Chapter 406

Because the fact that Hydra helped the KGB infiltrate the U. . Congress was exposed by the KGB, the United States faced immense international pressure, but this nation never cared about international opinion—what truly concerned them was the KGB.

Upon learning that Hydra might have been infiltrated by the KGB, their enthusiasm for confronting Hydra surged to unprecedented levels.

You can do whatever evil you want domestically—that's fine—but you cannot have any ties to the KGB. You infiltrate the legislature, bribe congressmen, steal intelligence, attempt to seize the state—I can turn a blind eye. But if you associate with the KGB, then I must eradicate you utterly.

This was the mindset of the vast majority seated on Capitol Hill; their severe allergy to this situation was nearly incurable, so they wanted to use S. . . . . . as a blade—officially to eliminate Hydra within S. . . . . .'s jurisdiction, but in truth to leverage S. . . . . .'s superior power to strike at the KGB.

Simultaneously, they could exploit the conflict between S. . . . . ., Hydra, and the KGB to weaken S. . . . . ., distract Nick Fury's attention, and prevent him from growing any further.

But would Granger's tattoo of Nick make them succeed?

Of course not—he held Hydra in his left hand, the KGB in his right, grasping both firmly.

On one hand, he collaborated with Pierce to undermine certain Hydra factions from within, capturing Hydra agents to satisfy demands and ease current pressure; on the other, he dispatched S. . . . . .'s strongest agent, Black Widow, to engage in the most lethal form of communication short of mutual annihilation, creating trouble for Congress and other intelligence agencies to alleviate pressure in the long term.

So the question arises: what is Shiler, who ordered Loki to chase Hydra Lady around the globe with Thor's hammer, going to do?

Aside from counting rewards that were certainly not from the KGB—reasonable, substantial, and anything but money—he had not forgotten his most important plan.

Previously, DC's personality approached Pierce and reached a series of deals with him aboard the cruise ship; Shiler had already conspired with Pierce, making Shiler's Hydra identity unquestionable, and then he facilitated the cooperation between Nick and Pierce.

With Nick and Pierce cooperating, someone was going to suffer.

Aside from the Hydra faction led by Pierce in New York State, all other Hydra factions across other regions were driven into chaos by S. . . . . . agents due to Pierce's betrayal.

These Hydra factions, now under extreme purging, suddenly realized none of their leaders could be contacted—the previously silent heads had not reemerged, Pierce wasn't answering calls, Hydra Lady had been captured, and the German headquarters, shaken by her arrest, had fallen into silence.

So who, then, could still be reached by phone?

Correct—the Doctor.

After being promoted to overall director of Hydra's New York State region, Shiler became the overall director of Hydra's Americas region.

Aside from acquiring more Hydra agents to exploit in triple ways, Shiler selected those Hydra agents who were easier to brainwash and skilled at persuasion.

Shiler did not use coercive methods to brainwash them; instead, he leveraged his status and position to disseminate a book with solid evidence: Who Is Hydra?

ahzww.

Some might say the book's content is pure nonsense—even if not nonsense, it's merely a bizarre myth—who would believe it?

But the lightning that struck Hydra Lady that day was no illusion; though global meteorologists explained it as a peculiar weather phenomenon caused by climate change, Hydra agents weren't fools—what peculiar weather phenomenon specifically targets Hydra? Do storm clouds have identity recognition?

In Who Is Hydra?, it was emphatically stated that Hydra's origin and the World Serpent, the Creator's creation, were Thor's mortal enemies. Now, one of Hydra's most famous leaders is being relentlessly pursued by lightning from the heavens—what does this indicate?

This part wasn't written in the book, but according to the Doctor, the book's reviewer, Thor had long known the World Serpent was his enemy and sought to destroy Him before the nine heads could reunite.

Hydra Lady, fleeing in terror from the lightning, is proof—if Hydra does not unite now, their fate will be to be reduced to ashes beneath Thor's endless thunder.

Yesterday, the Great Creator split into nine, becoming the most terrifying nightmare across all earthly realms; today, His final battle approaches—they shall unite as one to bring the dreadful twilight to the gods.

This explanation was slightly bizarre, and most people didn't believe it—but it didn't matter. As Nick said, many people don't care about ideologies, only business; as long as they can gain profit, they can be followers of any religion.

With Hydra Lady and Pierce absent, many heads once under their control saw hope—they wanted higher status, to rule others, but were restrained by organizational rules, afraid to be the first to act and face collective retaliation.

The ultimate answer to any sociological event can be found in human history: at the end of an empire's collapse, a single proclamation can ignite chaos; it's not bullets that cause war, but those who already hold guns and make bullets to claim them.

In the dimly lit safehouse, Grant stared at the corpse lying in a pool of blood, reloaded his gun, gripped it with both hands, stepped over the body, and approached a communication device.

The person on the other end had heard the gunshots and the safehouse owner's screams, so the voice crackling through the communicator trembled: "Who are you? Why did you kill him?"

"Idiot, the war has already begun. I don't want to be Hydra Lady, I don't want to be struck dead by lightning, or fall into the hands of those damn Russians…"

"We no longer need nine heads. Someone must be eliminated, yet you're still thinking about finding allies—utterly foolish…"

After reciting the lines, Grant hung up the phone.

Grant Ward's assassination was the trumpet blast signaling the start of this Hydra deathmatch—no one knew exactly where the chaos began, yet it erupted suddenly.

Everyone shouted: "Unite as one today!"

All cried that before the great Hydra's return, they alone would be the chosen one—and then began slaughtering their former comrades.

The situation collapsed instantly; too sudden for anyone to have clear objectives, it became a blind melee, and by the end, no one knew who they were avenging—or who was avenging them.

Most of them had never even read Who Is Hydra?; their understanding of its doctrine wasn't just unclear—it was vague. Their views on Hydra and the World Serpent weren't just inconsistent—they were wildly divergent.

But because so many Hydra agents were involved in this chaos, with sufficient numbers, a few would inevitably stumble upon the right interpretation.

Thus, on a certain morning, the World Serpent, Yemeng, slumbering within Earth's oceans, felt a gentle knock upon his sleeping soul.

Yemeng's sleep had lasted a long time—after Odin received the prophecy that the World Serpent's final battle with Thor would inevitably destroy Asgard, he waved his hand and cast the still-small Yemeng into Earth's oceans.

There, the serpent grew larger and larger until its body stretched around the entire planet, though most of its form remained illusory, so it never filled the seas.

Yemeng shared the same origin as most cosmic deities—they were born from the universe's primordial force. This serpent, its head and tail joined, embodied the cosmic principle of cyclical order; it was immensely powerful, described as even stronger than Thor.

He was also a sentient being, still chaotic, but far more intelligent than other chaotic entities.

Intelligent as he was, newly awakened Yemeng couldn't understand why people were calling his name—and not just calling it; he felt wave after wave of faint faith-energy surging into his body.

As previously mentioned, humans were unique in the universe—their faith granted cosmic deities greater power.

Thus, even though few truly believed the World Serpent was Hydra, even the casual believers counted: you didn't need to know why they believed in him, only that they did—and that gave Yemeng considerable power.

Yemeng harbored deep hatred for Odin, who had cast him into Midgard; he had long desired revenge, but the new influx of faith was still insufficient to defeat Odin—he knew this clearly and desperately needed more power.

So he began investigating the source of these sudden beliefs, and discovered that, somehow, during his millennia-long slumber, some still knew of his existence and worshipped him.

Yemeng wished to travel to Earth to investigate these believers, but he knew Earth was Odin's domain; with his current strength, if he made too much noise, Odin could strike him down with a single bolt of lightning—and he might not survive.

Just as he planned to sneak into Earth, a mysterious communication suddenly connected to him.

A pleasant customer service voice said: "Hello, this is the Sacred Sanctuary of the Nine Realms. We are the sole cosmic entity service provider across the Nine Realms, offering services including cross-realm communication, agent recruitment, power enhancement, interdimensional vengeance, and more…"

"Join now to receive discount benefits—each season offers unique member gifts. Act quickly…"