Help from Umbrella Corporation

Help from Umbrella Corporation

Hydra had a long history, but from ancient times to the present, they had never changed their obsession with supernatural powers and their pursuit of items from myths and legends. Some of those things were nothing more than baseless rumors, but others truly existed. Based on Norse Mythology, Red Skull found the Cosmic Cube in Northern Europe and used its power to create weapons capable of conquering the world. And one of his disciples, Daniel Howitzer, had once possessed such an item as well: he had acquired the Kree Obelisk.

In ancient times, a group of radical Kree warmongers came to Earth. The Kree Empire was fighting a prolonged war, and with the front lines under pressure and casualties mounting, they urgently needed a large number of expendable troops to throw into the fray. They genetically modified the humans of that era, causing them to mutate and gain special powers, so they could be sent to the front as consumables. However, the project was stopped by other Kree factions while it was still in the experimental stage.

But the key item the Kree used to modify Earthlings—the Obelisk they called the Seer—was left behind on Earth. Hydra found it, and Red Skull called it a weapon capable of changing the world. He later entrusted it to Howitzer for safekeeping and research. Later, Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos under her command wiped out both the item and Howitzer's Austrian branch in one sweep.

Howitzer had become utterly obsessed with the Obelisk's power. He did not know its true purpose, but he was certain it could be used to create weapons of mass destruction. For nearly sixty years, he had wanted to recover it, but his wish had never been fulfilled.

"You know about that thing?" Howitzer's voice trembled slightly. The matter concerned the Obelisk he had dreamed of for so long, and it made him nervous.

"If you mean the Obelisk, then I believe I do." Evenson nodded with a smile.

"Who are you?" Once he confirmed that Evenson was indeed talking about the Obelisk, Howitzer finally took an interest in his identity. Anyone who knew of this matter and brazenly claimed he could offer help was no ordinary person.

"Let me introduce myself again." Evenson extended his hand once more. "Albert Wiske, executive of Umbrella Corporation."

Umbrella Corporation? He had never heard of it. Howitzer briefly considered the unfamiliar name, only to realize that he had not the slightest intelligence on the company. But none of that mattered. All he cared about now was how the other party intended to help him obtain the Obelisk. Sixty years of waiting had been far too long.

"Then, Mr. Wiske, how do you and your company intend to help us?" Howitzer's tone was now much more polite than before.

"If I said I could provide the Obelisk's location, I doubt you'd be interested." Evenson stated the truth. Howitzer indeed knew where the Obelisk was. "But since you know the location, why haven't you gone and taken it back?"

"There is a US Army division stationed there," Howitzer said. Knowing the location did not mean they could retrieve it. The special military warehouse containing the Obelisk was located within the grounds of a US Army division. Breaking through a division's defenses and going in to take the item was simply a fool's dream.

"So what you need is not intelligence, but strength." Evenson's words were tempting.

"Strength? Strength to fight a US Army division? Heh heh heh..." Howitzer laughed despite himself. It was simply too ridiculous. What did a US Army division have? Nearly thirty thousand fully armed US Soldiers, along with armed helicopters, artillery, armored vehicles, and tanks. Go head-to-head with them? If you were that amazing, why didn't you just fly into the sky?

"Mr. Howitzer, I believe you've made a mistake." Evenson smiled. "We don't need to deal with an entire US Army division."

"There is indeed a US Army division stationed there, but not all of them are guarding that warehouse." Evenson analyzed the situation. "Under normal circumstances, only two companies are assigned to guard it. And if you infiltrate at night, after you are discovered, it will take them five minutes to assemble and reach the warehouse. During that time, you only need to deal with scattered sentries. If they exchange fire with you for a while and realize they cannot take you down, they will request reinforcements. By the time the reinforcements arrive, your operation should have been underway for twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes isn't enough." After hearing Evenson's analysis, Howitzer shook his head. Sending an elite squad to infiltrate was feasible, and holding off two companies for twenty minutes was possible. But in twenty minutes, let alone whether they could find the Obelisk, even if they did, how would they withdraw? If they could not get out, it would all be pointless.

"Let me finish. Reinforcements will arrive after twenty minutes, but how many will they send? To deal with a single infiltrating squad?" Evenson rolled his neck. "At most, another two companies. And if you can keep holding on, by the time they call for more reinforcements, your operation will probably have been underway for an hour."

The US Army had its pride, too. Four companies amounted to the strength of a reinforced battalion. The enemy was merely an infiltrating squad of a little over twenty men—would they really have the nerve to request reinforcements? By the time they truly admitted they could not handle it and swallowed their pride to ask for help, an hour would likely have passed.

"An hour is enough to fight a small-scale positional battle. Tell me, Mr. Howitzer, would that be enough?" Evenson asked.

"The time would indeed be enough, but how could we possibly withstand an attack from four companies of US Soldiers?" Howitzer felt that it sounded nice, but it was only talk. A single squad holding off a reinforced US Army battalion was unrealistic no matter how he looked at it.

"That is why you need our help." If you could do it yourselves, why would I be here? "I can help you buy that hour."

"How?" Howitzer was deeply curious about the other party's methods. He considered many possibilities, only to reject them all. For example, providing a large number of combat personnel—but since this was an infiltration, there could not be too many people. A little over twenty was just right; thirty would not be able to get in. Crippling their communications? That would not help much either. Once gunfire started, would they even need communications? Even an idiot would know something had happened. Without knowing the details, the other units might even send more troops.

"If there cannot be many infiltrators, then the only way to delay them for an hour is to improve the quality of the infiltration personnel." Evenson took out a small bottle containing roughly one milliliter of thick green liquid and placed it on the table. "This can improve their quality."