Chapter 102: S.H.I.E.L.D. is Acting
"This... Director..."
Hill looked ashamed and hesitated.
"I can tell from the way you are reacting that you have found nothing again, right?"
Furry replied while coldly sighing.
"I'm still too tolerant with you so far. Phantom Kid has become more active recently, which means that you should have more information to predict his movements."
"But you still haven't even figured out his identity! Not even an approximation of the location of his hideout?"
Hill closed her eyes and once again accepted a wave of Fury's verbal baptism. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. Bureau listed Phantom Kid as a seventh-level file, Hill has frequently been scolded by Fury.
Although her mouth was shut, Hill had only one thought deep in her mind at this time, that is: after she finds out who Phantom Kid is, she must severely beat the bastard who had caused her all this headache.
As for Nick Fury...
Well, he is now the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., whereas Hill is pretty much a deputy. Only the secretary general is above both.
No matter how harsh Fury's scolding is, Hill can only listen obediently.
But this is not important, because both, the current director Fury and Secretary-General Pierce, are old scums that have lived for more than half a century now. It won't be long enough until they're gone.
On the other hand, Hill is still very young. Sooner or later, she will become the director. And when that happens, it will be her turn to sit in a chair comfortably and scold someone...
At that time, she will also wear a thick black trench coat in the summer, and then sit in the office, enjoying the cold air emitted by the air conditioner...
The thoughts in her mind drifted farther and farther away, although her expression remained strict. She didn't register a word from Fury's scolding.
Facts have proven that, whether it is an ordinary person or an elite agent, there is not much difference in response to scolding.
If there is a big difference, it should be that ordinary people have not undergone micro-expression training, so their distraction will be easily noticed, which will lead to more serious consequences...
"I'm so disappointed in you, Hill."
It's unknown how long it took. Fury has finally squirted enough saliva. Maybe he was so thirsty that his mouth dried.
Furry picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip.
"I'm sorry, sir."
At this moment, Hill returned to her senses in an instant, and said to Furry with a sorrowful expression on her face.
Seeing one of his most valued subordinates, regretting with a sincere attitude and showing no impatient expression on her face, Fury felt relieved immediately.
Back then, when he was working under Pierce, he often got scolded like this, but Fury himself didn't have such a good temper. Every time Pierce scolded him, he showed extremely impatient emotions.
A confrontation with the boss?
One can't say that it would happen often, but one should expect many every year.
On several occasions, Pierce even deducted half a year of his salary, as a result, he couldn't afford enough food. God only knows how painful it was! He still hasn't gotten over these memories up to this day.
But since the new budget approved by the World Security Council every year was released, no one knows how much Nick gets as a payment...
According to Fury's style back then, when Pierce stepped down as the director and turned Fury to be the secretary general, it was such a blessing for this latter.
In Fury's own words, Pierce would never let a guy who contradicts him inherit his position.
"Phantom Kid couldn't be found. What about the superpowered individual that rescued him in the end?"
"... This is the first time a person has ever used such an ability publically. We have never heard of anyone being able to control plants before."
Hill was silent for two seconds before adding.
"Initially, all is known is that this ability's holder is suspected to be a woman, and it may be Kid's lover or assistant."
"Our botanists discovered after sampling and researching the tree roots that they are very young and, theoretically, it is impossible for them to grow to such a thick degree."
"So, in addition to being able to control plants, she may also have the ability to quickly spawn them, and we can't judge whether she can only control trees, or all plants."
Fury pondered for a moment, and said: "If you can't accurately judge the situation, deal with the worst case scenarios. If the assistant of Phantom Kid can control all kinds of plants, and can quickly spawn them..."
A scene has been automatically generated in Furry's mind: in the city, towering trees rise from the ground, flowers and thorns grow wantonly, all over every corner.
Pedestrians on the street were pierced by rapidly growing branches, and tall buildings were penetrated by giant trees.
Cities have become ruins, humans have become nutrients, and the earth has become a paradise for plants!
"No, this person is too dangerous and must be strictly controlled!"
Fury was startled in a cold sweat by his own imagination.
"Not only the threats on the earth, but also Thor, who appeared in New Mexico last time... Mankind has never been alone in the universe, and these threats are close at hand!"
"The research on the Tesseract must be accelerated. Maybe it is time to urge Dr. Selvig to move soon, but before that..."
Furry stopped thinking and turned to Hill.
"Hill, since there is no way to track the movements of Phantom Kid from the surveillance records, then go and contact him directly!"
After a pause, Fury shook his head again, and said, "No, Phantom Kid is not the same as the superhumans we encountered before. Simple contact is destined to be useless, so just snatch him back!"
"Romanov is still lurking by Stark's side. She cannot be assigned for the time being. You call Coulson and Barton back and ask them to bring ten agents of level 5 or above to the Stark Expo to sneak in two days. It is only there that Phantom Kid can be found."
"However, there are too many citizens at the Expo, and the purpose of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been to remain out of people's sight..."
Hill hesitated.
"Don't worry, Hill, Barton and Coulson will take care of it."
Fury was full of confidence.
"Yes, sir."
On the other side, New York University has fallen into a boiling state.
As we all know, young people tend to have no resistance to all kinds of trendy events.
News similar to Tony's declaration of war on Phantom Kid will obviously hit the entire campus in the first place.
No student is refraining from this topic, Iron Man vs. Phantom Kid, no matter which professor is in the classroom.
As a result, in the midst of today's class, countless professors stopped going on strike. New York University was forced to suspend classes for three days and resume classes after the turmoil has completely subsided.
The same situation is happening in major schools in New York, especially in elite ones.
After all, not-so-good schools tend not to have too many brilliant students who can be disciplined by their grades, but at prestigious universities...
Students who can refute professors are all over the place. So, what're a few less days of class going to do?