The One Behind the Scenes! Vought International Watches Hydra's Infighting with Amusement!

S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Director's Office.

Alexander Pierce received this belated and humiliating report through his secret channels only half an hour after the incident.

He stared intently at the blurry but still recognizable photo of a metal arm captured by a roadside surveillance camera on the screen, his facial muscles twitching wildly, his carefully maintained, refined mask cracking inch by inch.

"Asshole!"

He slammed his fist on the solid wood desk!

"A bunch of good-for-nothing idiots!"

He wasn't criticizing S.H.I.E.L.D..; he was criticizing the self-righteous veterans of Hydra!

Carry him on your back!

They actually dared to use the " Winter Soldier " behind his back!

It's on a highway in a major international city!

Do they realize how many clues this will leave behind?

Does he realize how much trouble this will cause him, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades?

For the sake of a vague and ethereal "shapeshifting race," they were willing to risk the annihilation of the entire organization!

Pierce's chest heaved violently, and the Flame of anger threatened to consume his reason.

The network he had painstakingly built and maintained within S.H.I.E.L.D.. for so many years, the fragile balance he had preserved, was torn apart by a group of greedy fools with a single stupid robbery!

He picked up the encrypted phone and dialed a number.

"It's me."

"I need to know who authorized this operation."

dark.

The darkness of digitalization.

In an untraceable virtual conference room, several shadowy figures composed of data streams silently floated.

This is a secret meeting of the Hydra Supreme Council.

Each shadow represents a vast interest group entrenched in the Shadow of this world.

"Gentlemen."

A gentle yet morbidly fanatical voice broke the silence first.

He's Professor Pyg.

His data avatar is a blurry, monocle-wearing Scholar's silhouette.

"Our finest asset, the Winter Soldier, has successfully intercepted the target from S.H.I.E.L.D.. The operation was clean, efficient, and impeccable."

Several low, satisfied buzzing sounds echoed through the channel.

"But..."

The Professor Pyg's tone shifted.

The gift I received was an empty box.

"What?"

An empty box?!

"That's impossible! The Winter Soldier can't possibly fail!"

"He has no reason, and he wouldn't open it without permission!"

The virtual space was filled with a cacophony of discussions.

Anger, doubt, suspicion...

These negative emotions resonated within the encrypted channels.

"Is Vought International playing us?"

A shadow questioned.

"Doesn't seem like it."

Professor Pyg denied this speculation.

"According to our intelligence, there were no problems with the handover between Vought International and S.H.I.E.L.D.. They did indeed send out a body."

"So, where does the problem lie?"

There is only one variable.

The Professor Pyg's voice slowed down, as if he were guiding a group of foolish students.

" S.H.I.E.L.D.. They switched the contents of the box after receiving the gift, but before delivery."

"They traded an empty box for a real creation of God."

Peggy Carter... that damn old woman!

"She was wary of us from the very beginning!"

Just then, a new data avatar unexpectedly and forcibly joined the meeting.

It was a clear, eagle-headed emblem bearing supreme authority.

Alexander Pierce.

"Idiot!"

Pierce's voice was undisguised, filled with the anger of being betrayed and dragged down.

"A bunch of fools blinded by greed!"

His anger was directed at one of the silent, chilling figures.

" Whitehall!"

"Your research projects on Inhuman haven't yielded a single decent result so far! And now, you actually dare to set your sights on this shapeshifting alien race?!"

Do you even know what you've done?!

"You deployed the Winter Soldier on the highways of New York! Are you announcing to the world, 'Do we even exist?!'"

Daniel Whitehall's data avatar flashed.

" Pierce, stop with your politician's tone. You're too cautious, too weak!"

"A race capable of shapeshifting at will! This is a weapon bestowed upon us by the gods! With it, our decades-long infiltration plan could be completed overnight! We could have directly replaced the Pentagon, replaced the White House!"

"And you, you only want to treat it as a secret file, locked away in the deepest basement of S.H.I.E.L.D..!"

"This is a betrayal of Hydra!"

Alexander Pierce was furious.

Peggy Carter didn't tell her, and neither did Hydra.

What exactly is his role Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. and a high-ranking Hydra executive?

Someone who can be ignored at will?

Still locked in the basement?

How could I lock such a useful thing in the basement!

These bastards have absolutely no idea what it means to truly "make the most of resources"!

"I'm protecting Hydra!"

Pierce roared.

"The balance and order I painstakingly built and maintained have been completely shattered by your foolish robbery! S.H.I.E.L.D.. isn't stupid! They'll investigate! They'll follow the Winter Soldier's leads and dig out the roots we've buried for decades!"

"It's worth paying some price to get that thing!"

Whitehall refused to budge an inch.

"The price? The price is that we'll both be exposed to the sunlight!"

That's enough.

Professor Pyg abruptly cut off the argument between the two giants.

"Arguing about these things now is pointless."

"The truth is, we didn't get the item; S.H.I.E.L.D.. has the real body."

His words silenced both the furious Pierce and the tough Whitehall.

This is the worst-case scenario.

Professor Pyg continued in his persuasive tone, "Is it possible... that S.H.I.E.L.D.., or rather, Peggy Carter, never intended to hand the body over to you in the first place, Director Pierce?"

"She deliberately spread the word to lure us into robbing her. She had prepared an empty box beforehand, waiting for us to take the bait."

"She wants to use us to test Vought International's limits. Or, she simply wants to use us to legitimately erase this gift from S.H.I.E.L.D..'s public view and make it her own private property."

Peggy Carter, that old woman.

The founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.., a living legend.

An existence that Alexander Pierce could never fully understand or completely control.

He always thought he had sidelined these elders, turning them into mere mascots.

But now it seems...

This old woman was hiding far more from him than he had imagined.

Pierce let out a long breath, suppressing his anger.

I'll test her.

His voice regained its usual calmness, but beneath that calmness lay a deeper chill.

"I will personally ask this respected senior of mine how many secrets she is still hiding."