Hydra Needs Talent Like You

West of the Hudson River, southwest of Albany, lies a mountainous region spanning four counties known as the Catskill Mountains. This nature reserve boasts 98 undulating peaks exceeding 900 meters in elevation, inhabited by various animals like black bears, deer, and foxes, and even bald eagles can be spotted here.

Three months have passed since the "Wall Street Red-Clad Thugs Murder Incident." Adam Smith, who broke through the encirclement that day, has been hiding in the Catskill Mountains, recuperating from injuries and practicing his swordplay.

With abundant resources and ample food, and a small town at the foot of the mountains, survival posed no difficulty for Adam, who possessed inner force and exceptional swordsmanship.

The Evil-Warding Swordplay was originally a rapid-completion martial art. Lin Pingzhi, a young master of ordinary martial arts and talent but decent character, only took two and a half months to kill Yu Canghai and destroy the Qingcheng Sect. After three months of arduous training, Adam Smith was naturally a different person.

This swordplay could cultivate from the outside in, driving inner force growth while practicing swordplay. Although it couldn't compare to those renowned inner force cultivation methods, its speed of mastery and versatility far surpassed those divine arts with extremely high talent requirements.

The only requirement was to be ruthless enough to make a cut.

In a low-martial-arts world like The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, practicing the Evil-Warding Swordplay for two to three months could elevate one to the peak of a second-rate master, even a gatekeeper for first-rate masters.

In a red pine forest, a red silhouette continuously spun and leaped around the pine tree trunks, with sharp metallic glints flashing intermittently.

Countless branches and leaves fell like a rain curtain, the slender pine needles on every branch were shaved off by the sword light, rustling down like green needles from the sky.

Suddenly, the red silhouette landed on the top of a pine tree, its feet treading on thin branches. Adam Smith, a tall and robust man, swayed with the branches without falling.

The blade was sheathed, and several bare, tall red pine trees around them collapsed with a loud crash.

These trees had already been cut countless times, and the scattered wood was held together by a trace of vital energy. Once the vital energy dissipated, the disheveled wood collapsed downwards, instantly turning the surroundings into waste heaps from a lumber processing plant.

Three months later, Adam Smith's chin was completely free of stubble. His inner force had nourished all his wounds, and his once rough skin had become delicate, rosy, and radiant.

His high hairline had receded slightly, his premature gray hair had returned to black, and the hair he had grown for three months now extended below his earlobes.

His slender frame hadn't developed bulky muscles; instead, they were tightly contracted against his bones, making him appear even more slender, with a hint of femininity in his eyes and brows.

He wore a red robe, with a red cord around his waist, from which hung a gourd found from goodness knows where. The gourd contained white wine obtained from a nearby town.

After practicing swordplay, Adam took down the wine gourd and, imitating Invincible East's movements, tilted his head back and drank heartily. Though it was a clumsy imitation, to those who hadn't seen Invincible East's heroic demeanor, it possessed a certain dashing quality.

"Is... is he male or female?" Behind the distant trees, a special agent in camouflage gear held a pair of binoculars, looking at Adam Smith's profile with uncertainty. "Didn't the intel say he was a man?"

"Shut up!" Crossbones, Brock Rumlow, hissed into the communication channel.

Although he was also unsure why Adam Smith had become this way, he knew the man was extremely dangerous.

The brief fierce battle outside the New York Stock Exchange three months ago had stunned the professionals at S.H.I.E.L.D. (Hydra).

They analyzed the footage frame by frame but still couldn't comprehend how Adam Smith, a former ordinary person, could transform into a powerful superhuman in just one day.

His brief burst of speed in the video footage even rivaled the data left by Captain America, not to mention easily slicing through riot shields with just an ordinary stainless steel longsword.

Experts calculated from the footage that the speed of his sword swing could reach around a hundred meters per second, which was simply unbelievable!

An ordinary stainless steel longsword not only withstood such speed but also forcefully sliced through a riot shield made of polymer material, leaving an extremely flat and smooth cut.

This was not scientific at all!

If the footage had already challenged the worldview of physicists, then what Crossbones had just witnessed with his own eyes was like watching their legendary Hydra Emperor.

In just over ten seconds, the red figure danced up and down around several tall red pine trees like a phantom, not only shaving off the branches and leaves but also chopping the tree trunks into fine wood chips, and finally standing rigidly on a branch less than half a meter long without falling...

"Is Captain America that formidable? If Lord Red Skull had encountered this guy back then, wouldn't he have been dismembered?" Brock Rumlow's thoughts wandered involuntarily.

"He..." Alexander Pierce, in a villa in downtown New York, saw the live broadcast footage from Crossbones and was shocked beyond belief. "He's gotten stronger again!"

"How did he achieve this?"

Previously, they had speculated that Adam Smith might have obtained some kind of enhancement serum, or perhaps it was a genetic mutation caused by some toxin or energy, or even an Inhuman awakening.

Similar isolated cases were numerous; they, Hydra, had witnessed and studied too many.

Alexander Pierce had sent people to track him down with the intention of recruiting him first, and if that failed, to enrich Hydra's resource database.

He never expected to witness such a miraculous scene with his own eyes.

"How did he get stronger? How can he still get stronger?" Pierce muttered to himself, even the whiskey in his hand no longer tasted good.

Without time to think further, Pierce decisively ordered Crossbones, "Go contact him!"

As soon as the order was given, before Crossbones could even move, a flash of red appeared in the camera's view.

Adam Smith, who was on a treetop more than five hundred meters away, had appeared in front of the camera in an instant.

"You have three seconds to give me a reason not to kill you."

Adam Smith's voice had become softer, but as his voice hadn't fully changed, it had an odd, somewhat effeminate quality.

Even Crossbones, who had experienced many battles, felt a bead of cold sweat. Seeing the man's hand already gripping his sword hilt, a chill suddenly wrapped around his neck.

Driven by an astonishing will to survive, Crossbones blurted out, "I have detailed information about your ex-wife's affair partner here!"

Hearing this, Adam Smith released his grip on the sword hilt and extended his hand towards him. "Give it to me!"

This was indeed information he didn't know. Three months ago, he had only killed a few people who had profited and come to show off; he wasn't aware of how many others were involved behind the scenes.

The slut was dead, but the lover must also be eliminated.

Crossbones quickly took out a portable hard drive and handed it over.

Adam Smith took it and turned to leave.

"Wait, our S.H.I.E.L.D..." Crossbones quickly corrected himself, "We, Hydra, need talented people like you!"

Perhaps the name "Hydra" brought a hint of surprise to Adam Smith, as he turned back to look at him again.

"I'll talk to him!" Pierce, who was directing remotely, quickly interjected.

Crossbones then took out a tactical tablet strapped to his lower back, quickly operated it, and aimed it at Adam Smith.

"Mr. Smith, I am Alexander Pierce, former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and current minister of the World Security Council. We can use official channels to clear the negative influences you've experienced over the past three months, and we can also quell the situation after you've had your revenge."

Pierce's tone was sincere: "We sincerely invite you to join us!"

"You're Hydra?" Adam Smith asked in surprise, "The evil organization from history books that Captain America destroyed?"

"Justice or evil, it's all defined by humans," Pierce said with a confident smile. "We will soon have the power to define good and evil ourselves."

"Interesting!" Adam Smith suddenly wore a playful smile. "This country is truly interesting!"

Accompanied by his laughter, he vanished like a red blur.

"Sir, this…" Crossbones was naturally uneasy about the failed mission.

"Did you leave contact information on the portable hard drive?" Pierce wasn't in a hurry. He leisurely drank a glass of wine and said confidently, "Just wait, he will definitely come to us."