Chapter 68
"Wait! Who's this beauty?"
Deadpool's eyes lit up as he looked at Maria Hill. "New character? Whoa, that uniform is badass!"
Maria Hill looked at him in confusion, then turned to Coulson, brow furrowed.
"You have a boss?"
Coulson coughed awkwardly and explained: "Uh, this is Mr. Yang Jian, he's…"
"I'm the real person in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Yang Jian cut in calmly. "I occasionally provide technical support."
Maria Hill's expression became even more shocked: "S.H.I.E.L.D. is an organization under the World Security Council. Since when does a private individual run it?"
She felt like she must have woken up in the wrong reality.
Deadpool chimed in from the side: "Whoa! S.H.I.E.L.D. has a secret mastermind! I love this plot twist!"
Yang Jian ignored his commentary and spoke directly to Coulson.
"This guy is Wade Wilson, alias Deadpool. He's from a parallel universe. Starting now, he's also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.
Coulson looked at Deadpool, then at the others. Their eyes met—they could hardly imagine executing missions with a teammate like this in the future.
Deadpool jumped up excitedly: "YES! I finally joined S.H.I.E.L.D.! I want a custom uniform! And custom weapons! Oh, and my codename should be Agent Deadpool, right?"
Natasha's face was expressionless: "I object."
Steve rubbed his temples: "Is he… reliable?"
Clint sighed: "I already have a headache."
Yang Jian shrugged: "He talks a lot, but his combat ability is decent, and he can't die."
Deadpool immediately chimed in: "That's right! I'm literally unkillable!"
He leaned sleazily toward Maria Hill: "Hey gorgeous, interested in fishing? I can take you on a cross-universe trip!"
Maria Hill instantly drew her gun and aimed it at his head: "One step closer and I'll test just how unkillable you really are."
She swore she had never seen anyone this shameless.
Deadpool clutched his chest dramatically: "Whoa! So spicy!"
Coulson took a deep breath and looked at Yang Jian: "Boss, are you sure about letting him join?"
Yang Jian's lips curved slightly: "Relax. He'll be an interesting teammate."
Deadpool immediately raised his hand: "I promise not to cause trouble!"
Everyone: "..."
The conference room fell into a brief silence, with only Deadpool still excitedly looking around and muttering nonstop.
"Whoa! S.H.I.E.L.D.! The Avengers! This is way more fun than the zombie universe!"
Yang Jian walked to the head of the conference table and sat down, fingers lightly tapping the surface. His gaze settled on Maria Hill.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. answers to me."
His voice was calm but carried an undeniable pressure.
"I don't need to ask anyone's opinion. If I'm in a good mood, the Council gets to exist. If I'm in a bad mood, tomorrow you won't have a superior."
Maria Hill's pupils shrank slightly. She opened her mouth to retort, but Coulson immediately shot her a warning look.
She took a deep breath and suppressed her emotions.
Deadpool rubbed his hands excitedly from the side.
"Whoa! So domineering! I love it! Superman really has the aura!"
Yang Jian ignored him and kept staring at Maria.
"If you have objections, you can leave. If not, starting now you join S.H.I.E.L.D. as a double agent for both sides. The price is that from now on, you only follow my orders."
Maria's fingertips tightened slightly, but she quickly calmed down.
"I'm sorry for questioning you earlier, but I need to report this."
Yang Jian interrupted her: "The benefit is making you as strong as Natasha and the others."
Maria's expression froze instantly. She knew very well how strong Coulson and the rest had become recently.
This was definitely a non-human upgrade—and it was said to increase lifespan too.
Thinking about it, she suddenly felt: how much did the Council even pay her per month? Why risk her life for that?
With that realization, a professional smile slowly curved her lips.
"I must say, you have excellent taste! Starting today, I'm your person, boss."
The conference room fell silent.
Then—
Pfft!
Deadpool was the first to burst out laughing. "Whoa! Face-turn speed! But Deadpool likes it!"
Natasha raised an eyebrow. Coulson shook his head with a wry smile. Even the usually stoic Captain America's mouth twitched.
Clint couldn't help laughing, but he wasn't surprised. Anyone hearing that offer would react the same way.
Yang Jian nodded in satisfaction and casually waved his hand. Two vials glowing with faint blue light appeared on the table. He gently pushed them toward Deadpool and Maria.
"This is the benefit."
Maria picked up the serum and carefully observed the liquid inside, a trace of hesitation in her eyes.
But soon she resolutely injected it into her arm.
"Mmph!"
Intense pain instantly swept through her body. She clenched her teeth, cold sweat beading on her forehead, but she didn't let out a single scream.
A few seconds later, the pain faded, replaced by an unprecedented sense of power.
She lifted her hand and clenched her fist. Her knuckles cracked crisply.
"This… is unbelievable."
She murmured softly, eyes flashing with shock.
It was supposed to be an upgrade, but she hadn't expected this level. She now felt she could slap a Hydra agent to death with one palm!
Coulson smiled at her: "Welcome to the real S.H.I.E.L.D., Hill."
Natasha gave a light laugh: "Settling in nicely."
Deadpool excitedly waved his serum vial: "My turn!"
He stabbed it into his neck without hesitation. "Ah! Pain pain pain!"
He rolled dramatically on the floor, muttering nonstop.
"Damn! This hurts more than getting hit by Thanos!"
Natasha crossed her arms and teased: "Looks like even an unkillable body can't handle the serum?"
Coulson shook his head: "At least it proves the serum is real."
Deadpool suddenly stopped rolling and sat up abruptly. He stared at his hands, then—
"Whoa! I feel like I could punch Thanos' ass to pieces right now!"
He jumped up excitedly: "Deadpool has finally become the strongest Deadpool!"
Yang Jian raised a hand to signal everyone to sit. The group immediately quieted down and returned to meeting mode.
"What do you have to report?" Yang Jian looked around the room.
Coulson immediately pulled up the holographic projection. The screen showed Hulk raging through the Brazilian jungle, battling military forces. His furious roars made even the projection tremble.
"Hulk's lost control again—this time in Brazil."
He looked around: "Should we intervene, or try recruiting him?"
Natasha spoke first: "His combat power would give us a major boost."
Captain America nodded: "Hulk really is useful."
Clint shrugged: "We need a big guy."
Maria Hill added calmly: "He'd be the strongest member on the team."
Deadpool cut in: "And his pants never rip! That's a scientific miracle!"
Yang Jian glanced at him. Deadpool immediately covered his mouth.
"OK, OK, I'll shut up."
"We can recruit him."
Yang Jian said calmly. "But before that, we need to give him a big gift."
He had thought of an interesting idea—one that required Hulk's cooperation.
Coulson looked puzzled: "What gift?"
Yang Jian didn't answer directly. Instead he asked: "How's Banner's relationship with his girlfriend Betty lately?"
The conference room instantly went silent.
Everyone looked at each other, expressions subtle.
Yang Jian raised an eyebrow—he smelled gossip: "What? Did something interesting happen?"
Coulson coughed awkwardly: "Betty recently broke up with Banner."
"Why?"
"Banner secretly went to see her… and found her with another man doing… other things."
Deadpool slammed the table and burst into wild laughter: "Holy shit! Banner got cucked?! This universe is insane!"
Natasha helplessly held her forehead: "It's true. Our investigation confirmed Betty fell for another man."
Yang Jian froze for a second. Damn—Banner got cheated on? What kind of writer came up with this plot?
Then he laughed: "Perfect."
He crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and slowly laid out the plan.
"You go negotiate with him. Tell him joining S.H.I.E.L.D. will let him better study science and the Hulk problem—and that I can completely solve it for him.
"If he agrees, bring him to New York, then drop him from a Quinjet right onto General Ross's territory.
"Tell him that's his big gift.
"If he refuses…"
"Then while he's still Banner, knock him out with a needle and drop him anyway."
Yang Jian felt the idea was solid. Banner's temper was too good. If it were him, those soldiers would already be reincarnating.
Full story is already complete and
available on Patreon: patreon.com/arthursink