A frail but still steady voice came from the other end of the phone. " Lynn, you're the kind of guy who never catches up with old friends. You're never going to contact me for no reason. So, what are you trying to do with this retired old man this time?"
How could that be?
Lynn's voice was tinged with laughter.
"I'm going to give you a big gift. A gift that will keep those S.H.I.E.L.D.. busy for months to come. A... alien corpse."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Peggy Carter's seasoned voice became serious. "Where did you get this?"
"That's not important, Peggy. What's important is that they represent a completely new threat, a threat powerful enough to overturn the existing system of understanding."
"My men will deliver the goods to the secret handover point you designate. However, I have a small suggestion: it's best not to let Alexander Pierce know about this too soon. Young people these days always like to complicate things, don't they?"
" Pierce? He's the director now. I can't do this behind his back. Lynn, I've been retired for a long time."
Peggy's voice carried a sense of helplessness.
"What does it matter? After all, you built S.H.I.E.L.D.. from scratch."
"An alien who can transform into anyone—think about it, Peggy, what would such a creature do if it were already lurking on Earth? Maybe it's your neighbor you see every day, maybe it's a general in the Pentagon, maybe... it's someone you trust most."
After hanging up the call, the smile on Lynn's face vanished.
Of course, he wouldn't let Pierce know.
Once Pierce, the biggest Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D.., gets involved, this great show will lose one of its most important spectators, which would make it much less interesting.
Fortunately, Director Pierce rarely contacts Hydra due to his current position.
Lynn then gave Professor Pyg a second instruction.
The instructions were simple: to subtly reveal the "ingenious uses" of the Skrulls to the power-hungry and suspicious high-ranking members of Hydra.
A perfect closed loop is thus formed.
Vought presents the "gift" to S.H.I.E.L.D..
Hydra, will stop at nothing to seize this "gift."
During the struggle between the two sides, this precious corpse will be "accidentally" and completely destroyed.
In the end, SHIELD and Hydra will get nothing, but both sides will be convinced that the other side has mastered this terrifying biological weapon that can change the world.
Once the seeds of suspicion are sown, they will grow wildly in the darkness.
Hydra will be exposed to everyone's view.
S.H.I.E.L.D.. will undoubtedly fight this organization to the death.
He only needed to sit in the audience and watch the two Beast tear each other apart for a mere Phantom.
As Lynn cast his bait, another line at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters was quietly tightening.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Archives.
Barbara Minerva was organizing some of Howard Stark's early research manuscripts, unnoticed by anyone.
Holding the document, she went straight to the office of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Alexander Pierce.
"Chief Pierce."
Barbara placed the memo and a short analysis she had just written on the table.
"While sorting through Mr. Howard's belongings, I made some interesting discoveries."
Pierce put down the documents in his hand and looked up at the archaeology expert who had been personally recommended and highly valued by former Chief Carter.
This woman not only possessed astonishing knowledge, but also a keen intuition; she could always find overlooked clues in piles of old papers.
"Chief, please take a look."
Barbara pointed to a blurry symbol on the memo.
"Mr. Howard mentioned a project codenamed ' Pegasus ' here, which I suspect is related to some kind of technology. And this symbol is, at its source, connected to the ancient mythological power of 'dissociation and reshaping' that I mentioned to you in my previous report."
Her words were brief and to the point.
Howard Stark, the sealed " Project Pegasus," the power of myth...
These keywords, strung together, made Pierce realize the seriousness of the situation.
S.H.I.E.L.D.. exists to deal with these kinds of unconventional threats.
He picked up the memo and looked at the deliberately blacked-out marks on it, his eyes gradually sharpening.
This indicates that someone is deliberately covering up the truth.
"Dr. Minerva, your discovery is invaluable."
Pierce gave her a compliment, but he didn't give Barbara another chance to ask a question.
He picked up the internal phone and went directly to Nick Fury.
" Fury!"
On the other end of the phone, Nick Fury, who was staring at a map in the temporary command center in Los Angeles, paused for a moment.
He was being driven crazy by Vought's airtight intelligence network.
"Sir, I'm currently investigating..."
There's no need to investigate further!
Pierce interrupted him.
"I don't care what mess you're dealing with in Los Angeles right now, drop everything and take your people somewhere!"
"We have a brand new, top-priority target—the old base of ' Project Pegasus '! I'll send you the coordinates right away."
Inside the New Orleans country cottage, the warm and cozy atmosphere was replaced by a tense atmosphere of impending war.
A blank sheet of paper was spread out on the living room floor.
Maria knelt on the ground and, relying on her amazing memory, used a marker to draw a detailed structural diagram of the " Project Pegasus " base, stroke by stroke.
She clearly marked out the complex piping system, the intricate corridors, and each functional area.
"This is the main entrance, with the tightest security. There are guards on duty 24 hours a day and a facial recognition system. We cannot enter from here."
Maria pointed to a dot marked with a red cross on the drawing, her tone resolute.
Her finger moved to the other end of the drawing.
"But here, in the northeast corner, ventilation shaft number 3, is a design flaw left over from the original construction for heat dissipation, making it the weakest point in terms of defense. It's only connected to the backup power system and lacks thermal sensors and dynamic monitoring."
Wei squatted down beside it, tapping the ventilation shaft with his knuckles covered in boxing gloves, a confident smile on his face.
"Flaws? To me, this is practically a back door that says 'Welcome!' I could smash it into a scrap metal pancake with my fist."
Carol was not involved in the two's invasion plan; she was trying to control the violent power within her.
Her emotions continued to fluctuate wildly, causing the photon energy to be extremely unstable, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.
She stood in the courtyard with her eyes closed, trying to condense her energy into a controllable beam of light.
A beam of golden energy shot out uncontrollably from her palm, grazing the roof of a distant barn as it flew into the night sky, leaving a scorched mark.
Carol lowered her hands dejectedly, her face full of frustration.
This power, once her pride as Kree warrior, has now become an uncontrollable monster.