Targeted

At the same time.

Inside one of the base's large laboratories.

Even though it was already late at night, countless researchers were still busily working before test benches piled with oddly shaped weapons.

If members of the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been present.

They would have recognized at a glance that nearly all these weapons had come from the defeated Chitauri army during the Battle of New York three months earlier.

The only difference was.

The Energy Storage Department responsible for powering these weapons was no longer using the Chitauri's specialized purple energy crystals.

Instead, all of it came from the Mind Scepter.

No, more precisely, it all came from the energy continuously released by the Mind Stone!!

After obtaining the Mind Scepter.

Hydra used some advanced technology to store all the immense energy released by the scepter.

Then, using mature reverse-engineering techniques, they dismantled and modified some of the alien weapons left behind by the Chitauri.

In the end, they successfully developed several new energy weapons and pieces of equipment suitable for small-scale mass production...

The reason Hydra had managed to integrate alien technology they had only recently encountered into their existing weapons and equipment in such a short time.

Was entirely thanks to the cutting-edge technologies and ahead-of-their-time concepts their researchers had accumulated little by little through years of innovation.

Especially Dr. Zola during World War II, who had pioneered an era-defining technology capable of steadily filling specially made containers with the energy released by the Cosmic Cube... the Space Stone.

This allowed Hydra's current researchers to effortlessly collect and study the energy of the Mind Scepter.

How did that saying go again?

You could laugh at Hydra for being weak, but you could never say their technology was garbage!

And at that moment...

Dr. List, the chief scientist overseeing every experiment in the base, stood respectfully before a large screen.

"Doctor, how are the human experiments for the Enhanced Soldiers progressing?"

On the large screen, a bald man in black leather with a monocle over his right eye asked expressionlessly.

"This..."

Dr. List immediately revealed a troubled expression as he answered.

"Mr. Strucker, the results of the first two phases of human experiments were far from ideal. Every test subject who came into direct contact with the scepter died on the spot without exception."

"Ordinary people simply seem unable to withstand the energy released by the scepter..."

"If we want to achieve the progress you expect, I'm afraid we'll need more test subjects."

"Oh?"

Baron Strucker seemed to see something in the other man's expression.

He asked dismissively, "What? Doctor, do you think this turbulent country lacks such things?"

"In my view, all you need to do is take some men into the streets and pick a new batch of unlucky bastards from those idiots who love protesting and demonstrating!"

However.

Dr. List's concerns did not fade. Instead, he reminded him with growing anxiety.

"But Mr. Strucker, if we carry out large-scale human experiments, won't it draw S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention before long?"

"If they discover the experiments we're conducting here, as well as our true identity as Hydra loyalists, the consequences would be unimaginable..."

"Consequences?!!"

As though he had heard some ridiculous joke, Baron Strucker's vulture-like, sinister face broke into an incomparably disdainful sneer.

"Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. are as inseparable as the two sides of a coin."

"But now, those fools at S.H.I.E.L.D. have already been eliminated. The cards we hold far surpass anything they could imagine!!"

"Doctor, I have a feeling... we've only scratched the surface of this scepter's secrets so far."

"So I hope you'll devote all your energy to researching and developing the scepter."

"As for S.H.I.E.L.D., you needn't worry about them at all, because before long, they'll have too much on their own plates."

"And Captain America and his colorful friends will have their attention drawn away by other organizations working for Hydra."

"Doctor, the coming era will be one in which miracles appear in abundance. Heroes and the like will all become obsolete..."

"Because nothing is more terrifying than a 'miracle'!!!"

Finally, Baron Strucker gave a meaningful reminder.

"I hope to see entirely new progress in this experiment before I finish handling matters here!!"

The communication ended, and the large screen went dark once more.

"Whew..."

Dr. List raised a hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

By the time he turned around, his face had already taken on a determined expression, and he announced loudly to everyone in the laboratory.

"Get ready, everyone. The third phase of human experiments will begin in two hours!!!"

[Would the host like to immediately abandon his physical body, return to his exclusive dimension, and become the omniscient and omnipotent Lord of Dimensions?!!]

When the first ray of dawn shone through the narrow opening at the top of the cell and fell upon Carl, he shook his head helplessly and chose to refuse.

Time was too tight. He had not managed to come up with a good way to break the deadlock.

It seemed that, for now, he could only take things one step at a time.

Just then.

A burst of noisy footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor outside the cell.

Then the cell door was roughly thrown open.

Several heavily armed Hydra soldiers filed inside.

"Oh my, what a shame. Your breakfast has been canceled today..."

The leader wore a malicious grin. "Come on. It's your turn to participate in the experiment."

"Bastards! Scum!!!"

Wanda and Pietro's eyes immediately filled with rage.

The Hydra soldier who had just spoken was the very culprit who had injured Carl and Pietro the day before.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You two are still full of spirit. Looks like yesterday's lesson was a little too light, huh?"

Pick raised an eyebrow, but he did not take the siblings' anger seriously.

Instead, he greedily stared at Wanda without blinking.

What a damn shame!

Such a beautiful girl is about to die before I even got my hands on her!

It's all that meddlesome bastard from yesterday's fault.

But after taking two of my liver-crushing punches, he must be dead by now... Hm?!!

However.

When his gaze casually swept over the lively and unharmed Carl opposite him, a look of surprise immediately appeared in his eyes.

What the hell?

Was this piece of trash playing dead yesterday?

Damn it, not only did he ruin my fun, he even dared to trick me?!

Fine, fine, fine. Just wait and see how I deal with you later.

Of course, that's assuming you even have a later...

"Hmm? Looks like I've been singled out, huh?!"

Facing Pick's resentful glare, Carl calmly chose to ignore it.

Right now, as far as he was concerned.

Figuring out how to survive the impending crisis of death was what mattered.

He had no mind for anything else.

Then, escorted by several Hydra soldiers.

Carl and the other two passed through several heavily guarded checkpoints in succession before arriving at the core experimental area deep within the base.

In the monitoring room responsible for collecting data and recording the entire experimental process.

A researcher in a white lab coat pointed at the dozens of corpses lined along both sides of the passage outside and reported to Dr. List, who was examining data on a computer.

"Doctor, there are simply too many bodies piling up over the past two days. Even the corpse incinerators have started operating beyond capacity..."