Ch.152 I’m Very Reasonable

Winslow had never imagined that one day he would be subjected to such "torture."

Although the actual torture hadn't begun yet, in his dream, Winslow had already experienced it.

And it lasted for an entire month!

That month was a living hell for Winslow.

Even with his "Superman" physique, he felt like his kidneys couldn't handle it.

"Oh?"

"I never force anyone. If you don't want to talk, that's fine."

"I'm very reasonable."

Ronan paused his phone call and smiled at Winslow.

Winslow, on the other hand, looked utterly defeated. He couldn't find the words to describe the young man in front of him.

A human appearance, but the heart of a demon.

How did he even manage this?

"No, no, you're not forcing me. I'm volunteering."

"Please, ask me anything. I'll answer whatever you ask."

Winslow was practically begging Ronan to let him talk.

Organizational principles? Dignity as a spy? In the face of those fifty- or sixty-year-old women, none of that mattered!

He didn't want to endure that kind of torment again!

"You're the one begging me to ask. I wasn't planning to."

Ronan put down his phone.

"Yes, yes, that's right. I'm the one who wants to talk. I'll tell you everything."

"My name is Winslow, a Level 6 Hydra agent. I'm responsible for—"

Winslow started spilling everything like a waterfall.

But Ronan stopped him.

"Hold on, hold on. I'll ask, and you answer."

"If you say even one extra word, I'll add another wealthy lady to your 'service.'"

Ronan cut Winslow off.

If he let Winslow ramble, Ronan could easily be led astray, following whatever Winslow said.

These seasoned spies loved playing these little games, and Ronan was wary of that.

"Okay, you ask, I'll answer."

Winslow quickly shut his mouth.

But Ronan wasn't in a hurry to ask questions. Instead, he dialed another number.

Seeing Ronan's actions, Winslow panicked.

"I've already agreed to talk. Why are you still calling?"

"Now, whatever you say goes. I'll—"

Before he could finish, an invisible hand covered his mouth.

"Shh..."

Ronan made a silencing gesture, then spoke into the phone, "You ask. Be thorough."

After hanging up, Ronan turned to Winslow.

"Don't worry. I just called in a professional to help with the questioning."

"After all, I'm just an ordinary high school student. My interrogation skills are lacking."

Ronan winked at Winslow, then snapped his fingers with his left hand.

Snap!

With the snap, the invisible hand covering Winslow's mouth disappeared.

At the same time, Winslow felt like he had forgotten something very important.

Knock knock knock.

As soon as Ronan finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Ronan walked over and opened it. A slightly balding middle-aged man stood at the entrance.

"Phil, I'll leave the rest to you."

Phil Coulson's arrival was somewhat of a coincidence.

When Ronan captured Winslow, he suddenly received a call from Phil Coulson, who wanted to meet with him.

How Coulson got Ronan's number wasn't a mystery to Ronan.

As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent—no, now he was the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—it would be easy for him to get the number of an ordinary New York citizen.

While Winslow was dreaming, Ronan had a chat with Coulson.

Coulson's request was simple. Earlier, Ronan had told Skye that if she helped him with something, he would reveal her true identity.

Including who her parents were and what she had experienced.

Ronan denied this, claiming he had no memory of it.

Coulson had no choice but to ask Ronan to bring out "Mr. Fantastic" so he could have a chat with him.

In exchange, Coulson would extract all the secrets about Hydra's surveillance of Ronan from Winslow.

Naturally, the credit for capturing Winslow would go to "Mr. Fantastic."

As for the wealthy ladies' phonebook Ronan had produced, it definitely wasn't his.

The only person who could have such detailed information about wealthy individuals was Tony Stark.

As a member of the wealthy elite, Tony Stark naturally knew some "secrets" that these wealthy ladies wouldn't share publicly.

Of course, when Tony found out Ronan wanted this kind of information, his tone was... peculiar.

Ronan didn't bother explaining.

Wealthy ladies?

Hmph, just a dream from his past life.

So, Ronan, who excelled at reasoning with people, used just a phonebook and a few calls to completely break Winslow's psychological defenses.

Ah, life is truly lonely.

Ronan opened his phone and found a fair competitive game where skins added 10 points of attack power. He brought his talent to the game.

With his speed and reflexes, only the server couldn't keep up with him.

Half an hour later.

After Ronan's second opponent surrendered at the 15-minute mark, Phil Coulson finally emerged from the room.

He looked at Ronan with a strange expression, unsure of what to say.

"What? The esteemed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. can't even get a small-time Hydra agent to talk?"

Ronan put down his phone and looked at Coulson, who was slowly walking over.

Coulson shook his head.

It wasn't that it wasn't going well—it was going too well!

As soon as they met, before Coulson could even ask a few questions, Winslow spilled everything he knew.

Including but not limited to the Hydra bases he knew about, who his handler was, who he had recently contacted, and what they discussed.

Of course, there was also their purpose for surveilling Ronan.

By the end, Winslow couldn't think of anything else to say and even started recounting his life story from birth.

If Coulson hadn't stopped him, even half a day wouldn't have been enough.

Actually, Coulson and Winslow knew each other, but they weren't close.

Back when S.H.I.E.L.D. still existed, they were colleagues on paper, but they had never worked together or met in person.

So, Coulson had expected it to be difficult to get Winslow to talk.

But...

Reality slapped him in the face.

Not only was it easy, but it was so easy that Coulson began to doubt his life.

Such a smooth interrogation—no, it was more like a conversation—made Coulson suspect that Winslow was lying.

When Coulson got up to leave, Winslow grabbed his hand.

Coulson thought Winslow was trying to take him hostage.

But, contrary to his expectations, Winslow didn't do anything outrageous. Instead, he started crying.

He begged Coulson to plead with Ronan not to subject him to such cruel punishment.

When Coulson asked what kind of punishment it was, Winslow clammed up.

As if deeply ashamed.

After asking three times and getting no response, Coulson could only walk out with a very strange expression.

"So, what exactly did you say to him?"

"Or do you have some special interrogation techniques?"

Coulson sat down on the couch nearby, glancing at the surveillance equipment on the table.

Hydra had really gone all out for Ronan.

Equipment like this was considered rare even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s remaining assets.

Of course, a broke S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't much different from any ordinary organization.

Poverty!

That was the main theme of S.H.I.E.L.D. now!

"Actually, it's nothing. And it's not my interrogation technique."

"You know."

Ronan smiled. Now, he just had to shift the blame to "Mr. Fantastic," and everything would be fine.

It was a foolproof excuse.

After all, Coulson didn't know his true identity.

"Alright, even if I don't know how you did it, the method is very effective."

"Winslow—no, Hydra's purpose for surveilling you is none other than the Cosmic Cube."

Since Ronan brought up Mr. Fantastic, Coulson didn't press further.

He wasn't that tactless.

If Ronan didn't want to talk, Coulson couldn't force him.

If he pushed too hard and Ronan "summoned" Mr. Fantastic, things would get even more complicated.

"The Cosmic Cube?"

"What's that?"

Ronan looked at Coulson with a blank expression.

Coulson, however, showed a hint of disappointment.

It seemed Ronan had no idea what the Cosmic Cube was.

"It was a secret weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"But later, there was a small issue, and the Cosmic Cube was lost."

Coulson explained.

His little test was nothing in Ronan's eyes.

Of course, it might not have been a test, just Coulson's professional instincts.

But regardless, such tricks had no effect on Ronan.

"Your S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra's secret weapon went missing."

"What does that have to do with me?"

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

Normally, his identity had nothing to do with the Cosmic Cube.

So why was Hydra targeting him?

Suddenly, Ronan thought of something else.

"It's because of Mr. Fantastic."

"Within Hydra, they discovered that someone took the Cosmic Cube after Loki left."

"Based on eyewitness accounts, they identified that person as Mr. Fantastic."

"And you're the only person who can 'contact' Mr. Fantastic."

"So..."

Coulson didn't continue, but Ronan understood.

Sure enough, Ronan had already thought of this earlier.

Because Steve Rogers had told him that S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered someone had taken the Cosmic Cube.

Back then, Ronan had been involved in the Time Variance Authority agents' battle, so they didn't have time to erase memories.

Thus, the nomads retained their memories of the event.

Although Ronan didn't know how Hydra had found that place, he had to admit, Hydra had significant resources.

"So that's it."

"But they've got the wrong person."

"I've never seen this so-called Cosmic Cube."

"As for Mr. Fantastic, he's not some kind of spirit I can summon at will."

Ronan shrugged, clearly dissatisfied with this reasoning.

What Mr. Fantastic does has nothing to do with me, Ronan!

"But that's how Hydra operates. They won't let anyone go."

"Moreover, their next plan is to kidnap you and lure out Mr. Fantastic."

Coulson stared intently at Ronan, trying to gauge his reaction.

Hearing this, Ronan first looked stunned, then his expression turned to one of amusement.

"Really? What does this have to do with me?"

"Last time, Hydra kidnapped me once. Didn't they learn their lesson? Are they really going to send more people to their deaths?"

Ronan couldn't understand.

Did the complete annihilation of an entire squad not make Hydra even slightly afraid?

Or did they think the Cosmic Cube's value outweighed the threat of Mr. Fantastic's power?

"According to Winslow, they've found a way to deal with Mr. Fantastic."

"But he doesn't know the specifics."

"Rumor has it, it's a highly classified project."

Coulson regretfully spread his hands. Not getting this information was a bit of a letdown.

If Winslow's clearance level had been just a bit higher, Coulson might have been able to uncover more of Hydra's secrets.

"Not to be rude, but your S.H.I.E.L.D. is in a sorry state."

"Not only was your organization infiltrated, but even your classification systems were stolen."

"Oh wait, were those classification levels created by Hydra too?"

Ronan looked at Coulson.

Coulson awkwardly shrugged.

Yes, that classification system was created by Alexander Pierce when he was still the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In short, S.H.I.E.L.D. borrowed their rules.

"Alright, forget I said that."

"Since he's already spilled everything, I'll be going."

Ronan stood up from the couch.

These Hydra bases weren't his concern. Coulson would undoubtedly take care of them.

Besides fulfilling S.H.I.E.L.D.'s duty to combat Hydra, these bases also contained valuable supplies.

For the currently struggling S.H.I.E.L.D., every box of supplies was precious.

Not to mention the wealth of intelligence.

"Wait, I'd like to meet Mr. Fantastic. What's his opinion on that?"

Coulson stopped Ronan.

It seemed he still had some important matters to discuss.

"I've tried calling him, but he hasn't responded."

"So, why don't you tell me what you want to know? When he gets back to me, I'll ask him."

"After all, he's often not on Earth. He's very busy."

Ronan shrugged. Mr. Fantastic wasn't on duty today.

Plus, he still had homework to finish.

The surveillance equipment at home hadn't been removed yet, and Coulson was still monitoring the feed.

So, Ronan couldn't use a doppelganger to go home and do his homework.

"Often not on Earth?"

Coulson repeated, puzzled.

Ronan suddenly covered his mouth, as if he had let something slip.

"I don't know. I didn't say anything, so don't speculate."

"Just tell me what you want to know, and I'll ask him for you."

Ronan quickly covered up.

Heh, he wanted to give Coulson that line, to let them all know that Mr. Fantastic wasn't so easy to meet.

Besides, Ronan had already handed Winslow over to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a gift.

Their deal was essentially over.

So, whether Ronan answered Coulson's questions or not was entirely up to him.

"Fine, you can ask him."

"If he's willing to talk to me, give me a call. I'm available 24/7."

Coulson made a phone gesture.

Ronan shrugged. He wasn't interested in these secrets.

After all, if Coulson was going to tell Mr. Fantastic, wasn't he essentially telling Ronan?

"Alright, since you want to keep it confidential, I won't ask."

"But let me be clear, our deal is over."

"You helped me find out Hydra's purpose, and I handed Winslow over to you."

"I'm sure you'll uncover many secrets from him."

"So, we're even, right?"

Ronan smiled at Coulson.

His words were simple: from now on, whether he helped Coulson or not depended on his mood.

Coulson understood and nodded, acknowledging Ronan's point.

"Regarding Winslow, we'll publicly announce that we discovered his whereabouts."

"We won't expose you or Mr. Fantastic."

Perhaps suddenly realizing this, Coulson added.

Ronan wasn't particularly concerned about this.

Who took credit for capturing Winslow didn't matter.

Even if Hydra believed Coulson's story and thought S.H.I.E.L.D. had found Winslow, they wouldn't stop surveilling Ronan.

So, these explanations were meaningless.

Because Hydra wouldn't give up on the Cosmic Cube.

"By the way, how will you ensure your safety?"

"Do you need me to assign some agents to protect you?"

As Ronan reached the door, Coulson asked another question.

About Ronan's safety.

Now that Ronan was on Hydra's radar, he was in constant danger.

So, how would Ronan handle these threats?

"Don't worry about that."

"As his only vessel in this world, my safety has already been taken care of."

"If I'm in danger, those who threaten me won't end up as well as Winslow."

With that, Ronan smiled at Coulson and left the room.

Listening to Ronan's fading footsteps, Coulson's face showed a rare expression of seriousness.

The only vessel in this world...

Though it was just a few words, they contained a lot of terrifying implications.

Combined with Ronan's earlier slip, Coulson was certain that Mr. Fantastic was far more than he appeared.

If he wasn't on Earth, what could he be?

A legendary angel?

Or a demon from hell?

Coulson wasn't sure.

He touched his chest, where a terrifying scar remained.

That scar was a fatal wound he had received when facing Loki.

It was also evidence of his death.

Now, he had been resurrected and even knew the secret of bringing the dead back to life.

For Coulson, his worldview had been shattered repeatedly, and he had developed some immunity.

The greatest feat of legendary angels was bringing the dead back to life, right?

Thinking this, Coulson sighed and turned his gaze to the monitor.

On the screen, Ronan was dismantling the surveillance and listening devices in his home, with an Iron Man figurine by his side.

Seeing this, Coulson was certain that Ronan and Tony Stark's relationship was far more complicated than it seemed.

"Tony... Ronan..."

"What secrets are you two hiding?"

"Is it just Mr. Fantastic that brought you two together?"

"Or do you both have secrets unknown to others?"

Coulson muttered to himself.

He watched as one by one, the monitors lost signal, turning to static.

The surveillance feed was completely cut off.

With that, he shook his head and pulled out his phone.

Overthinking this wouldn't help.

To uncover the secrets, he needed to find the key clues!

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time.

"Grant, I'll send you a location later. Bring a few agents here."

"We've found a Hydra prisoner."

After hanging up, Coulson walked to the window and instinctively looked across the street.

There, he clearly saw Ronan standing by the window, smiling at him.

When their eyes met, Ronan waved at him with a smile, then slowly closed the curtains.

Under the night sky, dark clouds gathered over New York.

Perhaps tonight, there would be a heavy snowfall.

...

As the night deepened.

With the moon hidden behind the clouds, the sky lost its only source of light.

In Stark Tower.

Tony Stark, who had been sound asleep, suddenly woke up.

He sat up abruptly, his eyes snapping open.

In his eyes, a purple light began to glow.

As the purple light filled Tony's eyes, a familiar face gradually appeared in his pupils.

Dormammu!