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"Send the space carrier straight to Washington! Hurry up! What are you all standing there for!" Pierce shouted.

"Sir, all the codes Pierce gave us are invalid..." a soldier whispered to the former commander of the space carrier.

The commander nodded, then tossed Pierce, chair and all, off the chair, dusted off his Hydra suit, and looked at the others in the command room.

"This is a deranged double. Everyone! Heed my command! Target: New York! For Hydra! For Pierce! Revenge! Revenge!"

"For Hydra! Revenge!"

Slogans rang out in the command room. Pierce lay sprawled on the ground. He could have taken down the former commander in a few moves, but what good would it do?

I've truly become my own substitute...

At the bottom of the space carrier, Jess looked up at Viktor, who was fiddling with something at the bottom, and yawned. "Not done yet? I might as well go up and take the adaptive mechanical beings and wipe them out."

“A brute,” Victor replied coldly. “I’ve already modified their navigation and other systems. Wouldn’t it be better to just have them sail the ship back to the temporary research facility? Why do they have to damage it before they can repair it?”

Chapter 125 The Complete End of S.H.I.E.L.D.

With Victor's friendly guidance, the space carrier arrived directly above the temporary research institute.

When the Hydra aboard the space carrier sensed something was wrong, the entire carrier was already under Victor's complete control. Since they were already high in the sky, jumping down would be tantamount to suicide.

What? Bring a parachute?

That would be a good opportunity for Najes to practice his artillery skills, and Viktor's drone swarm was no pushover either.

It's actually a good thing for them to take over; when they receive this space carrier, they won't even have to clean it up.

That's right, once the space carrier was in Viktor and Jess's hands, they had no intention of handing it over.

Such a large space carrier, even if it can't be converted into other suitable equipment or ships, would be a huge undertaking even if it were dismantled.

Clock Tower has always been short of resources, as resources need to be concentrated on major projects. Although the major projects are almost finished, subsequent maintenance and upgrade projects have begun.

Therefore, once the space carrier approached the ground, hundreds of T-800 adaptive mechanical bodies rushed up, reducing the damage while sweeping across the entire space carrier.

Finally, when Victor and his team found Pierce, he was lying on the ground with many footprints on his body and a large hole in his forehead. He had committed suicide, a real suicide.

To prevent Pierce from having that one in ten thousand chance of resurrection, Jess also used an energy cannon to vaporize him.

While everyone was busy eliminating Hydra, Tony Stark, who had a deep-seated grudge against Hydra, was sitting at home.

On the table behind him were two documents, both accompanied by videos: one about the true cause of his parents' deaths, and the other an invitation from Hextech.

Of course, Hextech didn't invite him to be a researcher, but rather an intern.

Tony Stark's mechanical talent is undeniable, but he knows nothing about magic and needs to start learning it all over again.

gudu~

Tony downed a swig of his drink, walked over to his armor, and reached out to touch the cold armor.

What a magnificent suit of armor! It cost hundreds of millions of dollars to manufacture, but unfortunately, it might not be used many times in the future.

After this incident, Tony realized something: if he were to simply be a lone hero, it would be a complete waste of his talent.

In this campaign against Hydra, what could he do wearing the armor? Go straight into battle and kill the enemy?

Based on his fighting style, he might not have wiped out as many Hydras as Frank in the end, since Frank was a professional killing machine, efficient and low-cost.

This is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—it's wasteful and ridiculous!

And now? With Jarvis and some resources from Stark Industries, and with the cooperation of Hextech's head Heimerdinger and Nick Fury, they dealt Hydra a heavy blow.

After images of Pierce's death were sent to multiple countries, many Hydra agents who had been lying low came out to retaliate against their enemies. Of course, the final result was very consistent: those who were able to leave with intact bodies were lucky.

As for those slightly "clever" Hydras, sorry, hiding only delays their death. With the Mystic Side determined to wipe them out, not one of them will survive.

"Dad, Mom, I've avenged you, but it's a pity that all your hard work is about to collapse."

Tony muttered to himself with a touch of sadness, "This time, S.H.I.E.L.D. is destined to disband. The only reason things haven't turned out yet is because the Security Council is arguing about how to distribute some of the spoils."

Tony also had very mixed feelings about Nick Fury. He was seriously negligent in his duties, but he couldn't be entirely blamed. No one could have imagined that Pierce, who was above him, was an undercover agent. Even if Tony were in that position, he wasn't sure he could have uncovered Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Moreover, Nick Fury's final decision shocked Tony. It would have been easy for Nick Fury to survive, but he chose to give up his life and deliver a fatal blow to his enemy, which could be seen as taking responsibility for his dereliction of duty.

Tony had no complaints about making this decision; he had originally planned to spit on Nick Fury's grave, but now he decided against it.

As for the possibility that the deceased Nick Fury might be a stand-in, Tony never even considered it.

Putting aside the fact that in a short period of time, the only person who can mobilize the remaining forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. is Nick Fury himself, because he would never truly trust his own double.

Just consider the consequences of doing this: even though Nick Fury is dead, his name is already on the kill list of various countries.

A faked death to escape? Who would believe Nick Fury isn't Hydra? The methods of detection on the mystical side aren't 100% accurate, so if Nick Fury reappears and his identity can be confirmed by Earth using any of the various methods available, then death awaits him.

Moreover, even Nick Fury at that time didn't have the ability to deceive so many people.

Otherwise, even with Tony and Heimerdinger's help, he might not have been able to regain control of part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

With the person dead, the matter was settled, and Tony didn't intend to pursue the past mess anymore, because he had more important things to do now.

"Jarvis, send me a reply. I'm open to the position of research intern."

At this point, Tony felt inexplicably ashamed that he had become someone's apprentice.

In the past, anyone who dared to say such a thing to him would have been considered crazy, but now it has actually come true, and he even made the decision himself. This world is truly absurd.

“Yes, sir, the reply has been completed,” Jarvis said.

Tony snapped out of his daze, wiped his face, and said, "Import all the data they sent into the system and organize it into similar categories. Also, send a message to Pepper that from today onwards, she is the president and will make all the decisions. Until I leave the lab, unless the earth explodes, don't come looking for me!"

"Okay, sir."

After Tony finished speaking, he took a deep breath and went into the laboratory. He had no choice; the general knowledge sent by Hextech was already enough for him to study diligently, and it wouldn't be something he could learn in a month or two.

Hextech didn't require Tony to have completed all the training before joining the company; it's just that he had high expectations for himself.

It's not for any other reason than I can't lose face in front of Jayce and Viktor!

It's okay to know less since you started learning much later than them, but if you're given enough time and still haven't mastered even the most basic knowledge, then that would be a disgrace to geniuses!

Tony also plans to take over the titles of Jess and Victor once he joins Hextech. He sets a small goal: to achieve this within three years!

Chapter 126 Me? Dracula, is there really a problem?

Two weeks later, the overt crackdown was over, and various countries released some relevant information to the public, bringing the mysterious side into the spotlight.

It was thought that this situation would lead to a surge in swindlers worldwide, but in reality, aside from some fanatical cult members, there are far fewer swindlers.

Come to think of it, the dead and the fake can't talk, they're not made up by humans. But now that these people have actually appeared, it's hard to say. There's a saying that goes, if God really exists, the first thing he would do is wipe out his sects.

Knowing that they don't know when or what words might anger those people and lead to their deaths, many people choose to back down and observe the situation first.

There aren't many people in this world who would rather have money than their lives.

In addition, there have been no major celebrations in the past two weeks, as the entire mystical side is currently holding a funeral for the Ancient One.

One purpose is to set an example for the achievements of the Ancient One over the past five hundred years, and the other is to strengthen the cohesion of the entire Earth.

However, none of the legends were too heartbroken. They were no ordinary people; they had all seen life and death before, and everyone knew that the Ancient One's soul had disappeared. They were simply retired.

With the retirement age set at 500 years, many people are wondering how many years they have left to retire, but they don't know how this 500 years is calculated—is it based on actual age or years of service?

In this eerie atmosphere where sadness is mixed with a sense of unease, Dracula paces anxiously back and forth in the hall of an ancient castle.

He also received news of the Ancient One's death, but why couldn't he believe it?

He believed he would die young, but the credibility of him being stabbed to death by an inside man is too low. However, after being under house arrest for so long, he really wanted to get some exercise.

Just as Dracula was pondering, his door suddenly sprang open, and Xerath floated in.

Dracula frowned, waved his hand, and several bolts of lightning struck Xerath directly, which Xerath then devoured as energy.

"Who are you! How dare you trespass into my territory!" Dracula shouted, realizing he couldn't deal with Xerath anytime soon.

“Xerath, legendary sorcerer, Dracula, I’m here to form an alliance,” Xerath said calmly, gazing at Dracula.

"An alliance?" Dracula leaned back on his throne as if he had heard something ridiculous. "What right do you have to form an alliance with me?!"

“I need a place to recover from my injuries and hide from the enemy. In exchange, I can give you some information,” Xerath said.

With a whoosh, Dracula appeared beside Xerath, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him. He had initially intended to take a bite first, but upon getting closer, Dracula realized that this person wasn't just surrounded by energy; he seemed to be an energy being himself.

"Recovering from injuries? You dare to show your face in front of me while you're injured?" Dracula said after realizing he had nowhere to attack.

Xerath remained motionless, seemingly not considering Dracula a threat, thinking, "You can't kill me."

Dracula stared at the confident Xerath for a few seconds, then flicked his cloak. He was tempted to give it a try, but his sixth sense told him that it would be pointless.

"Tell me what information you have first."

"The Ancient One didn't die, she retired. Her soul has disappeared from the current universe."

Upon hearing this, Dracula paused for a moment, then burst into arrogant laughter. "If what you say is true, then why should I ally with you?!"

"I also know other information that will at least let you know who you can afford to mess with, so that you won't even find it a pipe dream to stay here in the future," Xerath said confidently.

"You think I can mess with you?! I'm immortal! Who can't I mess with?!" Dracula was unusually excited. With the Ancient One dead, no one could control him anymore. How could he not be happy?

“It’s just immortality, I have that too.” Zelas’s words carried a hint of disdain for Dracula. “Those who can ignore your immortality may not have time to deal with you, but others are enough to control you. The people in the Clock Tower are quite interested in research on immortality.”

"The Clock Tower? You mean that fraudulent organization? You can fool the world, but you can't fool me! I've lived for thousands of years! I've never heard of any Clock Tower!" Dracula's aura was unusually fierce.

Xerath looked Dracula up and down. "It seems you've already been captured once. Were those memories erased?"

Hearing Xerath's somewhat self-answered question, Dracula charged forward. "I've been captured? Capture your head, my foot!"

Arcane Pulse!

Hundreds of arcane pulses flashed around Xerath, completely stunning Dracula. Under such saturation of attacks, he had nowhere to hide.

After the attack ended, Dracula looked at the still intact castle around him and exclaimed in admiration at the incredible control he had achieved. At the same time, a wavering crossed his mind... Could it be that I really was captured?

“The Celestial Court, the Clock Tower, and the Ouroboros have over a hundred legends. Aside from the treasures they possess, in terms of individual destructive power alone, I wouldn’t even make it into the top eighty. Is there anything else you want to ask?” Xerath continued.

Dracula was speechless for a moment. After their brief exchange, he estimated that he was no match for the man in front of him. If there were really that many experts outside... what if... his memory was really erased?

“I’ll give you another piece of information, a heads-up: be careful of Van Helsing. He’s probably the only person below the legendary level who can truly kill you. He has holy blood within him, and at an extremely high level.” Xerath said, seeing Dracula wavering slightly.

Van Helsing? A scene flashed through Dracula's mind: a camera had captured a moment not long ago of Van Helsing threatening him and slitting his throat. At the time, he had wondered who this man was, and later, when Faith went to cause trouble, he never returned.

Do I... really have a memory problem?