Without saying a word, Nick Fury instinctively reached beneath his desk to press the hidden alarm button, but a flash of silver light passed by, and the next moment, he was bound and tossed aside like a sack.
Black Widow, who had been standing at attention and reporting on the current situation, immediately reached for her Black Widow's Bite weapon. Wanda turned her head slightly, and with a flick of her fingers, the gauntlets instantly morphed into a pair of decorative flower bracelets.
The expression on Natasha Romanoff's face froze mid-motion. Then, recognizing the futility, she obediently raised her hands in surrender.
"Your ability has improved remarkably, Wanda," Shin said, casting a sideways glance at her with a smile.
Wanda returned the smile, clearly pleased. Her crimson chaos energy had now advanced to the point where she could reshape reality with barely a thought. In the past, her powers were unstable, sometimes effective, sometimes not, and often slow to manifest. Now, a single glance or twitch of her will could rewrite matter.
"Of course. I feel like I'm progressing faster than ever," she said. "Maybe those visualization techniques you taught me really work."
Shin shook his head modestly. "Those are just minor tricks, they're barely considered techniques. At most, they help ordinary people concentrate and refine their control a bit."
The meditation method he'd given Wanda was a mental training technique passed down within genjutsu clans that specialized in Yin Release chakra. Because the ninja world lacked a formal cultivation system, most "secret techniques" were actually crude or half-baked practices. Even with a lifetime of training, most users would only boost their Yin chakra capacity by a modest margin.
Yet even such a rudimentary method was vastly more structured than the chaotic mysticism of the Marvel universe. And given Wanda's exceptional talent, her growth was explosive under a focused system of development.
While the two conversed casually inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director's office, Nick Fury's patience snapped.
"Mr. Kevin," he said sharply, "this is S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. What do you intend by breaking in here and tying up agents? Are you trying to declare war? This looks a lot like terrorism."
"I thought we were allies after the last joint battle," he continued. "What you're doing is reckless."
"Friends?" Shin laughed coldly. "I don't recall any friend sending a team of agents to infiltrate the Oscorp."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. places agents in every major defense corporation. That's our job and responsibility," Fury replied, trying to remain calm. "Besides, Miss Wanda may be a director at OsCorp, but she's hardly the one calling all the shots."
"Fine, let's not split hairs." Shin stepped forward, voice turning colder. "Tell me where is Dr. Curt Connors?"
Fury's brow furrowed, though his expression was unreadable against his dark skin. "I don't know what you're referring to. S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't taken any action involving Dr. Connors."
"No? Then maybe it wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D., but rather Hydra the parasite living inside your organization," Shin said with a smirk.
"What did you say?!"
The loudest reaction came not from Fury, but from Natasha Romanoff. Her eyes widened, and she stepped forward involuntarily.
"Hydra? Embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Shin nodded calmly. "Yes, Miss Romanoff."
Natasha seemed more shaken than anyone else in the room. Fury's face darkened.
"Damn... I knew something was off," he muttered, his expression tense.
"Nick," Natasha said, no longer using his title. "Did you know?"
Fury shook his head, his tone grim. "I had a suspicion there was a hidden faction in S.H.I.E.L.D. but I never imagined it was Hydra."
Shin clapped slowly, sarcastically. "Then let me be the one to confirm it for you. Based on intel I've gathered from Oscorp, your organization has been thoroughly compromised."
Both Fury and Natasha frowned at this. They weren't entirely convinced. While they believed Hydra had infiltrated, the idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been wholly overtaken seemed absurd.
"Even if you don't believe me now, I'm about to prove it." Shin turned to the hallway and called out, "Quicksilver, bring everyone in start with the top-ranking agents!"
Despite S.H.I.E.L.D.'s notoriously labyrinthine architecture, safety regulations ensured that all occupied areas remained accessible. Hidden compartments and secured floors could only slow Quicksilver down for a minute or two.
Sure enough, within two minutes, the office was packed with tied-up S.H.I.E.L.D. agents of level seven and above.
Wanda began scanning their minds with ease. For those equipped with anti-telepathy devices, she simply waved her fingers turning those devices into necklaces, flower brooches, or other trinkets.
Fury, now slumped on the ground, clenched his jaw in silence. He was painfully aware of the sensitive knowledge contained in the minds of these high-level agents. With Wanda peeling back their thoughts like onions, the entire organization's secrets were being laid bare.
If even a fraction of that information were leaked, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be done for.
And yet, as Wanda continued her mental sweep, even Fury was forced to open his eyes.
"This one's Hydra... and this one... and that one too... oh, definitely Hydra."
More than half of the room had already been exposed as Hydra operatives. Fury's confidence was visibly shaken. Natasha looked stunned, her mouth slightly agape.
It was only after Wanda paused and turned to one man that she said, "Ah, finally a real S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
She pointed at Agent Coulson, who looked confused but untainted.
"Honestly, you might as well rename S.H.I.E.L.D. to Hydra at this point," Wanda muttered. "Nine out of ten of your senior agents are working for them."
The room was dead silent.
Nick Fury had no counterargument.
And Shin just folded his arms and smiled.
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