Lin Hao chose to trust Zheng Xian's judgment. After all, Zheng Xian was the expert who had spent years immersed in the intelligence field. If he said there was no problem, then there probably really was no problem.
"Two years ago, when Cheng Yi first went to North America, he visited a bar to scout things out. I think that was when the 'mole' noticed him." Based on Ivan's account, Zheng Xian quickly found a possible explanation.
"So there's definitely a traitor in the Americas Branch." Lin Hao frowned. "And most likely, they're still lying low, waiting to give me a surprise."
"You'll have to investigate that yourself." Zheng Xian wiped the orchid leaves and spoke calmly. "Nick Fury is a formidable opponent. You blew up his Los Angeles branch, so he'll definitely guess that our new person in charge has arrived in North America."
"How many people are still alive in the entire Americas Branch?" Lin Hao's expression turned grave.
Zheng Xian set down the rag and said solemnly, "There were originally 288 people. Now there are only 63 left. Go memorize all their files."
"Fine. I should head back to San Francisco too." Lin Hao turned and left.
While the two S.P.E.A.R. agents were discussing Nick Fury, he had already been standing beside the enormous crater that had once been the Los Angeles branch for a long time.
The former base had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only this massive pit.
"Chief, we searched the entire scene and found no trace of radiation residue." Leo Fitz, who held a doctorate in physics, carried over an instrument to report to Nick Fury.
"But many local residents witnessed the mushroom cloud, and surveillance footage from farther away captured it too." Phil Coulson was deeply frustrated now.
The director had sent him west to bring Black Panther and White Dog under control, yet White Dog had vanished without a trace, while Black Panther had been killed despite having contacted him.
It would have been one thing if he had failed to find them, but in the blink of an eye, an entire Los Angeles branch had gone boom and disappeared.
The unlucky Coulson felt that any hope of a promotion in the near future was gone.
"That's the strange part. If it really had been a nuclear bomb, the surrounding surveillance equipment couldn't possibly have remained intact." Fitz shrugged.
"If it wasn't a nuclear bomb, what other weapon could destroy a base so thoroughly?" Coulson could not think of one.
"Where are the people?" Nick Fury interrupted their argument and asked, "Could it be that there wasn't even one survivor from the Los Angeles branch?"
"We received word last night and arrived at dawn. We carried out rescue... no, it should be called a search, for ten hours. We didn't find a single colleague."
Coulson's expression was grave, as though a thousand-pound weight rested on his shoulders.
"Grant and Melinda went to the airport and the docks respectively. We also sent people to the highway exits, but there are still no signs that any branch personnel left Los Angeles."
"The comparison results are out." Jemma Simmons came over carrying a tablet and reported, "We found some DNA in and around the crater. After comparison, we confirmed that it belonged to colleagues from the Los Angeles branch."
"How many identities have been confirmed?" Nick Fury took the tablet.
"Less than a third. The samples are too small—not even a piece of body tissue the size of a fingernail..." Simmons spread her hands. "Actually, we couldn't even find a single intact strand of hair."
"So the entire Los Angeles branch was blown into a molecular state by some mysterious weapon?"
Leo Fitz's eyes lit up like a gourmand who had stumbled upon a rare delicacy.
"That's so cool! I really want to know what kind of weapon it was."
"Judging from the pattern of dirt displacement at the scene, it should have been an expanding energy wave that spread outward, rather than a contracting force collapsing inward," Simmons continued.
"But could mere thermal energy or kinetic impact break down buildings and human bodies to that extent?" Fitz fell into thought.
"Or perhaps there was radiation-like emitted energy that our current equipment simply can't detect..."
The two technicians carried on their usual exchange. This sort of discussion between them had continued ever since their days at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.
But outsiders often could not understand them.
Nick Fury silently walked a couple of steps away, with Phil Coulson following close behind. Although he could not understand them, as long as he remained composed, outsiders would not be able to tell.
"S.P.E.A.R. has arrived."
Nick Fury suddenly spoke, his tone utterly certain.
"Zheng Xian sent someone new to take over the Americas intelligence network."
Coulson looked around, stepped closer, and lowered his voice. "But the 'mole' has not received any summons. S.P.E.A.R.'s remaining agents are still scattered."
A few months earlier, Nick Fury had planned and arranged S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operation against the S.P.E.A.R. Americas Branch. Phil Coulson had served as the direct executor, and he had also been responsible for the subsequent tracking, so naturally he had the authority to contact the 'mole.'
To the Avengers, Coulson was practically a political commissar. As for America as a whole, he fully deserved the praise of dedicating himself until death.
But one man's hero was another man's enemy.
To S.P.E.A.R. agents, Phil Coulson was an executioner whose hands were stained with the blood of their comrades.
It was a fundamental matter of allegiance.
"Either this new person in charge is a powerful superhuman, or he assembled a new operations team in a very short time. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to wipe out the entire Los Angeles branch." Nick Fury's expression was stern. He felt a trace of gravity, but the fighting spirit deep within him also flared to life.
At his level, only facing true masters could give him a sense of accomplishment.
"Then he'll most likely continue his revenge..." Coulson felt immense pressure bearing down on him.
However, he did not regret participating in the operation to eliminate S.P.E.A.R.'s intelligence network a few months ago.
Conflicts, clashes, and sacrifices occurred almost every day on the intelligence front. It was a battlefield without smoke, a war without end.
Coulson never regretted setting foot on this battlefield, because he was protecting the America he loved.
"Strengthen intelligence gathering. As long as this person continues operating, sooner or later we'll catch his trail." Nick Fury said confidently, "The Americas are our home turf."
Lin Hao had no idea that Black Nick Fury was beginning to devote more resources to him. After returning from Wakanda to San Francisco, he happily began another "draw."
Yes, after stirring up a brief war in Wakanda, he had harvested a huge amount of Essence of Grievance and could activate another "hundred-pull draw."
"Ever since coming to America, one day has been worth more than a dozen." Lin Hao beamed. "Life is getting more and more promising!"
Back home, it used to take four or five months, sometimes even half a year, to save up for one hundred-pull draw. Now he could draw once in less than a week, making things ten or twenty times more efficient.
After summoning Little Devil, Lin Hao lit three sticks of incense and bowed to the heavens and earth of this dimension, praying for good fortune.
Then he turned and instructed Little Devil, "Start."
This time, his luck was absurdly good. He got something on the very first pull.
Little Devil's tiny hands held up a pink dudou.
"Come here. I need to teach you a proper lesson!"
Furrows formed between Lin Hao's brows as he grabbed Little Devil's cheeks with both hands and rebuked it righteously. "I told you to bring things that were different, things that would make someone's eyes light up. Yet every day, you bring me panties, stockings, leather outfits, and dudou?"
"So these are the things that make your eyes light up, huh?"
"Wah wah wah..."
"What do you mean, they aren't meant to make my eyes light up, but yours?"
Director Lin was unhappy. He kept kneading its chubby little face, making the three white streaks on it twist into all kinds of expressions.
"Explain yourself clearly. Whose eyes are supposed to light up?"
"Wah... sob..."
"That's right. Beautiful women chasing me could circle the Pacific Ocean. Do I need this stuff?" Lin Hao snatched the dudou away.
After receiving the information, his expression first turned shocked, then stunned, and finally filled with regret!
"How could you... why..."
Before you continue