The Inhumans lived mostly in seclusion, away from human sight. Thanks to Gordon's teleportation ability, they had established an isolated town in the no-man's-land of the Himalayas, relying entirely on supernatural teleportation for the transport of supplies and personnel.
In an instant, Gordon completed the teleportation. Now Johnson had arrived here, and standing before him was his resurrected wife, Jiaying.
Jiaying was originally from the China, but because she had been tortured by HYDRA and then awakened as an Inhuman, she now only considered herself the leader of the Inhumans.
Looking at his wife with a calm mind, a complex swirl of emotions almost made Johnson want to flee. But for the sake of his daughter, he steadied himself and said:
"I found her. Our daughter. She is currently working under Harry Osborn."
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Hearing the name Harry Osborn, Jiaying's expression became very tense, and she stood up from her chair. "Did he do anything to Daisy?"
In her view, the Oscorp was not much different from HYDRA; both were mysterious, giant organizations. And the larger the organization, the crazier their leaders tended to be.
"No, he didn't. Harry Osborn offered her a job. She's working with the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to handle anomalous events—Osborn takes this very seriously. He knows about our existence."
After Johnson finished speaking, Jiaying sat back in her chair, looking dazed.
After a brief silence, Jiaying said to Gordon, "Go back and rest. I will have a task for you once things are settled here. Don't go out for now. ]|I{•---» «---•}I|["
Gordon nodded and left the room without another word, only saying to Johnson before he left, "He knows about 'our' existence. It has nothing to do with you."
Deeply influenced by Jiaying, he was very repulsed by Johnson, an ordinary human.
Then Jiaying said to Johnson, "What does he want?"
"He wants to make contact with you and then have some sort of registration. For now, his attitude seems friendly."
Jiaying didn't react much to the first half of the sentence, but hearing the last part, her eyes flickered with a subtle change.
She sized up her former husband and realized that Johnson seemed to have returned to normal.
"What did he do to you?"
"He... he made me calmer, just like when we first met..."
"Like that ordinary person? You swore to protect us, but you failed. Don't forget, humans are selfish and extremely aggressive. HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Osborn—they are all the same."
These words seemed to make the temperature in the room drop significantly. Looking at his wife's cold eyes, Johnson felt almost suffocated.
A few seconds later, Jiaying spoke again in a softer tone: "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about what he might do to you. You know the Oscorp does a lot of research on the human body; perhaps they used some method to control your mind.
But you should be clear that no matter who they are, once they know of our existence, they only think about squeezing every bit of value from us and controlling our freedom."
She sighed and then said, "We have to leave here and resettle somewhere else."
But where could they run? After the conversation with Osborn that day, Johnson realized one thing: no matter how they ran, the Inhumans were still connected to society through certain channels.
The entire tribe had fewer than 200 people, and the number of awakened Inhumans could be counted on one hand.
They needed food, daily necessities, and building materials. Even for scientific research related to Inhumans, they needed to 'import' experimental equipment from the outside world. These supplies were basically obtained through illegal means.
As the Oscorp's informational tentacles extended further and further, they would eventually catch the traces of the Inhumans' activities.
According to his judgment, at that time, Harry Osborn wouldn't be looking for them to negotiate; he would treat them as criminals.
Johnson said, "We—you don't have to leave here. You just need to do some simple registration—"
"Karl, has your brain been tampered with by them?"
"..." Johnson paused, but he knew he had to finish. "Our daughter, Daisy, doesn't mind working for the Oscorp. She has a normal life out there and elders who look after her. If we just walk away like this, what happens to her?
She wants us to go out and negotiate with Osborn. She wants us to integrate into society rather than living on the fringes in constant fear..."
"She is not one of us yet! Karl!" Jiaying interrupted Johnson's long speech. "And she is too young. Have you forgotten what happened the last time I was exposed?"
The last time she was discovered by Whitehall, she was brutally dismembered and then hollowed out.
The experience of finding his wife's pieces one by one and sewing them back together was something Johnson could never forget. Moreover, it was that incident that turned Jiaying into what she was now. He sat back in his chair, feeling dejected.
"They want to tag us, monitor us, but what can we do? We are just a group of Inhumans living in isolation, Karl. We don't have the ability to resist, and my people won't fight them with me."
As she spoke, Jiaying showed a slightly lonely look, which made Johnson's heart ache. He took her hand.
"If that really happens, I will stand by your side. You know, I will always stand by your side."
Hearing this, Jiaying smiled. "You're just like when we first met."
Johnson gave a hollow laugh. "I must look very old to you now."
"No, this is still the face I fell in love with back then. It's I who have changed. I hope you can understand that I must ensure the safety of our daughter and my people.
What did you experience over there? What can you tell me about Harry Osborn?"
Johnson slowly told Jiaying everything he had seen at the Osborn Hospital:
Advanced medical equipment, terrifying financial power, fully armed Agents and troops, as well as Harry Osborn's own situation—he was definitely not an Inhuman because he still needed to wear gloves to hold the obelisk.
After listening to all this, Jiaying said:
"If you believe Osborn is a good person, then I believe you. I will negotiate with him. I hope he won't hurt us out of fear."
"He won't. You can hand me over. That way, you can prove you're approaching them with peaceful intentions."
Johnson's words meant he intended to confess to the Agents he had killed—including those from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D.—and on the other hand, as Jiaying's husband, he could serve as a hostage.
"Karl, I can't—"
"No, it's the only thing I can do—I couldn't protect you in the past. Now, let me."
The two looked at each other affectionately, and finally, Jiaying agreed to Johnson's request.
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