Black Africa Under Hydra Control

With Hydra’s support, Erik finally had enough resources.

Every Hydra member was an elite selected from the best of the best. They were highly educated, resolute, and clear about their goals. For the great goal of Hydra ruling the world, they were the kind who willingly offered their heads and spilled their blood without the slightest regret.

Loyalty MAX, six attributes MAX—where else could he find such outstanding subordinates?

He pulled out all the Black members within Hydra and distributed them throughout the various countries of Africa. As the core backbone of the entire Grand Alliance, they brought the scattered alliance back together and turned it into a truly unified organization.

In Hydra’s eyes, this was clearly the first step toward the organization’s conquest of the world!

They would begin by conquering Africa!

For Hydra’s grand objective, these Black elites worked 007 every day, devoting all their strength to the great construction of Africa.

Once they had a backbone, everything else became much simpler. The original policies were pushed forward with renewed vigor. There wasn’t a single white-skinned creature left in Africa; even albinos were wiped out.

Currency integration, which had previously been impossible because of the lack of talent, was also put on the agenda. With control over currency issuance, they could take on massive debts to promote the economy.

Led by the Grand Alliance, with the participation of some local private companies, large-scale infrastructure construction began. These labor-intensive projects absorbed a huge amount of manpower, greatly easing the unemployment problem. At the same time, they advanced the development of basic industries, with sectors such as cement and steel growing rapidly under policy support.

Those willing to work were all compliant citizens. Thus, the Grand Alliance provided subsidies, while construction companies handled their food and lodging and paid them wages. They worked during the day and attended literacy classes at night.

The clever families and companies all desperately tried to draw closer to the Grand Alliance, shifting their family businesses toward industry. As for those whose ships were too large to turn easily, they could still retain their wealth and status if they obediently endured it. But if they dared to do anything that held things back, there was only one possible outcome: they would be turned into a new Head Mound standing by the roadside.

How could Hydra’s soldiers possibly care about human lives?

Across the entire African continent, killings continued day and night, every moment without pause. Head Mounds were piled up, one after another, after another. Ordinary citizens went from terror at the beginning, to habituation, then numbness, and finally to cheering with delight—all within just a few months.

The people were ignorant, but they weren’t stupid. At first, they were afraid simply because they worried the executioner’s blade would fall on them. But when they discovered that the more Head Mounds were built, the better their lives became, they naturally knew how to choose.

Once the killing had reached a certain level, it suddenly stopped. The enforcers were astonished to discover that overnight, all the troublesome citizens had vanished, leaving only compliant ones behind.

Killing was a means, not the goal.

When policies could proceed without obstruction, and orders had to be carried out whether people understood them or had their understanding deepened until they did, the enforcers naturally had no reason to cause trouble and increase their own workload.

With no troublesome citizens left, the enforcers were naturally disbanded. The African continent was desperately short of all kinds of talent; it wouldn’t keep a group of idle officials around for no reason.

Thus, the people who had once carried knives and guns now put down their weapons, picked up wrenches, keyboards, and pointers…, and entered every line of work. No one knew that the colleague who smiled and greeted them every day had once been covered in blood and slaughtered countless people.

The gangs disappeared. After all, the essence of a gang was to be a black glove, and the foundation of its existence was collusion between officials and criminals. Whenever gangs persisted despite repeated crackdowns in a city, the most important reason was that they had a protector.

Now, with Hydra carrying out a great purge, the masters behind them were too busy fending for themselves. How could they still care about the fate of the dogs they had raised?

Many native Africans who had been born and raised here had originally thought that the cities where they lived were simply supposed to be this wretched, and that they would never change in their lifetimes. But now, they were astonished to discover that the cities had become completely different.

The cities were orderly, the streets clean and neat, and people were polite to one another. The gangs had disappeared, no one collected protection fees, and street vendors could set up their stalls and do business in peace.

Living here, they no longer had to worry about being killed one day by a stray bullet flying from a street corner; nor did they have to worry that a pretty girl might go out one day and never return, vanishing without a trace. Children could play freely in the streets without worrying about being suddenly hit and killed by a car or being abducted by drug dealers to make deliveries.

Of course, there were plenty of inconvenient aspects as well.

For example, children had to go to school every day. They would be beaten for being late, beaten for not doing their homework, and beaten if their monthly test scores landed at the bottom…

And then there was the matter of using the toilet. Everyone had to queue and go to designated locations, and relieving oneself anywhere else was strictly forbidden. The first violation meant a fine, the second meant a heavy penalty, and the third meant confiscation of the offending tool…

In the past, when selling vegetables on the street, they could simply throw the rotten leaves left over directly onto the road. Now, they had to clean up and take away all the trash. The first violation meant a fine, the second time they were caught meant a heavy penalty, and the third meant losing their license to set up a stall…

In the past, after work, they could find a bar and have some fun. Spending a little money could solve their physical needs, and no one really cared whether they caught a disease or not. But now, bars sold only alcohol, and dance halls only had singing!

In the past, groups of people would drink and watch football in the street, cursing and arguing over which team they supported. Even getting into a fight was commonplace. But now, everyone obediently watched the match, cheering when there was a goal and enduring it when their team lost. Who knew whether the other side had an expert in Current Drive? If they were beaten to death, there wouldn’t even be anywhere to seek justice.

In the past, families with elderly, sick, or disabled members who had completely lost their ability to work could do little more than linger on until death. Now they no longer had to wait; they were directly euthanized, so they wouldn’t waste society’s resources and would also ease their families’ burdens.

In the past, after getting drunk, they could point at the various dark social phenomena reported by television hosts and curse them out. Now, even when they fell asleep and dreamed, they were shouting, "Long live His Majesty Killmonger!"

In the past, a group of friends could gather together, boast and ramble about anything, gossip about celebrities, curse the president—there was nothing they wouldn’t dare do. But now, when neighbors met, they all wore beaming smiles and exchanged pleasantries. After talking for half a day, they would return home and mull it over carefully, only to realize that every word had been empty nonsense.

But whether they were used to it or not, Erik himself was extremely satisfied with this transformation. Although Black Africa was still far from becoming as powerful as Wakanda, as he desired, it had completely escaped its former fate of being reduced to a resource base and dumping ground for white people and had embarked on the path of a normal country.

As for the fact that this normal country bore plenty of Hydra’s distinctive traits and marks, Erik didn’t care.

There was no such thing as having the best of both worlds. If it could make Africa strong, what did it matter if Hydra was involved?