"I have to say, are they really the biggest intelligence organization? They've pushed Umbrella to this point so quickly!" Zhou Yi raised his paddle, increasing the price of the item being auctioned, and said casually.
Coulson just smiled subtly. "They have too many problems of their own. Expose a little, put some pressure on the European side. It won't take long for some investors to back off. These problems pile up, and a problem with the cash flow is almost certain."
"With our abilities, isn't it easy to make them suffer for a while?"
The extent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s influence in this world can be glimpsed from this matter. A multinational corporation was unknowingly plunged into a predicament. This method was enough to make anyone take them seriously.
Perhaps they couldn't compare in true power to those who could destroy the world, but their potential energy was enough to influence more things. This was a cluster-based society, and in this society, they were far more powerful than any superpower.
"Contact me when you're ready. I should have a lot of free time recently." He raised the price to two million dollars, and Zhou Yi led Aresa, ready to leave. He had already spent almost five million dollars here this time, more than enough for charity.
Coulson winked quietly but didn't say goodbye to Zhou Yi. He was still playing the role of a stranger, and too much interaction with Zhou Yi would only attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. That wouldn't be good for their cooperation.
After saying goodbye to Director Stacy, Zhou Yi drove away with Aresa.
On the way, he glanced at Aresa, who looked a little listless, and slightly reduced his speed. At the same time, he lowered his head and asked.
"Sorry, dear. For bringing you to such a boring place."
"It's okay, Dad." Aresa raised her head, a forced smile appearing on her cute little face. "I'm just feeling a little tired."
Having been frozen for several years, Aresa's memories of her childhood were already blurred, and it was precisely because of this that she could accept Zhou Yi as her father so quickly. For her, Zhou Yi was actually just a character who filled a void in her heart.
Gently caressing the black hair of this girl, who had been through life and death, Zhou Yi felt some guilt. He had been so focused on his plans that he had ignored the child's feelings. Everything tonight was clearly not suitable for her, especially since they were not actually father and daughter.
"Sorry, dear. I promise it won't be like this again." He began to make a solemn promise. If he hadn't been a qualified father before, then now and in the future, he would move towards being a good father. Since he had chosen to take on this responsibility, he would bear it no matter what.
And it wasn't easy to be a qualified father, let alone a good one.
Looking at the forced smile on Aresa's face, Zhou Yi thought for a moment before asking.
"Honey, if I send you to school, do you think it would be better than having a teacher at home?"
"School?" Aresa, who had been forced to endure a miserable fate before she was of school age, had a natural longing for this word. Perhaps it was the thing she desired most before everything happened. "Really, Daddy!"
"Of course, but you might have to wait a few days. You know, Nick's behind quite a bit of coursework compared to other kids his age. Maybe you should have Serana tutor you."
"No problem!" Aresa, full of energy in an instant, immediately replied. "I'll go find Serana and ask her for help!"
"Oh, really? Aren't you afraid Serana will bite you?" Seeing the girl's reaction, Zhou Yi teased her about Aresa's embarrassing story. Ever since she watched a movie about vampires, Aresa had been completely terrified of Serana, even requesting a light on at night to prevent Serana from sneaking in the darkness to suck her blood.
"I'm not afraid of her! She won't really bite me!" Aresa puffed out her little mouth in rebuttal, but soon she hesitantly followed up with a question. "Will she bite me?"
"I don't know." Shrugging his shoulders, Zhou Yi began to exaggerate. "Maybe you should ask Serana yourself to see if young girls are on her menu."
Aresa's face immediately showed a scared expression. Being alone with Serana at night was a huge psychological challenge for her. What should she do? The girl, still unable to distinguish between jokes and the truth, fell into her own little dilemma.
Seeing his adopted daughter's expression, Zhou Yi immediately felt a strange amusement. At that moment, he suddenly regained the feeling of teasing Charis when they were kids. Both of them had spent many nights terrified by the ghost stories he made up.
The car moved smoothly along the road and soon arrived near Queens. Looking at the somewhat familiar streets, Zhou Yi suddenly remembered when he first came to New York.
Back then, he had gotten together with the first cheerleader he met in New York at a soda shop on this very street. Of course, they broke up soon after.
He casually made a turn and quickly found the somewhat old sign. This surprised him. It was unexpected that a soda shop next to the most chaotic underground bar could stay open for so long. However, it might also have something to do with the soda shop owner's skills.
Back then, many girls liked to stay here all day long just to enjoy the owner's unique pastries and ice cream.
Pulling over to the side of the road, Zhou Yi asked the still-hesitant girl,
"Darling, do you want some more ice cream and desserts? Vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate?"
Upon hearing ice cream and desserts, Aresa immediately dropped her little hesitation. She had absolutely no resistance to these things.
"Strawberry-flavored, and I want sweet jam and pretty strawberries!"
"At your service, my dear little princess." Opening the car door, Zhou Yi didn't forget to remind the girl. "Stay in the car. Don't wander around, and don't talk to strangers."
Only when he saw Aresa nod obediently did he leave with peace of mind. As a newly-minted father, he always had some worries. This was a common affliction of parents.
The ice cream shop wasn't open 24 hours, but because of the bar next door, it usually stayed open quite late. And now, it was far from closing time.
Just like more than a decade ago, the owner was still the same person. Although he looked much older, he was still full of energy and enthusiastic towards every customer.
He didn't care about Zhou Yi's expensive suit, which seemed out of place in such a small shop, and as always, said in an enthusiastic tone with a strong French accent.
"Welcome, esteemed guest. What can I help you with?"
"Of course, please give me a strawberry ice cream, the shop's specialty, and the best strawberry cake. Also, please give me a hot chocolate." Although more than a decade had passed, Zhou Yi was still familiar with this place. For him, this was a part of his youth. Although this part seemed a bit absurd and ridiculous now, as a source of memories, it always made people reluctant to let go.
The reason the owner's small shop had survived for over a decade was largely because everything was handmade. This limited his scale, but it also kept more customers loyal. Especially since his craftsmanship was quite good.
He skillfully crafted exquisite pastries while chatting with Zhou Yi.
"Sir, you seem familiar with my shop, but please forgive me. My impression of you is a little vague."
"I used to come here often with a girl when I was in high school, but I haven't been here in a long time. I remember that the shop seemed to have just opened back then."
"Oh, that's been about ten years. Hearing you say that, I seem to have some recollection. Back then, you seemed to often bring a blonde lady to the shop."
"Your memory is really good. Most people wouldn't remember customers from their shop from over a decade ago." Listening to the owner's reminiscing, Zhou Yi began to admire him. This also made the owner very pleased, making him feel young again.
"You know, back then, not many high school students could ride a Harley Davidson and carry a beautiful girl. Was she your daughter? Have you married that beautiful girl?"
"Aresa is my daughter, but the girl back then probably doesn't know me anymore."
"Oh, I see. That's what it's like to be young, especially for men. There are always good memories," the owner said, making a knowing gesture. He placed the packaged pastries and drinks in front of Zhou Yi.
"It's always a pleasure to see a regular customer like you. I'll only charge you for the pastries; the drinks and ice cream are on me. I hope you don't mind. Though it's probably nothing to you!" The owner gestured towards the Bentley parked outside the door. "But consider it a small token of my appreciation for the little princess in the car."
Looking at Aresa, who was pressed against the car window looking longingly at the food, Zhou Yi couldn't help but smile. He paid for the pastries but didn't refuse the other items. It was a gesture of goodwill, and there was no need to be overly concerned about it.
"Thank you, boss. I wish you booming business!"
"Have a pleasant day, sir. I look forward to your next visit." The owner smiled and bid Zhou Yi farewell, offering his blessings. This was the way of life for this honest man, and it was precisely why so many people remembered him.
Seeing Zhou Yi returning with the desserts, Aresa eagerly rolled down the car window. Whether it was women or children, their resistance to such things was very low. As for little girls, their resistance was effectively negative.
Zhou Yi handed the cake to Aresa through the car window and didn't rush to drive off. He watched Aresa happily eating with a spoon, then stood outside the car and lit a cigarette.
Since they had a child, Serana had been implementing a smoking ban at home, claiming it would affect Aresa's development. Zhou Yi couldn't argue with that, so he had to indulge his habit outside.
It seemed like now would be a good time to smoke and kill some time. However, a gunshot interrupted his rare moment of leisure.
On the street across from him, an old man clutched his stomach and fell to the ground. Two panicked-looking guys were quickly running towards the street. It looked like they were trying to carjack and escape, and Zhou Yi, with his car door wide open, had become their target.
A tall Mexican man immediately pointed the gun in his hand at Zhou Yi. He shouted as he gestured to his panicked companion.
"Get out of the way, you yellow-skinned monkey. Or I'll blow your brains out."
"You guys are really unlucky." Zhou Yi placed his hot cocoa on the car roof, exhaling a smoke ring while sizing up the two guys with a mocking gaze.
"What are you talking about? Are you looking for death?" Relying on the gun in his hand, he walked forward directly, seemingly wanting to press the gun against Zhou Yi's head.
But after taking two steps, he found that Zhou Yi had moved close. This sudden action made him instinctively want to pull the trigger, but he couldn't move his finger to the trigger. Upon closer inspection, he found that the guy in front of him had directly reached out and used his thumb to block the gap in the trigger.
Without room to move, shooting with the gun became a pipe dream. The Mexican man wanted to use force to snatch the gun back, but Zhou Yi had already struck his jaw with a palm strike.
The blow, though not strong, was enough to knock a normal person unconscious. Whether he'd suffer a concussion was irrelevant to Zhou Yi.
Seeing Zhou Yi take down his partner in an instant, even disarming him, the other thug clearly lost his nerve. Especially after seeing people nearby start calling the police, he turned tail and fled into an alley.
He knew very well that the police would arrive soon. Only in these alleys did he have a chance of escape.
Ignoring the fleeing thief, Zhou Yi turned back to Aresa and said, "Stay here," before running to the other side of the street. He hadn't forgotten the elderly man who'd been shot, and saving a life was more important than chasing a petty criminal.
"Are you alright? How do you feel?" The old man was lying on the ground, and dark blood began to soak through his shirt. It was clear the old man's condition was very serious, but Zhou Yi still feigned concern as he asked.
This was a waste of breath as far as he was concerned. Under his super vision, he could already see the situation inside the old man's body.
In a sense, he was already beyond saving. The bullet had pierced his internal organs, causing severe internal bleeding. Unless he could receive the most advanced medical treatment immediately, there was no hope. But judging by the old man's clothing, he wouldn't be able to receive such treatment.
However, he could receive a blessing, a gift from the gods that even the wealthiest people might not be able to obtain.
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition
" The Marvel Universe in Meiman I Opened a Supermarket "
" Marvel: I Control Dreams in the World "
" Marvel: Starting Sign-ins from the World "
" Marvel: The Speedster "
" Marvel: The Kryptonian "
" Marvel: Iron Man, Mechanical Armies Sweep All "
" American Comics: Copying the Strong "
" Marvel: Endless Superpowers "
" Marvel: Venom Devours the Myriad Worlds "
many more are available 105+
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)