"General Ross, as much as I'd like to agree with you and talk about something pleasant..."
"But... sigh, I have to tell you about a rather troublesome matter."
After hearing Ross's cheerful voice on the other end of the line, Killian spoke in a deliberately troubled tone.
"Hm? What is it? Don't tell me, Mr. Killian, that you forcibly grabbed test subjects for Tyrant experiments?"
The previously delighted Ross immediately sounded puzzled after hearing the worry in Killian's voice.
After all, Killian was currently in a position where everything was going his way. Backed by two of the most powerful military and political institutions, unless he stupidly went out of his way to do something illegal, who would dare provoke him and risk the fury of both the U.S. government and military?
"How could that be, General Ross? Others may not know, but you do, don't you? Pioneer Technology has always been a law-abiding company from beginning to end."
Killian immediately protested his innocence at Ross's words.
"Hahaha, that does sound right. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to all that trouble over that amendment of yours."
"So what's the situation? If you need help, just say it. You're now an officially designated military partner. Anyone who touches you is provoking the entire United States military."
After hearing Killian's reply, Ross quickly came around, laughed loudly, and then spoke with absolute certainty.
Killian was now one of their weapons suppliers.
If that supplier went down, where were they supposed to find weapons this practical and this powerful ever again?
So protecting Killian was non-negotiable.
As long as he was not assassinating the President of the United States... everything else was manageable.
"Today, we found an infiltrating spy inside one of my research bases. After questioning her, I discovered that her background seems... rather significant."
"She says she belongs to something called the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack, and Logistics Bureau."
"But I looked into it and found no such department, so I wanted to ask you, General, whether this might be some secret intelligence agency from another country."
After Ross stated his position so openly, Killian responded with a deliberately confused tone.
At this point in time, aside from a few of the military and government's top minds, hardly anyone even knew about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence. The organization was still extremely secretive.
And Killian was just a newly rising businessman.
If he openly claimed to know about this department, Ross would not be thinking about helping him solve the problem.
He would be thinking about how to deal with Killian instead.
Maybe he would not really move against him, but Killian had no intention of gambling on someone else's mercy.
"The Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack, and Logistics Bureau? People from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"You two didn't exchange fire, did you?"
On the other end of the line, the previously confident General Ross instantly had his expression darken after hearing Killian's words, then quickly followed up with the question.
If there were a ranking of the departments he hated most, then aside from the military's own internal affairs division, Ross's number one most hated target would be S.H.I.E.L.D.
In some ways, he hated them even more than internal affairs.
Both were government-funded military institutions.
The only difference was that the military answered to the government, while S.H.I.E.L.D. answered to the Security Council.
It was effectively a sword placed directly in the hands of the highest powers.
And that alone would have been bad enough.
But because both sides were military institutions, the areas they operated in often overlapped completely.
That had led to the U.S. military repeatedly encountering S.H.I.E.L.D. while carrying out missions overseas.
And when that happened, the two sides never gave way to each other.
More than once, it had even escalated into direct friction.
And every single time, the final result had been the same.
The government stepped in, forced the military to cease operations, and ordered them to hand over anything S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted.
Once might have been bearable.
The problem was that every single time afterward, it ended the same way.
That had only made the military leadership hate S.H.I.E.L.D. more and more.
Ross himself had clashed with S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel several times while leading operations, only to watch Nick Fury walk away arrogantly with people and materials in tow.
It had humiliated him badly within the military.
That was why the U.S. military and S.H.I.E.L.D. had despised each other for a long time.
And now, hearing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had once again come after one of their own weapons suppliers, all of Ross's old grudges and fresh anger surged up at once.
Still, no matter how furious he was, he first needed to determine the exact situation on the ground before deciding how to handle it.
And to Ross's satisfaction, Killian had done very well.
In fact, he had done perfectly.
He had captured the S.H.I.E.L.D. spy alive.
That piece of news delighted Ross.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had always bragged that they were the elite among elites, the kings of special forces, while looking down on the military.
But this time, Ross very much wanted to see the expression on Nick Fury's bald face when he learned that one of his ace agents had been captured.
So, after instructing Killian to keep the captive secure along with all relevant evidence and wait for his arrival, Ross immediately led a battalion of troops toward Killian's company.
Meanwhile, after successfully planting that thorn in Nick Fury's side through Ross, Killian used the exact same excuse to call Senator Kennedy.
And as expected, someone at Kennedy's level naturally knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. as well.
"This is absolutely lawless. Who gave them the right to investigate an outstanding American company so recklessly?"
"They're a pack of ungrateful dogs. I'd say they've forgotten exactly who's been throwing them their bones."
After hearing Killian's explanation, Senator Kennedy spoke in extreme anger from the other end.
"Killian, secure the evidence and stay where you are. I'm coming over now. If S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't give me an explanation this time, then they can forget about getting another cent of funding in the United States afterward."
To Kennedy, Pioneer Technology was now a money-printing machine.
Every time Pioneer Technology released a new technology, the value of the shares in his hand increased by staggering multiples.
Anyone with eyes could see that Pioneer Technology was still only in its startup stage.
Its long-term growth potential was enormous, and countless people wanted to pay high prices for the shares he held.
But he had refused to sell.
At this point, anyone who sold would be a fool.
And yet despite that, S.H.I.E.L.D. actually dared to touch his slice of the cake.
(End of Chapter)
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