Ding dong!
"Coming!"
A familiar voice came from inside. Soon after, the door opened, and the one standing there was none other than Stephanie, who had just said goodbye to them at S.H.I.E.L.D. not long ago.
Now, Stephanie was wearing a set of casual pajamas. When she saw Director Fury and Maria Hill at the door, she wasn't surprised at all and smiled, "Come in."
"Sorry to bother you…" Director Fury nodded, stepping inside.
Hill followed without a word.
She had mostly calmed down by now—it was clear that Director Fury had spoken with her on the way.
But when she saw Stephanie's smiling face, Hill suddenly felt confused again.
Director Fury hadn't told her where they were going, and she hadn't asked.
But it wasn't hard to guess—at this time, it must have something to do with that phone call.
What she didn't expect was that they were here to see Stephanie again.
From her clothes, this was clearly her home. If there was something to discuss, why couldn't they just do it back at the office? Why come all the way here?
With these doubts, Hill stepped inside.
"I've been waiting for you two. Come, sit down…"
Raymond came out from the dining room, also wearing casual pajamas, with an apron tied around his waist, smiling as he spoke.
His pajamas looked like a matching set with Stephanie's.
"Dr. Raymond?"
Seeing him here so suddenly, Hill couldn't hide her surprise.
But then it clicked. "That phone call earlier—was it you?"
"If you mean the person who just spoke with Director Fury, then yes, that was me," Raymond admitted with a small smile.
"I didn't expect this… Really didn't expect it. Doctor, you've been hiding so well," Director Fury sighed, then asked, "But I don't understand—if you're also part of Hydra, why did the Centipede target you before?"
"And Garrett, Pierce—those problems were all things you told me about. Why? Was it because you wanted me to take care of Hydra's internal troubles for you?"
He fired off several questions at once, clearly things he had long wanted to ask.
From his point of view, Raymond's actions were strange—too strange. They did look like he was using outside help to fight Hydra's internal battles.
But the truth was nowhere near that complicated.
"Let's not talk while standing. I made dinner for you myself. Let's eat while we talk, shall we?" Raymond gestured toward the dining room.
To make this dinner, Raymond had called out the Livebearer sub-personality, showing cooking skills far beyond anything this world had ever seen.
With Livebearer in charge, even the best chefs here couldn't compare.
Sure enough, when everyone sat down, they were stunned by the fine dishes on the table.
Even Stephanie, who had already been amazed once before by Raymond's cooking, still felt like her eyes had been opened again.
"The ingredients were limited, so I just made a few simple dishes. Don't mind it," Raymond said with a smile.
This was "simple"?
Looking at the full table of food, with dishes clearly from different countries and styles, Director Fury was left speechless.
Ten minutes later, after trying a bit of everything, he was deeply shaken.
This was without question the most satisfying meal he had ever eaten.
As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, he had been to nearly every top restaurant in the world, always treated as a guest of honor.
But none of those meals could compare to what was in front of him.
Not even close.
He had no idea how Raymond did it, but he had to admit—this truly left him in awe.
"Doctor, you've amazed me too many times today…" Director Fury sighed, wiping his mouth and putting down his knife and fork.
"My cooking's not too bad, right?" Raymond asked with a grin.
He didn't even need the answer. He himself was just as shocked.
Unlike the others, Raymond knew exactly how good Livebearer's cooking skills were.
But knowing it and tasting it were two different things.
When he actually tasted these dishes, the sense of satisfaction was overwhelming, leaving him dazed for a long time.
What was even harder to believe was when Livebearer told him these were only flawed dishes, limited by the ingredients of this world.
Compared to the meals in the world of Toriko, this wasn't even one-tenth of the flavor.
If he didn't know how magical the ingredients in that world were, he would've thought Livebearer was just bragging.
"I don't even have the words to praise this. But I think, seeing our reactions, you already know how we feel," Director Fury said, shaking his head.
"Let's not talk about food anymore. I know you've been waiting to get to the point…"
Raymond smiled, paused to gather his thoughts, then said, "You already know Hydra's current situation. Stephanie is now Hydra's only leader… and she belongs to me."
"I know your personality. You won't easily trust anyone—not me, not Coulson, not anyone completely."
"But the truth is, right now, whether you trust us or not, you don't have much of a choice."
"With Hydra's power now united, swallowing S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't be too hard."
"Even if you convince Tony and the others to take your side, it won't stop the process. In the end, they're just a few people, and they can't change the bigger picture."
"Of course, I personally have no intention of taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. That mess of an organization—aside from you, I doubt anyone else could handle it."
"So my suggestion is simple: let's leave things as they are. No more fighting. From now on, we keep a cooperative relationship and take what we each need." Raymond spoke casually.
"That's it?" Director Fury blinked in surprise.
He had thought Raymond would give a long speech to convince him—or even force him to submit, just like he had with Hydra.
In fact, he had already guessed a few things without Raymond needing to say them.
For example, how did Stephanie suddenly become Hydra's only leader?
Could she really have done that all on her own?
If she had the power to do so, why wait until now?
And from the moment he and Hill entered the house, he had noticed the way Stephanie interacted with Raymond.
Neither of them made a show of it, but it was easy to tell who held the higher ground.
Stephanie was like a gentle woman around Raymond, completely different from her commanding presence at S.H.I.E.L.D.
With Director Fury's sharp eyes, how could he not notice?
Putting all the intel together, he could draw a bold conclusion—Stephanie rose so quickly because Raymond was backing her.
Raymond was the true leader of Hydra now!
Once he realized this, he actually felt relieved.
Because it was clear—Raymond wasn't a man with endless ambition.
If it had been anyone else saying these things, he would have doubted them immediately. But Raymond? He already believed him seventy percent.
For him, that was a high level of trust.
As Raymond himself said, his nature would never let him fully trust anyone.
Even that seventy percent was only possible because the current situation supported his reasoning. If it were based on Raymond alone, it might not even reach fifty.
"If it really is as you say, Doctor, then working together is no problem. Honestly, I'd say I'm the one getting the better deal. But I do still have a few questions—if you don't mind answering?" Director Fury asked.
"Go ahead. As long as it's not something I can't talk about, I'll answer." Raymond smiled.
With him, his impression of Director Fury was more positive than negative.
S.H.I.E.L.D., after all, was more beneficial than harmful to Earth's future. Raymond hadn't taken Hydra under control just so he could personally stand on the front line.
Cooperating with Director Fury was the easier path.
After settling the cooperation between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D., Raymond's life finally returned to calm.
But of course, he had no intention of wasting Hydra's resources.
Once Stephanie fully reorganized Hydra, Raymond had her prepare a cutting-edge laboratory for Orochimaru's sub-personality to use.
And for the others—like the Exorcist, who had helped before—Raymond wasn't stingy. He gave them shadow clones too, allowing them some freedom.
With his current strength, as long as the clones didn't engage in heavy battles, they could stay outside for ten days to half a month without issue. The weaker the base strength, the longer they could last outside.
Raymond himself returned to the Money Talks Detective Agency, back to his real work.
Only here could he feel truly at peace.
"Sir, you're finally back. For some reason, we've had quite a few customers recently. But since you weren't here, we didn't know if we should take the jobs. So we just took down their contact info instead…"
The moment she saw him, Skye couldn't hold back her complaints.
She and David each had to attend S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy classes three half-days a week. The rest of the time, they came here to help.
But with Raymond away, the agency had only been half-open. They didn't dare make decisions on their own.
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