Chapter: 45

Washington D.C., along the banks of the Potomac River, a white curved building spans across the river. Surrounding it are the famous Capitol Hill, Washington National Square, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial.

It's hard to imagine that the headquarters of a secret organization would be located in such a popular tourist spot, with such an extravagant and eye-catching design, exposing itself to everyone's sight.

However, the remarkable thing is that despite its attention-grabbing appearance, if you were to ask the local people what companies are inside the building and what kind of work the people inside are engaged in, no one could give an accurate answer.

The flamboyant exterior design attracts all the attention to the point that everyone completely ignores what secrets might be hidden inside. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s approach truly exemplifies the saying "hiding in plain sight."

Mark, who was visiting the Triskelion for the first time, looked around curiously after entering. After all, in his previous life, he had only seen parts of the building in movies and TV shows. Now, these scenes were truly unfolding before his eyes, and Mark was very excited.

"Mark, remember to stay close to me. There are many classified and important areas within the headquarters that require authorization to access. If you accidentally intrude, other agents might treat you as an invader. Pay attention to this point, understand?" Coulson, who was leading the way, turned back and instructed Mark.

"Don't worry," Mark reassured, patting his chest.

Coulson nodded in satisfaction, but he didn't notice that after Mark finished speaking, he muttered softly, "Anyway, your access control system can't stop me."

From the moment Mark entered the Triskelion, he had secretly ordered his intelligent assistant, Baymax, through the smartwatch, to infiltrate the entire internal system through the building's Wi-Fi, ensuring that there would be no exposure.

He initially thought it would take some effort to penetrate such a sensitive department, but he didn't expect that various hidden backdoors were left in S.H.I.E.L.D. 's systems, allowing Baymax to easily enter and exit the S.H.I.E.L.D. servers. It was even easier than entering his own backyard.

"It seems that HYDRA left these backdoors to collect and transmit data from within S.H.I.E.L.D. I've lucked out. But unfortunately, important information is either stored in physical documents or on Nick Fury's personal servers, not connected to the network. It looks like I'll have to ask for what I want face to face," Mark thought to himself.

Following Coulson and watching him use his ID card to pass through a series of authentication doors, the two finally arrived at the office of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's Director, Nick Fury.

"Good to see you again, Mark. I heard from Agent Coulson that you completed the design of the power system in just one week. It seems Tony's praise of your talent that its comparable to his, is not unfounded," Fury said, seeing Mark at the door, standing up from behind his desk and welcoming him.

"Hmph!" Mark rolled his eyes upon hearing these words. "What talent? He's just flattering himself! How could he possibly be as intelligent as me? Don't tarnish my good name based on his words."

"Um, well. I don't really understand these technological matters, so I'll leave it to you and the research team to discuss. Let's talk about your compensation now," Fury smoothly changed the topic without any hint of embarrassment. "I've already had someone send you a catalog of technical documents that can be made available to you. Except for dangerous technologies with offensive capabilities, it includes the majority of the technical data accumulated by S.H.I.E.L.D. since its establishment. Have you considered which ones you'd like to choose?"

"Well, I've already made up my mind. I initially thought that a big organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. would easily satisfy my thirst for knowledge by revealing some secrets. But it turns out that most of the list you sent me consists of outdated and mundane technologies. If you don't have anything hidden, then I think it's necessary for your organization to establish a long-term technical support partnership with my company.

From the list you sent, there are only two things that caught my interest: the super-soldier serum that created the first publicly known superhero, Captain Steve Rogers, and Dr. Hank Pym's Pym Particles. Just show me these two."

"Are you sure?" Fury confirmed with Mark. "You should know that both of these technology files are incomplete and missing crucial content either due to accidental loss or deliberate concealment by their inventors. Our S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers have been trying for years to reconstruct them from the remnants of these materials, but no one has succeeded. We even accidentally created an ill-tempered monster in the process. Are you still determined to choose these options?"

"It's only those two. Don't worry, I won't come back later and ask for additional compensation. Even if I find them to be inadequate compared to the effort I've put in, a deal is a deal. I understand the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness, honesty, and trust," Mark shrugged at Nick Fury, indicating that he didn't mind these factors.

"Alright then, since you're determined, Coulson will take you to the database later to access these two documents. The documents can only be read within the confines of the database. If you haven't finished reading them, you can come back tomorrow. However, you can't take the documents out or disclose the contents you've seen. Understood?"

"No problem. It won't take much time. I have photographic memory. Two technical files won't be a challenge for me."

"Very well, Agent Coulson, you take Mark to collect his compensation and also deliver the power system he designed to the R&D department for feasibility analysis and verification."

"Understood, sir!"

After Coulson led Mark out of the office, Fury watched their departure with a meaningful expression and said, "It's not in vain that I made careful arrangements. You've indeed chosen these two technologies, and only they can provide you with a challenge. Howard Stark's grandson, I wonder if you can reproduce these two technologies. I'm eagerly waiting to see."

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