Raven had appeared there at some unknown point, her arms crossed, her blue skin glowing faintly in the dim light, and her golden vertical pupils stared fixedly at him like a snake.
"Your heart is racing."
She took a step forward, and the air grew several degrees colder.
"Like a rat trapped in a cage. I hate that smell."
"Tell me, what happened?"
Lin Ent stopped and looked at her.
He had intended to make up some random excuse to get by.
But looking into Raven's eyes, which could see through any lie, he knew that lying to this woman would come at too high a cost.
They were now in the same boat.
He threw the broken knock-off phone over to her.
Raven caught it and scanned it in an instant.
A look of undisguised sarcasm appeared on her face.
"General Red Square? Black Widow?"
"So, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ace Agent set a childishly ridiculous trap for you, and you're just going to hide in the sewers and rot, as you said?"
Her tone was like needles, stinging him.
"Is this the empire you boasted about? Scared to leave the house by one woman?"
"Hide?"
Lin Ent suddenly laughed.
There was a madness in that smile, as if he wanted to overturn the heavens.
"Who the hell said I'm hiding?"
Raven raised an eyebrow, finally showing some interest.
"She gave me two options: either be a greedy fool or a cowardly wimp."
Lin Ent's eyes shone terrifyingly.
"But only children choose!"
He spoke slowly, enunciating each word, his voice not loud, but it struck Raven's heart like a hammer.
"If she doesn't give me a way out, I'll flip her table!"
Raven fell silent.
She was carefully savoring the suicidal madness in Lin Ent's words.
"She wants to fish?"
Lin Ent lowered his voice, each word seemingly squeezed through his teeth.
"Then I'll blow up this pond for her!"
"I want to see whether she, the fisherman, chokes on a fishbone first, or if I, the fish, drown in the Water first!"
"How?"
Raven finally spoke, a hint of genuine seriousness in her voice.
"Sell the information to HYDRA."
Raven's golden pupils suddenly constricted.
HYDRA!
Those Nazi madmen hiding beneath S.H.I.E.L.D.'s skin!
This plan… wasn't crazy, it was suicide!
But the next second, a thrill mixed with deadly danger surged up from her bones.
She looked at the man in front of her.
For the first time, she felt that he might not just be a smooth talker, a reinforced prop with a bit of luck.
He was a madman.
A madman like her, daring to dance on the edge of a knife.
"Interesting."
Raven's lips curved into an arc wilder and more lawless than Natasha's.
"Dragging S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA down into the Water together… I'm starting to like this game of yours."
She changed the subject.
"But getting those paranoid HYDRA people to believe you isn't as simple as making a phone call."
"I know."
Lin Ent picked up his phone again and brought up the chat window for "Ghost."
"So, I need more money."
He quickly typed on the screen.
[Me: Taking a dirty job. Get a message into HYDRA's ears.]
"Ghost" replied instantly, every word reeking of greed.
[Ghost: Delivering messages to those Nazis? Ha, little brother, tired of living? Fifty thousand U.S. dollars, non-negotiable. After this job, I'm blocking you, I hate being a postman for dead people.]
Fifty thousand U.S. dollars!
A full fifty thousand!
Lin Ent's heart bled.
That was his hard-earned first pot of gold, almost breaking his back for it!
Just gone, like that?
He glanced at Raven beside him, who was watching with interest, and saw the gleam of wanting to see the World in chaos in her eyes.
Damn it!
Do it!
Fortune favors the bold, you can't catch a Black Widow without bait!
[Me: Deal.]
[Ghost: Send the information. Remember, I only deliver it. Whether they believe it or not, or if they chop up your whole family to feed to dogs, is none of my business.]
Lin Ent took a deep breath and started typing.
He thought for a moment, then deleted the character for "Square" in General Red Square from the intelligence and replaced it with the character for "Room."
General Red Room.
A darkly humorous joke that only he, and a certain red-haired woman far away in the Triskelion, could possibly understand.
A perfect, indistinguishable hook of truth and falsehood.
[To HYDRA: Anonymous intelligence from 'Ghost.' Tomorrow night, Pier 19, S.H.I.E.L.D. high-value target 'General Red Room' will appear with 'new merchandise.' Black Widow herself has set a trap for capture. Free hunt. 'Ghost' guarantees credibility.]
Sent.
The fifty thousand U.S. dollars in his account vanished instantly.
Lin Ent tossed his phone aside, slumped back onto the sofa, hands behind his head, feeling utterly drained.
Damn it, back to square Zero.
Of the sixty thousand he worked so hard to earn, only ten thousand in pocket money remained.
Natasha Romanoff!
I've noted this down for you!
Sooner or later, I'll get it all back from you, with interest!
Damn it.
But… it was so damn exhilarating!
The thrill of personally stirring up the World's affairs, of dragging S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, two major giants, into a brutal brawl, made every cell in his body scream.
He turned his head and looked at Raven.
Raven was also looking at him, a light called "kindred spirit" shimmering in her golden pupils.
"Natasha, you want to fish?"
Lin Ent stared at the mold stains on the ceiling, as if talking to himself, and as if declaring war on the entire World.
"I've put the word out for you, and I've even invited the biggest shark."
He grinned, a silent laugh, his eyes filled with the same madness as Raven's.
"Now, the game has escalated."
"Your net, it better be strong."
"Don't get bitten to death right at the start…"
"The famous… Black Widow."
That night.
"Raven, we're moving."
Lin Ent crammed the last cold bite of pizza into his mouth, swallowing it almost without chewing, like he was ingesting a stick of dynamite.
"Now, immediately, right now."
Raven, who had just showered, stood still, Water droplets sliding down her blue skin and hitting the floor with a patter.
She didn't move, only her golden vertical pupils narrowed into a murderous slit.
"Give me a reason."
Her voice was cold and hard, as if tempered with ice.
This man was giving orders again.
She hated that feeling most, especially after she had just disciplined him and thought she had regained control.
Lin Ent didn't turn around, his peripheral vision fixed on that inconspicuous corner outside the gap in the curtains.
Of course, he couldn't tell the truth.
Confess to Raven that he was targeted by Black Widow? And that he had pulled off a risky move behind her back? This crazy woman would definitely pry open his head to see if there was a HYDRA transmitter inside.
The best way to deal with such a suspicious Beast was to give her a reason she most wanted to hear, and one that best fit his cowardly persona.
"Damn it, that junkie across the hall from us is a cop."
Lin Ent spun around abruptly, his face showing just the right amount of disgust and irritation.
"Damn it, his time for going downstairs to buy beer every day is as punctual as clocking in for work. I just smelled that cheap bugging device's electromagnetic scent on him, it's pungent!"
Raven took a step closer, her oppressive presence pressing in like a wall.
"Smelled? Lin, do you take me for a three-year-old?"
Her golden pupils were full of scrutiny.
"How did you know? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. install a GPS in your ass too, so you can sense your own kind?"