When Zhou Yi returned to the camp with the huge black Big Cat, many people looked at him with strange eyes.
The patrolling Guards raised their weapons, and the survivors coming and going cautiously avoided them. If Coulson, who had heard the news and rushed over, hadn't forcibly dispersed the crowd and arranged for Zhou Yi to take the Big Cat into a tent, they probably would have been gawked at for a while longer.
"My goodness, where did you find such a large Big Cat?" Coulson pulled Zhou Yi into the tent and couldn't help but exclaim. "Do you know, because you brought this thing back, the camp almost exploded. Many people thought we had been breached, and even such monsters had run in here. The survivors were desperately trying to get out, and we almost couldn't suppress them. If a riot had broken out at that moment, I wouldn't know how to solve it."
"Sorry, this Child was just injured. I wasn't comfortable leaving it outside." Zhou Yi scratched the Big Cat's ears, making it lie on the ground. The Big Cat obediently followed his command, and after it lay down, Zhou Yi carried Jill off its back and placed her on the cot inside the tent.
The sudden lightness on its back made the Big Cat feel instantly refreshed. It playfully rolled a few times on the ground, then directly rested its head on Zhou Yi's feet. It was fortunate that Zhou Yi's Physique was different from that of a normal person, otherwise, it would have hurt for at least a while. With a weight of nearly a thousand kilograms resting there, it would be unreasonable if it didn't hurt.
"How did you train it like this? It looks no different from a big house cat." Coulson asked in surprise, looking at the purring, squinting Big Cat. He had seen such fierce beasts before; some odd fellows liked to keep them. But very few people could train a fierce beast to be as docile as a house cat. This required a lot of time and talent.
"By Destiny, this Child is very smart!" Zhou Yi shrugged. At this moment, he saw Natasha and Ada Wong arriving together. The two women were chatting and laughing, with none of the previous hostility.
"What's wrong with them?" He pointed at the two women and asked Coulson. He felt that something interesting must have happened in the short time he was away. Otherwise, these two mutually antagonistic women wouldn't have become so harmonious.
"They reached a small agreement." Seeing the two women, Coulson smiled awkwardly. "Never mind them for now, pal. Didn't you adopt a daughter? How have things been recently?"
"Damn it, why are you suddenly asking me this?" Hearing Coulson mention his adopted daughter, Zhou Yi immediately became alert. He instinctively felt that there must be something fishy going on. Because an Agent would never ask about his daughter for no reason. Unless he was tired of living.
"For the sake of our friendship, let me warn you first, Airesha's current identity is legally recognized. If you don't want to be beaten to death by me, you'd best not have any ideas about her."
"Hey, I've never had any ideas about this Child. I'm just simply saying hello, you understand, hello?" Coulson responded exasperatedly. He was just trying to find a topic to get into, why had it suddenly turned into plotting something sinister? This made him feel incredible, even questioning the trust between people.
He asked himself, he didn't look like some Fierce Gods Abomination, and he was sincere and generous. How did he become like this in Zhou Yi's eyes?
"You really don't have any ideas about Airesha?" Zhou Yi continued to scrutinize him. He began to consider whether to believe the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent's words.
"Damn it, I swear on my grandmother's name, I never had that thought." Coulson felt like he was going crazy. If he couldn't beat this guy, he would definitely make him taste the power of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal ultimate fighting technique, which was not taught externally.
"Alright, let's assume you never had that thought."
"I never had that thought to begin with."
"Then why did you mention Airesha? Don't you know what your profession is? This can easily lead to misunderstandings, pal." Zhou Yi patted Coulson's shoulder apologetically and pulled out a cigarette to share with him, acknowledging his innocence.
Coulson took the cigarette unhappily. He wanted to curse a bit, but found he had nothing good to curse about. The man was just worried about his Child, and besides, as an Agent, being viewed with suspicion seemed to be nothing to complain about; that was his job.
"Let's forget it this time. You should know, as a friend, I won't hurt you." Waving his hand, Coulson indicated that everything was forgotten. As for his statement, Zhou Yi just smiled and nodded, but whether he believed it or not, no one knew.
Coulson didn't expect him to believe it so easily. Such things usually required actual actions to prove. Words alone were useless. So he avoided the topic and spoke directly to Zhou Yi.
"You still remember the Child Natasha brought back, right?"
"What, is there something wrong with that Child?"
"There's nothing wrong with that Child, Natasha is the one with the problem."
"The Boken couple unfortunately died in this disaster. This Child has become an orphan. We investigated her relatives, and it can be said that none of them have the ability to raise her. So Natasha had an idea and wanted to adopt this Child. But our internal regulations do not allow such a situation."
"Unless Natasha retires, she cannot raise this Child. But retiring is not something she can decide. So, I gave her an idea!" Coulson straightened his expression and said to Zhou Yi.
And after hearing his words, Zhou Yi already understood his meaning. So he immediately shook his head and said,
"You want me to adopt this Child? Damn it, aren't you guys taking too much for granted? You should know what my family situation is like, how could such a Child stay with me!"
"pal, I certainly know your family situation. But the current situation is that we don't have more options." Coulson pulled his sleeve, explaining.
"You should know what Dr. William was researching. The t-virus caused so much chaos, let alone the more powerful G-Virus. Dr. William is dead, and all intelligence points to her daughter. We cannot place her in an ordinary family; that would cause a terrible tragedy."
"You can put her in your headquarters; it's safer there and makes you feel more at ease, isn't it?"
Zhou Yi still rejected the idea. He already had enough trouble at home and really didn't want another one.
"I can't do that, pal. I can't deprive a Child of her life. You should know what her fate would be if she were adopted by people like us. Her life would become incomplete. Moreover, Natasha wouldn't agree to me doing that either. That Child is a good Child and shouldn't have to stay in the Shadow forever like us."
Coulson spoke urgently, his pleading expression making Zhou Yi feel as if it would be a sin to refuse. Just as he was about to say something more, Coulson directly interrupted everything he was about to say with his words.
"Please, pal. I'm begging you, okay?"
"And me, consider it my plea too, alright? I just want this Child to grow up carefree, I don't ask for anything else. As long as you agree, I can meet any of your conditions." Natasha also lifted the tent flap at this moment and said solemnly to Zhou Yi.
Although she spoke very solemnly, Zhou Yi didn't take it much to heart. He had endured such provocations before, so there was no reason to get carried away by such empty promises.
However, at this point, Zhou Yi found it very difficult to refuse. Coulson was his friend, and his relationship with Natasha was also more than just acquaintances. Their requests were no longer so easy to refuse. Moreover, he still felt some sympathy for that poor Child. But he still wanted to decline; it was best not to get involved in such troublesome matters.
"I will be very busy in the future. You should know my plan. For a period of time, I will not have any free time to take care of this Child."
"Boss, just leave it to me. I can make time to take care of this Child." Ada Wong also voiced her support at this moment, but the object of her support was clearly problematic. It was obvious that she must have reached some dirty deal with these two.
"Ada, this is betrayal!" Zhou Yi gritted his teeth. Being undermined by his own people was not a comfortable feeling.
"Sorry, Boss. I just want to share your burden. Moreover, Young Miss Romanoff said that as long as I help her, the previous matters can be written off, and she can also help me settle some loose ends. So, I can only stand with them."
Ada Wong clearly knew Zhou Yi's bottom line, so she also knew how far she could go to be most appropriate. Just like she was now, she neither annoyed Zhou Yi nor could she promote the matter to develop towards the result they wanted. And no matter what she did, there would not be too much loss for her. This was the extent a smart person could achieve.
Looking at the earnestness in the eyes of the three, Zhou Yi pondered repeatedly and finally nodded.
"Alright, I agree. But you must promise me two things."
"First, S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot harass this Child's life anymore. Once I take her home, she will be considered my Child. I will not allow anyone to have ideas about her at any time, not even you!"
"I can guarantee that S.H.I.E.L.D. will not harass her internally, but what if we go to see her?" Natasha asked eagerly, looking like she cared a lot about that Child.
"I can accept you visiting the Child in your personal capacity, but that's the most I can allow."
"No problem, then what's the other request?" Coulson agreed with this point; he also saw that this was the solution for the Child.
"Second, forget everything about the virus. She is just an ordinary Child, and has no connection with the G-Virus anymore. This is what I need you to record in the files."
This was not a simple matter, because it not only meant erasing this Child's past from all records, but also meant cutting off any discussion about the virus within S.H.I.E.L.D.
The power of the G-Virus would certainly attract some people's covetousness. Zhou Yi had no time or inclination to deal with these ambitious individuals. These people had to be handled by Coulson and his team.
Coulson and the others exchanged glances, then nodded. For the sake of their inner goodness, they made their choice.