"This project can be ended."
Facing the ridicule of the Military personnel, Victor and Reed finally chose to end this research project. Victor was so angry he even wanted to kill someone, but he hadn't expected that such a being would only appear once and never again. A feeling of being played surged into Victor's heart, and he remained furious. He had been very much looking forward to the appearance of that silver guy, but after so much time, it hadn't shown up. This not only ground down Victor's pride but also infuriated him to no end. If Reed hadn't held Victor back, Victor would have become a wanted criminal again. In the last battle, Victor had only injured people; not many died, and only the disappearance of some company executives was a major issue. However, the Police had no evidence, and with Victor's family being wealthy back home and paying tenfold for destroyed public property, Victor was able to enter the United States and cooperate with the U.S. Military.
If Victor were to kill a Military official this time, it definitely wouldn't be a matter of being deported back home like last time. He would absolutely be branded a terrorist and hunted down by S.H.I.E.L.D. After calming down, Victor felt that he really did need to give up on this project. It seemed impossible to obtain power from that mysterious entity. Although he didn't know if something had happened to it, the current situation indicated it wouldn't be seen again in the short term. He couldn't waste any more time.
"Do you want to start a new research project with me?"
Just as Victor felt it was time to go back home to inherit the throne, receive his mother's inheritance, and learn to control the energy within his body, Reed suddenly issued an invitation from the side. He looked at Victor sincerely; this was his friend of many years. Even if Victor had walked down an evil path and tried to kill him, that was all in the past. He had decided to forgive Victor, understanding the principle that a prodigal son's return is worth more than gold. He wanted to pull Victor back from the wrong path as the correct choice.
"Reed, we were never the same kind of people."
Reed's invitation made Victor feel humiliated. He was the kind of man who was resolute and conceited to the extreme—the type known as self-centered, believing the world revolved around him. Facing someone's kindness, he instead saw it as a great insult to himself. That was the kind of man he was. Reed's invitation even made him laugh out of anger. He directly slapped away Reed's hand that was resting on his shoulder. He wanted Reed to know that even if he was temporarily down on his luck, he was not a pitiable beggar. Leaving such a cold sentence behind, Victor left without looking back, leaving Reed standing there with his hand still extended in mid-air. Reed stood there lost and a bit at a loss. Was it really this hard to mend their relationship now? They used to be best friends who shared everything; what exactly had happened to lead them to this point?
"I'm fine, Ben."
His accompanying friend, Ben, intended to comfort Reed, but he hadn't expected Reed to recover so quickly. Reed cast a disappointed glance at where Victor had left, then he took Ben and left the place. He had adapted to this situation now; his hopes hadn't been very high to begin with, but being rejected like this still made Reed very sad. Johnny was not far away, waiting for Ben and Reed. Seeing their figures, he waved to indicate that the transportation was here.
"Mr. Victor Von Doom, hello. We are the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D. for short. We'd like to have a word with you."
Just as Victor was still deciding whether to take a plane or a boat back to his country, a guy with a very 'philosophical' smile walked up to him. The slightly reflective forehead made Victor squint his eyes involuntarily, but what the guy said startled him. Victor was quite puzzled. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation was not small now; ever since the battle with Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans had become famous. Under the instigation of some people, they had even been elevated to the height of saving the world. This news made Doom very disdainful, and besides, these things had nothing to do with him, so Doom didn't pay much attention. He really hadn't expected the other party to come looking for him.
"This is not the place for a conversation."
Maintaining the face of a cheerful, good-natured man, Phil spoke to Doom, reminding him that he indeed had business with him and was approaching with a very friendly attitude. This move by S.H.I.E.L.D. completely bewildered Doom. Why would this organization, which prided itself on being righteous saviors, come looking for a 'terrorist' like him? Doom didn't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. was unaware of what he had done during that time, yet they still came to find him. It seemed this so-called 'righteous' organization wasn't as righteous as it appeared on the surface! His heart was full of disdain, but Doom didn't show it on his face. He faintly pointed to a café by the side of the road, indicating they should chat there. Regardless of whether Phil refused or not, he walked over. Phil still looked at Doom with a smile, without a trace of embarrassment, and followed behind Doom into the café.
"Say what you have to say quickly, I have things to do."
After finding a less crowded spot and sitting down, Doom didn't call for a server. Phil sat down opposite him. Doom directly asked for his purpose in a very blunt and impatient tone. This didn't cause Phil's expression to change one bit; he remained as cheerful as ever, showing how deep his composure was. Facing Doom's poor attitude, Phil didn't mind in the slightest and directly had the server bring two cups of coffee. He had seen many people like Doom, even some worse than him, such as a certain Dr. Pym.
"Your knowledge is very extensive, sir. You should know about the aliens that invaded during the Battle of New York, right?"
After the coffee arrived, Phil put creamer and sugar into it. Under Doom's extremely impatient gaze, he finally got to the main point. Phil's words made Doom's brow furrow. Did this even need to be said? Nowadays, if someone didn't know about such things, they were either a fool, senile, or a hermit in the deep mountains. Those light weapons that were under testing and those massive creatures were undoubtedly the source of madness for researchers. But that event was long past. At the time, he was still in a half-dead state and unable to see those things, but after returning to the U.S., he had privately obtained some alien remains, weapons, and armor through the black market to ship back home for future study.
But S.H.I.E.L.D. coming to him today to talk about these things—was it for the alien items? At that thought, a flash of killing intent crossed Doom's eyes. If S.H.I.E.L.D. really wanted those things, he would definitely fight them to the end. Why should he give them things he had bought with his own money? Doom hid his killing intent very well, and Phil didn't notice. If Phil had been able to observe closely, he would have noticed a trace of electric arc appearing on Doom's body from time to time, as if he were ready to strike at any moment.
"We have now found a very special alien organism, and we hope Mr. Doom can help us out."
Completely unaware that he was hovering on the edge of life and death, Phil spoke those words. Doom's energy stopped circulating, and he looked at Phil in surprise, hoping to see something on his face, but in the end, he found nothing. Was this a joke? A guy like him, who had been branded a 'terrorist', was actually being recruited by a so-called 'righteous' organization. Was the world too crazy, or had he, Doom, fallen behind the times for such a thing to happen?
"I hope Mr. Doom can give it some serious consideration."
As he spoke, Phil placed a stack of paper documents in front of Doom. Phil spoke with great confidence. Facing such a confident Phil, Doom suspiciously took the documents and looked through them. He found a black-and-white photo that wasn't very clear. He could tell at a glance that such a creature could definitely not exist on Earth. In other words, the guy in front of him wasn't playing with him.
"He agreed."
After their exchange in the café, Phil still had that cheerful look as he watched Doom leave. Once Doom was gone, he made a phone call to report. After he hung up, the smile on Phil's face vanished. He furrowed his brows, feeling that something was wrong. They seemed to have made a very wrong decision, but this was an order issued by the Director, and he had no choice but to carry it out.
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