Chapter 36: Are You Not Willing?

“A great moment! This is the moment to witness a miracle!” Eli could hardly contain his excitement.

He raised both arms high, his head tilted skyward at a forty-five-degree angle, letting the spotlight bathe him as he basked in the glory of universal attention.

Though there were only seven spectators, he felt an immense satisfaction within, his body and spirit filled to overflowing, his sense of personal and social worth fulfilled, his worldview made anew and complete. It was as if the world lay beneath his feet, the universe within his gaze, and he had already ascended to godhood.

Only God can create man; that is a forbidden realm for humanity.

But now, he had done it—created four human beings out of nothing!

What did it matter if it was the dark dimension, hell, or some rift between realities?

So what if he’d stolen energy from another plane?

He alone was capable of such a feat.

He was God!

Eli drifted into endless fantasies.

But the next moment,

A cold snort snapped him back to reality.

Lucy and the other three eyed him with ill will, sending a chill down his spine.

One against four—he clearly didn’t stand a chance...

I helped you start anew, and now you want to send me to the grave?

Eli quickly shed his divine posture, dropping his arms straight by his sides, standing upright and offering a sheepish grin. “Thanks be to God for granting me the chance to atone, for pulling you back from the gates of hell. This is a blessing from God, and fortune for you all…”

Robbie’s gaze toward Lucy’s group was equally unfriendly.

My uncle is my uncle—he hurt you, then saved you, so it’s balanced. He still owes me and my brother, but that’s my business, not yours. You all still reek of the underworld; watch out or I’ll turn into Ghost Rider and send you straight back to hell!

Old Wang shot Robbie a glance—more specifically, at the Spirit of Vengeance within him—his look decidedly hostile.

They’re mine. If anyone’s going to wipe them out, it’ll be me, not you. Who do you think you are? Stay out of this!

“Wang, something’s up!”

Skye, uninterested in the squabbling, was glued to her phone. Suddenly, she looked up at Old Wang and said,

“I hacked the traffic monitoring system. Coulson and his team tracked the Winter Soldier, only to be ambushed. At the critical moment, a Quinjet arrived; more than twenty S.H.I.E.L.D. agents reinforced Coulson. Every Hydra agent except the Winter Soldier was wiped out... S.H.I.E.L.D. is on their way back.”

As expected, it was an ambush...

A Quinjet is a fine thing—one day I’ll trick the Bald-Egg into losing one, maybe snag a few pilots too...

So Bald-Egg really sent Coulson’s team after me. He just can’t let it go, can he?

Old Wang chuckled, sidling over. “Details? Let me see.”

Skye waved her phone at him.

On the screen were disjointed, grainy video clips, all clearly shot in secret.

The Winter Soldier disappeared into the crowd.

Even with a broken arm, no one could stop him—he leapt from buildings dozens of meters high, parkouring with maximum skill, ignoring terrain and turning Los Angeles into an open field.

S.H.I.E.L.D. suffered heavy casualties; they likely lost almost all their field agents in L.A.

Hydra fared even worse—one after another, sent to meet Satan.

One S.H.I.E.L.D. agent looked familiar—an Asian woman in her forties, not very tall, her expression grim, her fighting skills formidable. She moved with swift precision, clearly well-trained, and was visibly concerned for Coulson, rushing straight to him as soon as she landed.

Anyone in her way died!

A woman fighting for her life is more terrifying than a man; she wielded her pistol and tactical knife with equal mastery.

Punches!

Kicks!

Headbutts!

As fierce as they come, she was obviously professionally trained.

She alone dispatched seven fully armed Hydra soldiers, took a bullet in the left arm without even flinching—remarkable.

“Melinda May, S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 agent... probably only Level 5 or 6 now. Not long ago, the Bahrain Incident—she killed an Inhuman child who could control others, saved numerous hostages. The famous ‘Cavalry.’”

Old Wang clicked his tongue in admiration.

Melinda May’s skills were impressive—not quite a match for Black Widow, but likely stronger than Ward. She was a living legend in S.H.I.E.L.D.; nearly every agent knew her name and the wild stories told about her.

Some said she took out a dozen enemies barehanded;

Some said it was over twenty agents;

Some claimed a hundred armed criminals;

All nonsense, really—maybe plausible for Black Widow.

She was strong, but her psyche was fragile; killing a little girl left her traumatized, to the point even her husband couldn’t gauge the depth of her scars. She actually gave up field work to go behind a desk!

Not like Black Widow, who’s in and out of fire, soft as willow, hard as steel, unflinching in the face of death.

Of course, the Cavalry wouldn’t be so easily broken—most likely, the Inhuman’s abilities affected her.

Truthfully, so many people fell under that child’s control, but she resisted. That alone was extraordinary.

Now, she’d overcome her trauma to support Coulson. Was their relationship really just colleagues and friends?

Old Wang didn’t buy it, no matter what anyone else thought.

Apparently, May was divorced.

Coulson, it seemed, had never married.

Both were getting on in years—at the age when desire burns hottest.

Coulson was an open-minded American; May, raised in America, was half-American herself.

They’d been working together for years, good friends.

So if they occasionally crossed the line from friendship,

in the lonely dark of night or the cold light of day,

drawing close,

seeking warmth from each other,

finding joy together,

losing themselves in ecstasy,

it was understandable...

Old Wang shook his head, banishing those messy thoughts. He beckoned everyone over. “S.H.I.E.L.D. will be here soon—it’s time for us to leave! What’s your plan now?”

Lucy and her three companions exchanged glances, a wry smile on their faces.

Are you really letting us make our own plans?

We know who you are, we know your secrets—do you really think you’ll let us walk away safely, with our freedom?

Tell that to a fool!

Five seconds of silence passed; seeing no one answer, Old Wang sighed. “Fine, I’ll take responsibility for you. You can’t stay in Los Angeles; you’ll need a new place... How about Puerto Rico?”

Puerto Rico?

Lucy was taken aback.

Boss, why would you think of Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico, though a U.S. territory, is actually a commonwealth, unlike the fifty states on the flag.

Puerto Ricans have U.S. citizenship, but not full rights.

Why go there? Field exercises?

The real issue is the distance.

It’s not on the North American continent, but on an island chain between North and South America, in the eastern Caribbean.

Supposedly, there are lots of pirates...

Also, it used to enjoy all kinds of U.S. benefits—a lover’s privileges; now the benefits are gone, and it’s gone from lover to bastard child, raised by a prostitute...

Go there and you’ll have no future.

“I have my reasons,” Old Wang said, scanning the group. “You don’t seem interested? That’s fine—I don’t like to force or threaten people. You’re free to leave now. By the way, S.H.I.E.L.D. should be here any minute. Don’t overestimate them, and don’t overestimate your own importance. The little knowledge you possess might not be as valuable as your bodies.”

At that, Old Wang sighed. “Every merchant knows—a whole product isn’t worth much, but if you sell the parts separately, it’s worth more. Organs, for example. Or tissue samples...”