Preparing for Action

Daredevil ultimately did not kill himself. He was not the kind of person who would be so easily crushed by hardship that he chose suicide to end his life.

That much was clear from the fact that he had lived on despite going blind.

After taking a hot shower, Daredevil felt his way out of the bathroom. The takeout Jack had ordered downstairs had already been delivered to the room.

Jack took Daredevil by the hand and guided him to the sofa. Then he said, "Eat something first, then listen to me. I'm not going to lecture you this time. I only want to talk to you about one thing!"

Daredevil did not move his hand. He wanted to know what this one thing Jack wanted to discuss was.

"Well, if you don't plan on eating something to fill your stomach first, what I'm about to say may leave you unable to eat for the next few hours."

"Do you know Hydra?"

Daredevil nodded. Who among them—their fathers' generation and even their grandfathers' generation—didn't know Hydra?

In the history of the Marvel Universe, Nazi Hydra was far more famous than Nazi Germany. Those weapons, which still seemed highly futuristic even in this era, naturally made Nazi Germany itself much less eye-catching.

"Hydra was never destroyed!"

"They took advantage of the opportunity to absorb Nazi scientists and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States. Would you believe that?"

Daredevil's mouth twitched. He felt that Jack might have gone crazy, or perhaps had some kind of delusional mental disorder. Otherwise, how could he say something like that?

Hydra had not been destroyed?

It had even been hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D.?

What was that supposed to mean?

They had hidden for seventy years, across several generations, and you...

Sensing that something was off, Daredevil immediately questioned Jack. "You're Hydra?"

Jack admitted it with complete candor. "Yes, I am. Half of S.H.I.E.L.D. is. Why do you think Hell's Kitchen has been able to survive in New York for decades?"

"Th-That's impossible!" Daredevil cried out.

Imitating Hela's tone from Thor 3, Jack said to Daredevil, "Darling, you have no idea what's possible."

Daredevil said, "Do you realize that sounds a little suggestive?"

Jack said, "Why are you as gay as Coulson...?"

After Jack gave Daredevil a crash course on Hydra's stirring history—crossing the ocean to the United States, rebuilding its vast organization, lying low for seventy years, and finally approaching its day of reckoning—

Daredevil completely shook off the negative emotions that had plagued him for days.

And Jack's final words successfully pulled him back to his feet.

"Matt Murdock, I hope you understand that wherever there is light, there will be darkness. These twins have been entangled for countless years; neither can kill the other."

"If you choose to stop defending the light just because you cannot eradicate darkness completely, then your thinking is far too childish!"

"Every day, every person, every event—this world keeps turning because of all these things."

"I know you became a superhero because you wanted to stop evil from happening, but you also know in your heart that you cannot prevent every evil deed."

"If you lose heart and choose to give up at a time like this—"

"Then they will lose a goal, an idol, a man who symbolizes hope!"

"Just like Captain America, what you need to do is inspire courage in people's hearts and tell them that only by taking up the weapons in their hands can they protect themselves and their families!"

"When every person in this world stands against injustice, against evil, and against everything lurking in the darkness, only then will your mission as a superhero be complete!"

"This isn't something you can accomplish by catching a few petty thieves, taking down a few gangs, or ruining a few deals!"

"Do you understand?!"

"You took the wrong path from the very beginning!"

"If you want to protect the people, you must start at the root!"

"You must awaken the conscience in their hearts! Shatter their apathy! Make them bravely stand up, just like you!"

Thoroughly fired up by Jack's words, Daredevil trembled all over with excitement. He threw back his head and let out a long howl, then pressed both hands onto Jack's shoulders and thanked him with the utmost sincerity he could muster. "I understand! Thank you, Jack! I completely understand now!!!"

Jack said, "Come on, let's talk about Hydra Captain Steve Rogers."

Daredevil said, "Can you not ruin my childhood...?"

When Daredevil learned that Jack had encouraged him only because of something that was still at the stage of merely suspecting someone's gaze, he smiled helplessly.

He had been blind for years. What the hell was an Evil Gaze? He did not feel anything about it at all.

Still, seeing how serious Jack was, he figured that since his benefactor had said so, he should take the time to investigate it.

Just as Daredevil was considering how to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., Jack looked at the completely empty system prompt and furrowed his brow.

"What's going on?"

"Didn't Daredevil pull himself together completely after my encouragement?"

"I did encourage Daredevil to get back on his feet because I needed a helper to investigate Captain America, but I've always felt guilty about destroying his faith. That should count as doing a good deed, right?"

"But the system didn't deduct my Evil Points..."

"So, is this because it can't determine that I did a good deed, or because Daredevil never actually pulled himself together?"

Looking at the high-spirited Daredevil, Jack felt that the system most likely just could not judge this as a good deed...

Feeling that the system was getting worse and worse, Jack did not spend much time dwelling on it.

After the two fell silent for a while, they began discussing the investigation into Captain America.

As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who knew everything concerning S.H.I.E.L.D. below Level Six, Jack gave Daredevil an opportunity to get close to Captain America undercover.

Although Captain America had been dug out and even revived by S.H.I.E.L.D.,

at his core, he was a free man. He was not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, so he was not under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction, nor did S.H.I.E.L.D. dare to truly place Captain America under protective detention.

After all, even Coulson was a rabid Captain America fan, and there were quite a few Captain America fans within S.H.I.E.L.D.

If someone truly lost their mind and tried to imprison Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably have a fan war on its hands before it ever faced Hydra's internal conflict.

Therefore, Captain America would inevitably be allowed to wander freely around New York.

And that meant Daredevil's opportunity had arrived.

Based on Captain America's military rank when he enlisted during World War II, along with the increased pay and allowances he received after becoming a super soldier, his income before he went missing definitely had not been low.

On top of that, those publicity-loving congressmen enjoyed using Captain America's deeds for show every year. For seventy whole years, they had never publicly declared Captain America officially dead. To keep the story going, they had always said that Captain America was missing.

"Maybe he and the girl he loved lived in seclusion in some little country villa after the end of World War II?"

"Hey! Maybe someone you run into is Captain America's grandson?"

Thus, the accumulated seventy years of military pay, along with the pension Captain America should have been paid according to his legal age, had remained unpaid because they could not find Captain America himself.

So at a time like this, they needed a professional lawyer to retrieve that money on Captain America's behalf.

After all, if you brought in a young man in his twenties and claimed he was Captain America, even if he looked exactly like Captain America, people might not believe you!