The True Hydra

At dawn, Ke Chen felt like his waist had gone numb.

Even Batman's physique was useless. He would probably need Superman's body of steel to withstand the ferocious Elektra.

No wonder the old saying went: there was no field that could be plowed to ruin, only oxen worked to death.

In fact, Elektra was exhausted too and could no longer get up. Otherwise, they might have had some morning exercise.

Ke Chen went downstairs to make breakfast, intending to have the three of them drink the Fountain of Immortality while they were all here.

As the saying went, when one person attained the Way, even their chickens and dogs ascended to heaven.

If he had something good, he naturally wanted to share it with the people around him.

Living forever was actually a very boring thing. Especially without anyone by one's side, it could become so boring that one wanted to die.

For example, Tivan, the famous Collector of the universe. His wife had accompanied him for three billion years, but she grew tired of longevity and gave up her immortality.

Even with someone beside them, people could see immortality as a torment, let alone without anyone.

As for Ke Chen himself, he had long secretly used a drop of the Fountain of Immortality on himself. Nothing unusual had happened; only his lifespan had increased.

It was practically an endless life.

Soon, Peggy came downstairs looking somewhat drained.

"Didn't sleep well last night?"

Ke Chen looked at Peggy and asked.

Peggy immediately glared at him.

Ke Chen found that rather baffling. The villa's soundproofing was excellent; even if Peggy lived in the room next to his, she should not have been able to hear anything.

All he could say was that a woman's heart was as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.

"Here, drink this. Each of you has one."

Ke Chen spoke.

He handed Peggy a cup.

"What is this?"

Peggy asked doubtfully.

How stingy. There was only one drop!

And it looked no different from water...

"The Fountain of Immortality!"

Ke Chen did not hide it from Peggy.

"What?"

Peggy stared at Ke Chen with shocked eyes.

"Peggy, I want you to stay by my side forever."

Ke Chen said earnestly.

Peggy was alone in this world, and it was unlikely that she could return. As long as she did not run off with America Chavez, who could travel between worlds, it would be fine.

That was why Ke Chen told her directly that this was the Fountain of Immortality.

In truth, even if Peggy could return now, she might not choose to leave.

After all, there was no one familiar to her in that world anymore.

What meaning would there be in going back?

Peggy looked at Ke Chen, her gaze becoming tender as she chose to drink that drop of the Fountain of Immortality.

She already knew that Ke Chen was mysterious, so she chose to trust him.

Who did not want immortality?

If it was real, that would naturally be wonderful. If it was fake, there was nothing she could do about it.

But Ke Chen probably would not deceive her about something like this.

After all, today was no longer April Fool's Day.

"I never said I wanted to stay by your side forever. I just want immortality."

Peggy licked her lips. Seeing the burning look in Ke Chen's eyes, she suddenly said this with quickened breaths.

Fortunately, Lorna broke the awkwardness.

When Lorna came downstairs, Ke Chen did not hide it from her either and had her drink the Fountain of Immortality as well.

If anyone trusted Ke Chen the most, it was Lorna.

Her life had changed because of Ke Chen, and she was utterly devoted to him.

Even Ke Chen's two goddaughters probably did not trust him as much as Lorna did.

Lorna was even more excited after drinking the Fountain of Immortality. No woman would not want to preserve her beauty forever.

Especially when she was at the most beautiful stage of her life.

White women were like that. They were at their prettiest from fifteen to twenty-five, but once they hit thirty, their looks began to decline sharply.

That was why there were countless cases of adults preying on minors in the United States...

Just as the saying went, no one stayed eighteen forever, but there were always eighteen-year-olds.

However, that saying no longer applied to Peggy and Lorna. They could remain eighteen forever.

They could preserve their youth and hold on to the most beautiful years of their lives.

Soon, Elektra came downstairs with difficulty. Ke Chen did not tell her the truth and simply had her drink it.

Elektra did not pay it much mind or ask any questions. After breakfast, she left immediately.

She was still very busy.

It was not that Ke Chen did not want to tell her the truth, but Elektra's situation was different.

She still had parents in this world. If Elektra learned that this was the Fountain of Immortality, what would she think?

So Ke Chen acted selfishly for once.

He did not have much Fountain of Immortality, and who knew whether her parents might leak the secret?

If immortality became something easily obtained, no one would cherish it.

Life became peaceful once more, while time flew by.

Peggy gradually got used to this life. After all, she had previously lived through the tense years of World War II, when missions could come for her at any moment.

That habit was difficult to change overnight, and she only slowly came to accept her current "slow-paced" life.

Just like many veterans returning from the battlefield lacked a sense of security at home.

It was a habit formed on the battlefield.

But Peggy was fine. She would not lack a sense of security, because she was powerful enough.

They learned quite a few stories about Peggy. During World War II, she often took on Hydra bases by herself.

What made Peggy proudest was that Hydra had already been eliminated.

Ke Chen merely smiled every time and did not say a word.

Hydra had been destroyed?

It would give her a surprise...

Of course, it would definitely be shocking. Whether Peggy would be pleased was another matter.

Ke Chen did not know much about Hydra's origins, but he knew it was far from simple.

Hydra was a mysterious organization that had existed for thousands of years.

Schmidt during World War II—the Red Skull—was actually only one member of Hydra.

Hydra's highest council was the Council of Nine. Schmidt was only one of the nine, and during World War II, he had already been expelled from Hydra.

In other words, Red Skull's true identity was merely that of a loser in Hydra's internal power struggle.

He represented only the Hydra faction in Austria and his own loyal followers. The rest of Hydra no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Yet even so, Red Skull had nearly destroyed the world...

The most terrifying thing about Hydra was that after World War II, four of the United States' nine major financial conglomerates were controlled by Hydra.

Hydra could even manipulate presidential elections.

That was why Hydra had bases all over the world. It was truly colossal, nowhere near something a mere S.H.I.E.L.D. could compare to.

Therefore, it was only natural that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been so easily infiltrated by Hydra and turned into the Snake Shield Bureau.

Did they really think bringing in a few scientists could turn S.H.I.E.L.D. into the Snake Shield Bureau?

If so, they should not have studied science. They should have studied how to brainwash people.

In fact, after S.H.I.E.L.D. was established, Hydra's Council of Nine set its sights on the organization. Hydra had even helped Howard Stark and the others develop and grow...