The Illinois countryside has turned into a complete farce.
The FBI and S.H.I.E.L.D.. agents, like two packs of enraged Wild Dogs, bared their teeth at each other amidst the ruins and flames.
Their guns were sometimes aimed at the roaring modified creatures, and sometimes warily pointed at each other.
"Don't block my firing path, rookie!"
A veteran S.H.I.E.L.D.. agent roared.
Mind your own business! You damned spies!
The FBI agent on the other side retaliated without backing down.
Chaos is a virus.
Suspicion is its best petri dish.
The deformed monster, nearly three meters tall, didn't care about the infighting among the humans.
It lifted a section of broken steel beam and, like swinging a straw, slammed it hard into the FBI command vehicle!
"Spread!"
Amid terrified screams, the agents scrambled to the ground.
The command vehicle was smashed to pieces.
In front of the television.
Viewers across United States witnessed this despairing scene through media cameras that happened to be positioned far away.
The FBI, representing the nation, and a secretive department, are utterly useless in the face of a real threat, except for creating greater chaos.
Washington, D.C.., Capitol Hill.
Inside Senator Kelly's office.
He stared intently at the chaotic, ugly, and incompetent scene on the television screen, trembling with rage.
"Live streaming?!"
His voice became shrill with extreme anger.
"Who the hell gave them permission to broadcast this live?! Are they showing the entire nation how incompetent the government is?!"
He slammed his fist on the mahogany desk, making the coffee cup jump.
Investigate! Investigate immediately!
"Which media outlet is this?! I want their license revoked! I want them to disappear from this country completely!"
Chief Investigator Michael stood by, speechless.
He knew it was pointless.
This live broadcast shattered all the prestige and public support that Senator Kelly had previously built up.
What the public saw was not the evil of Hydra, but the absurdity and fragility of government power in the face of the monster.
They lost.
They suffered a crushing defeat.
Abandoned factory.
Peggy Carter knew she couldn't wait any longer.
If this continues, everyone will die here, becoming the biggest joke on tomorrow's newspaper headlines.
His gaze pierced through the firelight and smoke, landing on Barbara Minerva, who was firing a pistol precisely to cover her teammates not far away.
Barbara seemed to sense her gaze and turned around.
Peggy's eyes were resolute.
She mouthed two words silently.
"Let's do it."
Barbara certainly understood what those two words meant.
In front of dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D.. and FBI agents, and in front of countless cameras, he exposed his deepest secrets.
But she saw the resolute look in Peggy's eyes.
Barbara nodded.
She took off her glasses.
In those amber eyes, human emotions were rapidly fading, transforming into a primal, ferocious wildness.
Just a second before that aura originating from ancient predators was about to fully erupt.
The deafening gunfire suddenly seemed distant.
It wasn't that the sound became quieter, but rather that everyone heard a strange, low hum, like the wind rushing past a drawn blade.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Whether it was the roaring modified creature or the wary agents, they all instinctively looked towards the source of the chill.
In the center of the factory, on the most open area.
There was another person there without my noticing.
He was a man dressed in blue Ronin attire, with a long sword at his waist.
He had unruly long brown hair, a weathered face, and eyes so indifferent they seemed to see through life and death.
He just stood there, and no one saw how he appeared.
"Ha--"
The deformed monster let out a furious roar.
It sensed the threat and swung its fist at the tiny figure!
The man did not move.
He simply raised his hand slowly and grasped the hilt of the knife at his waist.
With a gentle push of the thumb, the hilt and scabbard made a crisp "click".
No one could see his movements clearly.
People only saw a silvery flash, like a crescent moon, that passed by in an instant.
It's almost at its limit.
It was also incredibly beautiful.
"Bass--"
A soft sound of a blade sheathing rang out.
The man remained in the position of sheathing his knife.
The deformed monster remained motionless.
Fine lines of blood ran from its forehead down to its waist and abdomen.
A second later, the massive body slid neatly to both sides, as if it were a set of building blocks separated by an invisible hand.
The remaining dozen or so modified beings became enraged Beast, roaring as they pounced on the man from all directions!
The man finally moved.
His figure transformed into a blue Phantom that was invisible to the naked eye.
"Soliyega pain!"
A desolate syllable echoed in the wind.
The sword light swept across the entire battlefield like a whirlwind!
Each flash of the blade was accompanied by the separation of limbs.
It was an elegant yet brutal Carnage.
The "slicing" sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh was continuous, but it was perfectly masked by the howling wind.
Barbara froze on the spot, her transformation abruptly interrupted.
Peggy Carter's eyes widened, her lips trembled slightly, and the image of Steve Rogers flashed through her mind.
Steve is a shield, an unbreakable bulwark that can block all harm.
The man before them was a sword, an unyielding blade capable of cutting through anything, able to tear apart any obstacle!
Less than ten seconds.
The battle is over.
All the modified bodies were reduced to scattered pieces on the ground.
The man stood silently in the center of the corpses, his long sword sheathed, and he flicked away non-existent blood from the blade.
He raised his head, his gaze casually sweeping over the dumbfounded FBI and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
That look contained neither contempt nor arrogance.
There is only one kind of indifference that sees through life and death.
It was as if he had only cut through a withered leaf blocking his path.
He turned around, picked up the gourd at his waist, tilted his head back, and took a sip.
Then, facing the wind, step by step, he walked into the Shadow of the factory.
"Stop!"
A young FBI agent finally snapped out of his shock and instinctively raised his gun and shouted.
Who are you?!
The man did not turn around.
His figure blended into the wind, like a sand painting blown away by the wind, disappearing without a trace.
Only a single sentence remained, drifting away on the wind.
Death is like the wind, always by my side.
The entire battlefield was deathly silent.
A Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. dropped his rifle to the ground with a clatter.
He was completely unaware, simply breathing unconsciously with his mouth open.
Everyone stared blankly at the empty space, their minds completely blank.