Chapter 538: A Ghost Named Xun Zong (Patreon)

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Black Widow was never trusted, a fact known to every member of Congress, military general, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. members.

She could stay here only because, like Captain America, she was a genetically enhanced individual with exceptional intelligence skills. What's more important is that she had defected from the Soviet Union to the U.S., a symbolic gesture more than a practical one.

Natasha understood this well, but she still remained here, mainly due to Nick's cunning maneuvers.

After Nick had essentially bypassed S.H.I.E.L.D., the people left under him were not only untrustworthy but also lacking in skills. Moreover, their country still existed, so they needed a lot of intelligence. Nick had to not only pay them salaries but also create a heap of useless information to satisfy their appetite.

And Natasha, though not trusted, possessed strong abilities. What's more important is that the Soviet Union was no more, and Nick didn't need to toy with her using a void of disinformation. He could get more with less effort by employing her as a better employee. Naturally, Nick took full advantage of this.

So, for a long time, Natasha was Nick's right-hand woman, a pillar of S.H.I.E.L.D., and ever since joining the Avengers, she handled most of the interactions with superheroes.

It had to be acknowledged: she was beautiful, alluring, adept at social interactions, and got along well with the people of the Avengers.

As for what that other person had said to the Vice President, Natasha indeed had the most frequent contact with Schiller among all the opposite genders.

But the reality was probably completely different from what they thought. Natasha's interactions with Schiller were mainly for two purposes: firstly, to inform Schiller about another brilliant idea Nick had come up with, or after receiving information from Schiller, to inform Nick about Schiller's ingenious ideas. The second purpose was to handle the care of Pikachu when Schiller needed it.

Typically, the first purpose was shrouded in a kind of inexplicable coppery odor. When Natasha conveyed messages to Nick and Schiller, most of the time she was immersed in the shock of understanding certain macroeconomics concepts.

As for the second purpose, most of the time, Natasha used 90% of her energy to cover Pikachu's mouth.

However, in the eyes of the senators and the Vice President, it was a different story altogether. With so many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and quite a few female agents, why was Natasha the one who had the most contact with Schiller?

What set Natasha apart from the other female agents? Wasn't it just that she was a Soviet Union person?

Were the two of you having secret meetings here?!

But still, as the saying goes, left and right are relative. Compared to Schiller, who had ideas and the ability to resurrect the Soviet Union, Natasha, who was only possibly a KGB spy, seemed much more uncertain.

When Natasha was invited to the secret meeting room, she had a cigarette in her hand. She took a puff and flicked her red hair behind her ear. She exhaled cigarette smoke towards the secret book that was pouring water for her, and upon seeing the startled response, she smiled.

As Schiller had previously felt, when Black Widow focused on releasing her charm towards a certain male, hardly anyone could resist…

And that was why the people of the Avengers rarely felt this way. They weren't the target, and Black Widow couldn't be bothered to waste her expressions on them.

"What do you want to ask?" Natasha's English always carried a touch of Russian intonation, but it wasn't harsh; on the contrary, her tone rose at the end, sounding somewhat captivating.

The interrogator lowered his head, trying not to look at Black Widow's face. But when the scent of the cigarette wafted over, many alluring fantasies churned in his mind, causing him to start swaying and involuntarily lose focus.

"Are you KGB?" the interrogator asked.

"Don't ask such obvious idiotic questions. I'm a Soviet Union person and a former Soviet Union agent. Are you asking me if I'm KGB?" Natasha leaned on the armrest and took another puff of her cigarette.

"So, are you still KGB now?"

"You've asked another dumb question. I'm in the U.S. now. Do you think I'd still be KGB? Even if I were, do you think I'd acknowledge it?"

Natasha's approach to the interrogation was different from Schiller's. She was responsive, cooperative, and had a good attitude, but ultimately, all questions would circle back to the beginning.

"Seriously, now that you're planning to cooperate with Russia, why do you still care about KGB matters? The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore. Even if someone wants to resurrect it, it's not relevant to me."

"Don't you want Schiller to resurrect the Soviet Union?"

Natasha flicked some cigarette ash, lowered her eyelids, shielding her eye contact. After a pause, she took another puff of her cigarette and said, "If he really comes back, then I'll die. And if I don't die, that means he hasn't truly returned."

"Honestly, things have progressed this far. You guys shouldn't dwell on these matters. That era has passed, and I have no intention of going back."

The interrogator on the other side hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure how to continue. The headphones in his ears relayed instructions from the senator, so he asked:

"How's your relationship with Schiller?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow and said, "You should know that any relationship between an agent and a psychologist isn't that great."

"But don't you both share the same beliefs?"

"Beliefs? I haven't heard that word in a long time."

After taking a deep drag from her cigarette and exhaling the smoke, Natasha's beautiful face was shrouded in a misty haze, and she said:

"I admire him. After going through that era, he can still maintain his beliefs and intends to put them into practice. He can do it, but I can't."

"Those things I used to believe in have long been shattered. Now, I'm just an agent doing a job for money. You give me a position, you give me a salary, and I'll work for you. It's as simple as that."

"Then you..." The interrogator flipped his palm and said, "If we want you to approach Schiller now, and use your usual methods to restrain him, to find his weaknesses, would you agree?"

"You can just say seduction. I've said it before, as long as you pay, I'll do it. But I can't guarantee the effectiveness of the mission. Besides, since you distrust me, letting a person you distrust go and extract information from another person you distrust, isn't that a futile effort?"...

"We want to understand Schiller Rodriguez as much as possible to ensure that he won't suddenly spread his ideas inappropriately when he's emotionally agitated."

"I've already said, I can accept this task, but I can't guarantee the results. Seducing an empathic radical leftist..." Natasha shook her head, looking at the other person with a somewhat sympathetic gaze, as if she found his intelligence lacking.

Indeed, the interrogator on the other side was a bit speechless, but the senator in his headphones kept urging him on.

A voice came through his headphones, presumably from an interpreter: "Stall her, we're searching her personal belongings. We must ensure that she can be trusted before discussing the real plan..."

The interrogator pressed his headphones, feigning a look of receiving a new question. Natasha's expression remained unchanged, still responding to questions. The two of them engaged in a back-and-forth, and suddenly the headphones transmitted a flurry of panicked voices.

The interrogator interrupted the conversation again, pressing his headphones as if there was a signal issue. Natasha also skillfully paused, taking a sip of water and leisurely enjoying the intermission.

Finally, the interrogator stood up and left the room. He pressed his headphones and heard the somewhat flustered voice of the senator on the other end:

"Terminate the investigation immediately, let her go!"

"Why?" The interrogator asked with some confusion. "She was starting to ask for compensation. Maybe we can sway her..."

"I said, let her go!" The senator's voice was somewhat hysterical.

"We found a Red Banner Medal, a medal from the early Soviet Union, in her makeup bag! She even has a Red Banner Medal!"

After shouting, the senator gasped for breath and took a moment to recover before saying, "Go back and let her leave."

"But if she really is KGB, shouldn't we arrest her?" the interrogator asked.

"Arrest her? If Rodriguez knows that we've captured his 'comrade,' a comrade who even has a Red Banner Medal, what do you think he'll think?"

"Um..." The interrogator was caught off guard and could only say, "Alright, I'll go inform her."

With that, he turned and walked back into the room, opened the railing's door, and said to Natasha, "Ma'am, the investigation is over. You're free to leave."

"What about your seduction plan? Didn't we already discuss the compensation part?"

"After considering it, Congress found that this approach is indeed not feasible. So, you're free to go."

Natasha glanced at the interrogator, raised her chin slightly, nodded, and turned to leave.

Upon returning to S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha entered her own bedroom, picked up her makeup bag, and walked out of the bedroom, heading straight for the psychology consultation room where Schiller was waiting for her.

Natasha approached the table but didn't sit down. She placed the makeup bag on the table and took out the medal from inside, then handed it to Schiller.

Schiller, who was writing medical records, looked up, put down his pen, but didn't take the medal. He asked, "Don't you want it?"

Facing Schiller, Natasha didn't display the tense, deadly, and enticing Black Widow demeanor. She pulled over a chair and sat down, leaning lazily on it. She placed the medal on the desk and said...

"Someone once wanted to award me a medal, but by then, I didn't want it anymore."

Natasha looked at the medal, a mocking smile playing on her lips as she said, "What I didn't expect was that even after all this time apart, his power still shelters me."

"He came once, and that's enough." Schiller reached out and took the medal.

Schiller looked at Natasha and asked, "They're investigating you like this every day. Don't you want to fight back a little?"

The noon light brightened the room, casting shadows on Natasha's face, making her hair, lowered against her face, even darker.

She seemed to have never revealed her vulnerable side, even now. Perhaps this was the characteristic of the people of this country—to not hesitate to mock themselves with the most straightforward jokes, even at this point.

"Fight back? How can a stray dog under someone else's fence fight back?"

However, Schiller's smile turned somewhat wicked. He used two fingers to pick up the medal and placed it between him and Natasha. Both of their gazes fell on the medal. He said, "This is the best weapon."

"A medal? You mean..." Natasha also looked into his eyes, and a moment of understanding passed between them. A hint of a smile appeared on the female agent's face.

Natasha leaned back in her chair, exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke, and said, "Nick prepared the Order of National Glory, but it hasn't been used yet. He also has connections to acquire more..."

With a snap, Schiller placed the medal on the table, then said:

"Since their allergies are incurable, it's time for some desensitization treatment."

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