The end of the year 2000 marked both the turn of the century and the turn of the millennium; this was originally just a unique number in the calendar, but it ended up giving rise to a large number of monsters and demons.

Evil cult legends such as "the end of the millennium is the end of the world" are flourishing everywhere, harvesting IQ taxes everywhere in this special year - the content of the harvest includes but is not limited to money, property, physical beauty, and even life.

This behavior, which makes the demons in hell marvel and sneer at it, is, from a certain perspective, a successful practice of Social Darwinism, and it has eliminated a part of the society's people who lack intelligence and knowledge.

When Lucifer received the visiting writer, he ridiculed this phenomenon.

Lin You was puzzled: "Logically speaking, shouldn't you demons come out and stir up trouble at this time? Why did a group of scammers take the initiative?"

"Fools who believe such nonsense have souls that even the devil despises." Lucifer revealed the truth while tipsy. "We like two kinds of souls the most: those who pursue their interests with all their might, or those who completely abandon their interests. As for other souls, it's better than nothing. As for pure fools, they are just leftovers that we are too lazy to pick up even if they are thrown to us."

"Then how do you distinguish between 'noble' and 'foolish'? In many people's mouths, there is no difference between the two."

Lucifer smiled, "Do you really think so? Aren't these two types of behavior clearly distinguishable in the eyes of normal people? It's just that most people don't say it. If there are people who can't tell the difference between the two, they are really a bunch of 'leftovers'."

The writer laughed out loud to prove that he was not the same kind of person as the "leftovers".

Wine is a good thing. When you drink enough, some things will be easier to say. For example, Lin You asked directly: "Why did you take the initiative to invite me to meet you, and also take the initiative to fulfill the contract? Except when collecting souls, I have never seen a devil so proactive about a contract."

"Hey, I'm Lucifer, and I have my pride!"

"I remember clearly that your pride is limited to not telling lies; but lying does not mean that you are a good person, nor does it mean that you are reliable."

Lucifer was stunned for a long while, and said to himself angrily: "I am so embarrassed now. I have to ask that one-eyed man for more benefits after suffering such a big loss."

Lin You's eyes flickered: "This 'one-eyed dragon' you are talking about, could it be the one-eyed dragon I know?"

"Do you know many one-eyed people?"

"On a."

"I do know a lot of them, but there's probably only one person who can be related to you." Lucifer raised his hand lazily, and a side door of the bar opened without wind.

Lin You looked at the shadow that appeared behind the door and taunted him mercilessly, "Magic is a very old trick, but considering the identity of the performer, I can still give it three points out of five. This includes two points for Lucifer waving his hand to open the door. That move is cooler than any magician in the world."

A dark shadow walked in from behind the door and came to the bar where the writer and the fallen angel were drinking.

The magician who could make Count Goff show respect must be of a different status; the director of SHIELD himself had to show respect. Lin You was not surprised by the appearance of Nick Fury; considering the personalities and occupations of the characters, the first "newcomer" to have an intersection with the Forresters after the fusion of the worlds would most likely be the director of SHIELD who was responsible for monitoring the world's supernatural affairs.

What really surprised Lin You was that the other party actually contacted him through Lucifer, and came so early.

"How did you get involved with him?" Lin You ignored the tall and burly black man in front of him and looked at Lucifer with sleepy eyes.

"What do you mean by hooking up?" The fallen angel was very dissatisfied. "There has always been a deal between the devil and humans..."

Lin You's eyes lit up: "Congratulations, Nick Fury's soul... although it can't be considered one of the top two, it's definitely not leftovers. The most famous director of S.H.I.E.L.D., no matter what the quality is, at least it has collection value."

"I'm sorry to ruin the Count's good mood, but my soul is not part of the deal." Seeing that the two people present didn't take him seriously, Nick Fury had to take the initiative to speak up and show his presence.

Lin You opened his drunken eyes and glared at Lucifer: "The deal between humans and the devil doesn't involve souls? Where is the art of your deal? Don't you think this kind of deal is soulless?"

He looked stern, as if he was more disappointed than Lucifer himself.

"You also said that he is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his identity is crucial. How dare I take his soul?" Lucifer defended himself. His words were vague and only Lin You could understand.

"The key is S.H.I.E.L.D., not Nick Fury. The position of S.H.I.E.L.D. director can be filled by anyone else!" Lin You said in a furious tone, "Even if you are worried, you can postpone the time of collecting souls! Twenty or thirty years, the story about him should have ended long ago. Wouldn't it be okay to collect his souls then?"

Lucifer was stunned, and then he regretted it greatly: "I was thinking about something else!"

"You're not mistaken, you're just scared - scared of your father!" Lin You rolled his eyes.

"I declare again, I am not afraid, and I am not afraid! I am the proud Lucifer." As the embodiment of "arrogance", Lucifer cannot accept the adjective "afraid" no matter what.

"Isn't your denial now out of 'arrogance'?"

"You two, you two, calm down." Seeing that the two parties were getting more and more angry and were about to drop everything and have a quarrel, Nick Fury had to bite the bullet and step out to "mediate the quarrel" to avoid the meeting opportunity that he had worked so hard to get to end in vain.

A count who was respected by Ms. Peggy Carter, and a fallen angel, the master of hell; standing between the two to "mediate the quarrel", Mr. Fury said that he was under a lot of pressure, and cold sweat had already seeped out of his round, black forehead. The director didn't even understand what the two were arguing about.

Nick Fury couldn't understand why Lucifer "dared not" take the soul of the Director of SHIELD? What was "the story about him"? And why "the story ended after 20 or 30 years"?
Although he often shows a tough attitude to the outside world, Nick Fury is not a fool without self-awareness; he would never think that the title of director of S.H.I.E.L.D. alone can make the master of hell afraid of him.

If the Director of SHIELD really has such a high profile, how could these two people in front of him treat him as if he doesn't exist and just quarrel with each other?

"Let's put off discussing my life story for later; after all, I have a say in it, don't I?" Nick Fury racked his brains and tried his best to intervene in the conversation. As a result, he was met with two cold stares as soon as he opened his mouth.

Your story was written with a quill pen. Originally, you had nothing to do with this world. If you don't even know where you came from, how can you have a say?
However, with this interruption, the quarrel between Lin You and Lucifer was also interrupted.

"If he doesn't take souls, what deal can you make with him?" Count Goff still ignored Nick Fury and asked the fallen angel.

"Trouble! He... or should I say SHIELD can help me avoid a lot of annoying little troubles." Lucifer's tone was nonchalant and straightforward, "I have opened a new bar in Los Angeles; you know, thanks to you, there will be a lot of excitement on the other side of the Atlantic.

So, I really need someone to help me deal with some minor troubles on the street; even if it's just a group of ants, too many of them would be annoying, right? I'm different from you. You can hide your manor and territory out of the sight of the public, but my bar is open to do business. When I was in London, I had your people to help me deal with troubles. When I went to the United States, of course I had to find local snakes to help me. "

Lin You pretended to be angry: "Just for this? Just to deal with a little trouble, you betrayed me?"

"How can you call it betrayal? You can kill him hundreds of times with just a finger. I just facilitated your meeting. What harm can it do to you?" Lucifer argued.

"Your Lordship, I just want to talk to you about some matters concerning the cooperation between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Forresters, nothing else." Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel again, Nick Fury had to make his presence felt for the third time and tried his best to get himself involved in the conversation.

Thanks to the "unremitting efforts" of the Director of SHIELD, Count Goff finally turned his attention to him, but his expression and tone were still not good.

"Just to meet me, you're willing to make a deal with the devil in hell? Why does it sound like I've turned into a villain or something like that?"

Nick Fury explained helplessly: "That's because since I took over as the director of SHIELD, SHIELD has sent formal letters to invite His Excellency the Earl to meet for six consecutive times in the past two years, but there has been no response. The most recent time, we even had to break political conventions and ask the British royal family to help us pass on the official document, but the result was still in vain."

"You also know that it is an act that violates political conventions. The British royal family no longer interferes with any substantive power operations. You pass the documents of the intelligence agencies through the royal family. Of course, I will not respond. As a close friend of the royal family for two centuries, the Forrest family must consider protecting the reputation of the royal family." Earl Goff spoke righteously, but deliberately only mentioned the last handover of documents, and directly "omitted" the previous five invitations.

Listening to Lin You's diplomatic rhetoric, Nick Fury's anger grew; even a clay man can have some temper, let alone the head of the world's largest intelligence agency?
Just taking a look at Lucifer who was drinking with him next to him, the Director of SHIELD had to suppress his anger.

"The cooperation between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Forresters has a long history. In the past, the cooperation between the two parties was handled by Ms. Carter. But now that Ms. Carter has retired, I think it is necessary for the two parties to communicate - at least let the new contacts of both parties get to know each other, right?"

Nick Fury dared to swear that he had said more soft words today than in the past two years combined. Although he was angry, he had to do it; facing a man who could drink with fallen angels and the master of hell, he had to be cautious when dealing with him and must not be driven by emotions.

"Okay, tell me the new contact at SHIELD, including the contact information. By the way, I have to remind you not to change contacts frequently. I don't like meeting strangers often." Lin You said casually.

"So, we are the only ones who can provide the contact person?" Nick Fury asked in confusion, "Where is your contact person and contact information?"

"You seem to have misunderstood the way we work together, Mr. Director." Faced with the question, Lin You didn't even bother to raise his eyes, "This is how Ms. Carter and I work together. If there is any problem in the British wizarding world, I will inform Ms. Carter if I think it is necessary; but I will not ask about any problems that arise on the SHIELD side. I am different from you. I am not overly curious about matters that have nothing to do with me."

Nick Fury's one eye widened, as if he was deeply hurt by Lin You's words. He held his breath for a long time before uttering, "I think the world situation today is very different from the past. I'm afraid the old way of cooperation can't keep up with the changes in the situation."

"So, you think this way of cooperation is no longer appropriate?" Lin You asked with a smile.

Nick Fury felt that the other person's smile was full of ill intentions, so for a moment he could only bite the bullet and agree, "It's really not appropriate, so..."

"So since it's no longer appropriate, let's just end it completely." Lin You interrupted the SHIELD director and his suggestion almost made the one-eyed dragon swear. "Why do you look like you disagree?"

"What I mean is that both sides should change the way of cooperation - a closer and deeper way of cooperation, so as to cope with the complex changes in the world situation." Nick Fury resisted the urge to curse and finished his words while biting his back teeth.

Lin You asked back with a fake smile: "Can the cooperation method you mentioned be called 'annexation' in another way?"

"Of course... of course not!" For some reason, Nick Fury suddenly felt uneasy when he looked at Lin You. An inexplicable fear made him subconsciously deny the other party's words.

"It's better if it's not true, it's better if it's not true!" Lin You's tone was inexplicably deep. "Your predecessor, Mr. Pierce, made a similar attempt, and the result... I can only say it was very hurtful. Ms. Carter almost used up all the favors she had made with Steve Rogers to calm the incident. If you don't know the specific situation, you can go and verify it with Mr. Pierce. I believe he will not do anything similar to hurt feelings in the future."

Nick Fury's face darkened, and he remained silent for a long time; he realized that there were major omissions in his prior intelligence, and it was probably the result of deliberate concealment by his trusted superiors and predecessors.

"I will ask Pierce for confirmation, but I also hope to have the opportunity to meet with His Excellency the Earl again."

"Let's talk about it when necessary. I rarely pay attention to things that have nothing to do with me." Lin You was already "drunk" and seemed to have no idea what he was saying. "You have to know that favors are something that you use up every time. There is not much left to waste." (End of this chapter)