The moment Peter raised this final demand, the atmosphere in the office became incredibly heavy.
Natasha felt an inexplicable sense of pressure wash over her, even sensing a bone-chilling cold.
In just an instant, Natasha confirmed in her heart the weight that the guardians "Benn and Mei" held in this young man's heart.
The two could be said to be the young man's "reverse scale"—the kind where touching them meant certain death.
This discovery left Natasha with mixed feelings of joy and worry.
The joy was that a young man who could be so filial to his guardians would certainly not be a villain who did evil.
At the very least, when a truly powerful enemy descended, this young man would surely become an existence that fought side-by-side with them.
Having one more ally was always more reassuring than having one more enemy.
The worry, however, was that their Director, Nick Fury—whose desire for control was pathologically strong—was exactly the kind of person who would use any means necessary to achieve his goals.
If Nick Fury insisted on using Peter's guardians to threaten him... she didn't even dare to imagine that scene.
By then, it would likely evolve into a disaster that the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. could not withstand.
After a brief lapse in concentration, Natasha snapped back and looked at Peter, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible complexity:
"I understand. I will truthfully report your request to my superiors."
"Very good."
Seeing the famous "Black Widow" from the original story acting so submissively and obediently, Peter couldn't help but feel in high spirits:
"I like people who are obedient and sensible. Since you've been so cooperative, I can give you a small gift."
As he spoke, Peter slowly reached out and lightly pressed his hand onto Natasha's shoulder.
With this movement, the horse talisman instantly activated.
A warm and soft white light enveloped Natasha.
The light wasn't blinding; it carried an indescribable sense of comfort, penetrating into every one of her cells as if performing a deep-level cleansing and reshaping.
Immediately after, she felt an unprecedented warmth coming from her lower abdomen and knees, as if some voids deep within her body were being refilled at this moment.
"Mm~ what did you do to me?"
Natasha's eyes were full of vigilance, but her voice trembled slightly due to that peculiar sensation, and she even unconsciously let out an embarrassing nasal sound.
To this, Peter simply withdrew his hand, his tone relaxed yet carrying a hint of playfulness:
"I just helped you repair some old injuries, and while I was at it... helped you recover some things you once lost."
In truth, there were some secrets Peter didn't say directly.
That was, under the effect of the horse talisman, even the microchips implanted inside Natasha's body had been neutralized.
However, since even Natasha herself didn't know about this, it would be far too shocking if Peter said it outright.
But even so, Peter's casual words sounded like a thunderclap in Natasha's ears.
Her body trembled involuntarily, and her hands uncontrollably moved toward her lower abdomen, as if she could already vaguely feel the "things she lost" that Peter spoke of.
This was her most private scar and the wound deep in her heart that could never heal.
As a top Agent from the "Red Room," Natasha and her companions had their uteruses and ovaries forcibly removed during the process of becoming Black Widows.
She had spent her whole life searching for a sense of belonging, longing for a real home.
But sadly and ironically, because of her physiological deficiency, she was destined to never have a real family in this life.
She had thought that, at most, she could only find the warmth of a family through pets.
But now, Peter had given her a brand-new hope.
The moment she realized this, even a battle-hardened Agent with a heart like iron felt a whirlwind of emotions.
An incredibly complex emotion surged into her heart, causing her eyes to moisten instantly, giving her an urge to have a good cry.
She bit her lower lip hard, forcing back the sob in her throat, unwilling to show her weakness in front of this young boy, Peter.
Peter looked at her with a bit of mischief and suddenly spoke:
"If you want to cry, I can lend you a shoulder... if you want a warm hug, that's not out of the question either."
"In your dreams!"
Natasha gave him a huge eye-roll and then took the opportunity to turn around.
But in her heart, her favorable impression of Peter grew even more.
She wasn't an innocent little girl like Gwen; she naturally understood that Peter had simply seen through her desire not to have her vulnerability witnessed, and so he had conveniently provided her an out.
She worked hard to calm the complex emotions in her heart.
When she turned back again, she had already restored her original sexy and lazy posture.
She took out an encrypted phone from her bag, thought for a moment, and then entered a number into it:
"Regarding the conditions you proposed, whether our Director agrees or not, we will use this phone to contact you... In the future, if there's anything you need our help to resolve, you can also use this phone to contact us."
After handing the phone to Peter, Natasha picked up her bag and turned to leave:
"I'm going back to report the news. You might be asked to take a trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight. Remember to explain it clearly to your family so they don't worry."
Only after watching Natasha's curvaceous figure completely disappear at the end of his vision did Peter withdraw his gaze, a confident smile vaguely hanging on the corner of his mouth.
With today's little gift, he estimated that in the future, he could effortlessly win over this key glue of the future Avengers.
...
About an hour later, Natasha appeared at a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. branch located in New York.
Taking the elevator straight to the seventeenth floor underground, in the large office there, Nick Fury was anxiously waiting for Natasha's good news.
But when he saw Natasha push the door and enter, he couldn't help but be taken aback:
"Agent Natasha, why are you back so soon? Have you already met that guy calling himself 'The Punisher'?"
Natasha nodded slightly:
"I met him. 'The Punisher' is Peter Parker. To my shame, he discovered my true identity and took the initiative to tell me his demands..."
As she spoke, Natasha poured out everything that had happened, but she specifically omitted the part where Peter gave her the "little gift."
As expected, Nick Fury—who had been sailing smoothly with the secret help of the Skrulls—immediately flew into a rage after hearing the conditions Peter proposed.
He didn't even care about a multi-billionaire like Tony Stark, always thinking of ways to scheme against and control him.
With the near-God-level combat power of Captain Marvel backing him up, he naturally couldn't take a high schooler like Peter seriously, so he slammed the table on the spot and uttered his classic catchphrase:
"Motherf*cker, who does he think he is? The President of the U.S.?!"