Fifty million—the price of a tank—meant nothing to Hong Fei. He wanted the Tesseract, but not for the same reasons as Thanos. Collecting and wielding it? No. The Red Skull's fate still lingered in his mind. Magic was beyond him, and his grasp of Qi barely qualified as proficient. Energy manipulation? A different beast entirely. If he couldn't use it, why bother?
Master Hong had plenty of reasons. First, trade. Sell it to Fury, Loki, anyone with deep enough pockets. Stolen goods could always be resold. Second, research. Kidnap Dr. Erik Selvig again, assemble a team with Big Head, Ivan, maybe even Dr. Helen Cho.
The Red Skull had wrung black tech from the cube—who knew what else it could yield? Third, and simplest: robbing S.H.I.E.L.D. was its own reward. That alone justified the effort. Still, rushing now would be premature. Better to let things simmer. A feast tasted best when patience seasoned it.
On the way back to the hotel, Frank called.
"Yuri delivered your haul. Level with me—you planning a coup against Sokovia's military?"
Hong Fei blinked. "No. Why?"
"Why? Two thousand square meters of warehouse packed to the rafters! Self-propelled rocket launchers, missiles—who the hell are you gearing up to fight?"
"Can't a guy collect things?"
Frank exhaled sharply. "Don't do anything stupid. After those last two stunts, half the world's probably hunting us. If you've got a plan, we talk first. No cowboy shit."
"Relax. Just stocking up in case we need firepower later. Money's not an issue now."
"Christ. Just remember the stakes. That castle next door? Something's off about it. When do we hit it?"
Hong Fei paused. "We're not."
"What?"
"Don't peg me as some trigger-happy thug. Sure, I've got my moments, but deep down? I'm a peace-loving guy. Honestly."
Silence. Then Frank muttered, "I've got work. Later."
Coulson stepped out of the room, face twisted in disbelief. Pure and upright? The words stuck in his throat.
Even if Hong Fei had been vacationing in Paris and Singapore, the man was anything but simple. Fury, Hill, Natasha, Barton—they all agreed. No hard proof yet, but too many coincidences piled up into something undeniable. Vanished islands. Tanks in Tokyo Bay. Pure? Upright? The joke wrote itself.
So why had that blonde called him that?
The question gnawed at him. Next morning, Coulson tracked Hong Fei down himself. Unbeknownst to anyone, Loki arrived moments after he left, bearing grim news: Odin was dead, and Thor had been duped into oblivion.
Hotel lobby.
"Mr. Coulson." Hong Fei feigned surprise. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Coulson smiled, taking a seat. He slid a photo across the table. "Remember this?"
Hong Fei glanced down. Mjolnir. He grinned. "Of course. Nobody else could lift it, but I picked it up easy."
"How?"
"Reached out and took it." He shrugged. "Simple as that."
After sitting down, he took out a photo and handed it to Hong Fei.
Coulson couldn't make sense of it. Thankfully, Hong Fei elaborated, "That hammer's a bit odd. I could lift it, but its weight kept increasing in my hands. I put it down after a few seconds." Coulson filed this information away silently. Then, fixing Hong Fei with a meaningful smile, he asked, "Mr. Hong, have you heard about the Liberty Island incident and the Tokyo Bay incident?"
"I have."
"What do you think?"
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Coulson's mouth twitched. Hong Fei chuckled, "How could I miss such big events? I was still at home when Liberty Island exploded—I even heard the blast. The flames were enormous. As for Tokyo Bay, I only saw that online. Why, does the FBI investigate cases in Japan too?"
"No, it's just that the two events happened close together, so I thought I'd bring them up."
"Those people are too arrogant. It must be tough for you all."
"It's part of the job. I believe it won't be long before we bring him to justice."
"That would be great."
The two exchanged smiles, the atmosphere cordial yet laced with an underlying tension. After seeing Coulson off, Dr. Helen Cho voiced her concern, "Have they found something?"
"No. If they had, it wouldn't just be him showing up today—it'd be a squad of armed soldiers. And even then, they might not catch me."
Dr. Helen Cho nodded, then smiled. "I should head back. I have a lot of research projects waiting."
She was clearly worried about holding him back. Hong Fei immediately ruffled her hair. "No, the trip isn't over yet. Forget about work for now. When you're out having fun, focus on enjoying yourself."
Picking up the hammer had been an experiment—he hadn't been sure if he could lift it beforehand. But since he'd succeeded, he could play along. Sooner or later, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have to accept that he was truly a pure and upright person. For the sake of Thor and Captain America, they'd have to believe it—whether they wanted to or not.
Meanwhile, at Jane Foster's persistent urging, Dr. Erik Selvig—who had just escaped danger and whose heart was still racing—had no choice but to set out again. He personally approached Coulson to ask for Thor's release. In his explanation, Thor went by another name: Donald Tr—no, Dr. Donald Blake. A madman who'd taken down numerous elite agents in a burst of adrenaline while defending a friend. Coulson barely bought it.
Thor, despondent, didn't react to the unfamiliar name, allowing Dr. Erik Selvig to lead him away from the base. Of course, he didn't forget to take Jane's notebook, and he also brought along the horse he'd bought on credit from Hong Fei. Watching them leave, Coulson turned to Matt. "Follow them."
"Yes, Officer."
Though blind, Matt's heightened senses made him far better at tracking than any ordinary person. In the days that followed, Thor came to terms with the tragic news of Odin's death and gradually regained his spirit through his interactions with Jane Foster.
A few days later, Hong Fei saw Dr. Helen Cho off. As she prepared to leave, she reminded him earnestly, "Whatever you're planning, be careful."
"Yeah, go on. Wait for me at home."
After she left, Hong Fei packed his gear, changed his clothes, and rode his motorcycle toward town. Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s makeshift base, instruments detected a sudden surge of powerful energy, and the team began monitoring it anxiously. Out in the wasteland, the Bifrost Bridge descended, and four figures emerged: Sif and the Warriors Three.
The four of them soon headed toward the town. On a rooftop, two Agents saw them walking down the street without any concern. Before they could report, Hong Fei knocked them out with a palm strike each. Following behind the four, Hong Fei witnessed their reunion. Thor was very happy, while Dr. Erik Selvig and the others were shocked.
While they were exchanging pleasantries, Hong Fei did a somersault from the roof and landed steadily on the ground, then strolled into the room and locked the door behind him. Dr. Erik Selvig and Darcy turned from one shock to another. The sound of the door locking caused Thor, Sif, and the others to look back. Thor stared at Hong Fei's metal mask and said: "Are you in the wrong place?"
While drawing his blade, Hong Fei said quickly: "No time to explain, come on!" Any later and the Destroyer would arrive; he couldn't beat that thing. Seeing this, Sif was the first to draw her sword. She stood in front of Thor and didn't forget to look back: "Is this an enemy of yours?" Thor shook his head: "No, I don't know him at all." The Warriors Three also stepped forward.
They knew Thor had lost his power, and opportunities to protect Thor like this were rare. Thor continued to ask Hong Fei: "Who are you? I don't remember ever seeing you." Hong Fei shook his head and reached out to point at Thor: "White horse!" After saying that, without waiting for Thor to react, he stepped forward and charged.
In an instant, they were engaged, blades clashing with a series of clangs. Thor immediately turned and took Jane and Dr. Erik Selvig to hide in the distance. The Warriors Three initially stood to the side, letting Sif and Hong Fei fight. In their understanding, an Earthling could not be a match for an Asgardian, especially since Sif was one of the best among Asgardian warriors.
So, at the beginning, it was Hong Fei versus Sif one-on-one. Sif's dual swords were extraordinary, not only being top-tier weapons from Asgard but also having Odin's enchantments. Thus, the two swords whistled with sharp wind as she swung them, and her offensive was extremely fierce.
With a Cross-blade in hand and his Eyes of Death open, Hong Fei led with his shoulders to his elbows, and his elbows to his wrists. Standing still, he seemed to effortlessly neutralize the sword strikes into nothingness. Only the sounds of collision, like a storm in their ears, reminded people of how intense this exchange actually was.
Thor, who had retreated to a distance, finally remembered the meaning of the white horse reference and immediately spoke: "Sif, don't hurt him, he's a good person!" Sif ignored him, and Hong Fei also felt that he seemed to have become stupid. In a battle, not killing is one thing, but there's no such thing as not hurting.
He blocked with the Cross-blade to the left, the blade drawing a circle to lead the sword tip aside, then countered with an upward slash to the right. The tip of his blade instantly pried open Sif's Arm guard, drawing a line of blood. Sif felt a sharp pain in her right hand, but she still gripped her longsword tightly.
Hong Fei took the opportunity to pull back his arm, and instantly, the Qi inside his body surged. In the next second, he slashed out, and a silver arc suddenly appeared. The Warriors Three cried out in alarm, and Sif, who was at the forefront, saw her pupils shrink as she hurried to cross her swords in front of her. Clang!
With a sharp sound, Sif arched forward and slid backward with her feet scraping the ground. Her right-hand sword fell, and a third of the blade sank into the floor. Hong Fei's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to pull it out. The whole process took ten seconds.
Blocking for the first five seconds, counterattacking in the sixth, an upward slash in the seventh, releasing blade Qi in the eighth, Sif being defeated in the last two seconds, and Hong Fei picking up the sword. One word. Fast!