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Immediately afterwards, Natasha led Frank through the underground sewers at full speed for nearly half an hour, until they arrived at a very ordinary pipe.

Natasha pulled a card from a gap in her chest, swiped it in what appeared to be a crack in the stone slab, and a small input panel appeared.

With lightning speed, their fingers typed a bunch of numbers and symbols on the panel, and then the word "Pass" flashed on the panel, opening a simple passage in front of them.

Natasha didn't go in immediately. Instead, she took two steps back and stretched her hands upwards, completely exposing herself to the hidden scanning equipment.

Frank stood to one side with his arms crossed, wondering, with so many vetting processes, what was he going to do? Just push through?

With a hissing sound, a small passage appeared next to the original passage, with a small display on it displaying a number 2.

This is the real passage. The first one you go through will be sealed off, and then you'll be exposed to poison gas, bullets, corrosive liquids, and all sorts of other things.

“Looks like there are people inside. We can go in together,” Natasha said to Frank, glancing at the numbers above.

She had originally planned to go in herself and then open the door for Frank, but now the people inside had replaced the intelligent verification with a human verification, granting both of them access.

Frank followed Natasha, his eyes scanning their surroundings. He held a random teleportation coin in his palm, a reward from one of his missions. If he encountered danger, activating it would likely save his life.

“This is the most secure safe house. I didn’t know that before. Nick Fury only told me after I joined Ouroboros. It seems he thought that undercover agents couldn’t fool Ouroboros’s vetting process,” Natasha said as she walked, and soon they arrived at a large, silver-white door.

"This is a defensive base he built with a large amount of misappropriated funds. The specially made walls and gates in the surrounding cement are infused with a large amount of vibranium. You could say that even if a small-yield nuclear bomb exploded above our heads, we probably wouldn't feel much of it here."

Frank looked at the door in front of him, his hands itching. He hadn't tested the vibranium's defensive capabilities with magical weapons yet, and he really wanted to pull out his gun and give it a shot.

As he was thinking this, the door swung open, and Natasha pulled Frank through quickly. The door only opened for three seconds at a time, then closed automatically.

"You've finally arrived," Coulson said, looking at Natasha and Frank with eager anticipation.

"I rushed over as soon as I received the signal. Are you alone?" Natasha asked.

“Hawkeye was captured by Hydra, and Nick Fury sent me here to hide. There’s an assassination contest going on outside right now—no, a direct assassination contest!” Coulson said quickly. “Nick Fury left a video in the system, but it requires at least two people to access it simultaneously. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

Chapter 123 Live Broadcast

After Coulson explained, Natasha didn't delay and entered the password into the system simultaneously with Coulson. The image left by Nick Fury immediately popped up.

“Coulson, I’m glad you’re still alive. Please open the compartment below the safe. There’s a communicator inside. If these suddenly returning mystical forces can’t protect Earth or if they become a new threat to Earth, press the communicator.”

"Remember, no matter who the communicator calls, never truly trust them. Always maintain a skeptical attitude towards everyone. Unfounded trust is the easiest thing in the world to lead to destruction."

“Natasha, I’m also glad that you found another way out before S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, but I hope you can do me a favor in my last moments.”

After casually playing the emotional card, Nick Fury's image was transformed into a three-dimensional map.

"Two hours to go. Kill Pierce who appears here. He will put up a fierce fight, but it's something you have to do."

"He is not the nominal leader of Hydra, but he controls more than 50% of Hydra's resistance force. I believe that those powerful and mysterious figures can deal with Hydra, but they are few in number, and if they are even slightly careless, Hydra can take a big bite out of our homeland!"

When the phrase "all-powerful" was mentioned, Nick Fury's tone was very complicated. He had been feeling confused lately. If these mystical figures really existed five hundred years ago, then what was the point of establishing S.H.I.E.L.D.? Was it just to serve as a den for the remnants of Hydra?

Some of what Nick Fury said was quite correct. For example, the shortage of manpower was not so bad in China. There weren't many Hydras here to begin with. Li Xiaoyao also had people from Shushan stationed here. With Lin Zhengying's divination, it wouldn't be difficult to catch them all.

But it might not be the case in other countries, such as the United States of America. Even though Artoria has advanced to the legendary level, she can't be in two places at once, so she would have to destroy them one by one.

The Hydra agents wouldn't stand idly by; they were highly skilled in stealth and disguise, so destroying Hydra's organizational structure in John Bull wasn't difficult. The real challenge was how to completely eliminate them.

There's a saying that goes, "Even if you have tens of thousands of pigs, it's not so easy to catch them all when they run away."

Having heard this, Natasha and the others basically understood what was going on. If Nick Fury really knew where Pierce was, there wouldn't be so much trouble.

Nick Fury, who also has a large group of Stands, knows that even ordinary mind-reading methods are useless against Pierce. Some of the Stands he uses genuinely believe they are Pierce himself, and they only realize they are Stands when they need to access blocked information or special privileges.

"One last thing, this is the Director's appointment and dismissal document issued under the special provisions of the Emergency War, which has been sent to the Security Council members through special channels. Congratulations, Coulson, you have become the last Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nick Fury held up a piece of paper covered in countless stamps on the screen and said, "Slap!" After he finished speaking, the screen shut down completely.

Coulson didn't seem happy at all upon hearing these words. And what was there to be happy about? If S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't disband after this incident, he'd twist his own head off and use it as a football.

Coulson walked anxiously to the safe and used a special key that Nick Fury had given him a few months earlier to open the hidden compartment.

Coulson didn't understand what the key was for at the time, but he does now.

Inside the interlayer, there lay a communicator resembling a cell phone. Coulson took it out and found that it only had a call button and no other information.

Natasha and Frank exchanged a glance and began checking their equipment. Since Nick Fury had already made his decision, there was nothing more to say.

As subordinates and former friends, all they did was respect his decision.

Two hours later, Natasha leaned against the rooftop, several portable grenade launchers already installed beside her.

The streets below were sparsely populated with vehicles. Hydra, in its struggle, wouldn't care about the lives of civilians, so anyone with a modicum of common sense hid in their homes after the gunfight began, armed with weapons, ready to protect themselves at any moment.

Suddenly, seven almost identical cars drove out of the underground parking lot and headed in different directions.

Without saying a word, Natasha fired the prepared grenades one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out.

Without waiting for the explosion to stop, Frank smashed through a window and performed a leap of faith, simultaneously aiming both guns at the car that Nick Fury had specifically marked in the footage.

Da da da da!

A series of white light bullets shot out from the muzzle, none of them landing outside the target.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop, its protective panels trembling under Frank's gunfire, but likely due to the presence of some special material, they eventually withstood the impact.

As soon as the car stopped, all the other vehicles stopped as well, and then a whole bunch of people jumped out, pointing their guns at Frank and pulling the triggers without any intention of holding back.

These guns weren't firing ordinary bullets, but rather energy projectiles; these people were wielding energy weapons! The kind of energy weapons that any knowledgeable person would immediately recognize as Hydra's.

Faced with this attack method that he hadn't seen before, Frank didn't dare to be careless and immediately activated the enchantment on his shoes.

Phase shift!

Frank moved more than ten meters through the air, ignoring obstacles and gunfire, before landing directly on the ground. He then drew a circle with his hands, sending bullets flying in an arc, sending several armed men around him flying into the air.

Almost simultaneously, Natasha's body emerged directly from the shadow cast by the car, flames shooting from the muzzle of her gun, knocking down the soldier in front of her, before she took a step back and stepped back into the shadows.

As the two began their killing spree, a satellite in the sky pointed directly at them and started a live broadcast. Of course, this broadcast was delayed and supported real-time pixelation. This technology was provided free of charge by Stark Industries.

After confirming the satellite's position, Pierce got out of the car, and the soldiers who got out with him surrounded him, protecting him as he retreated.

The other soldiers relentlessly pursued Frank, while the elusive Natasha paused each time she appeared, making her relatively easy to guard against once they were mentally prepared.

Chapter 124 Oh no! I've become a substitute!

Despite the soldiers' fearlessness and elite skills, they were still forced into retreat by Frank and Natasha's combined efforts.

This scene was projected by the well-prepared United States to various places outside of Asia through various means, and simultaneously displayed on hundreds of thousands of large screens. The main purpose was to let those hidden Hydra agents see this scene, and the secondary purpose, of course, was to let the world see their power.

“Mr. Lam Ching-ying, you don’t need to prepare anymore. They have found their own solution, so we will not interfere.”

Li Xiaoyao, who saw the satellite signal with Guan Zhen in the office, made a phone call to Lin Zhengying and said...

No prophet or other divination-like mysterious figures have returned from the Clock Tower. I had originally thought I could help once I finished my work here, but now it's not necessary.

This is a blatant scheme by the other side, but only the US and the Clock Tower can use such a scheme, and it can only be used once, since the price for such a scheme is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The US was lucky this time; it flexed its muscles with Hydra, which also led some uninformed people to believe that the relationship between the Clock Tower and the US was similar to that between the Heavenly Court and China.

In this way, it can continue to use its title as the world's policeman for a few more years. Countries like China that know the inside story will not expose it. After all, the disintegration or collapse of such a large country would be unimaginable for the world at present. Stability is the absolute priority right now!

While Li Xiaoyao and Guan Zhen were watching the images on the screen, Frank had already dealt with the soldiers; for him, it was a close call. Natasha, on the other hand, was locked in combat with Pierce.

"Natasha!"

Frank shouted, reminding Natasha to speed up. He warned that if the fight dragged on for too long, it would be excessive. As a top agent, Natasha shouldn't have taken too long to kill Pierce in the public eye.

As for Natasha's and his own identities, Frank doesn't even need to think to know that the US will probably announce their identities to the public soon, though there will certainly be some falsehoods involved.

Pierce seemed to understand Frank's meaning faster than Natasha, and his grip loosened slightly. To outsiders, it appeared as if Natasha had punched through his defenses and then plunged a knife directly into Pierce's body.

After inflicting the fatal wound, Natasha immediately used her shadow movement to leave Pierce's side. Less than a second after she left, Pierce's body crashed to the ground and exploded, sending the surrounding ground flying into the air.

Natasha, who had come out from beside Frank, twitched her fingers. The sensation of the stab returning to her hand was wrong. The first feeling wasn't of a stab penetrating flesh, but of a mixed material. Only after piercing that material did she feel flesh.

This should have been the only flaw, but with the corpse's self-destruction, this flaw completely disappeared.

The instant Pierce fell, missiles flew up from underground in various countries across the Americas and Europe.

This is Hydra's revenge plan; when Pierce's life ends, these pre-programmed missiles will be launched simultaneously at the capitals of multiple countries.

Frank and Natasha were not alarmed at all, because besides Hydra, there were other people in the world who could carry out such an attack. Nick Fury was one of them. He had the authority to launch long-range missiles from various S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. If the settings were right and the US cooperated, simulating it wouldn't be too difficult.

At that moment, on the space carrier, Pierce emerged from the secret room with a frown. The president had just hung up the phone abruptly, quite inexplicably.

He came out just in time to see footage of multiple missiles launching, and immediately rushed to the screen.

Even the Hydra agents who had been sitting in the command center were somewhat dazed. Pierce's revenge for his death was a widely publicized secret within Hydra, intended to demonstrate Hydra's power to the Hydra agents below.

"Rewind the video!" Pierce shouted, but there was no response, so he had to manipulate the screen himself.

After watching the short, less than ten-minute video at double speed, Pierce plopped down in his chair.

Only one thought echoed in my mind: "It's over! I've become my own double!"

The Hydra members around him also looked at Pierce with some suspicion.

Could this person be a hypnotized Pierce stand-in?

Pierce was shocked upon seeing this. He stood up and slapped his subordinate, shouting, "A double has the authority to operate a space carrier?! I am Pierce! The one inside is Nick Fury in disguise as Pierce!"

"Yes, sir!" the subordinate replied with a salute.

Pierce could feel his authority rapidly diminishing. If the Hydra soldiers who had always followed him thought this way, what would the Hydra soldiers outside who were resisting think?

Pierce didn't dare to think any further after that thought!

Nick Fury is ruthless; he's really willing to use his own life as a trap, and he makes it look so real!

The only way Pierce could prove himself was to slit his own throat and make those missiles at Hydra launch, but what was the point? He still died!

Now all Pierce could do was hope that Nick Fury's plan backfired, he thought to himself as he kept his eyes glued to the missiles on the screen.

Just as these missiles were about to reach their destinations, a wave of energy enveloped all the target countries except for those of the British missiles, instantly rendering them ineffective.

Heimerdinger shook his head. Using the rudimentary equipment on Earth to amplify his domain, the side effects were still a bit too much, and he had a slight headache.

As for the United States, a beam of light swept across its land, and those missiles were instantly reduced to ashes.

"It's over...it's completely over..."

Pierce slumped back in the conductor's chair; now he was dead, and even cutting open his stomach wouldn't prove his identity.