HYDRA Base

Chen Mo gathered his thoughts and walked up to Red Skull's vehicle.

It was a Six-Wheel Off-Road Sports Car built with HYDRA's cutting-edge black technology. Its pitch-black exterior looked heavy and imposing, while its sleek, streamlined body contained surging power and astonishing speed. Its reinforced chassis and six-wheel drive also gave it considerable off-road capability.

Opening the door, Chen Mo climbed into the back seat with the wooden box containing the Cosmic Cube and the longsword in his arms. "You! Soldier, can you drive?" Chen Mo asked, pointing at a soldier standing guard nearby.

The chosen soldier looked at Chen Mo with fanatical devotion. He was clearly another pitiful victim brainwashed by Red Skull. Hearing Chen Mo's question, he shouted excitedly, "Yes, sir!"

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Then you drive. Take us back to base."

Not knowing the way himself, Chen Mo sat leisurely in the back while the HYDRA soldier drove them back to the HYDRA Norway Base.

HYDRA's Norway Base was located in the southeastern part of the Scandinavian Mountains, where the terrain was treacherous and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

After entering the mountains, the car followed a concealed road hidden within the dense forest and returned to the base. It stopped in front of the base building. Chen Mo handed the wooden box to the soldier, then got out with the longsword in hand.

"Take it to my office."

Following the HYDRA soldier leading the way, Chen Mo returned to Red Skull Schmidt's office. He gestured for the soldier to place the box on the desk, then examined the HYDRA soldier who had driven and guided him here.

He was a typical Germanic Youth—blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, and powerfully built. His young face was filled with reverence and fanaticism. Being able to approach the leader he worshipped, "Red Skull," at such close range and serve him under his orders made him feel incomparably honored and proud.

"Tell me your name, soldier," Chen Mo asked in Red Skull's deep voice.

"John Wolf! Sir!" the young soldier answered loudly and excitedly. To have the leader ask his name was the greatest recognition he could receive.

"Very good, John. From now on, you will be my Guard." Chen Mo did not yet understand this place well, so having someone to drive and guide him would be much more convenient. Moreover, from Chen Mo's observations, John was a pure soldier who only knew how to obey orders and worshipped Red Skull with blind devotion. Even if Chen Mo did something unusual, John would not become suspicious.

After dismissing the excited John, Chen Mo began going through the documents in Schmidt's office one by one.

After some time spent learning and cautiously probing, especially with John's unreserved trust and assistance, Chen Mo had basically grasped the situation at the base. He was no longer completely in the dark, and HYDRA's true strength had been fully revealed before him.

As a secret research organization under **, HYDRA had long ceased to be merely a research organization after years of development under the ambitious Red Skull Schmidt. Aside from its core research divisions and secret bases scattered throughout Europe, HYDRA also possessed an enormous intelligence network and a powerful Mechanized Legion.

In truth, HYDRA was more like a religion. Red Skull had the final say in everything, and no one dared raise any objection.

The various bases mainly served as production and research facilities for weapons of war such as Armored Cars, tanks, and aircraft, and each was staffed with large numbers of mechanized troops.

The weapons manufactured by HYDRA were far more technologically advanced than those of the United States. Its soldiers were firm in their beliefs and fearless in the face of death, so HYDRA's forces were also extremely formidable.

Even so, according to the original plot, HYDRA's many bases across Europe would still all be destroyed under the attacks of the Howling Commandos led by Captain America. This showed just how powerful the Super Soldier Serum was, allowing individual combat strength to surpass that of an army.

And even without Captain America, the Allied Powers would never let HYDRA go. The only difference would be the price they had to pay.

Chen Mo had no intention of leading HYDRA into a head-on struggle against the entire world. He was neither Red Skull nor Hitler, and he had no ambition to rule the world. Besides, HYDRA's strength was not enough to oppose the entire world. Chen Mo was not insane enough to try to blow up every city in the world like Red Skull.

He was only a passerby here. Everything he did was merely to strengthen himself, to deal with the crises of the real world, and to better establish his own power there.

With the world's great powers joining forces, Hitler's defeat was only a matter of time. HYDRA, too, could not escape the fate of being devastated and forced into hiding. Since Chen Mo had no intention of fighting head-on, he naturally had other plans.

In the base control center, Chen Mo carefully studied the Norway Map hanging on the wall.

Norway lay at the northernmost edge of Europe, on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It was long and narrow from north to south, with a lengthy, winding coastline. Though geographically advantageous, Norway was a weak country with a simple domestic situation and a population of fewer than three million. With HYDRA's strength, it could easily take control of the entire country from the shadows.

The Scandinavian Mountains ran through all of Norway. To the west lay the Atlantic Ocean, while the Arctic Ocean bordered it to the north. The mountains were steep, with glaciers covering parts of the region. In the west, sheer mountains pressed directly against the coast, and numerous fjords connected to the Atlantic Ocean. They were secluded and difficult to find, making them an ideal place to establish a base.

Chen Mo planned to abandon more than half of HYDRA's existing bases and consolidate its forces, retaining only the three most concealed bases with the best strategic locations, including the Alps Headquarters. He would also build a new underground base that was even more hidden, even larger, and connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

Once Germany was defeated, HYDRA's many bases in Europe would sooner or later be lost. It would be better to abandon them voluntarily than let the Allies destroy them, preserving their strength instead.

Although the current Norway Base had been built in the mountains, it was near the southeast and not by the sea. It lacked sufficient strategic depth and was not concealed enough.

After dispatching personnel to conduct an on-site survey, Chen Mo chose a precipitous mountain peak more than 1,800 meters high near the West Coast in the northern mountains.

To the east stretched snow-covered mountain ranges, while towering cliffs rose to the west above deep fjords. The base would be constructed deep within the mountain's interior, using hundreds of meters of rock to conceal and protect it. Aside from a hidden passage for submarines and ships beneath the cliffs in the fjord, as well as an aircraft passage concealed in the mountainside, several secret tunnels buried dozens of meters underground would connect to hidden locations in the distance for personnel and supplies to enter and leave.

This Top-Secret Base would become HYDRA's new headquarters, housing all of HYDRA's core departments and the vast majority of its military strength. Its scale would far surpass that of the other bases, and the entire project would be enormous.

With the location chosen, vast quantities of resources and equipment began to be mobilized. A large number of capable personnel were selected and secretly sent deep into the northern mountains, where construction of the Top-Secret Base was proceeding at full speed.

At this time, Chen Mo was receiving Dr. Zola in the base control center. Dr. Zola had arrived from the Alps Headquarters. HYDRA's chief scientist, an expert in biology and mechanics, and Red Skull Schmidt's capable assistant—though now, naturally, he was Chen Mo's subordinate.

"Has all the equipment been delivered, Dr. Zola?" Chen Mo asked coldly from behind the desk.

"The equipment for researching the Cosmic Cube has all arrived. The rest will be delivered soon," Dr. Zola replied. Standing in the middle of the room, he seemed somewhat at a loss. He felt that "Schmidt," who had gone out to search for the Cosmic Cube, had become even more inscrutable after not seeing him for some time.

"Then begin your research. I hope to see results as soon as possible. Do not keep me waiting too long." Chen Mo's deep, icy voice entered Dr. Zola's ears, making him shudder.

"Yes... yes, I'll go right away." Dr. Zola turned to leave.

"You forgot this." Chen Mo pushed the box on the desk forward and spoke coldly, though inwardly he felt a little helpless. Had I overdone the act? Dr. Zola is my most important research talent. It would not do to frighten him too badly.

Chen Mo had tried putting the Cosmic Cube into his storage space, only to discover that it could not be stored at all. Perhaps its own immense spatial power exceeded the storage space's capacity.

Any further research would have to be left to Dr. Zola. In the original plot, he had successfully converted the Cosmic Cube's energy and developed energy weapons.

After Dr. Zola left carrying the box, Chen Mo picked up a document from the desk. Written on its cover were the words: "Super Soldier Project."

This was what concerned Chen Mo most at present. It was tied to his safety after returning to the real world.