Lord of Cinder in American Comics

This has forced the World Security Council to resort to some unusual methods, such as intelligence gathering by greedy individuals, to obtain relevant information.

"No, this is not enough. The price you're offering for Nick Fury's identity and his past is simply not enough. To put it bluntly, you simply cannot afford the cost of this information."

The greedy man's words immediately negated the agreement, and also startled the five representatives behind Hill.

Given that the information provided by the greedy individual was entirely accurate, the five representatives tacitly accepted the truthfulness of his words.

The five representatives and other board members began discussions, preparing to maximize their interests by asking a few small questions.

While the five representatives were still discussing, the vault was completely silent. The greedy ones, unable to stay still any longer, even began to tease the soldiers with guns.

The greedy man poked at the soldier's radiance, and a short, continuous popping sound erupted when his fingertips touched the radiance. Even as his fingertips were blackened, he still tried to touch the soldier beside him with his fingers.

Just as the soldier was about to burst into tears, Hill finally received orders from the World Security Council.

"Mr. Greedy One, can we continue our discussion?"

Hill's voice was a heavenly sound that broke the Greedy One's curious actions. He stopped teasing the soldier and patted the soldier who was on the verge of tears from his own manipulation. His palm exploded with the light of Ash's blessing on the soldier's shoulder, dimming the soldier's radiance considerably.

"Speak, what do you want to ask?"

Following the guidelines outlined by the World Security Council, Hill asked as instructed, "What was your deal with Nick Fury?"

"I had two transactions with him. Which one are you asking about?"

"Can I only ask once?"

The greedy man pointed to another suitcase Hill had brought and said, "Of course not, but given your previous deal, this time payment needs to be made in advance."

Hill brought another suitcase containing a decoder for the film data. He simply kicked the suitcase at his feet to the greedy man.

Having obtained what he wanted, the greedy man gave Hill a thumbs-up in appreciation.

"My first deal with Nick Fury was to remove the curse on one of his men. The item I traded with him was a portrait of Dorian Gray, which originally belonged to the League of Gentlemen."

The greedy man mentioned the League of Gentlemen, which made John Bull's representative uneasy. This was a special organization from the Victorian era, responsible only to the Queen at the time.

Even now, the British royal family still holds most of the power, and each British representative is accountable to the current royal family.

Knowing the origins of the Gentlemen's League, John Bull kept urging Hill to try and get her to ask for more information.

The constant urging finally became unbearable for the Russian representative, who slammed his hand on the table and said, "Resources are limited. If you want to know anything, pay for it yourself and talk to that monster. Don't cause trouble now."

The intimidating presence of the Russian bear caused the British representative to stop, but she began to operate openly, reporting information to the royal family behind her.

Here, the greedy one continued, "The second deal was for Nick Fury to find out which demon invaded New York. The item in the deal was the blueprints for the faster-than-light engine developed by Dr. Wendy Lawson."

The greedy man's words ignited an outrage among the five representatives standing in front of the video.

The mere mention of the name "faster-than-light engine" indicates that this is not something for use within Earth. It represents a crucial step into the universe, yet it's in the hands of Nick Fury, and this audacious guy has been hiding it all along, even daring to trade it to the devil.

“Find out who Wendy Lawson is, find him, and bring him here.”

The five representatives issued the same command, and the world machine began to operate at that moment.

Chapter 166: Nick Fury, the Man Who Did All the Wrong Things

The immense power of the state apparatus was on full display at this moment, and everyone was mobilized to investigate Dr. Wendy Lawson.

However, after the investigation, only a few figures appeared in one or two reports, and even the birth and death years of this Dr. Wendy Lawson could not be found.

It's clear that someone is covering up the truth. Compared to the previous investigation, everyone has one name in mind: 'Nick Fury'.

In a secret prison, Coulson was taken out and transported to a location designated by the World Security Council for questioning.

After Valentine's exposure, the five representatives, having confirmed their own internal security, began investigating Nick Fury's identity and influence.

Fury's underlings who didn't manage to escape with him were all imprisoned by the World Security Council, including Fury's most loyal cheese—Coulson.

In a secret prison, with a team of agents holding guns to his head, Coulson sat in front of a camera and began a video conference with the World Security Council.

In the picture, Coulson is no longer wearing his usual sharp black suit; his haggard face makes his hair even thinner.

Inside the prison's interrogation room, Coulson could see no images, only hear sounds from the speakers on the walls.

"Coulson, are you familiar with Dr. Wendy Lawson?"

Finally hearing the sound, Coulson looked at the black speaker that had made the sound and nodded silently.

"Who is he?"

The loyal cheese remained hesitant, unsure of the harm the answers to these questions would cause Fury, so Coulson could only respond with silence.

Given Coulson's senior status within S.H.I.E.L.D., and considering his past contributions, it's difficult to imagine anyone subjecting him to any torture or interrogation.

Coulson's silence made the five representatives lose face; in the face of a global crisis, Coulson was still taking sides.

At the signal from the five men, the former superior, Pierce, took over the questioning of Coulson.

Pierce used the most eloquent language to explain the crisis to Coulson, making him understand the importance of the situation at that moment.

"Coulson, this is a global security crisis. We can't pin our intelligence on a single demon. Do you understand what I mean?"

Coulson, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“I worked with Nick Fury on an alien incident in the 1990s. I learned Wendy Lawson’s name during that operation, but he had died before that due to some incident, and I don’t know the specifics.”

Aliens again? The five representatives couldn't help but think of that green-to-the-foot corpse.

Having finally found an opening, Pierce pressed his advantage, asking, "What were you referring to about that alien incident?"

Wearing handcuffs, Coulson smoothed his dwindling hair and said, "We dealt with an alien invasion and defeated a Kree alien fleet."

An alien fleet! Fury actually defeated an alien fleet in the 1990s? The five representatives were filled with doubt and distrust. If Nick Fury were still an Earthling, how could he possibly take down an alien fleet?

Or is Nick Fury, like those green-skinned creatures, a disguised alien? Or did he accomplish this by using a higher-level power like a dimensional invasion demon? And what are the Kree?

A secret answer only brings more questions, leaving those who hear the news in a state of confusion.

"Coulson, tell me everything you know, or you'll be locked up in Black Prison until you die!"

Unable to bear the riddle-like conversation any longer, Representative Ami issued a final warning.

"But I really don't know any more information. At most, I know that it's related to Project Pegasus."

Coulson's words exploded in Hill's head: "Project Pegasus"? How did this get involved?

Hill tapped his headset, switched his public channel to the special channel of the five representatives, and whispered, "Project Pegasus, I know about it."

She's easy to miss, but she's the agent for the SHIELD project, "Project Pegasus".

Hill was originally a representative sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. by the World Security Council. If it weren't for Nick Fury's recent scandal, she would have become Fury's second-in-command and the next leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The allocation of resources at the time allowed Hill to become aware of some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal operations, one of which was "Project Pegasus."

Hill explained the origins of Project Pegasus to the five representatives.

"Howard's research on the Cosmic Cube is the source of Project Pegasus. When we first started researching the Cosmic Cube, our technology was limited and we were unable to make any substantial progress. However, before Howard Stark died, he made new progress, which is also the source of the energy supply design for the current space carrier."

Hill's explanation connected Project Pegasus with the deceased Howard Stark. Tony Stark, who was listening in, was so excited to hear about his father that he almost grabbed Hill and asked him questions.

The five representatives gradually pieced together a clue in their minds, from the Cosmic Cube to Project Pegasus, and then to the alien invasion fleet mentioned by Coulson.

All the focus is on the very first research item, the 'Cosmic Cube'.

The think tank behind the five representatives was also constantly sorting out the details of their previous transactions with the greedy individuals.

During the previous transaction conversation, the Greedy One also mentioned the existence of the Cosmic Cube, which made the five representatives curious about just how much power this Cosmic Cube, obtained from the Red Skull during World War II, really had.

The investigation has stalled here. Since Nick Fury disappeared, the Cosmic Cube has disappeared with him, and everything has come to a standstill. Even the billions of dollars in debt left behind by Nick Fury have made his financial backers want to retaliate against him.

The five representatives shut down their communications with the outside world and began discussing something privately. This discussion was full of contradictions and heated arguments.

Those outside the meeting room could only guess at the fury of the people inside amidst the loud clatter of breaking objects.

Finally, after the five finished their discussion, ignoring the mess on the ground, they began to give orders to Hill.

At this point, their only source of information is that devil; the mess Nick Fury left behind can only be filled by them.

Having received authorization, Hill asked with a solemn expression, "Mr. Greedy One, what price is required to clearly understand the ins and outs of this?"

After watching such a long show, the greedy man almost fell asleep leaning against his treasure chest.

Hill's words brought the greedy man back to his senses, and he rubbed his hands together, seriously preparing to fleece the World Security Council.

"What do I want? Let me think, what should I want?"

After pondering for a while, the greedy man snapped his fingers, as if a light bulb had flashed overhead.

“I’ve got it! I want the Cosmic Cube. You have to give me the Cosmic Cube.”

Upon hearing the greedy man's request, Hill rejected it without hesitation: "Impossible. After everything we've been through, everyone knows the importance of the Cosmic Cube. Let's change the terms."

The greedy man, like a mercenary, rubbed his hands together and chuckled, saying, "Asking for the moon, but settling for less. Transactions are negotiable."

The five representatives behind Hill were also discussing the matter. With Nick Fury leading the way, no one could say what this greedy man might do. Agreeing to give him the Tesseract would be like drinking poison to quench thirst.

However, the information provided by the greedy one was flawless and without a single error. Considering his strength, the five had to consider the consequences of refusing.

Ultimately, the five representatives decided to continue negotiations, after all, as the greedy ones said, they were asking for the moon and settling for the moon.

"We can't agree to that. Let's change our request."

The greedy man scratched his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "How about you give me the Cosmic Cube for ten years? That should be fine, right?"

"No, that's taking too long! Let's change the terms."

Hill's veto caused the greedy man's eyes to turn hostile as he stared at the group of people around him, making everyone's backs tremble with fear.

"You should know that you don't have the Cosmic Cube right now. We're already negotiating a deal that's going nowhere, and you're trying to get it from me first without any means of payment, and you're even rejecting my proposal? Am I being too easy to talk to?"

The greedy man's gaze finally settled on Hill, looking at her as if she were the person behind her.

The live feed of the greedy individuals was also switched to the five representatives, who heard the threatening words.

However, the five of them still refused, since the greedy person's request for the time was too long.

Finally, the five discussed it and gave Hill a bottom line.

"Three months! We'll give you the Cosmic Cube for three months, but during these three months you must stay at our designated location, without moving it, transferring the Cosmic Cube, or..."

Time, along with a series of limitations, is placed before the greedy.

"Tsk tsk, you really don't give us any choices. Is this your bottom line? I can agree, but I have one condition."

The greedy man actually agreed? The five representatives, who were originally prepared to continue the discussion, knew that the greedy man could hear the slightest sound, and were still ready to continue talking. Normally, negotiations would take ten days to half a month. The greedy man's quick agreement made the five representatives feel as if they had punched cotton, with no way to vent their energy.