The next morning, at Stark's luxury mansion in Malibu.
Nick Fury sat alone on Tony's luxurious sofa. On the table in front of him sat only a glass of plain water. Dr. Banner was quietly drinking black tea nearby, clearly curious about this meeting as well.
"Let's get straight to it, Nick," Tony said, getting right to the point. "What is this 'new cooperation model' you mentioned?"
"One proposal, two requests, and one explanation." Fury's gaze swept over Tony and finally landed on Lin Huai. "I hope Mr. Lin can formally become a senior consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D., specializing in handling these'special incidents' that fall outside our scope of understanding. In return, S.H.I.E.L.D. will provide you with the highest level of intelligence access and resource mobilization authority."
He paused before continuing, "I want to formally invite you all, Dr. Banner included, to form a special task force to deal with even greater threats in the future. Internally, we call it—the Avengers Initiative."
"Oh?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like the name of a rock band. So, that's one of your goals? Then what are your 'requests'?"
"I still have two cards in my hand, Mr. Lin. Now, I'm prepared to play the second one," Fury said in a heavy voice. "I need you to perform a divination for S.H.I.E.L.D. and tell me what our greatest, most hidden internal threat is."
Lin Huai smiled.
"Sure," he replied succinctly. He turned to Tony and said, "But Tony must become a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant alongside me, sharing equal rights. Also, regarding the 'Avengers Initiative'," Lin Huai added, "we will consider it."
"As for the payment for this card..." Lin Huai leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes, as if communicating with some great existence, though in reality, he was just coming up with riddles in his head. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his voice becoming distant and ethereal:
"Within your eagle's nest, a venomous serpent has long been coiled."
"It is not a future threat, but a cancer rooted in your past. Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place."
"Go find that paperclip, Nick. Follow that thread, and you will see the serpent's nest."
As his voice fell, a dead silence filled the room.
Fury's expression didn't change, but a massive wave surged in his single eye. "Operation Paperclip"—that was the top-secret plan of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, to absorb German scientists after World War II.
"I see." Fury slowly stood up and gave Lin Huai a deep look.
"Mr. Lin, the S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant status is effective for you and Mr. Stark at any time. I have one more request, which we can treat as a new commission," he looked at Lin Huai, his tone becoming solemn. "I need you to perform another divination to find the exact crash site of the Captain's plane. We suspect there is'something' on that plane more important than the Captain himself that needs to be recovered."
Lin Huai nodded with a smile but didn't immediately agree. Instead, he shifted the topic: "Since you're being so sincere, I have a commission for you as well. Find something for me—the [Single Horn Crystal of an Adult Hornacis Gray Mountain Goat]. This thing is a special transformation of a certain mountain goat's horn, about the size of a palm, with a jelly-like translucent texture. If you find it, the divination regarding the crash site will be free."
Fury didn't hesitate and agreed immediately: "Deal. Within ten days, regardless of whether there's news, I'll give you an answer. One last explanation: what was that Joker's Labyrinth in Harlem about? From any angle, you were the focus, and even though everyone recovered afterward, I want to know why." Having finished, he stared intently at Lin Huai.
Hearing this, Stark also rubbed his hands excitedly and leaned in toward Lin Huai: "Right, I'm curious about that too. You can tell us now. What exactly was that damn labyrinth in Orlando all about?"
"At first, I thought that was the second Erosion, but now it seems the battle with the Hulk was," Lin Huai said frankly. "But later I understood that it was a guidance from my Lord 'The Fool', a ritual prepared for my promotion. It was guiding me on how to enter my next Sequence."
"Sequence?" Banner asked softly; this was the first time he had taken the initiative to ask.
"You can understand it as my career path," Lin Huai explained. "I am currently Sequence 9 [Seer]. The following Sequences are Sequence 8 [Joker] and Sequence 7 [Magician]; it's not convenient for me to reveal what comes after. As for the Werewolf we encountered in Harlem, it belongs to another Pathway—the [Prisoner] Pathway. Sequence 9 of that Pathway is [Prisoner], Sequence 8 is [Lunatic], and what we faced was exactly Sequence 7 [Werewolf]."
He looked at the solemn expressions on their faces and continued: "But we were lucky. The combination of the Abomination and a Beyonder characteristic gave birth to it, making its strength and recovery far exceed that of an ordinary Werewolf. Fortunately, it had completely lost its sanity. A normal Werewolf capable of maintaining its reason would be far harder to deal with than the one we met that day."
"So that's how it is..." Banner nodded thoughtfully.
"Wait!" Tony suddenly caught another key point. "If this knowledge is so powerful, why didn't you teach me earlier? You clearly know I'm very interested in this!"
"Because this knowledge itself is 'poisonous'." Lin Huai's expression became serious; these words were intended even more for Director Fury. "Director Fury, your S.H.I.E.L.D. is dedicated to protecting the World, so you should understand better than anyone that the greatest threats often come from powers we cannot understand. Directly contacting profound occult knowledge can very likely lead to even more terrifying consequences."
He glanced at the bustling city outside the window, his voice lowering: "Secondly, my Lord is merciful, but there is more than one deity in this Universe. Many evil gods exist, and in your current capital-driven society, the barriers between people, the pain and despair of the lower classes—these are practically natural breeding grounds for those evil gods. I fear that once this knowledge spreads, it will attract those malicious gazes."
This time, Fury didn't speak. He just listened quietly, his expression more solemn than ever before.
After a long while, Fury spoke slowly, his voice raspy: "I understand. That is why we need you even more. Please give the matter of the Avengers some serious thought."
Having said his piece, he turned and left, his steps firm but carrying an aura of an impending storm.
The door closed, leaving only the three of them in the living room.
"Lin, what did that riddle mean? I know the eagle is S.H.I.E.L.D., but what's the serpent?"
"HYDRA, that organization from World War II. Go back and look through your father's journals and files, and you'll understand."
"HYDRA?" Tony whistled, his tone full of mockery. "I knew S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't clean. But then again, Nick is raising snakes in his eagle's nest? I thought he only liked raising cats."
"Forget about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s business. Lin, I still want to learn your 'magic.' After all, only with sufficient understanding can we find ways to counter it." After a long silence, Tony solemnly made his request. "So, you teach, and I'll find ways to circumvent the risks using science!" He looked over at Banner. "Hey, Bruce, any thoughts? Don't just sit there, let's do this together!"
Banner was a bit embarrassed by Tony's enthusiasm and modestly adjusted his glasses: "My expertise might not be of much help. Although I have seven PhDs, they're all in theoretical physics and biochemistry... but I'd be happy to learn."
Tony's movement stiffened abruptly, then he shouted exaggeratedly: "Right, your achievements in the field of positron collision are truly unparalleled. I've learned a lot from your papers. With the two of us assisting each other, there's nothing we can't figure out."
Lin Huai looked at the two smartest minds on Earth—one eager to try, the other steady and studious—and smiled.
"Then, welcome to the World of mysticism. Our first lesson begins with understanding 'spirituality'."