While waiting, Wang Ye browsed through the classified documents locked inside Red Skull's secure file cabinet.
Most of the files detailed the locations of Hydra's secret bases and the specific missions assigned to each one.
Wang Ye skimmed through the majority of them, gaining a much more comprehensive understanding of Hydra's operations.
Since Red Skull had taken over Hydra, he had been using outdated weapons to perfunctorily complete missions for his superiors on the surface.
But behind the scenes, he was secretly obsessed with researching mythical legends, firmly believing that the treasures of Odin, the All-Father from Norse mythology, were real. These relics had always been his true pursuit.
The main reason Hydra had been able to grow so rapidly was thanks to one person: the brilliant weapons researcher, Dr. Arnim Zola.
It was precisely due to Zola's genius that Hydra's weaponry far surpassed the outside world—both in terms of technology and destructive power.
And yet, in the original timeline, despite this massive advantage, Red Skull still managed to utterly ruin everything.
In the end, every secret base was wiped out by Captain America and the Howling Commandos.
Hydra was forced to initiate Project Paperclip and retreat entirely into the shadows.
But now, Hydra was under Wang Ye's control.
The future's trajectory would now become completely unpredictable.
Previously, Red Skull's ambition had been narrow—world domination.
But he never once looked up at the stars to see the vast, endless sea of the cosmos.
Now that Wang Ye had obtained the Tesseract, a cosmic artifact, and had Zola's scientific genius at his disposal, Hydra's entrance into the interstellar age was no longer a fantasy—it was within reach.
If the goal was to break free from Earth and expand into the vast universe, then Hydra's entire development strategy would need to change.
Its scattered forces would need to be consolidated, a new headquarters established, and the old bases would become obsolete.
Just as Wang Ye was plotting Hydra's new direction, a light knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
He turned around to see Jon, accompanied by a disheveled man in a white lab coat, thick glasses, and messy hair—it was the man Wang Ye had been waiting for: Dr. Arnim Zola.
"Come in."
Wang Ye straightened the messy papers on his desk as Jon and Dr. Zola entered the room.
"Dr. Zola, it's really not easy to meet you! You actually kept me waiting thirty-nine minutes!"
He glanced at his wristwatch and shot a cold look at Zola. Then, his tone softened.
"But I'm in a good mood today. Come, take a look at this."
Wang Ye slowly opened the wooden box on his desk. A dazzling blue light lit up half the office.
Jon, seeing it for the first time, stood at attention, his eyes filled with even greater admiration for Wang Ye.
Dr. Zola, the moment he laid eyes on it, quickly clipped on his sunglasses and leaned in to study it carefully.
"This is… absolutely perfect!
The energy it contains is extraordinary—by far the most powerful and incomprehensible I've ever seen!"
"This is the legendary Tesseract, a treasure said to have come from Odin's vault.
Dr. Zola, I'm entrusting it to you now. I expect results within one week."
Wang Ye closed the box and pushed it toward Zola.
"Actually, I was in the middle of assembling the energy extractor, and I couldn't stop midway—that's why I'm late.
Most of the main components are ready. A few critical high-precision parts haven't arrived yet, but they'll be here tomorrow.
Once assembled and calibrated, we'll be able to conduct the first experiment."
Dr. Zola stood nervously, sweating. He felt that "Red Skull's" presence had grown far more oppressive than before.
Just sitting there, Wang Ye exuded an aura multiple times stronger than the one Zola remembered. The doctor now felt he couldn't read "Red Skull" at all.
"Oh~ then I'll be eagerly awaiting your results,"
Wang Ye said, his cold voice making Zola's hairs stand on end—he was nearly scared out of his skin.
"Y-Yes, I'll go immediately!"
Zola turned to leave, desperate to escape the icy atmosphere.
But as he spun around, he remembered the box, hurried back to the desk, grabbed the Tesseract, and practically fled—bumping into the doorframe in his panic.
Wang Ye shook his head with a sigh. Then he beckoned Jon forward, who quickly approached.
Wang Ye stood, pointed at the world map on the wall, and gestured toward the icons representing Hydra's 17 bases.
"These 17 bases will be strategically abandoned.
Reassign all loyal elite personnel back to the Norwegian headquarters.
The remaining soldiers will stay to maintain basic operations and guard the sites.
Also, arrange for me a new identity and residence in New York... something like this and this…"
"Yes, sir!"
Jon quickly departed to relay the orders and personally oversee the reassignment of elite troops from the bases.
Now alone again, Wang Ye poured himself another glass of wine and sat down to rest with his eyes closed.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
In that time, Wang Ye had completely replaced Red Skull's former inner circle, promoting only young officers unfamiliar with his past persona—those with loyalty and potential.
The unruly soldiers had been dealt with discreetly, and the opportunists playing both sides had been "promoted" and sent to the soon-to-be-sacrificed bases—the ones that would eventually be steamrolled by Captain America.
As of now, Hydra was fully under Wang Ye's control.
During his spare time, Wang Ye tested his own body's physical stats—only to destroy all the testing equipment due to overwhelming output.
He then had Dr. Zola create reinforced versions, and even with his power heavily suppressed, the results were astonishing:
(I won't list them all, but let's just say—
everything except intelligence, speed, and combat skill were maxed out at 7.
Beyond that? Can't be calculated.)
The sheer magnitude of his strength shocked everyone in the base. The experiments were so intense that everyone became even more convinced that Wang Ye was Hydra's divine embodiment—a literal god.
To which Wang Ye muttered:
"I f**kin' wish I could keep a low profile..."
Meanwhile, Dr. Zola had finally completed assembly of the Tesseract Energy Extractor, which was now in final calibration.
In Zola's Laboratory
"Dr. Zola, is the instrument calibrated?"
"Apologies—it has to be incredibly precise. I can only fine-tune it manually, step by step.
Please understand—I need to ensure there's zero margin for error!"
Zola squinted at the complex device, carefully adjusting it. His forehead was drenched in sweat.
"Being cautious is fine, but I still hope you can hurry up a bit."
Wang Ye's voice was cold and devoid of emotion. Zola, hearing this, quickened his hands instinctively.
"Even after all this research… I'm still worried the device might not work at all."
As he said this, he finished the last of the calibrations.
"Well, we'll find out once we try."
Wang Ye opened the wooden box and used a special apparatus to place the Tesseract into the extractor, then signaled for the experiment to begin.
Zola put on his protective goggles and began swiftly operating the control panel, flipping switches as the machine whirred to life.
"20%...
40%...
60%...
Energy output is stable at 70%!"
"Push it further!"
"But—"
Zola hesitated. But when he met Wang Ye's cold gaze, he swallowed his protest, gritted his teeth, and cranked the dial all the way up.
"If I die, I die…"
The moment it hit full power, a ripple of blue energy surged outward from the Tesseract. The ripple traveled through the extractor's tubes and into a specially designed containment chamber.
Then the machine overloaded, sparked violently, and shut down.
"Wh-What is that?"
Zola flinched but realized he was unharmed. He sighed with relief and moved next to Wang Ye.
"That's not important anymore. What matters is—congratulations, Dr. Zola.
Your design did not disappoint me. The experiment was a success."
Wang Ye smiled with satisfaction, looking at the container filled with light blue energy fluid.
"The conversion process was stable. No runaway energy surge—just like we hoped.
It's miraculous. This Tesseract you brought back will allow me to realize every one of my designs.
This war... will change forever."
Zola's eyes gleamed with excitement. In his mind, he could already see Hydra ruling the world.
But Wang Ye shook his head.
"No, Dr. Zola. Earth's wars no longer concern us.
Now that we possess godlike power, the cosmos is our true destination."
"The cosmos?! You mean—"
Zola was stunned, his face flushed.
"There must be countless strange alien races in the universe with powers we can't even imagine.
Compared to fighting over Earth, I'm much more interested in them.
This energy extraction is just the first step. The next is to create a super energy source from it.
Whether or not we reach the stars will depend on you, Dr. Zola."
Zola stood there, dazed.
He used to think he understood Red Skull's ambitions—but now he wasn't so sure.
"Dr. Zola, developing a super energy source isn't easy…
But I believe in you."
Wang Ye's faith in Zola wasn't baseless—after all, he remembered that Tony Stark's second-generation arc reactor was based on a Tesseract isotope discovered by Howard Stark.
If Stark could do it, then with Zola's talent—he certainly could too.