong Shenxiu considered another possibility.

“He’s back? Wasn’t he missing for a long time? Where was he found?” Zhong Shenxiu asked Coulson, his face showing confusion.

But Coulson didn’t answer directly. Once again, his gaze landed on Wanda.

Seeing this, Zhong Shenxiu understood his meaning. He waved at Wanda, saying, “Wanda, you should head home for now.”

Wanda’s current home was that remote villa, where Anton Vanko, the old man, lived, along with Ivan—though Ivan had recently been busy in the basement. Wanda would sometimes go down there, but overall, she preferred staying aboveground, in her own room.

“Alright!” Wanda nodded lightly, her eyes sparkling with a smile as she skipped back towards the villa.

Once Wanda had left entirely, Coulson even closed the door with meticulous care, preventing anyone from eavesdropping. Only after all this did he lean toward Zhong Shenxiu, speaking in a tone full of secrecy:

“According to our informants, he was found in a desert in the Middle East. He’s in poor condition—multiple soft tissue injuries all over his body, likely from a high-altitude fall. The most severe wound is a large hole in his chest, where he’s embedded something that looks like a light.”

Isn’t that just Tony’s miniature arc reactor… Looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. still doesn’t have complete information on Tony. Zhong Shenxiu thought to himself.

“And so, you want me to go over now and heal his injuries?” Zhong Shenxiu asked.

“Yes,” Coulson nodded. “At first, the Director suggested letting him recover on his own and having me gradually approach Tony Stark. But I immediately thought of you. If we heal Tony Stark right away, it’ll make further contact much easier.”

Hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu understood. This was another effect brought about by his own butterfly wings.

Originally, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interaction with Tony Stark was as Coulson had just described—a gradual approach.

Now, Coulson wanted to use his healing abilities to quickly establish a good rapport with Tony.

This was a little puzzling. Tony didn’t even have the Iron Man suit yet. Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. be so eager to approach him?

Because he was the child of Howard, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders? Or was it simply because he was rich?

“Fine, but for a house call…”

“You want extra payment, I understand.” Coulson smiled and nodded.

Well, well, he’s even learned to anticipate my answers.

“So, where is Tony Stark now?” Zhong Shenxiu asked. By rights, Tony’s return should have set off a media firestorm by now, not this strange silence.

Coulson didn’t hesitate. “He’s on a military transport plane, en route to the United States under armed escort. He should arrive in three or four hours. We can go to the airport to wait for him.”

Ah, that explains everything. The military, to ensure Tony’s safe return, hadn’t made any public announcement. The moment the media would learn of Tony’s return would be when he held that press conference.

“So, we’re leaving now?” Zhong Shenxiu asked.

Coulson nodded. “Yes, we’ll head straight to the airport. The car is ready outside.” With that, he opened the door and glanced at the black Toyota parked not far away.

Zhong Shenxiu looked around once more and, seeing no more patients, nodded in agreement.

It was indeed a strange day. Since the usual stream of “little leeks” wasn’t coming, he might as well go out and see a bigshot instead.

He wondered what kind of abilities a genius like Tony might be able to provide.

Zhong Shenxiu pondered.

Suddenly!

The system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Side quest completed: Peter has successfully resolved the campus bullying incident on his own. Reward: +3 Mental Strength.]

The prompt made Zhong Shenxiu pause. He checked his personal panel, and the Mental Strength stat had indeed increased to 31.

So that’s why there were so few patients today—my little thug Peter has gone to dominate Suzuran Elementary School—

“Zhong, what’s wrong?” Coulson opened the car door and glanced at the absent-minded Zhong Shenxiu, asking in concern.

“It’s nothing,” Zhong Shenxiu replied with a smile, shaking his head. He climbed into the modest-looking Toyota, and as the car started, he casually asked, “You look exhausted. I thought you weren’t married?” His tone was playful, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he looked at Coulson.

As a man in his forties, Coulson certainly understood the jest. He offered a weary smile, considering for a moment before answering, “Do you remember Agent May?”

“I do.” Zhong Shenxiu nodded. Of course—she was a fat sheep worth more than two hundred thousand dollars.

“Don’t tell me it’s her…”

Coulson shot Zhong Shenxiu a bloodshot glare, as if to say, What nonsense are you thinking!?

“It’s the mysterious assailant who injured her. Actually, your guess back then was right—that person does have the ability to summon lightning spears.”

Coulson didn’t mention the name “Crimson Baron.” In fact, simply sharing this information with Zhong Shenxiu was already against protocol.

But Coulson trusted Zhong Shenxiu. He’d been monitoring him for a long time, and apart from being a bit greedy, the man was genuinely good-hearted.

At the very least, when it came to treating them—even though he always talked about payment, he would start treatment before the money was even in hand.

Especially during Agent May’s case, which left a very good impression on Coulson.

That’s why he was willing to share all this, treating Zhong Shenxiu almost like a friend.

“So, you fought that mysterious man, and that’s why you’re so spent?” Zhong Shenxiu feigned ignorance, lying through his teeth.

“I’m not spent, okay?” Coulson replied weakly, then continued, “Here’s what happened: I found that person’s trail in Moscow and realized his next move might be Chicago, so I started deploying agents there.”

Just the mention of Chicago made Coulson’s liver ache.

After Moscow, when he learned that the Crimson Baron’s next destination was Chicago, Coulson hurriedly took all his agents to set up there.

First, he had Fitz rapidly install gamma radiation detectors on a large scale.

He also asked Fitz to study the mysterious radio waves, adding high-voltage electrical signal sensors to the detectors.

All this was to prevent the Crimson Baron—who could bewilder people with strange gamma rays and effortlessly manipulate high-voltage electricity—from causing havoc in Chicago.

Should the Crimson Baron appear, Coulson would lead his team to the scene with the utmost speed.

As for manpower, he personally guaranteed to Nick Fury that he’d recall agents on leave and station them in Chicago.

It was a risky move.

If he couldn’t produce results quickly or uncover a significant threat, the agents’ morale would be impossible to maintain.

They were highly trained, but still human. In a country like the United States, where human rights were a big deal, everyone was especially sensitive to such matters.

If nothing urgent happened and the agents wasted precious leave shivering in Chicago, they’d be dissatisfied.

During his days in Chicago, Coulson was tormented by this.

The more resources he poured in—and with Nick Fury checking in from time to time—the greater the pressure grew.

So, during this period, Coulson barely slept.

With Fitz’s detection system, the team would mobilize at the slightest abnormality—but every time, it turned out to be equipment failure or something trivial. Not only did they not find the Crimson Baron, they had no trace of him at all.

Coulson was now in a bind.

He began to blame himself for acting on such scant information from Moscow, making such a fuss.

But he couldn’t be blamed either—the Ingram Street incident was too bizarre, and the message from Moscow was truly alarming.

Coulson instinctively took the Crimson Baron seriously. Those who’d experienced it with him—Agent May, Fitz, and the rest—understood, but others did not.

Since he’d invested so much and recalled agents from leave, it wasn’t easy to back down.

Gradually, it became a situation where he had to produce some results in Chicago, or he’d have no explanation.

He couldn’t find the Crimson Baron, and in all of Chicago, what else could match the Ingram Street phenomenon? That was his greatest source of stress.

Until one day, while searching in desperation, Coulson stumbled upon something strange.

He discovered that in Chicago, there was a group of people who worshipped powerful beings called “Dragons.”

Coulson started to piece together from their stories a narrative that could overturn all history.

They claimed that at the dawn of creation, a powerful race called the Dragon Clan enslaved humanity. In response, humans began to interbreed with dragons, and over generations, those with the Dragon Clan’s powers became the backbone of humanity’s resistance.

Finding this out, and unable to locate the Crimson Baron, Coulson grasped at this new lead.

He dispatched agents throughout Chicago to search for these “hybrids” mentioned in the tales. After all, these were said to have supernatural powers, which connected—if only loosely—to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mission.

But Coulson was desperate. With the massive temporary base and so many agents recalled, he had to provide a reasonable explanation, or his reputation would be ruined.

So he decided to gamble. Whether the legend was true or not, at least he could give the restless agents something to do.

Following the clues scattered around Chicago, his agents actually began to find some compelling evidence. Coulson brazenly claimed this was the reason for recalling everyone, preserving his reputation.

This was a huge relief for him. But just as he thought he could finally get some rest, Nick Fury’s new orders arrived.

Tony Stark had been found, and he was to represent S.H.I.E.L.D. in negotiations with him. At that point, Coulson thought of the good-hearted, if somewhat greedy, Zhong Shenxiu.

He suggested to Nick Fury that they bring Zhong Shenxiu to heal Tony Stark, to win his goodwill.

Nick Fury agreed.

Coulson handed the mess in Chicago over to Agent May, who was familiar with the city, and hurried off to find Zhong Shenxiu, leading to everything that had just happened.

...

On the drive, Coulson gave Zhong Shenxiu a condensed version of his experience, leaving out many personal details—his thoughts and internal struggles. He summarized it as: the mysterious man lured them to Chicago, where they then discovered the existence of hybrids.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu was utterly confused.

Dragons? Isn’t that from that famous series in my previous life? How did that end up in the Marvel universe? That doesn’t make sense!

“Now that things have quieted down, I started wondering—could all this be the mysterious man’s doing? Did he lure me to Chicago just so I’d discover the so-called hybrids?” Coulson’s eyes lit up as a realization dawned on him.

Heh… If only I knew I had such intentions.

Zhong Shenxiu didn’t want to say anything more. It must all be a coincidence…

Soon, their car arrived at the military airport.