The battle in Chicago lasted for ten minutes.
The heroes looked exhausted, and this victory was filled with a sense of tragic epic.
Starlight's suit was covered in dust.
The Guardian's shield had several cracks.
Vi had blood on the corner of her mouth, but her eyes remained fierce and unyielding.
This bloody victory was perfectly recorded by the live broadcast cameras.
The audience in front of their televisions, while cheering for the heroes, felt their fear of "S.O.M.S." climb to its peak.
Even the top hero team of Vought International had fought so hard, and even suffered battle damage.
If the next "Magneto Kid" appeared at their doorstep, who would protect them?
The federal government? Don't make me laugh!
Those National Guard troops, besides setting up cordon lines and shouting through megaphones, couldn't do anything!
Panic was paving the way for the "superhuman registration and management act" about to be launched by Vought International.
On the other side.
Senator Robert Kelly's national press conference had become the focus of all media.
"...This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one! It is a conspiracy from beginning to end!"
Under the spotlight, Senator Robert Kelly was impassioned, waving his arms forcefully.
"We have obtained conclusive evidence proving that behind this crisis sweeping the country, there is an evil terrorist organization manipulating things in the dark!"
"Their goal is to subvert our country and destroy the freedom we cherish!"
"Their name, I think none of you present here are strangers to!"
He roared out that word.
"HYDRA!"
The whole room was in an uproar!
Reporters pressed their shutters like crazy, and the flashes turned the entire press conference venue into daylight.
HYDRA?
That ghost from World War II still exists?
And it even launched such a terrifying attack?
This news was more explosive than "S.O.M.S." itself!
"I will formally request Congress to establish a special investigative committee at the highest level!"
"I demand that the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation open all top-secret files regarding HYDRA to the committee!"
"We must root out these vipers hiding in the shadows, one by one, and cut off their snake heads!"
Senator Robert Kelly's speech was extremely inflammatory.
He successfully turned the public's fear of the unknown into anger toward a specific enemy.
He cast himself as a lone hero fighting against evil and defending national security.
For a time, his prestige reached its peak.
Countless calls flooded into his office.
There were citizens expressing support, "insiders" hoping to provide clues.
And offers of cooperation from other congressmen on Capitol Hill.
Senator Robert Kelly felt he was standing at the forefront of the era.
He was full of ambition.
He believed he was leading a great war of justice.
Lynn looked at the spirited young senator on the TV, a smile appearing on his face.
"A good opponent can make the protagonist's victory seem even harder to come by."
He turned his head and looked at Ada Wong beside him.
"Any movement from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Peggy Carter is already overwhelmed," Ada Wong replied.
"Senator Robert Kelly's press conference is equivalent to slapping S.H.I.E.L.D. hard in the face in front of the whole World."
"An organization that should have been completely eradicated by them is now causing such a huge mess right under their noses."
"They are frantically flipping through files, trying to find any clues about the remnants of HYDRA to account to Congress and the public."
"Very good."
Lynn picked up his black tea.
"Let Barbara provide some inspiration to DirectorPeggy Carter. Let them fight for the credit, attack each other, and stir this water even muddier. I need a farce brilliant enough to serve as a celebration for the passage of the new act."
...
The atmosphere at S.H.I.E.L.D. was extremely oppressive.
General Phillips had honorably retired due to old age.
Peggy Carter, who had been Director for less than two years, was filled with exhaustion and annoyance.
Every word spoken by Senator Robert Kelly's righteous face on TV was like a slap in the face to S.H.I.E.L.D.
The office door was knocked, and Barbara Minerva walked in.
She gently placed a document on Peggy's desk, her face carrying solemnity and the excitement of having discovered a clue.
"Director, I reviewed some sealed'SSR' era materials and performed a genetic sequence cross-comparison with the recently appeared S.O.M.S. cases. I discovered an overlooked connection point."
Barbara pointed to a map in the document.
"All clues point to an abandoned industrial zone on the outskirts of Illinois."
"According to encrypted communication records from World War II, it was once a secret outpost of HYDRA, codenamed 'Cradle'."
Peggy took the document.
This intelligence came just in time.
Senator Robert Kelly's investigative committee was aggressive, and many congressmen on Capitol Hill had already expressed support for him.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. could not produce any substantial results, being bypassed or even disbanded was only a matter of time.
"Is this intelligence reliable?"
Peggy stared into Barbara's eyes.
"I stake my career on it."
Barbara's reply was categorical, her eyes filled with loyalty.
Peggy rubbed her temples.
She had no choice.
She had to gamble.
"Assemble Alpha Strike Team."
"Seal all information; we must take this Base before Kelly's people react!"
At the same time.
Washington D.C., Capitol Hill.
In Senator Robert Kelly's office, the atmosphere was as lively as the night of an election victory.
"The FBI's tactical team has already set out!"
His chief investigator, Michael, reported excitedly.
"We bribed an informant inside S.H.I.E.L.D., and they are also targeting the same objective!"
"Great!"
Senator Robert Kelly slapped the table excitedly.
"I want the whole World to see how incompetent and sluggish S.H.I.E.L.D. is!"
"This credit must belong entirely to our committee!"
Illinois, late at night.
Peggy Carter led the team personally, wearing a black tactical suit, her expression cold and stern.
"Alpha Team One, infiltrate from the east side."
"Team Two, control all exits."
"Remember, we want live captives!"
Just as the S.H.I.E.L.D.Agents were sneaking into the steel factory.
"Woo—woo—!"
The piercing sound of sirens approached from afar, cutting through the silence of the night!
Over a dozen black SUVs marked with "FBI" crudely smashed through the factory's rusted gates.
The doors opened.
A large number of heavily armed FBI tactical team members poured out and quickly established a defensive line.
A Commander in a suit with an arrogant expression held a megaphone and shouted loudly at the dark factory building.
"This is an action area authorized by the Congressional Special Investigative Committee!"
"Those inside, put down your weapons and stop the illegal intrusion!"
In the communication channel, the Alpha Team leader's angry curse came through.
"Damn it! It's the FBI! How could these idiots be here?"
Peggy's expression became extremely ugly.
Is it a coincidence?
Or a leak?
Before she could think it through, a roar suddenly came from deep within the factory!
A thick concrete wall was smashed from the inside!
A monster nearly three meters tall, with various crude metal pipes inserted into its body and deformed, swollen muscles, rushed out!
Behind him, more than a dozen "experimental subjects" who had also undergone crude modifications followed.
Some were crawling on the ground, some had green saliva flowing from their mouths.
This was the handiwork arranged by Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Some prisoners who had "disappeared" from death row were injected with incomplete compound v, and then subjected to the mental torture and modification of Professor Pyg.
They were the perfect "background props."
"Open fire!"
Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the FBI issued the order simultaneously.
Gunfire erupted!
Chaos broke out!
Peggy ordered: "Alpha Team, prioritize the target, do not conflict with the FBI!"
But on such a narrow, chaotic battlefield with obstructed vision.
"Do not conflict" was just a wishful thought.
A S.H.I.E.L.D.Agent had just rolled to dodge a pounce from a modified subject when a stray bullet whizzed past his scalp, striking a spark on the steel plate behind him.
He looked back in shock and anger, seeing a nervous, sweaty young FBI Agent holding a gun, the muzzle still smoking.
"Where the hell are you shooting! Idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?!"
Trust was gone.
Suspicion and hostility grew wildly.
An FBI Commander, seeing his men suffering heavy casualties, roared into the communicator with red eyes: "Requesting heavy fire support! Repeat! Requesting heavy fire support!"
Peggy tried to control the situation, but her orders were drowned out by gunfire and the mutual cursing of both sides.
This raid, which should have been a "righteous roundup of evil," completely evolved into a farce where S.H.I.E.L.D. and the FBI dragged each other down, stirred up by the HYDRA "actors."
On a hillside in the distance.
Several "reporters" disguised as hikers were faithfully recording everything with high-definition telephoto lenses.
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