Can I Not Go?

"It’s almost done. Ten seconds left… 3, 2, 1, done."

Skye looked at her phone. It displayed the final data Zola had sent, including part of his own consciousness data and the last command he had issued.

Skye was astonished when she saw the first part. These streams of consciousness data were very unusual, and they really did resemble the results produced by Brain Mapping.

Without the Darkhold, Zola had actually accomplished this more than thirty years ago. She understood more deeply just how terrifying this Hydra leader was. No wonder Wang had strictly forbidden Zola’s resurrection. He really was far too dangerous.

This wasn’t a ticking time bomb. It was a nuclear bomb that could go off at any moment!

When she saw the final command, Skye’s expression changed completely. "Wang, Zola ordered missiles launched at Triskelion Headquarters and this place too. Ten short-range missiles in total—enough to level the entire base!"

Skye wasn’t worried about herself.

With Wang here, dying would be difficult even if she wanted to.

What worried her was the database—Zola.

If something this important was destroyed, it would break her heart.

Now that she managed all of Old Wang’s assets, she had already treated the database as private property, sacred and inviolable.

"Have they already been launched?" Old Wang asked.

"Uh, probably not. There wasn’t enough time."

As a former S.H.I.E.L.D. member and a weapons manufacturing expert, Fitz knew something about this. "Launching missiles requires an entire process. It won’t happen that quickly, but it’ll be soon!"

Skye was somewhat annoyed. "Zola’s final order was to cancel the self-destruct mode, but we blocked the signal. We have to leave now."

It was truly a sad fact.

But also a fortunate one.

Otherwise, the missile bombardment would have been the lesser issue. Letting Zola escape in the chaos would have been the real trouble.

"Yes, yes, hurry, let’s go." Sitwell, who had barely had any presence until now, hurriedly voiced his support.

Zola was finished. He didn’t want to be finished too.

I still want to live another five hundred years!

"But what about the database?" Fitz was a pure scientist. In his eyes, this database was far too important; it represented humanity’s future.

At least part of its future.

Skye and Fitz were anxious, but Sitwell was even more anxious.

Can we stop obsessing over the database? Money is just a possession—our lives matter!

Old Wang suddenly smiled.

"Can’t we stop the missile launch?" he asked.

Fitz hurriedly explained, "Boss, you don’t understand. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s missile launch system is extremely secure. Even if Skye can hack into it, she’ll need at least an hour or two. Even if we ask Mr. Stark for help, it’ll still take no less than half an hour. And even if we manage it, it won’t help. Hydra’s people won’t listen to us. They might even add more missiles, like launching twenty…"

"Hydra’s people naturally won’t listen to us, but they’ll listen to Zola, right?"

Old Wang smiled. "Didn’t Zola’s final order cancel the self-destruct mode?"

"But we intercepted it…"

"Then send it again."

Old Wang tapped Zola’s brain. "That’s simple, isn’t it?"

Zola’s encryption system had already been cracked.

All the data he sent was like a stripped naked girl, completely defenseless.

Naturally, they could do far more than simply resend it. They could modify it as well.

Zola had only ordered the cancellation of the self-destruct mode. The missile attack on Triskelion Headquarters would still proceed.

But now, they could alter the relevant order, cancel the missile attack, and save the hundreds or thousands of people at Triskelion Headquarters, along with assets worth hundreds of billions.

They could even do more.

For example, they could impersonate Zola and issue orders to Hydra’s people, telling them to walk into a trap.

Although plenty of Hydra agents surely wouldn’t obey Zola, every one they caught would lead them to more. By following the trail, they could capture even more.

Completely wiping out Hydra was fundamentally impossible, but they could at least cripple it so badly that it would take decades, perhaps even a century, to recover.

"Egghead, you owe me a huge favor. You won’t be able to repay it in this lifetime."

Old Wang smiled and looked at Skye and Fitz. "I’ll leave this place to you. I’ll return to Triskelion Headquarters first, just in case. Transfer all the data as quickly as possible, before S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra get here, then destroy the database."

They couldn’t leave Zola to S.H.I.E.L.D., much less Hydra. It was too dangerous.

The battle at Triskelion Headquarters was still ongoing. No one knew how things were going.

Ghost Rider was naturally powerful and immortal, but whether he could handle so many Hydra agents was questionable in Old Wang’s eyes.

He still wasn’t strong enough, and the power of technology couldn’t be ignored either—

Under the bombardment of massive numbers of missiles, there were only a few Super Heroes who could withstand it head-on: Thor, Hulk, Captain Marvel, and perhaps Doctor Strange. Even Iron Man couldn’t.

"Sitwell, let’s go." Old Wang raised a hand and drew an orange donut.

"Can I not go?"

Sitwell swallowed, waving his hands as he backed away. "How about you tie me up instead? Knocking me out and leaving me here is fine too! If you’re still worried, you can inject me with this. It’ll keep me unconscious for three days and three nights. No matter what you do to me, I won’t wake up… Fitz definitely knows about this stuff!"

He pulled a miniature injector disguised as a lighter from his pocket and silently prayed.

Iron Fist, go wherever you want, but don’t drag me along! It’s too dangerous!

What if the modified order fails and Hydra doesn’t listen? You, Iron Fist, might survive, but I’ll die!

Even if the missile strike is canceled, Triskelion Headquarters is so dangerous right now. Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra want to kill me.

I’m not going. Absolutely not!

"Uh, it’s a very special synthetic toxin. Standard equipment for S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents. It works well, but injecting too much can cause death." Fitz glanced at it and spoke.

Sitwell shuddered violently. How did I not know about such a terrifying side effect?

"Normally, no one injects too much. Besides, it’s mainly used against enemies. Even if someone occasionally injects too much, nobody cares."

Fitz added, "I remember the instructions mentioned the side effects. I think it was on the last page. You never read them?"

Sitwell: "…"

Why wasn’t something so important written at the front?

"That works too. It’ll save Egghead from asking me to hand him over later, when I’d be too embarrassed to refuse."

After thinking for two seconds, Old Wang knocked Sitwell unconscious with a chop to the neck, then casually sealed his acupoints.

He didn’t know whether Sitwell’s stuff was reliable, nor did he know how much counted as an overdose. It would be awkward if Sitwell died.

He trusted physical hypnosis more than science.

"Tie him up. Take him with you when you return to The Laboratory, then map his brain and upload his memories."

"Get on the plane first. Fly the Quinjet farther away from here. If there’s no missile bombardment after half an hour, come back."

After giving a few instructions, Old Wang stepped into the portal.