The atmosphere inside the cramped safe room was oppressive and suffocating. The faint hum of the jamming device on the wall echoed continuously. The threads of Project Insight, Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D.., and the Winter Soldier were intertwined, completely blocking everyone's train of thought. Steve repeatedly rubbed the cold USB drive in his pocket through the fabric with his fingertips, the internal struggle almost crushing him.
Fury's dying words, "Don't trust anyone," still echoed clearly in his ears, but the reality before him left no room for continued vigilance. Coulson revealed all the details of Lynn's advance warning: Project Insight would be fully operational within days. If Hydra. S.H.I.E.L.D., and if they continued to conceal their clues, everyone would be completely on the defensive. At that point, not only would they be unable to uncover the truth behind Fury's assassination, but the entire world would fall under the enemy's control.
He looked up at the three people in front of him. Coulson's eyes were full of anxiety, Maria Hill's brows were furrowed, and Natasha was cold and aloof, her eyes devoid of any calculation. Then he remembered the list of trustworthy people Lynn had left for Coulson, and he, Natasha, and Hill were all on it. After a long struggle, Steve finally loosened his clenched fist, slowly reached into his inner pocket and took out a black encrypted USB drive. His fingertips trembled slightly as he handed the item to Coulson.
" Fury barged into my apartment, shoved this at me, and before he could say much, he was ambushed." Steve's voice was low and heavy. "I don't know what's stored inside."
Coulson immediately took the USB drive, his fingertips quickly tracing the encryption pattern on the casing. He then retrieved a portable micro-terminal from his desk drawer—completely disconnected from the network and with the positioning module removed—and quickly read basic access information by inserting it into the interface. The screen's faint light illuminated the faces of the group in the dimly lit room. Hill leaned closer to examine it, while Natasha stood by, keeping a close eye on the door to prevent any accidental intrusion.
In just half a minute, Coulson pulled out the USB drive, his expression suddenly turning serious. He handed the flash drive to Natasha, indicating that she should check it.
Natasha held the USB drive between her fingertips, gently tracing the texture of the casing with her fingertips, and solemnly told everyone:
"This USB drive is equipped with a six-level real-time positioning system. As long as it is connected to any networked device, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters will lock the device's precise coordinates within three seconds, with an error margin of no more than three meters. We are currently in a safe house, and all devices are physically disconnected from the network, so we will not be exposed for the time being. However, to fully read the encrypted data inside, we must connect to a public network for parsing. Operating it directly here is no different from actively exposing our identity and waiting to be surrounded."
Hill's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he rubbed his temples. "Level 6 location tracking is the highest level of authority the director can configure. Once triggered, field operations, assault teams, and reconnaissance units will simultaneously converge on the coordinates, leaving no room for escape."
Coulson put away his micro-terminal and locked the desktop drawer. "We need to find a public place with a large flow of people and a lot of mixed signals. The crowds can disrupt the pursuers' line of sight, and the chaotic public network signals can briefly interfere with the positioning accuracy, giving us a buffer time to operate and evacuate."
After quickly packing their gear and confirming that the jamming device had locked the safe house door, the group drove away through a quiet alley on the outskirts of the city. The car was cramped, and the atmosphere remained tense. Steve broke the silence first.
" The Winter Soldier assassinated the nuclear engineer years ago, and now he's ordered to ambush Fury. Just who is this guy?"
Natasha turned her head to look at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, her tone calm but tinged with coldness. "As far as I know, he is a super soldier created by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, manipulated for years, his memories erased, and dedicated to assassination. He disappeared for so many years, and his reappearance now is enough to show that Hydra has completely given up on hiding."
"If Hydra has truly been lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D.. for decades, preparing to seize global control through Project Insight, it's no wonder Lynn warned Coulson beforehand." Hill leaned back in the passenger seat, his fingertips rapidly flipping through the limited old files in the car's storage. "Once Project Insight is activated, the information of billions of people worldwide will be filtered in real time; the consequences will be unimaginable."
Coulson gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. " Lynn must have foreseen this civil unrest and warned me. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough evidence to stop it in time."
Steve sighed softly, feeling utterly helpless. "I never imagined that after decades, instead of being wiped out, they would infiltrate the organization we're protecting."
"There's no use in lamenting now," Natasha said calmly, steer the conversation back to the present. "We'll first analyze the USB drive to get clues, then we'll figure out how to separate the Hydra and Project Insight lines. Although Lynn isn't here, he left behind a complete list of trustworthy people, and we can try to contact him for assistance later."
The vehicle drove into the largest shopping mall in the city center. The weekend crowds were bustling with customers, and the various brand electronics displays were packed with people. The noise perfectly masked the tense atmosphere among the group. They dispersed, walking in pairs, and eventually met up in front of the digital computer display in the central area. Dozens of demo units connected to the mall's public Wi-Fi were displayed on the stand, making it the only suitable spot to operate them, with tourists constantly passing by.
Natasha took the USB drive from Coulson, weighed the black flash drive in her fingertips, glanced at the three people beside her, and quickly explained the evacuation plan.
"Considering the time they spend on the road and the interference from public Wi-Fi signals, we can only delay them for a maximum of nine minutes." She paused, lowering her voice to make sure only those around her could hear, "During the operation, we'll spread out. Hill will keep watch at the entrances and exits, while Coulson and the captain will stand guard on either side of the display case to block the view of others. In case of any emergency, everyone must immediately evacuate the mall and return to the top-secret safe house on the outskirts of the city. Do not contact anyone individually."
Hill nodded, turned and walked towards the main aisle of the mall without making a sound, pretending to be a casual customer, his eyes always fixed on the mall's main entrances and exits, ready to send out warning messages at any time. Coulson and Steve stood on either side of the display case, pretending to discuss laptop specifications, using their bodies to block the screens from the view of surrounding tourists.
Natasha bent down and casually inserted the USB drive into the side port of an unused demo laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and a series of complex decryption commands were rapidly entered onto the screen. Encryption barriers and tracking interception warnings kept popping up on the screen. Her fingers kept switching between programs, trying to bypass the built-in positioning module to read deep files.
The nine-minute buffer time flew by, and unable to crack it, Natasha could only trace it in reverse. Fortunately, she finally managed to read an address.
" Wheaton, New Jersey," Natasha read the words on the screen in a low voice, her brows furrowed.
Hill's hurried footsteps came from afar. She quickly walked to the group's side, her face no longer showing any composure, and her urgent tone conveyed an urgent warning.
"A large number of S.H.I.E.L.D.. field assault teams have arrived outside the mall."
As soon as the words were spoken, agents dressed in black combat uniforms with bulging belts could be seen rushing into the building from a distance.
"No time to analyze the clues, split up and evacuate immediately!" Natasha yanked the USB drive out of Coulson's hand and quickly whispered, "Find cover among the crowd and disperse. Once we've shaken off our pursuers, we'll meet up at the safe house!"
The four scattered instantly, merging into the crowded flow of customers, and broke through to different exits of the mall, while layers of search agents were rapidly approaching the digital exhibition area behind them.