Hydra Squad’s Adventure

Loki’s intrusion caused a burst of panic. Umbrella had a rigorous security system; the moment the Asgardian Prince knocked down two guards and broke into the lobby, Red Queen immediately activated the security alarm.

As a research institution closely partnered with the military, it was only reasonable for it to possess its own private armed force. Fully armed elite soldiers poured in, attempting to restrain this dangerous individual who had rashly invaded Umbrella and assaulted its personnel.

A sharp whistling cut through the air. Arrows tore through the airflow and struck the soldiers precisely in the neck, silently taking their lives. At the same time, a modified and reinforced Paramount Marauder crashed into the lobby, sending the glass curtain wall flying into fragments.

A squad of fierce mercenaries leaped from the vehicle and swiftly brought the chaos under control. Researchers in white uniforms crouched on the floor with their hands over their heads, while Loki, like an aristocratic young master, held a golden scepter and surveyed the trembling, lowly insects with the haughty bearing of one looking down upon all living things.

"You were born to be this way. It is a truth humanity has never dared to expose. The temptation of freedom has robbed you of the joy in your lives. You yearn to be enslaved. You frantically pursue power and status, yet your bones are filled with servility. Sooner or later, you will submit beneath the feet of the strong."

Loki spoke loudly as though delivering a speech, his voice rising and falling with theatrical flair. It was simply his nature. He enjoyed performance and deception, craved vanity and praise, and was completely unlike his brother Thor, who revered courage and strength.

"Would anyone care to tell me which one of you is Mr. Benjamin, the warehouse manager?" Loki asked, looking around.

Meanwhile, the elite warriors transferred from Hydra had already taken the elevator up into Umbrella’s Babel Tower. Their assistance to the Asgardian Prince was not merely an act of goodwill.

As a secret organization that had long infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, like Nick Fury, had taken notice of this rapidly rising research star. The difference was that the Black director was wary of Sean Sipes, while these Nazi remnants had set their sights on Umbrella’s cutting-edge technology.

Led by Brock Rumlow, the Hydra Squad hijacked a senior executive. Using his work badge and iris scan for dual authentication, they took the elevator directly into Babel Tower.

Perhaps because Red Queen had issued the warning, they saw no one along the way. Rumlow knocked the senior executive unconscious and casually tossed him aside.

Following the route Blonsky had once taken, they barged into the enormous botanical garden privately known as "Eden." The Artificial Sun suspended overhead simulated a suitable temperature. Damp air rushed toward them, luxuriant massive plants blotted out the sky, and green vines as thick as pythons bore rare animals of all sizes—sloths and koalas, while fat, clumsy rhinoceroses dwelled in the marshes. Crocodiles drifted in the murky deep pools like rotten logs…

A complete ecological world lay open before the Hydra Squad without any defenses. The previously sealed area had suddenly been opened, and Brock Rumlow stayed alert, unable to understand why such a massive botanical garden existed inside this building.

The simulated walls blocked the Hydra Squad’s view. As they moved through dense vegetation like a tropical rainforest, Rumlow could not help marveling inwardly. Umbrella’s ecological simulation technology had reached such a level that he had nearly believed himself to be in the Amazon Rainforest of South America.

"Stoke… sir, Stoke has fallen behind!" A cry came from behind them.

As the Hydra Squad crossed a swamp, one man following close behind the group vanished. In the silent surroundings, there was only the sound of the breeze passing through and insects crawling. Under the swamp, aquatic plants swayed and stirred muddy ripples. Their long military boots sank into the sludge as though they might be swallowed at any moment.

A sudden oppressive atmosphere settled over the team. They were all elite Hydra soldiers who had carried out numerous missions in dangerous regions such as Africa, South America, and the Middle East. Their captain, Brock Rumlow, was in particular the commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Rapid Response Special Forces, with extensive combat experience, brilliant achievements, and an astonishing record.

"Keep quiet. Keep moving." Rumlow listened intently but detected nothing suspicious.

He had no choice but to wave them onward. This botanical garden inside the building could not be too large. They would find its boundary soon enough.

However, the Hydra Squad did not know that the upper and lower fifteen floors of Babel Tower had been opened into one space. From the moment they entered, they had lost their sense of direction, as though walking through a broad tunnel laid on its side.

"Help…"

In the swamp, a predator launched a ferocious attack!

A giant crocodile with brown skin opened its blood-filled maw, its fangs grinding together. In the span of a single breath, the fully armed elite soldier was bitten cleanly in half at the waist. Blood gushed out like a fountain, dyeing the rotten, murky ground red.

"Fire!"

At Rumlow’s command, powerful gunfire struck the creature’s dark brown, hardened hide, scattering a few sparks. Seemingly only mildly irritated, the giant crocodile swung its tail and flung up great clods of mud. Its enormous body slid forward and slammed into two squad members who had no time to dodge, sending them flying.

With the Hydra Squad having lost four men in quick succession, Rumlow fired his MP5 submachine gun as he retreated rapidly, cursing Umbrella’s owner in his heart. Who in their right mind would keep a giant crocodile inside a building?

Without warning, a heavy shadow covered them. Guided by instinctive caution, Rumlow ducked and rolled sideways, evading the sharp pressure of the wind. Another companion was not so fortunate. A claw covered in sharp brown-black fur tore him in half.

Was that a flying giant wolf?

Rumlow scrambled away in a panic, paying no attention whatsoever to the teammates crying for help behind him. At that moment, he felt there was nowhere in the world more dangerous than Umbrella.

After sprinting into a stretch of low hills, the Hydra captain was still shaken. A swamp-dwelling giant crocodile with razor fangs, a giant wolf flying at low altitude—he would not have been surprised in the slightest if a talking gorilla appeared next.

As a Hydra spy planted within S.H.I.E.L.D., and one who had even risen to command the Rapid Response Special Forces, Rumlow could barely be counted among the higher-ups. He knew about Hydra’s dangerous experiments, such as replicating Super Soldiers and creating enhanced humans.

But compared with everything he had seen in this botanical garden, those experiments were utterly insignificant. Those two savage, terrifying berserk beasts would cause a world-shaking disaster if either one were released!

"I need to report this immediately…"

Rumlow suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath his feet, as though an earthquake had struck. A gale-like current swept past, whipping up a storm of dust.

"George."

With an earth-shaking boom, the Hydra captain struggled to turn his head. A white gorilla as enormous as a mountain stood upright, humanlike emotion showing on its savage face.

"FUCK!"

All the words in the world condensed into that single sentence. Rumlow had never felt such despair in his life.

"GEORGE!"

The thunderous roar shook the air and raised a fierce gale. It echoed against the simulated walls that absorbed sound as the white gorilla pounded its muscular chest, then curled two fingers and lifted the frozen Rumlow.

A simple glimmer of thought flashed through its beastly eyes—eat, or not eat? That was the question.