Darcy, Jane Foster's assistant, had an unusual arrangement with Hong Fei. After being kidnapped by him, she emerged unscathed and even received a hefty payout as 'benefit money.' Since then, she'd been diligently sending daily reports on Jane's activities to Hong Fei—until he finally told her to stop.
It was clear Darcy wasn't your average hostage. She approached her role with remarkable enthusiasm and initiative. Today, she'd just returned from a month-long international business trip with Jane. After spending most of the day on a plane, she was exhausted and cranky.
Dragging herself home, she unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and dumped her luggage by the entrance. She kicked off her shoes without bending down, shuffled inside, and reached under her shirt to unhook her bra. Just as she was about to toss it onto the sofa, a voice cut through the silence.
"If you don't need your eyes, you can donate them."
Darcy screamed without hesitation. Hong Fei, sitting on the sofa, winced slightly at the noise. Her scream cut off abruptly when she spotted him, and she clapped both hands over her mouth.
"Does it smell good?" Hong Fei asked dryly.
Darcy froze, glanced down at the bra she'd been holding near her face, and quickly shoved it behind her back. "You... why are you here?" she stammered.
"What do you think?" Hong Fei replied evenly.
Her eyes darted around the room. "Can I go change my clothes first?"
He nodded. She bolted into the bedroom, then peeked her head out a moment later. "Can I take a shower first?"
"Should I find you a few masseurs?" he countered.
"Forget it then," she muttered. A short while later, she returned to the living room and sat nervously across from him.
"Boss, what do you need?" she asked, trying to sound professional.
"Do you have Professor Selvig's contact information?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, think of an academic problem you've encountered and call him."
Darcy blinked, clearly baffled. Hong Fei didn't explain. Instead, he reached for a black plastic bag on the table and shook it. The unmistakable rustle of crisp hundred-dollar bills filled the air.
Darcy's eyes lit up. "Boss, for me?"
"Correct."
"But won't calling the Professor get him into trouble?"
"No."
She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Hong Fei cut her off. "Actually, I could burn it for you."
Darcy immediately grabbed her phone and dialed. The call rang and rang, eventually going unanswered.
"Continue," Hong Fei instructed.
After a dozen attempts, Selvig finally answered. "Darcy, what's wrong? Has something happened to Jane?"
Darcy sniffled and adopted a tearful tone. "Professor, Jane's fine, but I'm not doing well at all."
Selvig sighed in relief on the other end. "You scared me. What's wrong?"
"There's a problem I can't figure out, but I don't dare ask Jane, so I can only turn to you for advice."
"Sigh, go ahead and ask."
As their conversation wound down, Hong Fei slid a note in front of Darcy. She glanced at it and seamlessly added, "By the way, Professor, I heard you won the lottery?"
There was a pause on the other end. Then Selvig chuckled. "How did you know?"
"Oh, I heard it from a friend. Congratulations! It's just that I'm saying it a bit late."
"Heh, not late at all. These things are just lucky coincidences."
If I mentioned it specifically, it would seem too deliberate, like showing off."
"But I'm practically your half-student! You're so low-key. I didn't know for so long."
"Well, you know now. Alright, I'll treat you to a meal in a few days. It won't be too long. Remember to bring Jane along."
"Great! I'll be waiting then."
"Mhm, goodbye."
The call ended.
Darcy blinked her big, innocent eyes at Hong Fei, looking pitiful. He waved a dismissive hand, and she immediately lit up, scooping all the money off the table into her arms with glee. The earlier conversation had been layered with subtext. Using Darcy as the messenger minimized the risk of Selvig raising suspicions. As for why he hadn't contacted Jane Foster directly? Hong Fei didn't want her probing him about Thor's whereabouts. A woman destined to wield Mjolnir would undoubtedly be relentless in her questioning.
Darcy's flighty personality made her the perfect choice. Her sudden topic shifts wouldn't raise eyebrows. Initially, her asking Selvig about winning the lottery had been a subtle way to broach the subject. Selvig didn't need to share such details with outsiders, but it wouldn't escape S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scrutiny. Those who knew about it were either S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or Hong Fei himself. Since Darcy had been kidnapped alongside Selvig before, connecting her to Hong Fei wouldn't be hard for the scientist to piece together.
When Darcy mentioned her congratulations were late, she was hinting that Selvig's message had been delayed. Selvig's response—laced with words like "coincidence," "specifically," and "deliberate"—suggested that the S.H.I.E.L.D. research base wasn't lax, and he hadn't found the right opportunity yet.
Darcy's comment about only just finding out hinted that too much time had passed, and Hong Fei's patience was wearing thin. Selvig's final answer was to ask Hong Fei to wait a few more days. He didn't specify how many, and Hong Fei couldn't press further. As long as the message was delivered, that was enough. For Jane Foster's safety, Selvig would surely do his best.
Hong Fei stood to leave. Darcy trailed after him eagerly, chirping, "Boss, let me see you out!" At the door, Hong Fei glanced back, then turned away, tossing over his shoulder, "Well developed." Darcy looked down, not the slightest bit shy. Instead, she straightened her posture with pride. Returning to the manor, Hong Fei instructed Frank to bring the team the next day.
The Tesseract research base was likely near S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Washington headquarters or its New York branch—their most secure locations. If not for Loki's intervention, anyone else would've found it nearly impossible to breach. But Master Hong wasn't just anyone. He had help—and he wasn't planning to focus on theft. Only by fighting their way in would they have a chance to casually collect skill cards from Steve and the others.
After sparring with Alexei for an entire day, the old Russian had dropped three cards, completely drained.
Passive Skill Card: Wrestling Proficiency (White) – Alexei
Passive Skill Card: Boxing Master (Green) – Alexei
Fusion Card: Super Soldier Serum
"You can become a true super soldier, but the enhancement effects rapidly diminish with age."
None of the three cards were directly useful to Hong Fei. The Fusion Card confirmed that Alexei had indeed been a true super soldier in his prime. However, the serum's diminishing effects with age were likely the key difference between him and Steve. That made sense—the two serums came from different creators, possibly with entirely different formulas.
Notably, Hong Fei now had thirteen white skill cards. Three needed to be retained, so he could choose one to upgrade to green. But with an intense battle likely on the horizon, skill card gains probably wouldn't be scarce. Hong Fei wasn't in a rush to upgrade. Maybe in a few days, a better card would present itself? As for the Fusion Cards, he now had two sitting idle. He wondered if they'd find a use later.
Three needed to be retained, so he could now choose one to upgrade to green.
The next morning, a quinjet descended onto the manor grounds, gliding smoothly from the backyard lawn into the underground hangar. The seven-person team arrived, each carrying their gear and making final preparations for the upcoming mission. But with Selvig's message still delayed, they were left idling, forced to wait passively.
Since Number Four and Number Five had wrapped up their missions, Number Three had successfully withdrawn from Sokovia and rejoined Number Two to oversee the manor. With all the laboratories relocated to Sokovia, the manor felt eerily quiet, almost hollow. Yelena found herself chatting with Number Two and Number Three. "So, how did you meet the boss?" she asked.
"It was Mr. Frank," Number Two replied. "He introduced the five of us to the boss."
Yelena tilted her head. "Five of you... so you're Numbers One to Five?"
"That's right."
Yelena paused, her curiosity piqued. "What about Number One? I've never seen him."
"Number One was assigned a mission by the boss a long time ago," Number Three explained. "He went to Africa. But it's a tough mission—he hasn't completed it yet, so he hasn't returned."
"Ah," Yelena said, nodding slowly. Then she leaned in, her tone playful. "You're just called Numbers One to Five? Don't you have actual names?"
"Of course we have names, Miss Yelena," Number Two replied with a slight smile. "But the boss can call us whatever he likes. These are just code names."
Yelena crossed her arms, her brow furrowing. "Why are you all so... obedient?"
Number Two and Number Three exchanged a glance before answering in unison, "If other bosses were willing to split a hundred million among their six subordinates, I think those people would be just as obedient as us."
Yelena's eyes widened in surprise. She'd thought Hong Fei giving Black Widow ten million each was already excessive. But splitting a hundred million among six people? Did he truly not care about money? Did it mean nothing to him?
A few more days passed. As dusk settled, Hong Fei gathered the team. "After nightfall, we move out," he announced. "This is a simple mission, but we need to make it as complicated as possible."
Frank frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Hong Fei said with a smirk, "if we can fight them for an hour, we absolutely won't stop at fifty-nine minutes."
"Our suits can last a long time," Frank pointed out.
"Don't be so literal," Hong Fei chided. "It's just a metaphor."
Sneaking in alone and making a quick escape would have been easy for Hong Fei. But that approach risked yielding insufficient energy growth, potentially leaving him short of the level needed to match his physical fitness. So, he needed a different strategy.
"Tonight's operational guideline is one sentence," Hong Fei declared. "Charge straight in, fight our way out!"
While Yelena and Antonia exchanged surprised glances, the rest of the team seemed unfazed, already accustomed to Hong Fei's unorthodox methods. And even if they weren't, no one dared voice their disagreement. At most, they might think it quietly—right, Big Head?
Big Head sighed inwardly. "My boss is just too unsteady!"