Sorry, Officer, I Didn't Recognize You

Du Mu walked out of Nick Fury's office.

After much persuasion, Nick Fury finally believed that he had no intention of quitting S.H.I.E.L.D.

Du Mu also took the opportunity to make a request: from now on, unless it was a high-difficulty mission, he didn't want to be bothered with low-value tasks, as they were beneath his notice.

Then, he happily secured a day off.

The reason was that there were no ready-made high-difficulty missions in S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment; those higher-level tasks had already been snatched up by other agents.

Nick Fury simply gave Du Mu a day off to let him rest, lest this "top salesman" burn himself out.

This game is getting impossible to play; even the NPCs are this competitive!

Du Mu grumbled to himself while wandering through the hallway.

Come to think of it, he had never properly explored the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Every time he came here, he went straight to Nick Fury's office, so he hadn't even fully uncovered the S.H.I.E.L.D. map.

He might as well take this opportunity to clear the fog of war and see if there were any hidden Easter eggs.

After all, some game developers loved stuffing treasure chests into every corner of the map, intentionally making players rack their brains to find them—something that used to disgust Du Mu back in the day.

Action speaks louder than words!

Du Mu opened his mini-map and moved toward the unexplored areas of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It had to be said that the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was truly massive; Du Mu had been wandering for over an hour and still hadn't fully uncovered the map.

Soon, he arrived in front of an office door; the map indicated that the interior was an unexplored dark area.

Not many people in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had independent offices, and those who did usually held significant status, with a clearance level of at least Level 8—far beyond what a Level 5 agent like Du Mu could easily access.

But Du Mu clearly had no such concerns and pushed the door open directly.

Walking into the office, Du Mu saw a blonde old man in a suit sitting behind a desk, with a bespectacled bald man standing opposite him, seemingly reporting something.

Du Mu's sudden intrusion left both of them visibly stunned.

The bespectacled bald man reacted quickly, looking at Du Mu with a wary expression: "Who are you? How did you get in? Why didn't the office security system trigger an alarm?"

So many questions!

Du Mu suspected he might have triggered some sort of plot, so he replied, "I'm Du Mu. As for how I got in, let's not get into that. As for why the alarm didn't go off, it's simple: I hacked the system."

The bespectacled bald man: "?"

How could you say that with such a straight face?

"You..."

"Alright, Agent Sitwell, you go out first. I have something to discuss with Agent Du Mu."

The blonde old man suddenly spoke, interrupting Sitwell.

"Mr. Pierce, but he..."

"It's fine, leave it to me."

"...Understood."

Sitwell gave Du Mu a deep look before exiting the office.

"Please, sit."

Pierce offered Du Mu a rather friendly smile.

Du Mu was not one to stand on ceremony; he plopped down opposite Pierce, idly fiddling with a wallet in his hand.

"This is...?"

Pierce looked puzzled.

"Oh, this? My wallet."

As Du Mu spoke, he took all the cash out of the wallet, tucked it into his own pocket, and then casually tossed the wallet into the trash can by his feet.

Pierce had sharp eyes and clearly saw a driver's license slide out of the wallet; the person in the photo was none other than Sitwell, who had just left.

Pierce: "..."

What a master thief!

And petty, too—Sitwell had only glared at him, and his wallet was stolen.

Pierce made a preliminary assessment of Du Mu in his mind and spoke bluntly: "I know you, Agent Du Mu."

"Oh? You've heard of my story, too?" Du Mu became interested.

"Of course. Your performance is quite outstanding. You were promoted from a graduate to a Level 5 agent in just two months—that's a first in S.H.I.E.L.D. history," Pierce praised.

"You flatter me, you flatter me."

Du Mu's favorability toward Pierce increased significantly; it wasn't often you met an NPC with such good judgment.

"However, I know more than just that."

A meaningful smile appeared on Pierce's face.

Du Mu hated these types of riddle-mongers, but for the sake of the compliment, he played along: "Then what else do you know?"

"Naturally, it is..."

Alexander Pierce leaned forward slightly, whispered into Du Mu's ear in a voice so low it was barely audible: "Hail Hydra!"

Du Mu's eyes widened in shock, staring at Alexander Pierce in disbelief.

"You, you..."

Alexander Pierce nodded with satisfaction; it seemed Du Mu had fully grasped the situation: "That's right, I am..."

"What is the meaning of this?"

Du Mu finally finished his sentence.

Alexander Pierce: "..."

Could you stop pausing so dramatically when you speak!

Alexander Pierce's expression darkened, and he chose to lay his cards on the table: "Do you still not understand? I am Hydra!"

"And I am also your superior!"

Hearing this, Du Mu finally had a moment of realization. He stood up immediately and said sternly: "My apologies, sir! I didn't recognize you just now!"

That's right!

The identity Du Mu had chosen at the start was none other than a Hydra spy!

According to the system, he was a secret agent planted deep within S.H.I.E.L.D.

His mission was simple: hide his identity well and ensure no one discovered it, especially that black-hearted egg.

Beyond that, he could accept S.H.I.E.L.D. missions as usual and collect the rewards without issue.

"It's fine, it's normal that you didn't know. For the safety of the organization, all unactivated Hydra members remain unaware of each other's existence until their identities are confirmed."

At this point, Alexander Pierce looked at Du Mu, speechless: "If you hadn't barged in here today, I wouldn't have proactively activated you as a sleeper agent."

Du Mu's actions this time were purely accidental; he had simply stumbled upon his other superior.

"However, your sense of caution is commendable. Even if someone shouts Hail Hydra at you, you shouldn't admit it on the spot. You did very well in that regard."

"Uh, thank you for the praise, sir."

Du Mu scratched his head, feeling a bit guilty.

Could he admit that he had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for so long that he had almost forgotten about the Hydra side of things?

No, that was the highest level of disguise—if even he himself forgot his true identity, who else could possibly discover it?

Thinking this, Du Mu immediately felt confident again.

Alexander Pierce's expression turned serious: "Since you have been activated, don't waste the opportunity. I happen to have a task on hand that requires manpower, and I find your qualifications quite suitable."

"What is the mission?"

Du Mu's spirits were instantly lifted.

If he couldn't climb the ranks in S.H.I.E.L.D., then perhaps he could do so in Hydra.

"This is a long-term mission. I need you to keep a close eye on Nick Fury. Once he assigns you any special tasks or you discover any unusual movements from him, you must report to me immediately."

[NPC Alexander Pierce has issued a new mission to you]

[Mission: Hail Hydra]

[Objective: Report Nick Fury's mission movements to Alexander Pierce in a timely manner]

[Reward: Determined by mission completion and intelligence value]

"Mission guaranteed, sir!"

Du Mu stood at attention and replied.