In the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier's war room.
"Alas! Now Old Man has lost his two most prized direct disciples simultaneously!"
Upon learning that Jade and Tohru had both been captured, Old Man suffered a heart attack on the spot. Had it not been for timely medical attention, given Old Man's physical condition, he might have passed away then and there.
Looking at the agitated Old Man, Coulson comforted him from the side, "Sir, please calm down. We at S.H.I.E.L.D. are doing everything we can to find the whereabouts of your two disciples, and I'm sure we'll have some success soon."
"Calm down? How can you expect Old Man to calm down now?!"
Old Man was already furious, not an exaggeration to call him a walking powder keg. Now he was directly using Coulson as a punching bag.
Facing Old Man's barrage of criticism, Coulson was helpless and could only stay by his side, doing his best to placate his emotions.
Soon, Uncle and Captain Black also arrived on the Helicarrier. They were personally received by Nick Fury, who then personally escorted them to the conference room where Old Man was.
It was not a matter to be taken lightly.
In the current global landscape, every potential sorcerer is a target of intense competition among various factions. Flattery, money, houses, cars, and even passports and green cards are standard offerings, not to mention some underhanded tactics.
What? You ask how Nick Fury knows all this so clearly? It's no joke. As a spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. has not only used all of the above methods to recruit sorcerers but has also used them more excessively than other factions.
Jade and Tohru were particularly targeted by S.H.I.E.L.D. not only because of their high magical talent and attainments but also because they were direct disciples of the Great Sorcerer Old Man, with boundless prospects; now, they were openly kidnapped by criminals, which was practically a slap in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s face.
As Uncle entered the conference room, he was about to recount his tragic encounters of the day and the disappearance of Jade and Tohru to Old Man. But before he could speak, Old Man's knucklehead bonk landed on his forehead.
"What kind of uncle are you? Now Jade and Tohru have been kidnapped by bad guys, and who knows what they will go through, and it's all because of you!"
Uncle felt very wronged by Old Man's reprimand. He had just returned himself and had been chased by a group of lunatics for almost a day. However, despite feeling wronged, Uncle knew that Old Man was in immense pain right now, and it was understandable for him to vent his anger on Uncle, so he didn't say much more.
Fortunately, however, Agent Hill brought good news.
After Agent Hill entered the conference room and whispered something to Nick Fury, she handed him a file bag.
Opening the file bag and briefly perusing its contents, he tossed it onto the conference table and surveyed the people present, saying, "According to reliable intelligence, we have confirmed that the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on Old Man's antique shop is the underground emperor of New York City, Tie Tou, and the person controlling him is also an old adversary of yours."
Hearing the words "old adversary," Uncle blurted out, "The Dark Hand?"
He and Captain Black had discussed it in the car earlier, but at the time, the clues were insufficient to confirm the mastermind with 100% certainty. However, after looking at the files Nick Fury had placed on the conference table, it was now confirmed that the person who planned and executed all of this was the Dark Hand.
If it were truly the Dark Hand, then the situation would be troublesome.
Firstly, the Dark Hand was no longer a lone wolf. He had now become the king of the nation of Bai Guó, and in recent years, Bai Guó had seen significant improvements in its economy, military, and international standing. If they were to act against Bai Qi, it would become an international issue, and even the United States could not directly take action against him.
Not to mention that the higher echelons of the United States at this time had more or less economic and interest-based dealings with Bai Qi or Bai Guó.
Stopping someone's financial gain was like killing their parents. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. and Section 13 wanted to act, a large number of people in the higher echelons of the United States would come forward to stop them.
Therefore, how to act against Bai Qi had become a very troublesome problem.
Captain Black clearly knew this, which was why he immediately came to the Helicarrier to rendezvous with Old Man and Nick Fury after picking up Uncle.
Do you really think Captain Black would foolishly let Nick Fury handle the rescue?
How could that be possible? If he could, Captain Black would have done it himself, but this matter was too sensitive. If handled improperly, it could escalate into a severe international dispute.
Although Nick Fury knew how thorny this issue was, he was different from Captain Black. He did not have such a close relationship with Uncle. To win him over, he had to make sufficient sacrifices. Therefore, while Captain Black might not be involved in the rescue of Jade and Tohru, Nick Fury had to be.
Unlike Captain Black and Nick Fury, Old Man, as an outsider who had never entered the system, did not understand these intricate dealings. He only knew that he had to rescue his two disciples as soon as possible.
While Nick Fury, Uncle, and the others were discussing countermeasures, Old Man had already quietly begun to cast spells on the side.
"I have already submitted an application to the higher-ups, and on behalf of the United States, we will formally negotiate with Bai Guó to hand over the hostages."
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Uncle said with some difficulty, "How long will this take? I'm afraid Jade and Tohru will suffer the Dark Hand's cruelty."
Nick Fury nodded and said, "We are all aware of the Dark Hand's brutality, so we cannot solely rely on the official procedures. I have already contacted our informants in Bai Guó to gather intelligence and simultaneously dispatched our most elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to secretly infiltrate Bai Guó's borders, to cooperate with the informants inside. We will definitely be able to rescue Jade."
Uncle also knew that this matter was difficult to handle, involving issues between two countries. Nick Fury was already taking a significant risk by dispatching S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to infiltrate Bai Guó without the approval of his superiors.
As everyone was discussing heatedly, Old Man suddenly spoke, interrupting everyone's train of thought.
"There's no need for so much trouble. We're not going to Bai Guó."
Upon hearing this, Uncle thought Old Man was talking nonsense due to excessive grief. He rushed to Old Man's side and explained, "Old Man, Jade and Tohru were captured by the Dark Hand. The Dark Hand's lair is in Bai Guó. If we want to save them, we have to..."
Before Uncle could finish speaking, Old Man's knucklehead bonk landed on Uncle's head.
"Listen to Old Man when he speaks."
After dismissing Uncle, Old Man looked at the bewildered group and continued, "A long time ago, Old Man cast a tracking spell on Jade and Tohru. Just now, Old Man has been tracking this coordinate."