Pierce's remaining value, a ruthless bidding war to extract intelligence

The phrase "The chance to redeem yourself is right here" was like a lifeline, lightly tossed by Lynn into the Abyss of despair that the three goddesses were drowning in.

The oppressive atmosphere, as solid as lead, was instantly stirred up.

Almost simultaneously, a sickly light rekindled on the three paper-white faces of Wanda, Hela, and Jean Grey. It was a light of desperate longing, as if glimpsing the entrance to heaven from the depths of Hell.

Their gazes, like three tamed searchlights, were all focused on the floating, silver-white escape pod in front of Lynn.

Alexander Pierce.

This "toy," which they had recently regarded as their ultimate trophy and which had triggered a clash of Skyfather-level energies, has now become their only salvation.

Lynn was very satisfied with their reaction.

He didn't want absolute obedience, but rather competitive obedience, a frantic, infighting struggle to gain his approval. Only by keeping them constantly aware of the crisis and the hunger for power could their strength be used to the fullest extent for him.

He extended a finger and gently tapped the metal shell of the escape pod, producing a crisp "ding" sound.

"This mortal is Hydra's highest-ranking leader within S.H.I.E.L.D.." Lynn's tone was calm, as if he were assigning a routine departmental task. "His brain contains Hydra's entire global strategy spanning the past seventy years."

"What I want is the coordinates of all Hydra's bases, the Safe House network, secret assets, the Infiltrating Agents List... everything."

Lynn paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across the three women's faces, like a strict project manager emphasizing the final requirements of the KPIs.

There are two evaluation criteria.

"First, efficiency. I need to obtain the most complete and accurate intelligence in the shortest amount of time."

"Second, integrity. In the process of extracting intelligence, I don't want this 'database' to suffer any permanent physical or psychological damage. After all, a living, conscious, desperate person is more valuable than a corpse."

As he finished speaking, an invisible, brutal competition revolving around "business capabilities" officially Veil.

This time, there was no violent energy clash, nor any hysterical accusations. The three goddesses had learned their lesson. They knew that what Lynn needed now was not dazzling destruction, but the ability to solve problems.

Whoever can come up with the most perfect "solution" will be able to climb out of the quagmire of "punishment" and stand back in the position closest to him.

"I'll do it."

Hela was the first to step forward.

The Aura of Death emanating from her had become extremely refined, no longer the rampant and intimidating presence of before, but rather a precise, Scalpel- like sharpness.

"His soul belongs to me." Hela's voice was cold and confident, as if stating a given fact. "I can completely detach his soul from his body and roast it at a low temperature with the Underworld Fire. This pain reaches the very source, yet it will not damage his memory structure. He will be like a book that has been passively opened, spitting out every word he knows. Throughout the entire process, his body will be kept in optimal condition by my Death Force, without suffering the slightest damage."

This is a typical scheme belonging to the Goddess of Death. It is efficient, cruel, and full of absolute control over the soul.

Lynn remained noncommittal, only turning his gaze to Wanda.

Wanda bit her lower lip. She knew Hela's plan was very competitive, but she had also found her own advantages.

"Too slow, and too dirty." Wanda rejected Hyla's suggestion without hesitation, her Scarlet eyes gleaming with intelligence and cunning. "The wails of a soul will generate a lot of useless 'noise,' affecting the purity of the intelligence. Besides, who knows if he might give the wrong coordinates under extreme pain?"

She stepped forward and presented her "project plan": "Leave it to me. I can modify the cognitive logic of his cerebral cortex, putting him into an 'absolutely safe' dream. In the dream, he will believe that Hydra is facing an unprecedented crisis, and that he is the only savior, urgently needing to back up all information to a ' Highest Encryption ' server."

Driven by absolute 'loyalty' and 'responsibility,' he will proactively, accurately, and without reservation compile and 'report' all intelligence. This is the most efficient and cleanest method. He will personally build a complete database for us, and he himself will only consider it a great feat."

This plan is a level above Hela's torture methods.

It exploits human weaknesses, turning exploitation into "voluntary cooperation," greatly reducing the risk of intelligence errors.

Hela's face darkened; she hadn't expected Wanda to come up with such a cunning plan.

A hint of approval finally appeared on Lynn's face. He nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with Wanda's proposal, but still didn't make a decision immediately.

His gaze passed over the two of them and landed on Jean Grey, who had remained silent throughout.

Jean felt Lynn's gaze. She slowly raised her head. In her Dark Gold phoenix eyes, there was neither Hela's domineering nature nor Wanda's eagerness, but only an absolute confidence that seemed to see through everything.

She even smiled, a smile tinged with pity for the other two's "cleverness."

Why go through all that trouble?

The piano's sound was soft, yet it was like an invisible sword, instantly piercing through the barriers of Hela and Wanda's carefully constructed Bastion.

"Whether it's searing the soul or weaving dreams, it's all just scratching the surface. You're still 'demanding' information, passively waiting for him to 'give' it to you."

Qin stretched out her slender, fair fingers and pointed towards the escape pod.

"His brain is nothing more than a hard drive made of proteins that stores information. The data inside is encrypted, partitioned, and contains hidden files."

"And I..." Qin's lips curled into a proud smile, and a fleeting aura of Phoenix -like power emanated from her, "... I am the system administrator with the Highest Access Privileges."

"I don't need him to speak, I don't need him to dream, I don't even need him to be conscious."

"I can bypass all his mental firewalls, bypass his pitiful self-awareness, and go directly to the deepest level of his memory. Like a librarian entering a library that is not open to the public, I can quietly and precisely copy out all the information I need, row by row."

"He won't feel anything during this process. For him, only a second might have passed. But for me, I've already read his entire life story."

"Lossless, efficient, and absolutely accurate, with no possibility of information distortion."

After Qin finished speaking, she bowed slightly and, in an almost reverent tone, delivered her final concluding remarks. "Master, what you need is not an 'interrogation' process, but a ' Data Migration ' result. And I can provide you with the most perfect result."

Dead silence.

The expressions on Hela and Wanda's faces shifted from competition to astonishment, and finally to a barely concealed sense of defeat and jealousy.

They lost.

A complete and utter defeat.

If their approach was a clever surgical procedure, then Jean Grey's approach was Dimensionality-Reduction Strike.

This is no longer a matter of superior or inferior methods, but a crushing defeat on a matter of life level.

"Very good."

Lynn finally spoke, breaking the suffocating silence. He made no attempt to hide his admiration as he slowly walked up to the piano.

"Clean, efficient, just what I wanted."

He reached out and gently lifted Qin's chin. This domineering movement caused Qin's body to tremble slightly, and her face to flush with a sickly redness.

"You will be in charge of this project."

Lynn's verdict struck Hela and Wanda like a heavy hammer, causing them to sway uncontrollably.

But Lynn's next words gave them a glimmer of hope.

"However, this is a team project." Lynn turned to the other two, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Hela, you're in charge of constructing the Death Barrier, shielding it from all possible external interference, and ensuring the absolute physical security of the 'database.' Wanda, you use Chaos Magic to stabilize his vital signs, preventing his mortal body from collapsing under the strain of the deep Mental Scan."

"You two, report to Qin. Understand?"

Should they... report to Qin?

This statement was more damaging than losing the bid. It meant that they had temporarily been relegated from being equal competitors to being Qin's "subordinates."

Wanda's fingernails almost dug into her palms, and Hela's eyes were so dark they seemed to drip with tears. But they dared not voice any objections, only managing to squeeze out two words through gritted teeth:

"... clear."

Lynn nodded in satisfaction; this was exactly the balance of power he wanted.

He stepped back, making room for Qin.

A radiant, obsessive smile, unique to victors, bloomed on Jean's face. She walked to the escape pod, ignoring Pierce's terrified, contorted face inside.

For her, this was definitely not a person anymore.

This is a hard drive waiting to be read.

She stretched out her finger and gently tapped the observation window of the escape pod.

The Dark Gold Phoenix Force, like an invisible, gentle Data Stream, silently seeped in and enveloped Pierce's head.

Pierce, suspended in mid-air, suddenly stiffened, his eyes instantly losing focus and becoming empty and blank.

He was still conscious and could feel his own existence, but he found that he had lost control of his body and mind. He was like a moviegoer in a theater, forced to watch a documentary about his life, sped up ten thousand times.

Countless secrets, conspiracies, betrayals, killings... those secrets he was so proud of, those secrets buried deep in his heart, were now being forcibly extracted, copied, and archived from the depths of his mind like a waterfall, by an irresistible force.

His arrogance and dignity, befitting the highest leader of Hydra, were shattered in that instant.

He became a completely naked, transparent person, publicly displayed.

Qin closed her eyes, a vast stream of information flashing through her mind. A few minutes later, she frowned slightly.

She stopped reading, slowly opened her eyes, and turned to look at Lynn.

A hint of unexpected surprise flickered in those Dark Gold phoenix eyes.

"Lynn..." For the first time, uncertainty crept into her voice, "I discovered something... unplanned."

"It's encrypted at the lowest level, with even higher privileges than ' Project Insight '."

"In Siberia... they have a secret base. Not just simple Super-Soldiers, they're conducting... Mutant Gene-Fusion Experiments."