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墨書 Inktalez
Peter Parker wore a look of disbelief. He never imagined he would find himself so close to a creditor, and the most embarrassing part was that he had been caught red-handed. Aside from his stunned expression, he couldn't think of any other words to express his current feelings of sorrow.
The destruction caused during the capture of a criminal weighed heavily on Peter's conscience. No matter how he looked at it, he felt responsible for the damaged streets. As for compensating for the damages, Peter could only chuckle; as a broke guy, where would he find the money? Even if someone packaged him up and sold him, he still wouldn't be able to cover the costs of the destruction.
In light of the current situation, Peter could only feel guilt. As for the economic losses incurred by the damaged streets, well, if the insurance company didn't take responsibility, they would have to. Peter wasn't worried about that at all; as long as no one lost their life, everything would be fine.
After gathering some information, Peter shook his head in dismay at how many disasters seemed to plague New York. Criminals were roaming freely; if it weren't for him being Spider-Man, crime rates would likely rise by more than ten percent.
Having expressed his thoughts in a self-satisfied manner, a sleek and futuristic car appeared before him. Just as he was engulfed in jealousy over its design, the owner of the car invited him for a ride. How could he possibly refuse?
With a beautiful car and an attractive driver (ignoring the child and the old driver), Peter briefly wondered if this was some kind of invisible reward from God after capturing so many criminals. However, once he sat in the car, his heart sank. The famous Spider-Man had been so easily lured into a vehicle; in the end, it felt like an old sailor had fallen into a gutter...
Damn!
Slowly opening his eyes, Peter found himself in an unfamiliar situation. He was in a spacious room with cold metallic walls that clearly indicated they were made of alloy. Where could he possibly escape to? Alloy walls!
"Mr. Parker," said Agent Phil Coulson from the Department of Homeland Strategic Defense, Offense, and Logistics. "You have the right to remain silent, but I hope you listen carefully to every word I say because it will determine your future here. Is that clear, Mr. Parker?"
Coulson suppressed his incredulity; was this really Spider-Man? The civilian hero that the New York Police Department was so concerned about?
In the room, Peter resignedly shrugged his shoulders. What could he do? He was locked up by them; escaping was not an option. Realizing this, he stopped overthinking things. At least this long and complicated name represented an official organization. He opened his mouth and said, "Alright, sir, you may proceed."
"Peter Parker," Coulson continued, "lost both parents at a young age—oh... God, that's truly tragic! Kid, I hope you can stay strong!" He wiped away sweat and glanced sympathetically at Peter; this really was a poor kid. Then he returned his gaze to the tablet recording Peter's information.
"You currently live with your uncle and aunt in Queens, New York... sigh!" Coulson sighed again and cast another pitying glance at this big boy without parents—how unfortunate!
"A month ago, your uncle was attacked by criminals and ultimately died despite rescue efforts. Oh! God! That is just too unfortunate!"
Peter's lips twitched uncontrollably as he shot a fierce glare at Coulson. Damn it! Was he here to read off data or to kick him while he was down? If he weren't locked in this room, he would have wanted to use his webbing to hang Coulson off the edge of a building until dry!
Under Peter's seething gaze, Coulson continued reading through the records without noticing anything amiss. It detailed everything that happened after Peter's uncle was murdered by criminals. Once finished, Coulson looked at the silent teenager and felt genuine sympathy for his plight. However, sympathy aside, there were still matters that needed addressing.
"During the process of capturing criminals, Mr. Peter, over the past half month, you have destroyed a total of one hundred ninety vehicles, damaged three streets, and collapsed five buildings, resulting in an estimated economic loss of about one hundred ninety million dollars, not a penny less."
Coulson's eyelid twitched. He began to understand why the police department had such a disdain for superheroes; the level of destruction was indeed astonishing.
"Sir!" Peter Parker's face was dark with anger. He knew he had caused quite a bit of damage, but seeing it all piled up into numbers made it incredibly awkward. Gritting his teeth, he retorted, "That was due to the destruction caused while capturing criminals. If I had let them escape, the consequences would have been far worse than property damage; it could have been lives!"
"However, Mr. Peter, what you have done cannot escape the law's punishment. You have the ability but no obligation or responsibility to capture criminals." Coulson calmly explained. The police department handles criminal arrests, S.H.I.E.L.D. deals with superpowered individuals, and the Secret Service protects the president. You are just a newly adult high school student; what gives you the right to apprehend criminals? After giving this 'Big Boy' a deep look, Coulson said in a serious tone, "Now there are two paths before you, Mr. Peter."
"The first option is to repay the damaged property, totaling one hundred ninety million dollars—no rounding down—and after paying that amount, you will also face a thirty-year prison sentence."
Upon hearing this, Peter felt his head spin. Unless he resorted to robbery himself, he would never be able to repay that one hundred ninety million dollars in his lifetime. As a high school student, his mental age matched his physical age; limited by his worldview and experiences, he had no idea that Coulson's previous statements were meant to pressure him.
"The second option is to join us at S.H.I.E.L.D. At that point, you can fight as many criminals as you want because we are a legitimate organization whose primary duty is to deal with superpowered offenders."
"Once you join us, a significant portion of your compensation will be waived, and the remaining amount can be repaid in no more than three months."
"I hear you even make extra money by taking selfies? You won't need to do that anymore; S.H.I.E.L.D.'s salary is quite high and will sufficiently support your living expenses!"
Peter glanced at Coulson with surprise; how did he know about his side hustle? This S.H.I.E.L.D. was quite intimidating. Lowering his head, he asked, "Do I even have a choice?"
"Heh heh." Coulson raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Mr. Peter, don't worry; we won't restrict your freedom. Aside from special missions, you'll have control over your own time."
"Then can I be released?" Peter pointed at the empty room; he disliked the atmosphere here. Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't seem like such a bad thing after all—it was certainly better than capturing criminals alone.
Now he would be transitioning from black to white—becoming an official agent…
"By the way? What about that money?" After leaving the room, Peter looked intently at Coulson. Although joining S.H.I.E.L.D. would waive a large part of his compensation, he still needed to pay back some amount.
Coulson guessed what Peter wanted to ask and shrugged. "A large portion will be covered by insurance companies; however, there will still be some amount you need to repay yourself—around three million dollars. Given your salary and benefits, you should be able to pay it off in a year or two."
That three million dollars was precisely the amount that Chen Fan's company suffered in damages. Coulson patted Peter on the shoulder and couldn't help but sigh at this thought—why did you go and break someone else's company?
Compared to one hundred ninety million dollars, three million seemed trivial. Peter didn't think too deeply about it: "Looks like I should thank the insurance company!"
"Heh heh!" Coulson didn't want to say anything more and simply chuckled.
The insurance company had been through a lifetime of misfortune, and yet, they were just trying to make a little money. Why did they always have to take the blame for others?
"But what about that three hundred thousand?" Peter asked, puzzled. They had waived over a hundred million, so why was there still three hundred thousand that he had to pay back?
As a broke individual, Peter felt it was his duty to understand where this three hundred thousand in debt came from. After all, he couldn't even scrape together ten thousand dollars.
Coulson smiled knowingly. "Mr. Peter, do you remember how you fainted?"
"That guy!" Peter gritted his teeth and exhaled angrily. While joining S.H.I.E.L.D. was a good thing for him, there was a significant difference between being proactive and reactive. At least he wouldn't have to endure the intimidation, threats, and that kind of suffocating situation!
Coulson's eyelids twitched twice as he noticed a figure appear behind Peter. He had intended to warn Peter about his choice of words but swallowed it instead. Was this what they meant by 'no harm done if you don't provoke it'?
"Mr. Peter, I think we need to have a serious talk, as creditor and debtor," Chen Fan said calmly. No wonder he had sneezed several times on the way; this was the reason!
The sudden voice made Peter shiver. He hadn't sensed anyone behind him at all. If that person wanted to attack him, he probably wouldn't even know who it was before he died. S.H.I.E.L.D. was terrifying…
"Wait? It's you!" Turning around, Peter was even more shocked to see a child standing behind him—the very same child who had offered him a ride.
Looking at Chen Fan, Peter felt an even deeper sense of dread about S.H.I.E.L.D. It was an extremely frightening organization; even a kid could approach him silently without him noticing. Thinking about this made Peter feel incredibly lucky—he had somehow survived for over half a month without any incidents!
It's great to be alive!
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