With Tony's order, a series of photos and files were quickly retrieved by Jarvis and presented to Tony.
"Let me see..."
Tony quickly scanned the compiled files.
First was Senator Stern. In the Iron Man 2 movie, this senator represented the government in pressuring Tony to hand over the Iron Man armor. Of course, after the timeline divergence, Tony hadn't publicly revealed Iron Man to the world at all, so this conflict naturally disappeared.
However, as seen in the subsequent MCU plot, Senator Stern was actually a Hydra executive.
It must be said that Hydra's infiltration work after World War II was truly impressive. It was one thing to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. like a sieve, but even congressmen were their people.
Tony once suspected that if it hadn't been for the exposure in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Hydra was revealed by Captain America, with this operational rhythm, wouldn't they be able to get a president in a couple more years?
Given more time, if the president, secretary of state, congressmen, and generals—if the entire political and military establishment became Hydra, would Hydra still count as a terrorist organization?
By then, wouldn't the United States transform into Hydra running the show...
Hmm... thinking about it this way, maybe it's not much different from now.
The files Tony had Jarvis retrieve were all based on his past life memories, identifying those whose true identities were Hydra executives or agents. He had Jarvis collect all the files and records available on the surface for these people first and archive them.
For example, there was the contributor to Captain America's famous elevator fight scene, code-named "Crossbones," S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Brock Rumlow.
And the bald, glasses-wearing Agent Sitwell, who didn't have much screen time but had a distinctive appearance.
Finally, and most significantly, Nick Fury's old boss and former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce.
Although some Marvel memories had blurred after crossing over, Tony would absolutely never forget this one. After all, achieving such a level as an undercover agent was truly unique.
The world laughs at Gin from the winery next door for enduring extreme pressure, but no matter how much fake alcohol there is in the winery, at least the boss isn't fake alcohol, right?
In comparison, S.H.I.E.L.D. was amazing; even the previous director was a mole.
It's really a wonder Fury could carry on with such a riddled mess.
But seeing this, a bold idea suddenly popped into Tony's mind.
Tony suspected that Hydra was targeting him, so he needed to take the initiative. But if he tried to fight Hydra alone, it would undoubtedly be difficult.
No matter how high his technology or how strong his power, he was, after all, alone. Fighting Hydra alone was time-consuming, laborious, and risky. Moreover, for an organization that had infiltrated every aspect of the world, it was truly difficult to completely eradicate it.
So here comes the question: why must he do it himself?
If there was an organization evenly matched with Hydra, with a leader possessing enough resources and means, and he let those guys fight Hydra without showing his face at all, wouldn't that resolve the conflict while avoiding unnecessary firepower being drawn to himself?
After all, as the ancestors said, kill with a borrowed knife.
Tony immediately remembered that a great man seemed to have said that all arduous roads are trodden open by brave people with hard soles. Thinking about it now, he suddenly felt that the "Braised Egg" Nick Fury was very brave, a pioneer perfectly suited to tread through thorns and open up a path.
"Nick Fury." Tony paced in the laboratory while thinking. "Yes, Nick Fury. We should let Nick Fury charge ahead as a pawn and turn the world upside down fighting Hydra. Why do I have to be the first to wade into this muddy water?"
Jarvis said, "Sounds like a good idea, Sir."
Tony continued thinking, "But at this stage, Nick Fury doesn't know he's surrounded by Hydra... or maybe he has some suspicion, but it's far from the time to take action. Maybe we can give it a push, let him discover it earlier..."
Jarvis suggested, "Perhaps we can send an anonymous tip, Sir."
"No, that won't work. Nick Fury is suspicious by nature. If we tell him directly, he will definitely be suspicious, and he will insist on getting to the bottom of it, trying every means to find out who the sender is."
Tony sat on the sofa, crossing his fingers in front of him.
"Yes, Nick Fury is very suspicious. And I don't want to get personally involved in their internal affairs."
Mobilizing S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight against Hydra was one thing, but getting involved personally was another. Tony didn't want to mix in, and in his view, S.H.I.E.L.D. was fine to use as a gun, but really unreliable as a teammate.
S.H.I.E.L.D. openly waved the banner of world security, but secretly, it had long become a Hydra chain franchise.
Moreover, these people spent trillions building a Helicarrier, only to end up performing a show for all staff members of "using their own trillion-dollar Helicarrier to blow up their own trillion-dollar headquarters."
So perhaps when Captain America firmly demanded that S.H.I.E.L.D. be disbanded in the movie, the happiest people might have been the financial management above. After all, if S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to squander money at this rhythm, the finance department would probably go crazy.
Tony thought as he spoke, his voice trailing off. After frowning in contemplation for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait, Old J, I think I really have an idea. This idea is a bit bold, but if it goes smoothly... no, no, I think it's feasible."
Tony stood up again, pacing back and forth in the laboratory as if simulating the feasibility of this plan in his brain.
Jarvis: "I'm all ears, Sir."
"Very good, Jarvis." Tony seemed to pull himself out of his thoughts. "I think... maybe I'm going to plot a murder."
Jarvis: "?"
...
...
Two days later.
The iron-boned, fence-sitter, bald brother, Agent Sitwell, finished a whole day's work and dragged his tired body back to his residence.
As an agent, Bald Brother's job was not easy. He was often busy off his feet, and working overtime until midnight was the norm.
After all, ordinary people do one job, but he had to work two.
And Hydra over there loved to talk about "loyalty and faith" all day long, talking about dedicating oneself to the cause of world unification. But if you asked about wages, there were none.
So this led to Bald Brother having to do the work of two people for Hydra, yet his only salary was paid by S.H.I.E.L.D. Pure corporate slave.
And the leaders above were very reasonable, saying that financial anomalies easily attract unnecessary attention, which is unfavorable for espionage activities. Besides, our organization is going to rule the world; talking about money is so vulgar, right?
The organization has promised to give you a city to play with once the world is unified. What are you dissatisfied with?
Actually, this faith rhetoric worked quite well on many Hydra members. There were quite a few people in the organization running on love.
Sitwell returned to his apartment, closed the door, and pressed the light switch at the entrance. The switch clicked, but the light didn't turn on.
Sitwell paused for a moment and peered into the living room. Then, upon seeing the figure in the living room clearly, he couldn't help but jump in fright.
"It's you!?"