109. Let’s Call It the Red Shield Branch Uncle’s Chronicles (Ten Thousand Words in the Third Night—Please Subscribe)

To be honest, as the owner of a fishpond with several girlfriends, Su Ye’s acting skills were quite decent. Competing in the entertainment industry or vying for an Oscar might be a stretch, but at least fooling Max Dillon right in front of him was no problem.

Max Dillon shook his head. “I’m not sure either. I got electrocuted, then I fell... Later, when I woke up, I felt weak, so I went outside to get some supplies. Before I could even figure out what was happening, they threw smoke bombs at me and even opened fire!”

His voice carried a hint of grievance; from his perspective, he truly hadn’t done anything wrong. The accident wasn’t his fault. Feeling weak and instinctively seeking help wasn’t a crime. And throughout it all, he had never intended to harm anyone, not even a little.

Yet the police, without hesitation or inquiry, launched an attack on him. Naturally, he defended himself, which led to all the chaos that followed.

At that moment, Max Dillon desperately wanted to shout, “Officer! I’m innocent!” Even though he had killed many people just moments ago, at his core, Max still saw himself as an underdog.

Unfortunately, real officers wouldn’t care about his innocence. They wouldn’t pay attention to his words. Max's ultimate fate was to be sent to a lab, placed on an operating table, and dissected for research or military projects aimed at strengthening the armed forces.

During this time, someone might break into the prison to help him escape and use his abilities for their own schemes.

In the movies, that someone was Harry—the second generation who killed Gwen and hated Spider-Man—rather than the original Harry, whom Su Ye knew, who despite his hatred, once took a bullet for Spider-Man.

In this world, influenced by Su Ye, Harry had gone astray. He was no longer the little Green Goblin who turned bad to avenge his father, nor would he assist in prison breaks.

But the Joker was another matter entirely.

As pure evil incarnate, the Joker sought the collapse of order and the chaos of systems.

Max Dillon, whose strength had even bested the police and military, was obviously a perfect pawn for the Joker.

Even if Max’s power was overwhelmingly strong—so much so that the Joker, an ordinary man, couldn’t suppress him by force—it didn’t matter.

The Joker never controlled others through strength but through cunning and manipulation of the human heart.

Max Dillon’s glaring personality flaws were enough for the Joker to betray him and still have him happily counting the spoils.

For a moment, Su Ye actually considered leaving Max to the Joker, to see how much destruction they could wreak together in New York.

But after some thought, he dismissed the idea. Max’s destructive power was far too great; left unchecked, he could easily cause uncontrollable damage. What if he hurt Gwen, Shiranui Mai, Sharon, or Hinata? What then?

Su Ye couldn’t just create a clone to follow Max around constantly.

So, in Su Ye’s view, the safest approach was to take Max under his wing as a subordinate. Besides, during the upcoming New York battle, there was something only Max could accomplish.

After listening to Max’s lament, Su Ye nodded solemnly.

“I understand. You’re not without fault in this, but it’s not entirely your fault either. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to help you. You won’t suffer an unjust fate.”

Beside him, Sharon nodded firmly. Her secretarial skills were impeccable.

Sharon Carter had long given herself a strong psychological cue: Whatever the boss said was correct.

If the boss was wrong, see the previous rule.

This mental suggestion was originally meant to help her better embrace her role as secretary, win Su Ye’s favor, and eventually bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D., aligning him with the American camp.

But over time, as they spent more time together and Su Ye displayed his various strengths—his driving skills included—Sharon began to regard these cues as gospel.

Who knew that the one trying to steal her heart would end up being the one swept away?

Meanwhile, the two agents watching on were utterly baffled.

Which side was this Martial Saint really on? They just finished fighting, and now he was defending the enemy? What was this—a cat crying over a dead mouse?

Perhaps the Martial Saint simply wanted to keep this blue-skinned man stable, making it easier to extract valuable intel.

In the end, the two agents could only come up with this excuse for Su Ye in their minds.

But what they didn’t expect was Su Ye immediately instructing Sharon to make a call.

“Call Coulson. No, call Fury. Let’s get the formalities out of the way first.”

“Yes, boss!” Sharon promptly took out her phone and quickly dialed Fury’s number, then respectfully handed the phone to Su Ye.

This scene left the two agents dumbfounded once again.

Su Ye, accustomed to it, took the phone. “Hello, Director Fury. The mission is complete. As for Pierce, does he have anything to say now?”

“Old Pierce,” Alexander Pierce, had said before that as long as Su Ye could quickly handle Max Dillon and prevent the situation from escalating, he would sign the document establishing the Red Shield Branch. Now was the time to fulfill that promise.

On the other end, Nick Fury didn’t joke around. “Don’t worry about Pierce. Regardless of his reasons, the document establishing the Red Shield Branch is effective. From now on, you are officially the head of the Red Shield Branch. Congratulations, Minister Su.”

“Thank you,” Su Ye replied with a smile.

“But about the title—according to our customs, the head of the Red Shield Branch isn’t called minister but branch chief. So please don’t call me minister; call me chief…”

Su Ye suddenly felt something was off. “Bah! If you call me chief, what about the ‘branch’ part? Let’s keep it simple to avoid trouble. Just call me Uncle Su, or Uncle Ye—that works for me!”

“Uncle Su? Uncle Ye?” Nick Fury repeated, noncommittal. “Whatever makes you happy. Anything else?”

“Of course. It’s about one of our Red Shield members,” Su Ye said, covering the microphone with his hand as he looked at Max Dillon beside him.

“Old Max, my current position is head of the Red Shield Branch, a direct branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. under the United Nations International Security Council. Let me ask you: Are you willing to join us and protect the Earth, maintaining world peace together?”

Sharon’s face was full of encouragement. The two agents were stunned. Max Dillon’s entire blue face seemed to pale.

“Me? Join what…” Max Dillon stammered.

Sharon quickly explained, “The Red Shield Branch is a UN-affiliated department responsible for protecting Earth’s stability and maintaining world peace!”

“I’m the second member of the department after the boss. If you join now, you’ll be a founding member and enjoy a series of founding member benefits!”

“So, Mr. Dillon, will you join us and become a hero who protects the world?”

This time, Su Ye grinned widely. Founding member—what was this, a gym opening? Want to swim or work out?

Max Dillon, however, was nearly on his knees. After hearing so much from Sharon, all he caught was one word: hero.

“Can I really be a hero? I just…”

Max hesitated. After killing so many officers and soldiers, did he even deserve to be called a hero?

Sharon nodded firmly. “If the boss says you are, then you are!”

“I’ll join!” Max Dillon answered without hesitation. “Snake, I…”

Su Ye shook his head. “My name is Su Ye. Snake Zhang was my alias during my internship at Osborn’s. I lied to you before, and I apologize.”

“That’s okay, I understand, completely understand,” Max Dillon said quickly.

“Then it’s settled,” Su Ye smiled and picked up the phone again. He continued, “Director Fury, I hereby lodge a formal protest with New York over the unprovoked attack by the New York police and military on my Red Shield Branch member at Times Square.”

“I require a reasonable explanation from the New York police and military, and a public statement on whether racial discrimination was involved.”

“If I don’t receive a satisfactory response, the Red Shield Branch will refuse to continue cooperation with New York. The world is large; we cannot focus on just one place.”

Nick Fury was stunned. Was he still half-asleep, or was Su Ye talking nonsense?

The whole incident had already been broadcast live. Anyone who watched the full footage knew the facts.

Could the police be blamed? Their duty was to maintain order and subdue suspicious individuals—that was correct.

If blame existed, it lay in the suspect’s overly sensitive and extreme reaction, compounded by his immense power, leading to the ensuing chaos.

The most complicated part was that this suspect was now a member of the Red Shield Branch, that is, part of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a powerful superhuman.

This left Nick Fury unsure whether to defend the justice of the police and military or to protect his powerful subordinate.

If the team included Venom, Max Dillon, Su Ye, Iron Man, Green Arrow, Spider-Man, Batman, and others like Hawkeye and Black Widow, this superhero alliance would be quite formidable.

Moreover, Su Ye’s ultimatum forced Nick Fury to take the matter seriously. If unresolved, the Red Shield Branch would withdraw from New York.

Though America wasn’t limited to New York alone, Nick Fury sensed that letting the Red Shield Branch leave New York would be a grave mistake.

In the end, Fury sighed, “I’ll try.”

Those words were enough.

Su Ye didn’t intend to force the New York police and military into a formal apology or admission of guilt. He only wanted to protect Max Dillon.

Nick Fury understood this and would help keep Max safe.

“All done!” Su Ye put away the phone and smiled at Max Dillon in the tank.

“Old Max, from today on, your past is behind you. From now on, you’re a superhero protecting world peace. Ready to join us and embrace a new, brilliant life?”

Hearing Su Ye say “us,” Sharon instantly puffed out her chest, beaming with pride and encouragement.

Max Dillon had never been looked at so warmly by such a fiery woman, let alone encouraged. If he weren’t restrained, he would have knelt right there, bowing his head to Su Ye and shouting, “My lord!”