Every move Norman made was under Alice's surveillance, so when Coulson was extorting Norman, Victor also saw it all.
He could understand the price gouging; it was 100% instructed by Nick Fury.
But...
After seeing the "intelligence" about himself, Victor still couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't expect you to be like this, Coulson."
Let's look at the so-called "intelligence."
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Name: Victor Chen;
Gender: Male (tentative);
Hobbies: Men;
Age: Unknown;
Place of Birth: Unknown;
Abilities: Insufficient permissions;
Assessment: Appeared in the waiting area of Los Angeles Airport on May 12, 2008. All previous origins are fabricated. Suspected member of a special organization, extremely dangerous individual, possesses supernatural abilities.
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Perhaps feeling a pang of conscience, Coulson additionally revealed another piece of information.
They had been monitoring Victor, but soon after he arrived in New York, they lost track of him, so it was very likely he was targeting Norman.
Emmwww... Norman was probably treated as a scapegoat and severely fleeced.
After all, his time was running out.
However.
Victor just wanted to know, what in the world was "Male (tentative)"?
And also.
What was with "Hobbies: Men"?
Although this handsome guy is so handsome he seems to live on dew, you can't suspect I'm a woman disguised as a man!!!
This handsome guy is a pure man, hey!
If you don't believe me, let Natasha come... Forget it, let's switch to Hill.
The Natasha of this world is really hard to deal with, only Banner, who is used to being green, can accept her.
Victor remembered this grudge and would deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. about it later.
His top priority now was to evade these waves of searches—Hell's Kitchen would be a good hiding spot.
Hell's Kitchen, officially known as Clinton, is also commonly called Midtown West.
Just like the dark side beneath Las Vegas, Hell's Kitchen is the dark side of Manhattan Island. It's a world-renowned slum, famous for its chaotic and backward living conditions, severe ethnic conflicts, and high crime rate.
Hiding here could filter out at least 70% of the people.
The remaining 30% were the most troublesome, because they were old hands in Hell's Kitchen themselves, forcing Victor to buy an item to deal with them.
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Item Name: "Transformation Scroll";
Item Category: [Magic];
Item Compatibility: [74%];
Origin Plane: "The Lord of the Rings";
Rating: [F-];
Item Price: F-rank Voucher × 1, Plane Points × 5;
Function Description: Imagine the desired transformed appearance, then tear the scroll to activate. Lasts 24 hours;
Slogan: Cross-dressing? One step to heaven;
--------
Victor now not only changed his appearance but also his body type, height, and race—if it weren't for his refusal to cross-dress, he could have even changed his gender.
In a cafe.
Victor basked in the sun, utterly at ease, while outside, groups of people hurried past, patrolling. As they passed, they would scan Victor, their eyes wide.
Occasionally, someone would approach with a portrait to ask questions. Victor would cooperate, carefully looking at it before stating he hadn't seen the person.
The portrait didn't even capture one percent of his handsomeness, so of course he hadn't seen it.
Victor found this dramatic scene quite entertaining.
The only downside was that there were no high-class cafes here.
That's right.
After all, it was a slum. Coffee was mainly for staying awake; few people would seriously savor the stuff. What was so good about something so bitter?
Time passed quietly, and it was now night.
The cafe was closing.
Victor had to leave his prime viewing spot. A star-rated hotel was out of the question, so he found a relatively clean motel nearby. No ID check needed, just pay and check in.
He didn't get into bed to sleep.
In such a small motel, the hygiene was predictable, so just sitting in a chair to rest his feet was enough.
Choosing a motel was a necessity.
In Hell's Kitchen at night, appearing alone on the streets, even police officers would be targeted by addicts. Robbery would be considered lucky; he was more afraid of encountering someone gay who might... This night.
Victor sat in the chair, sleepless all night.
It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep; he could have managed to sleep while sitting.
But every half hour, a group of people would violently knock on his door. They were covered in tattoos, openly carrying guns, and would walk in, circle the room, and then leave.
Wave after wave.
Along with him, nearly half of New York's population also couldn't sleep. They searched area after area all night, also desperately looking for Victor.
This made many uninformed civilians also find it difficult to sleep, not knowing what was happening.
The most agonizing, without a doubt, was Norman.
He had stirred up such a commotion, yet he couldn't even touch a corner of Victor's clothes, which made him realize the other party was not simple.
As time passed.
Norman no longer hoped to catch Victor. He sat at his desk, wishing the screen would light up again with that neutral face.
From Alice's words, Norman should have contacted him to negotiate terms after doing the product slicing.
But until night fell, there was no news—not even a warning.
Worry kept him awake at night.
He began to worry if he had angered Victor?
Worried if Victor would no longer contact him?
Worried if he had personally extinguished his last glimmer of hope?
In this torment, the morning sun finally drove away the darkness.
At the same time.
The desktop in front of Norman lit up again, and the long-awaited neutral face appeared. The drowsy Norman's spirits lifted, his heart filled with extreme excitement, yet his face remained calm.
Good, good. It seemed he had something the other party wanted, and he had bargaining chips.
Norman was about to speak to test the waters, but Alice spoke first.
"We gave you time. Since you didn't find us, the initiative is now in our hands.
The other email sent should have reached you by now. That scroll is called the 'Balance Contract.' Write your name in your blood, and a soul contract will be formed. The weak will forever be enslaved by the strong.
Sign your name, and you will get what you want.
You have 6 hours to consider whether to sign. Once the time is up, we will wait for your death, then find your son to sign the contract."
As before, after Alice finished speaking, the screen dimmed again.
Norman, who had been sleepless all night, paused his weary thoughts before finally understanding Alice's words.
Either surrender or die?
Anger filled Norman's mind. He stood up abruptly, furious, wanting to roar out the most vicious words, but his frail body, after a night of exhaustion, finally gave out.
His vision went black, and Norman fell heavily back into his chair.