Dum Dum sorted through the shared memory archives in his mind, locating information uploaded by a clone—he wasn’t sure which number, maybe in the hundreds—and spoke truthfully.
“As far as I know, he doesn’t belong to anyone.
In every single one of his actions, I haven’t found any trace of outside interference.” “Great.
Then let’s re-analyze the report you gave me.
You spent a whole week confirming that a man capable of creating biological weapons through unknown means, who openly deals with Blade and attacks vampires, has a biggest point of suspicion…
that he might prefer raw meat over cooked food?” Dum Dum squeezed out a smile.
“Would you believe me if I said that wasn’t my conclusion?” He knew as well as anyone that only someone who had had their head slammed in a door could give such an answer.
“I believe you.
In fact, I have even more reason to suspect that standing before me brushing me off isn’t your Level 10 original self, but a clone whose actual skill doesn’t even match a Level 2 agent.” Fury stared at the Dum Dum in front of him.
This guy didn’t even bother offering a guess like, “Maybe the cute animals he controls like to eat raw meat.” Getting stuck with a clone who hated working was bad luck at best, but running into a debriefer who refused to use his brain was truly terrible.
Dum Dum lowered his head in thought, likely pondering how to fool Fury into believing the full-of-holes memory in his shared archive.
“Fine.
I roughly get what’s going on.
Tell your main body he can try shifting a bit of his attention away from…” “Will do.
Though I can’t guarantee the main body will read the info I uploaded anytime soon.” The veins on Fury’s forehead throbbed.
Luckily he had also been injected with a weakened Super Soldier Serum, or he would have had a brain hemorrhage already.
“Alright, based on current intelligence and what Blade provided, this man can be cooperated with, but he can’t be trusted for now.
He’s a legitimate company owner who took advantage of legal loopholes, claiming to be conducting biological experiments to develop a breakthrough cure for mutants…
Who approved an application reason like that?” Fury asked.
It was brain-dead no matter how you looked at it.
Dum Dum scratched his temple, trying hard to dig through useful memories while figuring out what lie to spin to prove he was a capable clone.
“Because lately, plenty of people have been using similar excuses to milk the government for funding.” A man walked over.
As someone who had greeted who knows how many thousands of main characters, he exuded an inherent composure in his stride, a peculiar smile on his face as he approached.
Phil Coulson spoke up.
“Compared to those fraudsters, as a genetics graduate from the University of Zurich, he could at least produce a few solid research papers to put up a front.
As it turns out, he didn’t get any money—only a piece of land to use as a test site.
But interestingly, government accounting does show a funding remittance to Weyland Biotech.” “Parasites!
Disgraceful!” Fury slammed his fist onto the table.
Possessing super strength, he flipped the desk in his anger.
“Who is the top official in charge of this?
How could he allow such a thing to happen?” “Colonel Stryker.” “Ah.” Silence hung in the air for a moment.
Dum Dum tapped his temple and said, “I just pulled up a memory.
The clone monitoring the target reported a robbery at a cooked food warehouse.
It seems the guy ran out of money and had to resort to direct measures.
Most importantly, he took the opportunity to steal back the money he paid the clone—maybe planning to pay it back next time he buys food.” “I get what you’re driving at.
A guy so obsessed with raw meat robbed your cooked food warehouse?
Listen to that—what a terrifying major crime.
He can’t even tell raw food from cooked food.” Fury glared fixedly at Dum Dum.
Dum Dum’s expression stiffened.
Phil Coulson said, “Blade traded with him three times and only gave him two hundred thousand dollars in total.
It’s a pity Blade refuses to hand over that creature’s blood to us, leaving us no chance to study it.
Though even if we got our hands on it, we wouldn’t be able to analyze it anyway.
That corrosive blood can melt right through ultra-high-grade alloys.
The design concept itself seems built specifically to thwart reverse gene-decoding, even if the blood Duval provided was diluted.” Phil Coulson still didn’t fully understand the nature of Xenomorphs.
Even if he did manage to create artificial Xenomorphs from gene fragments, they wouldn’t obey him; turning around and wreaking havoc on SHIELD would be inevitable.
“Blade is a powerful warrior, but not the best agent.
He has his own code, and when he gets stubborn, there’s nothing you can do about it.
How about this: send someone to provide your clone with another two hundred thousand dollars in funding.” Fury waved his hand generously, approving the funds on the spot, and instructed, “Remember to write an invoice for two hundred million and send it to the Big Five.
Tell them to wire the money ASAP.” “Boss, I doubt they’ll buy it.
An eccentric scientist who nearly works himself to death just to handle a few vampires isn’t worth two hundred million.” Dum Dum keenly grasped the truth and loyally pointed it out.
“Nonsense.
He can create such powerful new creatures—whatever they are—that can even beat vampires.
He’s worth it.” Fury spoke with utter certainty, though what he actually thought in his heart was a different matter.
In Fury’s eyes, aside from novelty, Duval’s achievements only held potential at the level of biotechnology.
It might take years or even decades of development for Duval to achieve a world-shattering breakthrough in biotech before he’d be worth actively grooming.
The SHIELD he controlled held countlessly classified secrets tied to humanity’s survival, as well as plenty of extraordinary powers.
The ocean floor, Kunlun, the moon, sorcerers, demons, Celestials, icebergs, black dragons, aliens…
So for now, Duval wasn’t worth his personal intervention.
“Maintain surveillance.
Focus on evaluating his psychological state to confirm if his personality is stable and reliable before making further plans.” Truly lifting surveillance was out of the question.
Duval’s ability wasn’t as simple as breathing fire or shooting water; it reached a level capable of easily committing major crimes, placing him squarely on the watch list.
Because in this world, extremely dangerous individuals weren’t necessarily those with special powers—they also included those with extraordinary intellect.
“Coulson, tell me about your end.” Fury quickly pushed Duval to the back of his mind.
Spending a few minutes talking about Duval was already an exception for him; other matters were far more important.
Coulson’s smile gradually faded.
“It’s pretty bad.
After his father died, Banner went into hiding for a while, but he’s been discovered now and is being hunted worldwide.”