Aftermath

When Coulson entered Wesker's office, he felt the air thick with power and indifference. The atmosphere was solemn and highly confidential, making him feel a little tense.

"This seemed even more terrifying than the Director!"

Wesker sat behind a broad desk in a sharply tailored suit. His face was like an iron mask, cold and grim, his gaze revealing ruthlessness and decisiveness. His deep eyes seemed to conceal endless secrets and schemes.

Coulson could not deny that Wesker's appearance left a powerful impression on him. He sensed an extraordinary presence from Wesker, a force and authority that could not be ignored. Wesker stood ramrod straight, radiating confidence and fierce power.

However, Coulson could also sense an elusive mystery surrounding Wesker. His appearance was impossible to read, as though he hid countless unknown secrets.

Coulson pondered inwardly. Wesker did not look like someone easy to approach. His appearance gave off an impression of coldness and ruthlessness, as if he regarded the world and everyone in it with indifference. Yet beneath that indifference seemed to lie carefully considered wisdom and strategy.

Deep down, Coulson was filled with awe and curiosity toward Wesker. He wanted to know how this man controlled such a vast organization and manipulated so many power struggles and conspiracies from behind the scenes.

"Coulson. Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson decided to abandon the false identity he had used at the front desk and use his real one instead.

"Wesker." Wesker stood and shook Coulson's hand.

"So cold." Coulson felt the extreme chill of Wesker's skin.

After the two sat down, Coulson got straight to the point. "Mr. Wesker, we found an image of Umbrella Corporation's logo at a hotel that was the scene of an incident in Monaco. Although I know it may have nothing to do with you, I still need to come here and meet you according to procedure."

Wesker had long known the other man would come and had been waiting for this day. Looking at Coulson, who exuded such an approachable air, he could not help becoming interested in the person behind him.

Wesker nodded. "Agent Coulson, your efficiency is truly admirable. However, I hope you understand that Umbrella Corporation is not involved in any illegal activities. We are a legitimate company."

Coulson smiled faintly. He could sense the icy distance in Wesker's eyes, so he could only speak a little more firmly. "Mr. Wesker, I believe Umbrella Corporation is not involved in any illegal activities, but as an investigator, I must follow the clues and seek the truth. If you can provide any information beyond this logo image, I would be very grateful." Coulson's tone was resolute, his eyes filled with determination.

Wesker said calmly, "I also believe Agent Coulson will find the truth of the matter."

Their exchange could not be called good, but neither could it be called bad. After ending the conversation very directly, Coulson left the Umbrella Corporation building.

Inside Coulson's beloved car.

"Director, he's a difficult man. I can be certain he is connected to what happened at the hotel." Even now, Coulson could recall the powerful presence the man exuded.

"Come back and tell me in detail." Nick Fury quickly hung up.

On the other side, Melin had also come out of Hawke Group. She said to Nick Fury over the phone, "Director, they were very cooperative. I didn't find anything strange."

"Mm. Come back and we'll talk."

After hanging up, Nick Fury nodded to an agent passing by who greeted him.

"I know you're busy, but I still had to call you over."

Alexander Pierce personally opened the door for Nick Fury.

"Actually, I was planning to come by too." Nick Fury replied with a smile.

"Have a seat. When the finance department brings over the report later, you just need to sign it." Seeing Nick Fury's eyes light up, Alexander Pierce teased, "Hey, I said a lot on your behalf to the council before they approved it."

"Thanks, Alex."

"Although I know I shouldn't ask, I heard from the people below that the snake has appeared?" Pierce perched half-sitting on the edge of the desk and asked carefully.

"Mm, but we're still investigating it." Nick Fury looked at Pierce and admitted it without expression.

"Be careful."

Nick Fury nodded. He still had great respect for this former superior who had helped elevate him.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

A woman in uniform walked in and smiled at Nick Fury.

"Minister."

"Let our Director sign it." Pierce took out the pen clipped to his suit pocket, signed swiftly, and pushed it to Nick Fury.

Nick Fury nodded to the woman, took out his own pen and signed his name, then handed the report back to her.

The woman nodded to both men and left.

"Same time as usual." Pierce raised one finger at Nick Fury.

"You help me like this, I don't even know how to thank you." Nick Fury stood and patted Pierce's arm.

Pierce laughed and scolded, "Ha, you bastard. Just make sure you don't act too arrogantly on your next mission and get people filing complaints. I've got quite a pile of complaint letters about you people here."

After the two exchanged a few jokes, Pierce watched Nick Fury's departing back. His smile swiftly turned expressionless.

Hydra emergency meeting.

Electronic projection.

"I asked Nick Fury. They still haven't found our people, but we have already caught his attention. S.H.I.E.L.D. is investigating, and I noticed Nick Fury is taking this especially seriously." Pierce spoke after recalling the other man's agent skills, his expressionless facial control that revealed no emotion.

"I suddenly became interested in this company." Viper rested her high-heeled boots on the table and looked teasingly at Baron Strucker.

"Do you have a plan?" Arnim Zola, wearing a skin suit, asked expressionlessly.

"More or less." Viper played with her fingers without looking at Arnim Zola's skin suit.

"Anything else? If not, I'm leaving first." Without waiting for the others to finish, Baron Strucker immediately logged off.

The other two looked at Pierce.

"We may have underestimated their strength. They are very powerful, and we need a United Front. How about we exchange some supplies?" Pierce said to the two of them.

The skin suit's face suddenly rippled, then it said, "Is your plan about to begin?"

"More or less." Pierce did not intend to discuss the subject further with the skin suit.

"Your plan is actually quite interesting. Want me to add a few more safeguards for you?" The skin suit became interested and gestured for Pierce to hurry up and beg. Come on, beg me.

"No."

"Fine. I've also been planning to send some people over to your side for a little fun lately. We'll talk then. I'm out." Viper's projection quickly vanished.

"Pierce, contact me anytime if you're interested." The skin suit's face formed the expression of a signal before disappearing.

Time passed. The heroes of Hawke Group continued their acting careers while also serving as superheroes.

A group of children were excitedly describing their fantasies of saving the world alongside superheroes.

"I still think Iron Man is the coolest. Mechs are a man's romance. One person is an army. In the future, computers will control robots, and I alone will be able to do so many things." As the child spoke of saving people, a scene of a hero rescuing a beauty flashed through his mind. "You are my great hero." The rescued beauty kissed his cheek.

"Hehehehe."

"Bullshit. I think Electro is the strongest. He can fly, his whole body crackles with lightning, and he can fight both at range and up close. He's insanely cool, okay?"

"Super V is cool too. Did you see the recent trailer for 'Superhero: V'? The instant Super V raised his hand, the bullets the bad guys fired stopped right in front of the people he was protecting. When all those people looked at Super V's back in shock, that swagger was just fucking awesome."

The children chattered endlessly about the heroes they admired and the superpowers they longed to possess.

Until—

"Does anyone here like Translucent?"

Silence immediately fell.

Their faces flushed as they waved their hands and shook their heads. "No, no. Why would I like Translucent? He can only turn invisible, that's all."

"Heh." The invisible Translucent curled his lips nearby. A bunch of hypocritical kids—the only hard part of their bodies was down there.

Hawke Group.

"Boss." The secretary hurried into Nathan Hawke's office. Looking at her watching boss, she said, "Based on Rotten Apple's interest ratings, the response to the trailers for our three superhero films has been extremely enthusiastic. And all the advance tickets are sold out. The promotion for live-action superhero films with effects even more spectacular than special effects has completely exploded."

The secretary spoke excitedly, because she knew that only over this matter was she permitted to enter without notifying him first, while also taking the opportunity to see whether she could flaunt her beauty before her boss.

"Good. You've worked hard." Taking the documents from the secretary, Nathan Hawke skimmed through them rapidly and nodded in satisfaction.

Nathan Hawke, who had originally already accumulated enough to summon, planned to hold back a little longer, until he could not hold back anymore.

At the same time.

Ivan Vanko, who had been bailed out of Monaco by Justin Hammer, was enthusiastically founding his new company.

Meanwhile, at Vanko Industries.

"You're the Japanese man Justin sent to help me through the startup phase, Ryoma Sengoku?" Ivan Vanko was extremely dissatisfied with Justin Hammer's decision to insert someone into his company without authorization. Unfortunately, his company truly did need manpower during its startup phase, but what he needed were administrative personnel, not a researcher of the same type as himself.

"No, there are others. I simply arrived first." Ryoma Sengoku smiled faintly, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes. He wanted to see exactly what Nathan Hawke had sent him to learn from—the nuclear reactor. As for the others, they were merely people Justin Hammer had recruited for Ivan Vanko's company through headhunters.