Chapter 146: Leave Him to Plague S.H.I.E.L.D.! (Second Edition)

That contrast is way too extreme. Did you learn Sichuan face-changing from your wife, Jiaying? Old Wang muttered inwardly.

Since the other party was Skye’s biological father and greeted him with a beaming smile, Old Wang naturally smiled brightly as well. "This is just what I should do... Should I call you Mr. Zaboo, Mr. Johnson, or Mr. Hyde?"

Cal was startled for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter, slightly awkward smile. "I haven't used the surname Zaboo for a long time, and I won't be using Mr. Hyde anymore either. My real name is Calvin Johnson, you can just call me Cal."

"I'll stick with 'Mr. Johnson' then. Compared to everything you've done for Skye, I'm nothing," Old Wang said with a smile.

He meant it.

Cal had given up everything to find Skye, even sacrificing his own body and soul. This was what it meant to be a father—two words that weighed thousands of pounds.

"Daisy, her name is Daisy Johnson, not Skye." Cal clearly cared a lot about this. "Daisy" was Skye's real name, the one he had given her. The person he had been searching for all these years was not named "Skye."

Old Wang smiled and looked at Skye. "Her name is up to Skye. She can be called whatever she wants."

Unlike in the television series, Skye didn't even hesitate and replied directly, "Skye, my name is Skye. I've used this name for many years, and I don't want to change it."

This name represented her experiences over all those years and held immense significance.

Just like children who have been adopted for many years, she was unwilling to change her name—in those early years, she had been adopted over and over, changing her name each time until she had long since grown numb to it.

Starting from "Skye," she truly began her own life, and this name represented her expectations for herself.

Though he felt a momentary wave of frustration, Cal quickly nodded, wearing a fawning smile. "Right, right, Skye it is. Skye Johnson. Such a nice name, truly a wonderful name!"

Old Wang smiled faintly.

It seemed these two were getting along reasonably well.

The daughter had her own mind, while the father was entirely devoted to her, letting her have her way in everything. The nineteen years of debt could not be made up for overnight; it could only be done slowly.

The three of them chatted harmoniously, completely forgetting the two wooden dummies standing nearby and watching.

As for Old Wang, Cal felt a mixture of gratitude and subtle hostility. Such hostility was entirely natural—which father could feel good seeing his precious daughter on such good terms with another man?

Having not seen her for nineteen years, Cal now cherished every single second with Skye. He wished that in the days to come, it could be just the two of them, with no one else left in the entire world—especially this damn fatty who had made his daughter mention him 173 times in a single hour!

Old Wang keenly perceived this, of course, and simply smiled without a care in the world.

A grown daughter cannot be kept at home forever; Skye couldn't possibly spend her entire life with an old fogey like Cal. What harm was there in letting him have his say?

Women are sensitive, and Skye naturally sensed this as well. She gave Old Wang an apologetic look and tried her best to side with Cal in her words. Of course, what she was really thinking was crystal clear to Old Wang.

One person is a world, two people are two lives, and three people make a society. The more of them there were, the more interesting it got.

Relativity tells us that people engaged in conversation always feel time flies, but for the bystanders, it is undoubtedly a form of torture, as time crawls by at a snail's pace, slow as "lightning."

"Ahem."

Nick Fury coughed twice to draw the attention of the three, then looked at Old Wang. "Mr. Wang, that thing you promised me..."

He had originally hoped to gauge the emotions and mental states of these three through listening in, so as to figure out the best strategy to achieve his own goals.

Instead, they had ended up playing mind games with entirely empty talk. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had precious time; how could he afford to waste it like this?

Nick Fury was truly helpless.

Does he really think this is the time to bring this up? Old Wang couldn't help but complain internally.

Still, he understood Fury's mood, so he turned to Cal. "Mr. Johnson, it seems you've been researching a serum to enhance physical stamina?"

Cal glanced at Nick Fury with undisguised hostility in his eyes.

This bastard actually wanted to use Little Wang to get ideas about the serum! He hadn't even settled the score with them yet for taking his daughter away back then!

Seeing Skye gently shake her head, Cal's gaze softened instantly. He nodded and said, "There is such a thing."

Old Wang smiled. "You are an expert in life sciences. As it happens, I have talent in that field on my side, along with related research projects and even a living super soldier comparable to Captain America. You could fully unleash your talent to perfect your current serum. Who knows, you might actually manage to perfectly recreate Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier Serum."

Cal hurriedly went to refuse.

If not for finding his daughter, and if not for the fact that that woman currently had mental issues and he needed a way to protect himself, he would never have researched such an unstable and imperfect serum, let alone injected it into himself.

Back in the day, he had been quite the handsome man himself; otherwise, it would have been impossible to attract that Eastern Inhuman woman.

Over the past few years, due to continuous injections, the side effects had become far too obvious. Ultimately, it had left him looking like this, damaged his mental state, and even put his life in constant danger.

He wanted to spend his remaining life properly accompanying his daughter—when would he have time to research serums?

The corners of Nick Fury's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Master Wang, is it really a good idea to bring up the "Winter Soldier" right in front of me? Do you really take me for a one-eyed baldy who doesn't get angry or fight back?

"If we work together, we can definitely solve the side effect issues of the serum. Surely you want to live a good hundred years more, keeping your mental state stable while you're with Skye, without going crazy?"

Old Wang's smile was as warm as a spring breeze. "Most importantly, Skye wants this too, doesn't she?"

Skye instantly understood Old Wang's intent. She looked at Cal, her large eyes filled with yearning:

If you don't agree, I'm leaving with this man...

Cal's heart melted instantly, and he could only say, "Fine, fine..."

Nick Fury was truly enraged this time.

Master Wang, isn't that not quite how we negotiated things initially?

Old Wang gave him a reassuring look and said casually, "Mr. Johnson, our goal is to research the most perfected and stable serum. As for this kind of serum that can kill people or make them go crazy at the slightest mishap, we might as well leave it to plague S.H.I.E.L.D., what do you think?"

...

...

Having evaded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pursuit for so many years and even controlling a group of subordinates, Cal possessed an IQ and EQ far above average.

He naturally understood Old Wang's true objective, but at least the proposal sounded agreeable to his ears. Moreover, he knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities all too well, and he knew just how terrifying the one-eyed baldy before him could be when he got ruthless.

Previously unattached and free of burdens, he now had a daughter. No matter how tough a man was, he would grow soft. For the sake of his daughter, he knew he had no choice but to compromise.

Thus, after extorting a massive sum of money from Nick Fury, Cal wrote down the formula. As for whether anything had been intentionally omitted, only he knew.

Having finally completed one of the things he set out to do, Nick Fury felt slightly better. Knowing he needed to strike while the iron was hot, he said, "Mr. Johnson, Master Wang, please hand over Whitehall to me. He holds intelligence that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs. Once I retrieve the intelligence, I will certainly return him to you."

"No!"

Cal erupted in fury instantly. Influenced by the flawed serum, his mental state was completely unhinged.

It was Whitehall's actions that had caused all the subsequent tragedies. This man had to die, and he had to die by his own hands, in the most agonizing way possible!

"Director, fall back!"

Black Widow hurriedly used her petite frame to shield the tall Nick Fury.

This time, Skye stood on the same side as Cal. She raised her hands, and the sound of clattering filled the air as panes of glass shattered all around.

If she wanted to, she could even cause Nick Fury and Black Widow to suffer sudden cardiac arrest in an instant. When it came to the speed of area-of-effect killing, even Old Wang couldn't compare to her.

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Old Wang pulled out his mobile phone, answered it, and Fitz's voice rang out: "Boss, Whitehall's brain mapping is complete, and the memory upload is finished!"

Clearly unable to conceal his inner excitement, his voice was trembling. "Goodness, S.H.I.E.L.D. is harboring so many Hydra members, even..."

The voice stopped abruptly.

Amidst the frustration and annoyance of Nick Fury and Black Widow, Old Wang hung up the phone and shrugged.

"It seems that won't be necessary."

"Director Fury, I suppose you can start considering what kind of compensation to give me."