Chapter 27: Action Plan for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Oaks was very interested in Coulson's statement.
The fact that their mission was not over yet meant that even before revealing his ability to communicate with animals, S.H.I.E.L.D already had an interest in other aspects of him.
"So, what were your expectations of me originally?"
"Dr. Woods, we apologize for conducting a series of investigations on you. We believe you can understand."
Seeing Oaks slowly nod, Coulson also breathed a sigh of relief. Now, Oaks's importance in his eyes had skyrocketed.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. originally had technology to ensure absolute obedience from humans or animals but it was stolen by Soviet spies, which eventually led to the creation of the Black Widow, Oaks's ability was completely different.
"We have discovered some discrepancies between your public transportation information, immigration records, and your travel itinerary."
Though Coulson put it delicately, Oaks immediately understood what he meant.
This is the disadvantage of going to Amazon without a visa and round-trip tickets.
"We can discuss this issue next time."
Oaks shook his head slightly. It wasn't the right time to confront S.H.I.E.L.D. yet.
"I need to know the stance of your leadership."
Oaks never considered hiding his abilities forever.
Just relying on himself, he wouldn't be able to rapidly promote the growth of the Earth's ecosystem even if it exhausted him. The Great Druids who could merge with the consciousness of the ecosystem, weren't they all cultivating for tens of thousands of years?
Here, Oaks had to rely on the power of the official authorities, leverage the strength of the entire human society as much as possible, and quickly restore and strengthen the Earth's ecosystem.
Only then would he have sufficient ability to respond to crises before they arrived.
Even though he already possessed the power of half of the Amazon rainforest's nature, compared to the entire Earth's ecosystem, the rainforest was only a tiny part. Wanting to link the entire ecosystem through this small fulcrum wasn't possible.
So, during this process, he had to be in a leading position.
In the eyes of a Druid who controlled the power of nature, the planet's ecosystem had its own "consciousness."
This consciousness didn't refer to Mother Earth, the ancient god Gaia, but rather the ecosystem itself.
In fact, the concept of Gaia, the "Earth Mother" in a broad sense, was called "Gaia consciousness" in the scientific community, derived from the important scientific theory of the late 1960s, the "Gaia hypothesis."
The proponent of this hypothesis was James Lovelock, a British scientist hailed as the world's environmental science master. In his hypothesis, the Earth was viewed as a "superorganism."
The self-regulation of the ecosystem was extremely similar to the self-regulation of a biological organism.
This was an important scientific speculation that scientifically argued for the natural consciousness of the ecosystem and became a guiding theory for the rise of the current global environmental movement.
This elderly gentleman, who was almost ninety years old, ranked fourth in this year's Top Ten Mad Scientists in the World, because his hypothesis was too shocking, with many supporters and even more opponents.
In Oaks's eyes as a Druid, Lovelock was correct—even a bit conservative.
The consciousness of the Earth's ecosystem would allow Oaks, as the controller of the natural forces, to gain its blessings only when he was in a dominant position.
This was a must for Oaks, just like why, out of the countless night elf druids, only one, Malfurion, could receive the blessing of Elune. Because he was the first Druid, a demi-god disciple of nature, he was talented enough, had enough time for cultivation, and was the leader of all Druids.
Therefore, Oaks had to demonstrate his abilities and become a figure with immense prestige in both the scientific community and human society.
Improving the positive power system was indeed troublesome.
But fortunately, it was not contradictory to Oaks's true nature.
If he didn't have a heart that loved nature, he wouldn't have had this opportunity in this lifetime.
He protects the Earth's ecosystem, and the Earth's ecosystem gives him feedback in the form of power. It is a win-win situation.
Based on the various reasons above, he would eventually have to confront S.H.I.E.L.D.
But timing and approach were key.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been infiltrated and eroded by Hydra, it was still the prominent global defense organization.
Cooperation was possible, but Oaks couldn't be subjected to any constraints from it.
So, he needed to use the existing leverage to test Nick Fury's stance.
Should he use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources openly and rapidly establish his reputation and development? Or should he appear isolated on the surface, secretly build his influence through special means? It would depend on his next meeting with the agents.
"I understand..."
Coulson realized that the other party wanted to end today's conversation.
However, he still had one question.
"Dr. Woods, besides this house, it seems you have another property."
Coulson stared intently into Oaks's eyes. In fact, this was the most important aspect of their mission—social assessment of Oaks.
"That ecological experimental site in the Brooklyn slums, to be honest, I never expected you to have such remarkable research results while remaining so low-key."
Although it sounded like praise, to Oaks's ears, it was as if he was being told, "There's nothing that S.H.I.E.L.D. can't find out about you. You'd better confess honestly."
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."
Oaks fell silent for a moment, crossed his arms, and nodded.
To be precise, he rented that place. If they didn't allow the landlord to rent it to him, the place would be useless.
The Little Rainforest had self-defense capabilities, but they could only handle ordinary people. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were definitely unstoppable.
At this moment, Melinda, who had been silent all along, spoke up:
"Dr. Woods, you may not know... The crime rate in the impoverished areas is sky-high, but around that ecological experimental site, it has almost plummeted to zero! It's an eerily calm and orderly place."
Melinda paused for a moment before sighing with a complex expression:
"Our agents put in a lot of effort to get in, and I apologize, but they even used some unconventional methods. But when we learned the truth inside, I have to say, Dr. Woods, your achievements far exceed your current standing in the academic world. What you have done for the impoverished... it impresses us even more."
Melinda's evaluation of Oaks could be considered quite high.
"Unfortunately, I'm not as noble as you think. That was just an accident."
Oaks sighed. Originally, he had intended to use it for human test subjects. The strange situation in the "Little Rainforest" had indefinitely postponed his plans to end the experiments.
"But Dr. Woods, I hope you understand that the formation of such a large-scale social force has made our assessment of you uncertain."
Coulson's sudden remark caught Oaks off guard.
"Social force? What social force?"
"Of course, I'm referring to the social force you have at the ecological experimental site."
Coulson frowned slightly, and Oaks's expression didn't seem fake.
"No, I don't have any social force there."
For the first time, Oaks's expression became serious.
Things seemed to have taken an unexpected turn.
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