Chapter 62

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It wasn't that Natasha Romanoff's self-control had weakened; it was simply that the value of this gift was shockingly high.

"What is this thing?" Natasha Romanoff, who had quickly regained her composure, asked as she took out a small test tube containing a pale purple liquid from the gift box.

"Exactly, it's that, and it's even a high-grade one." Liu Rui'an, knowing that the other party understood, said with a smile.

"High-grade?"

Natasha Romanoff, who clearly understood what this meant, appeared calm on the surface, but the emotional waves inside her betrayed her true feelings.

Ever since Phil Coulson brought back samples of the gene optimization fluid from Umbrella Technology, or rather, Umbrella Biopharmaceuticals at that time, Natasha Romanoff, as a senior agent, had given it sufficient attention.

It was impossible not to pay attention. As a user of the variant serum derived from the Super Soldier Serum, Natasha Romanoff knew very well what such a similar, no, even stronger gene optimization fluid meant in all aspects.

Especially when Phil Coulson, a colleague who was not known for his combat skills, underwent a transformation after receiving the intermediate gene optimization fluid, it made Natasha Romanoff have some different thoughts.

Even though the variant Super Soldier Serum had given her extraordinary physical abilities, for a senior agent who had experienced countless life-and-death situations, Natasha Romanoff did not mind becoming even stronger.

To some extent, her quick acceptance of the date invitation, besides the needs of the mission, was partly due to this reason.

But Natasha Romanoff never expected that something she thought would be very difficult to obtain would be so easily given to her.

And it wasn't just the basic or intermediate gene optimization fluid, but the high-grade gene optimization fluid, which even S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have samples of.

"Are you sure this is a gift for me?" Natasha Romanoff, suddenly feeling the small test tube in her hand as if it were scalding, asked.

"Of course." Liu Rui'an, shrugging, said with a smile, "Otherwise, why do you think I was late? You know, this thing is hidden very well by someone."

Although Natasha Romanoff also believed that the high-grade gene optimization fluid in her hand was obtained from someone, she never expected the other party to use such a method.

"You mean, you 'took' this from him?" Natasha Romanoff, emphasizing the word 'took,' asked.

"To be more precise, I 'borrowed' it." Liu Rui'an, emphasizing the word 'borrowed,' replied.

Faced with such an answer, even Natasha Romanoff's calm expression couldn't help but turn dark.

It was impossible for anyone to feel good when they discovered that the gift they received, especially such a precious one, was actually 'stolen' and specifically for them.

"Borrow? What do you plan to use to pay it back?" Natasha Romanoff, showing no emotional波动 on the surface, put the high-grade gene optimization fluid back into the gift box and asked with a smile.

"Come on, what else, keep working for him, anyway, I already owe him a lot, one more time doesn't matter," Liu Rui'an, hearing the teasing in her words, shamelessly replied.

Well, Natasha Romanoff admitted that she was defeated by this powerful reason.

However, for this gift, the senior agent couldn't bring herself to refuse it at all.

"Tell me, what do you really want?" Natasha Romanoff, knowing that this gift wasn't so easy to accept, asked.

"If I say I just want to spend a charming evening with you, would you believe me?" Liu Rui'an, constantly eyeing her 'ice cream,' said with a smile.

"If I say I believe you, would you believe me?" Natasha Romanoff, not answering, countered.

Faced with such a response, Liu Rui'an, who was very clear that playing mind games with the Black Widow was just asking for trouble, straightforwardly smiled and said:

"My request is simple, help me with something without harming Nick Fury, how about that?"

"Why not S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Natasha Romanoff, her eyes narrowing instantly, asked.

"Ha ha... S.H.I.E.L.D. can also, but if I can only choose one, which would you choose?" Liu Rui'an, not answering the question, smiled and countered.

What seemed like an ordinary sentence, but to Natasha Romanoff's ears, it was far more shocking than the fact that someone had 'borrowed' the gene optimization fluid for her.

It was impossible for Natasha Romanoff to not know that the one who truly made her work for him was not S.H.I.E.L.D., but Nick Fury.

And this, only Nick Fury knew.

Thinking about this, Natasha Romanoff immediately understood where the high-grade gene optimization fluid in her hand came from, and said:

"It seems the person who prepared this gift isn't you, is it?"

Although it was a question, the meaning was very clear.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Liu Rui'an, indirectly admitting it, took out another gift box from his pocket and handed it to her, saying:

"This is the gift I prepared, I hope you like it."

Receiving two gifts from the same person during one date felt very strange.

When Natasha Romanoff opened the new gift box, she found that this gift was just a very exquisite and fashionable sapphire pendant.

Well, using "just" to describe it was a bit unfair.

This could be seen from the attention it drew when Natasha Romanoff picked it up.

Such a large and pure sapphire, even if it wasn't priceless, was certainly not cheap.

It was only because Liu Rui'an had arrived in an Audi RSQ supercar with the four-ring logo replaced by the Umbrella classic logo, and they were at one of the top restaurants in New York, that no one would think it was fake.

"Nice gift, I'll take it." After playing with the sapphire pendant for a while, Natasha Romanoff said.

Seeing the two gift boxes put into her bag, Liu Rui'an knew that the deal he had proposed had been accepted.

As for whether the high-grade gene optimization fluid would be taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. for reverse engineering, he wasn't worried at all.

It would be ridiculous for Natasha Romanoff to do that, knowing that Hydra had been infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades.

Seeing that one of the purposes of this trip had been achieved, Liu Rui'an naturally wouldn't ruin the mood by talking about the deal again. Instead, he snapped his fingers to call the waiter over and started ordering dishes.

It had to be admitted that the food at this top restaurant, though expensive and in small portions, was indeed delicious.

Though it might not suit Liu Rui'an's taste, it was at least very distinctive and the ingredients were carefully selected.

As the dishes were served one by one, the atmosphere at the table became quite harmonious, at least on the surface.

After the two finally finished their meal, Natasha Romanoff, at Liu Rui'an's invitation, got into the supercar that left the valet completely stunned.

"Please take us to the Metropolitan Opera House, no need to go too fast." Liu Rui'an, after letting the girl into the passenger seat, said as he got into the driver's seat.

"Route confirmed."

With the sweet voice of a young girl, the RSQ supercar slowly started at the restaurant entrance.

Sliding silently onto the road, it soon accelerated according to the pre-set optimal route.

Looking at the sci-fi interior, Natasha Romanoff, sitting in the passenger seat, calmed down.

It was a joke, considering she owned a small spaceship, what was a supercar representing advanced technology?

Not to mention, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, cars with artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and glass screen displays were not uncommon.

At most, this car looked cooler, and in terms of value, it might not even be as high as the large, black SUV that Nick Fury drove.

With the Protoss as the navigator, the RSQ supercar smoothly arrived at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Seeing that she was the only person in the entire theater, Natasha Romanoff knew that the place had been booked out.

What made the Black Widow both amused and unsurprised was that when the opera started, the stage was performing an oratorio.

An oratorio can be summarized as "a vocal suite with religious sacred nature, mainly based on Christian religious classics or Christian folk literature, composed of small or large-scale works."

An oratorio, also known as a "passion," originated in Italy at the end of the 16th century. The earliest oratorio was born in 1600, initially focusing on secular themes, later expanding to religious areas.

An oratorio is very close to an opera, with characters and events, mainly composed of overtures, recitatives, arias, and choruses. The difference is that an oratorio lacks dramatic action and performance, and the choruses are not only numerous and large-scale but also central to the entire work.

When Natasha Romanoff discovered that she was the only person in the entire venue, she had already guessed that a big shot would likely perform on stage.

But when Liu Rui'an officially took the stage, she was still shocked by his image as a half-naked angel with a pair of holy wings.

Especially when he gently flapped his wings and floated in the air, Natasha Romanoff managed to remain calm, but the other performers on stage were completely stunned by the live angel before them.

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