Lin Feng carefully brought the woman back to the villa and poured her a cup of hot cocoa. He had learned from Harry Potter movies that a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot cocoa could help calm someone who was frightened.
"My name is Lin Feng, what's yours?"
"Ah! My name is Susan!"
The woman took the hot cocoa, thanked him, and was still a little shaken from her recent experience of flying through the air.
"Susan, Susan Carter. I'm a reporter."
As Susan sipped her hot cocoa, she stole glances at Lin Feng. His strong physique and well-defined face were very handsome, giving him the appearance of a sunny, boy-next-door type. Even with his black hair and black eyes, he would have turned heads on the street.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Feng asked, feeling a bit speechless under her gaze.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Susan blushed, caught in the act.
"I'm just curious. I've never seen anyone fly before! Are you a mutant?"
"I'm not a mutant! Not everyone with superpowers is a mutant," Lin Feng explained briefly. They weren't familiar enough for him to elaborate further.
"Are you from Xia Guo then?" Susan asked, having fully recovered after drinking the hot cocoa. Lin Feng's black hair and black eyes reminded her of that ancient and mysterious Eastern country. In her impression, only a few Eastern countries had such pure black hair and black eyes.
"What, is it not obvious?" Lin Feng teased, flicking his bangs. His black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin clearly marked his origin.
The pretty girl was speechless. Susan thought to herself that this man was not good at conversation. She remembered a word her friend had told her a few days ago. Right! "Straight man!" This powerful Eastern man was probably one, she mused.
Seeing Susan speechless, Lin Feng chuckled. He poured himself a cup of hot cocoa. With his superhuman physique, he wasn't worried about gaining weight and could eat whatever he wanted.
"Let's talk about you, little reporter," Lin Feng said, wanting to break the awkward silence and learn more about what this journalist had been up to. "I'm curious, what did you film?"
"I'm not a little reporter!" Susan retorted, rolling her eyes playfully. She then began to recount the events.
Susan was a recent college graduate, and influenced by her parents, she aspired to become the top anchor at CBB television. Three months prior, Stark Industries had announced an embargo on arms sales. However, Susan discovered that some members of the Gray Street gang were preparing to sell a large quantity of Stark Industries weapons, including missiles. This smelled like a big scoop to her.
Eager to make a name for herself, Susan impulsively went to film the Gray Street members' transaction without informing the television station. However, Susan had overestimated her surveillance skills and underestimated their counter-surveillance capabilities. None of the Gray Street members were individuals a mere reporter could trifle with.
The rats of Hell's Kitchen were surprised to find a reporter so fearless as to collect "evidence" in their territory. They immediately ordered her disposal on the spot. Yet, Susan seemed to have a talent for escape, slipping through their grasps like a slippery loach. The Gray Street members failed to catch her multiple times. The buyers, enraged, put a $20,000 bounty on her head.
This was a windfall for the Gray Street thugs. Whoever brought her head in first would get $20,000! Susan, with her quick wit, had evaded them for three days. Exhausted from running, her guard was down, and she was eventually cornered by several thugs. If Lin Feng hadn't intervened today, Susan would have likely become $20,000 richer for someone else.
After hearing Susan's account, Lin Feng looked at her with renewed interest. "Wow, this reporter is really brave!" he thought. She was just an ordinary person, yet she dared to provoke the members of Hell's Kitchen. He didn't know whether to commend her courage or her recklessness.
"You're really brave!" Lin Feng praised her, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Stop joking, Mr. Lin!" Susan was on the verge of tears. "I don't know what to do now. I regret everything!" Tears welled up in her eyes. She was young and had a bright future ahead of her; she didn't want to die prematurely. Her mother would be so sad!
"Just call me Lin," Lin Feng said nonchalantly. "Since it involves weapons from Stark Industries, perhaps I can help a little!" Lin Feng's words gave Susan hope.
Since it was related to Tony Stark, Lin Feng didn't mind lending a hand. Upon hearing this, Susan immediately grabbed Lin Feng's arm, her red eyes fixed on him, and asked urgently, "Really! Lin, can you really help me?!"
"Really! Really! Let go first!" Lin Feng exclaimed, caught off guard. "Good heavens, this reporter is quite well-endowed! What did she eat to grow up like this? Even Superman couldn't withstand such an assault!"
"So-sorry..." Susan realized her overreaction and, blushing, let go. Her actions were purely instinctive, like a drowning person grabbing a straw.
Relieved that Susan had released him, Lin Feng continued, "Tony Stark and I have a pretty good relationship. He has a press conference tomorrow."
"After the conference, I'll talk to him about this matter!"
"You can stay here for the next couple of days. Feel free to pick any room on the first floor."
"There's food in the refrigerator too, so help yourself if you get hungry!"
"Oh, by the way! Can you cook? If not, you can order takeout," Lin Feng asked.
"Yes, I can! I can!" Susan nodded. She had gotten full marks in her home economics class.
"Good, then go pick a room and get some rest, little reporter!" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. He was tired too. He had initially planned to make something to eat, but after listening to her story for so long, he felt like he had just attended a gossip session and wasn't hungry anymore.
"From now on, don't go filming evidence of Gray Street transactions. You can't handle that!" Lin Feng warned her sternly. He could save her once, maybe twice. But if it happened too often, there would come a time when he couldn't intervene, and then she would truly be in trouble.
"I know! And I told you I'm not a little reporter!" Susan retorted.
"You just graduated, and you're not a little reporter?" Lin Feng gave Susan a dismissive look, making her blush deeply.
"Straight man!" Susan stomped her foot in anger and went to pick a room.
Lin Feng scoffed, tidying up the cups on the table. "A mere reporter, how laughable."
"Lin!" Susan called out.
Lin Feng turned to look. Susan, having chosen a room, poked her head out.
"What is it again?"
"Thank you!" With that, Susan quickly closed the door.
Lin Feng shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. It felt good to save someone for the first time, not counting that incident with Tony. After cleaning up and taking a shower, Lin Feng went to sleep. He had an early start tomorrow to witness a significant event!
While Lin Feng slept, "Black Eggplant" was working overtime with dark circles under his eyes. Looking at the reports on his desk and the videos on the conference screen, his complexion seemed to darken further. Coulson stood beside him, also wearing a grave expression.
On the screen was the scene of Lin Feng punching Obadiah away. "At least ten tons of force, possibly dozens of tons. That punch..." Coulson murmured. Even his idol, Captain America, didn't possess such strength.
"And he can fly!"
"I can see that, Coulson!" Black Eggplant pointed to his single eye. Lin Feng's emergence was another unforeseen development for Black Eggplant. Tony Stark's affairs had already given him a massive headache, and he still hadn't found an opportunity to talk to Tony. Now, another person, Lin Feng, had appeared. And he was friends with Tony Stark! Black Eggplant hoped this dark-haired young man wouldn't be too difficult to deal with, he mused.
"Tony Stark has a press conference tomorrow morning. Will he be attending?" Black Eggplant asked Coulson.
"According to the intercepted information, Lin Feng has received a call from JARVIS and is very likely to attend."
Hearing this, Black Eggplant nodded and instructed, "Tomorrow, you and two others will approach Lin Feng after the conference to probe him."
"I need to know if he can be part of the plan."
"Also! Increase Lin Feng's security clearance level..." Black Eggplant commanded, tapping his desk.
"That's all for now. Get to work..."