Gatomon puffed up its cheeks: "Why are you throwing me out…?"
Matilda remained on the sofa, hugging her knees.
"Brother... can I stay...? I won't disturb you guys..."
"Hm…"
Ye Li considered for a moment.
She'd already been touched anyway—letting her watch wasn't a big deal…
And it wasn't like they hadn't secretly watched before—with Gatomon, no less...
"…Alright then."
He turned and pointed at the mechanical girl. "Alita, you go out."
"Why?"
Alita asked in confusion, "I already saw what you and Sister Sharon did yesterday…"
'Good grief..... just calling her 'sister' like that already...'
If not for the system reward guaranteeing honesty, Ye Li would've thought this girl was just pretending to be naive…
"You jerk, Li!"
Jessica immediately pointed at Ye Li upon hearing Alita's words.
"You really went out messing around again! Who the hell is this Sharon? I've never heard of her..."
"Tch~ Told you to behave, didn't I?"
Ye Li pointed a finger———
The clothes Jessica wore—formed from the Threads of Fate Spider Silk —stopped obeying her and instantly transformed into a nearly transparent black mesh dress, revealing her curvaceous body underneath…
"Ahh~ not again…"
The girl quickly pulled her legs in and crossed her arms over her chest, muttering quietly, "Do I even have the right to dress myself anymore…"
"Now then, let the show begin."
Ye Li curled his lips and snapped his fingers.
Gwen and the others underwent the same transformation as Jessica...
…..
One Day Ago. Early Morning. A Certain Hospital.
Emergency Room.
Beep— Beep—
"He's not going to make it."
"Crash cart!"
"Nurse, pull the blanket down."
"Blood pressure dropping. Charging to 100 joules for defib."
"Clear. 3… 2… 1… shock."
"Any pulse?"
"None."
"Clear again. 3… 2… 1… shock."
"Inject epinephrine. Do we have a pulse?"
"No."
"…What time is it?"
"1:03 AM."
"Time of death: 1:03 AM."
Outside the ER glass window.
"..."
Agent Hill and Captain Rogers stared silently at the failed resuscitation of Nick Fury…
Tap tap tap.
Natasha walked over from the other end of the hallway and said, "Two bullets, no rifling—Soviet-made… Captain, I heard you caught the shooter. Who was it?"
"President Ye's people helped me catch him, but..."
Steve frowned, "I had just brought him back, hadn't even removed his mask yet, when Sitwell came and took him away…"
As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the silver USB drive in his hand.
Fury had handed it to him after being shot twice by the Winter Soldier…
There had to be important data on it.
In truth, the three of them already had their suspicions about who was behind the Winter Soldier—
———[HYDRA]…
Because of intel Tony sent from Sokovia, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers weren't totally clueless about HYDRA like in the original timeline.
But ironically, that awareness had caused HYDRA to act earlier…
Agent Hill glanced at Rogers, then said to Natasha, "Natasha, come with me for a moment."
Natasha nodded…
…..
Inside a secure room.
Hill sat down, speaking to Natasha with a serious expression.
"You heard the Captain—Sitwell took the shooter who attacked Fury."
"I requested to personally interrogate him, but… Director Pierce turned me down…"
"I strongly suspect… a group has already infiltrated us, and they've gotten to Director Pierce and the others…"
"This group… is very likely HYDRA."
Natasha remained expressionless. "What do you want to do?"
"We need outside help, Natasha."
Hill said firmly.
"We can't handle this alone anymore. I want to seek help from the Ghost Spider Club.
According to Stark… the HYDRA intel came from President Ye, and the assassin who killed Fury? He casually had his people capture him…"
"The Club is much stronger than we imagined. It's time we humbled ourselves and asked for help…"
"You're the one in charge of communicating with him. I hope you'll take me to meet with him…"
Natasha's eyes flickered. "With Barbara's example, you should know what kind of man Ye is…"
"I know…"
Hill nodded slowly, her eyes resolute, as if she'd made a firm decision.
"This is all for saving S.H.I.E.L.D. and maintaining world stability. A little personal sacrifice is worth it…"
"Besides… before Fury was assassinated, I was already planning to monitor Barbara and observe President Ye…"
"I've gathered a lot of data on President Ye… and he really is a pretty good 'negotiator'…"
Efficient and busy Agent Hill had never had a boyfriend—and her regular needs were becoming a bit hard to endure…
If it was Ye Li… she wouldn't mind...
You could say—this decision killed two birds with one stone…
But what Agent Hill didn't know was———
Her dear S.H.I.E.L.D.—excluding Skye, who had been snatched early—already had three beautiful agents who had been "handled" by Ye Li…
You could say…
President Ye's family roster—
Half came from Midtown High… and the other half from S.H.I.E.L.D….