"A ton is too much,"
"What do you need it for?"
"One ton of Vibranium is enough to arm an army of a thousand men."
"Could it be that the famous Bounty Hunter is tired of this life?"
"Trying to unify the world is impossible."
T'Challa clasped his hands behind his back and rejected Blaine directly and decisively. After all, this was not a matter of a few pounds here or there. A full ton—something even the King of Wakanda could not simply decide on his own.
"My purpose is very clear,"
"One ton. I only want one ton."
Seeing T'Challa hesitate, Blaine stepped forward, his tone growing firmer.
To T'Challa, those words felt like being trampled by a stampeding herd. 'Only' one ton—such a word was truly heart-wrenching.
"The amount of Vibranium Wakanda is allowed to mine is only one ton per year,"
"The mining period has already passed,"
"The total inventory in Wakanda right now is less than a kilogram,"
"So, I'm sorry."
Faced with Blaine's hardened tone, T'Challa had no choice but to refuse again. Even if it meant offending a Bounty Hunter of Blaine's caliber, as the ruler of Wakanda, he could not yield.
Just as Blaine was about to lose his temper, a black woman standing nearby suddenly tugged at T'Challa's clothes.
She was dressed casually, wearing shorts and her hair tied into two buns. She clearly was not one of T'Challa's royal guards—it seemed she was his sister.
Blaine pricked up his ears, quietly listening in.
"Hey, brother, if you don't show him some strength, he won't leave,"
"One ton—he's clearly opening his mouth like a lion,"
"How could we possibly take that out?"
"Isn't he obviously bullying us?"
"Brother, maybe you can tolerate this anger,"
"But can you beat him?"
"If not, we can't even drive him away."
T'Challa's sister whispered into his ear, glancing nervously at Blaine as if afraid he might overhear. What she did not know was that even if she lowered her voice further, Blaine could still hear every word.
"You're thinking too simply,"
"Come with me."
T'Challa seemed to realize something and quickly took his sister by the hand, leading her outside.
"Excuse me."
He was surprisingly polite—perhaps deliberately lowering Blaine's guard. Blaine could only smile bitterly and shake his head. Even if they went outside, so what? His eyes were sharp, and his ears even sharper.
Sure enough, once outside, the two relaxed completely and began discussing the issue of the one ton of Vibranium.
"You think I don't want to drive him away?"
"I really can't beat him."
"Not only me—even the entire Avengers wouldn't be his match…"
"Hey."
T'Challa looked at his innocent sister and sighed helplessly.
"Not even our entire country,"
"Using the strength of the whole nation, we still couldn't handle him alone?"
His sister was still trying to find a way to get rid of Blaine. Hearing this, Blaine grew a little anxious.
They were completely missing the point. Whether they could beat him or not didn't matter. Just give him a ton of Vibranium and the problem would be solved. And if they really couldn't spare it, they could at least let him go to the mountain himself and take a look.
"You're thinking too simply,"
"If we fail to deal with him,"
"And he turns Wakanda upside down,"
"Then it becomes our problem."
"Hey, why don't we just give him a ton?"
"You're sighing, I'm worrying,"
"A ton isn't a hundred kilograms, nor a few dozen taels,"
"You know better than I do how much inventory we have left,"
"Not even a tenth of what he's asking for,"
"The mining period has passed—where can we get a ton?"
"Besides, do you know how much is left down there?"
"How many tons can we even produce?"
"At this rate, in a hundred years, our Vibranium will be exhausted."
"This is too difficult…"
By the end, T'Challa's brows were nearly twisted together. On one side was less than a ton of inventory; on the other, an extremely troublesome Bounty Hunter. Being caught in the middle left him truly torn.
Watching this unfold, Blaine felt a quiet joy bloom in his heart. This was exactly the outcome he wanted—forcing T'Challa into a corner so he would retreat step by step and eventually make a proposal that allowed Blaine to return to the Vibranium Mountains.
"Then there's only one option left,"
"We have to compromise—after all, it's just one ton,"
"If it doesn't work, we'll secretly dig a little,"
"That should be fine, right?"
"What do you think?"
"Even if I agree,"
"Do you think the elders of the Council will?"
"If they find out, not only me—even you would be implicated…"
Looking at his eccentric sister, T'Challa felt a headache coming on. He seriously wondered whether she had suffered a concussion. Though his younger sister was usually very clever, today she was clearly coming up with questionable ideas.
"Oh right, brother,"
"Isn't that man a Bounty Hunter?"
"Aren't Bounty Hunters willing to do anything for money?"
"Why don't we hire him?"
"Hire him… to let him leave?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Who said anything about letting him leave?"
"As long as he has the ability, we hire him,"
"Aren't you worried the Council of Elders will criticize us?"
"Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
T'Challa had thought his sister was just throwing out wild ideas, but now he was completely lost.
"Oh, brother…"
"Oh! I get it."
"You mean we ask him to do something for the Council of Elders and shut them up,"
"And then use that as justification to apply for mining Vibranium again?"
"Is that it?"
Before his sister could finish, T'Challa suddenly seemed to awaken, following her line of thought.
Blaine could only think—sure enough, siblings really did think alike. One idea led seamlessly to another.
"Clever!"
"But what could he possibly do that would make the Council agree to mine Vibranium again?"
"Isn't this still a dead end?"
T'Challa's excitement flared for a moment, only to be extinguished by another wave of doubt.
"Who said it is?"
"Brother, think about it—what do we lack?"
"Is there really anything we're missing?"
"Huh? I know what you're about to say,"
"I think it's a good idea too,"
"But I don't know if it will work."
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"It's better than continuing to stall with him like this."
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