Winter Soldier

Outside the prison, somewhere.

Old Wang tossed the knocked-out Fifth Street Gang boss and Eli into the car.

He had knocked out the former himself; Lucy's group of four had knocked out the latter. It was already pretty good that they had not killed him.

Old Wang shook his head.

If the Time-Space Channel were not so expensive, and if he did not want to draw Ancient One's attention so quickly, there would have been no need for all this trouble.

He could have simply turned invisible, gone in, and teleported away with Eli. How convenient would that have been?

With all this commotion, things had gotten serious.

Still, it was pretty good to pin it directly on Hydra and divert attention.

S.H.I.E.L.D. simply had not realized that Hydra still existed.

Now that he had given them a reminder, with Egghead's intelligence, experience, and information network, as long as he investigated, he would definitely uncover plenty of people. A purge would be inevitable.

For a while, neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor Hydra would have time to trouble him.

Of course, that would have to wait until this was over.

At this point, Egghead should be preparing the Avengers Initiative. But an anything-goes antihero like Ghost Rider certainly would not be welcomed by Egghead or the S.H.I.E.L.D. Council, so they probably would not recruit him.

But neither Egghead nor Hydra's higher-ups could possibly let the Darkhold go—especially Whitehall, Red Skull's colleague who had survived until now.

"Does this count as changing the plot?" Old Wang smiled, unconcerned.

Following the plot exactly would be boring.

Being a prophet was boring. Since he had come to this world, he had to stir up some trouble.

"Keep an eye on them."

Old Wang got into the car, started the engine, and stepped on the gas.

He sped toward Roxxon Power Plant.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters, Director's Office.

Egghead braced both hands against the desk and stared at its surface.

The desk was covered with all kinds of documents.

There were scene photographs sent by Coulson, Level 10 files sealed away by the Howling Commandos during World War II, investigation reports on Ghost Rider and the Darkhold, and...

Information on Hydra.

A small black cube sat in the center, projecting countless beams of light that formed detailed three-dimensional images.

The contents kept changing.

After an unknown amount of time, Egghead closed his eyes.

Ghost Rider, the Fifth Street Gang, Eli, Power New Energy Laboratory, Joseph, the Darkhold, the Howling Commandos' sealed files, secret World War II experiments, Red Skull and Whitehall's endless search—everything flashed through his mind and came together.

In the end, it became a name.

Egghead opened his eyes.

He grabbed the communicator and called Coulson.

"Take everyone and go to Roxxon Power Plant!"

In an unknown location, Whitehall paced back and forth alone in the conference room.

Finally, the phone rang.

He hurriedly answered, his voice urgent. "Garrett... The Clairvoyant, how is the situation?"

A steady voice came through. "Fury has not launched a full investigation of S.H.I.E.L.D. for now. That sly, treacherous bastard. He ordered Coulson and Black Widow to go to Roxxon Power Plant. A Quinjet picked up Ward and his team and sent them to a secret base for treatment and interrogation."

Whitehall frowned deeply.

No full investigation?

That was more terrifying than directly investigating!

Fury did not want S.H.I.E.L.D. crippled. He would probably use Level 10 clearance to slowly cast his net and catch them all in one sweep.

Unfortunately, he had no idea that his superior, the Secretary of National Security and S.H.I.E.L.D. Council member, "Alexander Pierce," was one of their own!

"What did Pierce say?" Whitehall asked again.

He was an elder and Hydra's current leader, but he was mainly responsible for research rather than management. Moreover, Hydra was not a highly centralized organization. Each head had its own sphere of influence, and they mostly cooperated with one another, making it difficult to order the others around.

Pierce was Hydra's head within S.H.I.E.L.D., and currently the most capable and powerful one!

The Clairvoyant answered, "The members infiltrated within S.H.I.E.L.D. will not take any action for the time being. Pierce will personally contend with Fury. He will handle this matter... Fury trusts him."

Whitehall was silent for a moment. "What about the Darkhold? It is as important as the first 084! Garrett, you know your condition. You do not have more than a few years left. If we obtain the Darkhold, I can give you a new body and let you live forever!"

"Now is not the time to completely turn against S.H.I.E.L.D. We are not ready yet. Fury's eyes are on everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. This is the last time I will contact you."

The Clairvoyant said, "The Darkhold can only be handled by your people... Also, Pierce will give you an assistant."

"Who?"

"Winter Soldier."

Roxxon Power Plant.

Old Wang got out of the car and tossed Eli and the bald Fifth Street Gang boss onto the ground.

With a bang.

They rolled through the mud.

Skye and Robbie had already arrived.

Seeing the unconscious Eli, Robbie's expression was complicated.

"Kill him! Kill him! He hurt you and your brother! Let your rage burn him! Let Hellfire punish him!" the Spirit of Vengeance kept urging him on.

"Shut up!" Robbie cursed in a low voice, irritated.

Old Wang glanced at Robbie.

The Spirit of Vengeance really was no good thing!

That guy was an evil spirit that had escaped from Hell. It existed on the desire for vengeance. Without that desire, it would be dragged back into Hell in an instant, so it kept inciting Robbie to seek revenge.

It did not consider personal feelings at all.

Old Wang still remembered the original plot.

Robbie was a good kid with proper values. He was kindhearted and cared deeply about family.

Even at the end, he had still tried to persuade Eli to let go.

Only after Eli developed the intent to kill Robbie did he drag Eli down to Hell with him.

At least so far, Eli had never intended to hurt Robbie. No one had expected it; it had been entirely an accident.

How could Robbie possibly bring himself to kill him?

If he really wanted revenge, Joseph would be a more suitable target!

But Joseph...

Skye came over and said, "Wang, Joseph was taken away!"

She opened her phone. A short video clip played on the screen.

It had a timestamp from half an hour earlier.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Rapid Response Special Forces assigned to protect Joseph had suddenly been attacked by a group of armed criminals. They used RPGs, bombs, assault rifles, and sniper rifles. Other than their captain, Agent Brock Rumlow, who escaped with severe injuries, none survived.

One of the criminals had even shouted "Hail Hydra" at the surveillance camera.

Then the unconscious Joseph was taken away.

The camera was shot to pieces.

"They reacted pretty quickly!" Old Wang sneered.

Joseph was the head of The Laboratory. He was important, without question.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s science division had all kinds of advanced technology. They could even erase and alter memories, so finding a way to wake Joseph was not impossible. The Darkhold knowledge he possessed was more valuable than a dozen scientists.

It was perfectly normal for Hydra to want him.

Agent Brock Rumlow was one of the world's top hand-to-hand combat masters, basically on Black Widow's level. It was also perfectly normal that everyone else died while he survived.

Everything was normal.

The problem was that Agent Brock Rumlow himself was a Hydra member planted within S.H.I.E.L.D.

The infamous Crossbones!

Three birds with one stone!

They took Joseph;

They wiped out the S.H.I.E.L.D. Rapid Response Special Forces;

And they made sure Crossbones would not be suspected.

Fucking brilliant.

He did not know whether Alexander Pierce had ordered it, or whether John Garrett, The Clairvoyant and the superior of another undercover agent, "Grant Ward," had done so. It was most likely the former.

And the ones actually carrying it out should have been another Hydra head, perhaps even that undead pervert Whitehall.

It seemed S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to hide important people.

With a big shot like Pierce protecting them, it did not matter how cunning Fury was.

Pierce had been the previous director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Fury had only become director because Pierce had promoted him.

Although Fury trusted no one, Pierce was definitely among those he trusted most—along with Coulson and Black Widow, of course.

With Hydra resurfacing, unless something unexpected happened, Fury would consult Pierce.

When it came to eloquence alone, Pierce was truly formidable. Fury would most likely suffer a complete defeat.

"We need to hurry. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra will be coming for us soon."

Old Wang looked at Robbie.

The meaning was obvious:

It was time for his performance.

Release your rage, boy!