Alexander Pierce held a cup of coffee, standing silently before the huge floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Though he was now over fifty, this old man still wielded immense power, enjoying great prestige and connections in political circles and many other spheres. Even the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and members of the Security Council dared not underestimate him in the slightest.
If someone approached at this moment,
they would see, reflected on the vast glass pane, a pair of clouded eyes radiating a chilling, penetrating gleam that made one's heart tremble.
It was as if Alexander had shed his usual mask, revealing eyes as fierce as an aging lion, staring at the street directly facing the Triskelion building, as though searching for a prey that caught his interest.
Bright sunlight spilled into the office, stretching the old man's shadow to its limit.
Under the sunlight, the elongated, pitch-black shadow suddenly writhed violently, as if hiding a swarm of insects. In the next instant, countless black, granular substances spewed madly from the shadow, gradually converging into a humanoid form.
The humanoid was completely pitch-black, resembling a monster made of shadow, and even under the direct sunlight, its true appearance could not be discerned.
Alexander Pierce slowly turned around, gazing at the pitch-black humanoid. There was no trace of shock or fear in his eyes, clearly, he already knew this strange being. Calmly, he asked,
"How's Nick Fury?"
"He escaped."
The pitch-black humanoid said flatly, "Someone intervened and rescued him. For now, it's still unclear who it was."
"Someone rescued Nick Fury?" Alexander Pierce's brows furrowed deeply, a hint of unease in his heart. "And even you didn't notice who it was… could it be… the Shinigami?"
"Probably not the 'Shinigami.'"
The pitch-black humanoid shook its head. "I didn't dare get too close at the time, but I can confirm there were no traces of spiritual energy at the scene, so it shouldn't have much to do with them. My guess is… it was those people."
"You mean… hiss!"
Alexander Pierce's pupils contracted, and for once, fear flickered across his face, but he quickly hid it, speaking in a low, heavy tone, "So they're not dead after all… it seems we must accelerate the Insight Plan."
"Heh… just a bunch of sewer rats."
The pitch-black humanoid sneered coldly. "Back then, Haschwalth nearly wiped them out single-handedly. Seventy years later and they've already forgotten the pain. Do they really think they're still those lofty gods?"
"You mean… we can ignore them?"
Alexander Pierce was startled. After all, those people were beings no weaker than gods.
"Why bother?"
The pitch-black humanoid smirked. "As long as Haschwalth is still around, they'll never dare show themselves. Seventy years ago, so many of them died, surely they've learned some caution."
"The Insight Plan…" Alexander Pierce frowned, hesitating for a moment.
"The Insight Plan must proceed faster!"
The pitch-black humanoid raised its hand, cutting him off with a commanding tone. "I don't care what difficulties there are, the Insight Plan must be officially launched within one month. I… have sensed Yvette's spiritual energy. She has reappeared."
"Understood, Lord Hive."
Alexander Pierce gave a slight nod. "The Insight Plan will not be delayed. Once it goes online, the world will be ours."
The Insight Plan was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-secret projects.
Three next-generation helicarriers, network-synced with target-positioning satellites, equipped with the most advanced anti-gravity levitation systems. Once airborne, they would never need to land, patrolling in near-Earth orbit continuously.
Each helicarrier carried an unimaginable arsenal.
Hidden within the bays on the underside of the warships were hundreds of ultra-long-range precision weapons, capable of eliminating over a thousand targets in just one minute. In addition, there were the latest generations of fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, and more, making them veritable fortresses in the sky.
Combined with the latest database algorithm, it can accurately pinpoint threats before they happen.
Through data transmitted by satellite, any terrorist can have their DNF and other data read before they even step out of their bunkers and tunnels, what awaits them then will be precise artillery fire raining down from the sky.
Nipping danger in the bud, that is the truth behind the "Insight Project."
Unlike the current human moral concept of "first commit a crime, then be punished," this instead strangles danger at its root, keeping the margin for error and disasters to an absolute minimum, striving to safeguard peace at any cost.
But it's obvious…
In the hands of Hydra, the Insight Project is far from being so simple.
Just imagine, if all data on every superhero were fed into the threat algorithm database, and then through the Sky Eye surveillance satellites, the cannons of the three aerospace carriers could instantly blanket them all.
"Yvette… Yvette…"
The humanoid creature called "Hive" let out a cold laugh. "This time… I won't let you run away again!"
…
…
…
The unconscious Nick Fury slowly regained consciousness.
However, the moment his mind cleared, Fury didn't open his eyes immediately. He continued pretending to be unconscious.
In a situation where the surroundings were unknown, keeping up the appearance of being unconscious was his best option.
Taking advantage of his clear mind, Fury began recalling what had happened earlier.
At the moment of the attack, he almost thought he was going to die.
After all, under the continuous barrage of the M134 Vulcan cannon, even the thickest steel plates can't withstand 7.76 mm bullets, let alone the thing standing between him and the gunfire, which wasn't steel at all, but merely a piece of modified bulletproof glass.
But at the very instant the glass shattered, the car suddenly exploded violently.
That was when his consciousness was cut off. Everything that happened afterward was unknown to him, but judging from the fact that he was still breathing now, he must have been saved by some unknown person.
"Since you're awake, you might as well get up."
A slightly hoarse male voice came from not far away.
Fury's heart skipped a beat, and he slowly opened his eyes, quickly scanning his surroundings. He realized they seemed to be in some kind of sewer. The walls, yellowed from smoke, bore streaks of water stains. Above him ran a complex network of underground pipes.
A golden-haired man was leaning against the yellowed wall, eyeing him sideways. "Looks like you're not an ordinary person. To recover from such serious injuries so quickly, impressive."
"Who are you? Why did you save me? What's your goal?"
Fury shot out three questions in quick succession, his eyes full of caution as he stared at the short-haired youth.
"That's quite the interesting question…"
The golden-haired man showed a playful smile, crossed his arms, thought for a moment, then grinned. "If we're speaking from a human perspective, I guess you could say I'm your ancestor. I've existed on this land for millions of years. So… what do you think you should call me?"
"Anunnaki? Lizardman? Or god?"
Nick Fury replied without expression, sarcastically, "I'd rather humans' ancestors be monkeys. At least they're more reliable than your kind."
Golden-haired man "???"
During the time he had been asleep… what on earth had happened to the world?
In the past, when humans heard such words, they would always react with awe. But why was there only scorn and ridicule in this man's eyes?