I Am Zola

Pierce was right.

Once war broke out, it would never be easy to stop.

Like Pandora’s Box once opened, there was simply no way to close it again.

Although Pierce was Hydra’s biggest head, he was far from the only one. There were many Hydra heads, involved in every aspect of society.

The military, the government, business, entertainment—Hydra had people in every industry. There was nothing you could imagine that Hydra could not do.

Wherever there was a well, there was Hydra.

All of them were fanning the flames.

They knew perfectly well that once war broke out, they had to keep at it and fight to the end. Otherwise, what awaited them would be a reckoning from S.H.I.E.L.D. and even the governments of every nation.

In this world, Hydra and *** were tied together. The leaders of every country knew that Hydra had once come close to ruling the entire world. If it rose from the ashes, the consequences would be severe. It might even trigger World War III.

Hydra would not be destroyed merely because it was purged, and its members could hide in time, but serious damage would be unavoidable. Their tail—or even their body—could be severed, and they might never recover.

That was not what they wanted to see, nor what the lower- and middle-ranking members wanted.

The situation was already chaotic, and those with ulterior motives naturally wanted it to remain so.

Only muddy waters let you fish.

Only by throwing everything into turmoil could they have more options:

Whether it was overturning S.H.I.E.L.D. or leaving fewer traces behind for the postwar reckoning, making it easier to hide.

Even Triskelion Headquarters was not something Egghead could settle with a single word.

Hydra agents controlled the most important weapons launch center and command center, more than half of Triskelion Headquarters, and even the Sky Carriers still under construction.

No one knew how the black director had gotten upstairs, but since he was in the top-floor office, he was not getting out.

Large numbers of fully armed Hydra agents charged toward the top floor.

"Quick, rescue Minister Pierce and capture Fury!"

"With him, the others won’t dare resist!"

"Interrogate him harshly and make him reveal Romanoff, Barton’s, and Coulson’s whereabouts!"

"And every secret base and secret agent!"

Some had other thoughts.

"Pierce has been captured. The Hydra head of our faction is gone, so anyone has a chance to become one!"

"Garrett and Sitwell have the best chances, but that doesn’t mean I have none."

"Maybe… I can use this chance to become the most powerful person in the world?"

Each harbored their own schemes.

It was a complete mess.

Just then, Old Wang arrived outside with Sitwell.

Looking at the Hydra agents wearing the skins of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Old Wang threw his fists without restraint and began fighting.

No one could withstand his punches, and no bullet could penetrate his body.

He was now a Grandmaster Monk. In terms of total True Qi alone, he was on the same level as Old Chen and Taran Zhu, perhaps only slightly inferior.

But nourished by the essence of Eternal Water, both his stamina and defense surpassed those two.

Even with his body alone, he could withstand bullets head-on.

It just hurt a little.

Technology was powerful yet fragile. The civilization built on technology, and the weapons born of that civilization, were likewise powerful yet fragile.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s individual equipment was even more expensive and refined than the Navy SEALs’. Any well-trained S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent could take on a standard special forces squad, not an elite one.

But before Old Wang, when they could not even break through his defenses, the only thing they could do was slowly drain his True Qi.

Jade-green lightning struck one Hydra agent after another. Old Wang attacked fiercely, fearing no enemy.

"Th-this is still a human?" Sitwell was dumbfounded.

Agent after agent, familiar or unfamiliar, fell like wheat before a scythe. The usually kind-faced Old Wang displayed the domineering, overwhelming side of a Monk.

"He could probably take Hulk head-on now, right?"

Sitwell had originally wanted to take the chance to run, but now he had no such thoughts at all.

Forget it. Better to follow him obediently.

His life mattered most!

Wherever Old Wang went, people died—whole swaths of them.

More vicious than Conan.

Suddenly, a voice sounded through the implanted communicator in his lower lip. "Master Wang, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not dead yet! I’m flying to Washington D.C. now. It’ll take about… forty minutes."

Tony?

He had been surrounded by four F35 fighters and a Quinjet. Those fighters, worth at least two hundred million dollars, were nothing like the enemies from the mansion attack in Iron Man 3. The Quinjet could even exceed the speed of sound, yet he had not died?

Then again.

Tony had followed his advice and spent heavily to buy a small amount of Vibranium for the Mark 7. He had used knowledge from the Darkhold to upgrade J.A.R.V.I.S., upgraded the weapons system, and carried three Arc Reactors with him. His overall combat power was surely far beyond the suits in Iron Man 2 and the Avengers Initiative.

Winning was only normal.

If it took forty minutes, Tony could attend the closing ceremony…

Old Wang smiled, vibrating the air with True Qi at a specific frequency to form a soundproof layer and ensure his voice would not carry, then asked, "You didn’t forget to restock your ammunition, did you?"

"Of course… I didn’t!"

Tony immediately blocked the communication channel. "J.A.R.V.I.S., weapons depot first!"

Only then did he restore the channel. "You’re in Washington D.C.? What’s the situation now?"

In just a few seconds, that guy had actually cracked Fitz’s encryption system and pinpointed his location!

Was the gap between a first-rate scientist and a top scientist really that huge?

Old Wang grumbled inwardly, then said, "Everything is under control. You don’t need to come."

Tony said, "…J.A.R.V.I.S., contact that red-haired, curly-haired Roma… Romanoff agent. Ask if she has anywhere else that needs support. I think her current position is pretty good."

"It is Agent Romanoff, sir. You remembered her appearance but not her name," J.A.R.V.I.S. corrected.

Nicely done… Old Wang barely stopped himself from laughing. He snapped his fingers, summoning jade-green lightning to kill two Hydra agents, then said, "Tony, do me a favor."

"Go ahead."

"There’s a guy beside me, Agent Sitwell, a high-ranking Hydra member. Help me monitor his communicator and see if you can catch any interesting calls."

Fighting was tiring. Eavesdropping could be a way to pass the time.

Tony had no interest in such a low-tech task, so he said, "J.A.R.V.I.S., it’s up to you!"

J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "Master Wang’s communicator has already been cracked. Modifying permissions… permissions modified. Activating built-in program. Scanning nearby signals… signal detected. Connecting to the network to crack Sitwell’s communicator… crack complete. Beginning synchronized monitoring."

Less than ten seconds later, Old Wang heard a voice coming from his communicator. "Activating left-ear monitoring mode."

The next moment, his left ear went quiet, while Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voices came only through his right ear.

Old Wang once again marveled at how enormous the gap between scientists could be. Fitz really was too young. "Thanks, Tony."

The communication ended, and Old Wang continued fighting.

After blasting through the top floor, Old Wang descended the stairs to the lower levels and forced his way toward the command center.

The building had many important areas, such as the director’s office on the roof, the United Nations Security Council offices, and the Project Insight area at the very bottom, where two Sky Carriers under construction and a large number of Quinjets were hidden. Even Coulson was not qualified to enter.

And, of course, the command center.

Only by controlling it could one truly control Triskelion Headquarters.

Watching Old Wang sweep through everything in his path, Sitwell could not help mourning for Hydra.

This guy was dozens of times stronger than Captain America, yet Hydra had provoked him. How miserable would their end be?

It would definitely be worse than during World War II!

Suddenly, a voice sounded through his implanted communicator:

"I am Zola. Regrettably, we have lost Pierce. I will now take Pierce’s place."

"Agent Sitwell, your mission is to hold back the Immortal Iron Fist. Do not let him leave headquarters."

"Hail Hydra."