Chapter 862: Starry Splendor (Part 4)

Late at night, the S. H. I. E. L. D. base was no longer as busy. In the dead of night, only the flickering lights of the offices remained. Most of the staff had already gone home to rest, and those who hadn't were busy packing up their things.

Walking through the silent corridor, past the transparent office partition glass, many staff members in the S. H. I. E. L. D. base's administrative area were organizing the documents in their hands, placing them into folders, intending to deal with the unfinished business the next day.

"Hey, Luo De, it's rare that we aren't working overtime today. How about we go out and have some fun?" A black man in a shirt leaned against the doorframe and said to another man in field gear. Beside them, a blonde woman rolled her eyes and said, "Do you have to say these things while I'm here? It makes me look like a third wheel!... You guys talk, I still need to go to the upper level."

"What's wrong? Monica, aren't you getting off work?" The black man touched his tie and asked. Monica shrugged and said, "The scheduling team never has the kind of idle time you guys do. We're very busy. Don't you know Director Fury is going out for a meeting today? I still have to arrange cars and security specialists to send him off later. I have to go coordinate with the Security Department..."

The white man, referred to as Luo De, gently pinched the corner of a document and said as if casually, "Director Fury is going to a meeting again? He's been going to the United Nations quite often lately. I don't know where all these matters come from..."

"If he were going to the United Nations, would I need to make a special trip to the Security Department? All United Nations matters are handled by that little vixen, Madelina."

"Then where is he going? Is there anything else important lately?" Luo De asked again.

Monica shook her head and said, "Who knows? I'm not from the Security Department. I'm only responsible for providing the vehicles. Vehicle security and protection personnel are all handled by the Security Department..."

After saying this, she picked up the materials in her hand and walked away quickly.

Luo De gave a wink to the black man standing at the door. After the black man left, Luo De quickly stuffed the document into a folder and strode out of the office.

Seeing the two of them leave the office across the hall, an employee who hadn't left yet gave a wink to someone not far away, and the two walked out one after the other.

As the lights gradually brightened, in the field personnel's lounge, Grant Ward pushed open the door and said to the field personnel resting inside, "I need three people. We're short on security specialists, and the Security Department is urging us..."

"No, no interns. This meeting is very important. Bring two experienced ones. Pike, you and Nimitz, and also bring Anto. The three of you come with me, I have things to instruct..."

After the three left, they returned after a while. In the gap between them grabbing their gear and changing, others exchanged glances. Someone asked, "Hey, what kind of job is so urgent? And it has to be you three? You guys are the most seasoned agents in our group..."

"Director Fury is going to a meeting. I heard it's quite important, and it's with the military. You know, that bunch in the military just likes to make a fuss. If you aren't seasoned enough, you'll be scared off by them." Anto, the oldest, replied.

"We haven't dealt with the military in a long time. What's the matter this time? They wouldn't be asking us for help again, would they? Good god! I really can't stand those generals. Wasn't the last time enough?!"

Just as they were chatting, Ward walked in again and said to them, "We still need two administrative personnel to accompany and record. Natasha has already gone to find them. You guys go downstairs later to coordinate with them. Don't cause another blunder like last time where our own people didn't recognize each other."

Pike, standing at the door, gave an "OK" gesture. After the three agents left, the remaining agents in the hall left one after another.

After Ward and Natasha notified several departments, the remaining agents in the S. H. I. E. L. D. base left their original offices at an extremely fast speed, as if a movie had suddenly been pressed on fast-forward.

At the elevators, a very rare situation of waiting for the elevator occurred. Everyone was crowded at the entrance. When Coulson saw this scene, he thought he was hallucinating.

Coulson walked through the crowd like a hot knife cutting through butter. Everyone was staring at him. Everyone was silent. Everyone said nothing, yet it seemed as if there were countless things they wanted to say.

Squeezing into the elevator, Coulson finally noticed those abnormal gazes. He looked left and right, feeling that the atmosphere in the elevator was somewhat eerie.

Coulson felt a bit breathless. He had never, like now, hoped that the elevator would reach the floor he was going to faster.

Finally squeezing out of the elevator, Coulson breathed a sigh of relief. He looked back and closed the elevator door again. Through the gap, he saw the air constantly flowing in the enclosed space, or rather, the gazes.

This was not the first time he had felt that in this place where he worked, in this transcendent organization standing above the world, there were many secrets he didn't know, and recently, these secrets had become more and more numerous.

Coulson sighed and walked toward Nick Fury's office. Nick was adjusting his tie in front of the mirror. Seeing Coulson arrive, he smiled and said, "You haven't gotten off work yet?"

"Boss, I heard you're going to a meeting with the military. That bunch is definitely not easy to deal with. Should I go with you?"

Nick shook his head and said, "No need, Natasha is going with me."

"That... I know this isn't very professional, but... I still want to ask, it's just..." Coulson stuttered for a long time, then said, "There shouldn't be any major issues, right? Even if they want to deal with mutants, and S. H. I. E. L. D. doesn't participate, they shouldn't be able to do anything, right?"

Nick walked over, put his arm around Coulson's shoulder, looked at him, and said, "You're right. As long as S. H. I. E. L. D. stands firm and resolutely refuses to participate, then whether it's the military or Congress, they won't be able to force us!"

Coulson always felt Nick's tone was a bit strange. Watching Nick walk out, Coulson scratched his head.

What he didn't know was that, as he stood in the S. H. I. E. L. D. Director's office, he was like a sun sinking into a river of information. Countless light chains danced out from him, signals turned into flowing light, bytes became bonds, gradually covering the entire New York.

Countless points of light lit up. Everyone who received the wiretap signal let out a suppressed exclamation: "Deal with mutants?!"

"Mutant extermination plan?"

"... S. H. I. E. L. D. doesn't intend to participate???"

"Nick Fury's meeting later might be to discuss dealing with mutants..."

"This one-eyed dragon seems to intend to stick to S. H. I. E. L. D. not participating, intending to face the pressure of the military and Congress alone. Is he crazy? Or is there some other hidden story?!"

"Nick Fury isn't stupid. He knows that the United Nations is counting on him now, and that bunch from the Avengers is also very important. He has plenty of good cards he hasn't played, but he just wants to stay out of it like this..."

"Dealing with mutants is indeed a good pretext. It's very easy to stir up conflict between several departments. As long as you can create opposition, many things are easy to handle..."

"Prepare yourselves, notify our partners, get ready to enter the fray!"

"Quickly formulate a plan, this must be a good opportunity!"

"Notify all teams to prepare. Target: Nick Fury and the specific content of his meeting this time! It must be specific to every single word..."

"I absolutely will not allow our people to miss a single word. Everyone assemble, the Mutant War is about to begin!"

"At all costs, get the meeting content!"

The tide of the river of information never changes with the rising and setting of the sun. When the waves hit the shore, the whole world heard a name—"Project Red Orchid".

"... Listen, today's meeting concerns the formulation of a top-secret plan. Everyone is absolutely forbidden from revealing the fact that you are accompanying us today..." In a dim conference room, Natasha crossed her arms and said to all the staff in the room: "Top-secret plans must not be leaked. Once the information is leaked, you know the consequences yourself..."

"I shouldn't need to say much about confidentiality..." In the office next door, Ward said to the field personnel: "Everyone is a veteran. Having worked here for so long, you wouldn't lack the most basic sense of confidentiality. Today's meeting regarding the top-secret plan, no one is allowed to reveal a single word. Understand?"

"Project Red Orchid? The goal is to exterminate mutants?" In the office of Arkham Asylum, Schiller held a special phone and said to the other side: "... Do you know the specific content of the plan?"

"Their first step is to use the convenience of aerospace transport facilities to launch a special device, the 'Mother Mold', into space, forming a floating base near the Sun and Mercury, and then equip it with a super artificial intelligence, let it iterate and upgrade, and develop stronger Sentinel robots, ready to exterminate mutants at any time?"

Schiller rested his arm on the table, then pressed his forehead and said: "Setting aside the difficulty of executing this plan, who is going to execute it?"

"... The S. H. I. E. L. D. Director clearly expressed his opposition? The wording was very intense? Is that so? Nick Fury is that angry? My god, how righteous! You even saw his expression? Really that angry?"

"Is that so? He really said that? Of course, I'm not questioning your technical ability. I know your wiretapping equipment has gone through several generations of iteration. You said he was in the car, and even cursed at the military? Then it seems he really is very angry."

"Okay, I understand... Hail Hydra!"

After hanging up the phone, Schiller frowned. After thinking for a while, he picked up the phone again, let the gray fog change his voice, and then said to the other side: "Charles Xavier, I am the leader of Hydra, 'The Doctor'. Now I have something to remind you..."

"Schiller, what are you up to? What Hydra, what leader? What's wrong with your voice? And why did you change your phone number? Are you not using the previous one?" Charles's confused voice came from the phone.

"Shut up, listen to me." Schiller's voice was very cold. He said: "I don't know who this Schiller you're talking about is. The one talking to you now is the chosen leader of Hydra, the Holy Pope of the World Serpent Jormungandr, the most influential Hydra head globally, The Doctor..."

"What I want to tell you is that the military of various countries is preparing a top-secret plan. Remember, this plan is top-secret, and Hydra is the first organization willing to reveal it to you..."

"The so-called Project Red Orchid is actually..."

Ten minutes later, Charles hung up the phone. His face was solemn. Instantly, all X-Men heard Charles's voice in their minds:

"Everyone come to the school immediately! Something big is about to happen..." ===== CHAPTER 863 =====