"Fine, Nick Fury, so you've been the one pulling strings in the dark all along. I'll remember this. We'll see about this in the future..."
Homelander said to Nick Fury on the screen with a serious expression, "I always pay my debts!!"
"Phew..."
Queen Maeve and Ashley Barrett, upon seeing this, finally breathed a sigh of relief. They were really afraid that Homelander would impulsively fly to SHIELD and start a massacre.
If that were to happen, then Vought and their good days would be completely over!
However, the die is cast today. I just don't know how Homelander will retaliate against Nick Fury and SHIELD in the future.
...
...
SHIELD Headquarters.
"Motherf**ker, I knew it would end up like this!!"
After seeing the exposé about himself in the Daily Bugle, Nick Fury was so angry that he smashed the coffee cup given to him by his Skrull mistress into pieces. He looked at Maria Hill, who was standing beside him, and roared:
"Can you tell me what the hell happened to that video in the hospital?"
"Didn't I tell you to activate the signal jammer at the time? Why was it still filmed? Causing such a major work error, I think you don't want to work anymore?!"
Faced with such severe accusations, Maria Hill shook her head with a solemn expression. "Director, I can assure you that the signal jammer was functioning normally at the time, and I also sent agents to the surveillance room afterward to check the surveillance footage, but found nothing... So, either someone has been following us, or there's something wrong with that hospital!"
Maria Hill had already done a background check on the hospital beforehand, but found nothing.
But what she and Nick Fury didn't know was that the hospital was actually an industry under the control of the Wizard's Council.
After all, the Wizard's Council has existed for thousands of years, so it's normal that SHIELD can't find out all of their details.
And the monitoring equipment used in that hospital... no, it should be said, in all hospitals under the Wizard's Council, are all new models produced by the Hyperspace Group.
Don't even mention a mere signal jammer, even the super electromagnetic pulse released by MUTO cannot interfere with their normal image acquisition.
"But Director, right now, what we should prioritize is probably the public opinion that's already boiling... If we can't give the public a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid SHIELD will be sanctioned again!"
In fact, Maria Hill really wanted to say that SHIELD might become a pawn abandoned by the Security Council... To be more precise, Nick Fury, the director, might become the scapegoat for this incident!
After all, the plan to use Soldier Boy to eliminate Homelander was planned by him single-handedly, so it wouldn't be wrong to let him take the blame.
It's just that Maria Hill knew her boss's temper very well. He was currently in a fit of anger, and if she told the truth, she might be blamed.
So... it's better to express it in a more tactful way!
"Hmph, public opinion is bullsh*t?"
Nick Fury said with an air of confidence, "It's not that easy to get rid of me. Over the years, I've secretly collected a lot of dirt on high-ranking officials. At worst, I'll just go down with them... I don't believe anyone dares to touch me!"
The expression on Maria Hill's face gradually became complicated. Wait, is this something the director of SHIELD should be saying?
Also, how are you going to deal with that lunatic, Homelander?
"Immediately notify the staff to spread a lot of information online, exposing the past misdeeds of Homelander, so as to attract public attention and reduce the heat on SHIELD."
Before Nick Fury could finish his instructions, the phone on his desk rang. He glanced at the number, confirmed that it was his superior, Alexander Pierce, calling.
Nick Fury had already guessed the other party's intentions. After a little thought, he came up with a strategy in his mind, then took a deep breath and pressed the answer button. Sure enough, Alexander Pierce's angry roar came from inside.
"Nick Fury, what the hell are you doing?"
"What's with the Daily Bugle's exposé just now? Did you really orchestrate the whole incident of releasing Soldier Boy to assassinate Homelander?"
"That's right, I did it!"
"Fu*k, what the hell is wrong with you that you made such a low-level mistake? Do I have to teach you how to destroy the evidence?"
Alexander Pierce immediately flew into a rage, hysterically roaring, "To deal with a mere Homelander, you actually dragged yourself and SHIELD into it. This makes me have to start doubting 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. By then, whether it's you or SHIELD, you will inevitably be pushed to the forefront. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, I think you should temporarily take a long vacation to rest..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Nick Fury interrupted unhurriedly on the other end of the phone:
"Pierce, a lot of special events that are beyond my and SHIELD's control have happened recently, which makes me have to re-examine the Insight Project that you personally initiated before..."
Alexander Pierce's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Wait, if you want to talk about this, then we're still good friends.
However, in order to prevent the other party from discovering something and deliberately trying to trick him, he tentatively asked:
"Fury, I remember you've always been skeptical of the Insight Project. Why has your attitude suddenly changed now?"
"The past is the past, and now is now..."
Nick Fury said in an extremely firm tone, "You were right before, we can't wait until others have done bad things before we punish them. We should take preventive and alert measures in advance!"
"If the Insight Project had been completed, then we could have used satellite detection and big data collection and analysis in advance to accurately predict Soldier Boy's movements and his next target..."
"This way, we could have intervened in time before he committed that crime, and I and SHIELD wouldn't have been forced into the current predicament!!"
"So... from now on, I plan to vigorously promote the actual progress of the Insight Project, and strive to get those three new Sky Carriers officially launched into the air in the shortest possible time..."
"This way, we can use it to deal with Karl... cough cough, I mean those KB elements don't need to show their faces at all. Satellites and big data can 'read' their digital DNA and nip all threats in the bud."
"Fury, I'm very glad you can have this kind of awareness, and to hear you say such things with my own ears."
Alexander Pierce's heart was simply bursting with joy. Although he also knew that this black ghost just wanted to use the Insight Project to exchange for his support in this incident, so what? As long as the Insight Project can proceed smoothly, he immediately said, "Don't worry, Fury, I will fully support your work."
"Cough cough, what you said just now about taking a long vacation..." Nick Fury appropriately took the opportunity to bargain.
"Take a long vacation? Give a long vacation to whom? You?"
Alexander Pierce immediately denied the debt, reprimanding in a stern tone, "Oh my god, what international joke are you kidding me with? You are the director of SHIELD. If you take a long vacation, then who will advance the progress of the Insight Project... cough cough, I mean who will maintain the peace of this world?"
"Then this matter..."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. The Security Council will come forward to support you."
Alexander Pierce was about to open a video call on the spot to pat his chest and guarantee, "I will find a scapegoat with enough weight to take all the blame for you."
Tsk tsk, what do you call professional?
This is called professional!
Old leader, it still has to be you!
This face-changing is 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 that Alexander Pierce actually created.
The latter wanted to use the Insight Project to eliminate dissidents and rule the world!!
Before that, Alexander Pierce, who was not good at personally appearing to persuade the important directors of the Security Council, urgently needed Nick Fury to take the lead in promoting this plan.
It was precisely out of this consideration that Alexander Pierce's attitude suddenly changed and he took the initiative to promise to help Nick Fury "resist" all the guilt!
"Pierce, thank you for your support!"
"You're welcome, the person who should really say thank you... is actually me."
Alexander Pierce said meaningfully, then changed the subject and reminded, "But recently the limelight is tight, you better not appear in the public eye."
"I understand." Nick Fury nodded and said, "I'm just planning to use this time to launch a spacecraft!"
"Hmm? You mean... your Symbiote Soldier Project is ready to move forward?"
"That's right, now as long as we find Reed Richards's whereabouts, and then have him correct the operating orbit of the spacecraft, we can officially launch it!"
"Fury, that's really good news, I wish you all the best in advance, and bring back those powerful Alien Symbiotes as soon as possible to end the dominance of the Hyperspace Group in this field!!"
This blessing was sincere, because in order for the Insight Project to proceed smoothly and not arouse suspicion and attention from all parties in advance, it was bound to require Nick Fury's continued and unremitting death-seeking behavior to attract everyone's attention.
So Alexander Pierce couldn't wait for this black ghost to stir up the world.
"Thank you."
Nick Fury tried his best to fill his voice with overflowing gratitude. After Alexander Pierce on the other side hung up the phone, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
It seems that he bet right this time!
He successfully exchanged Alexander Pierce's help by compromising on the Insight Project.
As the Minister of the World Security Council, as long as he takes action, then even the Daily Bugle's exposé will definitely not be able to bring down Nick Fury.
After thinking about it, Nick Fury instructed Maria Hill, who was still standing beside him waiting for orders, "Immediately notify Invisible Woman and ask her to help find Reed Richards's whereabouts. We don't have much time left..."
...
...
New Jersey.
Inside an abandoned SHIELD base, on the 13th floor underground, the dark and huge room is filled with a large number of bulky and heavy computer hardware infrastructures composed of old-fashioned transistors and electronic components produced from the mid-last century, including servers, external storage devices, and network devices, etc...
Although these hardware facilities look a bit backward, in the 1970s, they were super black technologies that were enough to shake the world.
Even today, they can still cause qualitative changes through quantitative changes, providing the old-fashioned giant computer placed in the center of the room with powerful performance, stability, security, and efficient computing environment far exceeding ordinary large cloud servers!
Buzz buzz buzz——
At this moment, the giant computer suddenly started operating without warning. In a special world composed of data streams that humans cannot observe, a slightly surprised voice sounded, "Who are you? 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, the head of Hydra who was actually a N粹 leader during World War II... After the defeat of N粹, through the operation of Alexander Pierce, he successfully joined the Operation Paperclip and was introduced back to the mainland by the American government as a 'strategically valuable' German scientist, and joined SHIELD and lurked there... Until he was diagnosed with terminal illness in 1972, he uploaded his consciousness to this giant computer..."
A constantly beating, blue Flame of Change, in a peculiar way, accompanied by that bewitching voice, lit up in this cold world formed by data streams.
Upon seeing this, Dr. Arnim Zola, who had transformed into a mass of green data streams, was immediately shocked, "Impossible, I haven't detected 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'm already the most advanced intelligent AI in the world, so please get out of my brain... no, get out of my program immediately. You are not welcome here."
