Who Says Hydra Can't Have Superheroes?

Some people could still feast on more than one chick at once; others were left with nothing but memories.

Adam Smith realized he had developed a bad habit. Whenever he hunted down an adulterer, he would always stab them between the legs first before slicing them apart piece by piece.

At the same time, he found his disgust toward women growing stronger and stronger. The prettier a woman was, the more he loathed her. Whenever he saw their seductive poses, he wanted nothing more than to give them a few slashes.

He felt the same way toward ugly men.

Those handsome, dashing young men, on the other hand, stirred favorable feelings in him.

"No!"

Adam Smith struggled to restrain himself, constantly reminding himself, "Lord Dongfang is the only pursuit of my life!"

If they had merely been characters from a movie, Adam Smith would not have taken them seriously. But he had personally seen Invincible East crawl out of a television.

He had bestowed divine martial arts upon him and changed his miserable life!

That proved Lord Dongfang truly existed. Although the videotape had vanished afterward, that only demonstrated Lord Dongfang's mystery and greatness.

The powerful, beautiful Lord Dongfang had since become the goal Adam Smith would pursue for the rest of his life.

He had to become even stronger before he was worthy of standing beside Lord Dongfang.

With another swing of his sword, he sent one more online friend down to continue playing in the water with Mrs. Smith.

The apartment was awash in blood, while his red robes remained unstained yet exceptionally vivid.

His figure flickered, and the man in red appeared in the doorway.

Crossbones, waiting outside, waved his hand. The Hydra operations team behind him filed in and began methodically cleaning up the scene.

Ever since making contact with Hydra, Adam Smith no longer had to worry about cleanup afterward. He could enjoy professional service.

Crossbones truly deserved to be Hydra's model worker. Seeing that his last recruitment attempt had failed, he fully embodied the spirit of "don't wait, don't rely." Taking the initiative, he had sent people ahead to wait at the places Adam Smith was about to commit murder. Whenever Adam Smith finished killing someone, he would bring in professional forensic personnel to wipe the scene clean.

Crossbones never pestered him. Every time, he simply worked quietly, then left once he was done.

To be fair, even Adam Smith, a stockbroker who worked in sales, admired Crossbones's perseverance and sense of boundaries.

Although Mrs. Smith had extensive connections and countless online friends, Adam Smith was highly efficient. After more than a week, he had finally finished cutting them all up.

That night, Adam Smith stood atop the apartment building where the final adulterer had lived. Gazing at the bright moon, he tipped back his head and drank deeply.

An inexplicable sense of emptiness filled his heart.

His revenge had been taken. The adulterers were dead. What was he supposed to do now?

He would keep training and pursue Lord Dongfang's footsteps. That would be his ultimate goal.

But he still needed something to pass the boring hours of ordinary days, didn't he?

After Crossbones finished dealing with the bodies in the apartment, he cautiously came up to the rooftop.

This had been the last adulterer in the files. It was time for him to extend another invitation. Otherwise, if Adam Smith vanished now, were they really supposed to wait for him to contact them on his own someday?

"Mr. Smith, Mr. Pierce sincerely invites you to join—"

Suddenly, an explosion boomed in the distance.

Four streams of flame appeared in the night sky in succession, two in front and two behind.

Adam Smith, whose Inner Force had achieved a measure of success, had excellent vision. He immediately made out two humanoid machines flying through the sky.

The one in front was sleek and slender, painted in alternating gold and red.

The one behind was big, stupid, rough, and black, and even its exhaust streams were thicker than the one ahead.

Crossbones immediately pulled out his tactical tablet, connected to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network, and brought up footage from the scene.

"Mr. Smith, these two machines are being piloted by Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane respectively. They've clashed..."

Anyone with eyes could see that.

The two machines continuously traded blows in the night sky. Cannons, missiles, and even energy beams flew back and forth. Sometimes, they even got into close combat, throwing punches and kicks.

"Interesting..."

A bold idea suddenly came to Adam Smith. As he considered his plan, he said to Crossbones, "Tell me, how about I become a superhero?"

"Huh?" Crossbones stared at him in shock.

"A superhero, like Captain America!"

The more Adam Smith thought about it, the more excited he became. His eyes gleamed, and his body seemed to tremble. "If I become a superhero, I'll definitely attract plenty of seductive women..."

Crossbones remained stunned.

Forgive his slowness, but this time he truly could not keep up with Adam Smith's train of thought.

Still, he understood what Adam Smith meant.

"You want to become a superhero?"

"Why can't I?"

Adam Smith turned around, a teasing smile on his face. "Didn't you say you could settle public opinion for me? Then I won't be a murderer anymore. Why can't I become a superhero?"

"Uh..."

Crossbones hurriedly pulled out his communicator and called his superior.

"Please wait. I'll ask for instructions."

Alexander Pierce, upon receiving the news, was also stunned for a moment. But as a high-ranking official, he instantly thought of the benefits this could bring.

That was right. Who said Hydra could not have superheroes?

As long as Hydra kept creating new superheroes, it would not be long before they became a righteous organization!

Ordinary people were forgetful. World War II had long since passed, and fewer and fewer elderly people knew about the things Hydra had done.

Young people were accustomed to questioning authority and resisting propaganda. Even if history books said Hydra was an evil organization, as long as people today believed Hydra was righteous, then Hydra would represent justice!

If Hydra represented justice, then Captain America, who had crushed Hydra back then, would become the embodiment of evil.

The more Alexander Pierce thought about it, the more excited he became. He was so thrilled that he kept jumping around inside his villa.

This would be an important move in Hydra's efforts to rehabilitate its image.

"Good, excellent!"

"Mr. Smith, go ahead without hesitation. We will fully support you in becoming a superhero, replacing Rogers, and becoming the spiritual symbol of a new generation of Americans!"

"Hahahaha..."

Adam Smith could not empathize with Alexander Pierce. His reasons for wanting to become a superhero were different from the future Pierce envisioned.

Still, different paths led to the same destination.

As long as Hydra was willing to support him and help settle public opinion, that was enough!

Adam would need the support of public opinion for what he intended to do next.

"Very good. Help me analyze this. Which of those two will win?"

Adam Smith pointed at the two machines in the night sky, his lips curving upward. "A superhero, of course, has to stand with the winning side."

By then, Crossbones had found more detailed intelligence in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.

"The gold-and-red machine is piloted by Tony Stark. This type of external full-body armor has never appeared before. It is most likely a new weapon invented by the genius Tony Stark..."

Crossbones spoke rapidly and gave his conclusion. "I believe he has the better chance of winning."

"I think so too. That big guy is way too ugly. You can tell at a glance he won't win."

Adam Smith secured the wine gourd at his waist. His figure flashed into a red blur as he raced across the rooftops toward the battlefield.

This would be his debut as a superhero.