[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-marvel-hunter":3,"chapter-marvel-hunter-marvel-hunter-chapter-178":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Marvel: Hunter",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1589867,2056,"Chapter 178: Easy Money","marvel-hunter-chapter-178",178,"\u003Cp>When it came to business, Natasha suddenly grew serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn't expect it—S.H.I.E.L.D's director, Nick Fury, dead?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine spoke with emotion, but the slight curve of his mouth suggested he knew something more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inwardly, Blaine began calculating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First: since his identity had been exposed, why not use the opportunity to his advantage? Exposure had both benefits and drawbacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good: convenience for employers seeking him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bad: enemies—those displeased with him—would stir up trouble. Once his real name was out, that trouble would follow everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second: since Natasha had come to him, Blaine figured he might be able to earn something substantial this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, what does his death have to do with me? I didn't kill him at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Blaine, I didn't expect you to be so humorous in reality... Since I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., you must already know why.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, everyone always called him \"Blaine\" or \"Mr. Hunter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wearing the Hunter suit, Blaine felt nothing unusual. But in reality, it somehow felt embarrassing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Could it be you want me to save someone? I don't have that ability. I only know how to kill.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Blaine already knew the reason for Natasha's visit, but he refused outright. His system was still upgrading, and he wasn't sure if new tasks would even register.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't bother hiding it. Tony told me—you saved Happy, you cured Pepper's poisoning. If you could do that, you can save Fury's life too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tony sent you? He knows who I am...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was Tony Stark, Blaine considered the favor seriously. After all, Tony had built a house for him—something Blaine would need to repay. Even as a bounty hunter who should suppress all emotion, a debt like that was difficult to ignore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, wasn't it time to speak to Natasha as a normal person, not as a bounty hunter?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not. Your identity is top secret within S.H.I.E.L.D. Aside from Fury and me, no one has read your file. Fury ordered it personally.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed Nick Fury had been careful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Blaine didn't want his identity revealed, and discovered S.H.I.E.L.D. had investigated him, who knew—perhaps one night Blaine would erase the entire agency himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why Natasha had come to him as a last resort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Agent Romanoff, you know my rules...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine shifted into negotiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's easy enough. As long as you save Nick, you'll be compensated, just like Tony compensated you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh? Goodbye.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine had assumed it would be the same as Tony—two billion for a favor. But Natasha, following Fury's cunning example, played harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One billion is too little for you? How about two billion...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph. You must be thinking, 'If two billion isn't enough, I'll add another.' You expect a high school student to be tempted by that kind of money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You—how do you know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natasha froze at Blaine's words. That was exactly what she had been thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why is a high school student so cunning? Can you read my mind?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ha, ha, ha. My fault. I shouldn't have underestimated you. Fine—five billion. Consider it an apology.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I'll reluctantly walk with you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine had seen through her again. Five billion was already well beyond Fury's original budget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natasha had planned to settle at two billion, like Tony's deal. Now the extra three billion would cut into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember to leave the dirt in the sun, so when you eat it, at least it's warm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, nothing—just thought of a phrase.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine chuckled to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At eight o'clock that evening, Blaine followed Natasha to the site where Nick Fury's \"body\" was kept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an ordinary house, no doubt arranged by Fury himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Blaine could sense figures lurking outside. HYDRA agents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in \"death,\" HYDRA wasn't at ease with Fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Fury's base of operations was here, Blaine figured, according to Fury's habits, a hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. entrance must be nearby as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pushing open the inner door, they found Nick Fury's body lying on a mortuary bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here you are...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Blaine's surprise, another person was in the room—Captain America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the alien invasion, Steve Rogers seemed to have changed his opinion of Blaine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Blaine's strength was undeniable. Even if Rogers didn't like him, he couldn't do much about it. He didn't recognize Blaine immediately, since Blaine wore the Hunter suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Saving him—that's the deal?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natasha answered quickly. In truth, they were shaken. Fury had fallen in the chaos of battle, leaving only a single flash drive behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, both Natasha and Rogers knew what it contained: data on every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and which were HYDRA infiltrators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, enough pretending. Get up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine walked up to Fury's body and spoke calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still addicted to the act, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Fury didn't move, Blaine summoned a flame and flicked it onto Fury's bald head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, it caught fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, hell! Damn it—who woke me up? Son of a—what the—why are you here...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nick Fury suddenly leapt up, leaving Natasha and Captain America stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Blaine's first words they'd thought he was mocking them. They were just about to stop him—when Fury actually sat up alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Looks like he took low-grade fake-death serum...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blaine found it funny and casually extinguished the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fury had likely staged his death to lull HYDRA's infiltrators into complacency, while Natasha and Rogers would take care of eliminating them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*************************************\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can get access to early chapters on patr*on\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170\u003C\u002Fp>",933,"2026-06-06T09:11:28.860Z",1,"novelbin.me","e5dab82f7c92e4b424177cc1316d5e1623c04535df98521d91009a79193a2013","marvel-hunter-chapter-179","marvel-hunter-chapter-177",411,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmarvel-hunter-cover.jpg"]