The condition of the experimental subject who was injected with the longevity potion was much better. Although he was still visibly weak, he was much better than before the injection, when he looked like he was on his last legs and his life might be extinguished in the next second.
"What the hell is he!" Venom cursed, jumping up and down. "There's something inside him! It's trying to steal control of my host's body! What's even more abominable is that the thing inside him kicked me out without any reason! I, Venom, have never encountered such a situation since I was born!"
"Is there something in the body?" Luke's eyes lit up instantly, and he looked at Venom with great interest. He felt that this might be another hidden big fish?
"I must have woken it. I was looking through the memories of this experimental subject when suddenly a voice spoke in my head, asking if I wanted freedom. Why would I want freedom? Life was precarious, food was scarce, and the most unacceptable thing was that I was growing so slowly in the outside world. I was just being honest, and the voice suddenly flew into a rage and kicked me out. "Just because you're stronger than me, you can steal my host?" Venom said indignantly. He had forgotten that he was the later parasite.
"Sound? It seems they can communicate." Luke thought thoughtfully.
"No, no, no, that consciousness is more like a rigid program. It should not be the main body of consciousness." Venom judged based on his years of parasitic sense.
"That's pretty good." Luke didn't seem dissatisfied. If the main consciousness really came, Luke might be in trouble. After all, in his memory, the beast worshipped by the Hand was also a bit difficult to deal with.
"Hmm, is the effect of the injection wearing off so quickly? Is it because the subject's identity can't bear the power surging from his body?" Luke detected that after the subject's physical characteristics recovered to a certain stage, he began to slide down slowly again, frowning slightly. This meant that there was not much time left for him to study this subject.
Luke couldn't be sure whether the power in his body would continue to exist if the life characteristics of this experimental subject completely disappeared.
It really doesn't work...
Luke's gaze fell on Venom beside him again.
Let him parasitize a few more captives and repeat the parasitism process this time?
What if the other party really is just programmed to do this? Wouldn't that mean I could get more out of them before they even notice something's wrong? Since we're all borrowing power anyway, it doesn't matter who we borrow from, right?
…
Nearly a month has passed quickly. During this period, the underground world in New York has been unstable. A large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have gathered in this city, including the director Nick Fury.
Kingpin, the king of the city's underworld, has lost his composure several times this week. His business has been the focus of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, causing him heavy losses. Nick's exact words, as paraphrased by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, are as follows: "As the king of this city's underworld, you must have your own sources. S.H.I.E.L.D. has lost something important, and we must recover it! Until we recover it, our crackdown on the city's underworld businesses will not cease. This is our suspect list. If you identify one, we'll spare you for now."
Hearing this, Kingpin almost wanted to take his men to kill the one-eyed man. However, he managed to keep his composure. Although he believed in the supremacy of strength and believed that the best solution was to eliminate any enemy, achieving dominance in this city's underworld required more than sheer strength. He also needed brains.
Facing an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D., killing Nick Fury wouldn't necessarily solve the problem, but could instead bring disaster to his organization. Furthermore, Kingpin had no confidence in being able to kill the old agent.
The most important point is that he was completely caught in this misfortune! If Nick was targeting him, he would have used all sorts of tactics and fought to the death. But the other party just wanted to get some information from him...
Thinking of this, Jin Bing couldn't help but curse his partners in his heart again. In order to prolong the life of the dragon bone, the senior leaders of the Hand were simply crazy.
Should he fight to the bitter end, watching his business channels being completely destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D., and keep secrets for his partners?
Or will he stab someone in the back and reveal the Hand's information to S.H.I.E.L.D. to get himself out?
Jin Bing wasn't someone who struggled with decision-making. Within a week, he'd come to terms with reality. He didn't need to shoulder these losses for the Hand, even though the Hand was his most important partner. But in the underworld, so-called partnerships and connections were often unreliable in times of crisis. Jin Bing understood this from the start.
After Kingpin made his decision, Nick quickly obtained accurate information. To show his sincerity, Kingpin also revealed some information about the Hand to Nick. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence gathering capabilities, the information he revealed could be quickly investigated. Of course, Kingpin also gave a subtle reminder to the Hand.
Soon, SHIELD agents took down several Hand bases in the city and arrested many people working for the Hand.
SHIELD's actions also provoked the Hand, which dispatched a large number of personnel and ninjas to assassinate SHIELD agents. With each side holding its own cards, the situation became increasingly tense, with SHIELD's agents suffering even greater losses. This made Nick's face darken even further upon seeing the casualty report.
Even worse, even if they managed to kill the enemy ninja, they wouldn't know for sure. Once the enemy was injured or killed, their entire body would turn into a cloud of ash and disappear. And these days, the number of these ninjas was simply endless, seemingly undiminished.
…
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s temporary headquarters, Luke looked at Nick inside and jokingly said, "It seems your recent operations haven't been going well."
"I don't expect to hide it from you, little Luke. So, is there any way you can help me this time?" Nick asked calmly, sitting in the chair.
"I've reviewed the intel you gave me about the Hand, including the videos of the battles. I even examined and studied the ninja captives who were severely injured and recaptured by your SHIELD agents." Luke smiled and threw a metal wrist toward Nick. "Try it."
Nick caught the metal wristband that Luke threw to him, and according to Luke's instructions, he put it on his left arm. After activating it, he instantly felt that his body became lighter and stronger.
"What is this?" Nick looked at Luke in surprise. He had seen a lot of technological equipment, but this was the first time he had seen something that could enhance a person's physique and combat effectiveness just like the Super Soldier Program when worn.
"I extracted a certain power from those ninjas and used some technology to seal it in their equipment as an energy source." Luke said softly.