Leave It to Plague S.H.I.E.L.D.!

The contrast was way too great, wasn’t it? Had he learned Sichuan opera face-changing from his wife, Jia Ying…? Old Wang grumbled inwardly.

The other man was Skye’s biological father and greeted him with a smile, so Old Wang naturally smiled brilliantly as well. "It was nothing I shouldn’t have done… Should I call you Mr. Zabo, Mr. Johnson, or Mr. Hyde?"

Carl froze for a moment, then shook his head. His bitter smile carried a trace of embarrassment. "I stopped using the surname Zabo long ago. I won’t use Mr. Hyde anymore, either. My real name is Carl Johnson. You can call me Carl."

"I’d better call you Mr. Johnson." Old Wang smiled. "Compared to everything you’ve done for Skye, I’m nothing."

He meant it sincerely.

Carl had given everything to find Skye, even his body and soul. That was what being a father meant; those two words weighed a thousand pounds.

"Daisy. Her name is Daisy Johnson, not Skye." Carl clearly cared deeply about this. Daisy was Skye’s real name, the name he had given her. The person he had spent all these years searching for was not called Skye.

Old Wang smiled and looked at Skye. "The name is Skye’s decision. She can call herself whatever she wants."

Unlike in the TV show, Skye answered without hesitation. "Skye. My name is Skye. I’ve used this name for many years, and I don’t want to change it again."

This name represented everything she had experienced over the years. It held tremendous meaning.

Just like children who had been adopted for many years, she did not want to change her name—

During those early years, she had been adopted again and again, renamed again and again, until she had long become numb to it.

It was only after she became Skye that she had truly begun living her own life. This name represented her hopes for herself.

Though he felt a momentary sense of defeat, Carl hurriedly nodded, his face full of smiles. "Fine, fine. Skye it is. Skye Johnson. It sounds good, really good!"

Old Wang smiled faintly.

It seemed the two of them were getting along quite well.

The daughter had a mind of her own, while the father truly put her above everything else. Whatever his daughter said went. Nineteen years of absence could not be made up for; they could only take things slowly.

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

Carl was grateful to Old Wang, but there was also a hint of hostility mixed in. That hostility was perfectly normal. What father could feel good seeing his precious daughter close to another man?

After nineteen years apart, Carl now treasured every second he had with Skye. He hoped that from now on, it could be just the two of them, with no one else in the world—especially not that dead fat guy whom his daughter had mentioned 173 times in a single hour!

Naturally, Old Wang keenly noticed this, but he merely smiled unconcernedly.

A grown daughter couldn’t stay forever. Skye couldn’t spend her whole life with an old man like you. So what if I let you enjoy a little verbal victory?

Women were sensitive, and Skye naturally noticed it too. She gave Old Wang an apologetic look and did her best to side with Carl in both word and tone. Of course, Old Wang knew perfectly well what she truly thought.

One person was a world. Two people were two lives. Three people made a society. The more, the merrier.

Relativity told them that those involved in a conversation always felt time passing quickly, but for listeners, it was undoubtedly torture. Time passed very, very slowly—slow as "lightning."

"Ahem, ahem."

Egghead coughed twice, drawing the three people’s attention, then looked at Old Wang. "Mr. Wang, the matter you promised me…"

He had originally wanted to use the conversation to gauge the emotional states and mindsets of these three and determine what strategy to take to achieve his goal.

Instead, they had started scheming against each other. The entire conversation had been pointless. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had valuable time—how could it be wasted like this?

Egghead was truly helpless.

Do you really think now is the time to bring this up…? Old Wang could not help complaining inwardly.

Still, he could understand Egghead’s feelings, so he looked at Carl. "Mr. Johnson, it seems you’ve been researching a drug that enhances physical abilities?"

Carl glanced at Egghead, his eyes filled with hostility.

This guy actually wanted to use Little Wang to get his hands on the drug? They had not yet settled the score over how they had taken his daughter from him back then!

When he saw Skye lightly shake her head, Carl’s gaze immediately softened. He nodded. "There is such a thing."

Old Wang smiled. "You’re an expert in life sciences. I happen to have talented people in that field as well, along with related projects—and even a living Super Soldier, about as strong as Captain America. You could fully put your talents to use and improve your current drug. Perhaps you could even perfectly recreate Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum."

Carl immediately wanted to refuse.

If it had not been for finding his daughter, and if that woman’s mental state had not become unstable, forcing him to find a way to protect himself, he would never have researched such an unstable, incomplete drug, much less injected it into himself.

Back then, he had been quite a handsome man. Otherwise, he could never have attracted that female Inhuman from the East.

Over the past few years, the constant injections had produced increasingly obvious side effects. In the end, he had become what he was now. His mind had developed problems, and his life was even in danger at any moment.

I want to spend the rest of my life properly accompanying my daughter. Where would I find the time to research drugs?

Egghead’s mouth twitched.

Master Wang, was it really appropriate to mention the Winter Soldier right in front of him? Did he really think Egghead would never get angry or fight back?

"If we work together, we can definitely solve the drug’s side effects. You surely want to live well for another hundred years, and remain mentally stable instead of going mad while spending time with Skye, don’t you?"

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

Skye instantly understood what Old Wang meant. She looked at Carl, her large eyes filled with longing:

If you don’t agree, I’ll leave with this man…

Carl’s heart instantly softened, and he could only say, "Fine, fine…"

Egghead was truly furious now.

Master Wang, this was not what they had agreed on, was it?

Old Wang gave him a reassuring look and said casually, "Mr. Johnson, our goal is to develop the most complete and stable drug. As for this kind of drug that can make people die or go insane at the slightest mistake, why not leave it to plague S.H.I.E.L.D.? What do you think?"

Carl had evaded S.H.I.E.L.D.’s pursuit for so many years and even controlled a group of subordinates. Both his intelligence and emotional intelligence far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Naturally, he understood Old Wang’s true purpose. Still, the words sounded quite pleasing, and he knew S.H.I.E.L.D.’s capabilities all too well. He also knew exactly how terrifying this bald Egghead could be when he became ruthless.

He had once had no attachments, but now he had a daughter. No matter how tough a man was, his heart would soften. For his daughter’s sake, he knew he could only compromise.

So, after fleecing Egghead for a huge sum of money, Carl wrote down the formula. As for whether he had omitted anything, only he himself knew.

Having finally accomplished one of the things he wanted to do, Egghead’s mood improved slightly. Knowing he should strike while the iron was hot, he said, "Mr. Johnson, Master Wang, please hand Whitehall over to me. He has intelligence S.H.I.E.L.D. needs. Once I obtain it, I will definitely return him to you."

"No!"

Carl instantly flew into a rage. Affected by the bad drug, his mental state was completely abnormal.

Everything Whitehall had done had led to all the later tragedies. That man had to die—and he had to die by Carl’s own hand, in the most painful way possible!

"Director, get back!"

Black Widow hurriedly used her petite body to shield the towering Egghead.

This time, Skye stood with Carl. She raised her hands, and the sound of shattering filled the air as pieces of glass exploded one after another.

If she wished, she could even make Egghead’s and Black Widow’s hearts stop in an instant. In terms of killing speed against groups, even Old Wang could not match her.

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Old Wang took out his phone and answered it. Fitz’s voice came through. "Boss, Whitehall’s brain mapping is complete, and the memory upload is finished too!"

He clearly could not hide his excitement; even his voice was trembling. "Oh my god, there are actually so many Hydra agents hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D., even…"

The voice abruptly stopped.

Amid Egghead’s and Black Widow’s frustration, Old Wang hung up and shrugged.

"Looks like there’s no need."

"Director Fury, I think you should consider what kind of compensation you’ll be giving me."

I was quite busy today, so there won’t be an extra update. Everyone, get some rest early.