Chapter 110: Army at the Gates, HYDRA Completely Stunned
"Mr. Lin, the pomp of your so-called 'business trip' has scared those old guys at The Pentagon so much that they held three emergency meetings overnight."
Potts, dressed in a tailored black professional suit and wearing ten-centimeter red-bottomed stilettos, followed by Lin Nuo's side.
New York, Star Umbrella Group's private exclusive airport.
The rain had just cleared.
On the tarmac, dozens of pitch-black Blackbird transport planes, equipped with the latest Vibranium technology and heavy firepower, were lined up.
The engines were in a warm-up state, their low roar drowning out all surrounding noise.
In the sky, hundreds of unmanned wingmen, modified from Stark Industries' top-tier armor technology, were taking off in formation, the massive metal cluster cutting the sunlight into pieces.
This was not a business trip for a multinational corporation executive.
This was a unilateral crushing, an unreasonable armed clearing.
Lin Nuo had one hand in the pocket of his pure black custom-made suit, his pace languid, not even lifting his eyelids.
"Scared them?"
The man's tone was casual.
"This is just a normal business acquisition process."
"That dump of a place, Sokovia, is a waste of resources while occupied by HYDRA. It's better to hand it over to me to develop into a new paradise."
Potts stopped beside the gangway of the main ship in the center.
She took a top-tier handmade cigar from a special temperature-controlled cigar box, skillfully clipped one end, and lit it with a custom lighter.
After doing all this, she stood slightly on tiptoe and passed the cigar to Lin Nuo's lips.
The distance between the two was extremely close.
The patch of snow-white skin at Potts' neckline was within reach, and the heat from her breath was entirely cast onto Lin Nuo's side neck.
Potts' soft, sweet voice contained a hint of coquettishness and probing, the corners of her eyes alluring, half her body almost pressed against the man's sturdy arm.
"The Boss's 'acquisitions' never leave survivors."
"However, I read the intelligence submitted by Natasha. In that HYDRA bio-Base, besides Baron Strucker, there is also a very special little red-haired girl."
Lin Nuo bit the cigar.
His thin lips parted slightly, exhaling a blue-gray smoke ring.
Amidst the swirling smoke, his bony, distinct large hand reached out without hesitation, grabbing Potts' slender waist and pulling her forcefully into his arms.
"Jealous?"
Lin Nuo's fingertips kneaded the soft flesh, not too light and not too heavy, the strength perfectly balanced on the boundary that could make a person go weak.
Potts' body went limp, and she could only lean softly against his scorching chest, her strength to even stand up almost drained away.
Her nasal tone deepened, and her hands subconsciously clung to his shoulders.
"How would I dare..."
"I'm just afraid that Mr. Lin won't be used to the food in a backwater place like Eastern Europe."
"That little girl looks wild and untamable, unlike us who are sensible and can serve you in various ways..."
Lin Nuo chuckled, the vibration of his chest traveling through the suit fabric, causing a soreness in Potts' waist.
He lowered his head, bit heavily on those striking red lips, and lowered his voice to coax her.
"Only those who are wild and untamable need to be properly taught the rules."
"Be a good girl and manage the company for me in New York."
"Wait until I bring back that little wild cat who can alter reality, and then I'll let you all compete properly to see who can satisfy me more."
Potts' ears turned bright red, and her breathing lost its rhythm completely.
In front of this man, she could never maintain the air of a multinational CEO.
He always had a way of using the most straightforward language to strip her bare, making her fall into that kind of overbearing and wicked control.
"Boss, can we put the reminiscing on hold for now?"
A seductive female voice came from the side.
Natasha was wearing a form-fitting black combat suit, walking over with long strides.
The zipper of the tight suit was deliberately pulled very low, a large expanse of proud curves rising and falling as she walked, wildness and danger coexisting.
She held a holographic tablet in her hand, placing it directly between Lin Nuo and Potts.
Natasha licked her red lips with the tip of her tongue, her gaze burning as she stared at Lin Nuo.
"We have taken over the air defense systems of eight countries along the way."
"Those financial tycoons and the Military who just signed the indentures dare not even make a peep now."
"The flight path is cleared, ready for takeoff at any time."
Lin Nuo let go of Potts, his fingertips naturally tracing along Natasha's taut waistline.
"Well done."
"Let's go, let's go to Sokovia to do some demolition."
Below the gangway, a pitch-black armored bulletproof maybach was already on standby.
Lin Nuo flicked the ash from his fingertips and strode into the back seat of the car.
Natasha didn't go to the passenger seat, but instead squeezed into the spacious back row with him.
The heavy car door closed.
Amidst the engine sound, the maybach drove steadily into the huge belly of the Blackbird transport plane.
The hatch closed slowly, completely isolating the outside view, turning the car interior into an absolutely private, dim space.
Just at this moment, the micro-communicator on Lin Nuo's wrist lit up with a red light.
This was the highest-level global Military encrypted channel.
Lin Nuo pressed the answer button casually.
A holographic projection unfolded inside the carriage, showing a European Minister of Defense covered in medals on the screen.
The old man was sweating profusely at this moment, holding a handkerchief and constantly wiping his forehead.
The Minister of Defense's voice was trembling violently.
"Mr... Mr. Lin."
"Your private fleet has crossed our airspace without filing a report."
"Even if you have taken over the defense rights, this scale of Military mobilization violates the Geneva..."
Lin Nuo interrupted him.
He leaned back in the top-tier calfskin seat, legs crossed, his tone full of unyielding arrogance.
"Old thing, your memory isn't very good."
Lin Nuo fiddled with the lighter in his hand.
"Yesterday, when you were all lying on the carpet signing that one-dollar agreement, I had already bought out your bottom line."
"Now your airspace is my backyard."
"Do I need to report to you wherever I feel like taking a stroll?"
"But Sokovia is a sovereign..."
Lin Nuo's voice turned cold.
"Shut up!"
"If within three minutes, there is even a single red dot on your radar locking onto my fleet, your family will be erased from Europe tomorrow."
"Do you understand?"
"Un... understood!"
The old man on the screen almost knelt down.
The communication was cut off.
Lin Nuo tossed the terminal aside.
This kind of dimensional reduction strike, controlling the power of life and death globally, had long been the most boring diversion in his life.
He turned his head, his gaze falling on Natasha beside him.
Only dim ambient lights were on in the carriage.
Natasha pulled the zipper of her combat suit down a few more inches, and a long leg wrapped in tight leather pants boldly crossed the center console, resting directly on Lin Nuo's suit trousers.
Natasha leaned forward, the seductive scent mixed with the smell of gunpowder and top-tier perfume drilling straight into Lin Nuo's nostrils.
"To treat even the European Minister of Defense's face like a shoe insole, the Boss is truly becoming more and more charming."
"Offering yourself up?"
Lin Nuo unceremoniously gripped her ankle, his fingertips kneading the protruding bone through the leather material.
A soft, delicate moan spilled from Natasha's throat.
She simply followed the force, kneeling halfway on the spacious leather seat, her upper body completely close to Lin Nuo.
She leaned into his ear to breathe, her fingers restlessly undoing the buttons of Lin Nuo's shirt.
"A long flight is so boring; if I don't come to help the Boss relieve the boredom, what if you have nowhere to vent your anger when you arrive in Sokovia later?"
Lin Nuo flipped his large hand, taking the initiative.
He grabbed the soft flesh on the back of her neck, forcefully pressing her entire body toward himself.
His other hand domineeringly wrapped around her waist, not allowing her to move a single bit.
Lin Nuo turned his head and bit her earlobe, causing Natasha to shiver violently.
"If you crave my body, just say so, don't look for so many high-sounding excuses."
"Save some energy."
"Keep a close eye on Strucker's escape route from above for me later."
"If you let even one piece of HYDRA trash escape, when we go back, I'll lock you in the office and make you report to me while standing, understand?"
"You tyrant who exploits employees..."
Natasha's cheeks were bright red, her eyes filled with moisture.
Although she complained with her mouth, her body had softened into a pool of spring water.
She obediently let the man hold her, not even able to muster the thought of struggling.
The transport plane fleet tore through the clouds.
...
At this moment, a thousand miles away.
In Sokovia, snow was falling heavily, and the temperature was terrifyingly low.
Deep underground in an ancient castle hidden in the mountains.
This was the highest-level HYDRA bio-fortress that Baron Strucker had spent ten years of painstaking effort to build.
Inside the laboratory hall, piercing alarm sounds were frantically devastating everyone's eardrums.
The red warning lights were rotating continuously.
Researchers in white lab coats were terrified, rushing back and forth in the corridors, turning into a complete mess.
Baron Strucker slammed his palm heavily onto the main console, furious.
"What's going on? Why is our air defense radar completely blind!"
His eye, wearing a monocle, was full of bloodshot veins, staring fixedly at the large screen in front.
No one could answer him.
Because just a minute ago, all the encrypted lines inside the Base had been forcibly cut off by an overwhelming external force.
The holographic screens that were originally displaying the map of the surrounding Europe all went black, and then a pure black umbrella-shaped logo slowly emerged.
The totem of the Star Umbrella Group.
A communications soldier typed on the keyboard, sweating profusely, his voice already carrying a sobbing tone.
"Baron! The satellite image was restored for one second!"
"In the sky... the sky is full of fighter jets!"
"They didn't even slow down, they broke directly through the clouds and have already locked onto us!"
Chapter 111: Plutocrats Clearing the Land, Capturing the Red-Haired Little Wildcat
"Boss, according to the old rules of superheroes, shouldn't we put on gaudy spandex, sneak into this remote ancient castle under the cover of night, and finally deliver a touching speech about justice to the villain?"
Natasha sat sideways on the man's firm thigh, her calves wrapped in thin black silk stockings crossing restlessly, her toes brushing against the fabric of the man's suit trousers.
Her arms were loosely wrapped around Lin Nuo's neck.
Inside the backseat of the bulletproof armored maybachparked in the cargo hold of the Blackbird transport plane, only the dim red ambient lighting was on.
The top-tier cedar fragrance mixed with the alluring scent of gunpowder perfume on the woman, filling this absolutely private space to the brim.
Lin Nuo leaned against the leather seat, one hand holding half a glass of romanee-conti, the other resting unreservedly on the edge of Natasha's tight leather pants.
His large, bony hand carried a strong sense of aggression, kneading the slender waist that was too small to hold, the pads of his fingers bringing up a startling, burning heat.
"That is the bottom-tier tactic used by paupers."
Lin Nuo's thin lips parted slightly, his words casual.
He turned his head, bit down lightly on her gorgeous red lips, and lowered his voice to coax.
"What qualifications does that outdated Popsicle, who goes around smashing people with a broken shield, have to compare efficiency with me?"
"For a place that can be flattened with capital and heavy firepower, insisting on playing positioning games with a bunch of trash in the sewer is completely inconsistent with the high-end commercial acquisition process of the Star Umbrella Group."
As the words fell, Lin Nuo's free long finger tapped carelessly on the holographic virtual button on the car's center console.
"Clear the field."
These two words sentenced the entire castle to death.
Outskirts of Sokovia.
The snowy night sky was thoroughly ignited.
No probing, no warnings, no buffer zones whatsoever.
Dozens of Blackbird transport planes hovering above the clouds, along with hundreds of dense drone wingmen, opened their heavy weapon bays the second they received the order.
Thousands of bunker-busting missiles bearing the Star Umbrella black-gold logo, dragging long, eerie blue exhaust flames, poured down toward the ancient stone building below like an apocalyptic meteor shower.
Inside the biochemical fortress a kilometer underground.
Baron Strucker was venting his impotent rage at the black-screen monitoring system.
His right eye, wearing a monocle, was bloodshot, and his fists pounded the console with a thudding sound.
"Where are the anti-aircraft missiles!"
"Why aren't they intercepting!"
"Push all the anti-aircraft guns out for me!"
Strucker roared crazily at the communicator, spraying spit all over the screen.
The HYDRA researcher in a white coat standing to the side couldn't even stand steady; the radar detection map on the big screen had long turned into a dead, silent sea of red.
"Baron... it's too late!"
"The enemy's firepower coverage has no blind spots at all; our energy shields can't even hold for a second!"
The researcher's voice was full of desperate sobbing.
It didn't give Strucker any chance to react.
Successive dull, heavy booms came from overhead.
The ten-meter-thick reinforced concrete dome was as fragile as thin paper soaked in water in the face of Star Umbrella's specially made high-explosive bunker-busting bombs.
Defense towers were leveled directly, and the surrounding hidden bunkers were vaporized.
The oppressive feeling brought by the heavy firepower carpet bombing blew those once-arrogant HYDRA soldiers into blood mist.
Large chunks of stone slabs smashed into the laboratory.
Glassware shattered everywhere, and the green culture fluid used for anti-human experiments flooded into the corridor.
Strucker was blown away by the huge shock wave, rolling on the ground several times.
His secret Base, the one he had spent ten years of effort on and prepared as a bargaining chip to subvert the World, had been smashed into a pile of smoking ruins by someone using money from the sky in just thirty seconds.
He hadn't even seen what the enemy looked like!
"Demons... these are unreasonable demons!"
Strucker lay on the ground full of debris, his old face twisted to the extreme.
Inside the maybach carriage, the thick soundproofing layer blocked most of the earth-shattering explosions outside.
On the holographic projection screen, the spectacular scene of the ancient castle being completely razed to the ground was playing in real-time.
The firelight illuminated the night as bright as day.
Lin Nuo gently swirled the red wine glass in his hand, his deep gaze watching the data wave lines jumping on the screen, a satisfied chuckle spilling from his lips.
"Look, using this strategy is both clean and saves trouble."
"I don't even have to get the outside snow water on my leather shoes."
Natasha stared blankly at the screen.
She had been on countless life-and-death field missions for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Which one wasn't relying on flesh and blood, struggling through a hail of bullets?
Now, seeing Lin Nuo's style of dimensionality-reduction strikes that combined technology and capital with such immense wealth, her pride as an Agent was completely crushed.
This absolute power that surpassed everything brought her an indescribable sense of trepidation.
She couldn't help but tighten her arms around Lin Nuo's neck, her body softening into his embrace uncontrollably.
"Boss's methods... are really simple and brutal."
Natasha's nasal voice deepened, and the corners of her eyes were stained with a faint red.
She knew clearly how cold-blooded the man in front of her was, but it was precisely this undisguised tyrant posture that she couldn't resist, and she could only hopelessly sink into it.
"Like this brutality?"
Lin Nuo scooped her up with a large hand, pressing her firmly against his burning chest.
He pinched Natasha's delicate chin, forcing her to look up and meet his predatory gaze.
"Open your mouth."
The short command carried a domineering air that forbade disobedience.
Natasha's heartbeat completely lost its rhythm.
She bit her lower lip, and finally, she obediently parted her red lips slightly.
Lin Nuo pressed the half-glass of romanee-conti he had just drunk directly to her lips.
The red wine flowed down the edge of the glass; Natashadidn't have time to swallow, and a few drops of scarlet liquid slid down her fair neck into the depths of her collar, leaving a highly seductive trail.
Before she could catch her breath, Lin Nuo threw away the wine glass, his large hand cupped the back of her head, and he lowered his head to kiss her fiercely.
The lips and tongue with the fragrance of wine drove straight in, brutally prying open her pearl-white teeth, eating all the remaining mellow wine and her breath into his stomach.
"Mm..."
Natasha was trembling all over from the kiss.
This wasn't a kiss at all; it was a naked declaration of territory and engulfment.
She couldn't withstand the man's violent plunder at all; she could only clutch the collar of Lin Nuo's high-end tailored shirt, letting herself completely melt in this suffocating sensation.
The man's other hand followed her waistline, reaching all the way to that unspeakable dangerous zone, viciously grazing the edge of the thin silk.
"Lin Nuo... not here..."
Natasha finally managed to turn her head to take a breath of oxygen, her voice soft enough to squeeze water out, her eyes full of water vapor from being bullied.
"Can't take it anymore?"
Lin Nuo's finger pads crushed across her swollen lips, bringing up a striking, ambiguous wet sheen.
His chest vibrated as he whispered against her flushed earlobe.
"Save some energy."
"After bringing that red-haired little wildcat back to New York, there will be plenty of time to settle your accounts one by one in bed."
"By then, you won't be able to hide even if you want to."
Natasha's body went completely numb.
She buried her face in the man's neck, not daring to answer this statement that could make one feel extremely ashamed.
Just at the moment when the temperature in the carriage was about to break the threshold, the holographic radar on the car's center console suddenly emitted a rapid buzzing sound.
Two extremely unusual high-energy reaction sources were rushing out from the sea of fire that had been flattened below at a speed that defied logic.
Lin Nuo's movements paused, his brows lifted slightly, his gaze crossing Natasha's shoulder to lock onto the screen flashing with red light.
In the screen's slow-motion capture system, among a pile of twisted steel wreckage, a silver afterimage was frantically breaking through at a trajectory exceeding the speed of sound.
And behind that silver light, a thick, manic, dark red energy ball with extremely strong destructive power was violently tearing through the surrounding fire net.
At the center of that dark red energy was a young girl wearing worn-out prison clothes with messy hair.
Her eyes flickered with a scarlet shimmer, like a fragile little beast that had crawled out of the abyss of hell, extremely lacking in a sense of security, and ready to drag everyone to die together at any moment.
Wanda Maximoff.
Chapter 112: Crushing with Bare Hands, Natasha Softens in His Arms
The heavy door of the armored, bulletproof maybachpushed open.
The heavy snow in Sokovia was still raging.
The thick smell of gunpowder, mixed with the aftermath of the HYDRA fortress being razed by heavy firepower, drilled straight into the nostrils.
Lin Nuo stepped one foot out of the vehicle.
His priceless, pure black haute couture leather shoes stepped onto the ground covered in scorched earth and residual snow, yet not a speck of mud or water managed to stain his suit trousers.
With one hand in his trouser pocket, he stood lazily before the sky filled with firelight, like a tyrant inspecting his territory.
In the back seat, Natasha followed closely as she climbed out.
The state of this top-tier Agent was exceptionally provocative at this moment.
That black skin-tight combat suit was ruffled and messy, and the zipper on her chest was stopped at a dangerous position.
Large patches of snowy white and stunning curves rose and fell with her somewhat disordered breathing.
When her long legs, wrapped in leather pants, touched the ground, she couldn't even control a soft tremor.
She could only lean halfway against the door of the maybach.
Natasha leaned close to Lin Nuo's side, her soft, glutinous voice laced with a deadly coquettishness.
"Boss Lin, you've drained all of my energy."
"If we encounter danger now, I don't have the strength to protect you!"
She deliberately leaned forward, pressing that stunning softness against the man's sturdy arm.
The corners of her eyes were still flushed with a lingering, faint red.
Lin Nuo turned his head.
His large, bony hand grabbed her waist, which was too thin to be held in one hand, and his fingertips wickedly kneaded the soft flesh at the edge of her combat suit twice.
Lin Nuo's voice was languid, revealing undisguised arrogance.
"Protect me?"
"You just need to stand here obediently and maintain this posture that is pleasing to my eyes."
"As for that trash that doesn't have eyes, they don't even have the qualifications to dirty my suit!"
Natasha felt a soreness in her waist where he pinched her, and a soft, delicate moan escaped her throat.
She submissively leaned her body completely into the arms of this man with a strong desire for control.
Her gaze, however, vigilantly swept toward the ruins directly in front of them.
Deep within the sea of fire.
A silver trajectory was frantically weaving through in a way that defied conventional laws of physics.
It was Pietro Maximoff.
During HYDRA's long-term human experimentation, he had gained unparalleled super speed.
Looking at the biochemical fortress that had been completely razed to the ground at this moment.
And the astonishingly grand black fleet parked not far away.
Pietro's eyes burned with pathological fanaticism and hatred.
"You evil capitalists, you all deserve to die!"
Pietro locked onto Lin Nuo, who was standing at the front of the maybach.
In his view, this guy wearing a haute couture suit with a woman in his arms was the culprit behind this airstrike!
As long as he took down this arrogant wealthy man, everything could be reversed!
His superpowers erupted fully.
The World in Pietro's eyes completely changed in this instant.
Time was infinitely stretched.
The snowflakes falling in mid-air became motionless white ice crystals.
The orange-red flames produced by the distant explosion solidified into a vividly colored oil painting.
Even those HYDRA soldiers fleeing in all directions became static sculptures.
Absolute speed brought absolute self-confidence.
Pietro stepped on the broken walls and ruins, his whole body turning into a silver lightning bolt, heading straight for Lin Nuo's face.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Ten meters.
The distance grew closer and closer.
Pietro stared at Lin Nuo's face, which was so perfect that not a single flaw could be found.
He could even already rehearse the upcoming scene in his mind.
He would easily take the weapon from this wealthy man's pocket, and then smash those pretentious gold-rimmed glasses with one punch.
Finally, he would trample this high-and-mighty man into the snow and humiliate him fiercely!
A low, magnetic voice exploded deep within Pietro's mind without any warning.
"Too slow."
He didn't use any amplification equipment.
Instead, his vast Bio-field directly compressed brainwaves into sound waves, forcibly injecting them into his auditory nerves.
Pietro was horrified.
In his super-slow-motion perspective, the man who should have been in a state of absolute stillness actually turned his head in a leisurely manner.
Lin Nuo's gaze accurately crossed over the suspended snowflakes, directly locking onto Pietro, who was in a supersonic state of motion.
There was not a hint of panic in those eyes.
Only the mockery and cruelty of a top predator watching an ant that didn't know life from death jumping around in front of it.
Pietro's scalp tingled, and he instinctively wanted to change his sprinting trajectory.
"You..."
But his reaction nerves, which he was so proud of, became an absolute joke in front of a true Asgardian Divine Constitution.
Lin Nuo's right hand, hanging by his side, reached out.
That fair, slender, and bony large hand moved in a terrifying trajectory that even Pietro's dynamic vision couldn't capture.
It tore through the sound barrier!
"Bang!"
A visible ring of white air waves exploded in the air.
Lin Nuo spread his five fingers and accurately grabbed Pietro's neck.
He forcibly cut off his sprinting inertia, which was at several Mach, right in mid-air!
That kinetic energy, enough to crash a heavy main battle tank into scrap metal, poured into his body along Lin Nuo's arm.
The violent genes of the Hulk in his prime and the Asgardian Divine Constitution operated quietly at this moment, swallowing all of this destructive power.
Lin Nuo stood in place.
The soles of his leather shoes didn't even slide back half an inch in the snow, and his expensive Vibranium suit didn't even develop a single extra wrinkle.
The flow of time returned to normal at this moment.
The piercing sound of the sonic boom finally arrived late, shaking the surrounding ruins and causing dust to fall rustlingly.
Lin Nuo held Pietro in mid-air with one hand, just like carrying a broiler chicken waiting to be slaughtered.
"Is being fast very superior?"
His large hand exerted force casually, and then, with a violent stance like a meteorite crashing to the ground, he backhanded this arrogant supersonic genius down!
"Boom!"
The loud noise shook the night sky.
Pietro's back slammed heavily onto the hood of the bulletproof maybach.
The special alloy hood, which could withstand armor-piercing shells, instantly caved in into a terrifying spiderweb-shaped deep pit under Lin Nuo's monstrous strength.
"Pfft!"
Pietro spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his eyes rolling back.
The intense pain from his spine caused his whole body to go limp on the hood of the car.
His limbs were still twitching unconsciously; he couldn't even say a complete sentence.
His superpower, which he was so proud of, didn't even make a splash in front of this gentle and handsome man.
Lin Nuo pulled a clean silk handkerchief from his suit pocket.
He wiped the fingers that had just grabbed Pietro's neck in a leisurely manner, his tone full of bitterness and mockery.
"That's it?"
"I thought HYDRA had cultivated some incredible trump card."
"Turns out it's just a brat who runs a little faster."
Lin Nuo tossed the handkerchief onto Pietro's pale face, directly covering his vision.
"In the adult World, fast doesn't mean strong."
"A three-second premature ejaculator doesn't even have the qualifications to sit at the table!"
Standing to the side, Natasha couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this double-entendre, nasty teasing.
Her voluptuous body trembled with laughter, and she proactively climbed onto Lin Nuo's broad shoulders, her breath like orchids.
"Boss, how can you use such high standards to demand from a kid who hasn't even grown his hair yet?"
"He probably hasn't even held a woman's hand, so how would he know what endurance and the suppression of power mean."
Natasha's tongue swept across her red lips, the desire in her eyes undisguised.
"You are still the most knowledgeable, Boss."
"Every time, you make people not even have the strength to beg for mercy."
Lin Nuo turned his head.
His thin lips pressed directly onto the side of Natasha's neck, sucking heavily on that snowy white skin, leaving an aggressive red Mark.
Lin Nuo lowered his voice.
"Since you know the rules, go back and obediently lock the door in the office and wait for me."
"If you dare to tease me with your words again, see how I punish you on the office desk!"
This caused Natasha's body to go soft again, and even her legs tingled with soreness.
Just as the two were flirting as if there was no one else around.
Deep in the ruins not far away, a sudden change occurred.
Dozens of tons of reinforced concrete slabs were forcibly lifted by an invisible, violent force, suspended in mid-air.
Immediately after, dense, dark red energy, like viscous blood, spread along the cracks in the ground.
A slender and thin figure slowly walked out from the center of the red light.
Chapter 113: Crushing magic, Suppressing the Red-Haired Witch
The heavy snowfall was completely shredded by the dark red energy.
In the bone-chilling night sky of Sokovia, a suffocatingly low pressure emerged out of thin air.
Those swirling crimson mists were like living vines.
They surged frantically from the cracks in the ruins, finally gathering around that frail girl.
Wanda Maximoff was wearing that prisoner uniform, long since washed to a faded white and full of holes.
She stood barefoot on the scorched, snow-covered ground.
Her messy red hair danced wildly in the violent energy storm.
Her beautiful eyes were now completely occupied by a crimson glow.
Looking in the direction of her gaze.
Her only relative, Pietro, was lying limp like a dead dog on the deformed hood of the armored maybach.
Blood foamed from his mouth continuously, and he didn't even have the strength to crawl up.
That was her only mental pillar for enduring countless inhuman tortures in this dark, sunless HYDRA fortress.
Now, this pillar had been carelessly smashed like throwing away trash.
Wanda stared fixedly at the man standing in front of the maybach.
Amidst the apocalyptic sea of fire and scorched earth, Lin Nuo's pure black high-end suit didn't have a single crease.
He had one hand in his suit pocket.
His other hand was naturally draped around a hot-bodied red-haired woman.
That arrogance and nonchalance, treating all living things like ants from a high position, deeply stung Wanda's already near-collapsing nerves.
Wanda's voice was hoarse, filled with extreme anger and a fragile tremor.
"Let him go!"
Opening her hands in front of her, the rich Chaos Magicenergy frantically gathered and compressed at her fingertips.
She would make this arrogant tyrant pay the price!
She would dig out all the deepest fears in his mind!
Make him scream and go mad in hallucinations, eventually destroying himself, just like those HYDRA researchers who once tortured her!
"Whoosh!"
Two tangible crimson energy tentacles, carrying a shriek that tore through space, headed straight for Lin Nuo's face.
Beside the maybach, Natasha, held in Lin Nuo's arms, took half a step back.
Her long, slender fingers naturally stroked across the man's firm waist and abdomen.
In Natasha's soft, sweet voice, there was a playful coquetry of watching a show; she parted her red lips slightly, gracefully yielding the center stage.
"Boss, this little wild cat's claws are poisoned; they will burrow into one's brain."
"You should be careful."
"Don't mess up that expensive suit of yours."
Lin Nuo's distinctively jointed large hand gave a firm, yet gentle squeeze to Natasha's slender waist.
"Behave yourself."
Lin Nuo's tone was casual, and his leather shoes didn't move even half an inch.
He didn't even have the intention to dodge.
He just watched with composure as the two magictentacles, capable of easily destroying the minds of the Avengers, plunged straight into his brow.
The moment the red light entered his body, the fanaticism in Wanda's eyes reached its peak.
As long as the magic successfully invaded.
No matter how strong this man's physical body was, his brain would become her playground.
She couldn't wait to see this suave scoundrel kneeling in the snow, weeping miserably.
However.
One second passed.
Three seconds passed.
Lin Nuo still stood in place with one hand in his pocket.
He adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
On his flawless, handsome face, let alone fear, not even a trace of unnecessary emotional fluctuation could be found.
Not only that.
The Chaos Magic that had burrowed into his brow was like a clay ox entering the sea, not even causing a ripple.
Wanda's lips trembled, and her hands uncontrollably increased the energy output.
"How is this possible!"
The crimson light illuminated the entire square like a hellish blood pool.
A continuous stream of mental energy poured frantically into Lin Nuo's mind.
No fear.
No trauma.
Wanda even felt her mental energy collide with an insurmountable wall of a god.
It was also like stepping into a bottomless black hole.
The Chaos Magic she was so proud of was being frantically extracted and devoured by the opponent in an unreasonable manner.
Of course, this could not have any effect.
The berserk genes of Hulk in his prime made Lin Nuo's neurons resilient to the physical limit.
And the Asgardian Divine Constitution came with the highest level of magic immunity resistance.
Any energy attempting to disintegrate him from within would be forcibly dimensionally converted by this god-level constitution.
Turning into nutrients to nourish this perfect physical body.
After devouring a large amount of high-level magic energy, the blood in Lin Nuo's body began to surge, and his body temperature soared along with it.
An aggressive and scorching male hormonal aura, centered on him, spread to the surroundings.
Even if Natasha, who had retreated to the side, only smelled a trace of the lingering scent, her legs couldn't help but feel a wave of soreness.
Lin Nuo scoffed, his deep, magnetic voice exceptionally clear in the dead silent snowy night.
"Is this all you've got?"
He raised his slender, fair palm and reached out casually.
"Swoosh!"
The crimson mists coiling around him were grabbed directly in his hand with a simple, unadorned physical action.
Yes, grabbing magic energy with bare hands!
Lin Nuo tightened his fingers.
Under the gaze of Wanda, who was about to pop her eyes out.
He tore those red lights to pieces as if he were ripping a cheap, low-quality spider web.
The violent Bio-field released from his palm, directly shattering the remaining magic energy into nothingness.
Lin Nuo strode forward with his long legs.
"Is this little red light of yours meant to be a magic trick for me in this heavy snow?"
His pure black high-end leather shoes stepped on the scorched earth, making dull footsteps.
Every step he took forward.
The invisible pressure was like a great mountain, slamming heavily onto Wanda's frail back.
Wanda was completely panicked.
Her biggest trump card didn't even count as a joke in front of this man.
That comprehensive dimensionality reduction strike directly destroyed the resistance will she had just established.
She could only instinctively retreat.
Her bare feet left a series of staggering footprints in the snow.
Until her back was pressed hard against a collapsed stone pillar, with nowhere to retreat.
Lin Nuo stopped less than half a meter in front of her.
The man's tall body blocked the firelight filling the sky.
The shadow cast completely enveloped Wanda.
That extremely dangerous and scorching pressure, capable of melting a person, came crashing down on her like a tidal wave.
Wanda's breathing was chaotic, her chest heaving violently.
She wanted to continue gathering magic, but her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't even conjure a ball of red light.
Lin Nuo reached out his large hand and grabbed her two slender wrists.
Completely ignoring her struggle, he forcefully pinned her hands behind her back and pressed them against the cold stone pillar.
Wanda, like a little wild cat with fur standing on end, struggled desperately with her slender body.
"Let me go!"
"You devil!"
"Don't touch me!"
But her strength was not even enough to tickle him in the face of Lin Nuo's monstrous strength.
Instead, because of the vigorous struggle, the collar of her loose, tattered prisoner uniform opened up.
Revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin that rarely saw the sun, as well as the eye-catching curves on her chest.
The two bodies were pressed tightly together because of this movement.
Through the thin fabric, Wanda could clearly feel the terrifying hardness and scorching temperature of Lin Nuo's chest.
This completely out-of-control physical contact made her mind go blank.
Shame and fear intertwined, causing a thin layer of moisture to well up in her eyes.
Lin Nuo slowly raised his other free hand.
His distinctively jointed long fingers directly pinched Wanda's delicate chin.
Forcing her to lift her head and meet his gaze, which was filled with extreme possessiveness.
"Are you anxious already?"
"Look at this pathetic state of yours."
"Like a stray cat rummaging through trash in a sewer."
"Used as a disposable battery by those idiots at HYDRA, yet you still put on an air of self-importance."
Lin Nuo's fingertips rubbed against Wanda's fair jawline in an extremely wicked manner.
Feeling the trembling beneath that layer of fragile skin.
"Do you think your useless brother, who can only last three seconds, can protect you?"
This sentence precisely stepped on Wanda's pain point.
Her eye corners turned red, and she bit her lower lip stubbornly, her voice carrying a suppressed, sobbing tone.
"What exactly do you want!"
Lin Nuo's chest vibrated, emitting a low, hoarse laugh.
"What do I want?"
He lowered his head, his lips almost touching Wanda's earlobe.
The scorching hot breath he exhaled went straight into her neck, causing her whole body to uncontrollably go weak.
"Weren't you quite capable just now, wanting to burrow into my brain and see?"
Lin Nuo's thin lips grazed her earlobe, bringing a wave of fatal numbness.
His other free hand followed her waist and reached into the edge of her tattered prisoner uniform.
His fingertips pressed directly against the defenseless soft flesh on her lower back, pressing firmly.
Wanda let out a distorted whimper, and her weak legs went soft on the spot.
"Ah!"
If it weren't for Lin Nuo holding her waist with one hand and pinning her to the stone pillar, she would have already knelt in the snow.
This sense of humiliation from being forcibly dominated and completely controlled made her tremble all over, yet she was completely unable to break free.
"Little wild cat."
"Since you like playing games of mental invasion so much, I must fulfill the duties of a host."
"Let me teach you how adults exchange courtesies!"
Chapter 114: Shattering Faith, Followed by a Lethal Head Pat
The rough surface of the stone pillar scraped against Wanda's thin back, sending a chill through her.
But the presence pressing against her was terrifyingly hot.
Lin Nuo's large hand clamped onto her wrist with the steady force of iron pincers, crushing all her resistance.
A broken whimper escaped Wanda's throat, and her slender legs immediately gave way.
If not for the man's strong arm firmly blocking her front, she would have collapsed onto the scorched, snowy ground long ago.
This situation of being completely dominated made her mind a mess.
She was a Mutant who had awakened Chaos Magic, and just a moment ago, she had been clamoring to tear open his mental World.
Yet now, she was pinned against the stone pillar by this tyrant in a bespoke suit, like a young beast held by the scruff of its neck, having to watch his expression just to breathe.
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his thin lips stopping beside her ear, his heavy, hot breath hitting the crook of her snow-white neck.
"Little wildcat, what are you hiding from?"
Lin Nuo's voice was deep and dark, causing a dangerous vibration in his chest.
"That magic you're so proud of isn't even enough to scratch an itch for me."
"Since you dared to provoke me, you must be prepared to pay the price."
The corners of Wanda's eyes turned red, and a layer of mist from being bullied welled up in them.
She twisted her body desperately, trying to break free from that trembling-inducing shackle.
But the physical disparity between them was completely overwhelming.
The more she struggled, the more clearly she realized that she couldn't shake this man before her in the slightest.
Lin Nuo gripped her chin, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze, which held no attempt to hide its oppressive weight.
"Look at me."
The three short words carried an undeniable tone of command.
Wanda gritted her teeth, her red lips pressed tight, and she stubbornly turned her gaze away.
"Not behaving?"
Lin Nuo's long fingers moved down, pinching her fragile nape with just enough force to keep her at the threshold of trembling.
"There are plenty of ways to teach you the rules."
"If you don't satisfy me tonight, I guarantee your brother who runs so fast won't even see tomorrow's Sun!"
This sentence hit her exactly where it hurt most.
Wanda's body shuddered violently, and her hands, originally filled with magic energy, dropped completely.
She lifted her eyes in humiliation, tears trembling on the verge of falling.
Lin Nuo looked at her finally forced submission, a flicker of cold satisfaction passing through his eyes.
He did not continue to press closer.
As a high-level player who toys with human hearts to the extreme, he knew very well how to maximize the returns of this tug-of-war.
In these few seconds when the woman's psychological defenses were about to collapse, he needed to switch to a harsher method to shatter her last bit of dignity.
He let go, allowing Wanda to slide down beside the stone pillar like a porcelain doll that had lost its support.
Afterward, Lin Nuo strode forward, his leather shoes making creaking sounds on the residual snow.
He walked straight to the front of the bulletproof maybach.
Pietro was currently sprawled over the dented hood, his face covered in blood, with only faint breaths left.
Lin Nuo reached out one hand, his large, knuckled hand grabbing Pietro's blood-stained collar.
He effortlessly lifted him up, suspending the supersonic teenager in mid-air.
The weight of over a hundred pounds was as light as nothing in Lin Nuo's hand, less than even a cup of Water.
Pietro's throat was constricted, and his originally pale face immediately swelled to a purplish-red.
His legs kicked weakly in the air, his hands clawing at Lin Nuo's wrist, but he couldn't shake that arm, which felt like it was cast from steel, in the slightest.
If Lin Nuo were to tighten his fingers just a little more, the teenager's cervical spine would be crushed into fragments on the spot.
"No!"
Seeing this scene, Wanda screamed shrilly.
She couldn't care about her weak legs, scrambling and crawling toward the maybach.
Her bare feet were cut and bleeding from stepping on the scorching gravel, but she didn't notice, directly hugging Lin Nuo's long, straight leg.
"Please... let him go!"
"Don't kill him!"
Wanda looked up with a tear-stained face, her red hair clinging messily to her cheeks, looking as pitiful as could be.
Lin Nuo looked down from above at the girl begging humbly at his feet.
There was not a trace of pity on that handsome, peerless face, but rather the arrogance of someone who held the power of life and death.
"Let him go?"
Lin Nuo sneered; instead of letting go, he lifted Pietro even higher.
The bulging veins on the back of his hand displayed a deadly sense of oppression.
"What terms do you have to negotiate with me?"
"With those cheap tears of yours?"
"I... I am willing to do anything!"
Wanda's voice was hoarse, her fingers pulling at his suit trousers with the utmost force.
"As long as you let Pietro go, I will agree to whatever you want me to do!"
"Agree to anything?"
Lin Nuo flicked his toe, directly kicking Wanda's body so she fell backward onto the ground.
He bent down slightly, his gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses locking onto her panicked eyes.
"Then now, recognize your own position."
Lin Nuo's tone was not high, but it carried tremendous penetrating power.
"Look into my eyes."
"Tell me, you pair of pathetic orphans, what exactly do you count for here?"
Wanda was stunned, her chest heaving, unable to answer.
"Can't even speak now?"
Lin Nuo coldly punctured her illusions.
"Did that old piece of trash Strucker promise you the moon, saying you were the ultimate weapons to change the World?"
Lin Nuo smashed Pietro onto the hood heavily, as if throwing out trash.
With a muffled "bang."
Pietro coughed up another mouthful of blood, his body curling up like a shrimp.
Wanda's heart clenched, and she dared not step forward to intervene.
"Pathetically stupid."
Lin Nuo unhurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away non-existent dust, his deep voice beginning to pierce through the girl's defenses bit by bit.
"HYDRA just treated you as a rechargeable battery."
"The energy in that ragged scepter is too manic; they dared not absorb it directly themselves, so they tricked you brainless refugees into being filters."
"If you succeeded, you were just killing machines controlled by them."
"If you failed, it was just two more pieces of rotting flesh in the petri dish."
With every word Lin Nuo spoke, Wanda's face turned a shade whiter.
Those painful memories of being trapped in the sunless underground, tied to experimental tables and forcibly injected with energy, were at this moment cruelly stripped of their fig leaf by Lin Nuo and exposed to the light.
"You were willing to be lab rats, fantasizing that one day you could become so-called heroes and take revenge on Stark Industries?"
Lin Nuo let out a mocking chuckle.
"Where in this World are there any damn superheroes?"
"When you were starving to death in the slums, where were those heroes?"
"When HYDRA was using your compatriots for vivisection, where were those so-called messengers of justice?"
The man's questioning was relentless, leaving her no room to breathe.
Wanda wrapped her arms around her shoulders, curling herself into a ball.
Her long-held beliefs and goals of revenge were shattered completely under this man's absolute logical crushing.
Looking at her fragile appearance on the verge of collapse, Lin Nuo reined in the violent aura around him.
That extreme pressure of a superior dissipated, replaced by a kind of irresistible, condescending tenderness.
This extreme contrast was the most terrifying weapon to destroy a person's defenses.
Lin Nuo strode forward, walking to Wanda and squatting down in front of her.
He did not use forceful movements again but instead extended that large hand, which had just decided Pietro's life or death, and gently placed it on Wanda's messy red hair.
His fingertips unhurriedly combed through her hair, bringing a sense of security that one could easily become addicted to.
"The rules by which this World operates are only capital and stronger violence."
Lin Nuo looked into her eyes, his voice lowered, filled with a bewitching magic.
"You have no capital, nor do you have the violence sufficient to resist everything."
"Staying here will only result in you rotting in this uncared-for dirt."
Wanda's eyelashes trembled repeatedly, and tears rolled down in large drops.
She even forgot to pull away from the man's hand, which had just been stained with blood.
"Since no one is willing to be your savior."
Lin Nuo's large hand slid down, cupping her small, delicate face, his thumb gently wiping away the tear stains at the corner of her eye.
"Then I will be."
Chapter 115: Threat of Pulling the Plug, Signing the Terms in Tears
Inside the temporarily set up Star Umbrella field command tent, the luxury level was in no way inferior to a top-tier private club in Manhattan.
Wanda stood awkwardly at the edge of the carpet.
Her bare feet, which had rarely seen the light of day, stepped onto the soft wool, and she didn't even know where to place them.
The prison uniform she wore, long washed to a faded white and full of holes, could hardly cover anything.
The wide neckline sagged, exposing a large expanse of pale skin to the warm light.
Her chest heaved violently, and the flush forced into the corners of her eyes had not yet faded.
Just five minutes ago, Lin Nuo, true to his word, had casually snapped his fingers.
The Star Umbrella heavy medical team entered like ghosts, stuffing Pietro, who had only one breath left, into a nano-repair pod costing over a hundred million.
But that pod was not taken away; instead, it was parked right outside the main entrance of this tent.
That was a blatant bargaining chip, and also a noose around Wanda's neck.
Lin Nuo leaned lazily in the large leather office chair.
The top two buttons of his high-end white shirt were undone, revealing cold, well-defined muscle lines that contained terrifying explosive power.
He held half a glass of red wine in one hand, his gaze highly penetrating, sweeping over Wanda's thin frame inch by inch from top to bottom.
That gaze, which completely regarded the other person as private property, made Wanda feel uncomfortable all over.
The heavy curtain of the tent was lifted from the outside.
Natasha, stepping in ten-centimeter red-soled stilettos, walked in, swaying her waist like a water snake.
The black combat suit on this top Agent was still form-fitting and sharp, outlining eye-catching curves.
She didn't even glance at Wanda, who looked like a frightened little deer, walking straight behind the desk and leaning naturally against Lin Nuo's broad shoulders.
"Boss."
Natasha's soft, sweet voice carried a hint of coquettishness as she slammed the folder in her hand onto the mahogany desktop.
"The documents you wanted—I had the legal department team in New York draft them overnight; they're as thick as the Encyclopedia Britannica."
Lin Nuo's free, well-defined hand reached out, taking the opportunity to wrap around Natasha's slender waist.
His fingertips pressed lightly against the edge of her tight leather pants, carrying a bit of wicked nonchalance.
"Good work."
Lin Nuo's tone was languid; disregarding the presence of others, he turned his head and bit heavily on Natasha's red lips.
A soft hum escaped from Natasha's throat.
Wanda looked away, her ears burning, and her breathing skipped a beat.
She had grown up in Eastern European slums and had been tortured by HYDRA in underground laboratories; where would she have seen such unbridled power games?
The man in the white shirt before her had perfectly embodied the phrase "refined scumbag" to the extreme.
"Little wildcat, come here."
Lin Nuo's low, husky, and hot voice rang out in the tent.
Wanda's body stiffened, her feet feeling like they were filled with lead, refusing to move.
Lin Nuo was not in a hurry.
He toyed with the gilded fountain pen in his hand, the metal casing spinning a streak of light between his long fingers.
He lifted his chin slightly, pointing outside the tent.
"For every minute your useless brother lies in that nano-repair pod, the money burned is enough to buy half of Sokovia."
"My patience is very limited."
"If you don't want him to live, I'll have someone pull the plug right now!"
"Don't pull it!"
Wanda's voice was soft, with a distinct nasal tone.
Without even a moment to think, she walked quickly barefoot to the large desk.
Her two hands gripped the edge of the table tightly, her nails leaving small marks on the expensive mahogany.
Lin Nuo threw the hundred-page document directly in front of her.
Gold characters were embossed on the black cover.
"Star Umbrella Group Special Ability Exclusive Observer Contract".
Wanda swallowed hard and turned to the first page.
After reading less than three lines, her already pale complexion completely lost all color.
This was no employment contract; this was a total indentured servitude agreement!
"Party B voluntarily entrusts the right to personal freedom, right of residence, final interpretation rights of special abilities, and all daily action permissions to the Star Umbrella Group..."
Wanda's voice trembled as she read out those suffocating, overbearing clauses.
"What is this?"
"Are you going to lock me up and experiment on me like HYDRA did!"
The wildness in her bones was ignited, and her hands subconsciously clenched.
Red light surged at her fingertips, the energy of that Chaos Magic once again attempting to break through her reason.
"Experiment?"
Lin Nuo scoffed.
The coldness brought by the vibration of his chest directly shattered the pitiful red light in Wanda's hands.
He set aside the glass of red wine in his hand and leaned forward sharply.
His large hand reached across the wide desk, grabbing Wanda's fragile neck.
That overwhelming, unstoppable violent strength pressed down, forcibly dragging Wanda's upper body over the desk.
"Ah!"
Wanda let out a cry of surprise.
Her upper body was forced onto the mahogany desk, her tattered prison uniform coming undone due to the pull, exposing a large expanse of pale skin to Lin Nuo's line of sight.
The distance between the two was forcibly closed to less than an inch.
Lin Nuo's face, handsome without a single flaw, was right in front of her.
The man's breath was scorching, carrying the rich aroma of wine, hitting Wanda's cheek entirely.
"Recognize your current situation."
"That low-class vivisection HYDRA does is only something those brainless idiots would do."
Lin Nuo's fingertips slowly rubbed against the back of Wanda's snow-white neck.
The pressure was neither light nor heavy, but it made her tremble uncontrollably.
"Star Umbrella doesn't want a lab rat; it wants absolute control."
The man's gaze moved aggressively down Wanda's cheek, lingering deep in her messy neckline.
"Every inch of skin on your body, every drop of blood, and even those dangerous thoughts in your mind must be labeled as belonging to me, Lin Nuo, from today on."
"You just need to stay under my nose and obediently follow my orders."
Wanda felt numb all over from his stare.
The sense of oppression belonging to a top predator crushed her pride to pieces.
"In your dreams..."
She bit her lower lip and stubbornly turned her head away.
"I won't sign this kind of thing."
"Quite a backbone."
Lin Nuo released her neck but did not back away.
He walked around the desk, his long legs carrying him behind Wanda.
The man's tall body pressed against her, his burning chest pressing tightly against Wanda's thin back through the flimsy, tattered fabric.
Wanda was so scared she wanted to run, but Lin Nuo's arm wrapped around her waist like an iron pincer, trapping her firmly between the edge of the mahogany table and his body.
"Why run?"
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his lips against her reddened earlobe, his voice carrying a bewitching magic.
"You don't have to sign."
"I'll have someone throw that nano-pod into the snow pit outside right now."
"The two of you siblings can just reunite on this scorched earth!"
"No!"
Wanda blurted out, the moisture gathered in her eyes completely breaking the dam.
Large tears fell onto the back of her hand, smudging the paper of the contract.
She had absolutely no choice.
The dual crushing weight of capital and violence had long since blocked all her escape routes.
Natasha, standing to the side, watched this scene, her red lips curving into a smirk of someone watching a show.
She reached out and handed over the gilded fountain pen, not forgetting to add fuel to the fire.
"Little sister, don't be ungrateful."
"There aren't many women in the whole World who can get Boss Lin to personally force them to sign."
"You're just a refugee of unknown origin; don't think too highly of yourself."
Wanda was trembling with anger but had nothing to say.
Lin Nuo took the fountain pen.
He didn't give Wanda any chance to take it herself.
His large hand directly enveloped Wanda's thin, cold little hand, his well-defined long fingers forcefully interlacing with hers, locking their fingers together.
"Hold it steady."
Lin Nuo's burning hand temperature conducted through her skin.
He led Wanda's hand, pressing the tip of the pen heavily onto the blank space on the last page of the contract.
"Sign your name."
"Your life, and your brother's life, will all belong to me."
Chapter 116: Understand the Situation, Reporting in Silk Late at Night
Inside the temporary Base built by Star Umbrella, the suite door was pushed open.
Wanda stood barefoot in the center of the carpet, the soles of her feet still stained with mud and blood from outside.
Her rough prison uniform, washed until it was faded and covered in holes, was completely out of place with the luxurious surroundings.
This made her feel at a loss, even giving rise to an indescribable sense of inferiority.
Lin Nuo closed the heavy double wooden doors of the suite behind him.
With a "click," the lock engaged, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet space.
He strode over with his long legs and sat down beside the leather armchair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
His long fingers nonchalantly unbuttoned the top two buttons of his high-end shirt, loosened the pure black tie, and tossed it aside.
After doing all this, the man's gaze finally fell on the uneasy Wanda.
"Change out of those rags."
Lin Nuo pointed his slender index finger at the large double bed nearby.
Wanda looked over following his gesture.
On the pure white silk bedspread, a delicate black velvet gift box sat quietly.
The box was already open.
Inside was a black silk nightgown, the fabric thin and the cut form-fitting.
Wanda's ears turned bright red in an instant, and her breathing became ragged.
"I won't change."
Her chin was clenched tight, and her hands were twisted together so hard her fingertips turned white.
"The contract only states that I am an observer for the Star Umbrella Group, not your personal accessory."
"I demand to wear normal clothes."
A girl who grew up in the slums, even after enduring endless torture, still retained a shred of self-esteem in her bones.
What's more, there were only the two of them here.
Making her change into clothes prepared by a strange man in such an environment was harder for her to bear than being stabbed.
"Normal clothes?"
A scoff rolled out of Lin Nuo's throat.
The sound of his chest vibrating was piercing in the quiet suite, causing Wanda's spine to tense up.
Lin Nuo crossed his long legs, his large, bony hands resting on his knees, exuding a sense of lazy control over the entire situation.
"What kind of 'better dead than submissive' innocent flower script are you acting out for me here?"
The man's words didn't contain a single curse, yet every word pierced the heart.
"These rags on you are of no use other than to be an eyesore to me."
"The first rule of the Star Umbrella employee handbook is absolute obedience to my arrangements."
"I refuse to change!"
Wanda bit her lip and took a half-step back.
"Don't you dare try to humiliate me this way!"
Humiliate?
Lin Nuo snapped his long fingers crisply in mid-air.
The holographic projection equipment in the center of the suite started up immediately, and a pale blue light screen appeared before Wanda's eyes.
Inside the light screen, the scene inside the medical pod on the Base's bottom floor was clearly displayed.
Pietro was covered in dense tubes, completely submerged in a high-concentration, light green nutrient solution.
The heart rate monitor next to him was pitifully weak.
"Do you see clearly?"
Lin Nuo's tone was flat, without inflection.
"He is currently lying in a nano-repair pod that cost two hundred million to build."
"The special medicine consumed every minute is enough to buy that broken street you stayed at in the slums."
Wanda's eyes reddened immediately, her gaze glued tightly to the light screen.
Lin Nuo stood up.
His tall frame blocked the warm light of the fireplace, and he walked step by step to Wanda.
An incredibly oppressive aura, mixed with the faint scent of cedar, overwhelmed her thin frame.
She wanted to run, but her legs were weak.
Just as she tried to move backward, her wrist was seized by the man's large hand.
"Ah..."
Wanda let out a short cry, forced to stop in her tracks.
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his voice very low.
"Baby, get the situation straight."
"That ridiculous self-esteem of yours is worthless in this World."
"Can your so-called backbone help you snatch your brother's life back from the hands of the God of Death?"
His other free hand pinched Wanda's delicate chin, forcing her to look up and meet his predatory gaze.
"Do you think I asked you to change clothes to humiliate you?"
"HYDRA treated you as a disposable battery, not even giving you a pair of shoes to wear."
"And I am willing to use the best resources to take care of you."
Lin Nuo's fingertips brushed across her dry lips, the movement light yet carrying an irresistible weight.
"You don't have the qualifications to negotiate with me while holding onto that tattered self-esteem."
Large tears rolled down Wanda's face, landing on the back of Lin Nuo's hand.
She was completely unable to withstand this kind of blunt and cruel logical crushing, and even less capable of pushing away the man in front of her.
Words of resistance were blocked in her throat, and she could only let out a broken whimper like a small animal.
Because Lin Nuo was right.
In the face of absolute capital and power, her pride didn't even count as a joke.
If she angered this man, Pietro would immediately lose his chance to live.
"I'll give you three seconds to consider."
Not only did Lin Nuo not let go, but he gripped her wrist even tighter.
His long, calloused fingers stopped at the edge of her prison uniform's collar, hooking onto the rag, carrying a dangerous sense that he might rip it open at any moment.
"Either you obediently take the clothes, go in, wash up, and put them on."
"Or, I will have someone come in to handle it for you."
The man's voice grew colder and colder.
"Believe me, if it comes to that, you will only be even more embarrassed!"
Wanda stiffened, her scalp tingling.
She finally compromised completely.
"I'll go..."
Wanda spoke with a thick nasal tone, her voice so soft it was almost unintelligible.
Lin Nuo chuckled, finally mercifully releasing his hold on her.
Wanda clutched her hem, rushed to the bed as if fleeing for her life, grabbed the gift box containing the black silk nightgown, and ducked into the suite's spacious bathroom without looking back.
With a "click," the bathroom door locked from the inside.
Lin Nuo sat back down on the sofa, picked up the glass of whiskey he had poured earlier, and took a sip.
The mellow liquor slid down his throat.
Listening to the sound of water coming from the bathroom, the emotions in the man's eyes were dark and unreadable.
...
The water washed over Wanda's scarred body.
She stood under the giant shower head, the warm water dispelling the cold that had accumulated from years in the underground fortress, yet it could not wash away the sense of humiliation from being completely controlled.
On the vanity, that black silk nightgown lay quietly.
Just looking at it, Wanda felt her face burning like it was on fire.
After washing, she dried off the water and grabbed the nightgown with trembling hands.
The moment the silky fabric touched her skin, there was almost none of the resistance that her usual rough hemp clothes brought.
The hem of the skirt was not long.
The thin shoulder straps rested on her shoulders, so light they felt weightless.
She bit her lip hard, dawdling in the bathroom for a full five minutes, wanting to take it off several times.
But every time she closed her eyes, she saw Pietro lying in the nano-pod.
She simply didn't dare to challenge that tyrant's patience.
"Click."
The bathroom door was finally slowly pushed open.
Accompanied by lingering steam, Wanda walked out barefoot.
Her originally messy and frizzy red hair was still dripping with water, cascading smoothly over her shoulders.
Her cheeks, steamed by the hot water, were flushed with a striking crimson.
That black silk nightgown worn on her made her look even thinner and even more fragile.
Lin Nuo leaned back in the sofa, the glass in his hand pausing.
That intensely aggressive gaze swept over Wanda's entire body as if it were physical.
"It seems the Star Umbrella high-end tailor has a good eye."
Lin Nuo placed the glass on the table, his voice low and hoarse.
"The size is a perfect fit."
Wanda was stared at by him until she hugged her chest with both hands, subconsciously wanting to cover herself, yet she couldn't hide her unease.
"You... you said you would only let me be an observer."
She stood where she was, not daring to come closer.
"I did say that."
Lin Nuo strode forward, slowly standing up, his tone full of the self-righteousness of a refined scoundrel.
"But I never said that an observer doesn't need to report to the boss late at night."