Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 737 You're a Hydra too (First Update)

The scientists from Wakanda who joined the Immortal City held multiple positions, serving as researchers while also acting as royal spies. Salomon hadn't exposed them, waiting for the right moment to exploit this weakness to its fullest extent. He knew that the person who made this arrangement was neither Shuri nor T'Challa—Suri was too naive, and T'Challa was too upright; it simply wasn't their doing. Only the current King T'Chaka could have made this decision. Salomon knew that if he were in T'Chaka's position, he would have made the same choice, rather than completely trusting a mysterious "oracle." Therefore, he had never harbored resentment towards T'Chaka, and even thought he was a decent king.

Of course, this did not prevent him from stripping T'Chaka of the Black Panther God's blessing and giving him a slow death.

Demanding that spies gather evidence wasn't to find a pretext for war against Wakanda, but rather to increase his leverage and make future dealings with Wakanda easier—T'Chaka would abdicate sooner or later, and as long as Salomon submitted the evidence to the next king, T'Challa, a fellow Oxford physics student, would surely compensate him. It was all just official business; ruthlessness had become a habit, and he personally had no ill will towards any Wakandan, or even those royal spies.

He issued fewer and fewer orders regarding the administration of the Immortal City, focusing instead on developing military power and delegating most administrative tasks to suitable individuals. He only issued orders when he saw areas requiring adjustment. The Immortal City served as Salomon's model for building a government organization, demanding that it possess the ability to operate independently, remain vibrant, and have a certain capacity for self-purification.

As the scope and number of people under his rule expand, even the smallest mistake, magnified, can become a fatal weakness of the system. He knew the Malik family was of bureaucratic origin, and given the Immortal City's inherent need for secrecy, bureaucratization was almost inevitable. Even so, he still instructed Stephanie to minimize unnecessary procedures to avoid falling into the trap of a clichéd bureaucracy. He and Stephanie frequently discussed issues of social systems. Stephanie, with her extremely high social status, had a much broader perspective than many ordinary people. Furthermore, with Gideon Malik recently involving her in various affairs, Salomon often gained much new knowledge from his conversations with her.

This knowledge often elevates Salomon's understanding of the extent of corruption within that class of end producers to a new level.

The heirs of political and financial families were squandering their lives, trying to find pleasure in their already privileged lifestyles. Their reckless and thrill-seeking behavior was so extreme that Salomon even suspected they had been corrupted by the outer dimensions, only clearing them of suspicion after extensive investigation. This wasn't to say that no one was corrupted, but rather that Kamar-Taj was incredibly efficient; the moment signs of corruption appeared, the unfortunate soul would be eliminated. Not all arcane mages faced the high-intensity killing missions Salomon frequently carried out; most mages' work involved clearing mild outer-dimensional infections, requiring no large-scale massacres. Therefore, all investigations ended with "accidents."

Salomon lay back on the bench, his eyes half-closed.

The scandals Stephanie showed him, scandals that would never be reported in the news, were so outrageous that Salomon felt his spirit was severely damaged. Some of the information was used by the Malik family to control their front men, while others were old news that was common knowledge and an open secret within elite circles. If it weren't for the Malik family's strict family traditions, and Gideon's deep love for his daughter, constantly forcing Stephanie to stay away from anything that might corrupt her, her family background would have included her in the materials he had seen earlier.

This made Salomon deeply aware that if humanity continued to be led by these people, it would be doomed sooner or later; feudalism was far more advanced than capitalism. After reading the books of great men, he decided to attribute this phenomenon to the weakness of the bourgeoisie. "Get rid of those who demand democratic elections first. If we let those idiots decide the organizational structure, we'll be back in the Stone Age overnight, stoned to death, and eating excrement for dinner."

“Alright, Sir Black Knight,” Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh. She handed Salomon a cup of hot tea, simultaneously adopting a high-pitched voice. “I watched this TV show when I was a kid, it was hilarious. Thinking about it now, it makes sense. A bunch of pigs who only care about votes and money, easily manipulated with a flick of their fingers. Even if some are unwilling to cooperate, there are always others who are. Politics and business are just two faces of the same system; going out one door, coming in the other. Knowledge is used to fool the masses, news is used to manipulate elections, and addictive drugs are used to erode the will to resist among the lower classes. That’s Hydra. Hydra is capital itself. Every beneficiary is Hydra. The Avengers have no idea what kind of opponent they’re dealing with. Hydra will always exist, it will never disappear, unless…”

"Only a supreme monarchy can completely eradicate those outwardly glamorous but insidious rats," Salomon said, looking at Stephanie's face. "Unless they are all like the Malik family, capable of contributing to the future."

"You are a pragmatist; only pragmatists possess a long-term vision," the secretary immediately offered knowing praise. "Once your plan is complete, no one on Earth will be able to stop a massive space fleet. You will lead humanity on a grand expedition to conquer the galaxy, and you will succeed."

Salomon sat up expressionlessly, as if their previous pleasant conversation was nothing more than a soap bubble reflecting colorful light in the sun. Faced with the monarch's suddenly sharp gaze, Stephanie felt a chill run down her spine.

“This isn’t ambition, Stephanie, it’s a desperate counterattack.” He sighed rather humanly, softening the atmosphere once more. “Stephanie, you’re my secretary, not a jester. If I wanted a jester, I’d go find one myself, that way I’d know who the clown is. But you’re right about one thing: I’m a pragmatist, and pragmatists don’t care for flattery. As the head of internal affairs, you should be more mindful of confidentiality. I think Victoria Hand needs to develop different confidentiality protocols for different levels of management. What do you think?”

Stephanie nodded silently, agreeing with the monarch's idea of ​​preventing the Malik family from becoming too deeply entrenched in the Immortal City. Salomon subtly warned her that Stephanie shouldn't listen to Gideon Malik's flattery. Although he knew this might not actually be Gideon Malik's opinion, having been immersed in the Malik family's environment for so long, Stephanie had picked up some habits that were of no benefit to her work.

"I think what's better than flattery is your swimsuit tan lines," the sorcerer chuckled.

Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief; she knew Salomon was teasing her about her sunbathing trip to Australia last winter. She'd specifically chosen a very daring swimsuit last time so she could show Salomon her tan lines when she got back. It had worked very well. She winked, responding with the unspoken message, "I recently went to Australia again, wearing a completely new swimsuit."

"I'm very interested in taking a look."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)