Ah~ This Damn Chaos

Jack had not expected to run into an Asian girl at Hammer Industries, and for her to have a room here.

When the little girl saw Jack, she was not frightened. Instead, she asked who he was.

"You are... that outfit! You're not security personnel, so who are you?"

"Oh! I am John Garrett, one of the Zodiac members!"

"You're with the Shield Brotherhood? Didn't they already split apart?"

"Uh... holy shit! You actually know about the Shield Brotherhood???"

Jack had only meant to tease her, but now he stared at the little girl before him in shock and suspicion. If she could name the Shield Brotherhood outright, she was probably no ordinary person...

Wait... even though this world's setting had already become outrageously chaotic!

The Shield Brotherhood actually existed?!

Are you sure you're not messing with me on purpose?

The Shield Brotherhood and Zodiac Jack spoke of were definitely not the Saints who had wandered in from the wrong series...

They referred to an organization established in 2620 BC to repel the alien parasitic creatures known as the Brood, which had invaded Earth.

Well, after internal betrayal within the organization, it ultimately split into S.H.I.E.L.D., the Spear Bureau, and Hydra.

Yes, including Hydra...

Or rather, one branch of Hydra...

It sounded rather confusing here...

But as someone on the inside of Hydra who knew a little about Hydra's history, Jack would not confuse these complicated relationships.

The Fundamentalist Faction, Red Skull's Nazi faction, Pierce's faction, A.I.M., along with all those miscellaneous European branches, could collectively be called Hydra.

But if one wanted to sort out their relationships, one had to remember one thing at all times—cut off one head, and two more would grow back.

First, the Fundamentalist Faction had been the original Hydra.

After these people, who spent every day thinking about welcoming back Hive, underwent a split, the Nazi faction led by Red Skull emerged.

After Red Skull was killed by Captain America, his scientists were absorbed into S.H.I.E.L.D.

At first, these people worked together as a group. Before long, the absorbed scientists encountered a more ambitious junior—Pierce.

Thus, Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. underwent another split, producing an organization called A.I.M., led by a group of researchers.

But what did any of that have to do with the Shield Brotherhood's split?

The answer was that not everyone had been Hydra from the beginning. Even Jack himself had not become Hydra from the start.

They had all been ordinary people at first, only being recruited by Hydra after demonstrating outstanding abilities.

So before the Shield Brotherhood split apart, Garrett had already been a Zodiac member. That meant he was at least several decades old, perhaps even older than Captain America...

I made one damn joke, and I uncovered such a huge truth?!

Garrett had been hiding in S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades after the organization split!

After sorting out the mess in his head, Jack rubbed his face. He felt as though he finally understood why Garrett and Sitwell had never gotten along in the television series and movies.

Garrett had been born before World War II and had already been a Shield Brotherhood member back then. Why would he think highly of a junior like Sitwell?

Hiss... this game is even bigger than I imagined...

If I'd known, I wouldn't have made that joke...

Now that I know the Shield Brotherhood exists, my head is killing me...

And this should explain why Isaiah, that super soldier, fought Bucky on the Korean battlefield...

They had all been part of the Shield Brotherhood before. Heretics were even more hateful than enemies...

Seeing Jack's dazed appearance, the little girl asked, "Hey? What's wrong with you? Don't collapse here."

Jack came back to his senses and glanced at the girl. Then, in silence, he drew his pistol from its holster. A chillingly strange smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Such a little girl. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a bargain for me."

The little girl, whose mind was clearly more developed than her appearance suggested, understood the meaning behind Jack's smile and immediately warned him.

"Sasha Hammer. My grandfather is Justin Hammer, so if you want to hurt me, you'd better..."

At the name Sasha, a sharp gleam flashed through Jack's eyes. He felt that he might have encountered someone important, so he suddenly asked, "Is your father Gene Khan?"

"You... no! He isn't!"

How could Sasha, still so young, possibly compete with Jack in psychological warfare? The moment he saw the panic on her face, Jack knew he had hooked a big fish.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly that Hammer, that middle-aged man, had married early. Not only did he have a daughter, he even had a granddaughter.

"Alright, you're under arrest!"

"Nothing you say from now on will be put on record, because S.H.I.E.L.D. won't hold a trial or hire you a lawyer. Your rights are useless in S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

Jack took out handcuffs, walked over to Sasha, forcibly cuffed her, and led her outside.

"Help!!! Help!!!"

"Hel—"

Jack covered Sasha's mouth and forcibly brought her downstairs, where he happened to run into Black Widow, who had just finished releasing Colonel Rhodes's armor from external control.

A young girl struggling desperately, with pleading eyes.

Kid... you've chosen a very narrow road...

After an old memory flashed through her mind, Black Widow stepped in front of Jack and asked in confusion, "This little girl isn't part of your undercover plan, is she?"

Jack shook his head. "No. She's Hammer's granddaughter, and the biological daughter of the Mandarin, whom your higher-ups have been hunting all this time."

"You! How did you know?" Upon hearing the Mandarin's name, Black Widow was shocked for a second, then immediately realized that someone with Jack's clearance should never have had access to information on such a high-risk figure.

Seeing that Black Widow was ready to attack at any moment, Jack shrugged. "Come on, Fury's dirty work doesn't always go to the same person. When you or Hawkeye are on vacation, I carry out plenty of Level Nine missions."

"So you think that because I'm classified as Level Six, I can't access Level Nine information?"

"You can go ask Fury to verify it later."

"This little girl must be taken to S.H.I.E.L.D. and detained today. She will be our hope for finding the Mandarin."

Seeing how serious Jack was, and that he displayed no hostile behavior, Black Widow nodded and approved Jack's arrest of Sasha.

However, when they left, Black Widow did not return with Jack. Instead, she got into the S.H.I.E.L.D. car she had called, and the two returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. separately.