How Misunderstandings Arise

Eli leaned against the wall without moving, a trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth.

Someone was breaking prisoners out!

Of course, it had nothing to do with him. He did not think anyone would come to save him. He was not anyone important, and there was no one waiting for him outside.

He reflected on himself.

The police could not determine why Lucy and the others had vanished, and Joseph had been beaten into a vegetable, making interrogation impossible. The matter of that book would absolutely not be leaked.

His main charge was malicious assault. The accident at The Laboratory could not be pinned on him. Although he had been sentenced to several years, he would get out eventually.

When that time came, he had to find a way to locate that book.

That was the Book of God, containing the knowledge to become a god!

"I'm doing this for all humanity!" Eli clenched his fists and kept trying to convince himself.

Once he mastered the knowledge in the book, he would be able to create things from nothing.

He could solve the food crisis and rid the entire world of famine. He could even create life, sparing women the pain of ten months of pregnancy and childbirth, and sparing men from wondering whether their children were theirs or Old John's next door.

Men would no longer need women, and women would no longer need men. Love would be just love, and true love would transcend the constraints of gender and race.

Even if you fell in love with a snake, a ghost, a tree, or a stone, you could still reproduce, disregarding reproductive barriers regardless of whether you were male or female.

He would become the hero of all humanity, and the only god in the hearts and eyes of all humanity.

Thinking of this, Eli straightened his back.

Then gunfire suddenly erupted.

He hurriedly curled up in a corner, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

The prison breakers seemed pretty capable?

Who were they trying to save?

That corrupt congressman?

Or the Fifth Street Gang Boss?

It did not matter. It had nothing to do with him.

The gunfire intensified, accompanied by several muffled groans.

They had made it all the way outside his door?

After some thought, Eli crawled beneath the bed. It was safer there.

Bang!

The door suddenly opened.

A beam of light swept around.

Eli saw a face appear above the bedframe.

Lucy's ghostly face.

She grinned.

In another cell.

A plump, pale bald man reclined halfway on his bed, completely unconcerned with the fighting outside. A large tattoo of the number "5" covered his neck.

He was the Fifth Street Gang Boss.

Behave well and strive for a reduced sentence—that was his prison policy.

Combined with the money he kept slipping people, he would be out in a few more years.

Then the door opened.

A deep voice rang out.

"Boss, we're here to rescue you!"

Rescue me?

The plump bald man froze, then hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head. "I'm not leaving. I'm trying to get my sentence reduced... Wait, what bullshit is this? Since when does the Fifth Street Gang have the ability to storm a prison and rescue someone? Do you think we're terrorists? Who the hell are you? Why are you rescuing me? I'm not going anywhere. I want to reform properly!"

The darkness concealed the bald man's displeasure, as well as Old Wang's bewilderment.

After two seconds of silence, the deep voice spoke again. "That's not up to you... the Great Dragon Hero sends his regards!"

Bang!

A huge fist appeared.

Five minutes later, the power was restored.

The entire prison was in chaos.

More than a dozen guards had actually attacked their own people. Fortunately, there were not many of them, and they were quickly subdued. No one had died.

Standing outside Eli's cell, Coulson and Natasha exchanged a look, unsure what to say.

In front of them lay S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents groaning in pain.

Including Level 7 Agent Grant Ward, everyone except Coulson and Natasha had been wiped out.

No one had suffered broken arms or legs. Their opponent apparently did not want to make enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D., so he had held back. He had not even released the other prisoners to cause trouble. But that did not make him a good person or a saint.

Could someone who broke prisoners out and injured people still be a good person?

Eli had been rescued.

The operation had failed.

"How many were there?" Coulson was a little worried about his year-end bonus.

After working so hard all year, he would not end up with no bonus at all, would he?

His beloved Lola was still waiting to get her face wiped... Pah, she was waiting for a new paint job!

"One."

Ward endured the pain as he climbed to his feet, looking both fearful and excited. "There was only one person. He moved incredibly fast, and his fists were incredibly heavy. We did not even get the chance to raise our guns. I've never seen such a strong opponent. He's a true master of hand-to-hand combat, a master among masters!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow.

Never seen one?

You have seen me fight, haven't you?

So you thought that person was stronger than me?

"How strong?" she asked, danger glinting in her eyes.

Her hands clenched tightly, her knuckles cracking.

"I don't know."

Ward glanced at Natasha. "I really don't know. He was too fast. I couldn't even see him clearly. The entire process took less than five seconds! And his attacks were incredibly precise. Not a single movement was wasted. He was practically like a veteran who had fought in hundreds of large-scale wars in the age of cold weapons!"

Natasha fell into thought.

Where would modern society find wars fought with cold weapons?

Could he be a highly trained assassin?

Natasha thought of the Red Room, of the training she had received as a child.

Ward was not an ignorant man. His judgment would not be wrong.

Their opponent was stronger than her?

It seemed he had not only undergone the harshest training, but had trained for a very long time.

By that estimate, he might have already been seventy or eighty years old. He had carried out many missions and killed many people.

Without enough time and experience, it would have been impossible to defeat an entire well-equipped field team so easily—and, and he had even held back!

Coulson suddenly thought of something and turned to ask, "Agent Romanoff, could you do it? Defeat an entire field team before they had time to resist?"

Ward snorted inwardly.

Proud as he was, while he greatly admired a legendary agent like Natasha, he still had his own dignity!

Boss, what were you saying?!

"Yes."

Natasha thought for three seconds before answering with certainty. "But I couldn't do it that quickly. This isn't a matter of technique. It's a matter of physical ability. My physical condition can't support movements that fast, unless..."

"Unless the other party underwent some kind of enhancement, similar to Captain America's," Coulson supplied the answer.

There were some things he did not say, because they were classified.

Air Force General Thaddeus E. Ross—the man known as Thunderbolt Ross—had restarted the Super Soldier Program. Hulk, once Banner, had been one of its subjects, and was also an accidental product of the Super Soldier Program... a monster.

There was more than one similar experiment.

Some belonged to the military, some to the government, and some were even conducted by private groups.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had dealt with more than one similar incident.

Did they have to deal with another one?

Of course, there could be other explanations, such as mutation.

There could even have been alien enhancement like Captain Marvel's, advanced technology like Ant-Man's, or involvement from a mysterious organization such as The Hand.

If it was one of those, it was not too bad.

What he feared most was something else.

Captain America had not been the first to receive the Super Soldier Serum. The leader of Hydra, Red Skull, had been first.

And now, Hydra's symbol had appeared again. They had even declared, "We're back." That was a declaration of war.

Had Hydra successfully developed the Super Soldier Serum?

Coulson had a headache.

Ghost Rider, the Darkhold, Hydra, the Super Soldier Serum...

This was becoming more and more complicated!

"The network and communications are back."

Coulson said, "Agent Ward, assist the prison guards in maintaining order. I'll request a Quinjet, along with a field team made up of medical personnel and members from the technology and operations divisions... I'm sorry, but all of you must undergo treatment and... interrogation!"

Ward nodded. They still had to follow procedure.

Everything that came next had nothing to do with him.

Whether it was on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side or Hydra's side.

Coulson and Natasha soon left.

In an empty place, he took out his communicator and dialed.

"Director, S.H.I.E.L.D. may be facing major trouble... Yes, Hydra's symbol has appeared!"