Sorry, You Can’t Afford My Essence Wine

S.H.I.E.L.D. really wasn’t short on money. The five million arrived quickly.

Natasha drove away with a cold expression, taking ten jars of boiled water mixed with erguotou. Skye happily watched the balance in the account go from single digits to seven figures, grinning from ear to ear.

It was the first time in her life she had seen so much money!

How much erguotou and boiled water could that buy?

Forget that beat-up truck—she was getting a new one, an ultra-luxurious, basic-attack, zombie-grinding apocalypse war vehicle!

Forget the laptop—she was getting the latest model, server-grade!

Forget the phone—she was getting the Banana 13plus that had only launched yesterday!

Forget Old Wang—she was getting a new…

Wait!

No replacing this one. He was new to begin with and hadn’t even been used yet…

Skye was happy, happier than she had been at any point in the past three years.

But before twenty seconds had passed, Old Wang said calmly, "Keep one million. Find a way to transfer the rest to Eli, Lucy, and the others. Leave no traces, and don’t let S.H.I.E.L.D. track it."

"…All right." Skye drooped dejectedly, extremely reluctant.

I haven’t even had time to warm it up!

After knowing Old Wang for three years, she understood him well.

The calmer Old Wang sounded, the more seriously his words had to be taken. Once he made a decision, no one could change it.

Wolves hunted without making a sound. When pandas caught bamboo rats…

It was probably the same?

Skye returned to the cash register in frustration. As she laundered the money, she probed, "Wang, what are we doing with the remaining million?"

"Get a new car, new computer, new phone, new clothes, new cosmetics. Replace whatever you want. Go ahead."

Old Wang paused for two seconds, then added, "Use whatever’s left to pay the rent for this shop—six months at once. Then rent an apartment and buy furniture… Better to be house poor than car poor. Are you planning to live in a truck for the rest of your life?"

Of course not.

Before, she simply couldn’t afford it. Now that she had the means, as a woman, she naturally had to treat herself better.

Skye’s fingers flew across the keyboard.

A moment later, her spirits sagged.

To her dismay, she discovered that after all that, the entire million was gone. She could not even afford a particularly good car.

Making money was easy. Spending it was even easier.

One million simply wasn’t enough!

After a while, Skye, still in a foul mood, remembered something and asked sourly, "Wang, Romanoff has a nice figure, doesn’t she? Is her skin smooth? Does she smell good? Does she feel nice to touch?"

"Do you really think I was taking advantage of Black Widow?"

Old Wang snorted, standing with his hands behind his back. He looked unfathomable, his gaze profound. "I was examining her physical condition!"

Skye: "…"

Were you going to examine her more thoroughly in bed for three days and three nights, too?

"Young comrade, there’s something wrong with your thinking. It’s impure. You need to correct it."

Old Wang’s face hardened as he lectured her sternly. "Am I that kind of person? There’s something off about Black Widow’s body. It differs from that of normal people, and she has most likely undergone some sort of special modification. As an old Chinese doctor, I must be responsible for my patient!"

You are exactly that kind of person… Skye gave a dry laugh, then could not suppress her curiosity. "So what was the result?"

"Her physical constitution is far stronger than an ordinary person’s. She should have undergone some degree of modification."

Old Wang pondered for two seconds before saying, "But compared with Winter Soldier, she still falls far short. The Super Soldier Program never actually stopped over the past sixty-odd years… Who knew how many people wanted to replicate the Super Soldier Serum, but unfortunately… not a single one succeeded!"

Winter Soldier should have been the most successful version.

Back then, Dr. Erskine’s version of the Super Soldier Serum had vanished completely after Dr. Erskine was killed. Nearly every related experiment afterward had something to do with the Super Soldier Serum, either directly or through inspiration.

Winter Soldier was the former.

His physical abilities were on par with Captain America’s.

Black Widow was nowhere close.

Of course, now that she had taken Old Wang’s ten jars of wine and drunk the Essence Wine mixed into them, her physical fitness should improve somewhat. Though she definitely would not match Winter Soldier, her overall strength would certainly increase considerably.

But if she wanted to become stronger, she would have to keep drinking.

It was not that Old Wang looked down on S.H.I.E.L.D.

If they really drank as much as they wanted, S.H.I.E.L.D. truly could not afford it. Even Stark Industries could not keep up. Wakanda, perhaps, could.

Wakanda’s Black Panther was the real filthy rich one. Who knew how many times Iron Man’s assets he possessed? They had to find a way to build connections with him.

"Wang, are we still going to sell Essence Wine?"

On one hand, Skye loved the thrill of having hundreds of thousands or millions flow into the account at a time. On the other, she ached over their dwindling supply of Essence Wine. "What’s left isn’t even enough for the three of us to drink…"

Old Wang, Skye, and Gabe.

Within the limits of law and morality, none of their bodies had been developed to their fullest potential.

If they kept drinking, their physical fitness would continue improving. They might not become overwhelmingly powerful, but reaching the level of the Wild Gods was still possible. They would definitely be stronger than Captain America.

Old Wang got the largest share, Skye came next, and Gabe drank the least.

Monks mainly cultivated themselves in the first place. The stronger their constitution, the more formidable they became.

Skye was going to become Quake in the future. Her Inhuman ability inflicted great damage on her body. The stronger her constitution, the longer she could sustain it and the greater its power would be.

As for Gabe, he was aiming for Stanford or Berkeley. A little was enough for him.

Robbie did not need it.

Ghost Rider possessed an immortal body. The only thing he needed to do now was keep taking revenge.

Over the past two days, he had driven that flashy Dodge Charger around every night, though he had not made a move yet.

Now, he was no longer alone. He had an organization and rules. He could not act rashly; he needed a plan.

Once he found a target, he would tell Skye. Skye would naturally gather information and make a plan, such as hacking surveillance cameras, protecting Ghost Rider’s identity.

In an international metropolis like New York, beneath the prosperity lay shocking filth. In the eyes of the Spirit of Vengeance, at least half of New York’s people were guilty. But Robbie certainly would not let it act recklessly. He had his own standards for judgment.

Petty theft was not enough to warrant a death sentence. Only those who had deeply harmed others would be placed on Robbie’s revenge list.

Old Wang was not particularly interested in the whole "vigilante" thing. To be honest, he did not care much about it.

If he happened upon something, he might lend a hand. Order was always better than chaos. But if he did not encounter it, he would not deliberately interfere.

When water was too clear, there were no fish; when people were too discerning, they had no companions. Without evil, where would goodness come from? So long as sages did not die, great thieves would never cease. A perfect world would be neither heaven nor hell, but the human world, possessing the qualities of both heaven and hell.

There were good people and bad people, but even more ordinary people who were neither good nor bad. That was what made the human world so colorful.

Old Wang was, in fact, lawful neutral.

Skye was a girl with a slight inclination toward justice. After joining Rising Tide over the past two years, she had also developed a greater sense of responsibility toward society. On the foundation of lawful neutral, she leaned toward lawful good.

As for Robbie?

He should have been an ordinary lawful neutral person, but now he had become Ghost Rider. Influenced by the Spirit of Vengeance, he leaned more toward lawful evil. Being a vigilante suited him quite well.

Though the three of them differed somewhat, they were all lawful in general.

Ghost Rider could only grow stronger by constantly taking "revenge."

That was why Old Wang supported Robbie, having Skye cooperate with and help him.

"We definitely have to sell Essence Wine. Otherwise, how are we supposed to make money?"

Old Wang changed the subject. "Skye, who has Robbie set his sights on?"