Chapter 58
The Infiltrating Female Agent
"I don't think Stark Industries is short of funds." Coulson said this with a hint of unease, afraid that Tony might retort, "We're short of funds too. How much money can you provide?"
After all, although S.H.I.E.L.D. has a lot of money, it's unclear why it's being spent so quickly. Occasionally, when someone asks about the finances, they're called in for a talk with Nick Fury.
Fortunately, Tony didn't say anything and waited quietly for Coulson to continue.
"Our S.H.I.E.L.D. has evolved from the Science and Technology Corps during World War II to what it is today, mastering many cutting-edge technologies, even alien weapons. We can share some of these with Stark Industries for joint development."
The old Tony might have been genuinely interested, but the current Tony would only feel a headache. He might as well go back to his first line and say that he was short of money and then throw money at him.
"Let me ask you a question. Does 'joint development' mean that you bring out the alien technologies that you've held for who knows how long but still can't decipher, and let me study them, then you take the results and, incidentally, my enhancement technology as well?"
After saying that, Tony concluded, "Don't I look like a sucker?"
Coulson quickly explained, "We actually have some research results as well." However, his statement sounded less confident.
Tony listened to Coulson's words while glancing at the screen in front of him, and suddenly said, "Cooperation is fine, but I need to see more sincerity. I feel that Agent Coulson, you need to go back and discuss this with your superiors."
Coulson, hearing Tony's words indicating a willingness to cooperate and thus having completed the initial phase of his mission, ceased his stalemate and prepared to leave.
Rumlow listened to the entire conversation, pondering how to report it. It seemed that Tony Stark wasn't too difficult to communicate with; a technology exchange?
If S.H.I.E.L.D. is unwilling to part with their valuable assets, Hydra is certainly willing to. Their mission seems to be accomplished, but they need to arrange for someone to make contact with Tony Stark.
After Coulson and his companion left, Tony turned on his computer screen, which displayed a message from Jarvis.
"Eric reports that there is a suspected intrusion into the test area; an investigation is underway."
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After Coulson and Rumlow went downstairs and got into the car, they noticed that the plump buttocks were no longer visible in the back seat, and began to scratch their heads.
"What should we do? Should we wait here for a while?" Rumlow looked at the surrounding surveillance cameras. Waiting any longer wasn't a solution. After all, they had finished their business and were still there, which was too suspicious.
Coulson thought for a moment and said, "Let's go. I believe Black Widow will handle it herself, but I also need to report to the director so that he can be prepared."
"You're in charge, so you're in charge." Rumlow wasn't really keen on leaving; he wanted to see what information Black Widow had gotten her hands on as soon as possible so he could report back to Pierce promptly.
Although Coulson gave the order decisively, he was also worried. However, his professional ethics told him that he had to leave now and trust Black Widow's abilities as a fellow agent. All he could do was report to his superiors in a timely manner and activate the backup plan.
Returning to the scene after Natasha gets out of the car, Natasha also knows that the invisibility cloak has limited power, because the invisibility cloak keeps reminding her of the power consumption in her ear.
Moreover, this outfit feels very uncomfortable to wear, just like the full-body leather jackets I used to wear for missions.
It was even hotter than the leather jacket, because the invisibility cloak was still generating heat. Fortunately, Natasha had also undergone enhancement modifications, otherwise she would be covered in blisters by now. Originality lovers were overjoyed, but even so, Natasha was feeling very uncomfortable.
Natasha just wants to get into the lab as soon as possible, take some photos and bring them out, and preferably find a computer to copy some data.
The invisibility cloak works by recording video in real time and then displaying it on the body. It uses some advanced technology to make it look incredibly realistic, but it can't move too fast. It's not that the refresh rate is too slow, but rather that it would increase power consumption.
So Natasha could only slowly move to the laboratory building, and when the patrol personnel swiped their cards to enter, she nimbly followed behind and slipped inside.
After entering the laboratory building, Natasha was momentarily at a loss for where to go, and glanced at the positions of the security personnel.
Soon, a strange phenomenon was discovered: two security guards were standing at the main gate. This was normal; they were responsible for checking the experimental personnel entering and leaving the gate.
But what are you doing sitting there with five or six bodyguards at the front desk? Putting aside the question of what the lab building needs a front desk for, even if you're going to arrange a front desk, you should have some young and pretty people, or more professional technicians. For example, someone wearing glasses would make them look more professional.
These security guards were all incredibly muscular, their muscles practically bursting out of their suits, and they carried guns on their waists. Their faces were all incredibly grumpy, and you'd feel like if you went up to ask them for directions, they'd shove the guns into your mouths.
However, Natasha didn't go over to check immediately. Instead, she went to the unattended elevator and found a floor plan next to it.
T1 Building Security Department — 1st Floor
Laboratory Building T1 Office Floor - 2nd Floor
Variant T1-21 anti-cancer study - 3 layers
Variant T1-62 Limb Regeneration Study - 4 Layers
. . . . . .
There were quite a few floors, but Natasha looked at them for a long time and couldn't find anything wrong with the names of any of them. Although the names of the floors were very impressive and seemed to have great business potential, if she were a corporate spy, this trip would definitely not be in vain.
But as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., if I were to take a bunch of medical research data back, I would definitely have my salary docked.
Natasha could only turn her attention back to the front desk area, which was teeming with security guards.
After observing for a while, Natasha discovered the problem. Although the security guards seemed very relaxed, chatting and occasionally telling dirty jokes, they were all very vigilant, watching the door behind them.
After circling the front desk area, Natasha discovered that the space behind the door was only about the size of a storage room, typically a small room where front desk staff would change clothes and store their work items.
However, the elevator navigation clearly stated that the entire floor belonged to the security department, so there was no need to provide a storage space for the front desk staff.
Something unusual must be going on. Compared to the many floors upstairs, searching through them one by one might not take enough time, and we probably wouldn't find anything anyway, since they've openly stated that it's a research project.
In contrast, the things in the room behind the reception desk are quite interesting, but Natasha hasn't figured out what can be done in such a small space yet.
But soon enough, the opportunity arrived. A researcher in a white lab coat rushed in from outside. The security guard at the door glanced at him and let him in; the management was very lax.
The researchers then went directly to the front desk instead of the elevator, immediately alerting the lax security personnel.
First, someone reached out to stop the person in the white coat from getting closer. Then, someone took out a handheld device and scanned the person in the white coat's face. After the person passed the inspection, the next person used a security scanner to search their body.
Throughout the process, two security personnel were on guard with guns. After the final inspection was completed, the person in the white coat walked to the door, and the camera on the door emitted a red light to scan the person before the door was opened.
The doctor in the white coat was about to enter when the duty captain, who had been watching the inspection, suddenly said, "Be more careful next time. Your supervisor should have told you that you're not allowed to come and go as you please."
"I'm sorry, President Wesker needed some documents to report to the boss, so I went out for a bit."
"Be more careful next time," the captain said, then didn't say anything more, after all, it was the boss's job.
After going through layers of checks, the person in the white coat finally walked inside. What no one noticed was that as the person in the white coat went in, the hem of the coat swayed slightly, as if a breeze had blown by.