Strucker

"Otu, what grudge do you have against me that you’d harm me like this?!" Standing in the Floating Temple of the Savage Land, Alex threw back his head and roared, venting the resentment and fury in his heart.

Emma stood quietly beside Alex without saying a word, watching him with concern. She did not know what to say or how she could comfort this man who had been forgotten by the entire world.

"Otu, I will kill you!" After shouting those final words, Alex collapsed weakly to the ground, his face filled with helplessness and confusion. Alex had personally experienced Otu’s strength. Even his full-force strike could not harm him in the slightest. Killing him would be easier said than done.

At that very moment, in the Lunar Temple, The Watcher Otu sat upon a lavish throne with his right hand supporting his chin. Alex’s final words echoed continuously in his ears. His expression did not change in the slightest, though a faint tremor stirred deep within his eyes.

In the Floating Temple of the Savage Land, Alex’s sigh shattered the deathly silence.

"Emma, what should I do?"

Seeing the almost pleading look Alex gave her, Emma’s heart trembled. Her face hardened as she encouraged him, "Alex, pull yourself together. If you keep acting like this, you’ll only let that Watcher laugh at you!"

The unfocused look in Alex’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and a flash of light gleamed within them. He sprang up from the ground and stared into the air as though making an oath, solemnly declaring each word: "Watcher, you can erase my traces from this world, but I’ll carve my mark deep into this universe. Let’s see how you erase that!"

Emma had not expected her casual words to rekindle Alex’s spirit. Delighted, she hurriedly asked, "Alex, what do we do next?"

"Find Strucker!" Alex snorted coldly before abruptly vanishing from where he stood. Only his final words remained in the air: "Emma, stay here."

Emma looked at the spot where Alex had disappeared, feeling somewhat lost. She reached up and stroked Qiqi on her shoulder, her expression a little resentful.

Alex had once left a Mind Mark on Strucker, allowing him to use Teleportation to appear directly at Strucker’s side. The Mind Mark carried Alex’s unique psychic imprint, which The Watcher could not erase.

Looking at the young man who had suddenly appeared before him, Strucker inexplicably felt a trace of fear. His voice trembled as he asked, "Who are you?"

"So you really did forget me." Alex gave a bitter smile, feeling somewhat sorrowful. Even his enemy had forgotten him.

Seeing the smile on Alex’s face, Strucker grew even more terrified, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. This deeply confused him. While pretending to beg for mercy, Strucker secretly released Death Spores. He wanted to capture Alex and thoroughly study where this fear came from.

"Don’t waste your Death Spores." Alex had been lost in thought, but he quickly noticed Strucker’s little trick. With a cold sneer, he grabbed Strucker by the throat and easily lifted him up, asking in an icy voice, "Tell me, where is Captain America?"

"I… I… don’t know!" Feeling the ever-tightening grip around his neck, Strucker shook his head in panic.

Alex knew such questioning would not be very effective. It would be better to search Strucker’s memories directly with telepathy.

Yet to Alex’s surprise, Strucker’s memories contained no information about Captain America, Steve. The last memory involving Steve was merely news of Captain America’s disappearance, which differed somewhat from Emma’s earlier speculation in the Savage Land.

Emma could not have deceived him, and Steve’s disappearance should have had nothing to do with the Hellfire Club. The only possibility was Strucker—Hydra!

"Was it Otu again?" Alex had discovered from the beginning that Strucker’s memories had been altered. He had assumed only memories related to himself had been changed, but now it seemed that the memories concerning Steve had been erased as well.

There was truly nothing Alex could do about that. He had no way to repair altered memories.

Still, Alex had not come away empty-handed. At the very least, he had learned about Nick Fury. With Howard’s funding, Nick Fury had established S.H.I.E.L.D., carrying on the traditions of the Howling Commandos and specializing in hunting down Hydra remnants that had not been completely wiped out after World War II. Strucker had already suffered at his hands several times.

"Nick Fury, well done!" Alex praised, unable to resist giving a thumbs-up. Strucker had betrayed him, and Hydra no longer had anything to do with him. No matter how badly they were beaten, Alex would not feel any heartache. On the contrary, he would be delighted.

Raising his head to look at Strucker, whose eyes had already rolled back, Alex tightened his fingers again. Alex had no intention of sparing someone who had betrayed him. As for Steve’s whereabouts, Alex planned to investigate through another avenue. He remembered.

Having figured this out, Alex no longer worried. Without hesitation, he was about to kill Strucker when, at that moment, a fiery figure suddenly darted in from outside. The blaze quickly vanished, revealing a person.

Seeing who it was, Alex was surprised, but even more incredulous. "Sunfire? You’re still alive?"

The fiery figure that had suddenly appeared was none other than Sunfire, the leader of the Japanese mutants Alex had encountered in China—Yoshida Shiro. But Alex remembered clearly that he had killed him back then. Why had he appeared again today?

Yoshida Shiro gave Alex a cold glance. Flames suddenly burst from his entire body, and while Alex was distracted, he lunged forward and snatched away Strucker. A pillar of fire then shot into the sky, and he vanished with Strucker.

"Damn it, he ran pretty fast!" Alex instantly came back to his senses. Looking up at the firelight vanishing beyond the horizon, he considered it but did not give chase. Instead, he carefully recalled Strucker’s memories. With the Mind Mark, no matter where Strucker fled, Alex could find him instantly.

"The Hand? Isn’t that the Japanese ninja assassin organization Strucker mentioned before?" Alex quickly found something useful, digging an important piece of information out of Strucker’s memories. "How did Hydra get mixed up with them?"

While Alex was still recalling Strucker’s memories, Yoshida Shiro brought Strucker to a concealed location.

"Why didn’t you kill him?" Strucker glared at Yoshida Shiro angrily, his tone full of dissatisfaction. From the first moment he had seen Alex, Strucker had been filled with desire—the desire to kill Alex.

Yoshida Shiro shook his head expressionlessly and said in a low voice, "That man is very strong. I’m no match for him."

"What?" Strucker knew Yoshida Shiro’s capabilities well. Hearing this, his face filled with shock. "You haven’t even fought him. How do you know?"

"Instinct!"