Chapter 83: Acquiring the Equipment

Who is “Marinated Egg”? Black Widow was briefly taken aback, then the image of the Director’s glossy, dark, and shining head flashed through her mind. Recalling how he’d devoured thirteen marinated eggs that night, her expression grew more peculiar by the second.

To be honest, the resemblance was uncanny!

Master Wang, that night you dragged Marinated Egg—uh, the Director—to eat marinated eggs, you did it on purpose, didn’t you?

“Fitz and Simmons heard that the user’s physical abilities rival Captain America’s. They’re very interested in you, so they requested to come in person with their equipment.”

Black Widow lowered her voice, “If they make any excessive requests… you can refuse. Don’t underestimate their curiosity; scientists can be crazy—sometimes even crazier than I am.”

Even if a scientist went mad with curiosity about the Hulk, they’d never be as interested as you are… Wang chuckled. “I’ll try not to refuse.”

Interest is good—the more interested, the better. As long as they’re willing to follow me, I’ll agree to any outrageous request. Even if they want to experiment with my essence, I’ll allow it!

Nowadays, truly capable scientists are all quite impressive—Tony Stark, Dr. Banner, Hank Pym—each one not only arrogant but also mature adults, hard to fool.

But these two here are different. At the very least, they’re already second-rate scientists; in a couple of years, they’ll be first-rate for sure; five or six years from now, they’ll likely be at the very top of their field. Yet, they’ve just come of age, fresh out of the ivory tower, with no field experience—a pair of young trainee agents. Luring them away would be at least three times easier.

In an instant, Wang had already devised seven or eight plans.

Black Widow was surprised again, not understanding why Master Wang was so agreeable today.

She’d heard about some of Fitz and Simmons’s excessive requests—tissue biopsies, bodily fluid analyses, comprehensive deep-level testing, chip implantation for real-time monitoring, reproductive and endocrine system assessments, and the like. Every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is obliged to comply, but Master Wang wasn’t an official agent, just a collaborator.

Truth be told, both the Director and she herself were very interested in Master Wang.

If it weren’t for the looming presence of the Immortal Iron Fist and K’un-Lun, and the need to keep that mysterious force as an ally, given Marinated Egg’s personality, he might have tried to forcibly drag Master Wang into a laboratory. He was no saint!

He’d treat you to fine food and drink, but also keep you under the needle and scalpel, monitored 24/7, and if need be, throw in a few beauties for company—Marinated Egg had no scruples.

If Master Wang was willing to cooperate, it would be a boon for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Who knows, they might actually discover something remarkable.

“Thank you very much,” Black Widow said, uncharacteristically expressing her gratitude, then straightened up and swiped her card to open the door.

Instantly, the cacophony of five hundred ducks ceased.

The first thing that met their eyes were two young figures, a man and a woman, just coming of age—about the same as Skye.

Doctorates at that age were rare, almost unheard of worldwide, especially since Simmons held dual doctorates.

Tony Stark, the future Iron Man and one of Earth’s greatest minds in the Marvel Universe, graduated from MIT at seventeen. Simmons, at seventeen, was already a double PhD in biology and chemistry.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Simmons is more impressive than Iron Man, but it certainly says a lot about her.

A dual PhD serving as Fitz’s assistant—clearly, Fitz is even more impressive.

The two brightest scientists in S.H.I.E.L.D. creating gear for him—was Marinated Egg’s head squeezed by Black Widow’s thighs or pierced by Hawkeye’s arrow?

Wang was ready to poach talent, but his gaze drifted to the center table.

On the table sat two open cases.

The left case contained a short alloy staff, about twenty centimeters long. Two of the segments were gold, the others red, and the surface was adorned with intricate blue-green engravings—eagle claws, deer antlers, tiger paws, and what appeared to be serpent scales.

Could it be a dragon?

Not a five-clawed golden dragon, but a five-clawed azure dragon?

I swear I’m not an Azure Dragon!

Wang grumbled inwardly, then looked to the other case.

Inside were two gold-and-red alloy gauntlets.

Retractable claws gleamed sharply, with decorative dragon patterns on the surface and finely crafted movable joints—everything looked exquisite, high-tech, and upscale.

Superb craftsmanship! Even without testing, they looked far superior to any gnome or goblin-engineered gauntlets.

At the sight of Wang, Fitz and Simmons’s eyes lit up. Realizing this was the user of the titanium-alloy staff and gauntlets, they immediately began animated introductions.

“The color scheme and engravings were based on Agent May’s suggestions.”

“In China, gold symbolizes nobility; red is festive. The Chinese call themselves ‘descendants of the dragon,’ and blue-green represents vitality. ‘Qi’ is the energy of life itself—it all fits perfectly.”

“We used high-powered laser engraving and 3D printing technology.”

“Simmons and I spent a whole week on the design alone, revising it ten times. The best team in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s tech division handled manufacturing—they also make Agent Romanoff’s gear.”

…

A torrent of technical jargon followed, much of which was lost on Wang—a classic scientist’s habit.

The details didn’t matter; only two points caught his attention.

One, mentioned by Simmons, was the total cost of the gauntlets and staff—a figure high enough to buy an apartment on Beijing’s Second Ring Road.

The other, from Fitz, was a regretful note: if not for budget constraints and the Director’s refusal, they would’ve used solid gold-titanium alloy throughout, though the cost would have increased severalfold.

Marinated Egg, I’ll remember this!

“Don’t move. Here, take this.”

Simmons approached, stood on tiptoe, and implanted a minuscule chip into Wang’s lower lip, then nodded with satisfaction. “The latest micro receiver controller—an integration of engineering and biology. It automatically connects with your nerve endings, voice-activated, signals transmitted via muscle and bone—safe, efficient, and discreet… want to try?”

Having lived three lifetimes, Wang had brains to spare, and this time, he’d encountered plenty of gnome and goblin high-tech gizmos. With his experience, he quickly mastered it.

And it really was easy to use.

The nine-segment staff automatically locked together, its internal mechanism precisely aligned. It could be disassembled as needed, and, with a simple lip movement, it could release a short, thick, and sturdy gold-titanium chain, transforming into a nine-section whip.

It could even fire one or several segments like projectiles, recall them, and emit electricity!

Of course, Wang’s favorite was the staff form—about 180 centimeters, just above eyebrow height. He was still growing, so it would fit even better in the future.

Most importantly, with gold at both ends, red in the middle, and intricate azure dragon engravings, it was utterly stylish.

It looked exactly like the legendary golden staff.

Agent Melinda May, who designed it, must surely be a fan of the Monkey King.

The gauntlets were just as impressive.

These two pieces of equipment were technologically on par with epic gnome engineering gear, though the materials fell short.

Whether titanium alloy or gold-titanium, neither could match the mithril or truegold from the World of Warcraft universe, not to mention thorium or arcanite. Eventually, with the right bloodline, he’d source even better materials from that world and have Fitz and Simmons design something truly extraordinary.

Who knows—maybe it would even surpass Captain America’s vibranium shield.

Ding!

Suddenly, Black Widow frowned.

A voice came through her earpiece—it was the base’s previous administrator. “Agent Romanoff, the instructors and trainees are fighting. It’s serious!”

Serious?

Black Widow’s eyebrows shot up.

With a bunch of foreign instructors training the elite agents who’d survived the harshest regimens, it was natural for them to rebel and challenge authority—a good thing, really. Conflict breeds understanding and fosters better teamwork down the line.

But “serious” hinted at real trouble.

Had a hundred elite agents ganged up and thrashed Master Wang’s disciples?

No, she needed to check this out!

“Sorry, I have something to deal with. You all carry on,” Black Widow said, deciding to handle the matter first before telling Master Wang—best not to let him see too much carnage and get upset.

No sooner had she left than Wang, grinning at Simmons, remarked, “This is great! Just this staff alone costs more than two years of my salary. Too bad it’s not free—I’ll be bleeding for this!”

Simmons blinked, blurting out, “Two years? It’s worth ten years of my salary!”

Hearing this, Wang broke into laughter.

P.S. Updates will be consistent from now on: one chapter at 8 a.m. and another at 8 p.m., starting tonight.