"You mean use the 'Project TAHITI' as bait to lure them in?" Fury shook his head. "I actually considered this before, but it's not very practical... They already know we've brought you back, Doctor. They can probably guess that we've figured out their objective as well."
"In this situation, any move I make regarding 'Project TAHITI' will definitely put them on guard. They won't fall for it so easily."
Raymond chuckled. "So what if they're on guard?"
"Hm?" Fury wasn't sure what he meant.
"When I was a kid, I read some historical novels from China that my father collected. There was a strategist in one of them who said something that stuck with me. He said that there are two kinds of strategies. One is a hidden scheme, which relies on catching the enemy off guard. The other is an open scheme—where even if the enemy knows it's a trap, they still have no choice but to walk into it."
Raymond smiled. "A hidden scheme takes advantage of information asymmetry to strike unexpectedly. But an open scheme is different—it sets up a trap in plain sight, using the enemy's desires against them. As long as you have something the enemy desperately wants, they'll fall into the trap no matter what."
"And in this case, the 'Project TAHITI' information is something they really want to get their hands on. Even if they know it's a trap, they still have to take the risk."
"Whether you can catch them or not, Director, depends on how well you set up the trap."
Fury thought for a moment and quickly understood Raymond's point.
"Doctor, it looks like you really are back to full health," Fury raised an eyebrow, half-joking.
He had obviously taken Raymond's suggestion seriously.
Even the smartest people sometimes get stuck in their own way of thinking.
Fury had subconsciously assumed that if he used 'Project TAHITI' as bait, the mastermind behind the scenes would surely see through it.
He never underestimated his enemies.
But Raymond's reminder made him realize—the real issue wasn't whether the enemy saw through it, but whether he could design a trap capable of catching them regardless!
As for how to set it up, he hadn't figured that part out yet.
But with his experience, it wouldn't take long for him to come up with a solid plan.
"If we catch the mastermind, I owe you one," Fury said with a grin.
Just then, May came over with a tray of coffee. Hearing this, she said, "Sir, this isn't the first favor you owe the Doctor..."
Her blunt reminder made Fury remember that he had said the same thing when he had first recruited Raymond for 'Project TAHITI'.
That favor still hadn't been repaid, and now he was adding another.
Thinking about it, Fury could only force a chuckle to hide his embarrassment.
Raymond smiled and helped him. "Director, you just got stuck in a mental trap. Even without my reminder, you would've figured it out eventually. No need to owe me anything."
"Then I won't argue," Fury said seriously. "Until we find the mastermind, you'll need to stay at headquarters. Here, at least, they won't dare come after you so easily, and we can guarantee your safety."
"Stay at headquarters?" Raymond frowned slightly.
This wasn't quite what he had in mind.
He had wanted S.H.I.E.L.D. to help him leave the hospital in a legitimate way, sure—but staying locked up at headquarters? That wasn't much different from staying in the hospital.
Wouldn't that just mean moving from one prison to another?
Sure, S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was much freer than the hospital, but that still wasn't good enough for him.
Hill, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, seemed to notice the change in Raymond's expression. She suddenly suggested, "Doctor, you've been stuck in the hospital for a long time. You probably don't want to live such an idle life anymore. How about this—why not let him go to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy?"
Both Fury and Raymond turned to look at Hill.
"The Doctor is already a guest professor at the Academy. Only a small circle knows what happened to him, so his return wouldn't raise any suspicion."
She continued analyzing, "Besides, keeping him at headquarters for too long might seem strange to others. It could even lead to unnecessary misunderstandings..."
"That's why I think it would be a good solution to let him stay at the Academy for a while and teach some classes when he's free. Besides, the Academy has strong security."
Fury nodded. "That makes sense. What do you think, Doctor?"
"Between the two options, I prefer Hill's suggestion," Raymond said thoughtfully.
"Alright, then that's the plan. I'll notify the Academy," Fury decided.
This wasn't Raymond's ideal outcome, but it was much better than being stuck at headquarters.
Besides, it gave him a chance to experiment with how to gain more system rewards.
Back at the hospital, when he met Hill and May, the system had rated them as an A-Rank hero and a B-Rank hero, awarding him 50 and 30 exploration points, respectively.
This had surprised him.
Previously, when he encountered David and the Shadow King, the system's ratings had been easy to understand.
David was labeled as an S-Rank anti-hero, while the Shadow King was labeled as an A-Rank villain. It seemed to match their mutant classifications—David was a level 5 mutant, and the Shadow King was a level 4.
This method of grading made sense to Raymond.
Even Raina, whom he met later, was classified as a C-Rank villain, which wasn't surprising.
Even though she eventually awakened her Inhuman abilities through the Obelisk, her powers were only on par with a regular mutant, far weaker than David or the Shadow King.
But the system's evaluation of Hill and May had thrown him off.
As far as he knew, neither of them would ever gain superpowers, even in the future. They had no hidden "power potential."
Yet Hill was rated as A-Rank, just like the Shadow King, breaking Raymond's previous assumptions. The same applied to May's B-Rank rating.
That was when he started doubting his earlier theory about how the system worked.
But if Hill and May's ratings had only been surprising, then what happened when he met Fury completely shattered his assumptions.
Because the system had labeled Fury as an SS-Rank hero!
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