Sitwell swallowed hard, his gaze trembling as it swept across the ground.
Those red-clothed freaks, who had been carving through his Agent squad like vegetables just moments ago, were now all mangled, still-life objects on the ground.
This way of dying... was far too gruesome.
It wasn't gunshot wounds, nor was it blade slashes.
Some looked as if they had been struck head-on by an invisible giant hammer, their ribcages completely collapsed; others looked as if they had been twisted into pretzels by some irresistible, colossal force.
Sitwell looked at the woman before him in disbelief.
Under the dim, yellowish halo of a distant streetlight, Makima stood quietly in front of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood.
Her black trench coat didn't have a single wrinkle, her white shirt remained crisp, and not even a stray strand of hair by her temples was out of place.
"You... You did this alone?"
Makima didn't speak, merely watching him quietly with those golden, ringed eyes.
The moment he was stared at by those eyes, Sitwell felt a chill run up his spine and his scalp go numb.
Those were simply not eyes a normal human should have.
Those golden concentric circles exuded an indescribable eeriness and malevolence in the dim light.
Being watched by these eyes felt less like being looked at by a human and more like being scrutinized by some cold-blooded creature at the top of the food chain wearing human skin. This caused him to instantly feel a surge of respect, and he subconsciously straightened his back out of fear.
One person, unscathed, had wiped out an elite ninja squad of The Hand and even forced that monster of an old woman to retreat.
What kind of creature was this? And what level of combat power did she possess?
Our HYDRA is truly impressive to have such an extraordinary person!
Sitwell then remembered that he hadn't even responded to the woman's code.
This was a serious political error!
Especially in front of someone far more powerful than himself.
Sitwell broke out in a cold sweat, feeling he had been neglectful. He glanced left and right to ensure there were no survivors nearby, then quickly straightened his back, adjusted his messy suit, and gave Makima a standard salute. Lowering his voice, his eyes filled with flattery, he said, "Hail HYDRA!"
After doing all this, Sitwell asked cautiously and tentatively, "Um... I haven't asked yet, how should I address you, Officer? Under which Lord's command do you serve? And how did you... happen to appear here?"
Although Sitwell was spineless, he was, after all, a veteran Agent.
Even though the other party had used the code and saved him, out of professional habit, he still subconsciously wanted to probe her background.
After all, HYDRA was full of factions... each mountain top operated independently.
It would be troublesome if he sucked up to the wrong person.
Facing Sitwell's probing, Makima did not give a direct answer.
She simply raised a slender index finger, gently pressing it against her red lips in a silencing gesture: "Shh, it's classified."
"I am merely under orders to handle some historical issues left over by The Hand. I happened to notice the commotion here and lent a hand."
"Classified..." Sitwell chewed on the word.
Could he recognize Makima?
He couldn't.
But Makima had directly stated his name and seemed to know him very well.
What did this mean?
It meant Makima knew his background, but he wasn't qualified to know Makima's intel!
In the intelligence world, this kind of one-way transparency meant only one thing—the other party's rank was far higher than his own!
Coupled with those terrifyingly unreasonable combat skills... Sitwell's heart skipped a beat. This was definitely a hidden trump card from the organization's highest levels!
"Understood! I completely understand! I won't ask what I shouldn't!"
Sitwell immediately retracted all his curiosity, his expression becoming fawning and respectful as he bowed even lower: "Thank you for your rescue, Officer! If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to command me!"
"I still have quite a bit of influence within S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Sitwell didn't know.
At the moment Sitwell bowed his head in submission, his personality, his loyalty, and even his soul no longer belonged to himself or HYDRA—
Unbeknownst to him, a chain invisible to the naked eye had already connected to his abdomen, extending all the way into Makima's body.
At that moment, Sitwell felt no pain.
On the contrary, he felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
The anxiety of constantly navigating between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, fearing his identity would be exposed, vanished.
In its place was a warm sense of belonging, a desire to serve the woman before him with all his heart.
It was as if the woman before him was the mother who had raised him since childhood... Sitwell was now under Control.
Yes, Su Modie and Makima's goal from the start wasn't Madame Gao, but Sitwell—or to put it more grandly... HYDRA.
Just as Su Modie had said before.
She wanted to settle things once and for all in the Marvel Universe, take the initiative, and deal with the meddling nuisance that was S.H.I.E.L.D.
The best way was to join it, consume it, and then become it.
Initially, Su Modie had unrealistically fantasized about becoming Director Su Modie of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that plan's feasibility was pitifully low. It was slow, exhausting, and risky; S.H.I.E.L.D. might even destroy itself before she could be promoted... But now Makima's appearance gave Su Modie renewed hope.
Become the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or Control the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Both were extremely beneficial to Su Modie.
Makima didn't care about Fisk's gang business precisely because of this.
To her, the gang was just a springboard. she wanted to join and infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., then make S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources serve them.
So the question was, how to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Su Modie didn't actually need to think about this question, because that was HYDRA's job.
Even though it was only 2011, S.H.I.E.L.D. was already riddled with HYDRA infiltration.
In that case, wouldn't it be perfect if they just infiltrated the HYDRA that was infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.?
S.H.I.E.L.D.: Haha, why don't you look behind you?
HYDRA: Haha, S.H.I.E.L.D., why don't you look behind you again?
Makima: Haha, HYDRA, then why don't you look behind you again?
What was this called? The ultimate nesting doll!
Being the parasite of the parasite.
As long as they controlled this group of HYDRA, it meant this group of HYDRA workhorses would spend their lives working day and night, nervously infiltrating, stealing intel, and undermining Nick Fury, only to turn around after half a lifetime and see—
What the hell? Where's my home? How did my home get stolen?
All that work for nothing!
Who could HYDRA even complain to?
At that time, it would indeed still be 'cut off one head, two more shall take its place,' but the heads that grew back would no longer be snake heads, but Makima's heads.
This group of HYDRA Agents was also exceptionally useful.
They had no moral compass, so Su Modie naturally didn't need one when dealing with them.
Dirty work? Let HYDRA do it.
Need a scapegoat? Let HYDRA take the fall.
What if something went wrong?
That was HYDRA's doing. What did it have to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. elite Agent Makima or ordinary New York citizen Su Modie?
Since Sitwell was already under Control, Makima no longer needed to be secretive.
She looked at the fanatical Sitwell before her and spoke in a commanding tone: "Since you put it that way, things are simple."
"Agent Sitwell, I want you to do one thing—"
Makima leaned in slightly, her intimidating beauty making Sitwell catch his breath:
"Do you have a way for me to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Join... S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Sitwell was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting this 'HYDRA big shot' to make such a request, but the doubt in his eyes didn't even last half a second.
Because his current logic was no longer to question Makima's motives, but to do his utmost to clear obstacles for his Master.
"No problem, leave it to me, Officer! I guarantee it will be handled beautifully!"
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