Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

Although Sherlock recognized Coulson almost immediately, he maintained a wary expression, looking at Coulson with a puzzled look and pretending to be cautious as he asked Coulson a question.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

Faced with Sherlock's wariness and distrust, Coulson was not surprised at all, or rather, Coulson was already used to being treated this way. He maintained his refined smile, took out an ID from his pocket, showed it to Sherlock, and then spoke.

“Hello, Mr. Sherlock Flamel, my name is Phil Coulson.”

Despite Coulson's self-introduction, Sherlock did not move an inch. Instead, he stood at the doorway, blocking Coulson's view, and frowned slightly as he spoke.

"Hello, Mr. Coulson, is there anything I can help you with?"

Faced with Sherlock's second question, and with obvious disgust and impatience in both attitude and expression, she showed no intention of inviting Coulson into the house, but instead became increasingly wary.

Coulson remained perfectly calm, maintaining his polite smile as if he couldn't detect any emotion in Sherlock's expression, and spoke to Sherlock.

"I'm sure Mr. Sherlock has seen the news about Tony Stark's disappearance. We at S.H.I.E.L.D. would like to hire you, Mr. Sherlock. Excuse me, may I call you that?"

After Sherlock nodded, Coulson continued.

"Our S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to hire Mr. Sherlock to help us rescue Tony. After all, neither the US nor the world can afford to lose Tony Stark, a genius, right? Although this genius can be really annoying at times."

Coulson played a small joke on Sherlock, but unfortunately, Coulson didn't see any smile on Sherlock's face. Instead, he saw a look of confusion and mockery.

"First of all, I have no idea what this thing called Homeland Security Agency is! Secondly, I'm just an ordinary person and can't help you rescue Mr. Tony Stark!"

Finally, I want to say that even if I were a super agent with the ability to rescue Tony Stark, I wouldn't want to! Please don't disturb my peaceful life!

As soon as he finished speaking, Sherlock instinctively tried to close his front door. However, Coulson was much faster than Sherlock, as if this had happened countless times before. The moment Sherlock tried to close the door, Coulson placed his hand on it, blocking Sherlock's movement.

Seeing Coulson's actions, Sherlock was genuinely angry for a moment, his eyes piercing Coulson with undisguised coldness.

Although Coulson still wore a gentle and amiable smile, he was actually somewhat terrified inside. When facing Sherlock's gaze, Coulson felt as if he were being stared at by a fierce tiger.

After swallowing almost imperceptibly, Coulson mustered his courage and continued speaking.

“Mr. Sherlock is joking. As an official agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. is naturally aware that Mr. Sherlock absolutely has that ability.”

As he spoke, Coulson pulled a pair of seemingly ordinary black-rimmed glasses from his pocket and held them in his hand.

Although these black-rimmed glasses without lenses looked ordinary and even unappealing, Sherlock's pupils still involuntarily contracted when he saw them.

The reason is simple: this thing is his own alchemical creation!

The 'Clark's Glasses' were originally made so that Zhao Weike could successfully complete the so-called impossible mission of retiring assassins at the Mainland Hotel!

Chapter 8 Trouble Comes Knocking (Part 2)

When Sherlock saw the black-rimmed glasses Coulson was holding, he didn't reply, but just silently watched Coulson, who was naturally also observing Sherlock's every move.

When Coulson saw Sherlock's pupils contract the instant he saw the glasses, he knew he hadn't made a mistake.

Sherlock's silence only made Coulson more and more uneasy. Seeing that Sherlock had no reaction for a long time and was just staring blankly at the glasses in his hand, Coulson gritted his teeth and prepared to increase his bet.

What Coulson didn't know was that Sherlock's silence wasn't because he wanted to refuse, but because he was reflecting on his own carelessness.

After all, when Sherlock was making the glasses for Zhao Weike, he completely forgot that the glasses could easily be lost during Zhao Weike's fight, and he also underestimated an official organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.

Who would have thought that such an inconspicuous pair of glasses, something that no one would even notice if thrown in the trash, would actually be found by S.H.I.E.L.D. and traced back to them?

Seeing that Sherlock had no reaction, Coulson spoke to Sherlock again.

"Mr. Sherlock, please rest assured that our relationship is purely one of employment. We have no other intentions towards you! If you are willing to accept this commission, I can guarantee that as long as you don't cause as much trouble as you did two weeks ago, no one will bother you again."

With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, I can promise to block most investigations from various factions, making it impossible for them to find you again, including the authorities! You know, compared to us, they're the ones who can't be shaken off!

Despite Coulson's persuasion, Sherlock remained silent, though he showed no outward expression, he was inwardly somewhat speechless.

After all, the Spear of Longinus was given to him by the Ancient One, and he really couldn't resist the temptation to analyze and repair the artifact. This made Sherlock feel inexplicably that he might have been tricked by that old guy, the Ancient One.

Sherlock's silence only made Coulson more anxious. After all, Tony's disappearance could not be investigated by conventional means, otherwise Coulson would not have set his sights on a superhuman like Sherlock.

Among the people with supernatural abilities that S.H.I.E.L.D. has in their grasp, Sherlock is an absolute prime example of lawful good!

Just as Sherlock was pondering whether to agree to S.H.I.E.L.D. in exchange for temporary peace, Coulson's hasty and thoughtless words instantly enraged Sherlock.

“Mr. Sherlock, even if you’re not afraid of being harassed by those scoundrels, believe me, the people around you will also be targeted by them.”

As Coulson spoke, his gaze skipped over Sherlock and landed on Doro, who was peeking out from a corner behind Sherlock.

The moment Sherlock saw Doro following Coulson's gaze, his volcanic rage erupted and burned directly at Coulson, who stood before him.

Are you threatening me?

As Sherlock's tone suddenly rose, Coulson felt as if he were standing before a volcano about to erupt, and the slightest misstep would likely result in him being burned to ashes by the boundless rage of the man before him.

Before Coulson could say anything, a massive killing intent, as if emanating from the deepest abyss, locked onto him.

Sherlock naturally sensed the murderous aura. Following the aura, he saw Zhao Weike standing at his front door, dressed in a well-tailored suit and holding a pistol, his gaze fixed on Coulson.

It was as if Coulson had said the wrong thing, and the next second he would face only death.

Coulson, sandwiched between the two, was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable. The sensation of being caught between ice and fire gave him goosebumps all over his body, and his back was already soaked in cold sweat. The oily sweat made Coulson extremely uncomfortable, but he dared not make the slightest movement.

After a long silence, Coulson, his face pale, forced a smile at Sherlock, struggling to control the fear deep within him, and slowly spoke.

“Mr. Sherlock, you misunderstand. This is not a threat; I prefer to call it cooperation! S.H.I.E.L.D. will help you resolve your concerns and allow you to live a peaceful life. All you need to do is help us find Tony Stark.”

As Coulson spoke, he could even feel his teeth chattering, especially under Sherlock's silent gaze. Coulson's despair grew, and he even prepared to sacrifice himself.

To Coulson's utter surprise, Sherlock stared at him for a while before actually agreeing to the deal.

"Fine, I agree to the deal. Go back and tell Black Egg to completely wipe my information out of your damn database! And this is the only time, don't bother me again!"

After saying that, Sherlock was about to close the door, but then he seemed to remember something, paused, looked up at Coulson, and continued speaking.

"And don't forget your promises!"

After he finished speaking, the Sherlock family's door slammed shut. This time, Coulson simply didn't have the courage to stop or knock on the Sherlock family's door again.

As the Sherlock mansion's gates closed, the pressure that had been weighing on Coulson like an invisible mountain vanished instantly, leaving him panting heavily at the gates.

At the same time, Sherlock's request kept replaying in his mind.

Black marinated eggs?

When Coulson thought of the inexplicable name Sherlock, the image of Nick Fury's dark, bald head immediately came to mind.

This brought a smile back to Coulson's lips. He glanced back in the direction of Sherlock's house, then at Zhao Weike, who had disappeared from the side of the house at some point, before turning and quickly leaving the community.

The moment the car left the community, Coulson pulled out his phone and reported the whole story to Nick Fury at headquarters in Washington.

After listening to Coulson's report, Nick Fury gave Coulson two orders.

First, whatever Sherlock asks, do your best to cooperate with Sherlock.

Second, the title of that black-boiled egg is classified as top secret!

After saying that, Nick Fury hung up Coulson's call. After thinking for a moment, Nick Fury turned on his computer, printed out Sherlock's information from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database, and then deleted all the backups.

The printed documents were placed in a paper folder by Black Egg, and the cover of the folder clearly stated...

The Avengers!

Chapter 9 Before Departure

At this moment, Sherlock had no idea that he had been forcibly stuffed into the so-called Avengers' plan by that black-haired egg. The moment the door closed, Sherlock's expression turned sour.

The reason is simple: his peaceful days are probably not going to last much longer. After all, although S.H.I.E.L.D. is now known as an official organization, anyone who has seen the movies knows that its full name is now 'Hydra United Nations Strategic Defense and Logistics Agency'.

Being targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D. means that you are also exposed to Hydra's surveillance.

That's why Sherlock agreed to Coulson's plan to rescue Tony.

The reason is simple: Sherlock needs to demonstrate his power so that Hydra won't dare to, or at least will consider the consequences of targeting him. Only in this way can Sherlock continue to live his peaceful life.

Fortunately, rescuing Tony was the perfect opportunity—low risk, high reward—and Sherlock had no reason to refuse.

Of course, while he was demonstrating his power, Sherlock didn't want to reveal anything he shouldn't, after all, he was just an ordinary 'magician' and an 'alchemist' who could mass-produce or borrow extraordinary powers from ordinary people.

Which of these two is more valuable to Hydra is something any normal person can figure out.

After all, those capitalists dare to trample on everything when they have 300% profit. You can't expect the high-ranking members of Hydra to have more conscience than those capitalists, can you?

Honestly, if he hadn't happened to have repaired the Spear of Longinus, and if the Spear of Longinus hadn't been able to disguise his alchemy as magic, Sherlock would never have taken on the task of rescuing Tony.

As for whether Sherlock had the idea that he was excited to experience and play with the first artifact he had just acquired, Sherlock could only say that it was, but definitely not the main reason.

Thinking about this, Sherlock felt more and more that he had really been tricked by that old codger, the Ancient One!

After all, it all started with the broken artifact, the Spear of Sanctuary, that the Ancient One gave him after observing him for five years.

The thought that his baby, who was only a few hundred months old, had been deceived by the Ancient One, who was hundreds of years old, gave Sherlock an urge to run to Kamar-Taj and confront the Ancient One.

Of course, this was just an impulse. If they actually went, it would be like the Quanxing Sect challenging the Old Celestial Master—they were courting death.

As Sherlock was pondering how to rescue Tony, Zhao Weike led Helen directly into Sherlock's house. Upon seeing Sherlock sitting at the dining table, staring at the news without saying a word, Helen asked Sherlock with some concern.

"Sherlock, what happened? Who are those men in black?"

Upon hearing Helen's words, Sherlock, who was deep in thought, was startled to notice Zhao Weike and Helen's arrival. Sensing the concern in the couple's eyes, Sherlock did not try to hide anything and frankly explained the situation to Zhao Weike and Helen.

Zhao Weike was alright; as an assassin, he knew far too much about the dark side of this world that ordinary people couldn't access. But Helen, as an ordinary person, couldn't help but start cursing after hearing Sherlock's concerns and the situation at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Especially after hearing Coulson's intentional or unintentional attempt to threaten Sherlock with Doro, Helen became like a raging lioness. There was no doubt that if Coulson dared to return at that moment, Helen would have rushed up and torn him to pieces.

Unlike Helen's maternal anger, Zhao Weike was much calmer. After learning that the flaw was left because Sherlock had helped him, Zhao Weike felt somewhat ashamed and lowered his head to say to Sherlock.

"I'm sorry, Sherlock, I've caused you trouble."

Hearing Zhao Weike's slightly somber voice, Sherlock calmly waved his hand.

"Come on, Zhao Weike. In fact, I had expected this day to come, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly."

Sherlock's words weren't exactly a lie to Zhao Weike. After all, he had transmigrated to the Marvel world and mastered the power of alchemy. Unless Sherlock had never used this power since transmigrating, it was only a matter of time before it was exposed.

Moreover, if it is true, as Sherlock imagines, that everything stemmed from the artifact given to him by the Ancient One, then from a future perspective, this should be the optimal solution that the Ancient One could see.

Although Sherlock appeared indifferent, Zhao Weike thought differently, especially knowing that this matter was related to him. Naturally, Zhao Weike couldn't just be a bystander.

Ignoring Sherlock's earlier address of him as Zhao Weike, Zhao Weike pondered for a while before suddenly looking up in Sherlock's direction, as if he had made up his mind.

"I'll go to the Middle East with you, Sherlock. Although we didn't have a blood pact or anything like that back then, this is something I owe you!"

Upon hearing Zhao Weike's words, Sherlock rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, his gaze towards Zhao Weike filled with disdain. After a long while, Sherlock finally spoke to Zhao Weike.