Chapter Forty-Seven: Farewell, Wanda

“Well then, I’ll be off.” After three days of convalescence, Agent May, now fully recovered, waved to Zhong Shenxiu and boarded a jet-black Chevrolet, heading off into the distance.

Zhong Shenxiu knew her destination: Moscow.

It seems the random address I invented actually worked... he mused to himself. Then, turning back into his house, he began to reflect on the gains and discoveries of the past few days.

First, regarding the “Agent’s Heart (Imitation)” inside Agent May, Zhong Shenxiu had spent more than seventy seconds trying to extract it, but failed completely.

It was a sad tale—he even wondered if he’d become cursed with ultimate bad luck lately.

He felt it had been ages since he’d drawn any new abilities.

Since leaving the prison, he’d used the healing spell nearly three or four hundred times, yet not a single ability—neither mediocre nor powerful—had manifested.

Ah well... With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and glanced at his account: $233,000. His mood improved considerably.

He had to admit, May, as a top agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., truly possessed substantial wealth—the funds squeezed out of her were considerable, and all too easy... yes, lucrative.

Along with the fifty thousand dollars in cash in the room, in barely over a month, Zhong Shenxiu had amassed a total of $280,000.

That was no small sum.

If he used this money to buy Stark Industries stocks at their lowest, once Tony Stark announced himself as Iron Man, he could effortlessly become a millionaire.

Beyond money, these three days had allowed him, through observation and deduction, to finally understand why Agent May had ventured into Ingram Street.

She had come to rescue him...

When he learned this, honestly, Zhong Shenxiu was a little shocked—he hadn’t expected to be so important to S.H.I.E.L.D.

And he’d even beaten up his own rescuer...

With that, his two main objectives at the time had been accomplished: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention was diverted elsewhere, no longer fixated on Ingram Street.

Of course, some routine searches were inevitable.

Especially at the suddenly exploded Happy Factory—whenever Zhong Shenxiu used the True Sight to scan it, he could sense a large number of agents combing the area day and night.

But as time passed, the agents dwindled. Today, with May gone, the vicinity of the Happy Factory was almost deserted.

Apparently, they hadn’t found anything of value.

As for the secret base beneath the villa, not a single person had gone there...

He had to admit, Hyde, the fat man, really knew how to hide things.

And as for the other residents of Ingram Street, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t figure out what S.H.I.E.L.D. had done—none protested or seemed disturbed by the strange events.

Though the residents had lost about ten hours, each quickly resumed their daily routines.

As if the chaos of magical energy had never happened.

Only occasional snippets in their conversations—“tiger teeth,” “chubby faces,” and so on—hinted at their experiences.

This gave Zhong Shenxiu a newfound respect for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s operational capabilities.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s surveillance of Zhong Shenxiu persisted, but it was much more relaxed than before. As long as he didn’t act too conspicuously, these lackadaisical agents would likely notice nothing.

So, late at night, Zhong Shenxiu quietly slipped out and headed for the secret base beneath the villa.

He hadn’t received any messages from Wanda in the past three days.

Zhong Shenxiu felt something might have happened to the base—or to Wanda herself. So, as soon as Agent May departed, he hurried there.

Wanda was a crucial part of his upcoming plans; nothing could go wrong!

Using the controller to enter the villa and riding the elevator down, Zhong Shenxiu arrived at the small, concealed underground base.

Upon entering, he used True Sight and found everything normal. All systems were functioning, and Wanda was the only person present, sitting in her room.

Why hadn’t Wanda sent any messages using her chaos magic?

Puzzled, Zhong Shenxiu entered her room, knocking twice before stepping inside.

The scene before him left him momentarily stunned.

Wanda was no longer the frail, emaciated figure she’d been; she seemed to have inflated like a balloon... No, that wasn’t quite right. She’d reverted to the appearance she had when they first met.

Her dark red hair glimmered under the light, her skin was porcelain-smooth, her large pale gray eyes focused intently on the book in her hands.

It was a fairy tale collection: “The Three Little Pigs and Snow White.”

She wore deep red pajamas, sitting upright on the bed, her beautiful legs exposed, her delicate feet casually crossed.

“Wanda.”

“Wanda?”

Zhong Shenxiu called twice, but she ignored him, engrossed in her book as if grappling with an unfathomable puzzle.

What could be so perplexing in Snow White?

Seeing her demeanor, Zhong Shenxiu, seasoned and shrewd from two lifetimes, instantly realized: the girl was upset.

It made sense—he’d promised to see her soon, yet left her alone here for three days without so much as a word.

He’d sent her messages via chaos magic to explain—an agent had arrived, and he couldn’t leave.

He remembered sending several such messages, but the girl hadn’t replied; it seemed she hadn’t received them at all.

What was going on?

“Ahem, if there’s anything in Snow White you don’t understand, I can help explain,” Zhong Shenxiu ventured, taking the initiative.

At his words, Wanda realized she was holding just a fairy tale, and her pretense of studying it intently was hardly convincing.

Her cheeks flushed, and she closed the book.

Her pale gray eyes glared at Zhong Shenxiu angrily, then shifted away, her cheeks puffing out like a sulky little pig.

Well, she’s definitely angry.

Ah, time to soothe her again... Zhong Shenxiu said, “It’s true, an agent came to the house, and I couldn’t get away.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Wanda retorted, still somewhat annoyed.

“Hm? I sent several messages—using chaos magic... Chubi, you should have sensed what I said as soon as you received it.” Zhong Shenxiu was puzzled, summoning another sphere of chaos magic and addressing Wanda.

But—

Wanda shook her head, her pale gray eyes suddenly shimmering with tears. She said, “Lu Su, I can’t sense Chubi anymore...”