Again

Dreykov's private plane landed at a secret base on the outskirts of Moscow. The hatch slowly opened, and Chen Tian led 2B, Madara, Dante, and Vergil down the boarding stairs. Dreykov followed behind them like a puppet on strings, his eyes vacant and his steps mechanical.

The core members of the Red Room had already lined up on the tarmac to await them. When they saw the faces of the arrivals, Alexei and Melina at the front simultaneously widened their eyes.

"Th-This isn't our neighbor, the Sparda Family?" Alexei blurted out, his rugged face filled with Man. He instinctively stroked his beard, as if confirming that this was not an illusion.

Melina's elegant posture wavered for the first time. Her gaze moved back and forth between Chen Tian and 2B before settling on the silver-haired girl who always helped pick up her dropped grocery bags. "Miss YoRHa?" Her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

Chen Tian gave a gentle smile, just as he did whenever they ran into each other in the neighborhood. "Long time no see, Mr. Alexei, Mrs. Melina."

The muscles beneath Alexei's suit tightened. He looked at the dazed Dreykov, then at the group of neighbors behind Chen Tian.

Melina quickly regained her composure, though her eyes remained sharp. "Who exactly are you people?"

Chen Tian took a step forward, and Dreykov immediately retreated respectfully behind him. That simple movement made every Red Room agent gasp.

"Just as I said before," Chen Tian said casually, as though discussing the weather, "we really are your neighbors. It's just that..." He paused, his smile deepening. "We also happen to be here to take over the Red Room."

Inside the Red Room conference room, Dreykov sat in the seat of honor while Chen Tian stood behind him, his hands resting on Dreykov's shoulders. His posture was casual, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of control.

"Everyone," Dreykov began. His voice was steady, but his tone sounded like he was reading from a script. "Starting today, the Red Room's highest decision-making authority will be transferred to Comrade Melina."

The conference room instantly erupted.

"What?!" Alexei shot to his feet, knocking his chair over. "Comrade Dreykov, what nonsense are you talking about?!"

The other senior officials also looked shocked. Some even drew their guns and pointed them at Chen Tian. "What did you do to him?!"

Dante whistled, spinning Rebellion around one finger. "Whoa, are we fighting now?"

Vergil snorted coldly. Yamato slid slightly from its sheath, flashing with icy light.

Madara's Sharingan turned silently. Everyone in the conference room suddenly froze—their movements, breathing, and even their thoughts were suppressed by an illusion in an instant.

Chen Tian ignored those who had been immobilized and looked at the only person still able to move: Melina.

"Looks like you're much smarter than they are."

Melina's pupils contracted slightly, but her expression remained calm. "An illusion? Mind control?"

"More or less." Chen Tian smiled. "Dreykov is no longer useful, but the Red Room still has value. And you—"

He slowly approached her, his voice carrying a hint of danger.

"—you're better suited than Dreykov to manage it."

Melina fell silent for several seconds, then gave a soft laugh. "What makes you think I'll cooperate?"

"Because you're not a lunatic like Dreykov." Chen Tian looked directly into her eyes. "You understand better than anyone that the Red Room's Black Widow Program was fundamentally a failure—those girls were brainwashed and controlled. In the end, they either became emotionless killing machines, or waited for an opportunity to overthrow the Red Room completely."

Melina's gaze wavered slightly.

"But you're different," Chen Tian continued. "I can tell that after your uterus was removed, your feelings for Natasha and Yelena were genuine. You truly treated both of them as your children."

Melina's breathing caught.

"So I'll give you a choice." Chen Tian spread his hands. "Become the Red Room's new master and reshape it my way—or become my puppet alongside Dreykov."

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

Several seconds later, Melina slowly raised her head. "If I agree, what do I get?"

"Freedom." Chen Tian smiled. "Real freedom. The Red Room will become your home, not your prison."

Melina stared at him, seemingly judging whether his words were true. At last, she gave a slight nod.

"Deal."

That night, the Red Room database was comprehensively updated.

Dreykov "voluntarily" signed the transfer-of-power documents. He and his most loyal followers were then taken into the Red Room's deepest execution chamber.

Chen Tian stood outside the one-way glass, coldly watching everything inside. Dreykov finally woke from the illusion. He suddenly looked up, terror and fury flashing through his eyes, but it was already too late—his throat was slit, and blood sprayed across the cold metal floor.

"I don't need puppets, and I need even less trouble," Chen Tian said indifferently before turning away.

The Red Room's new order began at that moment, thoroughly erasing all traces of the old era.

After learning that Melina had taken over the Red Room, Alexei stormed into the conference room in a rage. But after seeing Madara's Sharingan, he fell silent. In the end, he chose to accept reality—after all, compared to Dreykov, Melina at least would not treat him as an experiment.

Meanwhile, Melina stood in the Red Room command center, looking at the new orders flashing across the screen—

[Red Room Reorganization Plan]

1. End all training for underage agents and replace it with formal education.

2. Remove mental control from all existing Black Widow agents and let them choose whether to stay or leave voluntarily.

3. Transform the Red Room into an independent intelligence organization. Objective—protect the world.

She let out a soft breath and turned toward Chen Tian, who stood in the shadows. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Of course." Chen Tian smiled. "After all, from now on, the Red Room will have only one enemy—"

"—anyone who wants to destroy world peace."

Three days later, Natasha and Yelena were sent to a safe house in Norway.

When Melina appeared in person and told them, "The Red Room will never hunt you again," Natasha's expression shifted from guarded to disbelieving.

"Why?" she asked.

Melina looked at her for a long time before finally speaking softly. "Because someone made me understand that some things are more important than control."

Yelena tilted her head. "What things?"

Melina ruffled her hair and showed a rare faint smile.

"Feelings."

Chen Tian stood on the Red Room rooftop, overlooking the enormous spy empire.

2B came to his side. "Master, the plan is proceeding smoothly. All brainwashing programs jointly developed by Hydra and the Red Room have been cracked."

"This is only the beginning." Chen Tian chuckled. "The Red Room was only the first step. Next—"

His gaze turned toward the distance, as if piercing through the clouds to stare directly at an even greater shadow.

"—it's time Hydra tasted what it felt like to be devoured by the monsters it created."

Siberia Hydra Secret Base

The moment the heavy blast doors were blown apart, Hydra commander Klaus Schneider was still leisurely drinking coffee.

"Alert! Red Room agents are launching an assault!" A heart-wrenching shout came from the radio.

Schneider sneered and set down his coffee cup. "Why panic? The Red Room is our ally."

The next second, the wreckage of the blast doors crashed down. A woman in a red combat suit emerged from the smoke—Melina Vostokoff.

Schneider's expression froze.

"Ally?" Melina sneered as both pistols in her hands were cocked at once. "No. Starting today, the Red Room is Hydra's gravedigger."

Big Apple, Wall Street Underground Vault

Hydra's financial director Hank was counting stacks of dollars when he suddenly heard a steady knock from the vault door.

"Who is it?" He warily reached for the submachine gun beneath his desk.

"Room service," a sweet female voice answered from outside.

Hank had barely relaxed when the entire door was kicked flying. A silver-haired girl carrying a white katana walked in slowly, followed by more than a dozen fully armed former Black Widow agents.

"YoRHa, on behalf of the Red Room, is here to liquidate Hydra assets." Blue light flickered in the girl's mechanical eyes. "Friendly reminder: resistance means death. P.S., you are also about to become useless."

Hank looked at the Black Widows whom Hydra had once brainwashed. Now, the flames of vengeance burned in their eyes.

He suddenly understood—Hydra's disaster had arrived.

Hong Kong, Hydra Asian Headquarters

When Dante kicked open the top-floor conference room doors, Hydra's regional leader was burning documents.

"Yo, busy destroying evidence?" His red coat fluttered as Rebellion spun on his fingertip. "Need a hand?"

Vergil stepped out from behind him. Yamato flashed with cold light, and every filing cabinet, along with the leader, was instantly sliced into neat pieces.

"This is faster," the blue-clad swordsman said coldly.

"Bro, could you at least let me finish my cool line?" Dante spread his hands helplessly.

Melina strode through the central hall, its screens flickering as streams of data flowed across her fingertips. She suddenly stopped before a massive tactical display. Markers for 57% of Hydra bases had changed from red to blue. But at that moment, a golden emblem suddenly appeared at the edge of the screen—the symbol of the World Security Council.

"Chen Tian." Her voice carried a note of gravity. "The situation has changed."

Chen Tian slowly emerged from the shadows, the hem of his coat swaying lightly. "The Council finally can't sit still anymore?"

Melina quickly brought up an emergency communication record. On-screen, representatives of the five permanent members of the World Security Council were holding an emergency meeting. "They just passed a special resolution classifying the Red Room as a 'global threat.'" She pointed to a section of text. "They've ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to take action immediately."

Chen Tian stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, lightly rubbing his chin with his fingertips. Then he suddenly chuckled. "Notify every field team. Activate the Hibernation Protocol."

Melina raised a brow. "Full-scale concealment?"

"Only on the surface." Chen Tian turned around. "Let the snakeheads controlling the Council think they've won this psychological battle."

A deep light flashed in Chen Tian's eyes. "I need to go somewhere important." He pressed his wristwatch. "Tell Madara that I need him to temporarily take my place."

With that, he turned and left the command hall. Before stepping through its doors, Chen Tian stopped and looked back at Melina.

"I heard Natasha and Yelena are studying agent courses?"

Melina nodded helplessly. "Yes. I can't talk them out of it. They said they hope they can help."

Chen Tian chuckled. "Fine, let them work hard. Oh, and Madara will take over next. You can listen to his suggestions when appropriate. As long as he's not with Dante, his intelligence is still pretty reliable. Of course, you're still the boss."

Chen Tian stood before the Shiva Temple at Durbar Square, the evening light stretching his shadow long behind him. Over the past three days, he had searched every dark alley in the ancient city—Kamar-Taj seemed not to exist in this dimension at all.

"Master, there have been no discoveries so far." 2B's voice came through his earpiece. She was controlling three stealth drones as they patrolled the city.

Chen Tian had just turned around when a little boy in orange monk's robes suddenly stopped him. "Sir, would you like to buy an amulet?" The child held up a string of bone ornaments, one of which was a copper coin engraved with the symbol of a Sling Ring.

His pupils narrowed. This was clearly an entry-level artifact from Kamar-Taj. Just as he was about to ask, the little boy gave a crafty smile. "Twenty dollars, with the Sorcerer Supreme's afternoon tea included."

Chen Tian followed the boy through dark alleys. The instant he entered the building with the battered Himalayan Tea House sign, the entire space suddenly warped and twisted like paper crumpled by an invisible hand. Before the space had even finished reforming, his figure became an afterimage.

"The Ancient One! What timeline am I in now?!" Chen Tian instantly appeared in front of The Ancient One, who was brewing tea, and slammed his palm heavily onto the tea table. The cups on the sandalwood tea tray shook violently, while the Nebula-like tea mist that had condensed above them was torn apart by the gust.

Cracks spread across the sandalwood tea tray like a spiderweb, and The Ancient One slowly raised her head. Chen Tian's hand froze in midair—the bald head that had once been smooth as porcelain was now covered with fine Man wrinkles. Even her signature calm smile bore the marks of time.

"What... happened to you?" Chen Tian frowned. The Ancient One should not have looked like this. The Ancient One in 1996 should still have had that ageless appearance.

The golden spell circle at The Ancient One's fingertips was dissipating. Tea mist condensed into ice crystals within the lines of her face. "Curious?" She pushed the boiling teapot toward Chen Tian. "Didn't Diablo tell you?"

Chen Tian stared at her fingers, dry as withered branches. "He didn't say that much."

"To repair the dimensional collapse caused by Diablo's power and the self-destruction of the three Dimensional Demon Gods, I had no choice but to use the Time Stone's power." The Ancient One suddenly coughed violently, black streaks of blood spreading through the tea. "Dormammu's dark energy can only delay my death now. It can't reverse it."

"That isn't right. Strange used the power of time too, but he didn't end up like you." Chen Tian sat down beside The Ancient One.

"Haha, he was only able to use a small portion of it. If he used all of it, he would end up like me." The Ancient One laughed.

Chen Tian sighed. "What happens next?"

With a smiling wave of her hand, The Ancient One restored the blood-streaked tea to normal. "The me in this time is still the same, but the me in 2010 will probably die."

"So soon? Then Strange is..." Chen Tian asked in shock.

The Ancient One looked at him and shook her head. "When I say probably, I mean that if I stop using my power and only use what remains to sustain my body, I can still hold on until Strange comes looking for me."

"Then... who will protect Earth from being invaded by dimensional demon gods?"

"Do you think dimensional demon gods stay away from Earth because I exist? Have you forgotten Thor's father?"

"True, but it should be because both of you are here, right?"

"Yes. So Earth will suffer many hardships next. Nothing too major, but there will likely be many smaller ones. For example, there will be many more followers of dimensional demon gods."

"That's not too bad. How is Tony doing now?"

"Not well. He's been looking for you. Especially his attitude toward Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and those twins has been extremely terrible."

"Then could you help me notify him?"

"Um, I can. I'm already like this, so I can't stop people from disrupting the timeline anyway. Might as well leave it alone. What message do you want me to send back?"

"Just tell him I'm fine. Protect Earth, eliminate all the troublemakers, and remember to buy every new AAA game for me."

"You, is that all? Aren't you planning to leave anything behind? You control the Red Room now. You only need Tony to go there to receive the information you left."

"It doesn't matter. He doesn't need the Red Room's intelligence anyway, and I don't know what to leave him. It would just feel too sentimental."

"Fine, I'll pass along your words. Oh, right, what was I supposed to tell you when I came here?"

"Hm? Didn't I come to find you? How did it become you coming to me?"

The instant Chen Tian said that, his body began to glow emerald green.

When The Ancient One saw the light, her face suddenly filled with realization. "Right! Your body still contains residual Time Stone energy. You may be transported to different points in time from time to time."

By then, Chen Tian's mouth was hanging open as he looked back and forth between his blurry figure and The Ancient One's face.

"Y-You... why didn't you tell me earlier? You should have told me!" Chen Tian shouted angrily.

"I'm old. I can't remember things very clearly." The Ancient One picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"You..." Before Chen Tian could finish speaking, his body vanished into the air.

The Ancient One looked at the spot where Chen Tian had disappeared and tilted her head. "What was I here for?"