Hydra Was No Longer Appealing

Pierce thought back for a moment and said:

"My lord, it seemed this was Strucker's doing."

Lu Xi showed an expression of just as I thought and pressed further:

"Tell me the details. What evidence is there?"

As Pierce spoke, he pulled a mini tablet from his pocket and quickly tapped on it a few times.

He pulled up the relevant files and said:

"At the time, Strucker had planned to build a secret base in Sokovia. To avoid alerting the local authorities, he deliberately stirred up unrest there, then secretly took control of the newly appointed officials, using them as cover for the base."

"As for evidence, I remember he seemed to have... conducted arms deals with Obadiah, Stark Industries' second-largest shareholder. Our database has detailed records of it."

As he spoke, he handed the tablet to Lu Xi.

Lu Xi took it, glanced through it, then handed it directly to Wanda.

Wanda and Pietro accepted the tablet with trembling hands, their eyes fixed on the information displayed on it.

The transaction dates, weapons lists, and other details recorded inside all perfectly matched their childhood memories.

As Wanda looked at the documents, tears could not help spilling from her eyes.

For all these years, she had pointed the spearhead of her hatred at Tony Stark.

Yet she had never imagined that her true enemy had been hiding behind the scenes all along, and that she had even worked for him.

Thinking of this, Wanda was filled with regret and fiercely slapped herself across the face. Half her face instantly swelled up.

Seeing this, Lu Xi sighed helplessly and said:

"See? I told you long ago that the truth would come to light eventually."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently brushed Wanda's cheek.

A flash of green light passed by, and the redness and swelling on Wanda's face instantly vanished, restoring it to normal.

Lu Xi then looked at Pierce, his gaze carrying unquestionable Majesty as he said:

"Pierce, my first order is to purge Strucker's entire faction. Leave no one alive."

Pierce answered without hesitation:

"Yes, my lord! I'll handle it as soon as I return. I guarantee I won't disappoint you."

Wanda raised her head and looked at Lu Xi's profile with tearful eyes.

Her gaze was filled with gratitude, emotion, and a faint, indescribable tenderness.

Lu Xi gave a slight wave of his hand and said:

"Go. Contact me directly if anything comes up. You should know my number."

Pierce respectfully bowed to Lu Xi, then turned and hurried away.

In Queens, there was an ordinary-looking bar.

It was one of Hydra's many secret bases. On the surface, it was a lively, boisterous bar, but beneath it lay a vast hidden space.

Rumlow, the agent codenamed Crossbones, hurried into the conference room.

His gaze fell upon Alexander Pierce, who had just returned and was sitting in a chair, and he asked respectfully:

"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

Pierce lightly waved his hand and said:

"Wait a little longer. Not everyone is here yet, and I have something important to announce."

After that, people continuously knocked softly on the door before filing in one after another.

There was Sitwell, bald-headed and somewhat Indian-looking.

And there was the Level Eight agent, John Garrett.

At this point, the core Hydra members of Pierce's faction had basically all arrived.

Then the leaders of the other factions—Madame Viper, Baron Zemo, and Gideon Malick—also appeared.

Seeing that nearly everyone had arrived, Pierce picked up a laptop from beside him.

After opening it, Doctor Zola's portrait appeared on the screen.

Madame Viper raised an eyebrow slightly and asked with some confusion:

"Huh? Why hasn't Strucker shown up?"

Pierce swept his gaze across the room, waved his hand, and said sternly:

"Forget about him. First, Captain America isn't dead, and he'll be found again soon."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was shocked, and whispers immediately filled the conference room.

"How is that possible? It's been nearly seventy years. He should have died of old age by now, shouldn't he?"

"Could he have been frozen all this time?"

Pierce waved his hand again, signaling everyone to quiet down, and said:

"You don't need to worry about that for now. What I'm about to announce is another, even more important decision."

Everyone immediately fell silent and listened intently.

Pierce took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"I've decided that our hidden faction will officially pledge allegiance to the demon god who descended upon Earth—Lucifer."

Crossbones frowned deeply and said in confusion:

"Sir, that demon god does seem powerful, but surely not powerful enough for us to voluntarily submit to him. Did he discover us?"

Gideon Malick shouted with some dissatisfaction:

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? We worship the Hydra God! How can we so easily switch our allegiance to someone else?"

Baron Zemo also said coldly:

"Pierce, so your faction intends to break away from Hydra?"

Only Madame Viper remained silent, her eyes flickering as her thoughts raced.

Seeing this, Pierce said:

"There's some highly classified information you didn't know before. Take a look at it now."

As he spoke, he took out a document—the Level Ten classified file codenamed "Lucifer."

It detailed every known piece of data on Lu Xi, as well as his terrifying, jaw-dropping destructive power.

Pierce continued:

"Also, Lord Lucifer possesses the ability to grant power. Aside from that female Angel in the recent news, did you know Peggy Carter was granted power too? She looks younger than my granddaughter now!"

At that point, a trace of pride flashed through Pierce's eyes. "But I'm not bad either. My lord has already granted me a bit of power!"

After saying that, he rose to his feet and executed a clean standing backflip on the spot, leaving everyone so stunned that their jaws nearly dropped.

Everyone present was a Hydra core member or leader.

They knew very well that Pierce had always been in poor health, and even his daily walk had been somewhat unsteady.

Yet he could now perform such an agile movement. It was clear that the power he had been granted was truly extraordinary.

Pierce struck while the iron was hot and said:

"What would it matter even if we Hydras truly ruled the world? We would still grow old, and we would still die!"

"But if we pledge allegiance to my lord, we'll have a chance to be granted Eternal life and limitless power, as long as we serve him well!"

The moment they heard this, their expressions changed dramatically. All at once, Hydra no longer seemed so appealing.

Warrior-type agents like Crossbones had always found the temptation of increased power hard to resist. His eyes now gleamed as he immediately declared:

"Sir, I support your decision. I swear to follow Lord Lucifer unto death!"

Garrett had been severely injured during an early mission. He had joined Hydra and accepted extensive mechanical organ transplants only to stay alive.

However, those modifications could only temporarily sustain his life and could not stop the gradual failure of his organs.

Hearing that he had a chance to gain power and change his situation, he hurriedly said, "I too will follow Lord Lucifer!"

As for Sitwell, there was even less to say. He had always followed whichever way the wind blew, siding with whoever was stronger, and immediately echoed:

"Of course I have no objections. Everything will be arranged as you say, sir!"