Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 779 Chain Reaction (First Update)

Stephanie had told Salomon more than once how much Gideon Malik doted on her after her mother's death. In Stephanie's mind, Gideon Malik was very family-oriented; although he didn't always have time for his daughter, he fulfilled all of Stephanie's needs during her childhood and adolescence. However, Salomon believed this kind of upbringing would only produce a foolish girl—before he subdued the Malik family, Stephanie's centuries-long cult of the multi-armed creatures was outrageously devout, something Salomon often joked about.

He gave Stephanie a questioning look, and the Hydra girl immediately handed him a tablet computer.

While they were talking, Immortal City agents stationed at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base were gradually withdrawing, boarding assault transport ships to return to Immortal City. They placed NASA astronaut Will into an isolation container and then used engineering equipment to move him onto the transport ship. Agent Coulson tried to stop them, but seeing the Sorority's menacing demeanor, his last effort to persuade Will to stay failed.

"I hope you can urge them to produce the test results," Agent Coulson said to Barbara Morse. "I'm sorry, Barbara, we need manpower right now. We need Fitz and Simmons. Also, May and Daisy are still adrift at sea, and you're the only pilot on the base. I need you to take the maintenance crew to bring May and Daisy back, and then take a detour to talk to Dr. Garner. We have to be frugal because S.H.I.E.L.D. can no longer produce Quinjet fighters, and Stark Industries can't bypass Congress and the Department of Defense to produce these aircraft. Every Quinjet that breaks down is one less available."

"I can't possibly finish this much work in one day, Coulson," Barbara said, feeling a throbbing pain in her injured knee. "Have you considered hiring someone new?"

"Unless we can rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D., this is all the manpower we have," Agent Coulson shrugged. "Have you been to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Yes, I saw it." Barbara fell silent. She would never forget the sight she had witnessed in the ruins of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. After the Hydra mutiny on the carrier was quelled, Agent Weaver led a team back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy to try and rescue the young and loyal cadets. However, Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy was deeper than anyone imagined, especially within the Operations Department. Almost the instant the order was issued from Trisolaris headquarters, a massacre took place within S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

Many loyal young people were dead. When Agent Weaver and her team arrived at the scene, the rebellious Hydra members had already fled. The former training grounds of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been dug into a crater filled with the bodies of thousands of students—a massacre rarely seen in modern times. Agent Weaver couldn't determine who was still alive, or which of the survivors were loyal and which were traitors. Therefore, after their hasty retreat, Commander Gonzalez did not attempt to contact the survivors of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"While I disagree with many of Salomon's points, there's one thing I do agree with: we need well-trained agents. Even Daisy isn't exactly experienced yet, so it's no wonder Salomon thinks entrusting the task of saving humanity to her is incredibly irresponsible." Coulson chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Compared to the original S.H.I.E.L.D., we've lost more than just discipline. Training should have been handled by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, but that's gone; we have to train them ourselves. I need you and Mike, and I hope you can become agent instructors after this is over."

“If Mike had inspected all the planes, he might have agreed to this,” Barbara said. “Just before you gave the order, Mike had already organized a rescue team to help May and Daisy. Their last communication indicated they were safe, just that the seawater was a bit cold.”

Coulson sighed. "See? That's how it is."

The arcane mage, far away in the heavens, had no idea what Coulson was thinking. Even if he did, he would only mutter, "I told you so." He only knew that the tasks he had arranged were proceeding according to plan, and that was enough. His curiosity about the NASA astronaut would not be satisfied until the quarantine container was transported back to the Immortal City.

He had other things to deal with before that.

Salomon once used magic to probe the only young person in the entire Hydra academy at the time, and that young person was Ruby. Her mother was General Hale of the Department of Defense, who was also a Hydra agent. According to Stephanie and Whitehall's records, General Hale also attended this school and was one of the best among all the young Hydra agents of his class. Due to a deal between Alexander Pierce and Dr. Whitehall, the young Hale gave birth to a girl through artificial insemination, and that girl was Ruby. Ruby's performance at school was even better than her mother's; both her physical abilities and intelligence were worthy of being the product of the top biologist Whitehall's experiments.

As compensation to Hale, Alexander Pierce arranged for Hale to join the military.

However, before he could even use this force, Salomon swiftly seized the spoils of the Hydra rebellion, taking even the Sky Carrier, leaving Alexander Pierce with nothing.

The sorcerer planned to entrust Ruby, this ruby, to Stephanie's education, while her mother, General Hale, would have the opportunity to meet with him. Although General Hale lacked practical combat experience, Salomon still needed a general—not only to help Stephanie's people control the U.S. Department of Defense, but also to gather substantial war resources and soldiers for future conflicts. Salomon wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could save the world alone; to achieve that goal, he needed any soldier who had undergone systematic training, no matter how bad they were.

General Hale will travel in an unmarked armed helicopter, and no one will be able to track her down.

The CIA isn't like MI5, where terrorists can walk in and launch missiles. After the attack on Langley headquarters, the entire intelligence world was on edge. Even though the FBI disagreed, the CIA still used its resources to screen Hydra agents within the country. This was also the catalyst for General Hale's defection to the Immortal City. The situation in the US was increasingly tense, and even the military began a quiet internal investigation. General Hale had already received word of this through his connections. This was a response to Salomon's arrangement of Natasha Romanoff and other assassins to infiltrate Langley headquarters to steal intelligence and carry out assassinations. He never expected that a mission he orchestrated would indirectly strengthen his own side.

Although she knew the so-called "internal investigation" was just a prelude to "no results," General Hale was unsure of its extent. To ensure she could remain hidden rather than be uprooted and imprisoned, she sought help from former World Security Council member Gideon Malik in a state of extreme tension. While abolitionists are rampant in the US, abolishing the death penalty is merely a political ploy to satisfy the psychological needs of liberal leftists; escaping death is absolutely impossible for Hydra.

But that was a few days later. He still had to go to the vet to pick up the Cheshire Cat and then have a serious talk with the vet about the cat's weight loss plan. The Cheshire Cat was really too fat; the last time Salomon saw it, the flab on its belly was almost touching the floor.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)