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"Alright, alright, alright, Nick Fury, so it was you who was secretly pulling strings all this time. I'll remember this, and we'll see about it in the future…"
Homelander said to Nick Fury on the screen with a serious expression, "I always repay my debts!!"
"Phew…"
Queen Maeve and Ashley Barrett breathed a long sigh of relief when they saw this. They were truly afraid Homelander would impulsively fly to S.H.I.E.L.D. and go on a killing spree.
If that were to happen, then Vought Corporation and their good days would truly be over!
However, this grudge was now set. It was just unknown how Homelander would retaliate against Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future.
...
...
S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Motherfucker, I knew it would end up like this again!!"
Upon seeing The Daily Bugle's exposé about himself, Nick Fury was so enraged that he directly smashed the coffee cup given to him by his Skrull mistress, glaring furiously at Maria Hill, who stood beside him, and roaring:
"Can you tell me what exactly happened with that video from the hospital?"
"Didn't I tell you to activate the signal jammer at the time? Why was it still filmed? You've made such a major work error, I think you don't want to work here anymore?!"
Facing such harsh accusations, Maria Hill shook her head with a solemn expression, "Director, I can assure you, the signal jammer was operating normally at the time. And afterwards, I even specifically sent an Agent to the monitoring room to check the surveillance footage, but found nothing… So, either someone was tracking us, or there's a problem with that hospital!"
Maria Hill had already done a background check on that hospital beforehand, but found nothing.
However, what she and Nick Fury didn't know was that the hospital was actually an industry under the Wizard Society.
After all, the Wizard Society had existed for thousands of years, so it was normal for S.H.I.E.L.D. not to find out all their details.
And that hospital… no, it should be said that all the monitoring equipment used in hospitals under the Wizard Society were new models produced by Hyperspace Group.
Let alone a mere signal jammer, even the super electromagnetic pulse released by MUTO could not interfere with their normal image collection.
"However, Director, what we should prioritize handling right now is probably the public opinion that has already erupted… If we can't give the public a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid S.H.I.E.L.D. will be sanctioned once again!"
Actually, Maria Hill really wanted to say that S.H.I.E.L.D. might become a discarded pawn of the Security Council… To be more precise, Nick Fury, as the Director, might become the scapegoat for this incident!
After all, the plan to eliminate Homelander using Soldier Boy was orchestrated by him, so even if he took the blame, it wouldn't be unfair at all.
However, Maria Hill knew her boss's temper very well. He was currently in a fit of rage, and if she told him the truth, she might become the target of his anger.
So… it was better to express it subtly!
"Hmph, what's public opinion worth?"
Nick Fury said with a confident expression, "It's not that easy to take me down. Over the years, I've secretly collected a lot of dirt on high-ranking officials. At worst, we'll just go down together… I don't believe anyone dares to touch me!"
The expression on Maria Hill's face gradually became complicated. No, is this something the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be saying?
Also, how are you going to deal with that lunatic Homelander?
"Immediately notify the staff to widely expose Homelander's past misdeeds online to attract public attention and reduce S.H.I.E.L.D.'s popularity."
Before Nick Fury could finish his instructions, the phone on his desk already rang. He glanced at the number, confirming it was from his direct superior, Alexander Pierce.
Nick Fury had already guessed the other party's intention. After a brief thought, he formulated a response strategy in his mind, then took a deep breath and pressed the answer button. As expected, Alexander Pierce's angry roar came through.
"Nick Fury, what the hell are you playing at?"
"What's with The Daily Bugle's exposé just now? Did you really orchestrate the entire incident of releasing Soldier Boy to assassinate Homelander?"
"Yes, I did it!"
"Fuck, what the hell is wrong with you to make such a rookie mistake? Do I have to teach you how to destroy evidence?"
Alexander Pierce was instantly furious, roaring hysterically, "To deal with a mere Homelander, you actually dragged yourself and S.H.I.E.L.D. into this, which makes me start to doubt your personal abilities…"
"Now that this matter has been exposed by The Daily Bugle, I believe it won't be long before it spreads widely. At that time, both you and S.H.I.E.L.D. will inevitably be pushed to the forefront, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, I think you should temporarily take a long vacation and rest…"
However, before he could finish speaking, Nick Fury on the other end of the phone calmly interrupted:
"Pierce, recently there have been many special events beyond my and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control, which makes me have to re-examine the Insight Project that you personally initiated earlier…"
Alexander Pierce's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. No, old friend, if you're going to talk about this, then we're still good friends.
However, to prevent the other party from having discovered something and deliberately trying to trick him, he still tentatively asked:
"Fury, I remember you were always skeptical of the Insight Project before. Why has your attitude suddenly changed now?"
"Before was before, now is now…"
Nick Fury said with an extremely firm tone, "What you said before is very true. We cannot wait until others have done bad things before we punish them. We should take preventive and warning measures in advance!"
"If the Insight Project were completed, then we could use satellite detection and big data collection and analysis to accurately predict Soldier Boy's movements and his next targets in advance…
This way, we could intervene in time before he commits that crime, and S.H.I.E.L.D. and I would not be forced into our current predicament!!"
"So… from now on, I plan to vigorously advance the actual progress of the Insight Project, striving to get those three brand new Sky Carriers officially airborne in the shortest possible time…
This way, we can use them to deal with Karl… Ahem, I mean those terrorists won't even need to show their faces. Satellites and big data can 'read' their digital DNA and nip all threats in the bud."
"Fury, I'm very happy that you have such an understanding, and to hear you say such words with my own ears."
Alexander Pierce was overjoyed. Although he knew that this black man just wanted to exchange the Insight Project for his support in this incident, what did it matter as long as the Insight Project could proceed smoothly? So he immediately stated, "Don't worry, Fury, I will fully support your work."
"Ahem, then about the long vacation you just mentioned…" Nick Fury appropriately pressed him.
"What long vacation? A long vacation for whom? You?"
Alexander Pierce immediately went back on his word, scolding sternly, "My God, what kind of international joke are you playing with me? You are the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. If I give you a long vacation, then who will advance the progress of the Insight Project… Ahem, I mean who will maintain peace in this World?"
"Then about this matter…"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this whole thing. The Security Council will come forward to support you."
Alexander Pierce almost guaranteed it by connecting a video call and patting his chest, "I'll find a suitable scapegoat to take all the blame for you."
Tsk tsk, see what professionalism is?
This is professionalism!
Old leader, it still has to be you!
He changes his mind faster than flipping a book.
But what Nick Fury didn't know was that the Insight Project he imagined was completely different from the Insight Project Alexander Pierce was actually implementing.
The latter wanted to use the Insight Project to eliminate dissidents and rule the World!!
And before that, Alexander Pierce, who was not good at personally appearing to persuade the important members of the Security Council, urgently needed Nick Fury to lead the promotion of this plan.
It was precisely for this consideration that Alexander Pierce's attitude suddenly changed, and he actively promised to help Nick Fury "bear" all the blame!
"Pierce, thank you for your support!"
"You're welcome, the one who should really be saying thank you… is actually me."
Alexander Pierce said meaningfully, then changed the subject and reminded, "However, things are sensitive recently, so you'd best not appear in the public eye."
"I understand." Nick Fury nodded and said, "I'm just about to use this time to launch a spacecraft!"
"Hmm? You mean… your Symbiote Soldier Program is ready to move forward?"
"That's right, now we just need to find Dr. Reed's whereabouts, and then have him calibrate the spacecraft's orbit, and it can be officially launched!"
"Fury, that's really good news. I wish you all the best in advance, and hope you bring back those powerful Alien Symbiotes soon to end Hyperspace Group's monopoly in this field!!"
This blessing was sincere, because for the Insight Project to proceed smoothly and not attract suspicion and attention from all sides prematurely, Nick Fury's continuous suicidal behavior was essential to attract everyone's attention.
So Alexander Pierce wished this black man could turn the World upside down.
"Thank you."
Nick Fury tried to fill his voice with overflowing gratitude. After Alexander Pierce on the other end hung up, he finally let out a long sigh.
It seemed he had gambled correctly this time!
By compromising on the Insight Project, he successfully gained Alexander Pierce's help.
As the Minister of the World Security Council, with his intervention, even The Daily Bugle's exposé this time would absolutely not be able to bring down Nick Fury.
After thinking for a moment, Nick Fury instructed Maria Hill, who was still standing by his side, "Immediately inform Invisible Woman to help find Dr. Reed's whereabouts. We don't have much time left…"
...
...
New Jersey.
Inside a certain abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. Base, on the 13th underground floor, a dark and enormous room was filled with a large amount of bulky and cumbersome computer hardware infrastructure made of old-fashioned transistors and electronic components from the mid-last century, including servers, external storage devices, and network equipment, etc…
Although these hardware facilities looked somewhat outdated, in the 1970s, they were super black technologies capable of shaking the World.
Even today, they could still cause qualitative changes through quantitative accumulation, providing the old giant computer placed in the center of the room with powerful performance far exceeding that of general large cloud servers, as well as a stable, secure, and efficient computing environment!
Buzz buzz buzz—
At this moment, the giant computer suddenly started operating without warning. In a special World composed of data streams that humans could not observe, a slightly surprised voice sounded, "Who are you, and how did you appear here?"
"Arnim Zola, born in 1890, the first genetic engineer in human history, and also the chief scientist under Red Skull, who was ostensibly a Nazi leader but actually a HYDRA leader during World War II… After the Nazi defeat, through Alexander Pierce's operations, he successfully joined Operation Paperclip, was introduced back to America by the U.S. government as a 'strategically valuable' German scientist, and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. to go into hiding… Until he was diagnosed with terminal illness in 1972, he uploaded his consciousness to this giant computer…"
A constantly flickering, blue Flame of Change, in a peculiar way, accompanied by that highly seductive voice, lit up in this cold World formed by data streams.
Dr. Arnim Zola, who had turned into a green data stream, was instantly shocked, "Impossible, I didn't detect any signs of external data intrusion before. How did you enter my program?"
"Don't be so nervous, I'm here to enlighten you!"
"I don't need any enlightenment. I am already the most advanced intelligent AI in the current World, so please get out of my brain… no, get out of my program immediately. You are not welcome here."