Due to Nick Fury's insane actions, and because most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s combat power was tied up on the Helicarrier and couldn't be spared, Pierce had no choice but to dispatch Hydra's ace operative for support.
Naturally, the identity of this Hydra ace could not be exposed, so Pierce had the Winter Soldier disguise himself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
The Winter Soldier's combat ability was indeed formidable. Like an efficient fighting machine, he single-handedly neutralized the entire team surrounding Nick Fury. Even the mind-controlled Nick Fury was bewildered.
Why don't I remember having such a formidable fighter under my command before?
After dealing with the miscellaneous henchmen, the Winter Soldier fixed his gaze on Nick Fury and prepared to strike.
"Hold your fire!"
Seeing this, Daniel instantly lunged forward, executing a flying kick in mid-air, swiftly aiming it at Nick Fury, who was beside the Winter Soldier!
Winter Soldier: "???"
You told me to hold my fire, so why did you just kick him away yourself?
Daniel rescued Nick Fury from the Winter Soldier, looking at the latter and saying, "He's my mission target. I can't let you have him."
Nick Fury was his primary objective. Whether the Winter Soldier was an ally or not, Daniel couldn't surrender the target.
Hearing this, the Winter Soldier's icy gaze locked onto Daniel.
His orders were also to capture Nick Fury, and anyone who obstructed him had to be eliminated, regardless of who they were.
Without another word, the Winter Soldier surged forward, his left arm whipping through the air with a sharp whooshing sound, his fist aimed directly at Daniel's face!
Facing the Winter Soldier's punch, Daniel neither dodged nor retreated, raising his hand to meet the blow head-on.
BAM!
A dull thud rang out.
A massive force immediately slammed into him, but the muscles in Daniel's arm swelled instantly, and he solidly caught the Winter Soldier's fist.
He sensed an unusually hard, cold texture in his hand. Looking down, he realized it was a metallic bionic arm.
Daniel exclaimed in admiration: "You have a metal arm. That's awesome! Cyberpunk!"
Seeing Daniel block his metal arm, even the brainwashed Winter Soldier's mind briefly stalled.
My invincible metal arm was caught?
However, the Winter Soldier was currently in a 'blackened' state, making his abilities peak. He instantly reacted, pulling out a dagger with his right hand and swiftly thrusting it toward Daniel's abdomen. This move forced Daniel to release his grip and retreat, allowing the Winter Soldier to launch a fierce offensive!
In the midst of their intense exchange, Nick Fury managed to struggle up from the floor, quietly retreating to the main control console, rapidly inputting commands in an attempt to activate the highest-level Strategic Weapon Protocol!
Unfortunately, it was morning, and the sunlight outside the windows was fierce. Nick Fury's stealth talent couldn't function, and Daniel quickly noticed his movements.
CRASH!
Just as Daniel was about to intervene, the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the Command Center suddenly shattered.
A shield wrapped in tattered cloth flew in from outside, striking Nick Fury precisely and knocking him down again!
Immediately following, a Quinjet hovered outside the building. Steve Rogers leaped from the cabin door, jumped through the shattered window into the Command Center, and smoothly caught the shield, which returned as if guided by a homing beacon.
"What's the situation here?"
Steve quickly scanned the scene, realizing Daniel was fighting a masked man who appeared to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
For some reason, he felt a faint, indescribable sense of familiarity about this masked man.
Daniel dodged a heavy punch from the Winter Soldier, and in the momentary gap, he turned back and shouted: "Steve, perfect timing! This guy is also an accomplice controlled by Loki! Help me stop him!"
Though Steve still had reservations, the situation was urgent, leaving no time for overthinking.
He immediately stepped forward with his shield, blocking another heavy blow the Winter Soldier aimed at Daniel.
CLANG!!
The metallic arm and the shield collided fiercely, the sharp sound echoing through the room.
Daniel used the opportunity to break free and made a beeline for Nick Fury, who had managed to stand up yet again.
Seeing Daniel charging at him, Nick Fury quickly raised his voice and shouted: "Wait, Agent Daniel! I have a mission for you!"
Even though he was under mind-control, Nick Fury's memory and thought patterns hadn't changed. He knew Daniel had an extraordinary obsession with missions.
As expected, Daniel paused the foot he was about to kick with and asked:
"What mission?"
Nick Fury secretly rejoiced, immediately stating: "Assist me in destroying the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and help Loki conquer Earth!"
He knew Daniel's style too well.
Whenever he issued a mission, Daniel would see it through to the end, utterly unconcerned with the content or whether it made sense.
Simply put, his moral bottom line was incredibly flexible.
Furthermore, Daniel was immensely powerful. If he could secure his help, no one in the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters—not even Steve or the mysterious masked man—could stop him.
Nick Fury's initial plan was to lure Daniel over to Loki so Loki could mind-control him directly. Unfortunately, Daniel was unreachable at the time, forcing him to shift his target to Steve.
Now that the opportunity presented itself again, Nick Fury naturally wouldn't let it go, attempting to pull Daniel into his faction.
Daniel raised an eyebrow: "Are you sure this is the mission you want to issue?"
Hearing this, Nick Fury thought his strategy had succeeded.
He nodded without hesitation: "Of course! Complete this mission, and you'll definitely be rewarded handsomely!"
To his surprise, Daniel's expression suddenly darkened. He straightened his back and righteously bellowed: "Nonsense! Do you think a paltry reward can buy me? I, Daniel, am an implacable foe of evil!"
Nick Fury: "???"
When did you develop such high moral consciousness?
Before Nick Fury could speak again, Daniel's size-42 boot came flying up, kicking all his words back down his throat.
While kicking, Daniel continued to scold: "There's no mission prompt! And you have the nerve to claim there's a reward?"
He had actually been looking forward to Nick Fury issuing a system mission. If the reward was generous, he might have just taken it.
But after waiting for a long time, he didn't hear the familiar system notification sound at all.
It was a complete waste of emotion!
The more Daniel thought about it, the angrier he became. He grabbed Nick Fury and subjected him to a torrent of abuse and violence.
This time, he was smarter, consciously holding back his strength to avoid accidentally knocking the man out, as he had with Steve previously.
The results were remarkable. Daniel punched him dozens of times before Nick Fury finally lost consciousness.
Afterward, he tied Nick Fury up with a rope—nothing fancy, just a mummy-style wrap, leaving only his head exposed.
[Quest 'Long Live S.H.I.E.L.D.' completion settled]
[Reward received: 1500 Experience, 30 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, Item 'Star of Africa', Item 'RX-78 Chaser']
[Item: Star of Africa (An extremely valuable diamond. Although named the Star of Africa, no person from Africa has ever seen it)]
[Item: RX-78 Chaser (A robot that automatically tracks enemies. It self-destructs immediately upon contact with the target)]
Having successfully apprehended the malevolent Black Salted Egg, Daniel turned his attention to the battle on the other side of the Command Center.
At this point, the fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier had reached a fever pitch.
Both possessed superhuman physical abilities and masterful combat skills, and their equipment was top-tier.
One wielded a metal arm with enormous strength, the other a shield that could absorb kinetic energy. Their clash of offense and defense was so fierce that a winner couldn't be determined quickly.
And for some reason, Steve felt an unsettling sense of familiarity about his opponent, as if the man before him was someone profoundly important to him.
However, whenever he tried to tear off the mask to check, the Winter Soldier fiercely blocked him.
In addition to the order to capture Nick Fury, Pierce had specifically instructed the Winter Soldier never to expose his identity. Now, the Winter Soldier valued his mask more than his own life.
The battle can be lost, but the mask must stay on!
As the fight continued, both men accumulated minor injuries.
The sleeve on the Winter Soldier's left arm was ripped, exposing the entire silver metal arm, with a glaring red five-pointed star on the shoulder.
Meanwhile, the tattered cloth covering Steve's shield was torn off during the skirmish, revealing the distinct Hydra emblem at its center.
Daniel: "..."
On one side, you have the Winter Soldier protecting S.H.I.E.L.D., and on the other, you have Captain America, the Hydra agent, trying to stop him.
This is a weird sight!
Nope, gotta look again!
Not just Daniel, but both Steve and the Winter Soldier themselves froze.
They simultaneously took a half-step back, instinctively covering the logos on their equipment.
Seeing that Daniel had successfully captured Nick Fury, and with his identity on the verge of exposure, the Winter Soldier immediately retreated toward the exit without hesitation.
Steve watched his rapidly receding figure, paused for a moment, and ultimately chose not to pursue him.
He turned to Daniel, asking earnestly: "Daniel, do you know who that person was?"
Daniel maintained a poker face and immediately shook his head: "Completely clueless. Probably a homeless man Loki picked up somewhere. Why the sudden interest?"
What kind of homeless man has moves that good?
Steve grumbled inwardly, his frown deepening: "He felt intensely familiar to me, but I just can't remember who he is."
Seriously, man? The guy was covered head to toe, with only a few strands of hair showing, and you still think he feels familiar?
Daniel was exasperated and casually said: "It's probably just your imagination. It happens all the time. Like how you always feel girls like you—those are just life's illusions. Don't worry about it too much."
Steve: "..."
Don't talk nonsense. I never felt that.
Seeing that the Winter Soldier was gone, Steve had to refocus on the task at hand.
He walked toward the mummy-wrapped Nick Fury and said: "Let's wake him up. Maybe he knows Loki's next plan."
Daniel immediately volunteered: "I've got this. I'm a professional!"
He rushed forward and delivered a dozen resounding slaps to Nick Fury's face.
However, Nick Fury remained completely unresponsive; he didn't wake up.
Daniel was surprised: "Is he really that deep of a sleeper?"
Steve: "..."
Actually, I saw Nick Fury open his eyes after the first slap, but then Daniel's next dozen slaps knocked him right back out.
Perhaps a powerful survival instinct kicked in. Nick Fury fought through Daniel's continuous slapping and forcibly regained consciousness.
With one side of his face swollen, he quickly shouted: "Stop! Stop hitting me! I'm already conscious!"
"Director, you're finally awake!" Daniel pretended to be delighted as he pulled his hand back.
Nick Fury: (o_O)
If I didn't wake up now, I might never wake up again. Look at how swollen my face is.
Nick Fury didn't have time to worry about his swollen face. He went straight to the point: "Loki's true goal is to open a massive portal and bring his alien army to Earth."
"What kind of army?" Steve immediately pressed him.
"Loki didn't reveal the details, but I suspect it's an extremely large alien force. He was supremely confident, acting as if once that army arrived, all military forces on Earth would be instantly crushed."
Nick Fury's face was grim.
Years ago, he had seen a real alien army, and it was certainly not something Earth could withstand.
It was likely that Loki's alien army was just as overwhelming. If it was the same scale as that army from years ago, Earth's forces wouldn't stand a chance unless he summoned a certain square-faced woman.
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Steve's heart also sank. Though he had never seen aliens, he understood the danger of the situation.
He asked: "Where is Loki now?"
"I don't know. Loki's location is classified to everyone. Only Loki himself knows the full plan," Nick Fury shook his head, stating gravely: "Before I left, Loki only took the Tesseract and Selvig. My role was to act as bait and stall for time."
"Loki is very likely already setting up the portal device somewhere and is using Iridium to stabilize the gateway. Once the portal is formed, he can summon an unlimited army."
Hearing this, Steve immediately opened his communicator and relayed the intelligence to the other members of the "Kick-the-Black-Salted-Egg Alliance."
Almost simultaneously, Tony Stark's voice came through the earpiece.
"Your intel sure came at a great time. Bruce and I have already locked onto the Tesseract's signal. That bastard Loki is standing on top of my newly built Stark Tower right now, starting the portal!"
Daniel also heard everything clearly through the communicator.
And at that moment, the system's notification sound rang out in his mind.
[Player Alert! Major Event 'The Battle of New York' officially begins!]
[Objective: Eliminate the invading Chitauri army]
[Reward: Real-time ranking based on the total number of kills by all participants. The higher the number of enemies eliminated, the higher the rank. Rewards will be distributed based on the player's final ranking!]
A Major Event!?
Excitement instantly flashed in Daniel's eyes.
If that's what we're talking about, then I'm definitely in!