Marvel: Hunter

Nick also considered letting them approve the money in advance.

But that was obviously impossible. This was a global issue, and there was no way the capitalists could handle it alone or even among a small group.

Aren't they ruthless?

Naturally, Nick's request was being deflected in every possible way, and he would definitely have to wait for a global summit before any decision could be made.

Should he schedule a meeting?

Even if they said a meeting would be held today, it certainly couldn't happen tomorrow. For an issue of global scale, at least ten days of preparation were required.

That's ten days gone already.

Add to that the time needed to discuss everything—this incident, the Avengers, the financial losses...

After all, a meeting like this wouldn't just be about money. There would be numerous issues on the agenda.

That alone would take several more days.

Allocating the funds wouldn't be a problem in principle, but transferring the funds—through multiple layers of approval and security—would still take a few more days.

Altogether, it could take a full month.

But what about the Bounty Hunter?

This is what had Nick hesitating.

Every time Blaine was hired, he set a hard three-day deadline—and sometimes received payment as early as the next morning. He didn't seem like the type who'd wait around for a month.

If the payment were late...

The thought made Nick's skin crawl.

Because Blaine was not someone to mess with.

Tony, who was still on the line with Nick, quickly picked up on what he was thinking.

Immediately, he said, exasperated, "What's the problem with money? Just have the higher-ups cover half. I'll pay the rest."

Hearing this—

Nick's eyes lit up. "I'll go find him immediately!"

If half could be paid upfront, then it shouldn't be a problem to delay the rest a bit. It was a negotiable issue—not a deal breaker.

Although they weren't entirely certain Blaine could control the situation, in terms of sheer strength, his capabilities far surpassed those of the early Avengers lineup.

Of course—except when it came to money.

On that front, Tony had never been afraid of anyone.

He was still absurdly wealthy—even without the Avengers, he was rich.

The development of the Mark suits alone had cost an unimaginable fortune. So what was a few billion more?

If it weren't illegal to recklessly burn money, Tony sometimes suspected he could personally fund all of New York through a hundred winters.

"Hey, who are you waiting for?"

Spider-Man and Blaine sat perched on the edge of a tall building, watching the battle unfold in the distance.

A breeze passed through.

There was a faint trace of loneliness in the air.

A lone hero—nothing more.

Spider-Man was already growing restless, unable to sit still.

With his enhanced eyesight, he could clearly see Chitauri soldiers descending like flies to wage war.

Especially those massive steel leviathans.

Each one seemed to shatter his understanding of reality.

He'd always had a natural curiosity for new things. And now—aliens! The kind you only ever saw in movies!

He felt a mix of fear and excitement, his fingers itching.

He could hardly wait to jump into the action and dissect every one of them.

After all, Spider-Man was something of a young genius. With strong roots in science and technology, if Tony ever mentored him, he might just become the next generation of Stark.

"Wait."

Just as Blaine was about to say something, his phone rang.

"Looks like it's time."

He answered.

"Blaine, there's a mission. Will you take it?" came Nick's voice from the other end.

"What's the mission?" Blaine asked, though he already had an idea.

"Stop the invading alien forces until the Avengers find a solution. If successful, you'll be paid seven billion."

"If you find a way to solve the entire crisis yourself, your compensation increases to twenty billion."

"So in total, if you do both, it's twenty-seven billion."

Nick had considered the offer carefully and settled on this price point.

Seven billion to delay the invasion.

Twenty billion to resolve the entire crisis.

Twenty-seven billion in total.

The currency, of course, was U.S. dollars. If Blaine could pull it off, this would be a legitimate tens-of-billions-of-dollar-level deal in terms of global impact—and fully liquid.

Insanely lucrative.

A faint smile curved Blaine's lips.

He could accept that. It wouldn't even be that difficult for someone like him.

With over twenty billion, he could buy practically everything in the system store. He might even be able to upgrade himself to a B-rank Hunter.

"But..."

After stating the terms, Nick hesitated.

"But what?" Blaine asked, his tone dipping.

"If the job is completed, we may only be able to pay half of the total upfront."

Worried that Blaine might take offense, Nick hurried to add, "But don't worry—the other half will definitely be paid within ten months."

"Overdue?" Blaine raised an eyebrow.

In truth, he didn't like being paid late.

The system sometimes issued him missions to eliminate debtors.

And Nick—unfortunately—was still useful.

Besides, if Nick died, wouldn't the capitalists behind this get off scot-free?

Fortunately, the system imposed no penalties for lateness. Everything depended on Blaine's discretion.

Otherwise, he wouldn't allow any delays. Unless, of course, the price was right.

"If the overdue period is three days to one month, there will be an additional one billion in interest. After that, the fee increases by one billion each month—stacked cumulatively. Any issue with that?" Blaine asked.

...

Nick's face twitched.

Did that mean just being one month and a day late would cost an extra billion?

And if delayed further—say, two or three months—that'd be two billion, then three billion...

This exponential increase was brutal.

Thank God it wasn't coming out of his personal account. Though he knew he'd still get blamed and screamed at for it...

Sometimes, even S.H.I.E.L.D. had to bow to pressure.

This was about the survival of humanity—how could they still be bargaining?

Nick sighed. "Fine. Deal."

*************************************

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