Marvel: Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit

Matthew sensed through his Observation Haki that the girls' emotions were gradually becoming more resolute, and he raised an eyebrow.

He couldn't guess what these Black Widows were thinking, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

"OK, ladies, here comes your first task upon joining the company."

Matthew looked serious.

Rachel frowned slightly, looking somewhat puzzled; he couldn't figure out what Matthew was thinking.

Melina and the others were also a little confused, but they listened attentively nonetheless.

To everyone's surprise, Matthew suddenly changed the subject, patted his stomach, and said with a bitter face, "I've been eating nothing but beef and mutton for the past month, and I'm already tired of it. So ladies, your task is to cook your best dish to please your boss."

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

"Haha, come on, ladies and gentlemen, let's start a grand banquet, forget the past for a while, forget the future, and enjoy the present!" Matthew shouted with his arms outstretched, full of unrestrained pride.

But then the group exchanged glances with their companions, smiled, and started shouting and even whistling.

The originally serious atmosphere vanished, replaced by liveliness and joy.

Reichel smiled too, looking at Matthew with satisfaction.

Whether it's a genuine insight into people's hearts or just his nature, Matthew did a great job this time, managing to eliminate all negative emotions and deepen the emotional connection.

..........

Baltimore, Maryland.

A tall, slightly aged Black man wearing a gray coat was walking down the street carrying groceries he had bought from a supermarket.

February in Maryland is pleasantly warm, and the snow left over from the previous month has long since disappeared.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street.

This place is quite remote, and most of the residents are elderly people.

Hey, John.

"Hey Bradley, I caught a big fish this morning, wanna come over and have some?"

"No, I still need to clean the house today; there's dust all over the corners."

"Okay, old buddy, be careful not to strain your back like I did."

"Haha, I can't."

An elderly Black man was passing by his neighbor's house when he saw his neighbor, Old John, who was just taking out the trash. They chatted happily for a few minutes before heading towards his own house.

His home is an old two-story brick and wood structure with a front porch and red brick steps.

The surrounding area consists of low-rise detached houses.

It seemed very quiet.

As usual, just as he was about to take out his key to open the door, his expression suddenly changed slightly.

He paused slightly, but still inserted the key, turned it, and opened the door.

However, he didn't go in; instead, he turned around and looked behind him.

A car stopped on the side of the lawn at some point.

Two people opened the car door and got out, a man and a woman. When he saw one of them, the seemingly gentle and quiet old black man suddenly exuded an unimaginable ferocity.

It was like a sleeping lion awakening.

His gaze was fixed on the tall, well-built man dressed in a simple black leather jacket and jeans.

He remembered that face.

His gaze shifted downwards and fell upon the other person's left hand, which was gloved with black leather.

"Your metal lump is repaired again?"

The old black man said coldly.

"Long time no see, old friend."

Chapter 53 Bucky the Winter Soldier

The man, with short black hair and stubble, was handsome but looked very weathered, and his face was expressionless.

But when he looked at Isaiah, a memory flashed through his eyes.

The memories are not only of him, but also of that close friend from the past.

"You've come to kill me?"

Isaiah squinted; although he was old, his fighting strength had not declined much.

Would you mind going inside to talk?

The woman beside them spoke up. It was Negri. When Isaiah looked at her, she spread her arms and spun around in place: "We have no weapons and no ill intentions."

Isaiah's scrutinizing gaze swept over the two of them, and after a long while, he nodded and turned to walk straight into the house.

Negri and the man beside him exchanged a glance before Negri followed them inside, closing the door behind them.

Upon entering the living room, Isaiah casually placed the bag of groceries on the coffee table: "Sit down, but don't expect me to pour you water."

"You're welcome, we're not very thirsty either."

Negri and his companion didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the sofa. Looking at Isaiah who had taken his seat, Negri spoke first: "My name is Negri. Do you remember him? Bucky."

"Your name is Bucky? I remember you only had a codename back then, Winter Soldier. I tore half of your iron arm off, so it looks like you've changed to a new one."

Isaiah looked at Bucky.

Bucky fell silent. He removed his left glove, revealing a metallic fist, its cold metallic sheen exuding power: "They later installed a new one for me, one that was even more powerful."

"Tsk, you're much more human now than you were back then."

Isaiah was a bit strange.

In 1951, Isaiah, who was serving the government as a super soldier at the time, was assigned a mission to Goyang, South Korea, to hunt down an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

With intelligence support, he found Bucky in a bar, and the two engaged in a fierce battle.

Bucky was extremely cold-blooded at the time, and he felt like a completely irrational and emotionless killing machine.

That battle was very dangerous; he won, but Bucky escaped.

Unexpectedly, decades later, this person came knocking on their door again.

Although the other person's age seemed to be frozen in terms of appearance, Isaiah was not too surprised. In the battle in 1951, Isaiah knew that the other person must also be a cyborg.

That inhuman strength and speed completely overwhelmed ordinary people.

Isaiah himself, in fact, should have been much younger if he hadn't had his blood drawn for thirty years.

"I was brainwashed and controlled back then, and now someone has given me a brain transplant."

“That’s not surprising. So, who do you serve?” Isaiah suddenly realized, and then asked with a double meaning.

It's not just about asking about the past, but also about asking about the present.

"Hydra".

Upon hearing the name, Isaiah's expression immediately froze, and he looked at Bucky with disbelief, repeating, "Hydra?"

When Isaiah saw Bucky nod, he couldn't help but gasp.

At the time, the government only sent him to assassinate Bucky, but did not tell him that Bucky was connected to Hydra.

I never imagined Hydra still existed. Could it be...?

"Don't even think about it. Back then, the guys you worked for didn't know Hydra still existed. Bucky was too active and caused a lot of damage to you, which is why they sent you to assassinate Bucky."

Negri easily saw through Isaiah's thoughts and immediately offered an explanation.

"You just tell me this kind of secret like this?"

Isaiah was a little confused. What were these two people here for?

To specifically answer his questions?

“It’s not important, I don’t think you’d casually reveal it,” Nigley said nonchalantly.

Who would Isaiah, a recluse, reveal this information to?

If he reveals this, he'll be in big trouble.

Even disregarding the potential retaliation from Negri, if the US government were to locate Isaiah based on the leads, Isaiah's decades of peaceful life would be completely over.

The old man surely knows which is more important.

It's better to just say it openly.

“Okay, I don’t want to get involved in this, so it’s time to explain your purpose.” Just as Nigley had expected, Isaiah’s attitude softened somewhat.

"Although I may provoke your displeasure, our goal is your blood."

Negri took a specially made syringe out of his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

Upon hearing this, Isaiah's expression immediately turned cold. Looking at the syringe on the coffee table, he was instantly reminded of unpleasant memories.

However, before he could get angry, Negri took out a tablet computer and handed it to Isaiah.

"You can take a look first; I think it might calm you down a bit."

Isaiah suppressed his anger, took the document, opened it, and immediately froze on the spot.

The above contains information about her deceased wife, along with three other documents: one for Sarah Gale Bradley, and another for Elijah Bradley's three-year-old child.

The other one is Sarah's husband.

Looking at the document, Isaiah was momentarily lost in thought. He looked at Negri in disbelief: "What is this?"

“We investigated and found that when you were imprisoned in 1973, your wife Faith was already pregnant, and your daughter Sarah was born the following year. They deceived your wife by saying that you were dead.”

“Your wife was great. In her grief, she moved away from her original home due to financial reasons and raised your daughter. But sadly, she passed away not long after your daughter came of age, and your daughter Sarah is now living alone.”

"In 2004, your daughter gave birth to your grandson Elijah. In 05, Sarah and her husband died in a car accident, and Elijah was adopted by an orphanage."

Negri slowly revealed the truth behind the investigation.

When she received the task from her boss Matthew to investigate Isaiah, in addition to investigating Isaiah himself, she also investigated his family background, and unexpectedly found some clues.

That's why she confidently brought Bucky and the other person here to demand Isaiah's blood sample.

“I can arrange for you to adopt Elijah through normal channels without anyone noticing. We will erase all your information and ensure that no one will disturb your peaceful life in the future.”

Negri stated his conditions.

These were conditions that Isaiah could not refuse, because they were the most reasonable and safest way for Isaiah to raise his own grandson.

She was right; Isaiah had no reason to refuse.

Without hesitation, he picked up the syringe on the coffee table, inserted it into a vein in his arm, and drew out a full tube of blood.

"Only this once."

After finishing the cigarette, he threw it at Negri, and Isaiah issued a warning.

"Only this once."

After saying that, Negri got up and left with Bucky, leaving Isaiah sitting on the sofa in a daze.

Chapter 54 Building Our Own Navy

"He believed it?"

Bucky, sitting in the passenger seat outside, looked at Negley.

“That information is real. I didn’t lie to him. Besides, I brought you along to make him believe it.” Negri smiled slightly and started the car.