Chapter Forty-Nine: An Agreement Reached

"What about the second spell? Can it really fix anything?"

After finalizing their cooperation, Nick Fury returned to his usual calm and unruffled demeanor, as if the heated haggling just moments ago—where he had bargained with Gu Zhongyan like a fishwife at a market—hadn’t even happened.

"Of course not," Gu Zhongyan shook his head. "That spell is called Restore to Original. As the name suggests, it can return non-living things to a previous state. In theory, any non-living thing can be restored, but in practice, things are more complicated."

"The duration of the damage, the object's inherent energy, and the interference of external forces—all these can affect the spell's effectiveness."

"If something has been damaged for too long, the difficulty and likelihood of failure both increase."

"Similarly, if the object itself possesses immense power, such as certain magical artifacts or high-intensity weapons like an exploded nuclear bomb, the sheer force they contain requires even greater power to suppress in order to repair them."

"At least, with my current abilities, I can't do that yet. Maybe in the future, but it's hard to say."

"Then there’s external influence—just as nuclear explosions leave behind radiation, some objects, after being destroyed by great force, are tainted or imbued with certain energies. If those energies are too strong, they can also hinder the spell’s effect."

"Besides that, things like geomagnetic disturbances, electromagnetic reactions, and other factors may come into play. Ultimately, the specifics of any restoration depend on the situation—too many variables can influence the outcome."

He clapped his hands and smiled. "Of course, if you want me to fix something like the Statue of Liberty, which is just an ordinary object, then most likely, yes, I can restore anything."

"So, do you want me to fix something for you? A S.H.I.E.L.D. base, perhaps? How about ten million dollars for each base?" Gu Zhongyan looked deeply into Nick Fury’s eyes as he made the offer.

Though this price seemed ten times higher than for the Muggle-Repelling Charm, in terms of cost-effectiveness, it was a real bargain. Building a S.H.I.E.L.D. base costs at least hundreds of millions, and over the years, not a few bases have been destroyed. Even restoring one would save over a hundred million in funding.

Compared to such gains, ten million was hardly unreasonable.

"That won’t be necessary. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have any bases in need of your services at the moment, but there may be some destroyed evidence or other items that need repair. Name your price for those," Nick Fury replied, shaking his head.

Gu Zhongyan was somewhat surprised. He could tell that Nick Fury was tempted when he mentioned restoring a base for just ten million. By rights, he shouldn’t have refused such a sure-profit proposal; even bargaining would have made sense. Yet Fury declined outright, without hesitation, which puzzled him.

But when he caught a fleeting struggle in Fury’s eyes, Gu Zhongyan roughly understood the reason behind the refusal.

Just as he didn’t know how many contingencies Fury had, he couldn’t be sure how much Fury actually trusted him.

As the king of spies, suspicion was Nick Fury’s nature. At the very moment most thought themselves trusted, he had already quietly prepared a backup plan.

Trusting no one was Fury’s guiding principle.

His refusal wasn’t due to a lack of interest in the proposal, but rather a lack of trust.

Whether it was the Muggle-Repelling Charm or restoring a base, both would have been part of Fury’s backup plans.

After all, the secrecy of a hidden base lies in how few know about it. Once Gu Zhongyan casts a spell there, he’d be privy to one of Fury’s contingencies. Letting him restore a secret base would only expose more secrets. When forced to choose between secrecy and cost, Fury chose secrecy.

However, from his words that S.H.I.E.L.D. currently had no bases in need of repair, it was clear that he hadn’t ruled out employing Gu Zhongyan’s abilities in the future.

He simply intended to use them openly, for tasks such as official S.H.I.E.L.D. maintenance.

Having figured this out, Gu Zhongyan could only sigh at the lost opportunity.

"Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. But if you need me in the future, just let me know—the price is negotiable."

"Besides those two spells, I know quite a few others. And since you managed to get information on me through the Defenders, you must know about potions as well," Gu Zhongyan said enthusiastically, like a diligent salesman not willing to let a big client slip away.

"If you ever need anything, we can always talk it over. As long as the price is right, everything is negotiable."

Fury was also intrigued by the effects of the potions. Whether it was a healing draught that could quickly mend wounds or the poisons and sedatives Gu Zhongyan had developed, such items were invaluable for an agent.

Thus, Fury made a bulk purchase of potions, leading to another round of sharp bargaining between the two.

This time, however, instead of money, Gu Zhongyan requested that Fury provide him with some special materials.

He had realized that his own efforts to earn money were ultimately to buy gold, silver, jewels, and other rare materials—but rather than searching the market at great expense, it would be far more convenient to acquire them directly from Fury.

First, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a vast organization; they had almost everything available on the market and perhaps even items that couldn’t be found elsewhere. Getting them from Fury was much more efficient than blindly searching on his own.

Second, direct dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D. would be cheaper and more discreet, avoiding unwanted attention.

The only disappointment was that when he proposed accepting some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unidentified items as payment, Fury flatly refused.

Clearly, even if he didn’t know exactly what those items were or their purpose, he believed they couldn’t be allowed to fall into the hands of someone like Gu Zhongyan.

Realizing Fury still didn’t fully trust him, Gu Zhongyan could only shrug helplessly. Fortunately, while he had his eyes on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stockpiles, it wasn’t a necessity, so he didn’t press the point.

With the terms of their ongoing cooperation settled, Gu Zhongyan had Fury send him home.

Carrying bags and boxes, he thought his busy day was finally at an end.

Only upon entering did he discover Father Lanton sitting on the couch, two freshly brewed cups of coffee before him, clearly having waited for quite some time.