US military base, United Kingdom.
With the emergency arrival of the decision-making team, the base immediately activated the highest level of alert.
Looking at the fully armed American soldiers and the layers of defense around them, Ellis finally let out a sigh of relief.
The beautiful leader clutched Finnian Murdock's hand tightly, refusing to let go.
"Murdock, thank you for your hard work."
"Sir, just doing my duty."
To be honest, Finnian had never expected something this insane to happen.
Sure, he knew vampires existed in Marvel. He also knew most of them were based in Europe.
But what he couldn't understand was how these creatures, who normally skulked around in shadows, suddenly had the balls to pull something like this.
A living vampire suicide bomb? That was too fucking outrageous.
Lily Ellis had rushed to the military base from her hotel. After hearing about the attack, her eyes were overflowing with affection.
She almost threw herself into Finnian's arms.
Luckily, Finnian reacted fast and stepped back before things got messy.
Ellis noticed and thought to himself that if Murdock wanted a promotion, he would damn well make sure he got one. Hell, he even considered transferring Finnian to lead his entire security detail.
But in the end, Ellis held back. He didn't bring up the plan he and Gideon had cooked up not long ago.
Having Murdock by his side gave him the maximum sense of security. It would solve his safety concerns completely.
But then a problem hit him.
What about the next election?
There were still more than three years to go, but Ellis already felt uncertain.
After all, that one little upstart who'd been running around under the banner of "reform" and "abolishing knighthood" had been making more and more noise lately.
So Ellis decided on a shortcut: bind himself to Finnian Murdock, make him the spiritual totem of the new era—Da Piaoliang.
If he pulled it off, when reelection came around, all he'd need to do was drag Finnian along to different states.
Flash the people their "hero," spin the story, and fool voters who were more entertained than educated. Winning would be child's play.
He didn't even see how he could lose.
It wasn't that Ellis didn't want to be that totem himself. It's just that compared to a talent monster like Finnian, he simply couldn't measure up.
Talent monsters were fucking annoying.
Besides, Ellis could clearly see his only daughter's growing affection for Finnian. Maybe they'd even become family one day.
With Finnian's excellent genes, Ellis could already picture the grandkids carrying on the family legacy.
The thought made Ellis laugh to himself. The more he looked at Finnian, the more satisfied he became.
"Promotion. You must be promoted."
The visiting team hadn't even prepared to return yet, but Finnian's promotion letter had already been sent to S.H.I.E.L.D.
SHIELD Headquarters, Director's Office
"Motherfucker???" Nick Fury stared at the authorization letter in his hand and swore.
His one good eye practically popped out of his head.
"Deputy Director—also serving as leader of the Rapid Reaction Special Forces?"
That position came with serious administrative power. In theory, it allowed the holder to nominate and dismiss officials across federal agencies.
Sure, senior appointments still needed Senate approval, but the nomination power itself was huge. And the deputy director of SHIELD definitely fell within that jurisdiction.
"What the hell happened?"
Fury quickly contacted his right-hand man, Coulson. He hated feeling out of the loop.
After several unanswered calls, Fury scratched his bald head in frustration.
"No one's picking up?"
Back at the joint US–UK military base, the phones of everyone in the delegation and the security detail had been collected. With the life of the top official on the line, they weren't taking any risks.
Because of his outstanding performance, Finnian was once again assigned to stay in the safehouse where Ellis was temporarily living.
"Want a drink?" Lily Ellis, glasses glinting, licked her lips fearlessly.
Finnian, typing on his laptop, muttered under his breath as he glanced at the man talking on the phone across the room.
"Guy's both a glutton and a playboy."
Lily leaned closer, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "King, what are you writing?"
"Just some stuff to make pocket money."
He was dead broke lately, so he'd gone back to his old tricks—cranking out third-rate web novels for cash.
"Show me."
She snatched the laptop. One glance at the title and her face went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
The American President Fell in Love with Me, a Cleaner at the White House.
Divorced with a Baby, the President Chases Her Home.
If she hadn't personally seen Finnian kick ass the night before, Lily would've seriously suspected the guy had questionable taste in… everything.
"Is… is anyone actually reading this?"
"Of course. Otherwise why the hell would I write it?"
Gotta make a living, sister.
The two chatted idly, the air between them charged.
If the person in charge hadn't still been on the phone nearby, they'd probably have gotten into another "intense study session."
"Fuck." Ellis hung up the call and turned toward them.
Seeing his daughter practically snuggled into Finnian's side, he felt forced to explain.
"England's been wiping out vampire nests recently. That attack earlier was retaliation."
"We got caught in the crossfire."
At the word vampire, Lily instinctively pressed herself even closer to Finnian.
Ellis sighed and turned away, sulking. In his mind, he was already making another decision.
"Two more days. Then you're going back. Otherwise, I'll probably end up a grandfather."
"You should rest early."
Late that night.
In Ellis's room, the man sneezed repeatedly. "Why is it suddenly so cold? Did the AC break?"
He turned up the thermostat a few degrees, then listened carefully. Hearing nothing suspicious, he lay back down, satisfied.
This kid's good. Didn't do anything reckless.
Next door.
A thick layer of frost along the walls diligently muffled every sound.
Inside, a young man and woman were studying "life sciences" very, very enthusiastically.
"Friction generates kinetic energy, which becomes heat. When there's too much heat, the body sweats to cool down."
"And the water?"
"Water also helps dissipate heat."
Lily nodded approvingly. "You're amazing, you know so much."
Finnian smirked without a hint of modesty. "Just average."
The two clung to each other, wrapped up in the fire of young love.
Out of nowhere, Lily murmured, "When we get back, you could come work in the White House."
Finnian thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"When the world's at peace, I'll go with you."