Marvel: Trading with Worlds

Malik wasn't easy to deceive, especially he was as cunning as an old fox. He had escaped capture when the Insight Plan collapsed and still maintained significant influence over S.H.I.E.L.D., with the authority to take direct control during crises.

Malik couldn't believe Kain's claims about Wakanda. He would need concrete evidence before accepting the existence of a nation more technologically advanced than any in the Western world—and one composed entirely of Black people. 

If it had been anyone else making such a claim, Malik would have dismissed it as a joke. However, he had heard whispers about Vibranium's origins. 

Still, with Nick Fury now the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., much of the organization's classified information was segmented by access levels, making it difficult for Malik to investigate without a legitimate reason.

Nevertheless, Malik would undoubtedly look into Wakanda. He wasn't about to ignore Kain's secrets, especially the emergence of a super-soldier squad. 

If this squad hadn't been affiliated with a terrorist organization, they might have revealed some of their superhuman capabilities. Such a unit could dominate the Middle Eastern battlefield.

Unfortunately for Hydra, they had gained nothing from their efforts. The recovered corpses disintegrated into ash shortly after retrieval, rendering them useless. 

To uncover the secret behind the serum, they would either need to cooperate with Kain or use espionage to steal the formula. 

While espionage was considered, Stern and Malik ultimately decided to pursue a cooperative approach—it was far less risky.

Their gamble paid off. Kain appeared genuinely interested in collaboration and was even willing to trade the serum. 

If Hydra had known it would be this simple, they wouldn't have wasted resources attempting to eliminate the super-soldier squad in the Middle East.

After leaving Malik Manor, Kain laughed and grumbled in the car. "Betty, don't deal with that old fox anymore. He's ten times more cunning than your father."

Throughout their hour-long discussion, Malik had carefully danced around without committing to anything concrete. 

He'd only offered vague comments like, "I'll confirm," and a proposal to help sell gold. If not for the constant presence of others during their meeting, Kain might have used Legilimency to uncover Malik's true intentions. 

Unfortunately, his only notable weakness was in memory magic.

Kain reflected on this weakness. The wizarding world had several renowned memory magic experts: Dumbledore, Snape, and Voldemort. 

He hadn't sought advice from the first two, and after acquiring the diary, he had grown wary of Tom Riddle. 

Forcefully extracting memories from someone like Malik might cause irreversible damage or unintended consequences.

"Dad's not an old fox," Betty said, exasperated. "Without you, I wouldn't have dealt with someone like him in the first place."

Betty was a biological researcher, now reluctantly adapting to management. The prospect of handling political negotiations was far outside her comfort zone.

"Tell your father about Hydra," Kain instructed. "But only him—he needs to keep it confidential. He'll know what to do."

Kain sighed and remarked to Ross that this old man was a textbook politician. Otherwise, how could he have risen so quickly to become Secretary of State just a few years after failing to capture the Hulk? 

It was almost like a triple jump—from being a middling general in the military to a key figure in the political arena.

After leaving Washington, Kain accompanied Betty to order two private jets and helicopters. 

The Pent Group building had a helipad on its roof, which would make travel much more convenient for Betty and the company's senior executives.

However, after making the purchase, Betty turned to Kain with a worried expression. "The money is running out. If we want rapid development, we'll have to take out loans from the bank," she said.

Kain didn't respond immediately. Instead, he simply told Betty to call some Umbrella personnel to his house when they returned to New York. He still had over a dozen tons of gold.

"If I sell all of it, we can easily recover billions of dollars," Kain thought. Every time he traveled to the Ninja world, he would bring back a substantial amount of gold to store. 

While he had spent some of it in the wizarding world, the remaining stockpile was more than enough to support the Pent Group for the foreseeable future.

Still, selling such a massive quantity of gold posed its own challenges. To avoid unnecessary complications, Kain decided to rely on Hydra. 

With their vast network, they could handle the transaction seamlessly, distributing the gold through their internal channels to avoid attracting attention.

"My God, where did you get so much gold?" Betty exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock as she stared at the gleaming mountain of gold in the basement.

She had bought this villa for Kain and often stayed there when he was away. But she had never imagined that the basement contained an eighteen-ton hoard of gold.

"There's about eighteen tons in total," Kain explained. "I've already negotiated with Stern. Once they take the gold, they'll transfer the money to us within two days."

Kain placed a reassuring hand on Betty's shoulder as they left the basement and slowly ascended the stairs. "Leave the logistics to them. Betty, I need you to help me buy a construction company. I want to renovate this manor and the Pent Group building."

His vision for the Pent Group's underground base required extensive construction. Relying entirely on robots wasn't realistic, so owning a construction company would help ensure maximum confidentiality.

….

patreon.com/Vks_sh