Hill poured everyone a cup of coffee and thoughtfully switched Xiao Yu’s to orange juice.
“Thank you.”
Xiao Yu accepted the orange juice and thanked them politely.
The coffee was indeed good, but Blake was in no mood to savor it.
Blake slammed his hand on the table, roaring at Nick Fury, "You actually planted spies in an area under my jurisdiction? Has S.H.I.E.L.D. gone mad!"
Blake’s extreme reaction was understandable. After all, the events unfolding before him were too shocking. For an agent organization to secretly have a safe house planted in its own stronghold by a rival, and for the supreme leader, Blake, to be unaware of it.
Fortunately, Blake hadn't done anything outrageous since taking office, otherwise, he might have woken up to find S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sitting at the head of his bed.
Even more infuriating, Blake saw several familiar faces in the room, both ordinary and high-ranking agents, all of whom now shared a single identity: S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
That’s right, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't even letting their own territory off the hook, their rampant infiltration had reached a point of madness.
Under such circumstances, it was no wonder Taskmaster decided to betray S.H.I.E.L.D. and go solo.
However, it remained to be seen what expression Nick Fury would wear when he learned that their own organization had also been infiltrated by HYDRA.
Of course, that was a story for another time; let's return to the present.
Facing Blake's fury, Nick Fury calmly brushed him off with a simple "It was necessary for the job."
The main reason Nick Fury had revealed the safe house and undercover agents and invited Blake for a meeting was regarding the safekeeping of the Talismans.
Ever since his last conversation with Uncle Jackie and his family, Nick Fury had taken the matter very seriously.
Through extensive research of historical documents, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned that the twelve Talismans originated from an ancient demon named Shendu.
This demon was not only powerful but had also ruled the world for a long time with his demon brothers. Even after being sealed back in hell by immortal deities, he found ways to return to the surface and establish his own earthly kingdom, ruling humanity for hundreds of years.
Although the United States had not yet appeared at that time, and Shendu's kingdom was not on the American continent, the demon had now appeared on American soil. If left unchecked, who knew if this demon would suddenly decide to establish a new kingdom on American land.
This was something Nick Fury absolutely would not allow.
The condition for Shendu’s revival was to gather all twelve Talismans when the Chinese New Year bell rang; if he failed, he would have to wait for several hundred years for another chance.
Initially, Nick Fury had no strong objections to the Talismans being stored in Section 13, as, in his current position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he already possessed sufficient status and power and had no need to compete for credit with Blake.
However, the fact that Section 13 was unable to guarantee the safety of the Talismans, whether it was due to an attack by unknown armed forces or the Talismans being lost and then recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, made Nick Fury determined to move the Talismans from Section 13 to a safer location, such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.
Faced with Nick Fury's proposal, Blake was extremely reluctant but could not refute it. After all, every point made was a factual event that had occurred. He could only blame his subordinates for their incompetence, failing to even protect their own home.
Ultimately, after Nick Fury presented documents from high-ranking military officials and the White House, Blake could only agree with gritted teeth.
Xiao Yu, standing nearby, asked, "If the Talismans are to be transferred from Section 13, how will S.H.I.E.L.D. ensure they are not stolen by the Black Hand during the transfer?"
Looking at Xiao Yu, Nick Fury was somewhat surprised. In his opinion, the young girl was merely curious and had followed them in to listen. He hadn't expected someone so young to consider the safety issues during the transfer.
To this, Agent Hill, standing beside him, provided an answer, "On the day of the transfer, we will deploy a large number of agents to protect the Talismans. Simultaneously, the Helicarrier will be positioned directly above Section 13 to minimize the transport distance, ensuring the transfer is completed as quickly as possible."
Xiao Yu added, "But the Black Hand has Shadowkhan ninjas, who move without a trace. If they get their hands on the Talismans and escape, ordinary methods won't be able to stop them?"
Xiao Yu, having accompanied Uncle Jackie on multiple expeditions to find the Talismans, had a deep understanding of the Shadowkhan.
Every time they found a Talisman, the Shadowkhan would quickly appear, snatch the Talisman from the Black Hand members at the fastest possible speed, and then disappear into the shadows, leaving no opportunity for retrieval.
Facing Xiao Yu's renewed questioning, Nick Fury did not get angry. Instead, he wore a rare smile and replied, "This is precisely why we invited you and your grandfather."
Nick Fury looked at Grandpa and said, "I hope this gentleman can assist us on the day of the transfer. After all, only magic can fight magic. We will also contact the sorcerers of the New York Sanctum to cooperate with you. What do you say?"
Nick Fury adopted a very humble demeanor, showing no resemblance to someone in a position of great power.
Grandpa hesitated at Nick Fury's request, as if he had something on his mind.
Seeing this, Nick Fury immediately added, "Of course, we won't let Mr. Grandpa work for free. Regardless of the outcome, S.H.I.E.L.D. will pay you one million U.S. dollars as compensation, and we will also fulfill any other requests you may have."
"One million U.S. dollars!?"
Xiao Yu was utterly stunned. In her entire life, she had never seen so much money. It would be enough to renovate Grandpa's antique shop several times over.
Perhaps for ordinary people, one million U.S. dollars was not a small sum, but for the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a million was nothing. It was merely the cost of stationing two American soldiers in a foreign country for a year.
Moreover, Nick Fury believed that those wealthy and life-preserving congressmen would be more than willing to foot the bill for their own safety.
After all, if the demon were truly revived, no one in the United States would have a peaceful life.
After a moment of hesitation, Grandpa agreed to help with the transfer on the designated day, but he declined the assistance of other American sorcerers.
The United States had only been established for a short time, and there were no great sorcerers Grandpa deemed worthy of his attention. Even if there were, they were not individuals S.H.I.E.L.D. could easily invite. Otherwise, Nick Fury wouldn't have come to ask Grandpa.
Indeed, just as Grandpa had suspected, Nick Fury had personally visited the New York Sanctum to ask for Ancient One's help before this. The result was that they completely ignored him. He didn't even get to meet Ancient One. In the end, a sorcerer from the Sanctum conveyed a message saying that fate had its own plan and everything would unfold naturally.
Upon hearing this, Nick Fury nodded his head outwardly, appearing to accept the advice humbly, but inwardly he scoffed at it.
If everything was predetermined by fate, S.H.I.E.L.D. might as well shut down, and the police could also go home. After all, if heaven had already arranged everything, why should mortals bother with all their efforts?
Of course, this was impossible.
After leaving the Sanctum, Nick Fury immediately accessed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archives, found a number of sorcerers and self-proclaimed sorcerers, and hired them with money to ensure the safe completion of the transfer.