You Should Ask the Price First

"I brought you the people!"

Two hours later, Egghead personally drove Black Widow, his designated bodyguard, and two young scientists to the Azeroth Specialties Shop.

The moment he got out of the car, Egghead said with a dark expression, "Also, I’ll settle Eli, Lucy, and the others’ identity issues within three days. I’ll contact sellers for the equipment and materials you need to purchase—Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Pym Technologies, and several other companies. Wang, I really want to know just how many secrets you’re hiding!"

Can’t tell you that. It’s not like you’re a worm in my stomach… Old Wang smiled. Without Egghead, resolving their identity issues and procuring the equipment and materials needed for the Darkhold Laboratory would not have been easy, and he would have been overcharged without a doubt. He made a welcoming gesture.

You didn’t hit a smiling face, especially when you couldn’t beat it anyway. Egghead gave a haughty snort, entered with his hands clasped behind his back, and his black trench coat rippled majestically as he walked.

Black Widow glanced at Old Wang.

She had originally intended to have a proper talk with Master Wang, to see whether she could ask him to help her cultivate "qi" and become a kung fu master. That would greatly improve her strength, perhaps enough for her to take on the Winter Soldier head-on and settle both old and new scores at once.

But her boss was in a foul mood right now, so it was not a good time to bring it up. She could only smile at Old Wang before following along.

When you worked under someone, you had to know how to read the room!

"Mr. Wang, when do we start work? Where is your laboratory?"

Fitz and Simmons got out of the car carrying several large suitcases, looking somewhat at a loss as they stared at the specialty shop before them.

Mr. Wang, who could make the director personally receive him and produce something as valuable as Azeroth Essence, actually ran such an ordinary little general store. Why did this feel so wrong? It did not fit the image of a big shot at all.

We got scammed, didn’t we?

"Your workplace is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There’s a private flight heading there today. Our deliveryman, Mr. Reyes, will take you to the airport, and a senior engineer from the laboratory will pick you up."

Old Wang held out his hand, and Skye handed him two documents.

"Look over the contracts first. If there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with, bring it up now."

Fitz and Simmons hurriedly accepted them. The first thing they saw was the salary section, prominently marked.

"An annual salary of one million dollars? And that’s only the base salary, with bonuses for every completed project?"

"A company car worth no less than fifty thousand dollars, the best apartment in San Juan… Why do two people get one three-bedroom apartment instead of a studio each? That’s strange."

"Up to two months of paid vacation every year, and if we don’t use all our vacation days, we get triple pay for every remaining day?"

"Fuel reimbursement, company-paid maintenance, utility reimbursement, company-funded travel, and two top-tier medical examinations every year?"

"We become project supervisors as soon as we enter the laboratory, get promoted to deputy director if we do well, and receive an automatic ten percent raise every year?"

The two looked at each other and said in unison, "These benefits are incredible! They’re even better than the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Technology Department gets!"

Egghead’s steps faltered. Internally, he cursed, Two idiots. Master Wang, you damned nouveau riche. Of course, his face remained expressionless, and he quickly resumed walking, maintaining an outward appearance of calm inscrutability.

As a United States general and the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he would not lower himself to their level.

Black Widow secretly shook her head. They really are young. They don’t even pick the right occasion. And Master Wang, too…

Wait!

Could Master Wang have done this on purpose? Just to anger the director because the director lost his temper and treated him badly?

What a petty man. Better not provoke him.

"If you have no objections, sign the contracts. Ask Skye about the details. Go to her for anything you need in the future—she handles the money. Come to me if there’s any progress on the projects."

From Egghead’s quickened heartbeat and slightly heavier breathing, Old Wang knew the S.H.I.E.L.D. director had truly been angered. They would still need to work together in the future, so he should not push things too far. He followed them into the shop.

"Please, sit." Old Wang was very polite.

Black Widow ignored him.

Other than rattan chairs, the only stool in this store is at the register, and Skye is sitting on it. Are you expecting me to sit in your rattan chair?

Last time, you chased the director out of that rattan chair. I still remember!

Egghead ignored him as well, because the items on the shelves quickly caught his attention.

The cheap everyday goods had been grouped together on the shelves near the entrance, while the two shelves farther back held new merchandise.

The world’s oldest rum, produced in 1780, priced at two hundred thousand dollars?

Beethoven’s handwritten manuscript of "Moonlight Sonata," price negotiable?

A Stradivarius violin, gifted only to a fated person? More like a rich person, right?

And what was with this set of underwear and evening gown? Why put diamonds on perfectly good clothes? Wasn’t that uncomfortable?

The more Egghead looked, the darker his expression became.

He could guess where these things had come from.

If he were not wary of the Immortal Iron Fist and K’un-Lun, and if they were not currently in a honeymoon period where he could not afford to fall out with them, he would have sent people to rob this shop already!

"Should I leak some information to Hydra and let them come rob the place?"

At that moment, Egghead desperately wanted to beat Little Fatty Wang, who was standing behind him, to a pulp.

"Let’s talk business."

After considering it, Old Wang decided not to lie down in the recliner. That would be impolite.

Leaning against the register with his arms folded, he asked, "You want Dragon Bone. Who are you planning to resurrect?"

"That’s none of your business," Egghead replied stiffly.

During World War II, Agent Carter and the Howling Commandos had seized a Kree corpse from a secret Hydra base. It had later been kept at one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s research bases, soaked in formaldehyde. See Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Kree were a blue-skinned race. Since their homeworld’s gravity was far greater than Earth’s, their physical abilities were much stronger than those of humans, roughly two or three times greater. They also possessed extraordinary regenerative abilities that humans lacked. S.H.I.E.L.D. had long coveted this, and the newly launched Tahiti Project was intended to study the Kree corpse and resurrect important people who were near death, or even already dead.

For example, trusted elite agents, high-ranking government officials, or the Super Heroes in the soon-to-be-established Avengers Initiative.

The Tahiti Project was a Level 10 secret. Even Pierce and Hill did not know about it. Why would he tell him?

"Forget it. It’s not important."

Old Wang had long known about the Tahiti Project and knew how much Egghead valued such resurrection abilities.

This was the perfect opportunity to squeeze him.

With a flick of his hand, a section of Dragon Bone appeared in his palm.

It was a fragment that had accidentally broken off when the Dragon Bone had been snapped. It was only the size of a palm.

"This is Dragon Bone." Old Wang generously handed it to Egghead.

Master Wang has changed… Egghead hurriedly took it and examined it carefully.

It looked about the same as a cow bone?

But it was incredibly dense. Such a small piece weighed at least two kilograms.

Egghead was, after all, the king of spies. His grip strength was formidable, and he had seen enough to judge with a squeeze that this thing was extraordinarily hard, far tougher than steel. He did not know how it compared to diamond or corundum.

Did it truly have the power to bring the dead back to life?

"This little piece can probably resurrect ten people," Old Wang said evenly.

Though it was only a guess, it should be roughly correct, because Stick had said so.

When the Five Fingers defected from K’un-Lun, they obviously could not have carried away an entire Dragon Bone skeleton. They had only taken a small section.

Yet that small section alone had allowed the five of them to live for more than a thousand years.

Each resurrection actually required only about a hundred grams of bone powder, but that was the economical method, and it required a large number of supplementary materials—such as enough children’s blood to fill a Resurrection Coffin. It was extremely cruel.

The Five Fingers had done this because their Dragon Bone was limited.

In truth, if there was enough Dragon Bone, no supplementary materials were needed at all. The immortal substance contained within the Dragon Bone alone could resurrect ordinary people.

Ten people?

Egghead’s heart skipped a beat. He restrained the urge to snatch the Dragon Bone and run, and asked in a low but eager voice, "How much do you have?"

He wanted to say, I’ll take it all, but he knew the other side would never sell all of it. More importantly, he could not let Old Wang sense how desperate he was, or he would be fleeced mercilessly.

Old Wang smiled. "You should ask the price first."