"You should have said you were with the F.B.I. earlier; I thought you were one of those real estate Agents again."
Seeing Coulson's badge and credentials, Kevin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Coulson said in surprise, "Agents? You don't care about federal Agents, but you're worried about real estate Agents instead?"
Store manager Kevin looked at him as if he were an idiot, giving the dignified Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent a massive eye-roll.
Just the F.B.I., it's not like it's the I.R.S.; what's there to be so arrogant about?
However, Kevin was World-wise and wouldn't say his inner thoughts to his face; instead, he asked, "Is there anything else you need?"
"If not, please leave. Our shop is about to close."
Coulson hurriedly said, "No, I have urgent business. We have a murder case and need to speak with your boss."
"A murder case?"
Upon hearing those words, Kevin immediately frowned.
He nodded, then beckoned with his finger, signaling Coulson to follow him to the shop entrance.
"See that streetlight?"
Kevin pointed to a streetlight at the end of 47th Street.
"Let me tell you something: between this shop and that streetlight, pick anyone you want. Just based on your suspicion that my boss is involved in a murder case, you'll definitely get punched."
This answer was something Coulson hadn't anticipated. He asked, both curious and annoyed, "So, you're admitting your boss runs this street?"
Kevin looked at this "federal Agent" with disdain.
"Hey, bro, what do you mean by 'runs this street'? Hearing you say that, I can tell you didn't go to a good university."
"Haven't you heard that private property is sacred and inviolable?"
"Every business open on 47th Street belongs to my boss."
"Also, I was actually just reminding you that you might only get punched on 47th Street. If you go to the next street over, you might catch a bullet..."
Coulson was listening intently to this long, rap-like medley of words. Before he knew it, Kevin gave him a hard shove from behind.
Before he could even react, he was pushed out of the repair shop door by Kevin.
Coulson's stumbling appearance immediately caused the surrounding pedestrians to burst into laughter.
Fortunately, someone kindly caught him; otherwise, this dignified Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent would have surely face-planted in public.
"Oh, thank you."
Coulson said words of thanks.
At the same time, he was using a secret signal to the S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical team in a nearby car, telling them not to rush over.
Because the "target" had been found. Indeed, the person who had caught him was Li Pu.
Li Pu was over 1.9 meters tall. Facing Coulson, who was less than 1.8 meters tall, the latter could only see a "glimpse" of the top of Li Pu's head if he didn't look up.
(Comic setting: Coulson is 1.75 meters tall and weighs 77 kilograms).
"Hello, my name is Phil Coulson." Coulson showed a standard eight-tooth smile and extended his hand toward Li Pu.
So it was him.
Li Pu recognized this famous "newbie NPC" of the Marvel Universe at a glance.
However, he had already been in this World for several years and had long since left the beginner village.
So, looking at this Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent again, Li Pu only showed a playful smile.
"Take care, I won't see you out."
After saying that, he resumed discussing a charge against him with the two young lawyers beside him.
Today was Friday. After Broly and Koz finished school, they headed straight to Kamar-Taj on the other side of the Earth for "extracurricular tutoring."
When they returned for the weekend, Li Pu planned to take the two children back to Alaska to revisit old haunts and have a good time.
So all day today, in order to be able to take the kids out to play to their hearts' content over the weekend, he had been dealing with various chores.
He was quite a busy man now.
Li Pu's businesses included: an auto repair shop that also dealt in used cars, a fast food restaurant, a tavern, and a supermarket.
All these businesses were on 47th Street.
Besides that, he was the principal of the only community school in all of Hell's Kitchen.
Interestingly, the reason Li Pu had so many businesses was originally just so he could be a good principal.
He had previously been "shocked" by the ignorance of the members of the Brotherhood of Assassins, which gave him a sense of crisis regarding the children's education.
After receiving that $3 million "ransom," he initially prepared to follow the example of "Mencius' mother moving three times" and move the two children near a better school.
But after some investigation, Li Pu was surprised to find that primary and secondary education in the USA presented a scene of "vibrant life and everything competing for growth."
In short, it was hopeless.
America's education system before university was truly, completely finished.
Li Pu remembered that before his Transmigration, some "New Yilin" magazines were still preaching:
In the United States, only the poor classes receive "happy education," while the elite children of America spend money to receive an "elite education" no less rigorous than that of the Far East.
If it weren't for the principals of all the elite private schools personally guaranteeing that their most powerful resource was being able to issue all sorts of recommendation letters...
...and that if one were willing to pay extra, they could even churn out internship reports from various NGOs for students, Li Pu might have actually believed the nonsense from New Yilin.
As for the curriculum of private schools, math, physics, and chemistry were really just mediocre.
After all, the difficulty of America's SAT was right there; saying it was useless for schools to teach more difficult knowledge wasn't quite right, but it really was useless.
Throwing in some Greek or Latin teaching just to give it a "noble" feel was about it.
No one truly believed that the descendants of the Celestial Dragons in the USA had to study hard, right?
After those little Celestial Dragons graduated, would they really have to balance their own books or conduct their own scientific research?
Not all Celestial Dragons were Tony Stark; most descendants of Celestial Dragons were actually stupider than the previous generation.
Who knows if some people might like the "elite education" of the USA, but Li Pu wouldn't let Broly and Koz waste their time in such a place.
So he steeled his heart: if there wasn't a suitable school, he would start one himself!
Relying on the "ransom" given by Sloan of the Brotherhood of Assassins, Li Pu directly took over the only community school in Hell's Kitchen and became its principal.
His original purpose for running that fast food restaurant was to provide a free lunch for the school's students.
Opening the small supermarket was incidental; it was originally just to import a batch of school supplies and books from across the ocean.
The reason that auto repair shop opened was that bulletproof school buses were too expensive, so he could only buy small used cars at first and then find a place to modify and repair them to be more suitable for picking up and dropping off students in Hell's Kitchen.
As for opening the bar, that was actually a faculty benefit created specifically to attract talent.
Because foreigners really love hanging out in taverns.
So Li Pu created a faculty card; teachers and school staff with this card would get a 20% discount on all drinks at his tavern.
Of course, the various Gangs in Hell's Kitchen could see all the moves he was making, as long as their eyes weren't just for show.
At first, many people did think Li Pu was a powerful outsider coming to Hell's Kitchen to seize territory, and those thugs and scumbags all wanted to straighten him out.
However, one night, Li Pu walked into Kingpin's building alone and walked back out completely unscathed.
Not only that, but the emperor of the New York underworld announced to the public that he would donate $2 million to the community school every year to serve as a board member.
Since then, no one else was foolish enough to go looking for trouble with Li Pu.
Nowadays, all the Gang bosses in Hell's Kitchen have long accepted that 47th Street is under Li Pu's protection.
Although Li Pu was like a mystery, clearly having few underlings and not touching the main Gang businesses like drugs, gambling, or prostitution.
But the harsh environment of Hell's Kitchen taught them that even if they didn't understand something, they should maintain enough respect for it.
Otherwise, the Atlantic Ocean is so vast that one or two more concrete barrels on the seabed wouldn't take up much space at all.