Life Sacrifice

Peter returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. and reported his suspicions to Director Garrett.

Director Garrett pondered for a moment before saying, "You have a point. I’ll replace the team handling the evidence appraisal. At the same time, I’ll isolate all the current appraisers and conduct a second, thorough investigation."

Peter felt uneasy and hesitated. "This is only a suspicion. I don’t have any evidence. Is it really appropriate to isolate all of them like this?"

"No, Peter, you can’t think that way." Director Garrett’s expression hardened as he criticized him. "As law enforcers, we can’t overlook any suspicious point. Besides, it’s only an isolated investigation. If they’re later proven innocent, I’ll release them."

Faced with such a righteous and selfless S.H.I.E.L.D. director, what else could Peter say?

After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Peter went to visit Gwen. He told her everything, then sincerely apologized.

"Gwen, I have to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have suspected George. It was all Hydra’s conspiracy. All the evidence was fabricated by them."

Although S.H.I.E.L.D. still had no way to distinguish whether the evidence was genuine, Peter had already made up his mind that George had been framed by Hydra. At the very least, using that to comfort his girlfriend first was a good choice.

"I believe that after learning about this, S.H.I.E.L.D. will definitely reexamine the evidence against George, find the flaws in it, and ultimately clear George’s name."

After hearing this, Gwen felt relieved and let out a long breath. But then she frowned again and said quietly, "If everything really is as Master Zhan said, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has already been infiltrated by Hydra on a massive scale, what should we do?"

"How could that be?" Peter couldn’t help laughing. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is an intelligence organization with an extremely rigorous internal structure. Anyone who joins has to undergo an in-depth investigation. How could it have been massively infiltrated without anyone noticing?"

Gwen also felt that her idea was too absurd. She gave a bitter laugh and shook her head. "All right. I was overthinking it."

After comforting Gwen, Peter promised to visit her often before finally getting up to leave.

In the days that followed, Peter put his mind at ease and patiently waited for the results of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s investigation.

Meanwhile, Snake S.H.I.E.L.D. used the "Hydra Resurgence" incident to seize power on a massive scale. It suspended many people within the organization who opposed it and inserted its own people in their place, completely turning S.H.I.E.L.D. into a Hydra branch.

With more manpower, they could now openly carry out many activities that had previously required secrecy and caution.

Director Garrett was in the Security Council office, reporting to Alexander Pierce.

"How are things at the New York Sanctum?" Alexander handed him a cigar and lit it for him.

"Everything is going smoothly. Sorcerer Kaecilius is very satisfied with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s gift. Sandru has also successfully entered the sect and can now open portals to travel freely. Of course, if we need him, it would still be best to call."

Whenever Garrett recalled Nick Fury’s intelligence report on the Sorcerer Supreme, he couldn’t help wanting to laugh.

"As long as he’s satisfied. We had to gather the strength of the entire world to collect those magical items. If they couldn’t satisfy those sorcerers, borrowing their power would be almost impossible."

Alexander savored the fragrance of the cigar in his mouth and nodded in satisfaction.

"When will Sandru be able to master Time Reversal?"

That was the question Alexander cared about most. He was no longer young. Although his physical condition had improved greatly after practicing Ultimate Limit Qigong, his lifespan did not seem to have increased.

"In fact, according to the information Sandru obtained, Time Reversal requires not only profound magic but also an artifact known as the Eye of Agamotto. And only the Sorcerer Supreme can possess that artifact."

Alexander frowned. "Is there any way to get our hands on it? Or perhaps help our ally become the Sorcerer Supreme? If all else fails, we can send the current Sorcerer Supreme to return to the embrace of the Lord early."

"That may be difficult. Ordinary people can’t even come into contact with the artifact. Besides, how could someone who can reverse time and has lived for over a thousand years die so easily?"

Whenever he thought of the information on the Sorcerer Supreme that Sandru had brought back, John felt utterly powerless. What could he do against someone who was completely unscientific and not even truly magical?

"Tsk. Can’t even a Magnetic Field Warrior do it?"

Ever since Magnetic Field Warriors appeared, many of the old super-soldier programs and biological experiments had been abandoned. Their cost-effectiveness was too low, and their limits were also too restrictive. They were completely inferior to the mature and powerful Magnetic Field Rotation.

At the present stage, competition between the military forces of various countries was essentially a competition over the number of Magnetic Field Warriors they possessed. All five major powers had disciples who received authorization from Zhan Liu and opened Ultimate Limit Sect branches in their own countries.

Some overzealous countries had even begun introducing it in universities. The reason they didn’t start from kindergarten was entirely because they feared that children’s immature minds would lead to trouble. Especially teenagers in their rebellious phase—once their blood was up, they could do anything.

In the past, whenever Hydra encountered a troublesome problem, it still had to gather intelligence, investigate personal relationships, send people undercover, and then carry out activities such as subversion. But now, whenever something happened, they could just send a Magnetic Field Warrior A over and be done with it.

John shook his head and spread his hands. "I don’t know. There’s no precedent for this at all. But judging from Zhan Liu’s wariness of the Sorcerer Supreme, I’m afraid a direct confrontation won’t work."

"Then we can only work from within?" Since brute force was impossible, they could only use traditional methods.

"Exactly. Our plan is to help Sorcerer Kaecilius become the Sorcerer Supreme, and then help Sandru become the next Sorcerer Supreme."

"Explain in detail."

John took a drag of his cigar and began explaining carefully:

"According to the intelligence Sandru obtained, Kaecilius has been secretly studying dark magic. He seems to be planning to resurrect his deceased wife and children, and he has also established his own Dark Order."

"Sandru has now joined the Dark Order. We can give him a push through the order’s affairs and help him gain Kaecilius’s trust as quickly as possible."

"Based on my judgment, Kaecilius cannot resurrect his deceased wife and children without Time Reversal. He will inevitably seek the position of Sorcerer Supreme. No matter what he wants to do, all we need to do is support him with all our strength."

The plan was extremely simple, but it had been proven highly effective through Hydra’s years of infiltration experience.

Alexander nodded in satisfaction and praised him:

"That’s a good idea. Sandru hasn’t been at the New York Sanctum for long. His qualifications and abilities are still far from sufficient for the position of Sorcerer Supreme. Having a sorcerer friendly to us serve as an interim replacement is a good choice. Do you need any support from me?"

John had come today partly to seek support, so he did not hold back.

"Actually, yes. The Dark Order seems to be planning a sacrifice, using the power of the extradimensional demon Dormammu to kill the current Sorcerer Supreme! They need a place where they won’t be disturbed."

Alexander tapped his cigar ash against the ashtray. "Then go to Europe. It’s a paradise for dark creatures now. I’ll arrange for people to control the situation. They can do whatever they want—even sacrifice the entire city, if necessary."

From beginning to end, neither of them mentioned Peter. Surely a cooked duck couldn’t just fly away?

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