A while later, Nick and his group left in a daze to collect the products they had just purchased.
Sharon, seeing this, wanted to follow them but was stopped by Adam and left alone in the office.
She watched Adam sitting behind his desk, his head lowered as he busied himself with something, and her heart sank with anxiety.
Her thoughts spiraled uncontrollably, unsure if her true identity had been discovered.
After a while, Adam finally lifted his head and looked at the restless Sharon.
"Sharon."
"Y-yes?"
'There's… nothing wrong… I'm not nervous… I don't know why the boss called me in…'
"I know what you're thinking."
Hearing this, Sharon immediately clenched her fists, her face pale as a sheet.
It's over. She's been found out.
A whole year's worth of work—wasted.
Seeing Sharon's panicked expression, Adam smiled slightly.
"Relax. No need to be so tense. I know you don't want to be a senior assistant or an assistant manager. You'd rather be a salesperson. That's why you ran to bring those people in earlier."
"How about this—I'll grant your wish. Starting tomorrow, you'll be a salesperson, beginning at the ground level. I'll hire a new assistant to replace you."
Hearing this, Sharon's eyes widened in shock.
No! That's not what she wanted!
And starting from the bottom?
"Boss, I…"
"Oh, by the way, stay away from those people you were with earlier. They're agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. If it weren't for your diligent work over the past year, I might've suspected you were a spy they sent in."
Adam's voice was calm, but every word hit Sharon like a sledgehammer.
"What did you want to tell me earlier?"
Sharon opened her mouth, her brain buzzing with chaos, struggling to form a coherent thought.
After a moment, her expression dimmed, and she lowered her head.
"It's nothing. I just… I wanted to say how much I appreciate the boss understanding me. I'm so touched… sniff…"
Adam chuckled with satisfaction and patted her on the shoulder.
"Look at you, so happy you're crying. But honestly, it's rare to have a boss as understanding as me. Tell you what—tomorrow, I'll have them assign you the toughest account from the European division.
If you can deliver satisfactory results, I'll promote you to regional supervisor. Perform even better, and a managerial position isn't out of the question."
"Thank you, boss…"
Sharon didn't know how she made it downstairs or how she got through the rest of her day.
She only knew her future seemed even darker now.
But at least her identity as a spy hadn't been discovered—a small blessing amidst the misfortune.
.........
Nick and his team left Umbrella Corporation with a shipment of bioweapons.
Since the bioweapons were grotesque in appearance, they were sealed in containers and frozen. They even rented a large truck to transport them.
At this moment, Nick was driving the truck out of the city.
"Where are we headed now?"
Maria, sitting in the passenger seat, asked.
Nick, his eyes on the road, replied, "To the World Security Council."
"The Council?"
"Yes. Adam was right. We need the Council's support to clean up these traitors discreetly. Otherwise, if this gets out, it'll damage S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation."
"But if we escalate this to the Council, what about me?"
Maria hesitated. She had just taken over as director, and now this was happening. How would the Council view her? Her position might not survive this scandal.
Nick glanced at her and said in a flat tone, "Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility."
Reassured by Nick's promise, Maria remained silent.
She wasn't being cold-hearted—she understood that as long as she was in the director's seat, S.H.I.E.L.D. would remain loyal to the United States.
If someone else took over, the agency might shift allegiances, especially since the Council wasn't solely controlled by the U.S.
........
The truck entered the city, but traffic slowed them down. After a few minutes of stop-and-go, Nick was starting to regret this route.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before armed helicopters appeared in the distance.
Seeing this, Tony Stark couldn't help but curse.
"These guys are insane, using attack helicopters in a populated area! Do they not care about civilian casualties?"
Tony began suiting up, lowering his faceplate, "They didn't hesitate to attack me directly. Why would they care about civilians?"
He turned to Bruce Banner. "Hulk, I need you to protect Pepper."
Bruce nodded, his skin already turning green as he transformed into the Hulk.
"HULK!"
Natasha and Clint readied their weapons, though Clint regretted not bringing his bow. If he had it, he could've taken down the helicopter by now.
As the helicopter neared, a rocket was fired directly at the truck.
Nick floored the gas pedal, ramming the cars ahead and pulling off a sharp turn to evade the explosion.
*BOOM!*
The vehicles behind them were engulfed in flames, and the sound of screaming civilians filled the air.
"Help!"
"We're under attack!"
"Is it a foreign invasion?!"
The armed helicopter hovered above the truck. Natasha and Clint tried firing at it, but their bullets barely scratched its armor.
Just as another rocket was about to launch, Tony flew out of the truck's window.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, a massive impact slammed him to the ground.
Not far away, three more vehicles approached. Standing atop the lead car was Bucky, holding a rocket launcher—the one who had just shot Tony down.
Seeing this, panic gripped the group. Hulk held Pepper tightly, prepared to shield her from any explosion with his body.
At this critical moment, a man with metallic wings appeared in the sky.
It was Falcon—Sam Wilson.
From his pack, Sam fired two missiles, striking the armed helicopter dead-on.
*BOOM!*
The helicopter exploded in mid-air, crashing down in flames.
Clint didn't waste a moment. Loading another arrow, he aimed at the oncoming cars and fired.
Nick swerved sharply, using the truck's reinforced container as a shield.
*BOOM!*
The explosion revealed the monstrous bioweapons inside—Lickers.
"Maria, activate the Lickers!"
"Yes, sir."
____________________
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