Darren walked out of Nick Fury's office feeling triumphant.
After half an hour of persuasion, reasoning, and downright creative nonsense, Fury finally believed that Darren wasn't planning to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. anytime soon.
In fact, Darren even managed to slip in a "small request"—from now on, unless the mission difficulty was insane, he didn't want to be bothered with low-level assignments. They weren't worth his time.
The result? A surprise reward.
A one-day vacation.
Apparently, there weren't any high-difficulty missions available at the moment—all the top-tier jobs had already been snatched up by other agents. Fury, seeing his "top salesman" risk burning out, generously gave him a day off.
"This game's getting ridiculous," Darren muttered as he wandered down the hallway. "Even the NPCs are out here grinding harder than players."
For once, he had time to explore. He'd been to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters many times, but always straight to Fury's office and out—never actually mapped the place out properly.
Now was the perfect opportunity. Maybe there were hidden rooms, secret NPCs, or treasure chests tucked away. After all, plenty of games hid rewards behind exploration—and he still remembered the trauma of some developer stuffing loot boxes into obscure corners for sadistic fun.
So, map expansion time.
Darren opened his mini-map and started wandering into the gray, unexplored areas of the building.
It turned out the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ was massive. Even after over an hour of exploring, the map still wasn't fully lit.
Eventually, he came to a sleek metal door. The mini-map showed the inside as a completely black zone—unexplored.
Private offices were rare here. Anyone who had one was either very powerful or very dangerous. The people who worked behind these doors were at least Level 8 agents, way above his clearance.
Naturally, Darren didn't care in the slightest.
He pushed the door open.
Inside sat a refined-looking blond man in a suit behind a desk. Across from him stood a bespectacled bald agent, reporting in a low, urgent voice.
Both men froze when Darren appeared.
The bald one recovered first, frowning sharply. "Who are you? How did you get in here? Why didn't the security system trigger an alarm?"
So many questions.
Darren tilted his head, expression serious. "Name's Darren. As for how I got in—no need to worry about that. And the alarm didn't go off because…" He smiled. "I hacked it."
The bald man blinked. "You… what?"
He said it so confidently, it almost sounded reasonable.
Before the man could react, the blond at the desk lifted a hand.
"That's enough, Agent Sitwell. I'll handle this."
"But, Mr. Pierce—"
"It's fine. Leave us."
"…Understood."
Sitwell shot Darren one last suspicious glare before leaving.
The moment the door shut, the older man smiled warmly. "Please, sit."
Darren dropped into the chair opposite him without hesitation, crossing one leg over the other and casually flipping a wallet in his hand.
Pierce's brow creased. "And that is…?"
"Oh, this?" Darren replied smoothly. "My wallet."
He opened it, pulled out all the cash, stuffed it into his pocket, and tossed the wallet straight into the trash can.
From the corner of his eye, Pierce saw a driver's license slip out and flutter to the floor. The photo on it? Sitwell.
Pierce stared for a long moment.
A pickpocket… in S.H.I.E.L.D.?
And a petty one at that—Sitwell had only glared at him once before Darren lifted his wallet.
Still, Pierce was intrigued. He finally said, "I know who you are, Agent Darren."
"Oh? You've heard of me?" Darren perked up.
"Of course. You're quite the prodigy. Graduated with honors, and in just two months rose to Level 5—unprecedented in S.H.I.E.L.D. history."
Darren grinned. "Ah, flattery will get you everywhere, sir."
But Pierce's smile deepened, his voice dropping. "Oh, I know… much more than that."
Darren groaned internally. He hated cryptic NPCs. But since this one had good taste in compliments, he played along. "Alright, then. What else do you know?"
Pierce leaned forward, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "Hail Hydra."
Darren's eyes widened in disbelief. "You—you…"
Pierce nodded approvingly, thinking Darren had caught on. "Exactly. I am—"
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Darren interrupted.
Pierce: "…"
Can you not pause dramatically mid-sentence like that?
He exhaled, dropping the pretense. "You still don't get it? I'm Hydra. And your superior."
That made Darren blink. Then his eyes lit up in realization. He stood sharply, snapping to attention. "Apologies, sir! Didn't recognize you earlier!"
Of course!
He had chosen "Hydra Infiltrator" as his starting background.
According to the system lore, he was a secret agent embedded inside S.H.I.E.L.D., with one rule: Never reveal your identity. Especially not to the bald cyclops with an eyepatch.
Otherwise, he could take on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions as normal—and get paid twice.
"No harm done," Pierce said, waving it off. "The protocol ensures that unactivated Hydra operatives remain anonymous, even to each other. You wouldn't have known unless I confirmed it myself."
He studied Darren carefully. "Honestly, if you hadn't barged in today, I might never have activated your code."
So it was pure dumb luck that Darren had stumbled straight into his hidden superior.
"Still," Pierce added, "your caution was admirable. Even when I said the phrase, you didn't respond immediately. That restraint is commendable."
Darren scratched his head, sheepishly smiling. "Heh… thanks, sir."
He couldn't exactly admit that he'd just forgotten he was a Hydra agent altogether.
Then again—maybe that was the ultimate disguise. If even he didn't remember, who else could possibly find out?
Pierce's tone hardened. "Since you're now activated, let's not waste the opportunity. I have a task perfectly suited for you."
Darren's eyes lit up instantly. "What kind of task?"
If S.H.I.E.L.D. was too corporate, maybe Hydra had better loot drops.
"This is a long-term mission," Pierce said. "Keep an eye on Nick Fury. Any time he assigns you a special mission or makes an unusual move, you'll report directly to me."
[NPC Alexander Pierce has issued you a new quest]
[Mission: Hail Hydra]
[Objective: Report any information on Nick Fury's operations directly to Pierce]
[Reward: Depends on intelligence quality and mission completion rate]
"Understood, sir! Mission will be completed!"
Darren snapped to attention, giving a crisp salute.