Stepping through the shimmering Inter-Dimensional Portal, Yelena was left in a daze, unable to fully process what was happening. Even though she had just witnessed Cassius's immense power, everything that had just occurred was beyond her imagination.
This wasn't just a simple mutation; it was a power she had never seen before. She finally understood why Cassius had appeared out of nowhere. He must have used this method to arrive directly in Łódź.
"Are you a mutant?" Yelena asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe that such a powerful person had no record in the Red Room archives. Everything that had just happened was so unbelievable.
The statue could be explained away, but he had just brought her to the floor below the lab in a matter of seconds. It was as if he had already known the exact location she was talking about.
"No," Cassius said, not explaining much to Yelena. He simply looked around the tunnel. It was a downward sloping ramp, and from the looks of the walls, it seemed to be an emergency access tunnel. It wasn't very wide, but its walls showed that the tunnel had been here for a long time.
"Is this the way to the underground lab?" Cassius turned to look at Yelena.
"Yes. But this is the back door. There's a separate elevator that leads to the middle section," Yelena said, nodding and sharing the information she knew. Normally, very few people used this tunnel.
"Let's go." Cassius stretched his wrists and walked straight down. From where he stood, he could faintly hear the wails of countless souls from below. He didn't need to see to know that Hydra had been doing a lot of vile research in this place.
The reason they were after Gwen was most likely because they coveted the spider-genes in her body. After all, the power from those genes was so great that even Captain America would have a hard time fighting against it.
He just never thought Hydra would be able to find out Gwen's true identity. Otherwise, he would never have been careless enough to let Gwen go home alone.
"Wait! Hold on!" Seeing Cassius walk down with his hands in his pockets, Yelena panicked. "If you go down like this, Strucker's people will find you!"
Going down like this was too conspicuous. Once they were discovered, the enemy would be prepared. And more importantly, her cover would be blown. Even though she knew Cassius was powerful, Strucker and his men were not to be trifled with.
The base had been here for so long, there were bound to be all sorts of defenses. Even the Avengers couldn't guarantee they could get to the bottom safely, let alone Cassius on his own. Once he was discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Oh," Cassius completely ignored Yelena's protest. He brazenly walked to a security monitor and waved at it. "Hi, you guys are having a really bad day."
"What are you doing!" Yelena jumped in shock. She couldn't believe Cassius was this bold. Her original plan was to escort Cassius in. If he had cooperated, they could have gotten in safely and taken down Baron Strucker with lightning speed. That would have been the safest and most efficient way, avoiding most of the fighting.
But Cassius didn't think about any of that. Not only did he break into their territory, but he also wanted them to know about it. He was a complete madman, a man with no regard for his own life.
"I just wanted to save some time," Cassius pouted, shrugging his shoulders innocently. He didn't have time to waste here. It was just a small Hydra faction. For him, if he really wanted to, he could wipe them all out in less than a day. Not to mention that this was just a single branch.
These rats hiding in the sewers weren't that strong, no matter how much they jumped around. And if they knew about him, they would definitely gather their forces to deal with him, which would allow him to take them all out at once.
If it weren't for Gwen being inside, he would have already taken care of all these disgusting rats from the surface.
In the surveillance room, the person on duty immediately noticed Cassius's unfamiliar face. The alarm was sounded instantly. The moment the piercing alarm went off, the Hydra security team rushed out. They surrounded both ends of the tunnel, sandwiching the two of them.
"Oh?" Cassius looked at the vigilant Hydra soldiers with his hands in his pockets. "I didn't think Hydra had so many dogs these past few years."
He couldn't help but feel that while this organization was nothing to him, it was still quite powerful since it had managed to infiltrate the highest levels of S.H.I.E.L.D., to the point where S.H.I.E.L.D. could have been called Hydra.
"Yelena! Who is this person?! What are you doing?" One of the soldiers recognized Yelena not far from Cassius and immediately aimed his weapon at her. He didn't know how this person had appeared here, but he was sure that Yelena was involved.
"This has nothing to do with me! I'm being held hostage!" Yelena immediately raised her hands, feigning innocence. Cassius wanted to die, but he shouldn't drag her along. She had worked so hard to get close to Baron Strucker. She couldn't risk her mission failing and getting herself killed.
So she didn't hesitate to throw Cassius under the bus. Even if she had to explain things later, she was confident that her silver tongue would be able to convince everyone.
"You're obviously lying!" The lead soldier snarled, his expression cold. "Kill them!"
"Wait, didn't you hear what I said?!" Yelena's eyes widened. She was completely stunned. They were going to kill her, too?! She was a mid-to-high-level member of Hydra! Was this really necessary?
But in the next second, the soldiers on both sides of the tunnel pulled their triggers without hesitation. Dozens of bullets shot toward the two of them. To avoid accidentally hitting their own people, they even professionally knelt down. Their muzzles were slightly raised, which would greatly reduce the possibility of friendly fire. This showed how good the soldiers' tactical skills were.
"Boring," Cassius snapped his right fingers. A fiery red energy bubble opened up, enveloping both Yelena and himself. When the bullets hit the fiery red barrier, they instantly turned into dust.
"What's happening?!" Yelena's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight. She couldn't understand how he had done it! It was dozens of bullets, and he just blocked them so easily?!
She had considered many possibilities, but all of them had ended with her and Cassius's gruesome deaths. But the scene that appeared before her completely exceeded her expectations.
"Keep shooting!" The soldiers' eyes widened, and they gritted their teeth and continued to shoot. But no matter what they did, the bullets couldn't pierce the membrane-like barrier.
"Just die already, you dirty rats!" Cassius raised his right hand, his eyes cold as he looked at the soldiers. As his hand slowly closed into a fist, the soldiers who were shooting instantly stopped what they were doing. Fear surged through them like a tide.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
The helmets on their heads began to slowly compress, as if being squeezed by a hydraulic press. They slowly began to shrink. As they shrunk, they all screamed, clutching their heads with both hands. But this did nothing to slow down their deaths. It only allowed them to feel the endless pain.
Pop, pop, pop...
With a series of crisp sounds, their heads were crushed like ripe watermelons. Blood instantly splattered on the pristine white walls.
Drip, drop...
The blood on the walls slowly flowed down, dripping onto the ground with a crisp sound. Looking around, the entire floor was covered in blood. A strong smell of blood filled the air. There was nothing but horror and gore everywhere.
Yelena stared blankly at the scene before her. She hesitated before looking back, only to see the same sight in the tunnel behind her.
The soldiers in black combat uniforms had their heads completely obliterated, and she could even see shattered bone fragments scattered around. Pink brain tissue mixed with blood flowed down the smooth, downward-sloping ramp. The fear was so great that Yelena could only hear her own heartbeat.
"He... he's a demon." Yelena looked at the calm man. At this moment, all she could feel was fear. It was a fear that came from the depths of her soul.
She swallowed. Such a powerful person, and she had never heard of him before. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air.
"Let's go," Cassius started walking, stepping on the red carpet made of blood. "Let's also clean up these useless pests."
At the same time, in the lab...
Gwen was trapped in a steel cage.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Gwen grabbed the chain and pulled on it with all her might. The veins on her neck were bulging, and her eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. Even though she kept pulling on the chain, it didn't budge.
"Stop struggling, child. You can't get out." On the other side of the transparent glass, Baron Strucker said with a sinister smile.
"Let me out!" Gwen gritted her teeth and roared at Baron Strucker. The more she struggled, the weaker she felt. The pain was unbearable, but she still refused to give up.
Baron Strucker simply licked his lips and pressed a button on the side. The chain that had been holding Gwen snapped open with a click. Seeing the chain suddenly open, a hint of excitement flashed in Gwen's eyes. Although she didn't have much strength left, without the chain restricting her, she could break the glass and take out the man who looked like the head honcho.
With that thought, she took a couple of steps and jumped, kicking the glass with all her might.
Bang!
But her full-force kick felt as if she had kicked a steel wall.
"Ugh!" Gwen fell to the ground, her body trembling with pain. Because of the intense movement, the mental toxin was spreading rapidly through her body.
"Heh heh, you're so naive," Baron Strucker said with a mocking expression as he slowly put on a white lab coat. "This is reinforced with Vibranium! Even the Hulk couldn't break it!"
He was so confident because this thing was made of Vibranium composite. No one could ever get out of this lab!
"Vibranium?! Didn't that substance run out?!" Gwen's pupils instantly constricted. If she remembered correctly, the Vibranium supply should have been completely depleted! But why would an organization called Hydra have it?!
She couldn't understand what Hydra's background was. They could even get their hands on such a rare substance as Vibranium and use it so lavishly to make glass. She remembered her teacher saying that the Vibranium supply was almost all gone.
"Heh heh, so child, stop struggling," Baron Strucker slowly put on a pair of disposable sterile gloves and said with a low laugh. "Just accept your fate!"
The reason he had unchained her was so he could watch Gwen's futile last struggles. The more he watched Gwen's pained and desperate expression, the more excited he got.
Strucker's smile became increasingly warped as he took out a sharp scalpel. "I'm going to turn you into the most perfect work of art."
Click!
The wall behind Strucker opened, revealing a collection of jars. They were filled with all sorts of strange organs, terrifyingly twisted faces, and even completely decomposed limbs.
Gwen's face turned pale at the sight. Even though Strucker didn't say anything, she could already imagine what was waiting for her.
Hiss...
A mental toxin gas was released, and it swirled around the lab. The corners of Strucker's mouth curled up, almost reaching his ears. He couldn't wait to start the surgery.
"Madman..." Gwen covered her mouth and nose, trying to resist, but even holding her breath wouldn't last long. The terrifying nerve toxin had already enveloped the entire lab. She felt her body gradually become soft and weak, and her head started to feel dizzy.
Someone, please save me.
She didn't want to end up in one of those jars.
Cassius...
In her final moments, Gwen's mind suddenly envisioned Cassius's face. If only he could come here and save her.
Boom!
Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the ceiling of the lab.
"What's going on?!" Strucker's expression turned grim as he turned and roared at the outside. He was just about to have some fun, and he was interrupted by this commotion!
"Report, boss, we have an intruder," a subordinate crawled into the compartment, his voice trembling as he yelled.
"Damn it!" Strucker gritted his teeth and turned off the gas. "Who is foolish enough to do this?!"
He was just about to start the surgery, and this had to happen!
"Cough, cough..." Hope ignited in Gwen's heart. Who could it be? The figure appeared in her mind. At a time like this, only he would come!
"That guy?" Strucker turned on the monitor, and a security feed appeared before his eyes. He saw a familiar face standing on top of a pile of corpses. Strucker's face darkened. "It's that damn Stark shareholder!"
"Cassius!" Gwen's eyes widened with joy, and tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. Cassius had come to save her!
"Child, don't get your hopes up," Strucker sneered dismissively. "Although, if you want to end up in a jar together, you have a pretty good chance."
He didn't think much of some unknown guy. Even though he had taken care of those soldiers, they were just some garbage he had trained anyway.
"I'll bring him over here."
BANG!
Just as Strucker was talking, the lab door was kicked open. Cassius stared straight at Strucker, his hands in his pockets, and walked in.
"What's up? I heard you were looking for me?"
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