There was no doubt that this negotiation ultimately ended on bad terms.
Under Ye Bai’s forceful attitude, Coulson had no choice but to temporarily back down.
“Director, that’s the situation.
What do you think we should do?”
Coulson reported to Nick Fury, who was far away aboard the Helicarrier, through his equipment.
Nick Fury clasped his hands together beneath his chin and fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
“Let’s leave things as they are for now.
I’ll make some other arrangements.
Come back first.”
In the end, Nick Fury decided to slow things down.
There was no need to push Ye Bai too hard and risk a situation where both sides ended up suffering.
Of course, this wasn’t because Nick Fury was afraid of Ye Bai.
Based on the strength Ye Bai had displayed, he wasn’t powerful enough to make Nick Fury afraid.
Nick Fury simply valued his abilities and didn’t want to completely eliminate the possibility of recruiting Ye Bai into S.H.I.E.L.D.
After all, someone this capable wasn’t easy to come by these days.
After ending his call with Coulson, Nick Fury picked up another phone beside him, found a number, and dialed it.
The call connected quickly, and a deep voice came from the other end.
“Nick Fury, why are you calling me?”
Nick Fury straightened up and said, “Kingpin, stop your actions against Ye Bai.
He’s not someone you should be provoking.”
That’s right.
The target of Nick Fury’s call was none other than the underground emperor of the Big Apple, Kingpin.
After hearing Nick Fury’s words, Kingpin didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he fell silent for a while.
Then he finally spoke.
“Are you telling me how to do my job?”
Clearly, getting the underground emperor Kingpin to back down wasn’t going to be easy.
“You can try me.
If you refuse to cooperate, the Big Apple will have another underground emperor by tomorrow, one who’s willing to listen.
Don’t force me to do this.”
Kingpin was ruthless, but Nick Fury was even more ruthless.
He had no intention of giving Kingpin any face.
That was only natural.
S.H.I.E.L.D., as one of Earth’s highest-level special organizations, was an extremely powerful institution operating beyond the ordinary reach of national authorities.
Its way of doing things could be summed up in one word: domineering.
If you refused to cooperate, you could die.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
had more than enough power to make that happen.
Kingpin might be the underground emperor of the Big Apple, but at the end of the day, he was still just a gang leader.
In front of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was merely a slightly larger ant that could be crushed at any time.
Kingpin clearly understood this as well, so after a moment of silence, he finally backed down.
“All right.
I’ll listen to you.
That’s all.”
Kingpin hung up the phone.
Nick Fury slowly rose and walked over to the window, watching the clouds drift across the sky outside.
Before the age of superheroes had truly begun, S.H.I.E.L.D.
was Earth’s most powerful special organization, capable of dealing with anyone who refused to submit.
As the person in control of this powerful organization, Nick Fury wielded authority that even surpassed that of the leader of the United States.
····
The Big Apple, Manhattan, inside a skyscraper.
The luxurious furnishings displayed the owner’s wealth, while the paintings decorating the room revealed his appreciation for art.
Someone unfamiliar with the truth might have assumed this was the bedroom of some wealthy corporate tycoon.
In reality, however, its owner was none other than the infamous Kingpin of the Big Apple.
The bald, heavily built man with muscles covering his body hung up the phone, casually set down the small device, and turned around in his executive chair.
This was Kingpin, the emperor who had ruled the underground world of the Big Apple for ten years.
Standing before Kingpin were two men in suits and another man named Lance, who was kneeling on the floor with tears in his eyes.
“Lance, you’re one of my best friends.
You’ve worked under me for a very long time.”
“I’ve always trusted your abilities, and you’ve never disappointed me.”
“But today, you have to give me an explanation.
How could you fail when dealing with an ordinary person?”
Kingpin spoke coldly.
Anyone could hear the fury hidden beneath his words.
The unlucky man kneeling on the floor, Lance, was the mastermind behind the operation against Ye Bai.
Kingpin did intend to move against Ye Bai, but this kind of small matter wasn’t something he needed to handle personally.
Naturally, he had left it to his subordinates.
Yet something this simple had still gone wrong.
That would have been bad enough, but just moments ago, the most powerful crime lord on Earth, Nick Fury, had called him and warned him not to make another move against Ye Bai.
Kingpin knew his own limits and wouldn’t defy Nick Fury, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry.
So he could only vent the anger in his heart on the man kneeling before him.
“Boss, listen to me.
This really isn’t my fault.
Everything was going according to plan, but then Daredevil suddenly broke in.”
“Otherwise, we would’ve succeeded.
All the wealth Ye Bai possesses should have been ours by now.”
“This is all Daredevil’s fault.
He was the one who caused our plan to fail.”
The man named Lance pleaded through his tears, trying to shift the blame onto Daredevil so that he could avoid punishment.
“Yes.
You’re right.
It’s all that damn Daredevil’s fault.”
Kingpin spoke slowly as he leisurely lit one of his finest cigars.
He then stood up from his chair and slowly walked over to Lance, taking a deep drag.
“Then explain something to me.
How did you even fail against one woman?”
Kingpin was naturally referring to Hela.
If the operation against Ye Bai had failed, they could at least blame Daredevil.
But the operation against Hela, a seemingly helpless woman, had also failed.
There was no excuse for that.
It was simply incompetence.
Hearing Kingpin’s question, Lance could no longer find the words to respond.
His body trembled with fear as he desperately tried to think of something to defend himself.
“That’s enough.
Take him away.”
Kingpin glanced at Lance coldly and casually ordered the other two men in suits.
The implication was clear: Lance was to be dealt with.
“No!
Don’t kill me!”
“Give me another chance!
Boss, please, just give me one more chance!”
Lance struggled and begged desperately, hoping Kingpin would show mercy and give him another opportunity.
“Take him to the factory and get rid of him.”
Kingpin had completely lost his patience.
A terrifying coldness flashed in his eyes as he gave the order.
He wasn’t joking.
This was how Kingpin dealt with those who failed him.
Over the years, countless unlucky people had disappeared after falling into his hands.
Once the room was left with only Kingpin, his expression gradually returned to normal.
He sat back down in his favorite chair.
“Ye Bai, just who are you?”
Kingpin muttered to himself, unable to figure out what special identity Ye Bai possessed.
Even someone as powerful as Nick Fury had been alerted by him.
Clearly, Ye Bai couldn’t possibly be an ordinary person.
P.S.
When the author woke up this morning and saw how well this book’s stats were doing, I was incredibly grateful for the support from all the readers.
An extra chapter is a must!
Even if I don’t sleep tonight, I’ll still grind out several more chapters.