Chapter 22: Going to S.H.I.E.L.D
Daisy thought for a moment. If she contacted Nick Fury, things would be easier, but she didn't want to owe that soy-marinated egg any favours. In the end, she decided to find a solution on her own.
Putting her mind to work, she quickly came up with an idea. "Here's the plan: we'll target medium to large companies with our advertising and make a name for ourselves."
"We'll create and distribute promotional materials that showcase our ideas and product applications to various companies. The content of the brochures doesn't really matter; the key is to apply fluorescent materials to the surface of the pages so that users can see them even at night."
"Imagine this: our initial promotional materials might not be taken seriously. However, when some executive is working late or heading home and sees our fluorescent ad in the darkness, what would they think? Wouldn't they pick it up and take a look? Even if they don't need our service, wouldn't it leave an impression? This is our opportunity!" Daisy declared confidently.
The others pondered for a moment, realising that what she described could indeed happen.
"This is a good idea. Did you come up with it? You really understand human psychology," James Wesley's tone carried a hint of surprise.
Daisy accepted the praise calmly. She wasn't about to reveal that it came from a creative idea in a men's magazine from July 2011.
"Analyse data, establish a vast network based on data in the complex modern society. Every person, every event, detailed here, and we have control over, analyse, and manage everything. This is a completely new field. We have broad prospects, and who knows, in the future, we might even be able to manipulate presidential elections!" Daisy confidently asserted.
The others didn't comment on her bold statement and started preparing for their tasks.
David continued to optimise the program and streamline algorithms.
James Wesley took charge of building the company, handling many external affairs that required his attention. After all, his image best fit the template of a business elite.
Miss Matsumoto contacted many printing and chemical factories. The distribution of promotional materials had to be carefully controlled, and they needed to undergo various toxicology tests. With her legal background, Miss Matsumoto was the perfect fit for this task.
Meanwhile, Daisy personally visited the head of a church school. After expressing gratitude for the school's help over the years, she donated ten thousand dollars as educational funds. Following her request, the head of the school used their connections to expedite the approval process for the brochure.
Everything was conducted reasonably and legally. They were just inserting themselves in line to have their products checked.
A week later, the promotional materials were sent to major companies. With Nick Fury's selfless sponsorship of fifty thousand dollars, they were left with a little over ten thousand dollars.
Three days later, their first consulting task came in.
A medium-sized chain of fast-food restaurants had recently introduced a series of new combo meals. They had approached several consulting firms to investigate customer satisfaction with the new offerings.
Traditional methods required a lot of manpower and resources, involving random surveys, questionnaire completion, data compilation, and analysis, among other things.
Skye Data Analytics, Ltd. had minimal costs. They collected and processed information from various social forums and Twitter, quickly producing a relatively accurate figure. The algorithm further summarised and organised the user dissatisfaction, listing the most frequently mentioned points.
Daisy and her team were responsible for data collection only. How to improve the offerings was up to the business owners.
When James Wesley, dressed impeccably, submitted the report to the client, they were astonished by the speed.
Another company that had also taken on the survey had just begun comparing user feedback, while Daisy's team had already completed their assignment.
It was almost unbelievable. Yet, the analysis report from Skye Data Analytics, Ltd. coincided with their own operating report in several aspects.
After adjusting the combo meals according to the survey results on the same day, their revenue increased by three percentage points compared to the previous period. The delighted manager terminated the contract with the other firm and paid Skye Data a full commission of seventy-five thousand dollars.
The money came in quite easily, and the cost was just a bit of electricity.
Over the next week, Skye Data received two more smaller contracts, earning them fifty thousand and sixty-five thousand dollars respectively.
Everything was falling into place, and positive word-of-mouth was spreading within a small circle.
Several other consulting firms with similar services had started to take notice of them. While they wouldn't hire corporate spies over a few tens of thousands of dollars, they still needed to be cautious. Daisy had finally made up her mind to study at S.H.I.E.L.D. She believed that regardless of what the future held, she needed to have this knowledge.
After further dividing their tasks, Daisy began preparing to head to S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury hadn't told her the exact location; however, finding it wouldn't be too difficult, to be honest.
The headquarters of S.W.O.R.D. was situated on Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C. The building complex occupied more than half of the island and rose to a height of three hundred meters. Imagining Captain America leaping from the middle of the building, Daisy couldn't help but marvel. Using her seismic abilities to counter gravity and slowly descend was manageable, but a hard leap? That physical attribute wasn't something she possessed.
Fury had mentioned the name S.H.I.E.L.D. before. A normal person could analyse the result just by looking at the abbreviation for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. However, Daisy knew the result directly without analysis.
On the weekend, she changed into a checkered shirt, jeans, sneakers, and sunglasses. Carrying a backpack, she drove to Washington, D.C.
She glanced at the Washington Monument, Capitol Building, and White House, but she didn't pay much attention. These landmark buildings had been blown up countless times in various movies and TV shows, so there wasn't much novelty.
The environment here was pleasant, with lush trees and fresh air. Tourists and locals were scattered around, reading or chatting in pairs, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
Driving northeast along the Lincoln Memorial, Daisy was soon stopped by a sentry post along the riverside.
After showing the magnetic card provided by Fury, her identity was verified, and she was allowed to pass.
People could enter, but her second-hand car couldn't.
Daisy didn't waste words and parked the car in another parking lot. There were plenty of luxury cars around, and her old Ford was practically an antique in comparison. She called her maid and asked her to come and sell the car when she had time. After all, Fury had promised her a new car.
Carrying her backpack and registering again, she walked along the bridge.
Scanners, electronic eyes, radar, and other devices swept past her. When they detected her identity card, the scanning ceased.
She was the only one on the bridge. There were no attractive senior sisters welcoming newcomers, and no senior brothers helping with luggage. She walked into this quiet and peaceful little island alone.
Following the path, making left and right turns, she walked for an hour until her view suddenly opened up.
The massive Triskelion building occupied more than half of the island. The building appeared to be three hundred meters high. Imagining Captain America leaping from the middle of the building, Daisy couldn't help but exclaim. While she could use her seismic abilities to counter gravity and land slowly, a hard jump? That was an attribute she didn't possess.
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