Turning strength against itself, Lynn's bargaining chip
The eerie blue beam of light, like a sharp sword, cleaved the frigid Siberia night sky in two.
The raging wind, carrying ice and snow, was frantically sucked into the pitch-black Spatial Rift. Deep within the rift, a pair of mechanical eyes, glowing with Scarlet light, radiated absolute coldness and computational logic. They possessed no human emotions, only a pure desire for destruction.
The pungent smell of Ozone instantly masked the burnt smell of the engine oil.
Lynn's pupils constricted to pinpoints. The Ultron's Prototype? The Zola Algorithm combined with the energy of the Tesseract had somehow prematurely created this monster at this crucial juncture? Who secretly altered Hydra's Underlying Logic?!
Before Lynn could react, an energy more violent than a polar storm exploded beside him.
"Go back!"
Wanda's sharp rebuke echoed across the icy plains. The Scarlet in her eyes burned as if it were a tangible flame, and Chaos Particles surged forth from her body like boiling magma.
In her world, anything that dares to threaten Lynn, whether human or machine, will only be wiped out.
Wanda thrust her hands forward with a vengeance, and two enormous hands formed from pure Chaos Energy shot out, forcefully plunging into the edge of the Azure Space Rift. Accompanied by a chilling sound of energy tearing apart, the Scarlet giant hands squeezed inwards frantically.
Deep within the crack, the mechanical eyes flashed a high-frequency warning red light, seemingly attempting to unleash some kind of energy in retaliation.
"Shatter!" Wanda clenched her fists tightly.
"Sizzle--Bang!"
The deafening sonic boom overturned the ice layer within a radius of tens of meters. The Spatial Rift collapsed under the absolute violence of the Skyfather-level Chaos Magic, and the mechanical eyes, along with the blue light inside, were crushed into a mass of nothingness particles.
The wind and snow returned to silence.
Wanda gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. She turned to look at Lynn, the violence in her eyes instantly transforming into a sickly tenderness as if she were seeking praise. She reached out and tightly gripped the hem of Lynn's clothes.
Lynn took her cold fingers in his hand and gently stroked the back of her hand. His gaze, however, passed over Wanda and landed on the massive Hulkbuster Armor in front of him.
Tony Stark stood frozen in place. On the Holographic Screens inside his armored visor, the red warning light for Higher-Dimensional Energy was still flashing wildly.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Tony's voice boomed through the loudspeaker, filled with barely suppressed rage and disbelief. He had clearly seen that the strange mechanical eye was definitely not a product of Earth's current technology.
"That's Hydra's 'future'." Lynn brushed the snow off his tactical uniform shoulder, his tone as calm as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather. "Stark, do you think you're just facing a few armed agents?"
Lynn stepped onto the crunching ice, walking towards the Hulkbuster Armor. With each step, his Invisible Force Field pushed away the snow and created an absolute vacuum.
"What you just saw was the nascent consciousness created by the Zola Algorithm combined with the energy of the Tesseract. An absolutely rational monster whose ultimate goal is to wipe out humanity." Lynn stopped in front of Tony, tilting his head slightly, his eyes extremely oppressive. "By killing Bucky Barnes now, you've cut off the only clue to finding this monster's core database."
Tony's visor snapped open, revealing a bloodshot face with clenched teeth.
"I don't care about monsters! All I know is that this bastard lying on the ground smashed my father's skull with that damned iron hand, punch after punch! He strangled my mother to death!" Tony's eyes twitched violently, and a low, trapped growl escaped his throat. "You want me to let him go? Lynn, are you insane?!"
"I'm not crazy, you're blinded by hatred." Lynn sneered, mercilessly tearing open Tony's wounds. "Kill him, and then what? Can you dig your parents out of their graves? You think killing a brainwashed weapon will wash away your guilt?"
Tony shuddered, Hulkbuster Armor let out a groan of strain.
"The real culprit is the high-ranking Hydra who gave the order, the vast system that controls everything from the shadows." Lynn slowed his speech, each word like a nail hammering into Tony's nerves. "Using a mindless puppet in exchange for the destruction of the entire Hydra. Stark, you're a businessman, tell me, are you in or not?"
The frigid wind rushed into Tony's lungs, feeling like it was being cut by a knife.
He stared intently at the Winter Soldier at the bottom of the pit, who was unable to resist and whose mouth was full of blood. Bucky's eyes were empty and numb, like a machine that had lost power.
Killing him would be too lenient.
And Lynn is right. If Bucky were blown up here today, that old fogey Steve Rogers would definitely fight him to the death. The Avengers would fall apart instantly, while the Hydra who actually planned the assassination would still be hiding in the shadows, laughing at him.
Tony's chest heaved violently a few times, and finally, he slowly closed his eyes.
"I want the list." When Tony opened his eyes again, the madness in them had been replaced by a chilling coldness. He looked directly into Lynn's eyes and said, word by word, "The list of all the high-ranking Hydra involved in that plan, the coordinates of all the secret bases. I want to send them to Hell with my own hands."
"Deal." A satisfied smile curved Lynn's lips.
He knew he had successfully sheathed the sharpest blade. From now on, Iron Man would not only cease to be an obstacle to his control of the situation, but would instead become the perfect free henchman for wiping out the remnants of Hydra.
Just as Lynn was about to turn around to check on Natasha's injuries, Tony's Hulkbuster Armor suddenly emitted a dull mechanical whirring sound.
The massive steel right arm slowly rose, its palm aimed at the Winter Soldier at the bottom of the pit.
Wanda's eyes turned cold instantly, and a faint Scarlet light shone from her fingertips once more. If this metal suit dared to fire, she would immediately twist it into a pretzel.
"Don't be nervous, Witch." Tony glanced coldly at Wanda, then fixed his gaze on Lynn. "A deal is a deal. I can spare this dog's life for now, and make him spill the information you want."
The armor on Tony's right arm slid open to the sides, revealing a section of Laser Cutter radiating blinding heat. The high-frequency humming sound was particularly jarring on the icy plains.
"But..." Tony's voice was filled with chilling killing intent. He steered the armor forward, and a huge shadow completely enveloped the Winter Soldier.
"This hand strangled my mother to death."
Tony stared expressionlessly at the Winter Soldier's Titanium Alloy left arm, which was completely paralyzed due to the loss of the Tesseract's power.
"I'm taking it with me. As interest."
A blinding High-Energy Laser instantly lit up, carrying a temperature that could melt anything, and headed straight for the Winter Soldier's left shoulder joint.
Lynn stood still, his hands in his tactical uniform pockets, neither speaking nor making a move. He simply watched coldly as the laser sliced through the hard Titanium Alloy.
The instant the laser touched the metal, sparks flying!
Lynn's Spider-Sense suddenly emitted a sharp, insane pain, as if a Steel Needles had pierced straight into his brain.
He suddenly lowered his head and stared intently at the severed shoulder of the Winter Soldier.
Inside, there were no sophisticated transmission gears or wires at all.
Beneath the molten Titanium Alloy shell, a dark red, writhing mass of grotesque flesh and blood was exposed to the frigid air, emitting a nauseating stench!