"What a great harvest."
Looking at the at least three hundred tied-up ninjas, Nick's face remained calm, but his heart was practically beaming with joy. He patted Phil Coulson's shoulder vigorously, stepped forward, and while thanking Thor and the others for their help, he mentally calculated how many goodies and discounts on new equipment these ninjas could get from Luke, according to the agreement he and Luke had previously negotiated.
The final result of his mental calculation was a number that made him smile.
There was no other way. Luke had added a unique layer of added value to the cutting-edge equipment produced by Heberon. Simply relying on money was no longer enough to satisfy him. Of course, if it were purely based on money, Nick could still find a way, but he was certain that Luke would offer a very high price, so high that even he was a little nervous.
This group of ninjas obviously solved some of Nick's urgent problems.
"Do you want to send them to Heibollen?" Phil knew about the deal between his boss and Heibollen. The previous batch of wristbands was the purchase money for these ninjas.
"Of course." Nick nodded, but still reminded: "But remember to leave a few behind."
If possible, Nick certainly wouldn't abandon the path of in-house research and production. He always had to be prepared for a rainy day. He couldn't abandon SHIELD's follow-up research just because his collaboration with Luke was in its honeymoon phase, or because Luke's technology was becoming increasingly effective. Whether it was vampires, ninjas, or dragon bones, Nick wouldn't abandon in-house research, even if it was just for show.
Watching Thor and his companions in the camp, each holding a bottle of wine and boasting about their achievements, Nick breathed a sigh of relief. Although one of the two Hand leaders in the villa had escaped, leaving them without a complete victory, Nick was already satisfied. The Hand's power in the city had been severely damaged, leaving only a few stragglers, marking the final victory of S.H.I.E.L.D. in this underground war.
As for the possible counterattack and confrontation that may occur later?
Nick had anticipated this, but wasn't worried. The enemy had just suffered a crushing defeat, and whether they were regrouping and preparing for a counterattack or anything else, it would take time. The longer the timeline stretched out, the greater SHIELD's advantage. He understood that training the Hand's ninjas took time and was an extremely rigorous process. This meant the Hand couldn't have too many ninjas. Their organization still relied heavily on ordinary people. Ninjas could only serve as elite troops.
These three hundred or so captive ninjas might not be a complete annihilation for the Opponents, but they would certainly suffer significant damage. For a short period, they would be forced to hide and lick their wounds in the underground under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s frenzied attacks. During this period, S.H.I.E.L.D. could once again mass-produce a batch of metal wrist guards, known as the "Beast Series," to bolster the combat effectiveness of its agents.
…
Hebron.
Phil handed a piece of paper to Snooker, who was responsible for handing it over to him.
"Please sign, two hundred and twenty-two ninjas." Phil said with a smile.
Snooker waited until his team members had checked the number of people and detected the energy in each other's bodies, and found no unqualified people, then he signed the paper handed to him by Phil.
"Take them into the lab."
Watching Phil and his men leave, Snoke gave orders to his security teams. He didn't harbor any sympathy or other feelings toward these ninjas. As the head of Heberon's security and the force responsible for Luke's personal troubles, Luke had kept many secrets from him. The confidential information he had access to was unimaginable to others.
In Snoke's view, these ninjas, whose hands were stained with countless blood, were no different from the vampires.
…
"Anjing said that Fury captured more than 300 ninjas?" Luke looked at the number of ninjas that entered the laboratory listed by Bai Hou, turned his head and asked Venom, who was lying in a puddle of black mud beside him.
"Yes, by the way, she said that her reward as a spy was a [bitter] food. Recently, she is a little tired of eating the dopamine of the host's love and wants to change the taste." Venom poked his head out.
"Very good! I thought it would be great if Nick could deliver half the prisoners, but he actually delivered two-thirds. This is a good result." Although he only got 222 ninjas, Luke didn't feel dissatisfied at all. After all, he didn't pay anything for this except selling some equipment. Instead, S.H.I.E.L.D. paid the full price.
At the forefront is S.H.I.E.L.D.
The people who died were S.H.I.E.L.D.
Then he gained a lot of benefits, so what was there for him to be dissatisfied with?
Besides, the remaining ninjas might still be Nick's relentless pursuit of research, but Luke didn't believe they could truly develop similar equipment. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, or that he looked down on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientific capabilities; after all, they had developed and produced a wealth of in-house advanced weaponry. It was just that everyone had their specialties. Besides, even if they truly managed to develop something, Luke's version would likely have already been around for generations.
So Luke believed that as long as they were still alive, those ninjas would eventually, like the vampires, slowly return to him from Nick through bargaining.
Technological monopoly is so confident.
…
"Do you think emotions are a kind of energy that can be collected?"
On this day, after consuming another material, Luke suddenly had an inspiration and asked Venom.
"Are you asking me?"
Venom, who was feasting on a soul crystal the size of a fingernail, was stunned by the question. He stuck his head out, extended a tentacle that turned into a finger and pointed at himself, asking blankly.
"What else? Is there anyone else here besides you who can answer this question for me?" Luke asked Venom while asking White Queen to clean the laboratory.
"But I'm not a scientist," Venom said with a look of grievance. "I've only parasitized combatants. You want me to tell you how to do bad things, how to chew people's brains off? I have experience with that. The only normal person I've parasitized was that reporter who was Eddie Brock."
"That's your fault. You forgot a very important person." Luke shook his head.
"Who?" Venom tilted his head.
"Tony Stark," Luke reminded.
"Oh, yes, that arrogant and tsundere guy. Actually, I like him very much. His personality is very similar to mine. If possible, I would like to spend more time with him. Can you give me a break? Let me visit him." Venom suddenly realized and recalled the man who had quarreled with him and liked to hide in a suit of steel armor.